Chi-Chi

Lore & Background

Chi-Chi's story begins as an unnamed child fleeing a dinosaur, which she decapitated with a blade attached to her helmet. After meeting Goku, she made him promise to marry her when they grew up, though he mistakenly thought "marriage" was a type of food. They reunited during the Red Ribbon Army Saga and again at the 23rd Tenka'ichi Budôkai tournament, where Chi-Chi concealed her identity until Goku defeated her. Upon realizing his opponent was the girl from his childhood, Goku kept his promise. In Dragon Ball Z, her role shifted to that of a Kyōiku mama, strictly enforcing academic pursuits for Gohan and later Goten while discouraging fighting. She became a single mother after Goku sacrificed himself against Cell, raising both sons until Goten's birth shortly after the Cell Saga. During the Buu Saga, she was turned into an egg by Majin Buu after scolding him for killing Gohan, but was revived via wish. By Dragon Ball Super, she accepted her sons' fighting nature while nagging Goku to work, only to be killed alongside Future Goten by Goku Black in the Future Trunks timeline.

In Their Own Story

Chi-Chi's life is defined by specific turning points, starting with her childhood encounter where she smacked Goku for touching her crotch before believing he liked her. At the 23rd Tenka'ichi Budôkai, she fought Goku to enforce their marriage promise. In Dragon Ball Z, her strict parenting drove Gohan to become an academic scholar rather than a fighter initially. Her frustration peaked when she learned Videl lived with a rich family, instantly changing her mind about Videl dating Gohan. The emotional toll of the Buu Saga was severe; upon hearing Gohan's apparent death, she confronted Buu and was crushed after being turned into an egg. In Dragon Ball Super, the narrative took a dark turn in the Future Trunks arc where Future Chi-Chi and Future Goten were killed by Goku Black, causing Goku to fight aggressively out of vengeance. In the live-action film Dragonball Evolution, she appeared as a high-school classmate of Goku, engaging in a technical stunt sequence fighting an evil duplicate morphed from Mai.

Reader's Guide

Fans encountering Chi-Chi will find her voice history distinct across languages: Mayumi Shō voiced her until Dragon Ball Z episode 88, succeeded by Naoko Watanabe. In English dubs, Laura Bailey voices the child version while Cynthia Cranz handles the adult role in the Funimation dub; Andrea Libman and Laara Sadiq/Lisa Ann Beley cover her in the Ocean dub. Her name was localized as "Milk" in Hispanic-American Spanish due to slang connotations of the original name. In gaming, she is playable as a competitor from the 23rd Tenka'ichi Budôkai in Super Dragon Ball Z (2006) and appears as both child and adult versions in Dokkan Battle. While often an enemy or support character in titles like Dragon Ball: Origins and Kakarot (where she cooks meals), her portrayal in the anime is marked by a contrast between her innocent childhood and her later violent outbursts towards Goku, reflecting Akira Toriyama's own admitted disdain for the character in a 2003 interview where he stated he drew her marriage to Goku as a "punishment" because he didn't want to draw her anymore.

Did You Know?

• Chi-Chi's name was changed to "Milk" in Hispanic-American Spanish dubs because the original word is used as vulgar slang for female breasts or urine.
• Akira Toriyama admitted in a 2003 interview that he married Chi-Chi off to Goku as a form of self-punishment because he no longer wanted to draw her character.
• In Dragon Ball Daima, a mini version of Chi-Chi is voiced by Ai Kakuma, differing from the original voice actors Mayumi Shō and Naoko Watanabe.
• Chi-Chi's original swimsuit costume was based on a character named Pola from Toriyama's earlier manga series, Pola & Roid.
• In Dragonball Evolution, actress Jamie Chung spent three days filming a scene where she fought an evil duplicate of herself using CGI body replacement technology.