Dragon Ball: Katchin, Explained

Summary

• Katchin, the strongest metal in Universe 7, has limited appearances in Dragon Ball series.
• Katchin may be related to Glinds, as it is used by the Supreme Kais.
• A stronger version of the metal, Kachi Katchin, was used for the Tournament of Power arena.

While Marvel has vibranium and DC has the tenth metal, Dragon Ball has Katchin. Also known as Katchintite (depending on which version of the sub or dub you’re watching), Katchin is the strongest metal in Dragon Ball‘s Universe 7. Despite being so special though, most of the Z Fighters don’t really use weapons when fighting, so Katchin has only ever come up a handful of times throughout the series. The element was first introduced in Dragon Ball Z episode 250, “Out from the Broken Sword”, where Shin materialized a large block of Katchin to test out Gohan and the Z Sword. The Katchin block was strong enough to snap the Z Sword in two, even when wielded by a powerful Saiyan like Gohan.

Katchin’s second appearance is manga-only in Dragon Ball Super chapter 16, “Future Trunks’ Past”, where future Shin summons a Katchin block to train future Trunks in preparation for the coming of Babidi. However, their training was disrupted, and the Katchin block was left unused. The third appearance of Katchin is also exclusive to the manga in Dragon Ball Super chapter 23, “The Potara’s True Worth”, where Fused Zamasu was shown to also have the power to summon Katchin Blocks. He tossed the blocks offensively in his battle with Goku, and eventually, Vegito. Katchin is also shown in a couple of episodes in Dragon Ball Daima because Dr. Arinsu uses them as tracking devices in the form of collars and forces the citizens of the Third Demon World to wear them. Since Katchin seems to have a connection to the Glinds, it might make more appearances in Daima in the future. Katchintite also makes a couple more appearances in some of the Dragon Ball video games, usually acting as a tough barrier.

What Is Katchin?

If It’s So Strong, Can It Beat Goku?

Simply put, Katchin is the sturdiest metal in Universe 7, the universe in which Goku and the rest of the Z Fighters reside. Visually speaking, Katchin is commonly depicted as a dark gray or black metal, usually in the form of smooth cubes roughly 3 meters on all sides. In Dragon Ball Daima, the Katchin collars on the Demon Realm civilians are colored red, but it’s unknown if they have been painted over or if the process of creating the collars somehow changes the metal’s hue.

“This is Katchin, said to be the hardest metal in the universe.” Supreme Kai Shin to Goku

It is unknown where Katchin is mined from, so it might be super rare or super common for all anyone knows right now. Some of the games show Katchin present on Earth, but the Dragon Ball games aren’t canon to the anime or manga, so take that with a grain of salt.

Fun fact: The word Katchin is derived from the Japanese onomatopoeia produced when two swords strike each other. Additionally, the Japanese word for the metal is also pronounced “Katchinko”, which literally translates to “Katchin Steel”.

Kachi Katchin

The element used to construct the Tournament of Power arena is an even stronger version of Katchin known as Kachi Katchin. While Katchin is the strongest element in Universe 7, Kachi Katchin is the strongest in the entire multiverse, according to the Grand Priest himself.

A little side note: The element used to construct the Tournament of Power arena is called Kachi Katchin only in the Dragon Ball Super anime. The manga never specified what element they used, so as of the making of this article, Kachi Katchin might be an anime-only thing.

Is Katchin Indestructible?

The long and short of it is no, Katchin is not indestructible. As mentioned above, there is a stronger version of Katchin called Kachi Katchin, which was used for the Tournament of Power arena. If you watched Dragon Ball Super‘s Tournament of Power arc, you’ll remember that the arena gets absolutely demolished throughout the tournament. The arena also got wrecked during the pre-tournament test match between the Gods of Destruction Iwan, Liquiir, and Arak. Additionally, Shin can break the Katchin collars made by Dr. Arinsu. It should be noted however, that he used a magic spell to break it, rather than brute force.

Glinds Have Some Control over Katchin

They Can Summon and Sometimes Break It

Glinds, the race from which all the Kais and Supreme Kais are chosen, seem to have a natural ability for using Katchin. Universe 7’s Supreme Kai Shin and Universe 10’s Zamasu have shown the ability to summon Katchin blocks at will. It’s unknown if they are creating these blocks out of thin air or simply teleporting them from some unknown location. Dr. Arinsu, the person who made the Demon Realm Katchin collars, is also a Glind and is Shin’s “sister”, meaning they were born from the same tree. Another example of Glinds and Katchin being connected somehow is Shin displaying a magic spell that can break Dr. Arinsu’s Katchin collars.

While the Glinds seem naturally gifted at using Katchin, the power to do so might not be exclusive to their race. Shin mentioned in Dragon Ball Daima episode 7, “Collar”, that the spell he used to break Panzy’s collar can be taught to others. Who knows, maybe the ability to summon Katchin can also be taught to those willing to learn.

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