Towa is a demon who appeared in the Dragon Ball spin-offs. This ultra-powerful evil warrior quickly proved to be one of the most dangerous adversaries in the lore and certainly one of the most interesting additions to the expanded universe. From her place in Akira Toriyama's works to manga and the expanded universe, here's a look back at 8 facts you (maybe) don't know about Towa.
#10 Towa was created by Akira Toriyama (making of)
Towa is a formidable demon from the Demon Realm, a chaotic world opposite the known universe. The main antagonist of Dragon Ball Online, she continues her role in the Dragon Ball Xenoverse games, where her appearance and character have been preserved. Now, although Towa made her first appearance in the game Dragon Ball Online, her origin is closely linked to Akira Toriyama himself. Indeed, this MMORPG, originally conceived as a true sequel to the universe of Dragon Ball, benefited from the regular involvement of the creator of the saga. Toriyama not only supervised several narrative elements of the game, but he also designed new characters, including Towa. Moreover, in a recent interview, producer Masayuki Hirano confirmed that Towa's design was indeed created by Akira Toriyama, just like Cell's ultimate spider form (which we talked about here).
#9 Towa is the sister of a canon character (extended universe)
Tracing Towa's biography isn't necessarilysimple. Initially appearing in Dragon Ball Online, her character has been used in numerous spin-off games such as Xenoverse or Super Dragon Ball Heroes. Each of these works explores different facets of the same character, making her story difficult to follow. However, until the Dragon Ball Daima series reinvented the mythology of the demon universe, Towa's role was central to plots related to the Demon Realm and time manipulation. Thus, in Dragon Ball Online, Towa is first introduced as a demon who became a brilliant scientist, even capable of creating life from her experiments. It is then in Dragon Ball Xenoverse that we discover that she is in reality the formidable younger sister of the king of darkness, Dabra. Both from the Demon Realm, their family connection gives Towa legitimacy in her ambitions to unbalance the universe. Indeed, following Dabra's death, Towa took up her brother's mantle, seeking to break the seal of the Demon Realm to free her people and take revenge on the Saiyans and Majin Buu.
#8 Towa Made Her Husband (Expanded Universe)
Towa not only defied the established order of the Demon Realm, she also literally defied the natural order of the universe by creating her own husband. A brilliant scientist from the distant future, Towa conceived Mira in inspired by the technology and work of Dr. Gero. Thus, like Cell, Mira is a hybrid bio-android, a mix of human, demon, and Saiyan, designed to become the strongest being in the universe. The bond between Towa and Mira goes beyond science: they become partners and leaders of the Time Breakers (a group of demons created by the emperor of the Dark Demon Realm, Mechikabura). Later, Towa and Mira become the parents of Fu, who will become one of the most influential antagonists in the Dragon Ball Expanded Universe. Interestingly,just like Towa, Mira's design was imagined by Akira Toriyama himself, giving this duo true legitimacy in the author's lore.
#7 Towa Resurrected Dabra (Expanded Universe)
From the future of the Demon Realm, Towa seeks to free this sealed realm and eradicate Majin Buu and the Saiyans. To achieve this, she accumulates energy and ends up resurrecting her brother Dabra, or at least, an alternate version of him from another continuity, nicknamed Xeno Dabra. After his resurrection, this Xeno Dabra is much more powerful than before. He first appears as a silhouette of purple energy, at the end of the war between the Time Breakers and the Demon Realm army. As pleased as he is surprised by his return, Towa sees him intervene when she and Mira are in difficulty against the heroes. Once again proclaimed King of the Dark Realm, Dabra now protects his sister and brother-in-law. Together, the three demons confront the heroes at the place known as the Chaos Portal. Unfortunately for them, a Broly variant, escaped from Hell, attacks them, and the trio is defeated (although they mysteriously survive this devastating attack).
#6 Towa's son has become one of Goku's worst enemies (extended universe)
Fu is the result of a forbidden experiment: an artificial being born from the union of Towa, a brilliant demonic scientist, and Mira, the ultimate bio-android. Designed from the cells of the universe's most powerful warriors, including Goku, Fu inherited not only formidable power, but also a scientific and manipulative mind. From childhood, he showed a fascination with time travel and distortions, which he used for his "experiments".
Curious, unpredictable, and overpowered, he embodies a new form of enemy in the saga. While he begins as a potential ally in Xenoverse 2, Fu quickly becomes one of the central antagonists of Super Dragon Ball Heroes. Creator of the Prison Planet and the plan to recreate the universe (which we discuss in detail here), he does not hesitate to manipulate Goku, Vegeta, and Trunks to fuel his experiments. Having become the Dark King, Fu threatens the balance of the entire multiverse. From then on, he became a recurring enemy, present in many stories, much more dangerous and unpredictable than many enemies in the canon lore of the saga.
#5 Towa is the crush of many heroes (extended universe)
With her slender figure, bluish skin, purple eyes, and white hair, Towa never goes unnoticed. Her seductive appearance, accentuated by a tight-fitting red and black outfit with a design that leaves little to the imagination, clearly seduces more than one character in the lore. So, even though she's a villain, many heroes succumb (at least a little) to her charms. Even the ancient and serious Old Kaiō Shin mentions her beauty in Xenoverse, though he remains discreet when he finally meets her. In Dragon Ball Fusions, Goten and Trunks, still children, find her "incredibly beautiful," much to Pan's dismay, who considers their reactions a bit too enthusiastic. As for Future Trunks, initially unaware that she is a dangerous enemy, he simply seems to have genuinely fallen in love with her.
#4 Towa created a being similar to Majin Buu (Expanded Universe)
In the Dragon Ball Heroes universe, Towa, the demonic scientist of the Demon Realm, created Fin, a very powerful artificial being, reminiscent of the legendary Majin Buu. Like Kid Buu, Fin possesses an unpredictable, violent, and almost uncontrollable nature, embodying pure demonic energy. He is designed from the DNA of many warriors, notably thanks to Mira, and can absorb his opponents to increase his power, achieving forms like "Dark Gogeta," which allows him to access a form similar to Super Saiyan 4 (which we discuss in detail here). Fin fights against the heroes using his demonic abilities, notably in the saga of Dark King Mechikabura, which we discover in the spin-off Super Dragon Ball Heroes. Like Majin Buu, he is a formidable opponent, both savage and endowed with immense destructive force.
#3 Towa inaugurates the cycle of demon transformations (extended universe)
In the universe of Dragon Ball, transformations are one of the most well-known gimmicks, but not all populations can transform. In Akira Toriyama's canon, before Dragon Ball Daima, demons never transform. However, in the expanded universe, it was discovered long before Daima that demons could indeed evolve through successive transformations. The first to inaugurate this cycle is Towa. She reaches several stages that increase her power tenfold. Her first form is "Ankoku Towa" (Dark Towa), followed by three other forms called Majin, each more powerful than the previous one, notably revealed in Super Dragon Ball Heroes. These four evolutions make her stronger than her brother Xeno Dabra, who only has two Majin forms.
#2 Towa is the origin of the most powerful fusion ever seen (extended universe and canon)
In Dragon Ball Fusions, Towa is the origin of the creation of Karoly, a fusion between Goku and Broly (Dragon Ball Z movie version). Using her demonic magic, she takes control of Goku and Broly to force them to fuse, creating a warrior of unparalleled power. Surprisingly, Goku, as a Saiyan Beyond God, normally resists dark magic, but willingly accepts this control in order to fuse with Broly, a feat that would otherwise have been impossible. Karoly retains Goku's dominant personality, thus creating a fighter who is both powerful and pure-hearted. This fusion, which has become very popular, has even reappeared in the game Dokkan Battle and in the pages of Shonen Jump magazine, which officially acknowledges the potential existence of Karoly. The magazine also claims that he would surpass Vegetto and could rival gods of destruction such as Beerus, making him the most powerful fusion ever seen.
#1 Towa inspired a Dragon Ball character Daima (canon)
Towa seems to have had a lasting impact on the universe of the Dragon Ball franchise as well as its main author. Indeed, in Dragon Ball Daima,Akira Toriyama, who originally designed Towa, seems to have taken inspiration from his own character when designing Dr. Arinsu. This new antagonist shares many similarities with Towa. Both are demonic scientists, manipulative, ambitious, and involved in the creation of artificial Majins. They also surround themselves with more powerful male subordinates and have influential family ties in the Demon Realm. Even physically and in their behavior, the parallels are striking. Arinsu, like Towa before her, plays a crucial role in the development of the Demonic lore. This nod, a priori assumed, in what could be Toriyama's final contribution to the saga, shows to what extent the author sought to put certain elements of the extended universe back at the heart of his work: Towa of course, but also the world of demons or even the revisited origin of the Super Saiyan 4 transformation (as we explain here).
And to learn more about the extended Dragon Ball universe, check out our feature on Cumber, Li Shenron, Super Saiyan 4, and Baby.
0 Comments