Hellz Yeah: Toriyama!

プーアル / Pu’ar

From: DragonBall

Pu’ar is Yamcha’s shape-shifting companion.  He attended the Southern Transformation Kindergarten along with Oolong, who bullied him relentlessly.  Some years later, Pu’ar met Yamcha and the pair spent approximately 2 1/2 years in the desert at bandits, robbing anyone who crossed their path.  When Pu’ar and Yamcha met Bulma, Goku and Oolong, they followed them with intent to steal the DragonBalls but later become friends.

Pu’ar is a much more talented shape-shifter than Oolong.  While Pu’ar can change into a variety of shapes and hold the forms for as long as he wants, Oolong is limited to holding a transformation for only 5 minutes.  Despite his superior skills, Pu’ar is also unable to transform into consumable objects like fuel and food.

When Yamcha is stalking Goku to steal the DragonBalls, his skills come in handy when Pu’ar takes Goku’s tries to lure Bulma and Oolong out of their van.  Later, Pu’ar assumes the form of a pair of scissors that cuts off Goku’s tail when he accidentally transforms into a giant ape.

Pu’ar’s role in the series is mainly limited to defensive assistance and medical aid.  He transports Yamcha to hospital after his leg is broken at the 22nd World Martial Arts Tournament.  He also is seen using his transformation abilities to hinder or defeat weaker enemies.

Mr Popo owns a cat that looks similar to Pu’ar.  It appears in DragonBall episode 127.

Pu’ar is one of the few characters that survives the Androids’ attack on earth in Future Trunks’ timeline.  He is seen living in a submarine with Oolong, Master Roshi and Turtle.

In the 1990 Korean film adaption of DragonBall, Pu’ar was played by a plush toy and later, in DragonBall: The Magic Begins, a Chinese film, he is portrayed by a parrot called Miss Knowwhat, but still accompanies Yamcha (called Westwood in this adaption).

There is lots of debate regarding Pu’ar’s gender.  While he is voiced almost exclusively by females, Toriyama said that when drawing DragonBall, he imagined Pu’ar to be male.

A prototype to Pu’ar can be found in the Dragon Boy manga.  The character Binyao is a cat-like shapeshifter, but is closer to Oolong in personality, as he tries to trick the Princess into giving up her food.

Pu’ar is named for Pu-erh tea.  His companion, Yamcha’s name, literally means “To eat and drink tea”.

Pu’ar has a number of unusual names across various dubs, including Squeaker, Pool and Plume.

Pu’ar is voiced by Naoko Watanabe, who also voices Chi-Chi.  Watanabe also voiced Guu in Hare+Guu and Miyu in Vampire Princess Miyu.