Namek Question

[otakutrevan]

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/34824610/ns ... ?GT1=43001

Today I came upon a article about a new species of fish discovered that produces chlorophyll via photosynthesis like a plant for energy. Piccolo stated a few times that he did not eat, but simply needs water. My point is do Nameks get energy via the sun like this newly discovered animal since thats the only way they could possibly obtain energy?

[Rocketman]

Since Namek has three suns, it makes a certain amount of sense that evolution would tend toward photosynthesis.

[dragondyle]

Didn't Gohan in Dragon Ball Z: Abridged state that Piccolo used photosynthisis as his way to feed, pretty much like a plant? I wouldn't call that a reliable source, but its something.

[Kiyza]

I'm pretty sure there was something in on of the Super Exciting Guides about this. Toriyama was being interviewed an he was asked how Namekians live off of water. He told them that they have some sort of enzyme that converts water into nutrients. He didn't mention anything about photosynthesis, though it did come off as somewhat similar.

[Bussani]

I'm pretty sure there was something in on of the Super Exciting Guides about this. Toriyama was being interviewed an he was asked how Namekians live off of water. He told them that they have some sort of enzyme that converts water into nutrients. He didn't mention anything about photosynthesis, though it did come off as somewhat similar.

Yeah, it's from the character volume.

Namekians
Then Toriyama is asked about Namekians being able to get nourishment from just water. Toriyama says that he thinks the reason Namekians can live on just water is because they have enzymes in their bodies that turn water into nutrients. Incidentally, he says, the plants the Namekians cultivate, the Ajissa, are named after hydrangea plants (ajisai in Japanese), which snails like (they do?). As it happens, Viz actually flat-out called the Ajissa plants “hydrangea plants”.

Funny, I was going to post in this thread yesterday and say, "well, it's not the only way they could get energy. They could have magic (compared to real life) bodies that allow them to turn water into fuel." I completely forgot about this part of the SEG until Kiyza mentioned it.

[Rocketman]

Toriyama was being interviewed an he was asked how Namekians live off of water. He told them that they have some sort of enzyme that converts water into nutrients.

Why does anybody listen to Toriyama when he attempts to give a 'scientific' explanation? He is always completely wrong on how everything works.

[Kiyza]

In all honesty, when has Dragon Ball ever been scientific? But you know, there are so many different elements, some of which may not have even been discovered yet, and so many different ways to combine all of them, who's to say that this is completely impossible? It's a little bit like saying alchemy is bull when, at the rate technology is advancing, maybe 100 years in the future, mankind will learn to turn lead into gold. Or something like that. I'm sorry if this sounded like insane crap.

[Rocketman]

It's a little bit like saying alchemy is bull when, at the rate technology is advancing, maybe 100 years in the future, mankind will learn to turn lead into gold. Or something like that. I'm sorry if this sounded like insane crap.

We already know how to turn lead into gold (remove protons from its nucleus, ie, split the atom). It was done in freaking 1980. The problem is that lead is incredibly stable, so it costs waaaay more money to get enough energy together to split a lead atom than the new gold atom is worth.

[Bussani]

Toriyama was being interviewed an he was asked how Namekians live off of water. He told them that they have some sort of enzyme that converts water into nutrients.

Why does anybody listen to Toriyama when he attempts to give a 'scientific' explanation? He is always completely wrong on how everything works.

Because he's the author, so 'science' in Dragon Ball works however he says it does?

[Khalid Shahin]

Toriyama was being interviewed an he was asked how Namekians live off of water. He told them that they have some sort of enzyme that converts water into nutrients.

Why does anybody listen to Toriyama when he attempts to give a 'scientific' explanation? He is always completely wrong on how everything works.

Is that converts water into nutrients? Or is it gets the nutrients from the water? That doesn't seem to be bad, anything wrong with that statement could be from translation error. But I may just be proving your point.

[caejones]

The quote made it sound like Toriyama was speculating, making me wonder if he was just throwing out ideas and not intending it as fact. I dunno.

But... yeah, that article about the seaslug sounds like they discovered Namekians, so I say "Yay!".
Now, if they can regenerate, reproduce asexually, and produce magical wish-granting dragons controlled by mystical orbs...

[Xyex]

I've always figured that Namekians got some of their 'food' from sunlight. Water alone really shouldn't be a good energy source. Besides, they're green, and green is the color of photosynthesis! Namek having three suns also makes this seem more likely.

[rereboy]

I've always figured that Namekians got some of their 'food' from sunlight. Water alone really shouldn't be a good energy source. Besides, they're green, and green is the color of photosynthesis! Namek having three suns also makes this seem more likely.

That means that kami and Piccolo are starving a litlle on Earth, since it only has one sun, it has night, and they were made to exist in a world with no night and three suns.

[Khalid Shahin]

I've always figured that Namekians got some of their 'food' from sunlight. Water alone really shouldn't be a good energy source. Besides, they're green, and green is the color of photosynthesis! Namek having three suns also makes this seem more likely.

That means that kami and Piccolo are starving a litlle on Earth, since it only has one sun, it has night, and they were made to exist in a world with no night and three suns.

That's why they sleep. :O

[Xyex]

I've always figured that Namekians got some of their 'food' from sunlight. Water alone really shouldn't be a good energy source. Besides, they're green, and green is the color of photosynthesis! Namek having three suns also makes this seem more likely.

That means that kami and Piccolo are starving a litlle on Earth, since it only has one sun, it has night, and they were made to exist in a world with no night and three suns.

That's why Piccolo was such a weakling compared to Nail prior to his arrival on Namek! He was constantly 'starving' on Earth!

[Khalid Shahin]

Speaking of which. Why was the Great Elder fat compared to the others. He was inside most of the time. I bet he was holding out on solid food and let only Muuri on it once in a while.

[Kiyza]

Speaking of which. Why was the Great Elder fat compared to the others. He was inside most of the time. I bet he was holding out on solid food and let only Muuri on it once in a while.

Maybe it's a bit like how some species of animals never stop growing during their lives. Namekians live a long time, so maybe it wouldn't be that weird for them to be so big after several hundred years.

[rereboy]

He was fat because in his old age he hardly ever moved. And so his body accumulated fat. Maybe

[Xyex]

It's a severe case of water retention! Probably a good five or six hundred gallons worth.

[SaiyaMel]

It's a severe case of water retention! Probably a good five or six hundred gallons worth.

Or maybe from the photosynthesis - their bodies can convert that energy into fat reserves as an adaptation for when they happen to not be out in the sun much... and so in the case of Saichouro - it maybe a combination of spending too much time indoors and a slow metabolism due to his age/genetics.