Fortuneteller Baba
- "It's the unpredictable nature of this game that attracts me. That...and of course the money."
-"The Mysterious Fifth Man" Fortuneteller Baba is a fictional character in the Dragon Ball/Dragon Ball Z manga and anime series. She appears for the first time in the Commander Red Saga in a vision, as Goku was seeing the past, present, and future on Korin Tower. She appeared full-time in the Fortuneteller Baba Saga in Dragon Ball, and after that she shows up in anime fillers and rarely from time to time. Her seiyū is Junpei Takiguchi in the Japanese version of the anime series, Ellen Kennedy in Dragon Ball and in the first season of Dragon Ball Z, and is then voiced by Linda Young during the Majin Buu Saga and the Fortuneteller Baba Saga of Dragon Ball. Baba's name likely derives from Baba Yaga, a witch who appears in Slavic folklore.
Biography[]
This old witch that has been fortune-telling for more than 500 years. She is none other than Master Roshi's older sister, whom he bickers with. With her unique clairvoyant capabilities, she is able to see into the future using her Crystal Ball. She is more than happy to tell anyone what their future holds for them, although, the price is very costly at a payment up front of Ƶ10,000,000,000 zeni. However, the alternative way of gaining one's fortune is to defeat her five "other-worldly" martial arts experts. She has a knack for divination skills with her crystal ball, allowing her to see any place on Earth, or even look deep into the future. She can also travel to the "Other World" and back. In one anime filler of the Vegeta Saga, the television coverage of the Saiyan fight is interrupted while Fortuneteller Baba arrives there. (Upon her arrival she is greeted by a wave of stray bullets having been fired by an impulsive Chi-Chi, who was being restrained from going to the battlefield to take her son home.) Master Roshi, Bulma, Chi-Chi, Ox-King, Oolong, and Puar gather around her crystal ball to see how their friends and loved ones are faring, but her magical ball eventually phases out due to the large concentrations of energy. In another anime filler scene, she went to Goku's house to show Chi-Chi and the Ox-King the conclusion of the Cell Games on her crystal ball. During the fights with her martial experts in Dragon Ball, it is made known that she has the ability to grant special leave for the dead to return for approximately one day, which she uses to let Goku fight his own dead adoptive Grandpa Gohan. Later on in Dragon Ball Z She convinces King Yemma to allow Goku to return to Earth for a day to participate in the World Martial Arts Tournament and to meet his young son Goten. Later, from King Yemma's orders she has to lead Vegeta to the Earth to help in the fight against Super Buu. As she was in King Yemma's office when Kid Buu blew up the earth, she is one of the few characters not to die in Dragon Ball Z. She doesn't appear at all during Dragon Ball GT except at the end of the series when the dramatic flashback of the three Dragon Ball Series is shown as Goku is leaving the tournament 100 years later. This could possibly mean that there is a limit to her life expectancy. Or possibly she's still alive but just wasn't important enough to appear anymore.
Special abilities[]
Magic Materialism[]
This is the ability to bring out an object basically out of nowhere. Fortuneteller Baba is first seen doing this when she mysteriously pulled out a T-bone steak from her sleeves and dropped it into the Devil's Toilet, proving the cauldron's own ferocity. In the anime, she later uses this ability to pull out a mallet out of nowhere to hit the Ox-King on the head for being silly.
Osana[]
This is the art of fortune-telling and divination. Fortuneteller Baba rechants a phrase "Oh hoi, hoi, hoi, poi..." to see a vision or image in her magical crystal ball. She's used the ability mainly to help Goku if he happens to be in great need, such as finding a sealed Dragon Ball or the lost Bansho Fan (as well as project Gohan's fight against Cell, and the Z fighters fight against the Saiyans).
One-Day Revival[]
Through an unknown teleporting method, Fortuneteller Baba is allowed to make contracted deals with King Yemma and is therefore capable of bringing a deceased resident of the Other World back to the Living World, granting one full-day's worth of life-energy to the recipient. The first time it was apparent that she can do this was demonstrated in the Fortuneteller Baba Saga, wherein Grandpa Gohan is mysteriously "brought back to life" fighting Goku in the old witch's 5-man tournament. Following the Grandfather/Grandson battle and Grandpa Gohan's revelation to Goku, Fortuneteller Baba explains to everyone the notions about the Other World and that she can bring people back from the dead. This technique of Fortuneteller Baba's is brought back into the series much later, it is in the Majin Buu Saga where Goku relays a message that he's been granted permission to go back to Earth for Fortuneteller Baba's allowed full day; with all intents to compete in the 25th World Martial Arts Tournament and spend as much time with his family as he could. With the battle against Majin Buu beginning shortly after Goku's return, his time was sadly derived in battles with Babidi's monsters, Vegeta in his Majin Form, and eventually a stalling match with Majin Buu; where Goku was forced to utilize his Super Saiyan 3 transformation, severely shortening his life-energy and time on Earth. Some time later, following Super Buu's absorption of Super Saiyan 3 Gotenks and Piccolo, King Yemma persuaded Fortuneteller Baba to bring Vegeta back in a last resort ditch effort to stop Super Buu; Fortuneteller Baba loyally complied.
Baba using Fortune Telling
Hypnosis Technique[]
(Saimin no Jutsu) This is a technique that was used by Fortuneteller Baba in an anime filler to easily convince a cop by staring at his eyes making him let Konkichi speak with Goku about his bank-robbery innocence. It can be used to hypnotize and control the mind of the target. (Anime Only)
Telepathy[]
The ability to channel one's thoughts to another being. Fortuneteller Baba uses in an anime filler to read through Konkichi's mind to see why someone like him ended up being Gokū's brother. (Anime Only)
Trivia[]
- During Saiyan Saga when Master Roshi asks Baba about the future of planet Earth, she replies that the planet has no future. Maybe she was hinting towards future Trunks timeline as things would have been the same if future Trunks had not appeared in the present timeline.
- In the old Saban dub, when she appeared, she was referred to as "Bobo", not the proper Baba.