Piccolo, with green skin, a white turban and a long white cape, smirks under a blue sky, in front of a red roof topped with a weather vane.

Piccolo: From Goku's Enemy to Gohan's Mentor

CharacterNamekiansGohan's Mentor

Piccolo is born to avenge his father: King Piccolo, the Demon King, fatally wounded by Goku, brings him into the world as an egg just before he dies. At first the hero's sworn enemy, he teams up with him against Raditz, trains young Gohan and ends up giving his life to protect him. Along the way, he discovers he isn't a demon but a Namekian, fuses with Nail and then with Kami, and becomes one of Earth's protectors, all the way to his Orange Piccolo form in the movie Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero.

He hatched from an egg with a single mission in mind: kill Goku, then conquer the world. Less than ten years later, he throws himself in front of an attack to save his enemy's son. In between, Piccolo has come a long way. Whether you've known him since the English dub of Dragon Ball Z or you're just discovering him today, here's his story, from the Demon King's legacy to his battles alongside Gohan.

Contents

King Piccolo, the Demon Father and the Egg

To understand Piccolo, you have to start with his father, King Piccolo, the Demon King. This demonic Namekian once plunged Earth into chaos by spawning an army of offspring. He is the evil half of a nameless Namekian who wanted to become Earth's guardian: turned down because of his impure heart, that Namekian split himself in two. The good half became Kami, the Almighty, and the evil half became King Piccolo.

The two halves remain linked: if one dies, the other dies too. Long ago, Master Mutaito sealed the demon inside an electric rice cooker, with help from his students, Master Roshi and Master Shen. On his outfit, King Piccolo wears a large kanji 魔, “Ma,” which means “demon.”

Once freed, he is finally defeated by Goku, who pierces straight through his chest. Just before dying, he spits out one last egg and begs his son to avenge him by killing Goku. That son, Piccolo Jr., appears in chapter 161 of the manga, published on February 9, 1988, as his father's reincarnation. From the moment he's born, he holds all the memories and all the techniques of his father.

His name comes from the piccolo, the small flute: like the other members of his family, he's named after a musical instrument. With King Piccolo, Akira Toriyama wanted to create a real villain, whereas almost all of the earlier ones had been parodies.

King Piccolo, with green skin and striated pink arms, sitting on a white throne decorated with skulls, a large kanji 魔 on his midnight-blue tunic.
King Piccolo, the Demon King and Piccolo's father, on his throne: on his outfit, the kanji 魔, “Ma,” which means “demon.”

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Piccolo Jr., Goku's Sworn Enemy

At the 23rd World Martial Arts Tournament, Piccolo enters under the alias Ma Junior, “Ma” meaning “demon.” He's only three years old at the time, even though he has the body and maturity of a teenager. The day before, he saved a child from a rockslide, but people ran away at the sight of him.

During the tournament, Kami tries to seal him away with the Evil Containment Wave (Mafuba), the sealing technique; Piccolo bounces the technique back, and it's Kami who ends up trapped. In the final, he grows to giant size, and Goku seizes the chance to dive down his throat and free Kami.

Piccolo loses by a hair: Goku, revealing for the first time that he can fly, headbutts him out of the ring. The winner spares him and gives him a Senzu Bean, so as not to doom Kami and to keep a rival who can match him. After this defeat, Piccolo wears a weighted turban and a cape draped over weighted padding, which he takes off when he fights for real.

When Raditz, Goku's brother, lands on Earth, Piccolo offers the hero a temporary truce. He has a weapon developed to kill Goku: the Special Beam Cannon, a “demonic, piercing death ray,” which he charges by placing his index and middle fingers on his forehead. The beam takes Raditz down, but it also pierces Goku, who was holding him in place.

Goku, bare-chested in torn orange pants, headbutts Piccolo, his purple outfit in shreds and his eyes bulging, against a dark green background.
Goku charges headfirst at Piccolo: it's with a headbutt that he knocks Piccolo Jr. out of the ring in the final of the 23rd World Martial Arts Tournament.
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Gohan's Mentor

Piccolo then takes charge of Gohan, Goku's son. At first, he wants to harness the child's enormous potential against the incoming Saiyans, then use him to conquer the world. He first leaves him alone for six months so he learns to survive, then trains him hard for another six months.

At the start of those six months of survival, when Gohan turns into a Great Ape, Piccolo destroys the Moon to bring him back to normal and to deprive the Saiyans of that power. He cuts off the boy's tail, then makes him a training outfit and a sword.

It's from the Saiyans that Piccolo learns he is a Namekian, not a demon as he had believed. Like all Namekians, he needs nothing but water to live. Toriyama has in fact explained that he never thought of making him an alien before Kami showed up.

Against Nappa, Piccolo throws himself in front of an attack aimed at Gohan and sacrifices himself to save him. As he dies, he's amused to see the heir of the Demon King sacrificing himself for a kid, and tells Gohan that no one before him had ever really talked to him. His death also takes Kami's life. Some fans even joke that Piccolo is a better father to Gohan than Goku himself.

Under a blue sky, Piccolo, in a white turban and cape, grabs the head of little Gohan, who is dressed in red and orange with a sword strapped to his back.
Piccolo training with little Gohan, a sword on his back: he puts him through a tough regimen to face the incoming Saiyans.

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Nail, Kami and Cell: The Namekian Legacy

From Other World, Piccolo asks Gohan to use the first wish to bring him back to life and the second to send him to Namek to face Frieza. There, Nail, a Namekian warrior, convinces him to fuse with him, assuring him he won't lose his personality. Thanks to this fusion, Piccolo holds his own against Frieza in his second form.

When the Namekians leave for a new planet, he refuses to go with them and stays on Earth to watch over Gohan. Against the Androids, he fuses with Kami this time: Piccolo serves as the base, and the new being declares that he is no longer Kami or Piccolo, but a Namekian who forgot his real name long ago.

Against Cell, who has shriveled his left arm, he tears off the dead limb and regrows a healthy one: like any Namekian, he regenerates his body as long as his head is intact and he has enough energy left. He can also stretch his limbs and make objects appear out of thin air, like his outfits. He then takes on Android 17, matching him blow for blow, with more than one trick up his sleeve.

Since Piccolo can no longer separate from Kami, Goku brings young Dende back from New Namek; Dende becomes Earth's guardian and revives the Dragon Balls.

Piccolo, in a white cape and turban, leans over a Namekian lying down, pale and almost faded away, one hand resting on him, in a blue aura.
On Namek, Piccolo lays his hand on Nail, the Namekian warrior who convinced him to fuse with him; thanks to this fusion, he holds his own against Frieza.

From Buu to Super Hero: The Protector

During the Buu Saga, Piccolo trains Goten and Trunks, then their fusion, Gotenks. He stays true to himself: he rarely smiles, enjoys solitude and often meditates in quiet places.

The movie Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero (2022) gives him a central role: Toriyama wanted to center the plot on the relationship between Gohan and Piccolo. In it, Piccolo asks Shenron to unlock his latent potential, and the dragon throws in a bonus. That gift later lets him, facing Gamma 2, become Orange Piccolo, a name he picks himself, simply because he's told he has turned orange. Toriyama considers this orange, heavily muscled form to be his first transformation.

In the same movie, badly wounded by Cell Max, Piccolo unintentionally sets off Gohan's rage, and Gohan then shifts into his Beast form.

Two other series give him adventures of his own. In Dragon Ball GT, an anime-only sequel, he sacrifices himself to neutralize the Black Star Dragon Balls. In Dragon Ball Daima, Gomah's wish turns him into a child, like his friends, during Trunks's birthday party.

Orange Piccolo, shirtless and heavily muscled, hands on his hips, next to Gohan, with spiky gray hair and arms crossed, under pink clouds.
Orange Piccolo, heavily muscled, alongside Gohan in his Beast form: Toriyama wanted to center Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero on their relationship.

Japanese and English Voices

In Japanese, Piccolo is voiced by Toshio Furukawa, except as a newborn and in his mini version in Daima. Until then mostly confined to cheerful roles with a bright voice, he believes he landed the part because he kept saying in interviews back then that he wanted to play a villain.

In English, Christopher Sabat voices King Piccolo and Piccolo Jr. in Funimation's Dragon Ball dub, then Piccolo in Dragon Ball Z from 1999 on, in Dragon Ball Z Kai, Dragon Ball GT and Dragon Ball Super, and in the movies Battle of Gods, Resurrection 'F', Dragon Ball Super: Broly and Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero; he's also the English voice of Vegeta and Yamcha. In the very first English episodes of Dragon Ball Z, aired from 1996 to 1998 (Ocean Group dub), Piccolo was voiced by Scott McNeil, and in Dragon Ball Daima, Nasim Benelkour voices his mini version. As for his creator, Akira Toriyama, he counted Piccolo among his favorite characters.

Piccolo at a Glance

Key fact Piccolo
Japanese name ピッコロ Pikkoro
Other names Piccolo Jr., Ma Junior
First appearance Chapter 161 of the manga, February 9, 1988
Race Namekian
Relationships Son and reincarnation of King Piccolo, linked to Kami, Gohan's mentor
Powers Special Beam Cannon, regeneration, stretchable limbs, object creation
Voices Toshio Furukawa (Japanese); Christopher Sabat (English)

Frequently Asked Questions

  • What's the difference between Piccolo and King Piccolo?
    King Piccolo, the Demon King, is the father: Goku kills him at the end of his saga. Just before he dies, he spits out an egg that hatches Piccolo Jr., his son and reincarnation, who faces Goku at the 23rd tournament before becoming his ally.
  • Does Piccolo go by another name in English?
    No: he's simply Piccolo, both in Funimation's English dub and in Viz's English edition of the manga. It's his father whose name varies: King Piccolo for Funimation, Demon King Piccolo for Viz.
  • Is Piccolo a Namekian?
    Yes. He first believes he's a demon, and it's the Saiyans who tell him he's a Namekian. Akira Toriyama explained that he hadn't thought of making him an alien before Kami appeared.
  • Why did Piccolo train Gohan?
    At first, he wants to harness the child's enormous potential against the Saiyans, then use him to conquer the world. He ends up growing so attached to him that he sacrifices himself to save him from Nappa.
  • What is Orange Piccolo?
    It's the form Piccolo gains in the movie Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero (2022), when Shenron unlocks his potential and adds a bonus. Piccolo names it himself, and Toriyama considers it his first transformation.
  • Who voices Piccolo?
    Toshio Furukawa in Japanese. In English, Christopher Sabat voices King Piccolo in Funimation's Dragon Ball dub, then Piccolo from Dragon Ball Z (since 1999) through Dragon Ball Super, including the movies from Battle of Gods to Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero.

🧶 Remember the weighted turban Piccolo only takes off for serious fights? For something lighter on your head, take a look at our Dragon Ball beanies.

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