Piccolo Daimao Takes a Dive?!

[DarkPrince_92]

So, I was watching DBZ Kai earlier at work and it was episode 4 where Piccolo used Regeneration. Then it hit me..... When Piccolo Daimao was fighting with Goku, why didn't he use regeneration? We've seen Piccolo Jr, have a whole blown through his stomach, but he regenerated later on...so.... what the hell.

[Bussani]

Early on, Namekian regeneration just seems to be a way to restore lost limbs. Think of all the Namekians who died from fairly normal wounds in the Freeza saga. Even Piccolo almost died when Freeza shot him through the chest, but later, in the Buu saga, he seems able to regenerate even after being shattered as a statue (although people disagree about just how shattered he was).

It's probably also worth pointing out that Daimao had used up a lot of his power during his battle with Goku. Maybe he didn't have the stamina left to regenerate, even if he theoretically could.

[In Brightest Day]

Basically what Bussani said. Piccolo was too worn out and the injury sustained was too debilitating.

[The Tori-bot]

I've wondered this myself. To add to Bussani's answer, there was also the Namekian warrior who got Dodoria's fist through his chest. But then again, you'd think that if all you need to regenerate is a head... meh.

*insert "Toriyama hadn't thought of it yet/thought it all through" here*

[sonikku956]

Simple. Some wounds can't regenerate, especially giant wounds in your chest.

Also, Piccolo was a demon back then.

[The Tori-bot]

Also, Piccolo was a demon back then.

So was Piccolo Jr until he merged with Kami, and that didn't stop him...

[Herms]

So was Piccolo Jr until he merged with Kami, and that didn't stop him...

He was apparently not a demon anymore by the time Raditz came along, hence Raditz and Goku going to the afterlife.

[The Tori-bot]

So was Piccolo Jr until he merged with Kami, and that didn't stop him...

He was apparently not a demon anymore by the time Raditz came along, hence Raditz and Goku going to the afterlife.

Oh yeah. So... is "demon-ness" classified by a moral barometer? Or was the reborn Piccolo just not a demon? And if so, how would that work? It's be like two brown-haired peope with brown-haired parents and brown-haired grandparents having a red-haired baby...

Plus, Tambourine was definitely a demon, so we can assume Daimao's other hench-spawn were all demon-y...

[sonikku956]

So was Piccolo Jr until he merged with Kami, and that didn't stop him...

He was apparently not a demon anymore by the time Raditz came along, hence Raditz and Goku going to the afterlife.

Oh yeah. So... is "demon-ness" classified by a moral barometer? Or was the reborn Piccolo just not a demon? And if so, how would that work? It's be like two brown-haired peope with brown-haired parents and brown-haired grandparents having a red-haired baby...

Plus, Tambourine was definitely a demon, so we can assume Daimao's other hench-spawn were all demon-y...

He was a demon until Vegeta saw that he looked like a normal Namekian.

[shonenhikada]

Why is it Piccolo didn't react to Goku's attack ? PIS ?

[Saiga]

It's possible that only warriors can regenerate, I suppose.

[matt0044]

It's possible that only warriors can regenerate, I suppose.

Or that when the vitals (like the heart, guts and whatnot) are busted, it hinders the regeneration. I can imagine so.

[The Tori-bot]

It's possible that only warriors can regenerate, I suppose.

Or that when the vitals (like the heart, guts and whatnot) are busted, it hinders the regeneration. I can imagine so.

Really, the only thing standing in the way of that explanation making sense is Piccolo coming back just fine from nothing but his head. He lost a whole bunch of vital organs that time.

[shonenhikada]

It's possible that only warriors can regenerate, I suppose.

Or that when the vitals (like the heart, guts and whatnot) are busted, it hinders the regeneration. I can imagine so.

Really, the only thing standing in the way of that explanation making sense is Piccolo coming back just fine from nothing but his head. He lost a whole bunch of vital organs that time.

Maybe as you get stronger regeneration becomes easier and more advance, as evident with cell who was able to come back with half his body missing on multiple occasions.

[Hellspawn28]

Most likely that AT didn't write Daimao as Namekian and never thought the idea of regeneration is most likely the reason.

[Gaffer Tape]

He was a demon until Vegeta saw that he looked like a normal Namekian.

I'm assuming you're referring to a retcon, but that's not exactly it as he was already explicitly stated to no longer be a demon well before that, just after Raditz and Goku died. So out of universe, it might have been Toriyama gradually working his retcon in (since, as he's stated, he decided they were aliens when he brought God into the story), but in-universe, it's of no relation. The demon thing and the alien thing can co-exist. Piccolo just grew out of his rebellious phase somehow during the five year timeskip.

[Herms]

Remember that before the Namekian thing was introduced, the idea was that there was just some talented Earthling martial artist who happened to be green and have antennae. He expels the evil in his heart to become totally good and take over as God of Earth, while the evil he expelled became the demon Piccolo. Piccolo was considered demonic because he was literally made out of evil. Under this setup, there's no reason to think that the planet of origin for the guy who's evil formed into Piccolo has any bearing on whether Piccolo is or isn't a demon. It's kinda like with Boo: he just plain is a demonic/magical creature. He was created on another planet, but that has nothing to do with it. Or "Majin" Vegeta: he's still an alien from Planet Vegeta, but enhanced by magic.

So, ugh, regeneration. Is it possible Boo-era Piccolo has regenerative powers greater than those of a typical Namekian? I mean, he is supposed to be a "Super Namekian" at this point. For that matter, Piccolo dies without loosing any limbs during the fight with Nappa, so there does seem to be a change in what sort of damage it takes to kill him. Or maybe it's like some others have said, and he can't regenerate if he's used up all his energy or whatever.

[Zestanor]

Maybe Daimao didn't know he could regenerate.

[Herms]

Maybe Daimao didn't know he could regenerate.

Well, Cell apparently didn't realize he could regenerate eithe, until he saw Piccolo do it.

[Bussani]

Oh yeah. So... is "demon-ness" classified by a moral barometer? Or was the reborn Piccolo just not a demon?

It could be either as far as the evidence goes. It could even be a mix of both, e.g. Piccolo was reborn with slightly different morals and thus wasn't a demon anymore.

It's possible that only warriors can regenerate, I suppose.

Or that when the vitals (like the heart, guts and whatnot) are busted, it hinders the regeneration. I can imagine so.

Really, the only thing standing in the way of that explanation making sense is Piccolo coming back just fine from nothing but his head. He lost a whole bunch of vital organs that time.

It's a bit hard to tell from the panel just how broken the Piccolo statue was. I think he was more than just a head--maybe split at the waist?