Piccolo (Japanese: ピッコロ, Hepburn: Pikkoro) is a fictional character in the Japanese Dragon Ball media franchise created by Akira Toriyama. He made his appearance in chapter #161 "Son Goku Wins!!", published in Weekly Shōnen Jump magazine on February 9, 1988, as the reincarnation of the evil King Piccolo, who was positioned as a demonic antagonist of the series. However, it is later revealed that he is, in fact, a member of an extraterrestrial humanoid species called Namekians from an exoplanet called Namek, those able to create the series' eponymous wish-granting Dragon Balls. After losing to Son Goku in the World Martial Arts Tournament, Piccolo teams up with him and his friends to defeat newer, more dangerous and powerful threats, such as Vegeta, Frieza, Cell, Majin Buu, Beerus, Zamasu, Jiren, Broly, and Moro. He also trains Goku's eldest son, Gohan, and the two form a powerful bond. Piccolo is one of the most popular and recognizable characters from the Dragon Ball franchise. The character has been consistently well received by fans and video game publications, with high placements in multiple "top" character lists and popularity polls. The character has also inspired Naruto manga author Masashi Kishimoto, as well as an Internet meme which became popular in Japan in 2013.
Creation and development Piccolo, more specifically his parent, King Piccolo, was created by Toriyama as he wanted to have a villain who would be a true "bad guy." Before 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. King Piccolo 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 Toriyama himself. After creating King Piccolo, 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. When Toriyama was later asked in an interview, he admitted that Piccolo very soon grew to be his favorite character. Piccolo is initially assumed to, like his parent, be a member of the Demon Clan (魔族, Mazoku); however, midway through the series, it is learned that they are actually members of the alien race called Namekians (ナメック星人, Namekku-seijin). Toriyama stated that he never thought of making Piccolo an alien until Kami was introduced. Until recently, Dragon Ball Daima has introduced that Namekians are now from the Demon Realm, an alternate universe of demons, making the whole race of Namekians a Demon race. For the film Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero, Toriyama said that he wanted the plot to focus on the dynamic between Gohan and Piccolo due to how their close relationship motivates the former even more than his father, Goku, to be determined to fight. Orange Piccolo (オレンジ・ピッコロ, Orenji Pikkoro), which Toriyama considers Piccolo's first transformation, was made orange and extremely muscled to distinguish him from Piccolo's regular form. The buffed body was done since, unlike other characters, Piccolo does not have hair to change in a transformation. Toriyama wondered that while he should have been more over-the-top with Piccolo, he is glad he finally gave him a chance to make him as strong as Goku. Toriyama said that, while Piccolo is a stoic character, he wanted to make him act different in the movie.
Voice actors
In the original Japanese version of the anime and all other media, Piccolo is voiced by Toshio Furukawa, with the only two exceptions being his initial newborn child form which was voiced by Hiromi Tsuru, and in Dragon Ball Daima, where a mini version of Piccolo was voiced by Tomohiro Yamaguchi. 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 King Piccolo influenced his portrayal of Piccolo, Furukawa replied that because King Piccolo 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. 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 King Kai as memorable because it was so out of character for him. 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 (1-67 unedited) 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 (in association with Ocean Productions); by Ethan Cole in Chinook Animation's dub of Dragon Ball GT (produced in association with Blue Water Studios); 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 (wherein the character was referred to as "Big Green"), by David Gasman (who also voiced Goku in this dub) in the European dub of Dead Zone (there called In Pursuit of Garlic), vocal grunts by Ed Marcus in The History of Trunks (or Gohan and Trunks) 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.
… excerpt ends here. Continue reading the full article.
