Piccolo (Dragon Ball)
Piccolo is a fictional character in the Dragon Ball manga series created by Akira Toriyama. He is first seen as the reincarnation of the evil Piccolo Daimaō in chapter #161 Son Goku Wins!!, published in Weekly Shōnen Jump magazine on February 9, 1988, making him a demon and archrival of the protagonist Son Goku. However, it is later revealed that he is a member of an extraterrestrial humanoid species called Namekians, those able to create the series' eponymous wish-granting Dragon Balls. After losing to Goku, Piccolo decides to team up with him and his friends in order to defeat newer, more dangerous threats, such as Vegeta, Frieza, Cell and Majin Buu. He also trains Goku's first child Gohan in martial arts, with the two forming a strong bond.
Creation and development
Piccolo, more specifically his parent Piccolo Daimaō, was created by Toriyama as he wanted to have a villain who would be a true "bad guy." Prior to his creation, nearly all the previous villains in the series were considered too likable. His editor, Kazuhiko Torishima, stated he introduced Toriyama to evil historical figures for inspiration. Piccolo Daimaō was created after he told the author how Roman Emperor Nero enjoyed watching people suffer. However, the Shenlong Times issue #2, a bonus pamphlet given to some buyers of the Daizenshuu 2: Story Guide guidebook, says that the character was modeled after Torishima himself. After creating Piccolo Daimaō, Toriyama noted that it was one of the most interesting parts of the series and that he became one of his favorite characters. Although Piccolo's transformation from a villain to a hero was considered by Toriyama to be cliché, he still felt excited when drawing him, noting that despite having a scary face, he still looks appealing.Piccolo is initially assumed to, like his parent, be a member of the, however, midway through the series it is learned that they are actually members of the alien race called. Toriyama stated that he never thought of making Piccolo an alien until Kami was introduced. But afterwards he did try to make it consistent, such as drawing the Namekian architecture similar to the throne Piccolo Daimaō had.
Appearances
In ''Dragon Ball''
Introduced as the offspring and reincarnate of the demon Piccolo Daimaō, Piccolo Jr. plans to continue his parent's mission of world domination, and avenge his death at the hands of Goku. Piccolo enters the 23rd Tenka'ichi Budōkai under the alias. Piccolo defeats both Kuririn, who gives up, and Kami disguised as Hero, sealing Kami in the container of the Evil Containment Wave after Kami attacks him with the move and Piccolo sends it back in his direction. He then fights Goku in the final round, who tricks Piccolo into enlarging himself so he can retrieve Kami, from there causing many of Piccolo's techniques to backfire on him. Though crippling both Goku's arms and legs, Piccolo is defeated when Goku headbutts him out of the ring, though recovers thanks to receiving a Senzu Bean from Goku, who he promises to defeat as he departs.Five years later, Piccolo is confronted by Raditz, Goku's older brother. Realizing the Saiyan would thwart his plans for world domination, Piccolo teams up with Goku in an attempt to stop Raditz from destroying the Earth. When the two arch rivals team up, Piccolo is able to defeat Raditz, but at the cost of Goku's life, as Piccolo's move Makankōsappō cuts through both Saiyans. Piccolo's subsequent conversation with the dying Raditz, in which he reveals that the Dragon Balls can resurrect, is broadcast. Piccolo remains amazed with the powers from Gohan and trains him in preparation to fight against the two Saiyans who will invade Earth. Early in their training, Piccolo destroys the moon to prevent Gohan from transforming into an Oozaru and removes his tail. As the year goes by, Piccolo starts to change as he spends time training Gohan, slowly beginning to bond with him. Kami himself comes to notice Piccolo's change of heart as well. When the Saiyans arrive a year later, Piccolo discovers his heritage from them. Piccolo tries to capitalize on Gohan's increased strength but cannot due to the child's fear, convincing him to withdraw Gohan from the battle and is knocked unconscious by Nappa after trying to weaken him. Piccolo saves Kuririn from being finished off by one of Nappa's attacks. Vegeta senses that Goku is close by, stronger and could pose a challenge with the others involved and thereby orders their speedy execution. Nappa then unleashes another one of his attacks, this time aiming for Gohan. Piccolo, having come to care for the boy dearly, sacrifices himself to protect Gohan from the attack, resulting in the deaths of both himself and Kami, which results in the Dragon Balls ceasing to exist. Vegeta is initially unable to activate the Oozaru transformation during his fight with Goku thanks to Piccolo's earlier deed. After the Saiyans are defeated, Gohan and the survivors travel to Piccolo's homeworld, Namek, to revive those who died against the Saiyans with the Namekian Dragon Balls. In the meantime, Piccolo trains in the afterlife with Kaiō-sama. Piccolo is resurrected on planet Namek to help Goku and others defeat the evil Freeza. He takes this time to merge with the beaten Namekian called, giving Piccolo a power increase. Despite his massive power increase and going head to head with Freeza's second transformation, Freeza transforms and Piccolo is defeated. After Freeza reaches his final form and immediately kills Dende afterward to prevent him from healing the group, Piccolo, Gohan and Kuririn attack him to no avail. In Freeza's following fight with Goku, who tries charging a Genki-dama to defeat him, Piccolo is given the remaining energy of both Gohan and Kuririn, allowing him to stall for a short time. Once Freeza emerges from the impact of the Genki-dama unscathed, Piccolo is severely injured by Freeza with a shot to the chest, leaving Goku to defeat Freeza alone. Piccolo is taken from the battlefield by Gohan at the warning of Goku, as his death would render the Dragon Balls ineffective once more. Piccolo is later teleported off the planet to safety on Earth and after regaining consciousness, declines to return to a new version of Namek as he wishes to protect Gohan and become stronger while remaining on Earth.
After Freeza's death, Piccolo trains with Goku and Gohan for three years to prepare for a battle against two powerful Androids created by the Red Ribbon Army's Dr. Gero to kill Goku. Piccolo tries to intervene during Goku's battle with Android 19, but is shot down by Dr. Gero, revealed to have faked being injured to lower the guard of the Androids. Though he manages to best Dr. Gero in battle, he is unable to prevent him from activating the other Androids. After being defeated by Android 17 and Android 18, Piccolo seeks to unite with Kami, and gain another massive increase in power. After uniting with Kami, Piccolo becomes aware of a more dangerous threat named Cell, who volunteers information on himself when believing he has bested Piccolo when in reality the latter was pretending to be defeated in order to find out Cell's origin. Before his second encounter with Cell, Piccolo once again battles the Androids, except this time he battles #17 one on one. After a somewhat even match, Cell arrives on the battle scene; Cell needs to absorb the Androids to complete his power. While trying to prevent this, Piccolo is nearly killed by Cell, surviving the encounter thanks to his regenerative abilities and following some training in the Room of Spirit and Time, he is forced to participate in a tournament created by Cell called the Cell Games, where he fights one of the seven Cell Juniors that are created by Cell, who are later destroyed by Gohan. Piccolo laments that he cannot assist Gohan in his battle against Cell due to his lack of power, lauding Vegeta for helping Gohan after Cell's death and making the lookout his permanent residence.
Seven years later, Piccolo is poised to fight Kaiō-shin at the 25th Tenkaichi Budōkai, forfeiting the match after finding himself reluctant to fight and journeying with him to confront Babidi, being turned into stone by Dabura. After being freed upon Dabura's death, he attempts to kill Babidi. Piccolo discovers Babidi survived the attempt on his life when he goes to pay respects to the now deceased Vegeta, and Babidi later demands Piccolo be brought forward or humans will die in the meantime. Piccolo plans on giving himself up until Goku talks him out of it, citing his need of his teachings. Piccolo then acts as a trainer to Goten and Trunks and their fused form Gotenks. Piccolo trains the boys in fighting the evil creature Majin Buu, who finds them and the other heroes. Piccolo tries negotiating with Buu to give the group more time to conjure a fighter strong enough to combat him, Buu agreeing to an hour, which Piccolo uses to give Goten and Trunks half a month in the Room of Spirit and Time. During Gotenks' fight with Buu, Piccolo seals them within the Room of Spirit and Time when he destroys the entrance after Gotenks lies that he has no moves left. Gotenks uses his Super Saiyan 3 form's shouting to create an exit for Piccolo and himself, allowing them to return to Earth. After more unsuccessful attempts to kill Buu, he is later absorbed by Buu along with Gotenks and Gohan and incorporated into his being. He is later freed by Goku and Vegeta, and he later gives his energy to Goku's Genki-Dama attack, which Goku uses to defeat Buu once and for all.
In Toriyama's films and ''Dragon Ball Super''
Piccolo appears in eleven Dragon Ball Z films; in the, Piccolo aids in stopping Garlic Jr.'s plot after having been attacked by his minions, wanting revenge; in the, Piccolo is brainwashed by Dr. Wheelo and made to combat the others until Gohan frees him by destroying the machinery associated with his brainwashing; in the, Piccolo comes to save Gohan from Turles and succeeds by taking a blast for him; in the, Piccolo combats Lord Slug and discovers that Namekians are weak to whistling, allowing for his defeat; in the, Piccolo is able to defeat most of Cooler's squadron, only to be defeated by Cooler himself; in the, Piccolo fights Cooler's minions on Namek and saves the others after they are captured; in the, Piccolo saves Gohan from being attacked by Android 13 and battles the android in both his forms; in the, Piccolo travels to New Planet Vegeta and fights Broly, giving his energy to Goku which leads to the foe's defeat; in the, Piccolo comes to help the others fight Bojack and his crew; in the, Piccolo combats Beerus alongside Android 18 and Tenshinhan, only to be bested; and, lastly, in the, Piccolo narrowly escapes death once Freeza destroys the Earth. After the events of the latter two films, Piccolo is resurrected after being killed by Freeza in the Dragon Ball Super retelling of Resurrection 'F' and agrees to train Gohan again. Piccolo then accepts a request to participate in a tournament against Universe 6 fighters, where his loss to Frost is retracted after cheating on Frost's part is discovered, though he still declines being allowed to fight more as Vegeta wants to takes his place. After this, Piccolo reunites with Trunks and suggests the Evil Containment Wave be used to seal Goku Black and unsuccessfully tries demonstrating it, Piccolo later performing the move while being recorded by Bulma, who later shows the footage to Trunks so he can learn it. Piccolo tries reviving a seemingly deceased Goku after finding his body. Piccolo agrees to participate in the Tournament of Power. Piccolo is forced into hiding by Universe 2's Prum after Prum destroys both of Piccolo's arms, and lends his energy to Goku's Genki-Dama against Universe 11's Jiren. Piccolo and Gohan blast Saonel and Pirina out of bounds, eliminating Universe 6 from the tournament, before Piccolo is knocked out of bounds by Universe 4's last fighter Damon.Voice actors
In the original Japanese version of the anime and all other media, Piccolo is voiced by Toshio Furukawa, with the only exception being his initial newborn child form which was voiced by Hiromi Tsuru. Furukawa, who up to that point had mostly played happy lighter-voiced characters, said he got the role because he stated in interviews at the time that he wanted to play a villain. He said it was difficult to constantly perform with a low voice because his normal lighter voice would break through if he broke concentration. When asked if Takeshi Aono's work as Piccolo Daimaō influenced his portrayal of Piccolo, Furukawa replied that because Piccolo Daimaō was impulsive, he initially played his own role as an energetic person around eighteen-years-old and later imagined him as close to thirty-years old in Dragon Ball Z. By the time he reprised the voice in Dragon Ball Super, Piccolo had become Furukawa's favorite character of all his roles.In English, several different voice actors have voiced Piccolo, including Scott McNeil in episodes 1-53 in Funimation Entertainment's initial dub of Dragon Ball Z in association with Saban Entertainment and Ocean Productions as well as Geneon's dub of the first three Dragon Ball Z films, and episodes 108-291 of Westwood Media's dub of the franchise ; by Ethan Cole in Chinook Animation's dub of Dragon Ball GT ; by Dan Woren in Bandai's English release of the video game '; by British-born French actor Paul Bandey in the infamous English dubs of the movies released exclusively in the UK and the Netherlands by AB Groupe, by David Gasman in the European dub of ', vocal grunts by Ed Marcus in and consistently by Christopher Sabat in Funimation's in-house dub of all Dragon Ball media. Ray Chase voices Piccolo in the Toonami Asia broadcast of Dragon Ball Super produced by Bang Zoom! Entertainment.
Abilities
Piccolo has shown many unique abilities throughout the series. Due to his Namekian physiology, Piccolo can expand his arms, move fast enough to not be seen, regenerate lost limbs of his body so long as his head is still intact, and possesses superhuman hearing and strength. Piccolo's allows him to become gigantic to the point where he is capable of reaching mountain-like heights. He also has the ability to conjure objects such as garments and a blade, including his cape and turban outfit. Among Piccolo's known psionic skills, he is able to communicate telepathically with select individuals. Thus, this enables him to read minds and mentally contact others nearby. In one instance, he alerts Trunks and Goten of Buu's proximity to the dimension where the two were training.Like many other characters in Dragon Ball, Piccolo has the ability of flight through the technique called Bukū-jutsu. He also possesses an attack called the, which is fired with one hand being supported by the other. One of Piccolo's most powerful attacks is the an attack that is expelled from Piccolo's index and middle fingers. Unlike most energy-based attacks in Dragon Ball, the potent Makankōsappō pierces its targets like a drill rather than enveloping them or exploding on contact. Another attack of Piccolo's is the, which involves firing off many orbs of energy that float around the opponent. Piccolo then squeezes his hand to make all the orbs converge onto the opponent, exploding on contact. The is another of his signature attacks, being one that he teaches to his pupil Gohan. Another move Piccolo is seen to have is the which is conjured by putting his hands on his chest, gathering energy and then releasing it outwards. One of Piccolo's less frequently used techniques is the ability to fire energy rays from his eyes, which he first uses against Kuririn's energy attack during their match in the 23rd Tenka'ichi Budōkai, then later against Goku in the finals, and again when he trains Gohan.
Piccolo can also perform a type of fusion which he does with Nail on planet Namek to confront Freeza and with Kami to confront the Androids, each time greatly increasing his power; the first time enough to clash toe-and-toe with Freeza's second form, and the latter he became much more powerful than an unmastered Super Saiyan.
In other media
In filler episodes of Dragon Ball Z, during the Saiyan arc, Piccolo strands Gohan on an island, losing his location in the process, and appears to Gohan after he turns down returning home, taking him back to his training. After the Namek arc, Piccolo appears to help Gohan and Kuririn when they are attacked by their friends who are under the effects of the Black Water Mist. In battling the group, Piccolo seemingly falls victim and appears on Kami's Lookout, where Gohan and Kuririn travel to stop Garlic Jr., to halt the pair. After appearing to infect Kuririn too and he and Piccolo overwhelm Gohan, Piccolo reveals to Gohan that he had been pretending the entire time and battles Garlic Jr. until his defeat. Piccolo and Goku are later made to get driver's licenses by Chi-Chi. Following the Buu arc, Piccolo attends a gathering. Piccolo has appeared in other Dragon Ball animations barring the series and films; in ', Piccolo defeats Lord Slug and Hatchiyak and in ', Piccolo prevents Aka's Wahaha no Ha from destroying Satan Hotel.In the anime-only sequel Dragon Ball GT, Piccolo arrives to recover Goten after Baby ceases possessing him and moves to Gohan. Piccolo confronts the Baby-possessed Gohan and is injured. After Baby is defeated, Piccolo sacrifices himself to put the Black Star Dragon Balls to rest and bring peace to the world. He goes to Heaven but then requests to be sent to Hell in order to free Goku when he is imprisoned there. He can be seen putting Hell in order and protecting the rulers there. Goku later stops in Hell to see Piccolo. He tells Piccolo that he will be leaving and that they are glad they met and teamed up. Goku also tells Piccolo that he had become a good friend and promised to get him out of Hell someday. They shake hands and Goku leaves while Piccolo stays behind.
Piccolo has made multiple appearances in music. "I Lo~ve Mr. Piccolo" appears on the 1990 album Dragon Ball Z Hit Song Collection III: Space Dancing, Gohan singing about his admiration for Piccolo and wondering what his species is. In the 1991 album Dragon Ball Z Hit Song Collection 8: Character Special 2, the song "The Feeling of Whistling Piccolo Edit" features Piccolo complaining and begging for a whistler to stop exploiting his weakness before he departs. Piccolo is also mentioned in the song "Goku" by Soulja Boy, who brags about feeling like Piccolo and multiple other Dragon Ball characters, and in the song "Break Bread" by Bryson Tiller, with the verse "Got green like Piccolo".
In the 2006 Dragon Ball and One Piece crossover manga Cross Epoch, Piccolo appears as a swordsman alongside Roronoa Zoro. In the 2013 special Dream 9 Toriko & One Piece & Dragon Ball Z Super Collaboration Special, Piccolo cheers on Goku in his match against Monkey D. Luffy and Toriko. In an episode of Mad parodying the film Moneyball, Piccolo and other Dragon Ball characters are drafted by Billy Beane into the Oakland A baseball team.
Video games
Piccolo has been in many Dragon Ball-related video games such as Super Butōden, the ' and ' series of games, as well as ' and '. In several games, Piccolo has exclusive forms such as Majin or fusions with Maima, Tsumuri, Dende, Dr. Mashirito, and Piccolo Daimaō, which drastically increase his power.Piccolo appears in multiple story modes in the 2006 game Dragon Ball Z: Supersonic Warriors 2. In Gohan's story, Piccolo is turned evil by a blast from Babidi, and becomes the leader of Buu and Dabura. After fighting Gohan, he flees and absorbs Buu, increasing his power. Piccolo then announces via television his intent to take over the world, and partners with Cell and Frieza before being defeated by Gohan.
In the 2011 game ', Piccolo is defeated by Baby, encountering and battling the player while training, causing the player's Super Saiyan transformation and their subsequent overpowering of him. After he is defeated, Piccolo resolves to train the player.
In the 2015 game ', Piccolo appears as a mentor. Within the story mode, Piccolo fights the player while under the control of Demigra, and in the final battle against Demigra, Piccolo gives the player his energy.
In the 2016 game Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2, Piccolo and Android 16 are defeated by Villainous Mode Imperfect Cell, allowing him to absorb #17 and #18 at the same time. The player then comes to assist Piccolo in his fight against Cell.
In the 2018 game Dragon Ball FighterZ, Piccolo is found unconscious by Goku and Krillin, and agrees to help them fight off clones and discover their origins upon waking up. Piccolo joins the two in finding Gohan and Vegeta, and uses his Makankōsappō to participate in destroying Android 21.
He is a playable character in some crossover games such as Jump Super Stars, Jump Ultimate Stars, and Jump Force.
Reception
Piccolo is a popular character in the series, he placed fifth in both the 1993 and 1995 Dragon Ball character popularity polls voted on by Weekly Shōnen Jump readers. In 2004, fans of the series voted him the fifth most popular character for a poll in the book Dragon Ball Forever. Piccolo has appeared in various Anime Grand Prix polls, taking high places in the category "best male character" in 1990, 1991 and 1992 polls. Piccolo's voice actor Toshio Furukawa, as well as Gohan's voice actress Masako Nozawa, said the episodes where Piccolo trains Gohan left an impression on them. He said the fans really enjoyed those episodes as well. Furukawa also cited Piccolo making a pun for Kaiō-sama as memorable because it was so out of character for him. The character has also been influential on Naruto manga author Masashi Kishimoto; In order to give Sasuke Uchiha a central role in the film , Kishimoto made him the teacher of the protagonist Boruto Uzumaki as his father, Naruto Uzumaki, was busy. This was inspired by how Piccolo starts training Gohan when Goku dies in Dragon Ball.Piccolo's character has received praise and criticism by publications for various media. Chris Beveridge from Mania Entertainment praised Piccolo's growth in Dragon Ball Z as one of the most important parts of the series, noting how he decides to train Gohan to fight Vegeta. Although Katherine Luther from About.com noted Piccolo to be one of the strongest warriors from his planet, she mentioned he has several weaknesses that make him weaker than other characters from the series, with his most notable one being his affection for Gohan. During a review of the Dragon Ball anime, Beveridge noted Piccolo to be able to perform a large number of abilities in contrast to other characters such as Goku, making the fight between both of them unbalanced. However, he found the said battle to be very entertaining despite it lasting several episodes. Tim Jones from THEM Anime Reviews found Piccolo's differences from Dragon Ball to Dragon Ball Z as one of the reasons the former show is recommendable to viewers over the later anime. While reviewing the fourth Dragon Ball Z film, Anime News Network writer Allen Drivers found Piccolo's initial scenes peacefully enough to entertain viewers. In a later film, John Sinnott from DVD Talk criticized Piccolo's involvement saying he appears "from out of no where" in order to fight alongside his friends giving the film little reasoning. Chris Homer from The Fandom Post believed Piccolo's sacrifice in Dragon Ball GT "was a genuine touching moment" for fans of Dragon Ball Z, but also viewed the death as relying "too much on previous ideas" in order for it to get sorted. Sam Leach from Anime News Network noted that some fans of the series tend to joke Piccolo is a better paternal figure to Gohan than his actual father, Goku, and felt that
Dragon Ball Super emphasized it more when Piccolo started training him again.