Piccolo The Friendly Demon

The first subject I'd like to touch on is Piccolo's existence. Piccolo is a Namek, a green-skinned, bald alien living on the planet earth. When Kami, the first Namek, came to earth, he wished to become earth's guardian. To do so, he difused all the evil out of himself into a seperate entity known as Piccolo-Daimao. At this time, on earth, Kami was god and Piccolo-Daimao was the devil. As with all evil entities, Piccolo-Daimao is eventually defeated by a young boy named Gokou. Before Piccolo-Daimao dies, however, he gives birth to a son*1 named Piccolo. So, for all practical purposes, Piccolo is the son of the devil and composed of complete and utter evil. So why is he so important?

Piccolo becomes more through the series. Allthough he is completely evil, from a genealogical standpoint, he develops into a stolid yet kindly individual. When Raditz arrived on earth, Piccolo recognized a threat to the world and was willing to team up with his arch-enemy, Gokou, to stop the villain, to sacrifice for the greater good. Piccolo's ability to make such a choice shows a distinct movement away from his inherent evilness. After Gokou's death*2 in the ensuing battle, Piccolo recognized the further threat of more Saiyans*3 and took it upon himself to train Gohan, Gokou's powerful son. This is where the real change began to take place in Piccolo.

Having worked with the young, innocent Gohan for a long time, Piccolo seems to discover an almost parental defender attidude towards his young ward. Gohan's kindly attitude also obviously rubs off on Piccolo a little as well, as from this point forward he retains his stoicism but is impelled towards the greater good; the transformation is complete. Piccolo has gone from being Gokou's worst enemy to recognizing that Gokou is right in what he does, and he further realizes that he can help Gokou achieve his noble ends. Piccolo from this point forward is Gokou's strongest ally*4 and staunchest supporter. He makes sure the other warriors heed Gokou's instructions, and is always on hand to help if the fight becomes too much for Gokou to handle alone. As a sign of this full circle, Piccolo remerges with Kami, after Kami declares that Piccolo has sufficient good in him to make a greater combined deity.

So what does all this mean, why is Piccolo such an important symbol? Piccolo represents an ideal; he shows how a glory can be reached. He begins the series as an entirely evil person, with no regard for anyone or anything. And yet, as Piccolo so aptly demonstrates, people have the capacity for change. In his case, he can swing from being earth's greatest fear to its greatest defender*5. People have the ability to make the same complete changes, and Piccolo illustrates how such things can happen, if only given a chance.