Cell (Dragon Ball)
Encyclopedia
is a fictional character and villain in the Dragon Ball
universe
created by Akira Toriyama
. The character was created as a main antagonist in the series, after the studio responsible for the publication of the material he wrote was dissatisfied with Toriyamas previous concepts for enemies to the main cast of the series.
In the anime and manga, Cell is an artificial life form
created using cells from several of the main characters in the series. During the course of his appearance, he undergoes several transformations for which in order to happen he has to absorb two other lifeforms, the androids #17 and #18.
into the perfect being, which can ultimately be achieve only by absorbing Androids No.17 and No.18. However, in the alternate future Trunks
came from, the Androids were destroyed and Cell was forced into regressing into an egg while using Trunks's time machine to travel back a year prior to the Androids appearing.
Once hatched and undergoing a metamorphosis
into an insect-like humanoid, Cell proceeds to kill off various people and absorb them to increase his power in preparation of absorbing the Androids. Though originally weak at first, Cell manages to absorb the energy of more than 600,000 people prior to finding the Androids and absorbing No.17 to evolve into a large and more human-like form with power exceeding a normal Super Saiyan. Once absorbing Android 18, regardless of interference, Cell assumes his fully human-like Perfect Form.
Wanting to test his abilities, and enjoy the look of fear on others, Cell decides to hold a fighting tournament to find a worthy opponent to face him with the intent of destroying Earth once he wins. He decides to call it the Cell Games. However, having initially expected a decent challenge from Son Goku
, the tournament finally culminates in Cell being forced back into his near-perfect form by his previous opponent's son Son Gohan
and decides to self-destruct to ensure his victory. Though Goku sacrifices himself to ensure he dies elsewhere, a mentally unstable Cell returns in his Perfect Form with the realization that the genetics of Saiyans and Namekians have made him near-immortal with the ability to reach further perfection as he attempts to destroy the world and find strongest opponents elsewhere. Luckily, with his father aiding him in spirit, Gohan utterly destroys Cell.
. He also has a cameo in the anime sequel series Dragon Ball GT, where Son Goku fights him and Frieza in Hell
.
Dragon Ball
is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Akira Toriyama. It was originally serialized in Weekly Shōnen Jump from 1984 to 1995; later the 519 individual chapters were published into 42 tankōbon volumes by Shueisha. Dragon Ball was inspired by the classical Chinese novel Journey to the...
universe
Fictional universe
A fictional universe is a self-consistent fictional setting with elements that differ from the real world. It may also be called an imagined, constructed or fictional realm ....
created by Akira Toriyama
Akira Toriyama
is a Japanese manga artist and game artist known mostly for his creation of Dragon Ball in 1984. Toriyama admires Osamu Tezuka's Astro Boy and was impressed by Walt Disney's One Hundred and One Dalmatians, which he remembers for the great art...
. The character was created as a main antagonist in the series, after the studio responsible for the publication of the material he wrote was dissatisfied with Toriyamas previous concepts for enemies to the main cast of the series.
In the anime and manga, Cell is an artificial life form
Synthetic life
The creation of synthetic life is a goal of scientists working in the fields of synthetic biology or exploring the origin of life. The term has also been used to describe recent experiments that transferred...
created using cells from several of the main characters in the series. During the course of his appearance, he undergoes several transformations for which in order to happen he has to absorb two other lifeforms, the androids #17 and #18.
Creation and conception
Originally, Toriyama intended to end Dragon Ball after Goku's "death" on Namek. However, the anime studio and publisher wanted him to continue the story. After his editor was dissatisfied with first the androids 19 and 20 and then 17 and 18 as villains, Toriyama finally came up with Cell. Toriyama has stated some kind of regret regarding the creation of Cell, since he doesn't like characters that require rastering. In addition he didn't initially plan for the character to be able to transform, but was forced to give him this ability after his editor described Cell as "looking ugly".Dragon Ball Z
Cell is an artificial life form that was created by the computer of Dr. Gero from cells of different fighters, possessing the attributes of the Saiyans, Piccolo, and Freiza, within an underground complex below Gero's secret research laboratory. Cell's design is to evolveEvolve
Evolve may refer to:*evolution, incremental change over time*Evolve on The History Channel*Evolve Festival, an annual music and cultural festival held in Nova Scotia, Canada...
into the perfect being, which can ultimately be achieve only by absorbing Androids No.17 and No.18. However, in the alternate future Trunks
Trunks (Dragon Ball)
is a fictional character from the Dragon Ball franchise by Akira Toriyama. Trunks is the half-Saiyan son of Vegeta, the prince of the dying race of fictional aliens called the Saiyans, and Bulma, the heiress of a massive company called Capsule Corporation...
came from, the Androids were destroyed and Cell was forced into regressing into an egg while using Trunks's time machine to travel back a year prior to the Androids appearing.
Once hatched and undergoing a metamorphosis
Metamorphosis
Metamorphosis is a biological process by which an animal physically develops after birth or hatching, involving a conspicuous and relatively abrupt change in the animal's body structure through cell growth and differentiation...
into an insect-like humanoid, Cell proceeds to kill off various people and absorb them to increase his power in preparation of absorbing the Androids. Though originally weak at first, Cell manages to absorb the energy of more than 600,000 people prior to finding the Androids and absorbing No.17 to evolve into a large and more human-like form with power exceeding a normal Super Saiyan. Once absorbing Android 18, regardless of interference, Cell assumes his fully human-like Perfect Form.
Wanting to test his abilities, and enjoy the look of fear on others, Cell decides to hold a fighting tournament to find a worthy opponent to face him with the intent of destroying Earth once he wins. He decides to call it the Cell Games. However, having initially expected a decent challenge from Son Goku
Son Goku
Son Goku or Son-Goku may refer to:*Son Goku or Sun Wukong, the main character in Journey to the West*Son Goku , the main character in Dragon Ball media*Son Goku, a lead character in Saiyuki media...
, the tournament finally culminates in Cell being forced back into his near-perfect form by his previous opponent's son Son Gohan
Son Gohan
is a fictional character from the Dragon Ball universe created by Akira Toriyama as a protagonist for the media franchise, which consists of a series of manga, anime, soundtracks, movies, television specials, video games, and other collectibles...
and decides to self-destruct to ensure his victory. Though Goku sacrifices himself to ensure he dies elsewhere, a mentally unstable Cell returns in his Perfect Form with the realization that the genetics of Saiyans and Namekians have made him near-immortal with the ability to reach further perfection as he attempts to destroy the world and find strongest opponents elsewhere. Luckily, with his father aiding him in spirit, Gohan utterly destroys Cell.
In other media
Cell appears in a number of video games and is a playable character in the Dragon Ball Z: Collectible Card GameDragon Ball Z: Collectible Card Game
Dragon Ball Z Trading Card Game is a trading card game based on the Dragon Ball series created by Akira Toriyama...
. He also has a cameo in the anime sequel series Dragon Ball GT, where Son Goku fights him and Frieza in Hell
Hell
In many religious traditions, a hell is a place of suffering and punishment in the afterlife. Religions with a linear divine history often depict hells as endless. Religions with a cyclic history often depict a hell as an intermediary period between incarnations...
.