Big surprise during the first episode of Dragon Ball DAIMA, which debuted worldwide yesterday. Akira Toriyama dropped a bomb that could well have consequences for the entire sequel to Dragon Ball, at least if the information is used intelligently (and that’s not a given). Indeed, spectators discovered the origin of the Namek peopleenough to make us think about everything we have seen over the past 40 years. And if you’re wondering how to watch Dragon Ball DAIMA, everything is explained in our previous articles.
The demonic origin of the Nameks
Since the beginning of Dragon Ball, we have been told that the Namek people are a peaceful and friendly race. And that’s indeed what we’ve seen so far, with one exception: Little Daimao (we’ll talk about it again later). We never asked the question of where the Nameks came from, because until now, the Nameks came from the planet Namek, period.
Except that recently, in chapter 69 of Dragon Ball Super, we learned for the first time that the Nameks come from another world. We didn’t have any more information than that at the time.
For the record, Piccolo means “other world”in Namekian language. But none foreshadowing here: when Akira Toriyama wrote this in chapter 244 of Dragon Ball, it is likely that it was simply to introduce the planet Namek, about which we knew nothing. The other world in question was simply the planet Namek.
But in theepisode 1 of Dragon Ball DAIMAAkira Toriyama has enriched his work with key information which is welcomed as a real gift by fans: The origins of the Nameks ! Indeed, we learn from the mouth of the new King of Demons that Nameks come from the Demon Realmlike Neva, an old Namek who also lives in the Demon Kingdom, and who has never left. He doesn’t even know that there are still other Nameks.
By the way, Neva is the one who created the Demon Realm Dragon Balls set, which has three of them. However, they are inaccessible, as each is protected by a powerful creature called Tamagami (= gods of balls).
Gomah and Degesu therefore explain to Dende that those who have pointed ears come in one way or another from Demon Realm. This applies to all Nameksbut probably also for Mister Popowhich appears distinctly on the plane where this explanation is pronounced.
Based on this postulate, we could even have fun asserting that other characters like Tapion, Bojack, or even Monaka, are from the Demon Kingdom, since it seems (according to Degesu) that this physical characteristic is enough to she alone to affirm that a being comes from the Realm of Demons.
A demonic origin already mentioned in the past
If all Nameks seem good and peaceful, there are some who are purely evil. This was the case of Little Daimao who was the embodiment of evil. This evil entity was created when the ancient Earth God cast out evil from his heart, precisely in order to become Earth God. Besides, Daimao means King of Demonsbut not sure that Akira Toriyama wanted to take us to this terrain at the time. Still, when Piccolo Daimao appeared, he and his henchmen were already presented as members of the demon clan (Demon).
Little Daimao was therefore the very first Namek to appear in the Dragon Ball universe, then he laid an egg containing his son Piccolo. Everything led to believe that the latter was also going to become evil, following in the footsteps of his father, but he managed to appease his heart by evolving alongside Goku and Gohan, and by having reconnected with his origins on the planet Namek. It was also by assimilating the former Earth God later, during the Cell arc, that Piccolo achieved the serenity that defines him today.
Akira Toriyama was able to distill the introduction of Nameks in a subtle way, by first revealing their role as creators of Dragon Ballsthen exploring in more depth their abilities, their history, and their role in the universe of Dragon Ball. Knowing these new elements, we would like to say that we can’t wait to see the developments that await Piccolo subsequently, but with the disappearance of Akira Toriyama last March, the future of Dragon Ball remains uncertain.
