Dragon Ball: How Many Times Has Piccolo Died & How Many People Has He Killed?
In the world of "Dragon Ball," death has befallen plenty of crucial characters in the series and dealt with the same level of inconvenience as getting mail sent to the wrong address. It happens regularly and can take three to five business days before it's rectified. Plenty of Z-fighters have briefly bit the dust and returned from the dead, including its most stoic and snot-colored combatant, Piccolo.
The Namekian that began as Goku's enemy in "Dragon Ball" eventually became one of Earth's greatest champions and a devoted mentor and friend to Goku's son, Gohan, in "Dragon Ball Z" and beyond. The issue, of course, is that while he might have bested many threats over the years, many of them have come at the ultimate sacrifice that, without the Dragon Balls, would've kept Piccolo permanently out of action.
But how often has Goku and company called on Shenron, or any other wish-granting dragon, to do them a solid and bring Piccolo back to the land of the living? And if we're tallying up the essential details, how many foes has the wielder of the Special Beam Cannon put out to pasture himself? Well, while he may indeed be one of Earth's most formidable fighters, he's also been one of its most consistent casualties.
Piccolo has one of the highest death counts in the Dragon Ball universe
Though he might be one of the most formidable heroes in the world of "Dragon Ball," by the count so far across all the anime shows, Piccolo has kicked the bucket a total of five times, only for giant dragons and gods to apply a workaround to bring him back. His first death was in "Dragon Ball Z" when he was killed by Vegeta's war buddy, Nappa, protecting Gohan. His sacrifice was later rewarded when the Dragonballs on Namek brought him back to life. Those peach-colored McGuffins were used again sometime later when Piccolo was revived along with other heroes after Kid Buu blew up the Earth (another recurring issue in the anime).
Even in an alternate timeline, Piccolo took a pounding in Future Trunks' story after being among the many that the Androids took out during their takeover of the planet, which was thankfully averted. Later, in "Dragon Ball GT," he decided to call it a day again when the Black Star Dragonballs brought about the end of the world (again with this?), and to avoid the trinkets returning to cause more chaos, Piccolo accepted his fate. However, his most recent exit was at the hands of Frieza in "Dragon Ball Super." Okay, so he's been killed a few times? So what? That's not to say the former reincarnation of King Piccolo hasn't taken down some bad guys in his time, either.
Piccolo has a pretty even kill-death ratio
If Piccolo has been brought back from the brink so many times, it's only because he's proved his worth time again on the battlefield by going up against and defeating some of the toughest foes to throw an energy blast. Sure, he's taken down plenty of henchmen in his time, a bunch of Saibamen here, an Armored Squad belonging to King Cooler there. However, one of his most notable victories was against the evil Saiyan Raditz (although it also killed Goku in the process). This was a pivotal moment for Piccolo that fully turned him around to fight the good fight and stick with it. After that, Sansho fell at the Namekian's hands in the movie, "Dragon Ball Z: Dead Zone," Lord Slug's winged henchman ingeniously named Wings, and Hatchiyack in "Dragon Ball Z: Plan to Eradicate the Saiyans."
For some other victories, Piccolo has played a key contributor to taking some down, with his most recent team effort being in "Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero." He worked alongside his former student Gohan to bring Cell Max down with a new form, Orange Piccolo. Ultimately, even after biting the bullet earth-shattering blasts as often as he has, you can't keep a good Namekian down, and we're glad to keep it that way.