Dragon Ball 10 Things You Didn’t Know About Shin Universe 7’s Supreme Kai

The Supreme Kai of Universe 7, Shin is one of the most interesting characters in Dragon Ball.

Some anime can be flash in the pan successes that ultimately burn out and can’t sustain their fandom, but Akira Toriyama’s Dragon Ball is a rare case of the reverse. The scope of Dragon Ball’s storytelling and the strength of its characters continues to grow and change in exciting ways, especially when it comes to the series’ world-building.

Dragon Ball has slowly introduced various growing tiers of Gods and celestial beings, all of which have different levels of powers and responsibilities in the series. Most of these deities stay out of the spotlight until it’s absolutely necessary, but Universe 7’s Supreme Kai, Shin, has turned into an important player with a surprising amount of depth.

10 His Death Means Beerus Dies Too

Shin has decent physical strength, but he’s nowhere near the power of a God of Destruction. Beerus enters Dragon Ball with extreme confidence and there’s very little recourse on how to survive his attacks. An extremely curious detail that’s revealed about Gods of Destruction is that they’re inexorably linked to that universe’s respective Supreme Kai. This link of life essence exists in order to prevent the chaotic imbalance that would occur between destruction and creation if one of these figures passes away, but not the other. This means that the death of Shin correlates to Beerus’ death, and vice versa.

9 He Fuses Together With Kibito Into Kibito Kai

Fusion is a fascinating concept that Dragon Ball continues to experiment with in different ways. Shin decides to fuse together with Kibito via the Potara Earrings as a last ditch effort to become stronger and survive against Buu. The end result is Kibito Kai, who isn’t vital in battle, but still leads to a compelling development of Shin’s character. Shin remains Kibito Kai in Dragon Ball GT, but Dragon Ball Super turns to the Namekian Dragon Balls to reverse the effects of the Potara Earrings and returns Shin to his original state.

8 He Teaches Goku About The Super Saiyan 4 Transformation

Dragon Ball GT remains a polarizing installment in the franchise, but it deserves credit for the risks it takes and its attempts to push the lore to new places. One of the biggest differences between Dragon Ball GT and Dragon Ball Super is the former’s introduction of Super Saiyan 4.

Goku finds himself overwhelmed by Baby Vegeta’s attack, which is when Shin – as Kibito Kai – intervenes to help. Kibito Kai transports Goku to the Sacred World of the Kais, but also educates him on the basics of Super Saiyan 4 and how to accomplish this milestone.

7 He’s Responsible For The Death Of Bibidi

Dragon Ball Z’s Buu Saga features unprecedented obstacles for Goku and company, who are primarily represented from the various members of the Majin race. This corresponds to Buu’s many diverse forms, but there are also more powerful magic users that pull the strings to orchestrate Buu’s awakening. In the present, Earth contends with Babidi, but Shin actually took care of his father, Bibidi, back during his prime. Supreme Kai are often seen as benevolent beings, so Shin’s execution of Bibidi is a little jarring, but it was absolutely necessary.

6 He Has Advanced Healing Capabilities And Can Revive The Dead

Dragon Ball frequently prioritizes brute strength or powerful attacks that can vaporize entire planets, but the ability to heal others and reverse damage is often crucial in the series. Healing is most frequently represented through the help of the restorative Senzu beans or Namekian ingenuity, but Shin contains healing powers that go unrivaled. Shin is able to completely replenish someone’s energy to full capacity, even if they’re at death’s door. Shin can also make the ultimate sacrifice to help someone else by transferring his energy into a dead person as a way to revive them in exchange for his own death.

5 He Can Travel Through Time And Is Worthy Of The Time Ring

Goku and most of the heroes in Dragon Ball embrace a good challenge and they’re not the types to run away from battle. However, there have been many occasions where a swift exit isn’t just helpful, but necessary. Goku’s Instant Transmission is one of the fastest ways to zip through the galaxy, but Shin’s teleportation skills are even more intense.

Shin can teleport anywhere, without even needing to lock onto another energy source. Additionally, Shin wears a Time Ring, which allows him to freely move through the timeline for observation purposes.

4 He Has Pink Skin In The Manga, Not Purple

Dragon Ball’s anime is an extremely faithful adaptation of Akira Toriyama’s manga, but there are inevitably going to be differences between the two mediums. These differences can be represented in a larger storytelling capacity, or simply connect to more benign design details that aren’t even clear until color is added to the material. Sometimes colorization decisions differ between Dragon Ball’s anime and manga. Initially, Toriyama designs Shin to have a pink complexion in Dragon Ball’s manga, yet he has a purple tone in the anime. This pink design choice is consistent with Chronoa, the Supreme Kai of Time.

3 He Made His Debut As a Playable Character Back On The Super Nintendo

Popular anime series regularly receive video game adaptations, but Dragon Ball has been especially fortunate in this regard. Video games helped keep Dragon Ball alive for years when there wasn’t any new anime or manga content. The roster in Dragon Ball fighting games used to be quite insular and it’s only been more recently that fringe figures have received proper representation as playable. Surprisingly, Shin is one of the few playable characters in Dragon Ball Z: Super Butoden 3, all the way back on the Super Nintendo. Shin also makes the cut in the Sega Saturn's Shin Butoden and PlayStation's Ultimate Battle 22.

2 He Possesses Telepathy, Telekinesis, And Materialization Abilities

There is a standard set of techniques that the characters in Dragon Ball all know that reflect basic ki manipulation skills. Shin stands out when he first appears because he embodies a very different skillset and his powers are more reflective of deities and the forms of magic that they’re up against with the Majin. As strong as Goku is, he can’t make matter appear out of thin air. Shin has advanced telepathy and telekinesis skills, but he can also generate materials like Katchin – one of the heaviest metals in the universe – out of nothing.

1 He Has Experience Going Up Against Kid Buu

There’s a deep history full of intense evils that existed in Dragon Ball far before Goku was even born. The utility of deity figures like Shin is that they’ve been around for thousands of years, if not longer, and have experience going up previous generation’s dangers. Buu is such a notorious entity because he’s responsible for harm to many Supreme Kai, but Shin holds his own during the vicious attack. In Dragon Ball Z’s anime, Shin fights against Kid Buu after he absorbs the South Supreme Kai, via flashback. Alternatively, Dragon Ball Super’s manga also pits him up against Future Zamasu.