Why does Mai hang around with Pilaf anyway?

[precita]

What exactly is Mai's loyalty to Pilaf? We can assume Shu is loyal, because well...he's just a dumb dog person. He seems like the typical idiot lackey most villains have.

Mai, as far as we know, is just a normal human woman. What can she possibly think about Pilaf that makes him so great that she spends her entire life hanging around him? You would think after Pilaf's repeated failures in Dragonball she would decide to go off on her own and do whatever, but she's still part of his trio.

[Nejishiki]

Sometimes when a group sets out to accomplish a goal, they form bonds that link themselves together forever. What started out as a job for their royalty evolved into them becoming a real family. They made it this far throughout the entirety of Dragon Ball with each other, what's a few more decades? You can see the results for yourself as they treat each other in Resurrection F and aren't too down over wasting a wish, implying they enjoy the journey of struggling together way too much. If they're going to take over the world, they're going to do it on their own terms!

[RedRibbonSoldier#42]

Sometimes when a group sets out to accomplish a goal, they form bonds that link themselves together forever. What started out as a job for their royalty evolved into them becoming a real family. They made it this far throughout the entirety of Dragon Ball with each other, what's a few more decades? You can see the results for yourself as they treat each other in Resurrection F and aren't too down over wasting a wish, implying they enjoy the journey of struggling together way too much. If they're going to take over the world, they're going to do it on their own terms!

Or maybe they're all just really dumb

[Nejishiki]

That goes without saying. I'm merely walking in their shoes, so to speak.

[MozillaVulpix]

We can assume Shu is loyal, because well...he's just a dumb dog person.

That's racist.

But joking aside, none of them are very smart. Or even particularly evil. It's not like Mai is one of those hyper-competent sidekicks. She's just as bad at being a villain as Pilaf is. All 3 of them are made for each other.

[DragonBallFoodie]

I think we're looking deeper into this than intended.

Mai and Shu were Pilaf's henchman, because that's how they were created. We won't get any serious backstory to them, and I don't think they need any.

But it's interesting to note that thanks to BoG, Mai is now Trunks' girlfriend and has turned into a more developed character than she started out as.

[Lord Beerus]

Maybe Mai just... well... genuinely enjoys being in Pilaf's company and see him as a good friend to hang around with.

[Kanassa]

The BoG arc and movie clearly shows Mai and Shu to be extremly devoted to Pilaf, even willing to starve for the sake of his pride and even if Pilaf doesn't say it he seems to have the same feelings. I don't think it's looking to far into the situation to say ''They've become hideous and hilarious failures... Together!"

[TheZFighter]

On the surface it just appears that they're a trio who are incredibly devoted to one another. They're Dragon Ball's equivalent of the Team Rocket trio. Alright, Jessie, James and Meowth are paid a wage and essential work for the same company, but you know if they didn't work for Team Rocket they'd probably still stick together.

The Mai character has always interested me a lot, because you just wonder how and why she ended up stuck with a weird evil-Imp character and an anthropomorphic dog, but alas she is one of many, many Dragon Ball characters without a backstory. I do like the way in which her character has been reused in Future Trunks's timeline.

I was wondering though, do we know how/ why main timeline Pilaf, Shu and Mai turned into kids?

[DragonBallFoodie]

I was wondering though, do we know how/ why main timeline Pilaf, Shu and Mai turned into kids?

The BOG arc says they wished on Shenron to get their youth back because they were elderly, but the wish was misinterpreted and they ended up as kids.

[Nejishiki]

While the Battle of Gods film never mentions a specific AGE, Pilaf recounts to Shu and Mai at Capsule Corporation how pointless it would be to rule the world as old cronies nearing death, so they requested Shen Long to make them younger. Shu makes a remark that the wish greatly benefited himself due to, "dog years".

[SuperSaiyanBatman]

Maybe Mai just... well... genuinely enjoys being in Pilaf's company and see him as a good friend to hang around with.

I believe this.

The way they've been portrayed it's always seemed like their each others only friends, hence why they're STILL together after all this time. They kind of really suck at being evil, so I can't think they met on the basis of work, but well if they did, it's more than that now.

Of course yeah we're all reading in deeper into this, but the Toriyama "I don't care about much except if it's funny" isn't really satisfying with every question, so hey.

Plus Pilaf is one of the better bosses you could have as a henchman in the Dragon Ball world. Possibly the best.

[floofychan333]

Maybe she just can't get another job. Wasn't she hired from a want ad?

[Danfun64]

Plus Pilaf is one of the better bosses you could have as a henchman in the Dragon Ball world. Possibly the best.

I remember when I looked at the Pilaf saga in the DB manga and compared it to the DB anime. In the manga, the worst thing Pilaf does to Mai and Shu is yell at them for using crude humor (like Dr. Slump's trademark Poop-on-a-stick). In anime filler, there were a couple moments where he tortured them (once by electrocution). It's amazing how filler can cause characters to get out of character...

[DBZAOTA482]

Plus Pilaf is one of the better bosses you could have as a henchman in the Dragon Ball world. Possibly the best.

I remember when I looked at the Pilaf saga in the DB manga and compared it to the DB anime. In the manga, the worst thing Pilaf does to Mai and Shu is yell at them for using crude humor (like Dr. Slump's trademark Poop-on-a-stick). In anime filler, there were a couple moments where he tortured them (once by electrocution). It's amazing how filler can cause characters to get out of character...

Yeah, anime filler also made Muten Roshi a borderline-rapist and Yajirobe a selfish asshole.

[RedRibbonSoldier#42]

Plus Pilaf is one of the better bosses you could have as a henchman in the Dragon Ball world. Possibly the best.

I remember when I looked at the Pilaf saga in the DB manga and compared it to the DB anime. In the manga, the worst thing Pilaf does to Mai and Shu is yell at them for using crude humor (like Dr. Slump's trademark Poop-on-a-stick). In anime filler, there were a couple moments where he tortured them (once by electrocution). It's amazing how filler can cause characters to get out of character...

Yeah, anime filler also made Muten Roshi a borderline-rapist and Yajirobe a selfish asshole.

And Blue a pedophile, and Chi Chi insufferable.....filler ruins everything

[TheQuazz]

Those gold-diggers just want Pilaf's ravioli.