Captain Ginyu (Dragon Ball Series)

Captain Ginyu (ギニュー, Ginyū) was the strict but caring captain or commander of the elite mercenary platoon, the eponymous Ginyu Force.

Personality

Ginyu is shown to care deeply about his teammates, becoming incredibly furious when learning from Jeice that his three other subordinates were defeated and killed. However, he also can be quite harsh to his team members if they fail a mission, as shown when he harshly scolds Jeice for letting Burter and Recoome lose to Goku and running away from the fight. Ginyu is one of the few men who pure-heartedly reveres Frieza, and so he is shown to be very loyal to Frieza, and follows any order Frieza gives him. His loyalty to Frieza appears to be so extreme that even after he has swapped bodies with a Namekian Frog, he tries to sneak a Namekian Dragon Ball away from Gohan to make sure that they do not use the Dragon Balls before Frieza can (or it may simply have been as revenge for such a humiliating defeat), and during his long tenure as a frog he endured the hardships without giving up hope due to his belief that one day he would be able to one day serve Frieza again. However, despite his flaws, Ginyu has displayed a strong sense of honor in combat and prefers fairness in his battles, as shown when he refused to break Goku's neck due to Jeice interfering in their fight, and even threatening to kill Jeice if he did it again. Goku takes note of this and insinuates that Ginyu may not be all bad and even capable of redemption.

Biography

Background

Like the other members of the Ginyu Force, Ginyu's special powers originated during his childhood. When Ginyu first learned of his Body Change ability, he swapped bodies with the richest kid in his class, which made him popular with girls but also stupid, and he soon realized that men should compete in terms of strength rather than money. Only a few people have seen Ginyu's true form, and Salza is among them. Salza had to fight Ginyu to become leader of Cooler's Armored Squadron.

Dragon Ball Z

Frieza Saga

Captain Ginyu and his comrades are commissioned after Frieza learns that Vegeta is searching for the seven Dragon Balls on Namek, and that the Saiyan's Power Level is growing rapidly, quickly surpassing Frieza's personal henchmen, Dodoria and Zarbon. The force spends five days traveling the stars en route to Namek, and upon reaching the planet, Frieza dispatches the team to capture Vegeta, kill his two companions (Krillin and Gohan), and recover the Dragon Balls which have since been stolen by Vegeta. Efficient as they are, the Ginyu Force do not take long to track down their targets and locate all seven Dragon Balls, with the rest of his team showing off their special talents, such as Burter's tremendous speed and Guldo's time freezing. Initially, Captain Ginyu intends to slay Vegeta by himself, but when his subordinates complain that they have not had the opportunity to fight, Ginyu concedes, allowing them to deal with Vegeta and the others while he returns the Dragon Balls to Frieza's spaceship.

Captain Ginyu transfers the Dragon Balls back to Frieza, using his telekinetic powers to levitate the Dragon Balls, but the two almost instantly discover that they can not activate the artifacts to summon the Eternal Dragon. Remembering one of his previous Namekian victims whose last words told of how Frieza could never make a wish even with the seven Dragon Balls gathered, Frieza deduces that there must be a secret Namekian language custom used to activate them. The tyrant uses his scouter to investigate the vicinity for Nameks, finding three of them in an area that his forces left untouched (Nail, Guru and Dende). Captain Ginyu volunteers to force the secret out of them, but Frieza declines in favor of handling the task himself. In the meantime, Captain Ginyu is assigned to watch over the seven Dragon Balls.

While guarding the Dragon Balls, Captain Ginyu is joined by one of his subordinates, a delirious Jeice, who confirms that a powerful warrior has arrived on Namek, and their comrades, Recoome, Burter and Guldo, have been brutally killed. Captain Ginyu scolds Jeice for running away from the battle, and advises against Jeice's proposal to warn Frieza, as he does not want this to compromise his reputation. Ginyu decides to confront this new fighter called Goku himself, leaving his subordinates in the care of the Dragon Balls (in the manga, Jeice is left to hide the balls, while in the anime, they are left to be buried by Frieza's low-class soldiers).

Upon convening with Goku, Captain Ginyu determines that the Saiyan is capable of masking his true power level (as Ginyu is the only member of the Ginyu Force able to do so), speculating his true strength to be somewhere around 60,000 (in contrast to what has appeared on the Ginyu Force's scouters as a mere 5,000). The commander's first advance on Goku is only amplified when Vegeta escapes the scene in flight, in spite of the alliance he and Goku had formed specially for the encounter. This distraction leaves Goku open for an elbow bash to the face. Goku and Ginyu continue to do battle, with Ginyu eventually realizing his shortcomings against the Saiyan from Earth. Ginyu started to believe that Goku might even be a Super Saiyan. However, he disproved this as no Saiyan he ever encountered or heard about was as sympathetic as Goku. As Ginyu and Goku continue their battle, both Ginyu and Goku manage to trick each other, using certain tricks and stealth attacks to land hits, as they seem evenly matched. Despite managing to capture Goku in a full nelson, Ginyu releases him upon deducing that he was only able to take hold of Goku as a result of Jeice's interference, blasting Goku with a beam, which distracted him. For this, he admonishes Jeice, even threatening to kill him if he intrudes on the conflict once more. This act makes him seem to be an honorable fighter.

Captain Ginyu realizes Goku is not using his full power in their fight, and requests Goku to reveal his full power, which he does, shocking Ginyu and Jeice, as Goku's power was 180,000, while Ginyu's was 120,000. Accepting that he is at odds with Goku, Ginyu's next action is a startling one. He spontaneously stabs his chest, before revealing his true plot: resorting to his ability to exchange bodies in an attempt to level with Goku, showing the reason why he stabbed his old body; so that Goku cannot fight back and will eventually die of blood loss. The body change is a success, but Captain Ginyu fails to make the most of Goku's shell's power level of 180,000, stopping short at just 23,000. Only in the English dub, Jeice says that the power level was actually growing weaker.

With this, he is promptly forced into a losing battle against Gohan and Krillin while Vegeta battles Jeice. However, midway through the battle, he begins to learn how to draw out Goku's full power and begins to fight back and win against Gohan and Krillin, even when Goku (having also learnt how to utilize Ginyu's body's power) tries to come to their assistance, Ginyu easily defeats all three of them. It is not until Vegeta, having finished off Jeice, appears and pummels Ginyu with his new maximum power that they survive. Beaten into the ground, Ginyu attempts switching bodies with Vegeta twice. The first time, Goku, still rendered within Ginyu's body, interferes with the attack. The second time, the further injured Goku successfully tosses a Namekian Frog within the trajectory of the Body Change's energy wave, thus rendering Captain Ginyu's soul trapped within the shell of the frog. Unable to pronounce the technique, he is unable to transfer himself to a new body. Likewise, Ginyu's original body is inhabited by the Frog's soul, and in a similar manner, can only speak in croaks.

Captain Ginyu is ultimately the only member of the Ginyu Force not to be killed by Vegeta during the Frieza Saga. Though Vegeta has the opportunity to finish the captain off after Ginyu switches bodies with the frog, Vegeta opts not to kill him so as not to get "toad guts" all over his "nice clean boots" (in the manga and Kai, Vegeta lets him live after Goku mentions that he is no longer a threat, and states that the life he has ahead of him is torture enough).

In the manga, Ginyu is never seen or heard from again. In the anime, however, Ginyu continues making subsequent filler appearances as a frog. Here, he is discovered by Bulma and kept as her companion. After realizing that the frog understands human dialect, Bulma creates a device to translate his croaking into speech, which Ginyu in turn uses to betray Bulma with his regained ability to pronounce the Body Change technique. Seizing Bulma's body, Ginyu uses Bulma's air-ski to visit the site of Frieza and Goku's showdown, also attended by Piccolo, Krillin and Gohan; Bulma takes hold of the air-ski, and despite Ginyu's attempt to lose the frog, Bulma is able to reach her oblivious friends. Captain Ginyu attempted to pose as Bulma and watch the fight between Goku and Frieza, although he lets slip about his true identity when he blurted out cheers directed towards Frieza. Sensing that he ended up exposing himself, Ginyu wages an attack on the trio, before deciding to switch bodies with the most powerful of the three, Piccolo. Gohan comes to realize that the frog is in actuality Bulma, which leads him to throw Bulma in the path of the wave, reverting Ginyu to the shell of a frog once again, and restoring Bulma to her human body. Bulma and Ginyu are then blown away by the force of one of the blasts from Goku and Frieza's fight. They are eventually blown into a cliff by Goku's Spirit Bomb. Ginyu is eventually used to scout out to see where they are by Bulma, who is still sore about Ginyu's earlier betrayal. By the time Ginyu reports back to Bulma, she notices the immense aura overtaking an island in the vicinity: The same island Frieza, Goku, and Gohan are on as Goku transforms into a Super Saiyan.

After a wish made to Porunga, the Eternal Dragon of Namek, Ginyu is later transported to Earth with all living beings on Namek except Goku and Frieza. Afterwards, Ginyu goes on to live among the frogs surrounding Capsule Corporation, apparently becoming the ruler of the pond. He also ends up living in the greenhouse of Bulma's home. It is never revealed what becomes of the frog whose soul is within Ginyu's shell, save for one scene where he hops around the Earth forest where Porunga evacuates the people of Namek to Earth.

Cell Saga

Ginyu makes infrequent appearances in later episodes as a frog, such as outside Goku's house during Gohan's 11th birthday.

Majin Buu Saga

Ginyu appears later when he is picked up by a Great Saiyaman-disguised Gohan, after an attempt by Sharpner to unmask him. Ginyu is ultimately killed when Kid Buu destroys the Earth. However, he is revived alongside the Earth and its citizens later but is still trapped in his Namekian frog body. It is unknown why he was revived when Dende asked Porunga to only revive good victims.

Dragon Ball Super

Resurrection ‘F’ Saga

Ginyu, first seen as a frog, sees Sorbet and Tagoma put Frieza's body parts into their containment. Several months later, at the start of Frieza's revenge, Ginyu sneaks into Jaco's ship so that he can fly to the battlefield. After many of Frieza's soldiers are defeated and Tagoma is about to engage the Z Fighters in battle, Ginyu climbs out of Jaco's ship.

When Tagoma lies on the ground after having been hit by Gotenks, Ginyu appears and changes bodies with Tagoma by tricking him into reading the word "Change" that he wrote in the dirt in a foreign language (the symbol that Ginyu draws comes from the same, seemingly only written language, that everyone who is with the Frieza Force appears to know) Ginyu—now with the body of Tagoma—has a brief discussion with Frieza explaining how he's still alive and has always been faithful to the belief that one day he would fight for Frieza once more despite his hardships as a frog. After doing his new pose to commemorate his revival he attacks the Z Fighters on Frieza's orders, decimating them in combat.

In response to Ginyu overwhelming them, Ginyu is challenged by Gohan in a one on one fight, but he later transforms because he proved no match for him due to not training. As a Super Saiyan, Gohan manages to easily defeat Ginyu in two blows, but spares him, saying there is no point in continuing the fight. Frieza then steps in and exclaims that he will finish Gohan off in Ginyu's place, blasting him with a barrage of Death Beams. While Frieza is attacking Gohan, Ginyu holds off the other Z Fighters who tried to help him against the tyrant.

After Goku and Vegeta arrive, Ginyu joins in the discussion, stating his contempt for Goku and Vegeta having trapped him in a frog's body. Almost immediately after, Vegeta kills Ginyu with a ki blast, noting that he did not want him interfering with their upcoming fight with Frieza.

"Future" Trunks Saga

Some time has passed since the saga's main event, Goku gets bored and asks Krillin to come spar with him. Krillin suggests that they should go train with Master Roshi, like the old days. Roshi sends them to an island to find a magical herb called Paradise Plant. On the island they meet Fortuneteller Baba who gives them directions that leads them to an unsettling and mysterious temple. When Goku and Krillin were sent into a forest to retrieve a special herb for Master Roshi, an illusion of Captain Ginyu and many other villains from the Z-Fighters' past show up to challenge the duo.

Dragon Ball GT

Super 17 Saga

6 years later in Dragon Ball GT, Captain Ginyu is shown again escaping Hell and attacking Earth. he is defeated again and sent back to Hell.

Power

Manga and Anime

During his battle with Goku, Frieza stated that he did not think anyone in the universe had surpassed Ginyu. Jeice states that Captain Ginyu's maximum power level is 120,000. By comparison, the rest of the Ginyu Force members, who were the strongest fighters in the galaxy other than Frieza, were stated to be between 30,000 and 60,000. However, he was no match for Kaio-Ken Goku, whose power was 180,000. When Ginyu trades bodies with Goku, his power level decreases to 23,000 (as well as decreasing even further, according to Jeice's reading on his scouter in the English dub), as he could not unlock Goku's power.

In the Golden Frieza Saga, after taking over Tagoma's body during Frieza's revenge, Ginyu manages to access the full power of Tagoma - which is equal to Gohan's during the time when Gohan was at his best. Ginyu is able to decimate the Z Fighters, and when faced with fighting base form Gohan he states that he does not understand why Gohan would challenge him with such a low power level. However, Ginyu is knocked down in two hits by Gohan when he transforms into a Super Saiyan, though he soon after reveals that he is actually undamaged by these attacks and prepares to begin fighting again, only to be stopped by Frieza. Soon after, Saiyan beyond God Vegeta kills Ginyu effortlessly with a point-blank energy wave.

Statements by guidebooks and authors

According to the Dragon Ball Super rival danger scale, Ginyu (with Tagoma's body) ranks as less than one out of twelve, not even making it on to the scale.

Video Games

In both Xenoverse and Xenoverse 2, Ginyu is capable of accessing Goku's full power via the effects of Towa's Dark Magic, which allow him to achieve Goku's 180,000 power level without the Kaio-ken. Presumably he is also stronger than he is in Goku's body while in Xeno Trunks' body in Xenoverse 2, as Xeno Trunks is shown to be able to go toe-to-toe against the likes of powerful villains such as Dark Magic enhanced Turles and Slug, as well as Mira (who had grown more powerful after his defeat in Xenoverse) while in his base form.

Additionally, in a parallel timeline featured in a parallel quest in both games Ginyu is able to transform into a Super Saiyan while in Goku's body, which increases the bodies' power 50 times its base level making him strong enough to fight alongside his master Frieza in his 100% Final Form (it likely makes him even stronger than 100% Frieza, but Ginyu's loyalty likely prevents from usurping his master as he comes to Frieza's aid during the quest).

Techniques and Special Abilities

Flight – The ability to fly with the use of ki.
Ki Blast – The most basic form of energy wave.
Power Up - Ginyu is among the few members of Frieza's army capable of increasing his power by powering up. Ginyu is also capable of lower his power level as he tells Goku that he too is capable of changing his battle strength at will. Ginyu can also use this ability while inside Goku and Tagoma's bodies, though he was unable to access Goku's 180,000 power level as he lacked Goku's knowledge of the Kaio-ken and thus was only capable of raising it to 23,000. However due to Tagoma being a member of Frieza's army who had trained with Frieza himself, Ginyu was able to use Tagoma's power to its fullest thanks to his knowledge of this ability (his understanding of which may have improved during his time on Earth as a frog as he was potentially able to learn more about it by spying Goku and his friends over the years).
Body Change – Ginyu's special ability to switch bodies.
- Body Change Special – Used in the Nintendo DS game Dragon Ball Z: Supersonic Warriors 2.
Cracker Formation – A team attack with Frieza. Used in Supersonic Warriors 2.
Crusher Ball – Jeice's signature technique. Captain Ginyu uses it in the video game Dragon Ball Z: Supersonic Warriors.
Eraser Cannon – Recoome's signature technique. Captain Ginyu uses it in Supersonic Warriors.
Exploding Wave – One of Ginyu's techniques in Dragon Ball Z II: Gekishin Freeza and Dragon Ball Z: Buyū Retsuden. He can also use it if he takes Goku's body in Dragon Ball Z: Legend of the Super Saiyan.
Full-Nelson – A hold he performed on Goku. Ginyu broke the hold because he was able to place it only due to Jeice's intervention.
Full Power Energy Ball – Ginyu's Blast Spark in the video game Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Z.

Galaxy Dynamite – A barrage of energy blasts. Also known as Parmesan Shower.
Ginyu Force Special Combo – A rush attack in Xenoverse 2.
Ginyu Special – A High Speed Rush used in the Budokai series.
Ginyu Strike – Ginyu punches the opponent up in the air, and then he punches him more in mid-air and elbows him down again. Used in the Budokai series.
- Meteo Ginyu Strike – Ginyu's meteor attack in Dragon Ball Z: Ultimate Battle 22.
Ginyu Storm – A team attack that is Captain Ginyu's Ultimate Attack in Supersonic Warriors 2.
Got You! – A physical technique he used against Goku. Named Dynamite Punch in Dragon Ball Z: Legendary Super Warriors.
Milky Cannon – A Ki Blast of focused energy. In addition to the regular Milky Cannon, Ginyu uses a variation called Painful Awakening in the Butōden series.
- Triple Milky Cannon – A variation of the Milky Cannon that is Captain Ginyu's ultimate attack in Dragon Ball Z: Burst Limit.
- Dynamite Pressure – A variation of the Milky Cannon used by Ginyu while he is in Goku's body.
Finger Beam - In Dragon Ball Z: Extreme Butōden, Ginyu can fire a finger beam at the end of his Super Combo.
- Visionary Attack – A finger beam barrage which Ginyu used against Goku. Named in the Dragon Ball Z Collectible Card Game.
Processed Power Crush – A jumping streak kick attack used in the Butōden series. In the Budokai series, Ginyu kicks the opponent up in the air, then he punches and kicks them down again, and finally Ginyu kicks his opponent in the back when he is down.
Strong Jersey – Ginyu charges the opponent at blinding speed with his elbow. Used in the Butōden series and the Budokai series.
Ginyu Smash – Ginyu created an energy sphere in front of him from his two hands joined together, then he slams the sphere with his open hands or a kick, hurling the it towards the opponent. It is one of his super attacks in Dragon Ball Z: Buyū Retsuden.
Self-Harm – Ginyu generally uses this technique before performing the Body Change. It is one of his Blast 1 in the Budokai Tenkaichi series. It is called Holstein Shock in Dragon Ball: Xenoverse.
Sway Rush - Signature attack in the Raging Blast Series.
Fighting Poses:
- Special Fighting Pose 1 – One of Ginyu's fighting poses named in the Budokai series. This fighting pose is also one of Ginyu's Blast 1 in the Budokai Tenkaichi series, renamed SP Fighting Pose 5.
- Special Fighting Pose 2 – One of Ginyu's fighting poses named in the Budokai series.
- Ginyu Fighting Pose: Body – One of Ginyu's fighting poses named in the Raging Blast games.
- Ginyu Fighting Pose: Heart – One of Ginyu's fighting poses, named in the Raging Blast series. In Supersonic Warriors 2, this pose is named Special Pose and lowers the energy of Ginyu's opponent by 25%.
- Ginyu Fighting Pose: Technique – One of Ginyu's fighting poses named in the Raging Blast series. It starts with the Special Fighting Pose 2 and is finished with the Special Fighting Pose 1.
- Ginyu Fighting Pose – Ginyu poses and swaps his health and ki around. Used in Battle of Z.
- Revival Special Fighting Pose – A special fighting pose created by Ginyu to commemorate his revival, used in Tagoma's body while talking to Frieza.
- Together We Are The... Ginyu Force! - The Ginyu Force's signature team fighting pose which Captain Ginyu is quite fond and proud of. Performed by Ginyu and the rest of the Ginyu Force upon arriving on Namek.
Telekinesis – Used to transport the Namekian Dragon Balls to Frieza's spaceship.
Body of Steel – Thanks to taking over Tagoma's body, Ginyu gained his Body of Steel. Thanks to this he became practically impervious to attacks from people of the same power level as him or lower.
Kamehameha – Used by Ginyu (in Goku's body) to defeat Goku (in Vegeta's body) in Dragon Ball: Xenoverse.
Acid – Mega Ginyu Frog spits acid as his primary form of attack in Dragon Ball Online.
Namekian Frogs – Mega Ginyu Frog can summon other types of Namekian Frogs to aid him in battle in Dragon Ball Online.
Ki Sense - While in Bulma's body in the anime Ginyu is shown to be able to sense ki despite the fact that Bulma herself is not a fighter and can't normally sense ki (presumably from his battle with Krillin and Gohan, Ginyu realized that Earthlings like Bulma where capable of sensing Ki and somehow managed to learn how to do so while in Bulma's body and was unable to do it while in Goku's body presumably due to being unaware that Saiyans could learn to sense ki as well).

Evil Energy power up – Ginyu is given the evil energy power up by Towa in Dragon Ball Xenoverse. When using the power up, Ginyu's eyes glow red, his skin darkens, he gains a purple and black aura temporarily, causing his power to increase.
Super Leader - One of Ginyu's skills in Dragon Ball Fusions. Causes teammates to take little less time to act.
Mood Maker - One of Ginyu's skills in Dragon Ball Fusions. Causes Team Ki Orbs +1 by order.
Monster Throw - A throwing technique used by Ginyu as one of his Special Moves in Dragon Ball Fusions.
Happy Dance - Captain Ginyu's dance of happiness which he performed for Frieza after all the Namekian Dragon Balls had been collected. Was named in Dragon Ball Fusions where it appears as one of Ginyu's Special Moves that Hustles one ally.
Fusion - Ginyu can use two types of Fusion in Dragon Ball Fusions.
- 5-Way Fusion - Ginyu and the rest of the Ginyu Force develop 5-Way Fusion which they teach to Tekka and their team (consisting of Pan, Goten, Kid Trunks, and Kid Goku) which allows five people to fuse. Outside of the main story, the Ginyu Force can perform Five-Way fusion to create an Male Alien Ultra Fusion (as all Ginyu Force members are classified as Aliens in Dragon Ball Fusions).
- EX-Fusion - By wearing a Metamo-Ring and performing the Fusion Dance Ginyu can fuse with Frieza to create Ginyuza or with Great Saiyaman to create Ginyuman in Dragon Ball Fusions.

Equipment

Scouter - Like most of Frieza's henchman, Ginyu uses a Scouter to detect and read power levels. However unlike his fellow Ginyu Force members and most members of Frieza's army, Ginyu is aware that certain fighters and beings (like himself) can conceal their true power or increase it at will via Power Up and thus is not surprised by Goku's power like Jeice and the others, as he realizes that Goku was capable of controlling his ki in this manner. Ginyu's Scouter is a newer model with a green lens used by most of the Ginyu Force (save for Guldo due to the shape of his head) and is capable of reading a Power Level as high as Goku's 180,000. Ginyu handed his Scouter to Jeice before switching bodies with Goku, so Jeice could return it to him after the swap. His scouter was eventually knocked off while fighting with Krillin and Gohan.
Battle Armor - Like Burter and Jeice, Ginyu wears the black version of the Ginyu Force's Battle Armor known as Battle Suit (Ginyu Force Black) in the Xenoverse series. While in Tagoma's Body, he wears the Newer model battle armor worn by Tagoma.
Metamo-Ring - A device invented by the Capsule Corporation in the Timespace Rift which allows two people wearing one to perform EX-Fusion by performing the Fusion Dance. Used by Ginyu to fuse with Frieza or Great Saiyaman in Dragon Ball Fusions.

Forms

Goku's body

The form Ginyu takes when he changes bodies with Goku. He does have some differences from the usual Goku in this state, such as more menacing eyes and a green scouter.

This form of Ginyu is playable in several video games and is called Captain Ginyu Transformed in the Dragon Ball Z Collectible Card Game. In Dragon Ball Z: Ultimate Tenkaichi, the form is known as Goku's Body.

In Xenoverse and Xenoverse 2, Ginyu can use Goku's Super Saiyan form while in Goku's Body as a enemy NPC during a Parallel Quest. Through Towa's Dark Magic, Ginyu is capable of accessing the full power of Goku's body using the Villainous Mode power up.

Namekian Frog's body

When trying to steal Vegeta's body during the battle on Namek, Goku throws a Namekian Frog in the way, causing Ginyu to become trapped in its body. In this state Ginyu is referred to as "Ginyu Frog". He remains in this body for years, until Frieza's revival and return to Earth, at which point he takes advantage of the situation at hand and switches bodies with Tagoma using a variation of his Body Change technique that allows him to change bodies without speaking.

Bulma's body

In anime Filler, the Ginyu Frog manages to briefly switch bodies with Bulma after she fits him with a Universal Translator. In her body, he pretends to be her and watches the battle between Frieza and Goku with Gohan, Krillin, and Piccolo. Eventually Gohan realizes the switch after talking to Bulma in Ginyu's Frog body. His deception exposed Ginyu and the captain tries to steal Piccolo's stronger body, but Gohan throws the Bulma Frog in front of Piccolo causing Bulma to return to her original body and Ginyu back to a frog. Though limited in Bulma's body, Ginyu can sense ki naturally without the aid of a Scouter and retains his ability to perform the Body Change.

Tagoma's body

During Frieza's revenge, Ginyu takes control of Tagoma's body, and then powers up even further thanks to having greater ki manipulation skills than Tagoma, allowing him to draw the body's power out much further. He was so strong he was able to take down Krillin, Piccolo, Roshi, Tien and Gohan in quick succession. However, when Gohan turned Super Saiyan he was beaten down quickly, although he retained no lasting wounds or damage and wanted to resume the battle after he got back up.

Other forms

Mega Ginyu Frog

In Dragon Ball Online when Frog Ginyu is transformed into a giant Time Breaker by Towa he is named Mega Ginyu Frog. Mega Ginyu Frog is far larger and stronger than frog Ginyu, and is also capable of spitting acid and summoning other Namekian Frogs.

Vegeta's body

In the altered timeline in Dragon Ball: Xenoverse, Ginyu takes over Vegeta, becoming Venyu. He then leads his "Venyu Force" in an attack on the Z Fighters, before taking over Goku's body.

Ginyu first took this form in Super Gokuden: Kakusei-Hen, in a what if story but is killed by Freeza who mistook him for Vegeta. This form appears as one of Ginyu's playable forms in Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2.

However it's also one of Ginyu's potential body switches in Gekishin Frieza along with Chiaotzu, Tien, and Yamcha who are alive during the game's retelling of the Battle on Planet Namek.

Future Warrior's body

In Xenoverse, Ginyu inadvertently switches bodies with the Future Warrior, when Jeice accidentally knocks them into the path of the Body Change. While in the Future Warrior's body Ginyu will have any of their equipped custom skills and transformations. The Future Warriors's body can be the body of either a Saiyan, Human, Majin, Namekian, or Frieza's Race. Additionally the body may also be a Female Saiyan, Female Human, or Female Majin.

Xeno Trunks' body

In Xenoverse 2, during the Battle on Planet Namek in the altered timeline of Age 762 created by the Time Breakers and their allies Turles and Slug, Xeno Trunks tracks Ginyu in an attempt to locate Towa, he falls into a trap and has his body switched with Ginyu's. In this form he faces Goku, Xeno Trunks and the second Future Warrior, however he is defeated and tricked into switching with Xeno Trunks again. Outside of the main story, this form appears as one of Ginyu's playable forms in Xenoverse 2.

Super Saiyan

In Xenoverse, Parallel Quest 18: "Return of the Ginyu Force!" Ginyu steals Goku's body after the Ginyu Force (backed by Frieza) invade Earth, gaining access to Goku's Super Saiyan form. During the battle with Ginyu in Goku's body, Ginyu transforms into a Super Saiyan. He can also use this form in Xenoverse 2, Parallel Quest 34: "Return of the Ginyu Force!".

Ginyu's ability to use the Super Saiyan form while in Goku's body is likely related to Goku Black's ability to use Super Saiyan form in the manga (because both Ginyu and Zamasu are able to use the Super Saiyan form after switching bodies with Goku who had already obtained said transformation). Theoretically, this would indicate that Ginyu would be capable of using Xeno Trunks' Super Saiyan form as he to already possessed the transformation, but was apparently unable to as he was likely unaware of Xeno Trunks' Saiyan heritage and ability to use the transformation.

Fusions

Ultra Fusion (Ginyu Force)

In Dragon Ball Fusions, the Ginyu Force developed the Five-Way Fusion technique which allows five people to fuse to create an Ultra Fusion. The resulting Ultra Fusion's appearance, race, gender, and voice depends upon who initiated the fusion.

Though the Ginyu Force does not perform it in the main story of Dragon Ball Fusions, they can outside of the main story. When initiated by either Ginyu or his teammates, the result is a male Alien Ultra Fusion.

Ginyuza

Ginyuza is the EX-Fusion of Ginyu and his master Frieza introduced in Dragon Ball Fusions.

Ginyuman

Ginyuman is the EX-Fusion of Ginyu and Great Saiyaman (Gohan's superhero alter-ego) introduced in Dragon Ball Fusions.

Video games

"How could the captain of the galaxy illustrious Ginyu Force be beaten?"

— Ultimate Tenkaichi

In the two Supersonic Warriors games, Ginyu manages to survive the conflict on Namek in his humanoid form and continues to Earth (alongside Frieza in the first game) in seek of Earth's Dragon Balls. There, he faces and defeats characters such as Krillin, Android 20, Android 18, Super Saiyan Goku, Super Saiyan Gohan, Piccolo, and even the Legendary Super Saiyan Broly. In Dragon Ball Z: Supersonic Warriors 2, when Ginyu faces an opponent stronger than him (like Super Saiyan Goku or Future Trunks), he uses the same trick Cui played on Vegeta on Namek, saying to his rival that either Frieza or Cooler are behind them and then escapes in order to keep looking after the Dragon Balls with the Dragon Radar he stole from Krillin. In both games, Ginyu's only wish from the Dragon Balls is to revive his deceased friends and to re-form the Ginyu Force. In the first game, his wish demolishes Frieza's desire for immortality by accident as Frieza gives Ginyu the first wish as a reward for Ginyu's hard work of collecting the balls, thinking the Earth's Dragon Balls grant three wishes like the Namekian Dragon Balls. In the second game, his wish to revive his "allies that were killed on Nameks" makes him revive Frieza, Zarbon and Dodoria alongside the Ginyu Force members.

In Frieza's story-mode in Dragon Ball Z: Supersonic Warriors, Ginyu appears in front of Frieza after Frieza's victory over Super Saiyan Goku on Namek. Frieza is shocked, as he thought Ginyu was dead. Ginyu excuses for failing in his mission of obtaining the Dragon Balls. Frieza is in a good mood after killing Goku and forgives him, and they both escape the dying Planet Namek just before the explosion. On Planet Frieza 79, Frieza gives Ginyu a chance of cleaning his reputation and they both make a journey to Earth for its Dragon Balls. They conquer the planet after killing the Z Fighters and destroying the populated areas on it. Frieza then renames Earth: "Planet Frieza #80". Ginyu finds the Dragon Radar on the West City ruins and starts to look after the balls. After finding four of them, he locates Dr. Gero's secret lab, where Android 20 is keeping the remaining balls in order to lure the two aliens in, believing he will be able to take down Frieza if he absorbs Ginyu's energy. Ginyu's scouter does not detect any person near the balls' location, so he goes in to look if it is a trap. While inside, he is attacked from behind and killed by Android 20. Frieza then meets Android 20 and says that, considering Android 20's mechanic way of powering up, Ginyu "never stood a chance".

In Dragon Ball: Xenoverse, Ginyu is playable in both his standard form and in Goku's Body, Goku in Ginyu's body is also fully playable. In an altered history of Age 762, Dark Ginyu steals Vegeta's body and attacks Goku with the rest Ginyu Force. While Goku is distracted by the other Ginyu force members, Dark Ginyu uses the Body Change to switch from Vegeta's body to Goku's body. Dark Ginyu then kills Goku in Vegeta's body with a Kamehameha. To avoid this altered history, Future Trunks sends the Future Warrior back to aid Goku, his father, Krillin, and Gohan. While the Future Warrior is fighting with Jeice, Dark Ginyu tries to steal Goku's body with a Body Change, but is accidentally swaps bodies with the Future Warrior when Jeice accidentally knocks the Warrior in the path of the Body Change. Dark Ginyu becomes angry at Jeice as there is a difference in the potential power between the Warrior and Goku, with Goku's being the greater of the two. Realizing their ally the Future Warrior and Dark Ginyu have switched bodies, Goku asks the Future Warrior to use Ginyu's body to infiltrate Frieza's spaceship to help Krillin and Gohan retrieve the Namekian Dragon Balls believing that Frieza's henchmen will mistake the Warrior for Captain Ginyu due to the Body Change. Under the orders of Future Trunks, the Warrior agrees to Goku request and leaves Goku alone face Ginyu in the Warrior's body. While fighting Goku alone in the Warrior's body Dark Ginyu is unable to switch bodies with Goku as he is aware of the technique thanks to Dark Ginyu's Body Change with Future Warrior. Eventually Dark Ginyu manages to escape Goku and flies to Frieza's spaceship only to find the Future Warrior, Gohan, and Krillin have successfully retrieved the Namekian Dragon Balls and placed them outside Frieza's ship. Still in the Warrior's body, Ginyu confronts the trio while a hidden Vegeta watches nearby, and Goku arrives in pursuit of Ginyu in the Warrior's body. In Ginyu's body the Future Warrior stands up to fight Ginyu in the Warrior's body in the hopes of getting their body back. Still in the Warrior's damaged body Ginyu tries steal Goku's body again unleashes another Body Change on Goku, but Future Trunks warns the Future Warrior of the body change in time for the Warrior to shield Goku and reverse the Body Change, causing the Future Warrior and Ginyu return to their original bodies. Back in his original body, Dark Ginyu has Guldo use Telekinesis to restrain Goku and performs another body change, successfully managing to steal Goku's Body. In Goku's body, Ginyu enters Villainous Mode and faces off against Goku in Ginyu's body and the Future Warrior, while Vegeta enters the fight facing off against Guldo. The following fight plays out pretty much as it did in the origin history, Vegeta knocks Goku's body down to the ground with a Sledgehammer attack and Ginyu tries to swap Goku's heavily damaged body for Vegeta's but Goku in Ginyu's body jumps in the way returning both to their original bodies. Then Ginyu tries again to steal Vegeta's body only for Goku to grab a nearby Namekian Frog and throw it in the way of the Body Change causing Ginyu to swap bodies with the frog instead of Vegeta. He appears as Dark Ginyu via Démigra's Dark Magic and obtains Villainous Mode after swapping bodies with Goku. In Parallel Quest 18: "Return of the Ginyu Force!", Ginyu manages to steal Goku's body when the Ginyu Force invades Earth. After all of the other Ginyu Force Members are defeated, Ginyu will appear in Goku's body. After taking a certain amount of damage he will cause Goku's body to transform into a Super Saiyan. Ginyu can only do this in the Parallel Quest and Ginyu's Super Saiyan Goku form is not playable. A much friendlier Captain Ginyu also appears in Toki Toki City to recruit potential new members of the Ginyu Force and the Future Warrior can apply resulting in Captain Ginyu becoming their Master and will teach the Warrior various Fighting Poses and techniques, ultimately teaching the Warrior his signature Body Change technique for successfully completing his Ginyu Force training regiment.

Captain Ginyu appears in the following games:

Dragon Ball Z II: Gekishin Freeza
Dragon Ball Z: Legend of the Super Saiyan
Dragon Ball Z: Super Gokuden: Kakusei-Hen
Dragon Ball Z

Dragon Ball Z: Goku Gekitōden
Dragon Ball Z: Gekitō Tenkaichi Budōkai
Dragon Ball Z: Buyū Retsuden
Dragon Ball Z: Ultimate Battle 22
Dragon Ball Z: The Legend
Dragon Ball Z: Legendary Super Warriors
Dragon Ball Z: The Legacy of Goku
Dragon Ball Z: Budokai
Dragon Ball Z: Budokai 2
Dragon Ball Z: Budokai 3
Dragon Ball Z: Sagas
Dragon Ball Z: Supersonic Warriors
Dragon Ball Z: Supersonic Warriors 2
Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi
Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 2

Dragon Ball Z TV game (Pinball mode)
Dragon Ball Z: Battle Taikan Kamehameha
Dragon Ball Z: Battle Taikan Kamehameha 2
Dragon Ball Z: Bakuretsu Impact
Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 3
Dragon Ball Z: W Bakuretsu Impact
Dragon Ball Z: Harukanaru Densetsu
Dragon Ball Z: Burst Limit
Dragon Ball Z: Infinite World
Dragon Ball Z: Dragon Battlers
Dragon Ball: Raging Blast
Dragon Ball Online
Dragon Ball: Raging Blast 2
Dragon Ball Z: Tenkaichi Tag Team
Dragon Ball Kai: Ultimate Butōden
Dragon Ball: Zenkai Battle Royale
Dragon Ball Heroes
Dragon Ball Z: Ultimate Tenkaichi
Dragon Ball Z For Kinect
Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Z
Dragon Ball: Xenoverse
Dragon Ball Z: Extreme Butoden
Dragon Ball Z: Dokkan Battle
Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2
Dragon Ball Fusions

Voice actors

Japanese: Hideyuki Hori (Dragon Ball Z), Katsuyuki Konishi (Dragon Ball Kai)
Ocean Group dub: Richard Newman
FUNimation dub: Dale D. Kelly (Original dub), Brice Armstrong (Video games and Remastered dub), R Bruce Elliot (Dragon Ball Z Kai, and video games from Dragon Ball: Raging Blast 2 onwards)
Latin American Spanish dub: César Soto, Octavio Rojas (DBZ Kai)
Portuguese dub: Henrique Feist, João Loy (Dragon Ball Super)
Italian dub: Marco Balzarotti
Brazilian Portuguese dub: Sergio Moreno
Polish dub: Jacek Czyż
Hebrew dub: Efron Etkin
Hungarian dub: Holl Nándor
Thai dub: Thanakrit Jenklongtham (Dragon Ball Z), Pattarawut Samutnavee (Dragon Ball Z Kai)

Battles

Dragon Ball Z

Captain Ginyu vs. Goku
Captain Ginyu (Goku's body) vs. Gohan and Krillin
Captain Ginyu (Goku's body) vs. Vegeta
Captain Ginyu (Bulma's body) vs. Krillin

Dragon Ball Super

Captain Ginyu (Tagoma's body) vs. Gohan, Piccolo, Krillin, Tien Shinhan, and Master Roshi
Captain Ginyu (Tagoma's body) vs. Gohan (Base/Super Saiyan)
Captain Ginyu (Tagoma's body) vs. Vegeta
Ginyu (illusion), Tambourine (illusion), King Piccolo (illusion), Vegeta (illusion), Nappa (illusion), Burter (illusion), Jeice (illusion), Recoome (illusion), Guldo (illusion), Frieza (Final Form) (illusion), Cell (Perfect Form) (illusion), Super Buu (illusion), Dabura (illusion), Raditz (illusion), Bulma (illusion), and Super Shenron (illusion) vs. Goku (Base/Super Saiyan/Super Saiyan 3/Super Saiyan Blue) and Krillin

Trivia

His name is a pun on gyūnyū (牛乳), the Japanese word for dairy milk.
Captain Ginyu's "Character Introduction" biography in the Budokai Tenkaichi video game series states that Ginyu has used the Body Change technique numerous times in his career, which suggests that his humanoid appearance in Dragon Ball Z is the result of a previous Body Change, rather than Ginyu's original body. However, Ginyu's appearance as a child and in the Other World in Dragon Ball GT after dying in the body of a Namekian Frog (in Dragon Ball Z) or Tagoma's body (Dragon Ball Super) is the form he had during first on-screen appearance. It may be possible, however, that this body was simply his preferred one, the one he had stayed in for the most time (even longer than the frog), or that he had switched back to his original one sometime before the battle on Namek, or that the artists/animators wanted to ensure he was recognized easily by the viewers.
In Chi-Chi's commentary in Budokai Tenkaichi 3, she notes that Ginyu appears to like comic book heroes. Indeed, he does often strike poses like a hero.
In most English dubs of Dragon Ball Z, each of Captain Ginyu's voice actors also served as series narrators: Dale Kelly was the first narrator in the FUNimation dub (until he was replaced by Kyle Hebert), and Brice Armstrong was the narrator of the Dragon Ball anime series. Of note, even though Ginyu and the narrator are not the same voice actor in the English dub of Dragon Ball Z Kai, that series' narrator, Doc Morgan, sounds strikingly similar to Richard Newman (Ginyu's Ocean dub voice actor).
In the Remastered Ginyu Saga, where Ginyu is voiced by Brice Armstrong, Dale Kelly's voice is still used whenever Ginyu powers up, possibly due to Armstrong's age (of note, Armstrong retired shortly after the Remastered versions).
Captain Ginyu's own voice actor is used regardless of the body he inhabits, even if this would be logically improbable/impossible due to differences in vocal chords (such as when in Bulma's body). This is true in both the original Japanese and the English dub.
- However this may be explained as a way to make it less confusing for the audience to realize which body Ginyu was in. It should be noted that this problem is only present in the anime and presumably he would have the same voice (save for his manner of speaking which may be different than side bodies' original inhabitant) as his current body in the manga (this however is unknown due to the manga's nature as a literary medium).
Ginyu's reaction for Jeice's report about the death of Guldo, Recoome and Burter differs in the English dubs: in the original Ocean dub, he shouts that "How could three of the most powerful warriors in the universe be defeated?!" and then has a flashback of each of them. However, in the FUNimation dub, he shouts "How could two of the of the most powerful warriors in the universe be defeated?!" and then has the same visual of them three; which could be because Goku did not defeat Guldo and Ginyu does specify "one man" defeating Recoome and Burter.
In Dragon Ball Z Kai, for the preview for "Surprise! Goku is Ginyu and Ginyu is Goku?!", Ginyu breaks the Fourth Wall by saying that he is taking charge and comments on changing the series name to "Ginyu Force Kai".
In the scene he appears as ghost in the Other World on Dragon Ball GT, Ginyu is drawn with white gloves (like most of Frieza's henchmen and Ginyu Force members), instead of the black & white arm-protectors he wears in his humanoid shell.
Captain Ginyu was the only member of the Ginyu Force to meet a Super Saiyan, and even fought Gohan in this form (although he was outmatched).
- Ironically, he is also the only member capable of using the transformation himself in the Xenoverse series while in Goku's body during a parallel quest.
Captain Ginyu is the last member of the Ginyu Force to be killed by Vegeta.
- He is also the only member of the Ginyu Force that did not die on Namek as he was killed by Kid Buu on Earth, and then in Tagoma's body by Vegeta in Dragon Ball Super.
Frog Ginyu begin alive in Dragon Ball Super is odd as he was killed when Kid Buu destroyed the Earth and Porunga only revived the good people killed during the Majin Buu conflict. One explanation is Porunga revived Ginyu by accident due to him being in the body of a frog or Frog Ginyu evil personality may have diminished over the years he lived on Earth as a frog to the point he was considered good enough by Porunga to be revived (and possibly due to Porunga being aware that Ginyu no longer posing a threat as a Frog), only for his evil nature to resurface once Ginyu realized Frieza had finally been revived as he had always hoped.
- However he is not the only evil person shown to have been revived in Dragon Ball Super as actor Barry Kahn is also shown to possess an evil heart (though it is possible that Barry became evil some point after the Majin Buu conflict as people can become evil over time) which allows the parasite Watagash (who grows stronger the more evil his host is) to transform while possessing Barry's body becoming powerful enough to defeat Gohan (as Great Saiyaman) in his base form. It is also not the only time that this wish was contradicted, as even in Dragon Ball Z, there was an example of person who was a villain who got revived in the form of Pit Bull Pete.

Captain Ginyu (Dragon Ball Series)

Personality

Biography

Background

Dragon Ball Z

Frieza Saga

Cell Saga

Majin Buu Saga

Dragon Ball Super

Resurrection ‘F’ Saga

"Future" Trunks Saga

Dragon Ball GT

Super 17 Saga

Other Dragon Ball stories

Ultimate Tenkaichi Hero Mode

Online

Power

Manga and Anime

Statements by guidebooks and authors

Video Games

Techniques and Special Abilities

Equipment

Forms

Goku's body

Namekian Frog's body

Bulma's body

Tagoma's body

Other forms

Mega Ginyu Frog

Vegeta's body

Future Warrior's body

Xeno Trunks' body

Super Saiyan

Fusions

Ultra Fusion (Ginyu Force)

Ginyuza

Ginyuman

Video games

Voice actors

Battles

Dragon Ball Z

Dragon Ball Super

Trivia

Gallery

Fan Feed