Monaka
Beerus's Pretend ChampionCategory: Characters · Home
Monaka is the diminutive, large-nippled delivery driver whom Beerus presented to Goku as the strongest warrior he had ever faced. This elaborate deception was designed to motivate Goku's training by giving him a seemingly unreachable goal. In reality, Monaka is a gentle, physically unimposing alien whose sole contribution to the Universe 6 Tournament was being assigned as the fifth member of Universe 7's team despite having absolutely no combat ability whatsoever.
1 Overview
Monaka is arguably the most successful fraud in Universe 7 history. A humble delivery driver with zero combat training, he was recruited by Beerus to serve as a motivational prop for Goku's training. Beerus's plan was elegant in its simplicity: tell Goku that Monaka was the strongest warrior in the universe, watch Goku train obsessively to surpass this mythical rival, and use Monaka as a benchwarmer during the Universe 6 Tournament who would only enter the ring against a pre-weakened opponent.
The plan almost worked perfectly. When tournament twists forced Beerus to send Monaka against Hit — the legendary assassin who had just dismantled Vegeta — Hit, having developed respect for Goku during their battle, threw the fight. He dramatically collapsed from a single, comically weak Monaka punch, preserving the delivery driver's fraudulent reputation and giving Universe 7 the winning point. Goku, who genuinely believed Monaka was the strongest being in existence, was inspired to train even harder.
Monaka represents Dragon Ball's enduring commitment to absurdist comedy. Even amid gods, multiversal tournaments, and existence-threatening stakes, a delivery driver with prominent nipples can be the secret weapon that wins the day. His design — small, pink, bug-eyed — is classic Toriyama absurdism, and his role as the most influential fraud in the multiverse has made him a fan-favorite comedic character.
2 Basic Data
| Attribute | Details |
|---|---|
| Full Name | Monaka (surname unknown) |
| Species | Alien (race never identified) |
| Homeworld | Unknown (lives and works in Beerus's domain area) |
| Power Level | Approximately 5 — standard civilian level, no combat training |
| Occupation | Delivery driver (operates a modest spaceship for package delivery) |
| Affiliation | Universe 7 (drafted by Beerus) |
| Notable Achievement | Won the Universe 6 Tournament for Universe 7 (by technicality) |
| Character Design | Small pink alien, bug eyes, prominent nipples, simple clothing |
| Role in Story | Comedic relief / motivational prop / unintentional tournament MVP |
3 Ability Analysis
The Monaka Punch
Mechanism: A standard, untrained forward punch with no ki enhancement, no technique, and negligible force behind it. By Dragon Ball Super standards, this attack has approximately the same combat effectiveness as a gentle breeze.
Best Use: Against opponents who have agreed to deliberately lose. The Monaka Punch is only effective when the recipient chooses to be hit by it. Its true power lies in the theatrical performance — the exaggerated reaction from the target.
Common Mistake: Believing Monaka's punch had any real impact on Hit. The assassin's collapse was 100% voluntary. Hit was not damaged, not staggered, and not threatened. He simply decided to let Monaka win as a favor to Goku.
Package Delivery
Mechanism: Monaka operates a modest spaceship for his delivery business. He navigates interstellar routes with what appears to be basic piloting skills, managing a routine cargo delivery service across what is implied to be a localized area of space.
Best Use: Actual package delivery. Monaka is a competent and hardworking delivery driver who takes his job seriously. His professionalism in his actual occupation stands in comedic contrast to his fraudulent reputation as a warrior.
Common Mistake: Assuming Monaka's delivery job is just a comedic detail. It is central to his character — he represents the ordinary working person who gets swept up in extraordinary events through no fault of his own.
Motivational Presence
Mechanism: Monaka's existence alone motivates Goku to train harder. The belief that Monaka is the strongest being in the universe pushes Goku to break his limits, unlock new transformations, and constantly seek improvement.
Best Use: As a psychological tool wielded by Beerus. Whenever Goku slacks off or becomes complacent, Beerus mentions Monaka's incredible (fictional) training regimen, instantly rekindling Goku's competitive fire.
Common Mistake: Underestimating the effectiveness of the Monaka deception. Beerus's lie may be unethical, but it produced real results — Goku's training intensity increased dramatically, leading directly to new power breakthroughs.
4 Build Recommendations
The Comedy Relief Build
Abilities: Monaka Punch, Standard Walking, Spaceship Piloting, Nipple Distraction
Recommended Scenario: You need comic relief in an otherwise serious tournament arc. Monaka's mere presence on the roster creates tension (will he be exposed?) and comedy (the contrast between his reputation and reality).
Not Recommended: Any actual combat scenario. Monaka cannot fight. His power level of 5 makes him weaker than a normal human adult. Sending him into real combat would result in instant and catastrophic defeat.
The Motivational Tool Build
Abilities: Exist as a Benchmark, Be Mentioned by Beerus, Look Unassuming Yet Intimidating (to Goku)
Recommended Scenario: You need a Saiyan to train harder. Mentioning Monaka's name triggers Goku's competitive instincts more reliably than any training regimen. Beerus uses this constantly.
Not Recommended: Against anyone who has met Monaka or knows the truth. The deception only works as long as Goku remains ignorant. Vegeta, Whis, and Beerus are all in on the joke.
The Benchwarmer Build (Tournament Mode)
Abilities: Sit on Bench, Look Mysterious, Avoid Fighting at All Costs, Accept Victory by Default
Recommended Scenario: Tournament format where the opponent might throw the match. Monaka's only winning strategy is to never actually fight and hope circumstances deliver a victory through opponent forfeit or staged loss.
Not Recommended: Any format where actual fighting is required. If the opponent does not agree to lose, Monaka has zero win conditions.
5 Strategy Guide
Phase 1: The Deception Establishment (Pre-Tournament)
Beerus establishes Monaka's false reputation by speaking of him in reverent terms. He tells Goku that Monaka is the strongest warrior he has ever faced — a claim that carries weight coming from a God of Destruction. Goku, who has never met Monaka, accepts this at face value. The key to this phase is that Monaka himself does not need to do anything. He simply needs to exist and let Beerus's reputation sell the lie.
Phase 2: The Bench Strategy (Tournament Preliminary Rounds)
Beerus keeps Monaka on the bench throughout the tournament. The plan is to let the other Universe 7 fighters (Goku, Vegeta, Piccolo, Majin Buu) handle all the combat, saving Monaka for a theoretical final match against an already-weakened opponent. This phase relies entirely on the other fighters winning early rounds. Monaka's contribution is his absence from combat — as long as he stays on the bench, the deception remains intact.
Phase 3: The Hit Confrontation (Tournament Finale)
When circumstances force Monaka into the ring against Hit, the plan falls apart — but is saved by Hit's unexpected respect for Goku. Hit recognizes the situation: Goku believes in Monaka, and exposing the fraud would demoralize the Saiyan who gave Hit the best fight of his life. Hit stages an elaborate collapse, pretending that Monaka's punch has defeated him. This creates the funniest moment of the Universe 6 arc and establishes Monaka as the tournament's unintentional MVP.
6 Matchup Analysis
| Opponent | Difficulty | Strategy |
|---|---|---|
| Hit (staged fight) | Win (scripted) | Hit agreed to lose. Monaka threw a weak punch. Hit dramatically collapsed. This is the only victory condition available to Monaka. |
| Goku | Impossible | If Goku ever fought Monaka seriously, the fight would end before Monaka could blink. The power gap is incomprehensible. |
| Vegeta | Impossible | Vegeta knows Monaka is weak and would not waste a single second on the fight. One glare from Vegeta would likely cause Monaka to faint. |
| Beerus | Employer | Beerus is Monaka's patron, not opponent. Monaka's best strategy is to continue playing the role Beerus created for him. |
| Whis | Observer | Whis knows the truth and finds the whole situation amusing. He would never expose Monaka as it would ruin the comedy. |
| Average Civilian | Even | Against another civilian of equivalent power level, Monaka might have a fair fight. Neither party has combat training or ki abilities. |
| Farmer with Shotgun | Loses | The farmer from Raditz's arrival had a power level of 5 — the same as Monaka. The farmer was armed with a shotgun. Monaka has no weapons. Farmer wins. |
7 Expert Tips
Tip 1: Monaka's design is a deliberate callback to Toriyama's gag manga roots. His prominent nipples are not random — they are a visual joke about how absurd the concept of a "hidden super-warrior" truly is. The more serious the tournament stakes, the funnier Monaka becomes.
Tip 2: Beerus's deception reveals something important about Goku's psychology. Goku does not question Monaka's strength because he wants to believe there is always someone stronger to chase. The lie works because Goku needs it to be true.
Tip 3: Monaka's role parallels Tao Pai Pai's pillar riding gag. Both are absurd concepts presented with complete seriousness within the story's logic. Dragon Ball has always mixed comedy and action — Monaka is proof that this tradition continues into Super.
Tip 4: Hit's decision to throw the fight is a subtle character development moment. The cold-blooded assassin from Universe 6 performs an act of kindness and respect for Goku. Monaka is incidental to this character moment, but his role as the recipient makes it work comedically.
Tip 5: Monaka never appears again after the Universe 6 Tournament in Dragon Ball Super's anime, but his legacy persists. Beerus occasionally mentions him to motivate Goku, and the joke remains effective because Goku still believes. The best comedy leaves the audience wondering if the truth will ever come out.
Top 3 Common Mistakes
Mistake 1: Treating Monaka as a wasted character. Some fans argue Monaka should have been a real fighter. This misses the point. Monaka is a joke character in a series that has always been partly a comedy. Not every character needs to contribute to power scaling.
Mistake 2: Overanalyzing Monaka's power level. Fans who try to calculate Monaka's exact power level miss the joke entirely. His power level is whatever is funniest in context — usually "negligible." Applying Dragon Ball Z power scaling logic to a gag character defeats the purpose.
Mistake 3: Expecting Monaka to be revealed as secretly strong. Some fans theorized that Monaka might actually be hiding his true power. This would undermine the joke. Monaka is genuinely weak. His entire character rests on the comedy of a completely ordinary person being treated as a legendary warrior.
