Launch

Launch is a heroine of the manga and anime Dragon Ball and one of the standard secondary heroes of the series. Launch suffers from advanced schizophrenia which causes her to shift between a soft-spoken kind-hearted personality and a brash borderline sociopath personality, for unknown reasons the personality switches affect her hair color, with the kind-hearted Launch having black hair and the wild rogue having blonde hair. While kind Launch is certainly safer to have around she is a pacifist who can not bring herself to do harm to others, anarchist Launch though can and will annihilate anyone who tries to hurt Goku, Krillin or any other of her friends. Launch's brash personality is also a hardened criminal however her thefts are usually foiled by her kinder-side who returns the money, car etc., confused as to why she had them in the first place. Neither personality seems to acknowledge the other exists despite attempts to inform her of such.

Appearance

Launch's outfits change often, but almost all include a red ribbon in her hair. Launch's initial appearance consisted of a light green belly baring tank top, yellow shorts with a red belt, brown fingerless gloves and red shoes with the Nike signia worn with green socks. Launch's primary appearance changes during the General Blue Saga to a pink tank top and a black pair of pants with white knee pads. In the 22nd World Martial Arts Tournament, she wore a black shirt with green pants. In the King Piccolo Saga, she wore a purple sleeveless top with gray pants, a brown belt, and a brown sash. During the 23rd World Martial Arts Tournament, she wears a red dress with pink boots. Her bust measurement is 82 cm, her waist measurement is 57 cm, and her hip measurement is 83 cm.

Personalities

Good Launch

This version of Launch has blue hair and big, blue eyes. The innocent persona of Launch is pure of heart as she is quite capable of riding the Flying Nimbus with Goku in the anime. Her personality in her good form is similar to Bulma.

Launch is happy to carry out her work for Master Roshi, never realizing that he is constantly trying to grab, poke, rub, or catch a glimpse of her breasts, bottom, underwear, or bra. However, many of his schemes are foiled, if not by his own mistakes. When Launch's nose gets tickled and she sneezes, it causes her to change into her violent half. Launch has a very sensitive nose, that, when irritated by even the smallest things, can result in a sneeze. Her sneezes are often provoked by things such as pollen, pepper, dust, and other common irritants.

Bad Launch

In her bad form, Launch has blonde hair and thin, green eyes. Goku, Master Roshi, and Krillin are all deeply afraid of her bad side after she shoots them all with a machine gun. Afterwards, all of them run behind a boulder several meters away in fear, after being victims of her first assault, when it seemed like she would sneeze, and carefully observing her during dinner, ready to run away at the first sign of a sneeze. Somehow, she always appears to have a machine gun on her. Her personality in her bad form is tough, arrogant and serious.

Her transformations come in handy during the 22nd and 23rd World Martial Arts Tournaments, when she would clear the crowd and allow her friends to get up in front. Additionally, in the later episodes of the series, she seems to be more in control of her blonde form, whereas her earlier transformations in the series turn her into a berserk maniac with no control and no memory of any of the gang. In fact, later on in the story, she begins to control her blonde form completely and this is confirmed when she is shown to care greatly for Goku and the others, and even cries after Krillin's death, though she is still more aggressive than her other half.

Biography

Dragon Ball

Tournament Saga

Launch's blonde counterpart was the highest wanted criminal in Brown Country. One day, after turning into her blonde self when sneezing in a bar, she robs a train, getting the police to chase her. During the chase, she accidentally sneezes, bringing her back to her weak and innocent form. Launch is saved by the young martial artists Goku and Krillin, while they are on Master Roshi's order to find him a woman. Goku and Krillin think the police officers are just impersonators, and Goku knocks them unconscious while Krillin hides. Launch is brought then to Kame House, where she is introduced to the turtle hermit Master Roshi. She agrees to stay with them so she can train with them and lay low from the authorities finding her. Roshi gives Launch some clothes which he calls a "fighting uniform", but is actually lingerie. Then, just as they are about to begin, a bee comes and tickles Launch's nose, making her sneeze into her bad side. She does not like what she is wearing, and angrily shoots Master Roshi, Krillin, and Goku. While she is shooting them, she then sneezes again and apologizes for shooting at them, and explains that she changes personalities whenever she sneezes.

Once they moved to the Training Island, Launch decides to just cook and clean the house instead, since she does not like fighting. Two days after recovering from the poorly prepared puffer fish, Krillin and Master Roshi sleep in the living room while Goku and Launch sleep together in the same bed. In her good side, she sneezes while in her sleep. One morning, Launch (in her bad side) finds Goku in the same bed as her, and shoots at him. Pushing him too far, Goku fights back and knocks Launch out with a kick to the face. Another time, Launch is eating dinner with the gang when Krillin begins to put pepper on his food, causing Launch to sneeze. She shoots at them, causing them to run away. Launch spends the next eight months cooking for Goku, Krillin and Roshi as they prepared for the 21st World Martial Arts Tournament while at the three try to avoid Launch's angry blonde side. Launch stays at the house while the three go to the tournament.

Red Ribbon Army Saga

After the World Martial Tournament is over, Launch, Krillin and Roshi moves back to Roshi's island and Launch continues her duties of cooking and cleaning. When Goku and Bulma come to the get a submarine from Roshi. Roshi receives Bulma's Micro Band in exchange for his submarine and, once Goku, Bulma and Krillin leave in the submarine, Roshi into constantly bugs Launch into to taking a bath, so he can spy on her.

Soon, Launch's bad form comes out and takes command in Kame House, which then comes to an agreement to not shoot Roshi as long as he does what she says. One time, Master Roshi gives her some food, which tastes awful. She is about to shoot at him when Turtle, who came back from vacation recently, brings Launch back to her good form by rubbing her nose with a weed. After returning to her normal form, some Red Ribbon Army troops led by Captain Dark show up, demanding the Dragon Balls Goku had left behind. Roshi easily defeats them, but one threatens to shoot Launch if he does not give up. Turtle luckily turns Launch back to her bad form by once again by rubbing her nose with a weed, resulting in her beating the soldier herself. Later on, Launch joins Yamcha, Roshi, Bulma, Turtle and Krillin to go help Goku fight the Red Ribbon Army at their main base, but by the time they got there, all the troops were single handedly defeated by Goku.

Tien Shinhan Saga

After three years have passed and the 22nd World Martial Arts Tournament is approaching, the good Launch is going to stay behind at Kame House but she sneezes and her bad form decides to come along. While there, Roshi meets up with his old rival Master Shen, the crane hermit. While getting annoyed with him Launch tries shooting him with her machine gun, but Master Shen is able to catch all the bullets with his hand not hurting him. Next, Launch is able to get the crowd into the front row by shooting a gun up in the air, causing people to get scared and move. She cheers for her friends and sneezes at times, appearing either in her good side or bad side in the crowd.

Later on when Goku was matched against Pamput, Pamput's manager tricked Goku into leaving the arena so he would be disqualified for not showing to the match, but Launch who was getting ice cream at the time saw this and chased after the car on a motorcycle. Launch chased them into an alleyway, and then beat up his bodyguards and the manager, allowing Goku to get to the fight on time. During Goku and Krillin's fight, Launch urges her friends to get some backbone and pick a side, while she chooses to root for Krillin. However, after the match is over, she compliments both of their skills and joyously wants to go out to eat to celebrate. In the final match, Master Shen has Chiaotzu stun Goku so Tien Shinhan can easily beat him. Launch goes over and tries to smash Chiaotzu with a mallet, but the Crane Hermit interferes with his pinky and easily pushes Launch out of the way.

King Piccolo Saga

Launch is with the group when they find Krillin dead, and, even though she is in her bad form, she is just as sad as everyone else. After Goku raced off to find Krillin's killer, Master Roshi, upon seeing the symbol on a piece of paper nearby, tells the group of King Piccolo, Launch finds his name stupid. Later on, while group is still waiting for Goku to return, Launch is the one holding Krillin, she also tells Oolong that no one feels compassion for him right now. Eventually the group returns to Roshi's house. Launch, Bulma, Yamcha, Puar, and Oolong remain at the house, they even fight off three convicts who tried to burgle Kame House. Later on, Launch along with Bulma accompanies Yamcha in going off to fight King Piccolo. She claims that if King Piccolo hurts Tien, she'll make him pay by shooting at him with her gun, but just after she says that, she sneezes into her good side. When Goku defeats King Piccolo, Launch nurses Tien at the Kame House.

Piccolo Jr. Saga

Three years after Goku defeated King Piccolo, Launch attends the 23rd World Martial Arts Tournament with Master Roshi. There, they meet back up with everyone. When the gang has trouble seeing through the crowd, Bulma tickles Launch's nose with a plant, causing her to sneeze into her bad form. Launch then takes out a gun and starts shooting to make everyone move. With her friends, Launch spectates the fights in the tournament, cheering for her friends that are fighting, such as throughout matches between Tien vs. Mercenary Tao and Goku vs. Piccolo Jr., and she remains in her blonde state until the end of the tournament.

Dragon Ball Z

Saiyan Saga

Launch's first appearances in Dragon Ball Z are as her blonde self during the Vegeta Saga and apparently, she has stayed with Tien Shinhan and Chiaotzu since the end of Dragon Ball. Launch is shown in the Mushroom Forest, fleeing from the police on her S-Cargo after she robbed a bank to buy food for Tien Shinhan. She manages to blow up one of the chasing police cars with her Rocket Launcher and outruns the other one.[4] Later, she joins Tien and Chiaotzu, who are training by a waterfall, and screams Tien's name, bringing him out of his concentration. When all of a sudden there is an earthquake and the waterfall bursts which heads at Launch. Tien quickly intervenes and saves her, making her blush (while in bad form). After being saved, she sneezes into her good side and leaves. While leaving, she spots a bunch of flowers and plays in them, but eventually Launch ends up sneezing back into her bad form and finds Tien and Chiaotzu again.

When the two go to Kami's Lookout in order to train for the battle against the Saiyans, Launch is seen at the Sacred Land of Korin, rummaging Bora's tepee in order to find something that will help her climb Korin Tower and find Tien again, but Upa and Bora find her and they tell her to leave. She refuses and begins shooting at Upa with a gun, but Bora hits it away from her, and when she tries to get it back, she sneezes into her good side, frightening Upa and Bora. After Tien Shinhan is killed, she is seen in a bar drowning her sorrows and soon she feels the earthquake caused by the battle of Goku and Vegeta.