How Dragon Ball Super Recreated Piccolo’s Best DBZ Moment

Dragon Ball Super perfectly recreated Piccolo’s best moment from Dragon Ball Z. Piccolo, Goku’s former rival and Universe 7’s strongest Namekian, has fought on the side of the Z-Warriors since Raditz first came to Earth, and over the years he’s provided viewers with quite a few memorable moments, with the most important of them being his death in the Saiyan Saga.

What happened to Piccolo in the Saiyan Saga shaped Piccolo into the person that he is now. At the time, Piccolo wasn’t interested in being a hero. He agreed to help them fight Vegeta and Nappa because he knew they’d need to work together to survive. But after training Goku’s son, Gohan, Piccolo developed an attachment to the boy. When it came time for the fight with Nappa, Piccolo protected Gohan and managed to outlast Yamcha, Chiaotzu, and Tien, who all died at Nappa’s hands. When it looked like Gohan was about to be the next to die, Piccolo jumped between them and took the blast. Gohan lived, but Piccolo was killed by Nappa.

Years later, Piccolo met a similar fate in Dragon Ball Super’s Golden Frieza Saga. When Frieza returned to Earth, Piccolo, Gohan, Master Roshi, Krillin, and Tien had to team up against Frieza and his army of soldiers. Unfortunately, the character who should have been their strongest asset on the battlefield, Gohan, had slacked off on his training and wasn’t able to hold his own against Frieza. When Frieza fired off a blast that would have finished Gohan off, Piccolo jumped in front of him and took the hit. Thanks to Piccolo’s decision to make the ultimate sacrifice (again), Gohan survived the battle with Frieza and developed the motivation he needed to restart his training and become Ultimate Gohan again.

Piccolo’s death scene in the Golden Frieza paid homage to the first time he sacrificed himself. What Piccolo did for Gohan in the Saiyan Saga is the moment that he truly became a hero, and Dragon Ball Super was able to recreate that moment beautifully. By jumping in front of a blast that was meant for Gohan, Piccolo died in the same way – and for the same reason – that he did when he was killed by Nappa back when Gohan was just a child.

Following Frieza’s defeat, Piccolo was of course brought back to life by the Dragon Balls, but that doesn’t detract from the importance of Piccolo’s sacrifice. What Piccolo did is heavy with meaning for both his character and his relationship with Gohan. Ever since the Saiyan Saga, Piccolo has served as a mentor and even as a father figure to Gohan in the absence of Goku. Throughout Dragon Ball Z, Gohan notably wore Piccolo’s black outfit, rather than the trademark orange gi worn by Goku and his friends. This was symbolic of the admiration and affection that Gohan held for Piccolo, who many fans feel was a better father to Gohan than Goku himself. By dying to protect Gohan from Frieza, the Dragon Ball franchise once again demonstrated how much Gohan means to Piccolo, while simultaneously creating yet another unforgettable moment for the fan-favorite Namekian.

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