Launch (SuperTiencha)



Launch is Master Roshi's ticklish and attractive house maid, retrieved by the young Goku and Krillin in order to receive martial-arts training from him (his requirement was to "bring him a pretty girl"). She has dissociative identity disorder; whenever she sneezes, she switches between a attractive, sweet innocent girl with blue hair, and a very attractive woman who commits crimes for fun and is quick to respond with gunfire when angered (pulling a machine-gun out from nowhere when needed). Neither of Launch’s personalities remembers what the other says or does, and it is never said if the evil side knows of the innocent self (though during her debut, before Blonde Launch sneezes she pleads "Oh, no, not now!" as her hair continues to tickle ner nose); however, the innocent Launch is aware of her evil side (although she doesn't really seem very concerned over her presence). Goku, Master Roshi and Krillin are all deeply afraid of her evil side, all of them running behind a boulder several metres away in fear, after being victims of her first assault, when it seemed like she would sneeze.

Dragon Ball
As Goku and Krillin fly off on Flying Nimbus to find a "pretty girl" for Master Roshi, a blond-haired woman on a motorbike is being chased by the police; she had robbed a train and was fleeing with the money when they caught up. As she attempts to escape, a strand of her hair tickles her nose, causing her to sneeze and revert to her blue-haired form, quickly losing control of the bike and crashing. The officers close in on the confused girl (who has no memory of her other self's actions), and her terrified screams draw Goku and Krillin, who quickly beat up the "attackers" and bring the grateful girl to the Kame House, where she agreed to work for Master Roshi as his maid.

Launch is happy to carry out her work for Master Roshi, never realizing that the ancient pervert is constantly trying to grab, poke, rub or catch a glimpse of her breasts, panties, or bra. However, many of his schemes are foiled—if not by his own mistakes, then when Launch's nose gets tickled and she sneezes, causing her to change into her violent half. Launch has a very sensitive nose, that when irritated by even the smallest things, could result in a sneeze. She sneezes to such things as flowers, pepper, and dust, which are three things that only make people who are allergic to them sneeze.

Her transformations come in handy during the 22nd and 23rd World Martial Arts Tournament, when she would clear the crowd and allow her friends to get up in front.

Dragon Ball Z
Launch is often shown in the original Dragon Ball, and develops a crush on Tien, which continues into the early Dragon Ball Z episodes; however, as with other side characters, she eventually tapers off to nothingness as the storyline shifts focus to the Saiyans. She tries to have a relationship with Tien, but his constant training makes it fail. After the death of Tien, she became very depressed. After appearing in a haunting vision during the Frieza Saga, she wasn't shown again until much later. She reappears as her innocent self in the last episodes of DBZ to give her energy to Goku for his Ultimate Spirit Bomb. She seems to have aged somewhat and working as a truck driver. Although this did not occur in the manga by Akira Toriyama, it was one of the many filler stories written in the Goku Densetsu by Toriyama and his staff.

Launch's final appearance in the manga was actually during a filler scene in the Frieza Saga, the only instance where she appeared after the 23rd World Martial Arts Tournament. Such filler scenes were inserts to the chapters found in Weekly Shonen Jump 1991 #3 and #4. Since they were only gag-manga done at the request of the magazine, resulting in each author from those two issues contributing holiday-themed gag-manga inserts, they weren't considered canon and were never included in the Tankobon (compilation volume).

Other appearances
In "Goku's Traffic Safety", Goku is heading to West City to attend Bulma's birthday party, and on the way he ends up learning the rules for getting through traffic. The movie was for children to watch so it would teach them how to get across a pedestrian crossing. Guest characters include an appearance from Lunch as a policewoman, she had the personality of Normal Launch, but with the blonde hair.

In "Sleeping Princess in Devil's Castle", Launch (in her evil, blonde state) arrives to steal the Sleeping Princess -- which is really a giant jewel. Everyone is captured and encased in a wall of rock. It is the night of a full moon, and the moonlight is used to power the jewel. The moonlight also turns Goku into a Great Ape, and everyone escapes. Goku and Krillin return to Kame House with Launch, and Master Roshi takes them both on as students.

In "Mystical Adventure", Bulma, Oolong, Launch and Puar are looking for the Dragon Balls, so Bulma can wish for a boyfriend.

She doesn't appear at all in 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 World Martial Arts Tournament 100 years later.

In Dragon Ball Z: Budokai 3, Launch continues to appear until the end of the series, always looking for Tien. In addition to that she also sells capsules in the Skill Shop, switching between her good and evil side randomly.

Weapons and vehicles
Launch's arsenal is carried via Dynocapsules; this was revealed in the King Piccolo Saga, opening a capsule to use a pistol and a machine pistol to clear away a crowd so that Bulma and the others could get a better seat for the World Martial Arts Tournament. It is highly conceivable then, that Launch could have an entire arsenal of weaponry at her disposal, all within the size-reducing capsules. Here now is what was revealed to be in her possession.


 * Launch's Bazooka - The bazooka was an anti-tank weapon used by the United States Armed Forces in World War II. It was nicknamed "bazooka" from a vague resemblance to the musical instrument of the same name. Launch uses a bazooka to stop a train that she is about to rob, though it is only mentioned she robbed a train in the manga.
 * Launch's Machine Gun - Master Roshi gives Launch some lingerie to change into, and after she changes she sneezes. She quickly pulls out machine gun and fills the boys full of bullets for making her wear such a thing. This gun is also used during the saloon scene at the beginning of the episode 15, appearing much sooner in the anime than it does in the manga.
 * Launch's Shotgun - This is a short barreled pump-action shotgun that Launch tries to use against the police that are chasing her. Fortunately she doesn't get the chance to use it, as she sneezes just before she is about to shoot.
 * One-Wheeled Bike - Launch is seen driving the "S-Cargo" one-wheeled bike as she's being chased by the police after robbing a bank. The name itself is a pun, with "escargot" being the French word for "snail". The bike's design actually resembles a snail.