Piccolo (Dragon Ball)
Encyclopedia
is a fictional character
from the Dragon Ball manga, authored by Akira Toriyama
. Piccolo was first introduced as the reincarnation of the evil Piccolo Daimao in chapter #167 first published in Weekly Shonen Jump magazine on April 4, 1988, making him a demon
and archrival of the primary protagonist
, Son Goku
. However, it is later revealed that he is from the race of alien beings called Namekians. Piccolo is usually referred to as male, but as he is Namekian he is technically genderless. After Goku defeats Piccolo, Piccolo decides to team up with Goku and his friends in order to beat newer, more dangerous threats. He also trains Goku's first child Son Gohan
, and they form a strong bond
.
Around the start of the Namek Saga, it's revealed that Piccolo's name means "enter" in the Namekian language.
, he still felt excited when drawing him noting that despite having a scary face, he still looks appealing.
on the front of his gi, symbolizing the kanji that represented himself. When Piccolo Jr. is introduced, Toriyama designed him to appear roughly the same as Piccolo Daimao, but with a more solid facial structure. He also made the character discard the kanji. Even though Piccolo Jr. discards the kanji, he uses it once in the series when he made his pupil, Gohan, a uniform.
Piccolo is one of the few major characters in the series whose appearance does not drastically change as the series continues. Being from another planet
called Namek, Piccolo appears as a typical Namekian: green-skinned, tall, and hairless. Note that in the manga, Piccolo, as well as all other Namekians, have only three fingers and an opposable thumb on each hand. In the anime, all Namekians (Piccolo included) have an additional finger on each hand, making it more human-like. Piccolo is known for his white turban
and long white cape. He wears purple pants and shirt underneath his cape, with a blue belt in both versions and all movies. In a single filler episode in the anime, Piccolo is seen wearing an old outfit of Goku's when both of them are forced to go to driving school by Goku's wife, Chi Chi.
When the Saiyans arrive a year later, Piccolo's fondness toward Gohan results in him receiving one of Nappa's attacks aimed to Gohan, which results in the death of himself, Kami, and the Dragon Balls. After the Saiyans are defeated, Gohan and others travel to Piccolo's homeworld Namek to revive those who died against the Saiyans with the Namekian Dragon Balls. Piccolo is resurrected on Planet Namek to help Goku and others defeat the evil Frieza. He takes this time to merge with the beaten Namekian called Nail, giving Piccolo a power increase. Despite his massive power increase and going head to head with Frieza's second transformation, Frieza transforms and Piccolo is defeated and severely injured by Frieza, leaving Goku to defeat him alone,. Piccolo is restored to health, and waits a year until Goku arrives back on Earth. He then 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.
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. 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 and needing to absorb the androids to complete his power, Piccolo is nearly killed by Cell, and he is forced to participate in a Martial Arts 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. In the anime Piccolo manages to do well against the Cell Jrs and along with Vegeta and Future Trunks fight evenly against them.
Seven years later, Piccolo acts as a trainer to Son Goten, Goku's second son, and Trunks
, Vegeta
's son, and their fused form Gotenks. Piccolo trains the boys in fighting the evil creature Majin Buu, but 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 Super Spirit Bomb, which Goku uses to defeat Buu once and for all.
In Dragon Ball GT, he is severely injured by Gohan while he was possessed by Baby. Piccolo then 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. In the final episode, Goku stops in Hell to see Piccolo. He tells Piccolo that he will be leaving and that they are glad they met and teamed up. He also says that he has become a good friend and he will get out of Hell someday. They shake hands and Goku leaves while Piccolo stays behind.
.
Piccolo had several different voice actors in the numerous English productions of the anime. In Funimation Entertainment
's dub of Dragon Ball Z in association with Saban Entertainment and Ocean Productions, he was voiced by Scott McNeil
in episodes 1-67 (1-53 unedited). In Geneon's dub of the films Dead Zone, The World's Strongest and Tree of Might, Scott McNeil again voiced Piccolo. In Westwood Media's dub of the franchise (in association with Ocean Productions), Piccolo was voiced by Scott McNeil in episodes 108-291. In Chinook Animation's dub of Dragon Ball GT (produced in association with Blue Water Studios), Piccolo was voiced by Ethan Cole. In Bandai's English release of Dragon Ball GT: Final Bout
, Piccolo is voiced by Dan Woren
. In Funimation's in-house dub of the Dragon Ball franchise, Piccolo has been consistently voiced by Christopher Sabat
.
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, though it is unclear if these are his restrictions. He also has the ability to conjure
objects such as garments and a blade, including his cape and turban outfit as well as a very large sandglass
. 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 . 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. Piccolo's ultimate attack in the video games he has appeared in is called , 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. Piccolo also possesses the ability of "Scatter Shot" in which he fires many different chi
energy blasts shot from one hand at the same time. Piccolo is also seen possessing an attack called the , which Piccolo 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 (similar to "heat vision"), which he first uses against Krillin's energy attack during their match in the 23rd World Martial Arts Tournament, then later against Goku in the finals, and again when he trains Gohan in the Saiyan Saga.
Piccolo can also perform the "Namekian Fusion" which he does with Nail on the distant Planet Namek to confront Frieza and with Kami to confront the androids as a super namek.
and Budokai Tenkaichi
series of games, as well as Dragon Ball Z: Infinite World
and Dragon Ball Z: Burst Limit
. He is a playable character
in some crossover games such as Jump Super Stars
and Jump Ultimate Stars
.
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 from 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 such 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 from the later anime. While reviewing the fourth film from Dragon Ball Z Anime News Network
writer Allen Drivers found Piccolo's initial scenes in such movie was peacefully enough to entertain viewers. In a later film, John Sinnott from DVD Talk
criticized Piccolo's involvement during it as he appears "from out of no where" in order to fight alongside his friends giving the film little reasoning. Piccolo has appeared in various Anime Grand Prix poll, taking high places in the category "best male character."
Character (arts)
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
from the Dragon Ball manga, authored by Akira Toriyama
Akira Toriyama
is a Japanese manga artist and game artist known mostly for his creation of Dragon Ball in 1984. Toriyama admires Osamu Tezuka's Astro Boy and was impressed by Walt Disney's One Hundred and One Dalmatians, which he remembers for the great art...
. Piccolo was first introduced as the reincarnation of the evil Piccolo Daimao in chapter #167 first published in Weekly Shonen Jump magazine on April 4, 1988, making him a demon
Demon
call - 1347 531 7769 for more infoIn Ancient Near Eastern religions as well as in the Abrahamic traditions, including ancient and medieval Christian demonology, a demon is considered an "unclean spirit" which may cause demonic possession, to be addressed with an act of exorcism...
and archrival of the primary protagonist
Protagonist
A protagonist is the main character of a literary, theatrical, cinematic, or musical narrative, around whom the events of the narrative's plot revolve and with whom the audience is intended to most identify...
, Son Goku
Son Goku (Dragon Ball)
Goku, known as in the English-language manga and original Japanese-language version, is a fictional character and the main protagonist of the Dragon Ball franchise created by Akira Toriyama. He is loosely based on Sun Wukong, a central character in Journey to the West...
. However, it is later revealed that he is from the race of alien beings called Namekians. Piccolo is usually referred to as male, but as he is Namekian he is technically genderless. After Goku defeats Piccolo, Piccolo decides to team up with Goku and his friends in order to beat newer, more dangerous threats. He also trains Goku's first child Son Gohan
Son Gohan
is a fictional character from the Dragon Ball universe created by Akira Toriyama as a protagonist for the media franchise, which consists of a series of manga, anime, soundtracks, movies, television specials, video games, and other collectibles...
, and they form a strong bond
Friendship
Friendship is a form of interpersonal relationship generally considered to be closer than association, although there is a range of degrees of intimacy in both friendships and associations. Friendship and association are often thought of as spanning across the same continuum...
.
Around the start of the Namek Saga, it's revealed that Piccolo's name means "enter" in the Namekian language.
Creation and conception
Piccolo, along with his father, was created by Toriyama as he wanted to have a villain who would be a true "bad guy." Prior to their creation, nearly all the previous villains in the series were considered too likable. After creating Piccolo as the new villain, he noted that it was one of the most interesting parts of the stories and that he, and his son, became one of the favorite characters of the series. Although Piccolo's transformation from a villain to a hero was considered by Toriyama to be clichéCliché
A cliché or cliche is an expression, idea, or element of an artistic work which has been overused to the point of losing its original meaning or effect, especially when at some earlier time it was considered meaningful or novel. In phraseology, the term has taken on a more technical meaning,...
, he still felt excited when drawing him noting that despite having a scary face, he still looks appealing.
Appearance
When Piccolo Daimao was introduced in chapter #135 first published in Shonen Jump on August 10, 1987, he was designed to appear as a strange-looking divine creature, who had pointy ears, antennae, and fangs. The audience is later introduced to Kami, who is Piccolo Daimao's good counterpart, and the two share an almost identical resemblance. Like Kami, Piccolo Daimao wore a kanjiKanji
Kanji are the adopted logographic Chinese characters hanzi that are used in the modern Japanese writing system along with hiragana , katakana , Indo Arabic numerals, and the occasional use of the Latin alphabet...
on the front of his gi, symbolizing the kanji that represented himself. When Piccolo Jr. is introduced, Toriyama designed him to appear roughly the same as Piccolo Daimao, but with a more solid facial structure. He also made the character discard the kanji. Even though Piccolo Jr. discards the kanji, he uses it once in the series when he made his pupil, Gohan, a uniform.
Piccolo is one of the few major characters in the series whose appearance does not drastically change as the series continues. Being from another planet
Planets in science fiction
Planets in science fiction are fictional planets that appear in various media, especially those of the science fiction genre, as story-settings or depicted locations.-History:...
called Namek, Piccolo appears as a typical Namekian: green-skinned, tall, and hairless. Note that in the manga, Piccolo, as well as all other Namekians, have only three fingers and an opposable thumb on each hand. In the anime, all Namekians (Piccolo included) have an additional finger on each hand, making it more human-like. Piccolo is known for his white turban
Turban
In English, Turban refers to several types of headwear popularly worn in the Middle East, North Africa, Punjab, Jamaica and Southwest Asia. A commonly used synonym is Pagri, the Indian word for turban.-Styles:...
and long white cape. He wears purple pants and shirt underneath his cape, with a blue belt in both versions and all movies. In a single filler episode in the anime, Piccolo is seen wearing an old outfit of Goku's when both of them are forced to go to driving school by Goku's wife, Chi Chi.
Character history
Introduced as the son and reincarnation from the demon Piccolo Daimao, Piccolo Jr. plans to continue his father's mission of world domination, and avenge his death at the hands of Goku. Piccolo enters the 23rd World Martial Arts Tournament under the alias . Piccolo fights Goku, but is defeated in the final round. Five years later, Piccolo is confronted by Goku's brother named Raditz. 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. Piccolo remains amazed with the powers from Goku's son, Son Gohan, and trains him to fight against the two Saiyans who will invade Earth.When the Saiyans arrive a year later, Piccolo's fondness toward Gohan results in him receiving one of Nappa's attacks aimed to Gohan, which results in the death of himself, Kami, and the Dragon Balls. After the Saiyans are defeated, Gohan and others travel to Piccolo's homeworld Namek to revive those who died against the Saiyans with the Namekian Dragon Balls. Piccolo is resurrected on Planet Namek to help Goku and others defeat the evil Frieza. He takes this time to merge with the beaten Namekian called Nail, giving Piccolo a power increase. Despite his massive power increase and going head to head with Frieza's second transformation, Frieza transforms and Piccolo is defeated and severely injured by Frieza, leaving Goku to defeat him alone,. Piccolo is restored to health, and waits a year until Goku arrives back on Earth. He then 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.
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. 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 and needing to absorb the androids to complete his power, Piccolo is nearly killed by Cell, and he is forced to participate in a Martial Arts 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. In the anime Piccolo manages to do well against the Cell Jrs and along with Vegeta and Future Trunks fight evenly against them.
Seven years later, Piccolo acts as a trainer to Son Goten, Goku's second son, and Trunks
Trunks (Dragon Ball)
is a fictional character from the Dragon Ball franchise by Akira Toriyama. Trunks is the half-Saiyan son of Vegeta, the prince of the dying race of fictional aliens called the Saiyans, and Bulma, the heiress of a massive company called Capsule Corporation...
, Vegeta
Vegeta
is a fictional character and antihero in the Dragon Ball franchise created by Akira Toriyama. Vegeta first appeared in the manga chapter #204 first published in Weekly Shōnen Jump magazine on December 19, 1988, and in episode 5 of its anime adaptation Dragon Ball Z...
's son, and their fused form Gotenks. Piccolo trains the boys in fighting the evil creature Majin Buu, but 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 Super Spirit Bomb, which Goku uses to defeat Buu once and for all.
In Dragon Ball GT, he is severely injured by Gohan while he was possessed by Baby. Piccolo then 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. In the final episode, Goku stops in Hell to see Piccolo. He tells Piccolo that he will be leaving and that they are glad they met and teamed up. He also says that he has become a good friend and he will get out of Hell someday. They shake hands and Goku leaves while Piccolo stays behind.
Voice actors
In the original Japanese version of the entire Dragon Ball anime series, as well as its spinoffs, Piccolo has been voiced by Toshio FurukawaToshio Furukawa
is a Japanese voice actor affiliated with Aoni Production and is married to fellow voice actress Shino Kakinuma. His height is 164cm. Hobbies are Fishing, diorama, reading and movies.In July 2011, Furukawa appeared at Anime Expo as a guest.-Career/Personal:...
.
Piccolo had several different voice actors in the numerous English productions of the anime. In Funimation Entertainment
Funimation Entertainment
Funimation is an American entertainment company. Originally founded in 1994 by Gen Fukunaga, the company became a subsidiary of Navarre Corporation on May 11, 2005...
's dub of Dragon Ball Z in association with Saban Entertainment and Ocean Productions, he was voiced by Scott McNeil
Scott McNeil
Scott McNeil is a Canadian actor and voice actor. He currently resides in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada...
in episodes 1-67 (1-53 unedited). In Geneon's dub of the films Dead Zone, The World's Strongest and Tree of Might, Scott McNeil again voiced Piccolo. In Westwood Media's dub of the franchise (in association with Ocean Productions), Piccolo was voiced by Scott McNeil in episodes 108-291. In Chinook Animation's dub of Dragon Ball GT (produced in association with Blue Water Studios), Piccolo was voiced by Ethan Cole. In Bandai's English release of Dragon Ball GT: Final Bout
Dragon Ball GT: Final Bout
Dragon Ball GT: Final Bout, known in Japan and Europe as , is a fighting game for the PlayStation. It was produced and released by Bandai in Japan, parts of Europe, and North America in 1997. The game would reissued in Europe in 2002 and in North America in 2004...
, Piccolo is voiced by Dan Woren
Dan Woren
Daniel E. Woren is an American voice actor who is also known as Jackson Daniels, Warren Daniels, Dan Warren, Daniel Woren, and Dan Worren...
. In Funimation's in-house dub of the Dragon Ball franchise, Piccolo has been consistently voiced by Christopher Sabat
Christopher Sabat
Christopher Robin Sabat is an American voice actor, ADR Director, and Line Producer. He has provided voices for a number of English language versions of Japanese anime films and television series, as well as video games...
.
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, regenerateRegeneration (biology)
In biology, regeneration is the process of renewal, restoration, and growth that makes genomes, cells, organs, organisms, and ecosystems resilient to natural fluctuations or events that cause disturbance or damage. Every species is capable of regeneration, from bacteria to humans. At its most...
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, though it is unclear if these are his restrictions. He also has the ability to conjure
Conjuration
Conjuration is used in many video games, mainly RPGs, where it is usually referred to as summoning.* A notable example is the Final Fantasy franchise which incorporates summoning of monsters to fight alongside the characters....
objects such as garments and a blade, including his cape and turban outfit as well as a very large sandglass
Hourglass
An hourglass measures the passage of a few minutes or an hour of time. It has two connected vertical glass bulbs allowing a regulated trickle of material from the top to the bottom. Once the top bulb is empty, it can be inverted to begin timing again. The name hourglass comes from historically...
. Among Piccolo's known psionic
Psionics
Psionics refers to the practice, study, or psychic ability of using the mind to induce paranormal phenomena. Examples of this include telepathy, telekinesis, and other workings of the outside world through the psyche.-History and terminology:...
skills, he is able to communicate telepathically
Telepathy
Telepathy , is the induction of mental states from one mind to another. The term was coined in 1882 by the classical scholar Fredric W. H. Myers, a founder of the Society for Psychical Research, and has remained more popular than the more-correct expression thought-transference...
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
Flight
Flight is the process by which an object moves either through an atmosphere or beyond it by generating lift or propulsive thrust, or aerostatically using buoyancy, or by simple ballistic movement....
through the technique called . 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. Piccolo's ultimate attack in the video games he has appeared in is called , 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. Piccolo also possesses the ability of "Scatter Shot" in which he fires many different chi
Qi
In traditional Chinese culture, qì is an active principle forming part of any living thing. Qi is frequently translated as life energy, lifeforce, or energy flow. Qi is the central underlying principle in traditional Chinese medicine and martial arts...
energy blasts shot from one hand at the same time. Piccolo is also seen possessing an attack called the , which Piccolo 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 (similar to "heat vision"), which he first uses against Krillin's energy attack during their match in the 23rd World Martial Arts Tournament, then later against Goku in the finals, and again when he trains Gohan in the Saiyan Saga.
Piccolo can also perform the "Namekian Fusion" which he does with Nail on the distant Planet Namek to confront Frieza and with Kami to confront the androids as a super namek.
In other media
Piccolo has been in many Dragon Ball-related video games such as Super Butōden, the BudokaiDragon Ball Z: Budokai (series)
The Dragon Ball Z: Budokai games are a series of fighting games based on the Dragon Ball media franchise.- Gameplay :The Budokai series plays like a typical 3-D fighting game. As well as including the regular punch and kick buttons, there is the ability to shoot Ki blasts. which can also be used in...
and Budokai Tenkaichi
Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi (series)
The Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi series, originally published as in Japan, is a series of fighting games based on the anime and manga Dragon Ball by Akira Toriyama. Each installment was developed by Spike, while they were published by Bandai in Japan and Atari in all other countries, up to...
series of games, as well as Dragon Ball Z: Infinite World
Dragon Ball Z: Infinite World
is a video game for the PlayStation 2 based on the anime and manga series Dragon Ball. The game was developed by Dimps and published in North America by Atari and in Europe and Japan by Namco Bandai under the Bandai label. It was released in North America on November 4, 2008, in Japan on December...
and Dragon Ball Z: Burst Limit
Dragon Ball Z: Burst Limit
is a video game for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 consoles based on the anime and manga series Dragon Ball. The game was developed by Dimps and published in North America and Australia by Atari, and in Japan and Europe by Namco Bandai under the Bandai label...
. He is a playable character
Player character
A player character or playable character is a character in a video game or role playing game who is controlled or controllable by a player, and is typically a protagonist of the story told in the course of the game. A player character is a persona of the player who controls it. Player characters...
in some crossover games such as Jump Super Stars
Jump Super Stars
is a 2D fighting game for the Nintendo DS. It was developed by Ganbarion and published by Nintendo. The game was released on August 8, 2005 in Japan and accompanied the release of a red Nintendo DS...
and Jump Ultimate Stars
Jump Ultimate Stars
is a fighting video game developed by Ganbarion and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo DS. It is the sequel to Jump Super Stars, also released for the DS. The game was released in Japan on November 23, 2006...
.
Reception
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 from the series, noting how he decides to train Gohan to fight Vegeta. Although Katherine Luther from About.comAbout.com
About.com is an online source for original information and advice. It is written in English, and is aimed primarily at North Americans. It is owned by The New York Times Company....
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 from 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 such 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 from the later anime. While reviewing the fourth film from Dragon Ball Z Anime News Network
Anime News Network
Anime News Network is an anime industry news website that reports on the status of anime, manga, Japanese popular music and other otaku-related culture within North America, Australia and Japan. Additionally, it sometimes features similar happenings throughout the Anglosphere and elsewhere in the...
writer Allen Drivers found Piccolo's initial scenes in such movie was peacefully enough to entertain viewers. In a later film, John Sinnott from DVD Talk
DVD Talk
DVD Talk is a website for DVD enthusiasts founded in January 1999 by Geoffrey Kleinman when DVDs and DVD players were first beginning to hit the market.The site started as an online forum, an email newsletter, and a page of DVD news and reviews...
criticized Piccolo's involvement during it as he appears "from out of no where" in order to fight alongside his friends giving the film little reasoning. Piccolo has appeared in various Anime Grand Prix poll, taking high places in the category "best male character."