Dragon Ball 10 Ways Piccolo Changed Between The Start & End Of The Original Series

Piccolo very quickly eases himself into Dragon Ball’s main cast as one of Goku’s rivals and future mentor to his son.

Although Tao Pai Pai serves as Dragon Ball’s first genuinely dramatic threat, Demon King Piccolo is Dragon Ball’s first super villain. Pure evil incarnate, Piccolo Daimao is a relic of an age gone by, a demonic entity obsessed with laying waste to all martial artists and inevitably conquering the world. Considering just how evil Piccolo is at the start of Dragon Ball, it’s hard to believe he becomes one of the series’ most heroic characters.

Demon King Piccolo may be a monster in every sense of the word, but his reincarnation/son is another matter entirely. Introduced in the 23rd Tenkaichi Budokai as Majunior, Piccolo very quickly eases himself into Dragon Ball’s main cast as one of Goku’s rivals and future mentor to his son. Dragon Ball without Piccolo just wouldn’t be the same.

10 The Demon King Reborn

Piccolo Daimao is a centuries old Demon King who Master Roshi encountered prior to the start of Dragon Ball. With none of Earth’s martial artists strong enough to subdue Piccolo, Roshi’s master, Mutaito, gave his life to seal the Demon King away with the Mafuba. Unfortunately, Pilaf and his cohorts go on to break the seal, leading to the Demon King Piccolo arc.

Old and angry, the Demon King seeks the Dragon Balls to restore his youth. In a shocking twist, Piccolo actually has his wish granted and kills Shenlong so no one else can use the Dragon Balls. This action is reversed by the end of the arc, but the fact Piccolo rips out the series’ safety while leaving a host of bodies in his wake solidifies him as beyond redemption.

9 Reincarnation Blues

Goku shows no remorse coming after Demon King Piccolo. Granted, this is still the portion of Dragon Ball where Goku simply has no problem killing to begin with, but it’s worth pointing out just how vengeful Goku is. Both Krillin & Master Roshi have died, and Goku has no intention of letting Piccolo get away with any more murders.

Before Daimao can die, however, he spits out one final egg containing his reincarnation. The new Piccolo hatches and goes out into the world seeking revenge, but there’s a clear fundamental difference between the Demon King and his son. While the latter has his father’s memories, he actually lacks the same hate.

8 A Different Breed Of Demon

Even though Piccolo’s training for the 23rd Tenkaichi Budokai goes unseen and he enters the tournament with the explicit purpose of killing Goku to then take over the world, Majunior isn’t as impulsively evil as his father. For starters, the new Piccolo doesn’t kill anyone in the time leading up to the tournament, simply biding his time.

Piccolo also demonstrated humility when he defeats Krillin– recognizing that world domination won’t be easy– and doesn’t even think to attack Goku once he’s been fully healed with a Senzu bean. Piccolo spends the next few years developing a technique to kill Goku, but it seems the Demon King’s hatred of martial arts wasn’t inherited by the son.

7 Son Gohan & Piccolo Daimao, Master & Student

Goku’s death at the start of the Saiyan saga kicks off one of Dragon Ball’s best training arcs. As Goku trains in the heavens, his son Gohan is trained by the Demon King’s reincarnation on Earth. Piccolo seeks to make Gohan’s life a hell, believing that he’ll be the key to defeating the Saiyans, but the two actually form a genuine connection with each other.

Beyond Piccolo taking Gohan on as a disciple– even giving the boy a version of his own outfit much like Roshi does with Goku– they show a genuine concern for one another. Piccolo slyly keeps Gohan fed and gives him all the tools he needs to survive, while Gohan strives to always see the good in Piccolo no matter what.

6 Sacrifice

Gohan’s kindness ends up playing an instrumental role in Piccolo’s development. Throughout their training, Gohan reaches out to Piccolo and doesn’t treat him with the same disdain other characters have. Of course, Gohan doesn’t have context for Piccolo’s villainly, but it’s important to remember that the sins of the father don’t pass onto the son.

Recognizing Gohan’s kindness and coming to care for him, Piccolo gives his life to save his worst enemy’s son. As he lay dying, Piccolo tearfully thanks Gohan and Goku for seeing the good in him & giving him his first friend.

5 Namekian Heritage

In an arc that runs parallels to Goku’s, the Namek saga has Piccolo dealing with his heritage. While it isn’t as touched upon textually, the fact Piccolo ritualistically merges with Nail allows him to symbolically carry the weight of Namek’s fight on his shoulders without abandoning any individual agency.

More importantly, Piccolo wants to go to Namek and see where he came from. He may not have a deep connection to the arc’s story itself, but the fact Piccolo is a Namekian in a storyline all about Namekian genocide demands that he fight for his people in some capacity. Much like Goku takes on the pride of a Saiyan, Piccolo fights with the pride of a Namekian.

4 Once A Demon, Always A Demon

After two arcs of rather rich character development, Piccolo briefly relapses into old demonic habits during the Cell arc. Upon being soundly defeated by the Androids, Piccolo announces to the Dragon Team that he never stopped being the Demon King before flying off to God’s lookout.

While most of the cast are confused, Krillin realizes what’s about to happen: Piccolo has to merge with Kami. Piccolo’s demonic outburst stems from a realization that he needs to become whole with a man who is in every sense his literal antithesis.

3 One With God

Piccolo becoming one with God during the Cell arc is arguably the true culmination of his character development. Piccolo is introduced as a Demon King, one half of Kami. The 23rd Tenkaichi Budokai pits God and Piccolo directly in opposition while the Saiyan arc plays up their connection, killing them both together. The Namek arc focuses on Piccolo over Kami, but their history as one being is acknowledged by Saichoro.

By the Cell arc, Piccolo and God’s merging has been built up for quite some time. Putting their ideological differences aside, Piccolo and Kami become one. Although Piccolo claims he’ll stay the host, there are immediately clear changes.

2 Kamiccolo

Most notably, the new Piccolo doesn’t really act like Piccolo. Piccolo even has a God-esque sense of humor during the Majin Buu arc, while also being relegated to divine exposition. Piccolo’s role in the series post fusing with Kami functions more how the latter’s did in 23rd Tenkaichi Budokai. Piccolo is a calmer person upon merging with Kami, and his farewell to Mr. Popo outright suggests God has a stronger role in their new persona than he initially led. All that same, it’s not as if Piccolo loses his agency.

1 Gohan & Piccolo, Stalwart Friends

Even though God blatantly influences Piccolo’s personality after they merge together, Piccolo still has the traits that make him unique: most notably his relationship with Gohan. While many see Piccolo & Gohan’s dynamic as a father/son analogue, keep in mind that they’re fairly close in age and were each other’s first friends.

In truth, Gohan and Piccolo are best friends much like Goku and Piccolo. There’s clear an element of deep respect from Gohan to Piccolo, but they see each other as more or less equals by the end of the series. Come Dragon Ball Super and Piccolo even babysits for Gohan.