Shenron-Dragon Ball Z

If you're a fan of the animated saga and manga Dragon Ball & Dragon Ball Z, then you can't miss Shenron , the big legendary green dragon emblematic of the series! This flagship character was able to mark fans with his presence, despite his short appearances in the Japanese series. 🐲

So if this mythical dragon has always inspired you, this ultimate guide will bring together all the essential information for a perfect understanding of this character, so adored by fans.

Shenron (神シェン龍ロン), Japanese pronounced "Shénlóng", translates to "Divine Dragon" or "Dragon God". He is one of the magical dragons from the Dragon Ball franchise. In the English version of DBZ, he is called "Eternal Dragon" or "Dragon God". The original incarnation of Shenron in Dragon Boy was a small dragon that emerged from the Dragon Jewel.

In our new article, we invite you to (re)discover together this very original celestial creature. We will take the time to explain to you step by step:

What is his personality and what does he look like?
His different appearances in the different Dragon Ball sagas
His craziest techniques and secrets

So young Saiyan, are you ready for this introduction? It 's happening now on Goku Shop ! 📖

SHENRON APPEARANCE

Shenron has the appearance of a dragon, so far we haven't taught you much. It is depicted with long , asymmetrical horns , made of brown antlers, sharp teeth, scaly green skin, red eyes, four toes on each foot, a long, serpentine-shaped body (its tail occupies three-quarters of its length ), long flowing whiskers, a long snout, crescent-shaped nostrils, and flowing green hair on the cheeks. 🐍

It is a celestial dragon, whose species are benevolent in so-called oriental mythologies. Unlike the dragons we are used to knowing, the western species, which have large folding wings on their backs, he does not have any. When the dragon Shenron is summoned, the sky becomes very dark, even on a sunny day. Once it disappears, the sky returns to normal. This is also true for other Eternal Dragons such as Li, Omega or Porunga.

WHO IS SHENRON?

His race is known to have a good background, but Shenron, due to his position as leader, the most powerful dragon in his lineage, must have the characteristics of a powerful being, and therefore have a relatively threatening temperament. , he is at the same time sometimes impatient (More than Porunga, the dragon of Namek). Shenron therefore has a pretty nasty character, and he even once threatened to kill a summoner if he didn't get his wish quickly, although he only actually tried to attack someone in Dragon Ball Z: The Fratricidal Fight , where the dragon Icarus, friend of Gohan , tries to attack Shenron out of fear because he did not know that Shenron did not wish him any harm. 🔮

On the other hand, like almost all living beings, the legendary dragon remains terrified and respectful when he sees Beerus, the God of Destruction of Universe 7 to the point that he dispersed the Dragon Balls immediately after informing Goku of how to perform the ritual to create a Super Saiyan God and also showed fear when summoned to learn more about the crystal balls, even going so far as to technically "grant" Beerus' wish to seeing him leave after he couldn't tell them more than he knew. 😯

Shenron is normally very courteous, speaking politely and doing his best to grant the desired wish in a way that will bring the summoner as much joy as possible. He also advises against what he considers to be "impractical" wishes and often offers an alternative, so he gives good advice. However, he is known to sometimes follow wishes to the letter and not out of real lucidity of mind. 🌌

For example, Shenron fulfilled Pilaf's gang 's wish for youth by turning them into young children (presumably the result of Pilaf's clumsiness) . Shenron is also forced to fulfill an ill-advised wish if the summoner insists, such as reviving Frieza in incomplete form although this is because Sorbet and Tagoma had decided to restore the pieces using their medical machine technology which It was improved to the point of being able to restore his entire organic body without its cybernetic components. In this case he fulfilled Sorbet's wish as repairing Frieza 's broken body could be accomplished by other means once he was restored to life.

Although Shenron is respectful to those who invoke him, he is easily offended. In addition to his impatience with indecisive summoners, Shenron is unhappy with frivolous wishes, which he considers wasteful. For example, Shenron was clearly unhappy when Yamcha offered him his wish.

He also informs his summoner if a wish is impossible or cannot be fulfilled by explaining why, such as when he explained that he could not stop the Saiyans Nappa and Vegeta , because their power level exceeded that of his creator Kami. Thus Shenron himself was just as powerless to stop them (even if Kami had been strong enough, then the wish itself would not have been necessary as Kami or any of the Z Fighters could have defeated the Saiyans without the wish). power of Shenron). He also admitted to Mr. Popo that he was unsure if he could grant the wish to resurrect those killed by Frieza and his men due to the enormity of the task itself. 🔪

As with most Eternal Dragons, Shenron, while good-natured, is essentially a neutral figure, granting any wish within his power, regardless of the intent of the wish itself or the nature of its summoner. This is demonstrated by him granting the wishes of pure evil beings such as King Piccolo (who later ends up killing him), Garlic Jr, Dr. Kochin, Lord Slug, and even Sorbet. 😣

SHENRON APPEARANCES

Preamble

Shenron is said to live in the fiery center of the Earth , each time he is called, on the one and only condition of gathering the 7 crystal balls , he arrives quickly to grant a wish before returning to sleep in his fiery home until he is called back. 🔥

Before the events of the Dragon Ball saga, the last time Shenron had been summoned was to grant someone's wish to become king, as Bulma explains to Goku during their first meeting. 👑

SHENRON IN DRAGON BALL

Saga of Emperor Pilaf

Shenron is first summoned on screen by Emperor Pilaf and his aides in front of Pilaf Castle. Pilaf collects the last dragon balls from Goku and his friends in order to be able to ask Shenron to take control of the entire planet and become its ruler. 👑

However, before Pilaf could grant his wish, Oolong spotted the dragon and interrupted the wish and made a wish to obtain a sexy maiden, which Shenron granted. Shenron will then say his goodbyes, and the crystal balls disperse across the planet and transport themselves to stone.

Saga of Uranai Baba

The following year, Goku befriended Upa and his father Bora, who was unfortunately killed by the mercenary Tao during the Red Ribbon Army saga . Promising Upa that he will use the Dragon Balls to resurrect his father, Goku first collects the crystal balls, 6 from the mercenary Tao and the last from Emperor Pilaf, and summons Shenron to the Sacred Land of Korin. 🔮

Urging Upa to make this wish, he asks Shenron if he can resurrect his father. Declaring that it was a trivial matter, Shenron granted the wish anyway and quickly left. The Dragon Balls disperse again but this time, Goku spots his grandfather's memory and grabs it before it flies away.

Saga of King Piccolo

After King Piccolo used the Dragon Balls to regain his youth, he murdered Shenron before he could disperse to prevent anyone from using the balls against him. However, after his defeat, Kami revived the dragon Shenron to reward Goku for his valiant efforts against King Piccolo. He had initially decided not to recreate them, as he had designed the crystal balls to encourage acts of bravery and give people a sense of hope, but humanity's selfishness and greed caused the balls to of the dragon were used in a manner exactly opposite to that intended. It wasn't until Son Goku demonstrated his undying love for his friends that he decided that there were, indeed, good people left in this world. 😇

Yamcha and the others then summon Shenron to Kamé House who will tell them that Goku is currently training with God in preparation for the upcoming World Martial Arts Tournament. Already aware of the wish they wanted to be granted, Shenron brought back to life everyone who had been killed by Piccolo and his brood, including Krillin, Awesome Turtle and Chaozu, then left. 💀

SHENRON IN DRAGON BALL Z

Saiyan Saga

Shenron is summoned to Awesome Turtle's house to revive Goku in order to defend the planet against the Saiyans . However, Oolong asks if it would be possible for Shenron to defeat the Saiyans and save Earth. Shenron will respond that it would be impossible because he was created by a God and that he is incapable of granting a wish that exceeds the power of this same God, Kami. Master Roshi then asks Shenron to resurrect Goku from the dead just before he leaves. ✝

Shortly after, Shenron is indirectly disabled when Nappa kills Piccolo by taking the brunt of an attack intended for Gohan, due to Kami and Piccolo's bond, Kami also dies, and the Dragon Balls are then turned to stone.

Frieza Saga

The Eternal Shenron is indirectly resurrected by the Namekian Dragon Balls when Gohan and Krillin wish for Piccolo to be revived and transported to Planet Namek. Mr. Popo having already collected the Dragon Balls, summons Shenron and asks him if he can restore all the lives that Frieza and his men had exterminated. Since the deaths occurred on a distant planet, Shenron isn't sure he can grant his wish, but he will. 😏

Cell Saga

A few years later, Shenron is temporarily deactivated when Kami decides to join Piccolo, following extreme circumstances. Thanks to Dende's remodeling, Shenron is able to grant three wishes. However, because Dende is not powerful enough, Shenron can only grant two of the three wishes if a large number of people are revived using one of the wishes. 🔮

After Son Gohan SSJ defeated and killed Cell, the group headed to God's Palace where they summon Shenron and ask him to revive everyone who was killed by Cell. Shenron grants the wish but Piccolo notices that he cannot sense Goku's energy. With only one wish left, Yamcha asks if there is a way for him to bring Goku back to life, but Shenron refuses, saying that he has already been brought back to life once before. . Krillin instead asks him if he can turn C-17 and C-18 into humans. Shenron once again answered in the negative, as his powers are too great and too strange and he cannot use them against their will. Krillin then asks if he can just take the bombs away from them, and since it's an easy task, Shenron grants the wish. 💣

Speaking of Shenron, you can find the Collector's Figure of this Legendary character in preview at Goku Shop! ⭐

Majin Boo Saga

There is a subtlety to knowing about crystal balls. Wishes can also be held until the next summoning; in this case, the dragon balls would scatter throughout the world as if someone had said all the wishes but would only remain as stones for 4 months, after which Shenron can be summoned again to grant the remaining wishes. Then, the Balls disperse and turn into stones for an entire year. This is shown by summoning Shenron to revive everyone who was killed on the day of the World Martial Arts Tournament. 🥋

Bulma actually summoned him prematurely, not realizing the grave danger the rest of the population still faced, and on Dende's advice, Goku invoked this option. The saved wish is therefore used four months after Kid Boo's defeat, in order to erase the memories that the inhabitants of Earth had of Majin Boo, with the exception of Goku's friends and family.

Saga of the Gods of the Universe

Shenron is then summoned and Sorbet will scream for Frieza to be revived, but Shenron does not respond. Sorbet asked if he could make the wish, but Shenron said his body was cut into pieces and it would be useless without his soul. Tagoma suggests that they used the recovery chambers on the ship, so Sorbet tells Shenron to revive him anyway.

SHENRON IN DRAGON BALL SUPER

Saga of the God of Destruction Beerus

Shenron is summoned by Goku aboard Princess Bulma, Bulma's ship to learn more about the Super Saiyan God. Shenron appears to fear Beerus, the God of Destruction, treating him with due respect and acting as a lowly servant rather than a powerful deity. Shenron knowing the method of achieving the Super Saiyan God form, tells them that if 5 pure-hearted Saiyans hold hands and pour their souls into another pure-hearted Saiyan, then the god of Saiyans will be born. With that, Shenron bid Beerus a very respectful farewell and then flew away. 🐉

Golden Frieza Saga

Shenron is then summoned after Pilaf's gang retrieves the crystal balls. However, Sorbet and Tagoma threaten to leave them wishing for Frieza's return to life. Using the other two wishes, Shu wishes for a million Zeni, the local currency, and Mai wishes for ice cream. 🍧

Saga Universe 6

Shenron is summoned by Bulma, along with Goku, Vegeta, Beerus and Whis, to help find the last Dragon Ball and is once again frightened by Beerus' appearance. He tries to find what they're looking for, but he can't because the universe is so vast, even for him, and searching for it in another universe is beyond his abilities, leaving Bulma to find it. make the Dragon Ball Radar. Beerus then walks away from Shenron when he asks for the other wishes and the dragon balls are scattered again. 🔮

Future Trunks Saga

In the anime, after Zamasu's defeat, Goku picks up the Dragon Balls so he can wish King Kai back to life. Since only one wish has been granted before, only two can be. Several of the Z-Fighters and their allies arrive to try to get a wish as well. The first wish is granted by Shenron to cure the illness of Pan, who is suffering from a high fever. Eventually, Goku tries to wish King Kai back to life, but due to the time it takes for Shenron to leave, he won't be able to do so. ⌛

Broly Saga

During Chapter 4 of the Galactic Patrol Prisoner Saga, Shenron makes a brief appearance as Goku tells Beerus how the events on Planet Vegeta led King Vegeta to exile Broly to Planet Vamp, resulting in to the events of the Broly Saga. This is seen when Cheelai and Lemo summon him to make a wish for the Legendary Saiyan to be sent back to Vamp just as Broly was about to be killed by Gogeta's full-powered Kamehameha. 💨

SHENRON IN DRAGON BALL HEROES

Imprisoned Planets Saga

In the manga, Shenron is summoned by Majin Ozotto using the special crystal balls in order to obtain immortality, but before he can grant the wish, Oolong instead wishes that all the inhabitants of the imprisoned planet return to where they came from. they came. 🤲🏻

SHENRON IN DRAGON BALL GT

After the Z-Warriors successfully defeat the Evil Dragons, Shenron appears unsummoned. He heals Goku's wounds and grants one last wish before leaving Earth with Goku and the Dragon Balls in order to recover and teach the people of Earth to no longer rely on them to solve their own problems. Shenron then takes Goku and flies away saying goodbye to all his friends. While flying through magnificent golden clouds, Shenron locked the balls into Goku's body, causing him to disappear. He then roared and flew away in a brilliant light. 😱

POWERS OF SHENRON

Anime and manga

Originally, Shenron could only grant one wish per summon, until after the Cell Games Saga, where Dende upgraded it to grant three wishes (two if multiple people are resurrected with one of the wishes) . Shenron's power is directly linked to the abilities of the one who created him (i.e. Kami or Dende) . As such, Shenron cannot defeat or kill someone whose own power exceeds the creator and cannot exist without said creator still being alive. He is unable to restore life to those who have died of natural causes (but he can restore a person's youth) . When reviving multiple people at once, he can only bring back those who haven't been dead for more than a year. In Dragon Ball Z, it is revealed that Shenron cannot grant the same wish more than once (for example, bringing back those from the dead that he has already resurrected once). 🧬

It is revealed that although Shenron has vast awareness and knowledge of all existence and its history, such as the existence and ritual to produce the ancient Super Saiyan God , his insight is not omniscience as he couldn't tell where the last crystal ball was. he resided in a different universe from Shenron, making him too far away and too difficult for Shenron's power to locate. Additionally, Shenron can only maintain his summoning for a set period of time, regardless of how many wishes he has granted. Gradually, Shenron's form will weaken before finally dispersing until the next summon. He often shows an air of impatience to those who delay making their vows because of this. 🐉

Dragon Ball Movies

In Dragon Ball Z: Broly , it is suggested that Shenron is capable of granting wishes without actually being summoned, which he demonstrated by letting Goku join the battle against Broly. Reviving a group of lives counts as two wishes opposed to one.

In Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Gods and Dragon Ball Z: The Resurrection of "F" , Shenron is shown to be able to leave without being asked.

SHENRON TECHNIQUES

Flight - Shenron is capable of sustained flight.

Agreement of wishes - As an eternal dragon, when the 7 crystal balls are brought together by its owner, Shenron can grant wishes that do not exceed the power of its creator, such as:

Magical materialization
Resurrection, immortality, healing
Divination
Teleportation
Removing Sealing Spells

LIST OF WISHES FULFILLED BY SHENRON 🔮

Pre-Dragon Ball

An otherwise unknown character uses the Dragon Balls to become a king. It is highly likely that the ramifications of this wish are still felt to this day, as the entire world is unified into one giant kingdom, with regional provinces dotting the entire world, as seen in the saga of King Piccolo. 🌍

Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball GT

Oolong - Wishes for a pair of panties, although he just shouted the first thing that came to mind while trying to stop Emperor Pilaf from making his own wish to become king. Due to censorship issues, the English dubs changed this wish to a "pair of the world's most comfortable ultra-soft underwear" (spawned by Ryû Shinron in DBGT).

Upa - Wishes for her father Bora to be resurrected (spawned by Ryû Shinron in DBGT).

King Piccolo - Wishes for his youth to be restored (spawned by
Sure Shinron in DBGT).

Yamcha - Wishes to revive everyone killed by King Piccolo and his sons (spawned by San Shinron in DBGT).

Dragon Ball Z

Master Roshi - Wishes Goku to be resurrected (brought out Rage Shenron in DBGT).

Mr. Popo - Wishes everyone who was killed by Frieza and his henchmen on Planet Namek to be brought back to life (spawned Syn Shenron in DBGT). 😇

Yamcha - Wishes everyone killed by Cell to be revived.

Krillin - Wants the C-17 and C-18 self-destruct bombs removed. 💣

Bulma - Wishes all the good people killed on the day of the World Martial Arts Tournament to be revived. This allowed Kibito to be brought back to life with the victims of the World Martial Arts Tournament (produced by Naturon Shenron in GT).

All memories of Boo's massacres would be erased from Earth's population, except for the memories of the Dragon Team (San Shinron in DBGT).

Dragon Ball Super

In the periods between the Androids saga in the animated series Dragon Ball Z, the Pilaf Gang wishes for eternal youth:

In the future timeline, as the androids attack Earth, Pilaf wished to be young again, which resulted in Shu and Mai returning to the infant stage. Future Piccolo died shortly afterwards, making it the last wish granted by Future Shenron (in the manga only).

Goku - Wishes to know how to become a Super Saiyan God.

Sherbet - Wishes Frieza to resurrect. (in the anime only)

Shu - wishes for a million Zeni, the local currency. (in the anime only)

May - Wish for ice cream. (in the anime only)

Beerus - Wants Shenron to "get away." (in the anime only)

Gohan - Wishes to cure Pan's fever. (in the anime only)

Dragon Ball Heroes

Oolong - Wish everyone to be freed from the prison planet. (manga only)

Dragon Ball GT

All the people on Earth who were killed after the gate to Hell opened (in Saga Super 17) to be brought back to life, which will be Shenron's last wish. 🔮

Dragon Ball and DBZ movies

Penny - Wishes her land to be peaceful and beautiful again.

Goku - Wishes Bora to be resurrected.

Goku - wishes Shenron to rebuild C-18 and remove the bomb inside him.

Garlic Jr. - Wishes for immortality.

Dr. Kochin - Wishes Dr. Uiro to be released from his icy prison.

Bulma, Gohan and Krillin - Wish to restore the forest.

Lord Slug - Wishes for eternal youth.

Goten - Se wishes his father was there, and an image of Goku appears. However, he did not summon the dragon; Shenron acted on his own.

Hoi - Wishes the abnormally sealed music box containing Tapion to be opened.

As they say goodbye to Tapion, Goku and his friends mention that they will summon the dragon again to wish everyone who died during the battle against Hirudegan ( this is only mentioned in the Japanese version).

The Gang of Pilaf - Wish for youth before the battle of the gods.

Beerus - Requires knowledge on how to achieve the Super Saiyan God form.

Sherbet - Wishes Frieza to resurrect. This wish has been called the "worst wish in history" because it caused the most despair.

Shu - wish a million Zeni.

At the end of the movie Resurrection of "F" , Bulma mentions restoring the city of North City with the Dragon Balls.

Cheelai - Broly's wish that he be sent back to Planet Vampa.

ANECDOTES ABOUT SHENRON

In the original Dragon Ball logo, it is shown that a green "Chinese" dragon very similar to Shenron is attached around the letters wrapping around the "o". 🐉

Although he is known as the "Eternal" Dragon , King Piccolo kills him after wishing for eternal youth. Although "Eternal" could simply mean that he doesn't die of old age, but can still be killed.

Counting his death in the altered Age 850 timeline, Shenron was killed by a villain twice, first by King Piccolo and then by Towa starting in Age 852. 🔪

During the Namek Saga, when Frieza tells the Namekians the story of the Dragon Balls, the Dragon shown is Shenron, although Frieza has never seen him before. 🐲

In one of Akira Toriyama's works, Dr. Slump's character Arale is seen holding Shenron and tying him up.

Shenron's original design changed over the course of the Dragon Ball series timeline, as his underside changed from green to a more yellow color. 🖌

He can grant three wishes in Dragon Ball Z: Fusion Reborn while he can only grant one in Dragon Ball Z: Dragon Attack . It should be noted that the Japanese version of Fusion Reborn mentioned two wishes, so the mention indicating three wishes was a dubbing error. Additionally, the second wish was omitted in the English version ( they intended to use the second wish to resurrect everyone who was killed by Hirudegan ).

With the events of the Majin Boo Saga, Porunga 's abilities became greater than Shenron's. Porunga not only became capable of resurrecting an unlimited number of people at the same time, including people he had resurrected before, but also without having to compromise by using the energy of two wishes for a single wish : resurrecting multiple people, allowing the Sky Dragon to continue granting up to three wishes per summon.

He makes an appearance in many games such as Dragon Quest Monsters . 🕹

In Dragon Ball Z: Shin Budokai , it is shown that his power cannot cross dimensions or timelines ( which contradicts what is said about the Hyperbolic Time Chamber during the Fusion Saga). Fusion Reborn also alludes to this when he states that he cannot grant the Dragon Team's wish to stop the dead from escaping Hell, as it is a problem that originated in the Otherworld, and although he was capable of returning dead souls to their dimension, they would only come back. 👻

In Dragon Ball Fusions, Shenron can grant Tekka 's wish to change not only his appearance and voice (like the Time Patrollers from the Xenoverse series) , but also his chosen race or gender (which the Time Patrollers do). time cannot do because they can only change their appearance and voice).

Shenron is both modeled and named after the spirit dragon of the same name in Chinese mythology. However, it should be noted that the name is primarily a liberty taken in the English localizations, as the dragon did not originally have a name in previous Japanese editions of the manga. 📚

It is also worth noting his name; it is meant to be pronounced as "Sheh-n-roh-n" via a Japanese transliteration of its pinyin reading (which would be pronounced as "Sheh-n-loh-ng"), while its Japanese rendering would be "Shinryuu". The Funimation dub, to this day, often mispronounces it "Sheh-n-rah-n". 🎶

Another note: unlike the original Shenlong from mythology, although it shares its green color, the dragon of the mythical crystal balls only has four claws in total on each leg; In Chinese mythology, Shenlong are considered higher-ranking dragons, with five-fingered hands, which sets them apart from others. 🐉

JOIN THE RANKS OF THE CELESTIAL DRAGON SHENRON 🐲

Thanks to our ultimate guide, we hope you have learned enough about Shenron, the most legendary and iconic dragon in the Dragon Ball series. Created by Akira Toriyama , he is the emblem of the saga and even more, because he is also considered a mythical creature and revered by all Asian people. 🌏

Don't hesitate to tell us in the comments of this article if you liked it, or if you want to add something young saiyan! Now it's up to you to bring together the crystal balls to invoke it and grant the wish you desire deep within you! 🔮

Back to blog