Why does Tarble look so young?

[Bullza]

That doesn't really make any sense.

According to the timeline Planet Vegeta blew up in Age 737 and the JSAT special was set in Age 776.

Vegeta was born in Age 732 and is the older brother so Tarble should have been born sometime between Age 732 and 737 which would make him at the very least 39 years old.

And set somehow in the special you'd think he was more like a third of that age.

What gives? Bad design work?

[Super Vegetto]

Tarble is smaller than Vegeta, and he doesn't age like humans when it comes to physical appearance...

[Bullza]

Well no but he's at most 5 years younger than Vegeta yet doesn't look half as old.

[TheDevilsCorpse]

Pure Saiyans do not age or grow like humans at all. They have four major stages, with very minor instances of growth between them.

From baby to child: Toriyama shows us with Jaco that by age two, Goku is basically the same size we see him at at the start of the series.

Child to adult: Toriyama also mentions in Jaco that have a long period of adolescence to deceive those around them until they are ready to spurt into adulthood, with a body that is physically more suited for fighting. This happened to Goku some time between the ages of 15 and 18.

Adult to Elderly: In the Super Exciting Guide, Toriyama mentions that Saiyans stay in their prime for a very long time because they are a warrior race. Meaning that once they hit adulthood, they barely change physically (as noted by characters like Bluma and Chi Chi in the series, who get mad that they are getting older but their husbands don't change). The guide also mentions that once they reach a certain age, that prime period ends and their body will rapidly deteriorate into an elderly state. In DBO, Goku and Vegeta leave Earth in fear of this happening to them and go off into space to die a warrior's death. Vegeta is physically around 70, while Goku is close to 60.

Tarble specifically can be 37 at his youngest if you go by Toriyama's change of planet Vegeta's destruction being in AGE 739 in for the manga as of Jaco and Battle of Gods. He seems to have just gotten youthful genes that make his appearance especially desceptive, though it could perhaps be something to do with the living conditions on Gure's planet? Who knows.

Honestly, it's all to make him look like a runt that isn't good at fighting, but this is the in-universe section.

[Low Tone G]

The guide also mentions that once they reach a certain age, that prime period ends and their body will rapidly deteriorate into an elderly state.

Toriyama did not mention also that their natural life-span is longer than of humans itself? I mean after entering in 70's, their physical appearance shouldn't be changed that quickly, isn't it? I see it like their youth fading away very slowly and entering in elder state at age of 100+ if they don't die in a fight, and then they would look a like human at age of 50. As for natural death's age should be like 150 years. What do you think?

[TheDevilsCorpse]

Toriyama did not mention also that their natural life-span is longer than of humans itself? I mean after entering in 70's, their physical appearance shouldn't be changed that quickly, isn't it? I see it like their youth fading away very slowly and entering in elder state at age of 100+ if they don't die in a fight, and then they would look a like human at age of 50. As for natural death's age should be like 150 years. What do you think?

It has been mentioned that Saiyans live slightly longer than humans, but it has also been mentioned many times that the two species have a lifespan that is roughly the same. 150 isn't roughly the same as 100 to me when talking about age. If a human's lifespan is ~100, I'd say a Saiyan's is probably only like ~110.

As for their appearance changing when they start to get older, the Super Exciting guide outright says they "quickly deteriorate". Given how quickly they spurt into each other phases of growth (Goku going from baby to child within 2 years and from child to adult within 3), I'd say it's probably more similar to that than a human's more natural aging. (Heck there might even be two spurts in there. Maybe around 70 they go from being in prime condition to middle-aged, and then at like 90 they go from being middle-aged to elderly.) Though it's not like we actually know when this deterioration phase sets in. It may not actually kick in till 80 or 90, or perhaps it varies wildly from Saiyan to Saiyan based on luck of the genetic draw. ~70 is just the latest number we have to go on for me to put up there as an example because that's how old Vegeta was when he got paranoid and left the planet to die.

[Bullza]

You know I wish they'd just bring out a single huge encyclopaedia in English for Dragon Ball and all these extra details that just weren't brought up in the manga itself.

I only recently found out that Supreme Kai's were born from Golden Fruit and not long ago there was a interview explaining how Frieza and King Cold were the only strong people of their race.

[Low Tone G]

t has been mentioned that Saiyans live slightly longer than humans, but it has also been mentioned many times that the two species have a lifespan that is roughly the same.

In the Super Exciting Guide was mentioned the difference is slightly? Because in the interview Toriyama doesn't give a special explanation that the difference is slight or significant. I'm saying that because the Nameks' lifespan is way longer than of humans as Kami was more than 500 years old during the DB history...

But given that Goku's aging lilt had those fluctuations from childhood to adulthood, it's pretty acceptable that Saiyans grow old very quickly.

[TheDevilsCorpse]

It's never mentioned that they live "slightly" longer than humans, but as I said it is mentioned in multiple places that they have a very similar lifespan to that of an Earthling. Anything more than 10, maybe 15 years max, doesn't fit that description in my opinion. The only way 100 and 150 are similar are when you compare them to long-lived races like Namekians, but that's an external factor for comparison that doesn't seem relevant to bring up, as it's never mentioned in regard to the issue. The blurbs are only saying that A is similar to B, not that A is similar to B when you also compare them with C.

Daizenshu 4: World Guide
Growth
In order to win in battle, they have evolved to have a long youth, when physical strength is greatest. Their lifespan is about the same as that of an Earthling.

Super Exciting Guide
Saiyan aging
As a fighting race they stay young for a long time in order to maintain their power, but their actual lifespan isn’t much different than Earthlings, and they quickly deteriorate after a certain age. Saiyan hair style still changes with age, and Nappa went bald. Like with Earthlings, hair composition various from person to person.

[Low Tone G]

It's never mentioned that they live "slightly" longer than humans, but as I said it is mentioned in multiple places that they have a very similar lifespan to that of an Earthling. Anything more than 10, maybe 15 years max, doesn't fit that description in my opinion. The only way 100 and 150 are similar are when you compare them to long-lived races like Namekians, but that's an external factor for comparison that doesn't seem relevant to bring up, as it's never mentioned in regard to the issue. The blurbs are only saying that A is similar to B, not that A is similar to B when you also compare them with C.

Daizenshu 4: World Guide
Growth
In order to win in battle, they have evolved to have a long youth, when physical strength is greatest. Their lifespan is about the same as that of an Earthling.

Super Exciting Guide
Saiyan aging
As a fighting race they stay young for a long time in order to maintain their power, but their actual lifespan isn’t much different than Earthlings, and they quickly deteriorate after a certain age. Saiyan hair style still changes with age, and Nappa went bald. Like with Earthlings, hair composition various from person to person.

I see, THX!

[Tzigi]

My headcanon is that Gure's planet works as a reverse Room of Space and Time and so Tarble is really a teenager.

[Pantalones]

Well, there are real people who look far younger than would be normal for their age. I've seen people in their late 20s or even into the early/mid-30s who could pass for 18/19-year-olds easily, for example. Heck, I'm 27 and am regularly mistaken for someone 4 to 6 years younger.

And when you combine that with the fact that Saiyans age very slowly compared to humans anyway (with most if not all of them apparently staying in "runty kid mode" until they're in their late teens, and then even after growing into adults not visibly aging much if at all for most of the rest of their lives), it shouldn't be too surprising that a 30-something Saiyan can look like a teenager. Especially considering that short people tend to come across as younger anyway (unless there's obvious signs of age) and he's even shorter than Vegeta, who's already pretty short himself--I think 5'03"/5'04" or so if I'm remembering right? Plus, Table hasn't been training and fighting so he hasn't built up "battle scars" or bulked up his muscles like the other Saiyans have... and those are two more things that tend to make a character look older.

[Super Vegetto]

Jonney depp was 40 in this picture. Saiyan ?

[orbweaver]

Well no but he's at most 5 years younger than Vegeta yet doesn't look half as old.

Tarble spent most of his time on a peaceable planet (as long as I'm not confusing fanon with canon).

Vegeta has had a really hard life.

[Hellspawn28]

Tarble most likely born short which can explain why he looks so young. I guess Vegeta's mom was likely around the same size as well.

[orbweaver]

Tarble most likely born short which can explain why he looks so young. I guess Vegeta's mom was likely around the same size as well.

That has always been my headcanon with regard to Vegeta's height. A lot of fanfic authors and general fans like to assume there's a special reason he's such a short guy. Not me. After seeing Tarble, I've always assumed that it's a familial trait and Mom was probably a small woman.

[DBZGTKOSDH]

He is just short, like Kuririn.

[Toriyama-sama]

It's the twin paradox

[RandomGuy96]

He's probably just a dwarf.

Also, if you factor in the EU at least, King Vegeta was a huge man. Not like Piccolo-huge, but still quite tall. It makes me wonder why both of his kids were so short.

[RocktheDragon]

Tarble's appearance never really bugged me, personally. I just thought it was pretty normal for some siblings to be shorter than others...