Who is Mr Popo in Dragon Ball ? What is the role of this secondary character ?
Whatever question you have about this rather unusual character, you will find the answer in this article!
Mr. Popo is the servant of the Almighty on planet Earth. He welcomes Goku and tests his martial skills to see if he is worthy to talk to his master. Mr Popo plays an important role in the Dragon Ball series.
In this article, we propose you to come back on this atypical character. This ultimate guide will cover the following points:
- The personality and appearance of Mr. Popo
- The full biography of the character
- The fighting techniques as well as several anecdotes
Ready to start this new ultimate guide? If so, it’s high time to get started! 👉
CHARACTER APPEARANCE
In the Dragon Ball universe, most of the characters are really big. They are equipped with an impressive physique. Son Goku, Vegeta and many others are perfect examples of this. Unlike most of these characters, Mr. Popo stands out with his unusual physique. ☝
Indeed, Mr. Popo is a humanoid with a relatively short waist, and particularly plump. He stands out through several particular features such as his red lips, his consequently dark complexion, and especially his pointed ears.
Regarding the appearance of this important character of Dragon Ball, there is a fact that deserves to be clarified. He doesn’t have a nose or teeth. However, in the very first episodes of the Dragon Ball anime, he had a tooth, a physical feature that did not go unnoticed by the great fans of the first hour. 😅
He has a rather modest stature, and seems to be smaller than an average earthling. Generally, he wears a smile. But depending on the circumstances, he can show various forms of emotion, just like the other characters.
Mr. Popo is a polite character who is distinguished by his straight posture and calm demeanor. Like many other characters in the Dragon Ball universe, his appearance has remained the same over the years. Whether in Dragon Ball, Dragon Ball Super, Dragon Ball Z or Dragon Ball GT, he has not changed a bit. He probably owes this ability to his origins. 🤔
His appearance is not the only thing that has remained unchanged over the years. There is also his outfit. Indeed, during all the episodes where he appeared, Mr. Popo always wears a white turban with a blue jewel placed in evidence on his forehead. On each of his ears, he wears a gold earring that does not go unnoticed.
The top of her body is adorned with a sleeveless vest composed of brown and gold patterns. This last one lets see a good part of his body. On the top of his arms, he wears golden armbands that match well with the color of the pattern of his vest. He wears around his waist, a red belt that highlights his whole out of the ordinary getup. 👍
His white pants look like sarouel pants and are wrapped around his ankles.
And as you can imagine, he does not walk barefoot. So he wears red slippers with white soles on his feet.
PERSONALITY OF MR POPO
Mr. Popo is one of the characters of Dragon Ball that has remained as it is during all the episodes. He hasn’t aged a bit, which leads one to believe that he is very young. 👌
But in reality, he is very old. In fact, he has served under Kami, the Guardian of the Earth, for many centuries. But before that, he had served Kami’s predecessor.
In the distant past, he had also served other Guardians of the Earth. Mr. Popo is known as a faithful and loyal servant. His attributes are many and varied. Among other things, he is in charge of taking care of the palace, as well as the Kami grounds, he ensures the cleanliness of the gazebo. He is also in charge of the training of the various creatures including that of the Earthlings so that they are able to face the various enemies for the most part very dangerous of the earth (Like Piccolo Jr. at the end of Dragon Ball or Nappa and Vegeta at the beginning of Dragon Ball Z). 🌎
In the absence of the guardian, he takes over the watch. He takes care of many tasks, from the most interesting to the most mundane, such as helping with the reconstruction of Shenron if needed. But above all, his most important vocation is to take care of the current guardian. He is supposed to support and serve him. Very often, he shares a particularly deep emotional bond with the current guardian.
As soon as this person suffers any harm, he becomes depressed and worries excessively. 😨
Mr. Popo is sometimes caught taking care of his ancient butterfly garden that he created several hundred years ago. Enjoying the simpler things in life, he cultivates a lot of patience and seems very tolerant of everyone, including those who are irritable. He is often the first to try to calm people down.
He is one of the Dragon Ball characters that seems to be particularly interested in nature. In this role, he follows in the footsteps of Android 8 and of course Android 16.
When talking about himself, he has the annoying (or not) habit of using the third person. Mr. Popo usually expresses himself eloquently, using very sophisticated phrases and expressions. 😎
In the Japanese version, however, he is described as a rather primitive figure.
BIOGRAPHY OF MR POPO
Mr. Popo was born in the distant past in the Other World. After some time, he was sent to Earth to act as an assistant to every Guardian on the planet. 🌏
As you can well imagine, he was indeed under the orders of several Guardians during his stay on Earth. In Dragon Ball Z, Mr. Popo was 1000 years old and more.
In the sequel, it goes without saying that he will have even more, since the sagas are separated by decades or even centuries.
Mr POPO IN DRAGON BALL
When he made his first appearance in Dragon Ball, his fighting skills were far above Son Goku’s. The two characters who will have a relatively good relationship in the sequel had met for the first time in the Almighty’s palace.
Goku had just defeated King Piccolo. He then deploys his Power Pole in order to reach the palace of the Almighty. It is when he reaches this mythical place for the first time in the anime that he met Mr. Popo. This one was posed on a Persian carpet, birds on his shoulder, and a light fog that seemed to cover him. 👍
The two, that is, Goku and Mr Popo then engage in an unprecedented fight. Son Goku attacks Mr Popo with a Kamehameha. Vigilant, the guard dodges by swallowing the explosion completely. To defeat Mr Popo, Goku tries to use the famous punch that defeated King Piccolo. But this was without counting on the sharp reflex of the demigod who escapes it without much effort. 👎
Then, Mr Popo decided to introduce Kami to Son Goku. But, the physical resemblance of this one with the demon king Piccolo leads the young Saiyan to undertake an attack that ends up failing. It is after this incident that Kami and Mr Popo tell their story to Goku.
They did not fail to talk about how King Piccolo was conceived. After getting to know each other as it should be, Goku and Mr. Popo spend several years together. 🙏
For almost three years, Mr. Popo takes care of Goku’s training himself. He taught him several techniques, but most of all how to feel the ki without using his sight. During this particular training, he would cover Goku’s sight and give him the task of following a cat that had a bell attached to its tail. 🐱
At the end of his training under Mr. Popo, the young Saiyan warrior entered the 23rd World Martial Arts Tournament. In reality, his only goal was to defeat Piccolo Jr. using the new skills and techniques he had just acquired.
And it must be said that some of the techniques he acquired during his three years of training with Popo proved to be quite valuable. Super Kamehameha and Ki Sense are certainly the standout techniques. ✨
Mr POPO IN DRAGON BALL Z
Dragon Ball Z is one of the most colossal parts of the Dragon Ball universe. It is composed of several sagas. In most of them, our character Mr. Popo was present. If sometimes he finds himself playing rather banal and insignificant roles, he also happens to be a valuable element.
Saiyans saga
Five years after the last events, Mr. Popo and Kami are in charge of training several characters including Krillin, Yamcha, Yajirobe, Ten Shin han, and Chaozu in order to prepare them to face the imminent threat of the Saiyans. 💪
To this end, they employ multiple training methods, each as complex as the next. The pendulum room is one of the examples worth mentioning.
The goal was to show the trainees the extent of the powers that even the weakest Saiyans previously possessed. To their surprise, Mr. Popo and Kami realized that Piccolo‘s level of perversity had diminished greatly in the last five years. They also realized that the soul of Raditz, killed by Piccolo did not go astray like many other souls that were killed by demons. 👌
When Vegeta and Nappa arrived on Earth, Kami and Popo were on the lookout from where they were watching the battle. Popo was obviously very worried that Piccolo would die and then it would be Kami’s turn.
When Piccolo lost his life in battle, our character plunged into total despair. Thus, he had to watch Kami perish and disappear before his eyes, making the Dragon Balls non-functional from then on, and losing at the same time an excellent companion. 😥
Freeza saga
After the unfortunate events in the Saiyan Saga, Mr. Popo allowed Krillin, Bulma, and Gohan to travel to the planet Namek after telling them about Kami’s old spaceship when they were in the Wukong hospital.
Using his magic carpet, he shows Bulma the position of the spaceship in Yunzabit Heigts. He teaches her the famous Namek language so that she and her companions can go to the planet and use their Dragon Balls to revive their other companions who were destroyed in battle. This obviously includes Piccolo, and assumes the return of Kami and that of the Earth Dragon Balls. 🐲
In the aftermath, Kami comes back to life as everyone expected. Within a day, Mr. Popo retrieves the Dragon Balls on Earth to bring back to life all those who died at the hands of Freeza and his soldiers on planet Namek.
This maneuver was apparently the idea of King Kai. The goal was obviously to save those who were on Namek from the explosion that threatened it, but excluding Goku and Freeza.
Cyborgs saga
In the anime, while he was busy watering the plants in the gazebo, Mr. Popo was attacked by the Spice Boys. Garlic Jr, one of the attackers seals him in a bottle made of glass. A little later, he is rescued by his friends Piccolo and Krillin. Then, he leads Kami inside the gazebo to sprinkle the place where the tombs of the former Guardians are located, with the sacred water. 💧
Cell saga
Three years have passed. Kami totally and forever merged with Piccolo to become the Nameless Namek. His goal was to get more power in order to face the androids whose only motivation was to annihilate Son Goku.
It is in this context that Mr. Popo bids farewell to the Guardian he has served for years. Later, he takes Goku, Trunks from the future, Vegeta and Gohan to the Hyperbolic Time Chamber to put them through a year’s worth of harsh training held in one day. ⏳
Shortly thereafter, he was with the new Guardian of the Earth watching the Cell Games from the sky. By the way, the new Guardian in question is called Dende.
Buu saga
Seven years passed. Nobody seemed to find ideas to realize the fusion dance. That’s when Mr. Popo had the famous idea to have Goten and Trunks perform it. 👏
The Dragon Team’s relatives gathered at Kami’s palace to take refuge. At one point, there was a brief confrontation between Mr. Popo and two others, namely Goten and Trunks. The latter were indeed in their Super Saiyan forms.
During the fight, he blocked many blows, and even managed to dodge a kick. Nevertheless, Goten manages to find a loophole and kicks him powerfully. But despite this, he remains unscathed, proving that he is strong enough. 👊
Mr. Popo then witnesses the fusion of Goten and Trunks. The next day, Super Buu discovers the Almighty Palace.
He offers them the opportunity to live for a short time. There, Super Buu deploys his human extinction attack to wipe out all but a few people on Earth.
These include Mr. Satan, his dog Bee, Chaozu, Ten, and some friends and family members. As soon as Buu escapes from the hyperbolic time chamber, Mr. Popo and his companions have all been turned into chocolate and consumed. 🍫
However, before being turned into a candy store, after witnessing the murder of Android 18, Krillin and their daughter, he made a quick and courageous decision. He grabbed Dende and threw him out of the lookout, away from Buu’s rampage. Piccolo did not fail to congratulate him for his brave action, when he met Dende alive.
Although he was transformed and eaten, he comes back to life. He then gives his energy to help Goku in the making of the Super Spirit bomb which was supposed to destroy Kid Buu. When he returns to Earth, he greets Dende affectionately as well as the others. 🙏
Mr POPO IN DRAGON BALL SUPER
Just like Dragon Ball Z, Dragon Ball Super also has several sagas. And once again, our character Mr Popo was not left out. He was present in several of them, even if some times he plays typical secondary roles.
Golden Freeza saga
Five years after Majin Buu‘s encounter, Mr. Popo should be about 779 years old. He was watching over Piccolo with the new Guardian Dende, because he was killed by a new and more powerful Freeza. Mr. Popo died in the explosion of the planet. But thanks to Whis deploying his famous Temporal Do-over technique, the damage is undone, and in turn, so is Mr Popo’s death. 💀
Universe 6 saga
This saga is set in the period after the famous battle with Golden Freeza. Misuta Popo was in the company of Dende with whom he was playing tennis on the gazebo. Meanwhile, Goku and Vegeta are busy training in the Hall of Spirit and Time. Previously destroyed, the famous training room was restored by Dende. ⏳
Future Trunks saga
As usual, Mr Popo and Dende were at the gazebo. They watch helplessly as Vegeta destroys the time chamber when he signs his second defeat against Zamasu of the Future and Goku Black. Indeed, when one enters again after two times, it is expected that the door closes permanently. Moreover, the destruction that the time chamber has undergone has created a huge crater in the palace of the very high. 💥
The saga of the survival of the universe
Vegeta once again goes to the Time Chamber to prepare himself for hours in advance of the Tournament of Power. Since he had already destroyed the said chamber once, Mr Popo warns him this time. He makes it clear that he will be banished for good if he allows himself the luxury of destroying the Chamber of Spirit and Time again.
Saga of the Galactic Patrol
Mr. Popo finally returned to the gazebo. He was there when Dende and Piccolo had the feeling that something bad was happening on New Namek. He intercepts Piccolo’s words when Piccolo was making it clear to Dende that he hasn’t been receiving Vegeta and Goku’s energy signature on Earth for a few days. 🤔
For this reason, they are forced to go to New Namek. Piccolo then tries to reach the people of New Namek by using telepathy.
It was then that he explained to Dende and Popo that his maneuver had been unfortunate. Indeed, he did not perceive any signal from them. From then on, he concluded that an unfortunate event must have occurred in the Namek universe, and they normally capable of telepathy must have died there. ✨
Piccolo detects three people in space who are strangely approaching the Earth. These people could be related to what is happening in space. To find out more about the situation, Piccolo decides to go and conduct his own investigations.
On their side, Mr Popo and Dende met Bulma and Mr Satan. The latter was looking for Piccolo to recruit for the Galactic Patrol. But the question was why the patrol wanted to recruit Piccolo without Dende and Mr. Popo’s knowledge. Jaco enlightened them on the situation regarding Moro through a communicator that Bulma had borrowed from Tights. 📖
Dende joins Mr. Satan and Bulma to find Piccolo when they learn from Jaco that the three people Piccolo was tracking were indeed connected to the horrible situation in space. As for Popo, he chooses to stay behind at the gazebo.
Mr POPO IN DRAGON BALL GT
Popo’s appearances in this part are relatively brief.
Black Star saga
About five years have passed after the 28th World Martial Arts Tournament. On his side, Mr. Popo is about to restore the lookout which was completely damaged because of the intense training of Goko and Uub.
Baby saga
Dende and the famous dark-skinned character are infected by Baby. Later, they try to neutralize Kibito Kai, who heads to the palace of the Most High to obtain the sacred water in order to rid the human race of Baby‘s parasites. After his recovery, Mr. Popo remained a background character in the rest of the saga. His appearances were more than brief. 👎
Evil dragons saga
Here, he hardly appears at all. The only time he was seen was during the flashback montage sequence in the last episode.
FILM APPEARANCES
As you probably already know, the Dragon Ball anime has had countless feature films. These usually feature the most important and regular characters, but also some very formidable villains. 📷
Even if Mr. Popo is not as famous as Son Goku, Vegeta, Gohan or many others, he has nevertheless made several appearances in movies. However, he has not been very popular as one would expect.
Among the most famous movies in which Mr. Popo appeared, there is notably the Dragon Ball Z: The Return of Cooler. We also find him in the famous movie Dragon Ball Z : Bardock – Goku’s father, but also in Dragon Ball : Plan to exterminate the Saiyans.
FIGHTING TECHNIQUES
Like the vast majority of other characters in the world of Dragon Ball, Popo also has many techniques to defend himself and attack his opponents. Here’s a rundown of the best techniques of the Guardians’ number one ally. 🧞
Ki Sense : He is one of the very first characters to have felt the ki, and to follow the gestures of the others. He used this technique to defeat Goku. When he was training Goku, he taught him how to perfect his Ki Sense in order to feel directly the attacks of his opponents instead of relying only on his eyes.
Floating Popo Defense: This is a defensive technique developed by Popo himself. He used it especially against Trunks and Goten.
Levitation: This is indeed the ability to fly by using his ki. Popo is able to control his energy and transfer the ki out of him in a short period of time. This then allows him to fly, or even levitate in space without any difficulty. 👍Levitation: This is indeed the ability to fly by using his ki. Popo is able to control his energy and transfer the ki out of him in a short period of time. This then allows him to fly, or even levitate in space without any difficulty. 👍
Dragon Ball Creation: For reference, Mr. Popo proceeds to create his own set of Dragon Balls in Dragon Ball Z: Attack of the Saiyans, especially after Kami and Goku come back to life. However, it is important to note that his version of Shenron is not particularly powerful. It is therefore not possible to use it to ask for the return of dead people. Its strong point is that it can be used as many times as possible after it has been reattached. On top of that, it seems that it is able to summon characters with extreme power like the legendary Super Saiyan Broly. It’s not clear whether the Broly summoned is the real thing or simply a creation of Mr. Popo’s Shenron to give the Dragon Team a tougher foe.
Magical materialization: This is a magical power used to create several objects out of thin air. For example, Mr. Popo is able to pull a rolled up carpet ball out of absolutely nowhere. He then propels it on the ground. But the ball that is supposed to hit the ground instead opens up in the air, becoming his magic carpet.
Energy Absorption: The plump, totally dark-skinned character with the pointy ears has the ability to literally swallow explosions of ki. In Dragon Ball, when he fought Goku, he swallowed his Kamehameha whole. But this action was not without consequences. He indeed had a smoky belch.
Bôjutsu: Wielding a stick may seem trivial, but it is a whole art. There is no one better to say this than Popo who excels in this field. He used to show off this art when he was training Goku.
Immortality: Mr. Popo is, as you already know, the eternal guardian of The Lookout and at the same time assistant and teacher of the Guardians of the Earth. As such, he enjoys ageless immortality, which allows him to outlive the old guardians, but also to ensure the training of the next guardian as it should be. But despite his immortality, it seems that he can die, as he was vulnerable to Super Buu’s metamorphosis beam as well as to the Earth’s explosion.Immortality: Mr. Popo is, as you already know, the eternal guardian of The Lookout and at the same time assistant and teacher of the Guardians of the Earth. As such, he enjoys ageless immortality, which allows him to outlive the old guardians, but also to ensure the training of the next guardian as it should be. But despite his immortality, it seems that he can die, as he was vulnerable to Super Buu’s metamorphosis beam as well as to the Earth’s explosion.
Faster than Lightning: This is the special attack that Popo has deployed in Dragon Ball Z: Dokkan Battle. With the help of his magic carpet, he flies over his opponent and hits him with a rushing attack.
Equipment and vehicles: Whether it is to fight or to move, it is common to use certain tools. Mr. Popo is no exception to this reality. Several instruments are part of his collection.
Magic Carpet: This is probably the most famous equipment in Mr. Popo’s collection, because he often uses it, especially to move from one place to another. It is indeed a magic carpet that allows him to fly in space. He can travel alone on his flying machine, as he can decide to have other passengers. But probably the number of seats must be limited.
Kai Kai: This is one of the variations or functions of the magic carpet, as it works in combination with it. When he is on his magic carpet, Mr. Popo has the ability to teleport anywhere on the Earth. He has used it to take Bulma to Yunzabit Heigts, the landing site of the Nameless Namek spaceship.
Stick : We usually find Mr Popo with a stick that he never stops manipulating. It is with this stick that he trains Goku in Ki Sense. The latter had to be blindfolded as part of his training.
Kami’s Spaceship : This is the spaceship that allowed the Almighty to be transported to Earth. This huge machine served as his home for most of his life. For a long time, Kami told his friend Popo about the spaceship and its location. After Kami’s death, Mr. Popo reveals the location of the ship to Bulma. Mastering the Namekian dialect, he manages to access the spaceship and even gives it the order to fly. However, he holds on to his position as an attendant very well. 🛸
For this reason, he refuses to take the Dragon team to Namek himself. Instead, he teaches Bulma the Namek language in order for her to be able to pilot the spaceship, to take the Dragon team to Namek.
And since Popo can’t be blamed for being a bad master, he succeeds pleasantly well with Bulma’s training. Bulma successfully completes her mission by going to Namek as agreed.
But once there, the ship was damaged by Banan and Sui. It will be definitively destroyed during the destruction of the planet Namek.
Kami’s Palace : This place, as it is known, is a sort of hideout or home for the Guardians of the Earth. However, it is not only a simple building, but also a real machine capable of travelling.
Moreover, in Dragon Ball Super, it was stated that this place is able to travel from the sky above the Karin Tower, and to the sky beyond Monster Island. As the guardian of the Earth Guardians, Popo legitimately acts as the guardian of this palace, because in the end, the Guardians follow each other, but he remains. 🐱
ANECDOTES ABOUT MR POPO
When the Earth Guardian of the moment dies without finding a successor, it is up to Mr. Popo to find one. Being immortal, there is therefore no risk of this position being vacant, as he will do his best to unearth a worthy successor. 🤔
Mr. Popo is able to express himself in the Namek language. This was taught to him by the Guardian of the Earth and his friend Kami, even though Kami learned shortly before his death that he was from Namek. It should be noted that Kami was able to speak Namekian in Dragon Ball long before he learned that he had Namekian origins. During his fight against Piccolo Jr, he was exchanging with his opponent in the language in question.
According to some, Mr. Popo is nothing more than a variant of “dark iconography“. They even claim that it is a racist style of cartoon. In 2000, on May 4, an article was published by Carole Boston Weatherford, a children’s book author. In her text, she stated that the characters of Mr. Popo, Pokémon #124, Lippoutou were unreasonable stereotypes, because of the color of their skin, which was black, but also because of their large lips. Added to all this, Mr Popo has no teeth, another detail that does not go unnoticed by anti-racists…
To avoid the wrath of the media, Viz Media has, since 2004, begun to numerically limit the size of Mr. Popo’s lips in the American version of the Dragon Ball manga.
On the other hand, the Pokémon franchise was growing in popularity. The company therefore thought of redesigning Lippoutou’s skin color. His hands and face were recolored in purple, not black. In the same logic, the character of Mr Popo had to be recolored in royal blue in the CW version of Dragon Ball Z Kai. The reason is quite simple. Popo’s original appearance which is very dark was known to have many similarities with blackface. This is a polemical form of makeup historically connected to stage and film caricatures of African Americans. 🤔
In Dragon Ball GT, Mr. Popo is the origin of the wish to bring back to life all the people who died at the hands of Freeza and his companions. This wish gave birth to Syn Shenron.
It is possible that Mr. Popo’s several attributes, namely his appearance, the pattern of his outfit, his tendency to use a flying carpet are inspired by the fictional character Babu from the animated TV series “(I Dream of) Jeannie”. ☝
One of the characters of Dragon Ball Online, in this case the Black Mashenlong Mr. Poko Poko has a dress and a name that is very similar to Mr. Popo. The name in question was given to him by the general Dark Namekian Gamelan. The objective of the latter is to become the god of the Namekians of the Narak type.
YOU ARE NOW AN EXPERT ABOUT MR POPO!
Now you know absolutely everything about Mr. Popo!
We hope you enjoyed this ultimate guide! Mr. Popo is certainly a secondary character in Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball Z, but he plays an important role in the series. He is especially highlighted in Dragon ball, when Goku wants to meet the Almighty. 🐉
Don’t hesitate to have a look at our Mr Popo t-shirt!
