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'''Original Series Villains''' ([[Characters/DragonBallRedRibbonArmy Red Ribbon Army]] [[[Characters/DragonBallCell Cell]]]) | [[Characters/DragonBallZVillains DBZ Villains]] ([[Characters/DragonBallFriezasEmpire Frieza's Empire]] [[[Characters/DragonBallFrieza Freeza/Frieza]] [[[Characters/DragonBallFriezaTropesAToH A to H]], [[Characters/DragonBallFriezaTropesIToY T to Y]]], [[Characters/DragonBallCooler Cooler/Coola]]], [[Characters/DragonBallMajinBuu Majin Buu]]) | [[Characters/DragonBallZMovieVillains DBZ Movie Villains]] ([[Characters/DragonBallBroly Broly]]) | [[Characters/DragonBallGTVillains GT Villains]] | [[Characters/DragonBallSuperVillains DBS Villains]] ([[Characters/DragonBallGokuBlack Goku Black]], [[Characters/DragonBallZamasu Zamasu/Zamas]] [[[Characters/DragonBallFusedZamasu Fused Zamasu/Zamas]]])-]]]]]
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'''Original Series Villains''' ([[Characters/DragonBallRedRibbonArmy Red Ribbon Army]] [[[Characters/DragonBallCell Cell]]]) | [[Characters/DragonBallZVillains DBZ Villains]] ([[Characters/DragonBallFriezasEmpire Frieza's Empire]] [[[Characters/DragonBallFrieza Freeza/Frieza]] [[[Characters/DragonBallFriezaTropesAToH A to H]], [[Characters/DragonBallFriezaTropesIToY T I to Y]]], [[Characters/DragonBallCooler Cooler/Coola]]], [[Characters/DragonBallMajinBuu Majin Buu]]) | [[Characters/DragonBallZMovieVillains DBZ Movie Villains]] ([[Characters/DragonBallBroly Broly]]) | [[Characters/DragonBallGTVillains GT Villains]] | [[Characters/DragonBallSuperVillains DBS Villains]] ([[Characters/DragonBallGokuBlack Goku Black]], [[Characters/DragonBallZamasu Zamasu/Zamas]] [[[Characters/DragonBallFusedZamasu Fused Zamasu/Zamas]]])-]]]]]
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'''Original Series Villains''' ([[Characters/DragonBallRedRibbonArmy Red Ribbon Army]] [[[Characters/DragonBallDrGero Dr. Gero/Android 20]], [[Characters/DragonBallCell Cell]]], [[Characters/DragonBallDemonKingPiccolo Demon King Piccolo]]) | [[Characters/DragonBallZVillains DBZ Villains]] ([[Characters/DragonBallFriezasEmpire Frieza's Empire]] [[[Characters/DragonBallFrieza Freeza/Frieza]] [[[Characters/DragonBallFriezaTropesAToH A to H]], [[Characters/DragonBallFriezaTropesIToY T to Y]]], [[Characters/DragonBallCooler Cooler/Coola]]], [[Characters/DragonBallMajinBuu Majin Buu]]) | [[Characters/DragonBallZMovieVillains DBZ Movie Villains]] ([[Characters/DragonBallBroly Broly]]) | [[Characters/DragonBallGTVillains GT Villains]] | [[Characters/DragonBallSuperVillains DBS Villains]] ([[Characters/DragonBallFrost Frost]], [[Characters/DragonBallGokuBlack Goku Black]], [[Characters/DragonBallZamasu Zamasu/Zamas]] [[[Characters/DragonBallFusedZamasu Fused Zamasu/Zamas]]], [[Characters/DragonBallMoro Moro]])-]]]]]
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'''Original Series Villains''' ([[Characters/DragonBallRedRibbonArmy Red Ribbon Army]] [[[Characters/DragonBallDrGero Dr. Gero/Android 20]], [[Characters/DragonBallCell Cell]]], [[Characters/DragonBallDemonKingPiccolo Demon King Piccolo]]) [[[Characters/DragonBallCell Cell]]]) | [[Characters/DragonBallZVillains DBZ Villains]] ([[Characters/DragonBallFriezasEmpire Frieza's Empire]] [[[Characters/DragonBallFrieza Freeza/Frieza]] [[[Characters/DragonBallFriezaTropesAToH A to H]], [[Characters/DragonBallFriezaTropesIToY T to Y]]], [[Characters/DragonBallCooler Cooler/Coola]]], [[Characters/DragonBallMajinBuu Majin Buu]]) | [[Characters/DragonBallZMovieVillains DBZ Movie Villains]] ([[Characters/DragonBallBroly Broly]]) | [[Characters/DragonBallGTVillains GT Villains]] | [[Characters/DragonBallSuperVillains DBS Villains]] ([[Characters/DragonBallFrost Frost]], [[Characters/DragonBallGokuBlack ([[Characters/DragonBallGokuBlack Goku Black]], [[Characters/DragonBallZamasu Zamasu/Zamas]] [[[Characters/DragonBallFusedZamasu Fused Zamasu/Zamas]]], [[Characters/DragonBallMoro Moro]])-]]]]]
Zamasu/Zamas]]])-]]]]]
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[[folder: Demon King Piccolo]]
See Characters/DragonBallDemonKingPiccolo.
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Tambourine]]
!!'''Tambourine (タンバリン, ''Tambarin'')'''
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/tambourine.png]]
->'''Voiced by (Japanese):''' Creator/RyuseiNakao\\
'''Voiced by (English):''' Creator/DameonClarke (Creator/FUNimation dub); Tony Binns (Blue Water dub)\\
'''Voiced by (Latin American Spanish):''' Creator/HumbertoSolorzano
Tambourine was King Piccolo's second-oldest son at the time he was released from his imprisonment and the longest-lasting of the three named sons who engaged in combat (Piano lasted longer and seemed to be older, but he never fought before Goku killed him by throwing his father at him), he is by far the evilest and sadistic of the three, he was ordered by his father to hunt down and kill any martial artists who participated in the World Martial Arts Tournament to prevent him from being sealed, he becomes Goku's arch enemy for the first half of the saga because he murdered his best friend Krillin, he stole his Dragon Balls, and he destroyed his Kinto'un cloud. After these events, Goku faces off against him and loses. He eventually faces off against him again for a final showdown and Goku kills him with a Kamehameha.
See Characters/DragonBallDemonKingPiccolo.
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Tambourine]]
!!'''Tambourine (タンバリン, ''Tambarin'')'''
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/tambourine.png]]
->'''Voiced by (Japanese):''' Creator/RyuseiNakao\\
'''Voiced by (English):''' Creator/DameonClarke (Creator/FUNimation dub); Tony Binns (Blue Water dub)\\
'''Voiced by (Latin American Spanish):''' Creator/HumbertoSolorzano
Tambourine was King Piccolo's second-oldest son at the time he was released from his imprisonment and the longest-lasting of the three named sons who engaged in combat (Piano lasted longer and seemed to be older, but he never fought before Goku killed him by throwing his father at him), he is by far the evilest and sadistic of the three, he was ordered by his father to hunt down and kill any martial artists who participated in the World Martial Arts Tournament to prevent him from being sealed, he becomes Goku's arch enemy for the first half of the saga because he murdered his best friend Krillin, he stole his Dragon Balls, and he destroyed his Kinto'un cloud. After these events, Goku faces off against him and loses. He eventually faces off against him again for a final showdown and Goku kills him with a Kamehameha.
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[[/folder]]
[[folder: Tambourine]]
!!'''Tambourine (タンバリン, ''Tambarin'')'''
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.
[[caption-width-right:350:[[labelnote:Click here to see Old King Piccolo]]https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/king_piccolo_old.png[[/labelnote]]]]
->'''Voiced by (Japanese):'''
'''Voiced by (English):'''
'''Voiced by (Latin American Spanish):'''
Tambourine was
->''"Order is dead and chaos reigns, thus says King Piccolo!"''
Not to be confused with his son [[Characters/DragonBallPiccolo Piccolo]], who would eventually become a hero in ''Dragon Ball Z''. Piccolo Daimaō - literally "Piccolo the Great Demon King" - was a demon of Namekian origin who was MadeOfEvil, created when the evil side of Kami was expelled and gained sentience. He once plunged the Earth into utter mayhem and pandemonium with his army of animal-like demon spawn, before being sealed away by Mutaito - Master Roshi and Master Shen's master - at the cost of his own life. Centuries later, he was freed by Pilaf and proved to be the toughest opponent yet for the young Son Goku. Of course, like all the villains he goes down eventually, in this case by a fist straight through his midsection, but not before passing his mind onto the last of his offspring.
Piccolo's
Added DiffLines:
* AdaptationalBadass: In ''Supersonic Warriors'' Demon King Piccolo puts up a decent fight against Piccolo Jr. after he had fused with Kami, despite being exponentially weaker than his son at that point.
* TheAgeless: Demon King Piccolo eventually obtains eternal youth from Shenron, though he doesn't live long enough for the 'eternal' part to come in. Strangely, the Funimation dub changes his wish just before summoning Shenron to have his youth ''restored''. The Daizenshuu reveals that he passed this on to Piccolo Jr.
* AlienFairFolk: Originally advertised as a demon but eventually revealed to be an alien, albeit an alien with supernatural origins. Thanks to {{Bowdlerization}} the US dub sidesteps all of this, with the narrator explicitly referring to him as an alien.[[note]]It's commonly believed that Piccolo being an alien is a "retcon" to him being a demon, but the manga and original Japanese anime never state that Piccolo's alien origins negate his demonic nature. Furthermore, neither the manga or Japanese anime state that being a demon and being an alien are mutually exclusive and there are other characters in and outside the original story that can be considered both (Garlic Jr., Slug, and Majin Buu to name a few).[[/note]]
* AndIMustScream:
** He was trapped in a ''rice cooker'' for hundreds of years at the bottom of the ocean. There's a reason why he's terrified of the Evil Containment Wave.
** Karin says that people killed by King Piccolo and his children won't go to the afterlife and are doomed to an endless suffering in limbo. His son Piccolo Jr. doesn't share this trait, as Son Goku's first death demonstrated. Kami speculates that this may be due to Piccolo Jr. being less geared towards villainy.
* AnarchoTyranny: Demon King Piccolo escapes from his prison and proceeds to TakeOverTheWorld after regaining his youth and sending his minions out to murder every fighter who might be able to oppose him. He decides to abolish all laws and encourages people to fight and kill each other while he remains in charge, enjoying the chaos he has unleashed.
* ArchEnemy:
** Demon King Piccolo became this to Goku after he murders Krillin and Master Roshi, leading the young boy on his first true RoaringRampageOfRevenge, a feat that wouldn't be seen again until the Saiyan's battle with Frieza. Demon King Piccolo feels the same and gave his grudge to his final son, Piccolo Jr.
** King Piccolo served this role to Master Roshi since his master Mutaito had to sacrifice himself to seal Piccolo away with the Mufuba and he murdered his fellow disciples with the exception of Shen. Once he realises that Piccolo has returned Roshi immediately tries to reseal Piccolo at the cost of his life. And while Piccolo wasn't aware of who Roshi was he did send his sons out to murder every martial artist he could find on the off chance that someone with the knowledge of the Mufuba could exist.
** Finally, King Piccolo serves this role to Kami due to the former being [[EnemyWithout the personification of the evil that Kami had to expel]] in order to become God. Kami has had to watch the evils that Piccolo committed without being able to interfere and, when his son Piccolo Jr. attempts to follow in his father's footsteps, he directly decides to intervene and seal Junior away himself. When it seems like Junior can't be stopped he even asks Tien to kill him before his evil can hurt anyone else.
* AwesomeButImpractical: He generally doesn't use his full power as it shortens his lifespan, but he's near unbeatable when he does.
* AxCrazy: Demon King Piccolo relishes pain and destruction, and is prone to maniacal laughter and {{Slasher Smile}}s.
* BaldOfEvil: As a Namekian, he has no hair and is a cruel despot to boot.
* BenevolentBoss: He treats his minions well since they are his children. He becomes upset when he feels Cymbal and Tambourine die and goes out of his way to avenge them. This stands out since he is the ''only'' BenevolentBoss in the series until Sorbet is introduced. This doesn't extend to Pilaf and his cronies though, since they're not his offspring.
* BigBad: Demon King Piccolo and his son are the first true [[BigBad big bads]] and are also the final villains of the last story arcs of the original ''Dragon Ball''.
* BigEater: An infamous filler scene shows Piano ordering cooks to prepare 101 servings of each of his favorite dishes such as dinosaur tongues and newt feces. Blegh. Ironically, his species doesn't even ''need'' food.
* BizarreAlienReproduction: He gives birth to his children by vomiting out eggs after reciting a nursery rhyme, which freaks out the Pilaf Gang. In the dub, he gives a chant about his children serving him. Apparently these eggs form in his throat rather than his abdomen or torso, since he was able to spawn Piccolo Jr right after Son Goku charged through his midsection.
* BlackSpeech: In the original Japanese, he gives a strange chant as he lays eggs of his offspring. In RealLife, this is based on a children's chant in Japan..
* {{Bookends}}: Demon King Piccolo started ''Dragon Ball's'' descent towards more serious plots. Majin Buu - whose backstory is a word-for-word duplicate of Demon King Piccolo's - marks the point where the series brings back some levity (albeit still having terrifylingly high stakes).
* BreathWeapon: Notably used it to ''[[DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu kill Shenron]]''.
* CardCarryingVillain: He openly admits that he hates peace and justice more than anything.
* CastFromLifespan: Producing more offspring is an exhausting and painful process noted by Piano to shave any his vitality, though he insists that there would be no drawbacks after gaining eternal youth. Drum and Piccolo Jr. eggs notably didn't require a chant, and were quicker to produce.
* TheChessmaster: Demon King Piccolo's plan of world domination was so well thought out and intricately planned it even took the heroes by surprise. The first thing he did was have his henchmen kill all the Earth's strongest martial artists so that no one could oppose him. Then he swallowed the Dragon Balls he had gained so that if anyone tried to kill him they would in the process destroy the Dragon Balls. After he had wished for his youth to be restored, he then ''kills Shenron'' just to ensure that no one could use the Dragon Balls and use any wishes against him.
* CombatPragmatist: He immediately killed Chiaotzu when he tried to sabotage Demon King Piccolo's quest for immortality by making his wish to Shenron before Piccolo did. He also checked Goku's ''pulse'' before confirming he was dead in their first battle. Then during his second battle with Goku he took Tien hostage, threatening to kill him if Goku approached him.
* TheCorrupter: It is stated by Master Roshi that Shen became corrupted after witnessing King Piccolo's cruelty and humiliating his master. Also, part of the reason why Piccolo frees all the prisoners and abolished all laws is to stroke the darkest aspects of humanity.
* CurbstompCushion: While he kicks Goku's ass easily during their first fight, Goku ''did'' manage to land several hits and even knock him to the ground.
* DarkestHour: Demon King Piccolo took over the world, killed several beloved characters, killed Shenron so no one could be wished back, was going to blow up a section of the world every year; things were not looking good until Son Goku got a last-minute power-up.
* DeathOfPersonality: Maybe. [[FlipFlopOfGod It seems to depend on what mood Toriyama is in.]] Either Piccolo Jr. is just his son and King Piccolo is still around in the afterlife or Piccolo Jr. really is his father's reincarnation and Demon King Piccolo has effectively ceased to be. Videogames that give characters personalised interactions based on their opponents seem to imply that the two Piccolos are in fact separate entities.
* DefeatEqualsExplosion: For some reason, having a hole punched through his chest resulted in him exploding. Even stranger is that most characters killed by physical attacks at this point in the series normally simply die.
** Well, he ''is'' Kami's EnemyWithout. He might be literally MadeOfEvil.
** The anime implies it's an attempt at TakingYouWithMe, depicting Goku being injured and flung by the detonation. In the manga, he just fell.
** A better explanation would be that since he pocketed his essence into that last egg, thus reincarnating himself, his old body couldn't sustain itself any longer. The new demon was now officially Piccolo, and there couldn't exist two of him at once, so the original had to go.
* DespairEventHorizon: What he plunged the world into, twice, ''after he took over''.
* DidntSeeThatComing:
** His reactions when his kids get killed by Goku and Yajirobe. Even his right-hand man has a tough time believing it.
** Both Piano and King Piccolo are shocked when Goku reappears, still alive and stronger than ever, right after Piccolo all but killed him.
** Piccolo never saw coming that he would lose to Goku because he failed to disable his right arm.
* DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu: He actually ''killed'' Shenron with a [[BreathWeapon mouth blast]], just to prevent anyone from using the Dragon Balls again.
* DidntThinkThisThrough: Had Demon King Piccolo ''not'' been so estatic at regaining the power of "Everlasting ''youth''" and '''remembered''' to add the small but significant suffix "and life" to his wish from Shenron that Freeza would have done, he would have been literally invincible. Thankfully, his euphoria ''did'' override his common sense, resulting in a still-mortal lifespan (which he admits would significantly shorten if ever he used his full power) '''and''' make him pefectly-killable, as demonstrated by young Son Goku punching a hole clean ''through'' him.
* DirtyCoward: Near the end of his fight with Goku, Demon King Piccolo took Tien hostage and threatened to kill him if Goku tried anything. He then proceeded to break one of Goku's arms and both of his legs, immobilizing the boy. Too bad he left Goku an arm.
* DoNotAdjustYourSet: The first thing he does as Global Dictator is declare on International Television "I DON'T intend to lord over you: in fact, you are free to do as you please from now on: Kill, pillage, steal and rob to your heart's content: I hereby declare the end of peace and justice!". Cell must have taken notes from his genetic memory to have done the same 13 years later.
* TheDreaded:
** He is called the Demon King Piccolo. [[BigGood Master Roshi]] was terrified of him and he was considered the devil of the Dragon Ball world. Yajirobe really liked eating his minions, but upon learning ''who'' they were minions of he started shaking in fear and gave Goku the Dragon Ball that would have brought the demon to him. Three years after his death, when the World Martial Arts Tournament spectators discover Piccolo Jr.'s identity during his fight with Goku, they run out of the stadium en masse.
** From Piccolo's point of view, an Electric Jar. He was sealed in one for hundreds of years at the bottom of the ocean and fears it more than anything else, as well as the Evil Containment Wave, the technique that put him there. His first order of business upon his return is to kill every martial artist in the world to ensure he could never be imprisoned again. During his fight with Goku, he freaks out when he thinks Goku is about to perform the Evil Containment Wave (he was really charging a Kamehameha). And during his fight with Master Roshi, just Roshi mentioning his master Mutaito's name was enough to make Piccolo break out into a cold sweat. When Roshi shows him an Electric Jar, he ''runs for the hills screaming''. He also recoils in horror when Tien reveals that he intends to use the Evil Containment Wave on him (though Drum stops him from doing so).
* DubNameChange: In the Latin American Spanish dub, while largely retaining his original Japanese name, his name is pronounced in it as "Pikkoro Daima'''ku'''" for unknown reasons.
* DystopiaJustifiesTheMeans: Once Demon King Piccolo takes over the world, he says that he has no desire to rule over his subjects. Instead, he lets everyone do whatever they want, including robbery and murder. Later he decides to hold a lottery to destroy one region of the world per year. His goal is to make everyone live in fear for the rest of their lives.
* EarnYourTitle: He's called the Demon King and he turned the world into a living hell not once, but twice.
* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness:
** King Piccolo's children look nothing like traditional Namekians, having various odd features like wings or looking like reptiles. Suggested explanations are that either the parent Namekian can choose the appearance of their offspring, or King Piccolo's evilness twisted his offspring into mutants. It could also be a corrupted version of the magic Kami used to create Shenron.
** A filler scene shows Piano demanding chefs to prepare King Piccolo a massive feast to honor his taking over the world, but it is later revealed in the Namek Saga that his kind only needs water to sustain themselves. It is likely though that he either eats for pleasure or needs the extra nutrients to sustain himself on a planet that only has one sun.
** He bleeds red despite being a Namekian, whose blood is later shown to be purple. His reincarnation continued the trend up to his demise in the Saiyan Saga, though the ''Kai'' re-edit recolors his blood in that arc. By strange coincidence, they showed his son Drum's blood as purple.
** The fact that he didn't regenerate after Goku put that huge hole through his torso despite his reincarnation saying way later in the Buu arc that he can restore any injury as long as his head remains intact. To be fair, King Piccolo had already expended a good amount of his power on two Explosive Demon Waves during the fight with Goku, so he likely no longer had the reserves to do so.
* EnemyWithout: He is the evil within Kami's heart who took physical form after Kami expelled all the darkness inside himself.
* EvenEvilHasLovedOnes: For all of his evil, Piccolo ''does'' seem to care for his underlings/sons and personally goes after Goku to avenge them.
* EvilCounterpart:
** To Kami. He's the evil that existed within Kami before he became the Guardian of the Earth.
** He's also an evil counterpart to Goku. Both are aliens from worlds that were in distress (one being outright destroyed), they both were raised in isolation away from the civilized world, lost their memories of their old worlds, and had come to see the blue planet as their one true home. Their arrival on Earth also greatly impacted the planet changing it forever. The difference between them is that while living on Earth gave Goku the best qualities of humanity, it gave the Nameless Namekian that later split into Kami and Piccolo the worst qualities.
** The {{backstory}} about him being a demon "born" on Earth who once lead an army capable of destroying it before being sealed away are elements of Sun Wukong ''Dragon Ball'' Son Goku ''didn't'' inherent, making him even more of an evil counterpart. And, of course, Piccolo wasn't given a {{restraining bolt}} or MoralityChain when he was unsealed.
* EvilFeelsGood: He practically breathes this trope. See {{Card Carrying Villain}}.
* EvilHasABadSenseOfHumor: After his youth is restored, he summons Pilaf, Shu, and Mai and announces that their reward for helping him is...they get thrown off the ship. Pilaf is stunned for a few seconds and assumes he's joking. King Piccolo tells him that he doesn't waste time with jokes, and has them thrown out. Although what King Piccolo finds amusing is a ''lot'' different from what most people do. Pointedly, he saw Master Mutaito's struggling against his finger beams during their first battle as him "dancing" and brought it up again during their second.
* EvilIsBigger: He's ''huge'' compared to virtually everyone else he interacts with, as seen [[https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/dragonball/images/6/69/PilafGang%26PiccoloClan%28DBSagas%29.png/revision/latest?cb=20110312151250 here]]. Though it should be noted that this was back when ''Dragon Ball'' played it fast and loose with character heights. If Demon King Piccolo ever had a chance to appear in ''Dragon Ball Z'' or its successors, it's possible he'd just be above average in size.
* EvilLaugh: Frequently given how much he enjoys his work. His most notable moments are when he announces Piccolo Day and earlier when Shenron grants him eternal youth.
* EvilOldFolks: He's very old when he emerges from the rice cooker. Regaining his youth is his first priority.
* EvilOverlord: He calls himself the king of demons and wants to be emperor of the world.
* ExactWords: He repeatedly expresses the belief that no human could ever defeat him and is in disbelief when Goku does so. To be fair, he was technically right: no ''human'' ever beat him [[note]]though the human warriors would all surpass him eventually[[/note]]. Goku is a HumanAlien.
* {{Expy}}:
** His status as a demon seems to be a nod to the multiple demon enemies that Sun Wukong faced in ''Literature/JourneyToTheWest''.
** King Piccolo is also notable, in a series known for its persistent (if minor) use of RecycledScript, for having ''by far'' the greatest number of expies of his own in future ''Franchise/DragonBall'' villains. The list includes:
*** Characters who play on his AncientEvil [[SealedEvilInACan sealed in a can]] theme (both Garlic Jr. ''and'' [[TheGhost his father]], Bojack, Majin Buu, Hirudegarn, and [[Characters/DragonBallMoro Moro]])
*** Characters who play on his backstory (Garlic Sr. is an evil alien who attempted to become Earth's Kami, Lord Slug is an evil Namekian who wishes to have his youth restored, Dabura is a literal [[MaouTheDemonKing Demon King]], Beerus is an ([[AffablyEvil affably]]) evil counterpart to the local God expy who will die if said God is killed).
*** Piccolo Jr. is basically a direct continuation of his father's storyline and continues to frequently refer to himself as the Demon King.
*** Cell is essentially a DarkerAndEdgier (with a dash of DoingInTheWizard) retool of King Piccolo's entire storyline, including being a HopeCrusher {{Sadist}}, coming from a different time period ([[AncientEvil the past]] for Piccolo, [[TerminatorTwosome the future]] for Cell), gathering a set of artifacts in order to acquire a stronger physical form, [[{{Troll}} trolling]] the world by threatening with eventual (instead of immediate) destruction, spawning children to destroy the heroes instead of doing it himself, and is eventually defeated by a small child with only one arm (and [[DefeatEqualsExplosion exploding!]]).
*** Majin Buu continues the trend by being released by a diminutive villain who plans to rule the world/universe but is no real threat to the heroes himself (and is eventually betrayed by Buu to boot), being opposed by the local God and his attendant, and eventually reincarnating into a new body who eventually becomes an ally to Goku after fighting him at the next World Martial Arts Tournament.
*** Even Broly could be considered an expy, since both draw on the parts of Sun Wukong that Goku didn't exemplify: SealedEvilInACan for Piccolo, PowerLimiter headband for Broly, [[OutsideContextProblem unimaginable power]] (at the time) for both.
* EyeBeams: Notably the first character to utilize them, particularly when he zaps the original electric jar that Mutaito sealed him in. His reincarnation would utilize them to a greater extent.
* FamilyThemeNaming: King Piccolo and all of his children (Tambourine, Drum, Cymbal, Piano, Piccolo Jr.) are named after musical instruments.
* FangsAreEvil: He has his teeth on full display whenever he [[EvilLaugh laughs,]] which is fairly often.
* FantasticRacism: Not quite to the extent of Frieza's hatred of Saiyans, but he does view humanity as a whole to be lowly worms to be used for entertainment at best and target practice at worst, stating demons [[SuperiorSpecies to be superior.]] He passed the attitude onto all his sons, most notably Tambourine.
* FauxAffablyEvil: He speaks politely to Goku and even praises his skills in their first fight after Goku lands a few hits and manages to knock him down... before beating Goku within an inch of his life. He also calmly offers one of the king's guards a position as one of his men. When he refuses, Piccolo puts his hand through the guy's chest.
* AFatherToHisMen: Figuratively and [[TrulySingleParent literally]], and his only redeeming trait. Compared to ''every'' villain in the entire ''Dragon Ball'' series outside of Sorbet, he actually has some care for his underlings and will go out of his way to avenge them.
* FinalBoss: He is the final villain Goku confronts as a child or the Boyhood chapters in the manga.
* FluffyTheTerrible: The demon king of the Dragon World is named after a musical instrument. Launch outright mocks it, asking if that's his real name. Master Roshi is quick to point out that there is ''nothing'' charming about him despite his name. We learned much later that Piccolo chose the name because of its in-universe [[MeaningfulName meaning]].
* ForTheEvulz: Why he does everything. He loves to make others suffer.
* FreakOut: King Piccolo has the most noticeable showings of fear among ''Dragon Ball'' villains, his fear of Evil Containment Waveis why he sent his demon spawn to kill the world's best martial artists (At first it just seemed to be a simple case of PragmaticVillainy), and it's is so intense that the smallest hint someone is about to use it makes him panic, such as when he initially thought Goku's Kamehameha was Evil Containment Wave. And during his fight with Roshi, when Roshi says he was Mutaito's apprentice, King Piccolo breaks into cold sweat, and when Roshi shows an electric rice cooker and is about to use Mafuba, King Piccolo quickly tries to fly away. The only villain to show similar levels of fear is Android 19 from the Androids Saga, and even he only decided to run away once Vegeta ripped off his hands, which meant he couldn't fight back anymore, King Piccolo's fear prevents him from even fighting back if he thinks someone can use Evil Containment Wave.
* GeniusBruiser: [[{{Reincarnation}} Where do you think]] [[TheSmartGuy Piccolo]] [[ItRunsInTheFamily got it from?]] Demon King Piccolo gives himself plenty of insurance before and after acting on his plans. He had all of Earth's martial artists assasinated after a tournament when the strongest among them would be too worn out to fight back, he killed Shenron after getting his wish from him so that nobody else could use the Dragon Balls against him and he tried to turn humanity against itself so that they wouldn't unite against him.
* GreaterScopeVillain: For the original series before becoming the ArcVillain of the King Piccolo Saga. It was his actions that caused Kami to create the Dragon Balls. He wanted to give the people of Earth something to hope for after Piccolo's original rampage. Piccolo's cruelty is also the reason why the Crane Hermit became corrupt and abandoned his master's teachings. He also gave birth to his final son/reincarnation Piccolo Jr before dying.
* GreenAndMean: As a Namekian, he has green skin and is a daimao or "demon king" that brought unspeakable levels of terror and chaos to the Earth twofold. "Mean" would be giving him too much credit.
* HeroKiller: While he only directly kills Chiaotzu, he is also responsible for Master Roshi's death (who dies after failing to seal King Piccolo with the Evil Containment Wave) and orders the deaths of Krillin and many other World Martial Arts fighters. He also briefly kills Goku, though, in Goku's case, he was NotQuiteDead. He also comes ''damn'' close to killing Goku in their second fight and would have won if it was just them. Goku admits he would have been toast if Tenshinhan hadn't saved him from one of Piccolo's city-destroying blasts, and their fight ''would'' have been a mutual kill even with Ten's intervention if Yajirobe wasn't there to catch him at the last second.
* HumansAreBastards: King Piccolo's opinion of humanity is so low that he believed cutting them loose would cause more mayhem than establishing a dictatorship.
* ImpaledWithExtremePrejudice:
** He kills one of the king's strongest men by literally putting his hand through his chest.
** How he met his end at the literal hand of Goku, having ''punched right through him''.
* {{Irony}}:
** Nearly every one of King Piccolo's ambitions are fulfilled over the course of the series, such as Son Goku's death and humanity turning on each other for petty reasons. Of course, he doesn't live to see any of it and the last of his line became a good guy, so his victory is a hollow one.
** The boy who killed him would go on to have a son that would befriend Demon King Piccolo's own son.
* KnightOfCerebus: The wackiness of ''Dragon Ball'' with its childish enemies ended officially with him. There is nothing comical or light-hearted about him and his arc is the darkest in the original ''Dragon Ball'' in terms of both threat and deaths. Even in his old age, he beats Goku so thoroughly that Goku's heart stops, leaving him clinically dead for several minutes. Master Roshi [[LampshadeHanging acknowledges]] this when talking about his initial reign of terror long ago:
-->'''Roshi''': "His name may sound funny, but I assure you there is nothing amusing about that savage beast!"
* LargeAndInCharge: He is well over 8 feet tall.
* {{Leitmotif}}: Notable in that Kikuchi not only designed ''several'' variations for one particular tune but that it also carried over to Piccolo Jr. well ''into'' ''Z''.
* LooksLikeOrlok: He's bald, has goblin-ears, a hooked nose, pronounced canines and long nails. The anime also depicts him in a vampire-like fashion such as emphasizing his fangs and giving him a black and red cape in his past.
* MadeOfEvil: He's the physical incarnation of Kami's dark half. It is claimed that King Piccolo's malice is so potent that anyone who is killed by him or one of his demon spawn will have their souls trapped in limbo. As Son Goku was able to go to the afterlife upon being killed by Piccolo Jr, it appears that he might not be the same as his father.
* MakeSureHesDead: After beating Goku into the ground, he makes sure to check Goku's pulse before he leaves, discovering that Goku's heart has indeed stopped. Of course, he never anticipated that [[NotQuiteDead Goku's heart would restart itself shortly after he left]].
* MaouTheDemonKing: "Demon King" Piccolo. He was initially meant to be a demon lord that was the evil half of Earth's god and spawned a bunch of demonic minions, but later on, he was retconned as an alien Namekian, albeit one that was MadeOfEvil.
* MeaningfulName: An in-universe example. Piccolo means 'another world' in Namekian. So Demon King Piccolo's name translates to 'demon king from another world'.
* MindOverMatter: He levitates the hidden Dragon Balls, along with his two after Roshi dies. He was also able to fly back when UniquenessDecay hadn't stripped away the mystique of such an ability.
* MookMaker: Demon King Piccolo created his followers by birthing them through eggs.
* MoralMyopia: He's outraged that Goku has killed two of his sons and personally confronts him over it. This is despite the fact that Piccolo had been both - directly and indirectly - responsible for the deaths of countless innocents, including Goku's best friend Krillin.
* MyDeathIsJustTheBeginning: States something to this effect prior to giving birth to Piccolo Jr.:
-->"He's won for now... but my legacy on this planet ''will'' survive!"
** Piccolo Jr would eventually go on to kill Goku, indirectly give Vegeta the idea to find Dragon Balls on Namek and provide genetic material for Cell.
* NearVillainVictory: Piccolo succeeds in getting everything he wanted. He got the Dragon Balls to give him eternal youth and killed the dragon so no one could ever use the Dragon Balls against him. He also murdered a large number of the strongest fighters in the world, and seizes control of the entire world, turning it into a living hell. His reign was only short-lived because of Goku.
* NiceJobFixingItVillain: If King Piccolo hadn't spat out that last egg containing Piccolo Jr., Kami would've died with him, Shenron wouldn't have been restored, and all the people killed by King Piccolo and his sons would've stayed dead. In a wider sense, if Piccolo Jr was never born, Goku wouldn't have been as strong as he was to fight Raditz and assuming he managed to beat his brother on his own by some other means, he would be missing a powerful ally in all his future battles. Not to mention Gohan wouldn't have gained the combat skills necessary to help his father.
* NinjaPirateZombieRobot: An alien demon emperor kung-fu master, complete with his own gi, spaceship, and skull throne.
* NoHistoricalFiguresWereHarmed: Toriyama's editor Kazuhiko Torishima admitted King Piccolo's character and lust for malevolence were inspired by the tyrannical Roman Emperor UsefulNotes/{{Nero}}.
* NoHoldsBarredBeatdown: Demon King Piccolo delivered this to Goku in their first encounter. The beating was so severe he even stopped Goku's heart briefly.
* NoNonsenseNemesis: Demon King Piccolo's first order of business upon his return is to kill all the world's martial artists so no one could ever seal him again and collect the Dragon Balls to wish for youth. Upon finding out that two of his children are killed, he goes and deals with the threat directly and nearly kills Goku, even checking his heart to make sure he was dead. He allows the other heroes to collect the remaining Dragon Balls and swallowed his so they couldn't steal them. When he was about to make his wish Chiaotzu attempted to interrupt, only to be quickly killed. Once he regained his youth, he kills the Eternal Dragon so no one could ever use the Dragon Balls against him. There's a reason he remains the only villain in the series to [[TheBadGuyWins win]], only losing in the end because he never counted on [[NotQuiteDead Goku's heart restarting after he left]].
* NormalFishInATinyPond:
** If most power level claims are anything to go by, he's actually extremely weak by Namekian standards (260 at his peak, compared to the 3000 of the unnamed warriors Dodoria slaughtered easily), and he's technically not even a "real" Namekian, being half of one. Despite this, he was strong enough to be Earth's SatanicArchetype. Justified in a sense, as growing up on a planet with only a single sun, along with alien air and water would have left him severely malnourished compared to his brethren, to say nothing of his spawning ability draining his lifeforce.
** To elaborate, Piccolo, Jr. in 23rd Tournament has grown much stronger than his father. Yet, Junior was unable to defeat Raditz by himself, despite Raditz, in turn, being ''much'' weaker than even henchman villains like Dodoria!
** It has been stated by Guru that Kami and Piccolo became much weaker individually after they separated. Nail theorizes that the two fused together could beat Frieza (in his first form, at least), while Piccolo after fusing with both Nail and Kami made him a match for the Androids and Imperfect Cell.
** Demon King Piccolo is well and truly dwarfed by Dabura, who Shin states is in fact the true demon king. To add insult to injury, Dabura's main contributions to the plot involved getting brainwashed and eaten.
* NoSell: Demon King Piccolo took the Kamehameha head-on and did not receive so much as {{Clothing Damage}}.
* OhCrap: Demon King Piccolo inspires many of these when people realize who he is. Although he has a few himself; like realizing that Roshi knows the Evil Containment Wave, thinking Goku was going to use the Evil Containment Wave (he was doing the Kamehameha), when Tien (in the anime) uses it, and just before Goku punches a hole through his gut and he sees the shadow of the Great Ape.
* OmnicidalManiac: He decided to destroy one section of the world once a year. His first target was Bulma's hometown West City but was stopped by Goku before he could go that far. Needless to say, he is the first of ''many'' villains in the franchise to be this.
* OrcusOnHisThrone: For the early part of the saga, he remains on Pilaf's airship and lets his sons do the fighting for him. It isn't until Goku and his friends kill Cymbal and Tambourine that he directly intervenes.
* OurDemonsAreDifferent: Contrary to what some would have you believe, he is very much a demon ''in addition'' to being an alien (Namekian), ''not'' an extraterrestrial who mistook himself for something demonic. His being Kami's evil being given physical form and the mutant appearance of his sons should make that apparent. His final son/reincarnation also shared this trait for the beginning of his life, though it gradually lessened throughout ''Z'' until, by the time of his rejoining with Kami, it had all but vanished.
* OutsideGenreFoe: Before King Piccolo and his sons all of Goku's opponents have been mostly human and funny animals with some robots, androids, cyborgs, and mutants thrown in. King Piccolo's arrival marked a major shift in the story's tone and set the standards for the new enemies Goku will be facing. That said, he was anything ''but'' out of genre, as the old fantasy novels and movies which DB was inspired by had ancient demon kings as villains so often that it became cliche (case in point, ''Journey to the West'').
** Retrospectively, his supernatural origins and abilities would put him in the minority of Dragon Ball villains, as Toriyama invested more and more into aliens and androids, only going back to magical beings when ''DBZ'' was winding down.
* PapaWolf: Despite his evil, Demon King Piccolo genuinely cares about his children and is furious when Goku kills two of them.
* PoliteVillainsRudeHeroes: He's the first in a long line of villains who is well-spoken, polite, and is complimentary to his opponents. This contrasts with Goku who is blunt and greets Piccolo by yelling at him and threatening to kill him. That being said, King Piccolo's misanthropy is apprent no matter how respectful his tone might be.
* PostMortemComeback: Right after Goku ran straight through his gut, Piccolo threw up an egg that carried his offspring - his way of getting revenge for dying at the hands of Goku. Junior was definitely a powerful opponent at the time, but a subversion comes in the form of that legendary EnemyMine between the two against Raditz... which ends with Ma Junior (Piccolo) killing Goku...
* PowerDegeneration: Says that his life is shortened when he goes to his full power. It's never witnessed directly since Goku kills him soon after he goes all out.
* PsychicLink: He has this with all his "children." He can immediately tell when they've been killed.
* PsychicPowers: Demon King Piccolo is able to levitate objects and mentally link with his children.
* PutTheLaughterInSlaughter: Demon King Piccolo often laughs as he is killing people.
* {{Sadist}}: Once he took over the world, he set all the criminals free and abolished all laws, just so he could enjoy watching humanity tear itself apart. He then had a lottery where he would destroy one section of the world for the next 36 years, all so he could enjoy the terror on people's faces during their final moments.
* SatanicArchetype: An obvious Satan parallel in the context of the ''Dragon Ball'' world: God gives him physical form, and he plunges the Earth into pure chaos and anarchy--''twice''--just for evil's sake. Anime filler even goes so far as to depict some nasty Earthlings as willing to act on his behalf the moment he gives them free rein, like followers of an evil cult. He's the progenitor of a [[TheLegionsOfHell series of demons]] that spread fear and malevolence on his behalf, and in a final stroke to ensure his legacy, gives birth to his last child: an [[TheAntiChrist anti-Christ-like figure]] that hides out inconspicuously among humans waiting for the opportunity to reveal his true power and kill the divinely-trained hero. Note that King Piccolo's character was loosely inspired by Emperor Nero, who in Biblical circles, was actually considered satanic for his persecution of Christians. It's no surprise that the French and Latin American dub, King Piccolo is literally called this.
* ScrewThisImOuttaHere: He panicked and attempted to bail once Roshi started up the Evil Containment Wave, only to be caught. He was only spared due to, [[DramaticIrony ironically,]] the wave causing the rice cooker to shift which made Roshi miss his target.
* SealedEvilInACan: He was sealed inside an electric rice cooker for over 100 years before being released by Emperor Pilaf.
* ShadowArchetype: Given their similar backstories, Piccolo is what Goku would have become if he embraced his ruthless Saiyan nature.
* ShroudedInMyth: By the time of his return, only Master Roshi and the Crane Hermit remember his initial rampage, because they're the only ones left alive who witnessed it.
* SkeletonMotif: His throne is adorned with horned skulls, fitting for a demon king. It is later shown that other Namekians use the same chair, including his original pre-split self, although the skulls are unique to King Piccolo's.
* SlasherSmile: He loves showing off his teeth with these and is usually sporting one if not a PsychoticSmirk.
* SleepsWithBothEyesOpen: It looks like he's still staring ahead at the wall and it's no less creepy as the Pilaf Gang saw firsthand.
* SmugSuper: Believes himself to be the strongest in the world and that no human can ever match him. In fairness, he was right, no ''human'' ever matched him. Too bad Goku isn't a human.
* TheSociopath: Fittingly since he is Kami's evil given life, Demon King Piccolo naturally doesn't possess empathy and morality. He cares for nothing outside of himself and takes great delight in causing pain and suffering to humanity just cause he can. [[FatherToHisMen Although he treats his children well]], he still sees them as minions, and them getting killed is more a matter of his pride being hurt than him really caring about them. He notably saw Drum's death as a sign of Goku's defiance against him rather than show any genuine grief for the freshly killed demon. Hell, he didn't even take time to pay Piano's death any heed...despite being just as responsible for his eldest son's demise as Goku was.
* StarfishAlien: He has demonic powers, can lay eggs out of his mouth, alter his size, grow extra fingers, and [[DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu can kill Shenron]]. It's later revealed he's a Namekian.
* SuperiorSpecies: Firmly believes that he and his sons are this compared to humans and outright states as such. If he only knew that Namekians are small fry compared to some of the other alien races out there.
-->"That's the problem with the human race. No respect...for the superior species."
* TakesOneToKillOne: King Piccolo is utterly invincible to any human who didn't know the Evil Containment Wave, which kills the person who uses it. Only Goku manages to outmatch Piccolo and later his son Piccolo Jr. They are both aliens sent to Earth to save their lives.
* TakeOverTheWorld: He was actually ''successful'' in doing this, but Goku quickly restored the natural order of things.
* ThemeNaming: A piccolo is a type of flute. [[FamilyThemeNaming His sons continue the theme]], being named Piano, Tambourine, Cymbal, Drum, and [[DeadGuyJunior Piccolo]].
** Double points for continuing the series's established pattern of EdibleThemeNaming: the pronunciation matches the Japanese pronunciation of "pickle", hence his green coloration (and occasional name of "Mr. Pickle" [[DubNameChange in some translations]]).
* ThisCannotBe: Whenever the Evil Containment Wave is used or anybody appears to be using it against him, he panics. Once during Goku's rematch with him, he is flabbergasted to see Goku, a mere "human" boy, being able to stand up to his power.
* ToCreateAPlaygroundForEvil: His ultimate plan.
-->"First, I will tell you the two words I hate the most. They are justice and peace. Let me just say that I do ''not'' plan to bind you all into slavery or anything like that. Not at all. In fact, I want you to do anything you want. I'm going to abolish every law enforcement agency. You can steal, destroy, injure, and murder! No one will stop you! Evil shall be unfettered! Those who brandish the sword of justice shall be exterminated by my demons! This will be a glorious world of terror and hate!"
* TomTheDarkLord: Lunch ridicules his name when she first hears it. Roshi acknowledges that it sounds cute, but he's actually terrifying.
* TorsoWithAView: Goku takes him out by punching a gaping hole clean through his chest.
* TrulySingleParent: Demon King Piccolo asexually produced green demons, dragons and a pterosaur man. Also [[Characters/DragonBallPiccolo Piccolo]].
* VileVillainSaccharineShow: The show's status as a comical romp temporarily ends with his resurgence.
* VillainBall: Demon King Piccolo broke Goku's legs and left arm to render him helpless, then he flew up into the air to finish him off with a dramatic attack. By the time he realizes that he forgot to take out Goku's ''right'' arm as well, he's doomed.
* VillainousBreakdown: He becomes increasingly unhinged as his fight with Goku drags on. He was close to shivering in terror by the end and called Goku a monster.
* VillainousLegacy: He expels an egg from his mouth mere seconds before his demise. This egg eventually hatches and gives life to Piccolo Jr., who consciously seeks to conquer the world at his father's request. Fortunately, he becomes a good character in ''Anime/DragonBallZ''.
* WouldHurtAChild: Has no problems killing Chiaotzu or beating Goku to the point of near-death.
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Tambourine]]
!!'''Tambourine (タンバリン, ''Tambarin'')'''
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/tambourine.png]]
->'''Voiced by (Japanese):''' Creator/RyuseiNakao\\
'''Voiced by (English):''' Creator/DameonClarke (Creator/FUNimation dub); Tony Binns (Blue Water dub)\\
'''Voiced by (Latin American Spanish):''' Creator/HumbertoSolorzano
Tambourine was King Piccolo's second-oldest son at the time he was released from his imprisonment and the longest-lasting of the three named sons who engaged in combat (Piano lasted longer and seemed to be older, but he never fought before Goku killed him by throwing his father at him), he is by far the evilest and sadistic of the three, he was ordered by his father to hunt down and kill any martial artists who participated in the World Martial Arts Tournament to prevent him from being sealed, he becomes Goku's arch enemy for the first half of the saga because he murdered his best friend Krillin, he stole his Dragon Balls, and he destroyed his Kinto'un cloud. After these events, Goku faces off against him and loses. He eventually faces off against him again for a final showdown and Goku kills him with a Kamehameha.
----
* TheAgeless: Demon King Piccolo eventually obtains eternal youth from Shenron, though he doesn't live long enough for the 'eternal' part to come in. Strangely, the Funimation dub changes his wish just before summoning Shenron to have his youth ''restored''. The Daizenshuu reveals that he passed this on to Piccolo Jr.
* AlienFairFolk: Originally advertised as a demon but eventually revealed to be an alien, albeit an alien with supernatural origins. Thanks to {{Bowdlerization}} the US dub sidesteps all of this, with the narrator explicitly referring to him as an alien.[[note]]It's commonly believed that Piccolo being an alien is a "retcon" to him being a demon, but the manga and original Japanese anime never state that Piccolo's alien origins negate his demonic nature. Furthermore, neither the manga or Japanese anime state that being a demon and being an alien are mutually exclusive and there are other characters in and outside the original story that can be considered both (Garlic Jr., Slug, and Majin Buu to name a few).[[/note]]
* AndIMustScream:
** He was trapped in a ''rice cooker'' for hundreds of years at the bottom of the ocean. There's a reason why he's terrified of the Evil Containment Wave.
** Karin says that people killed by King Piccolo and his children won't go to the afterlife and are doomed to an endless suffering in limbo. His son Piccolo Jr. doesn't share this trait, as Son Goku's first death demonstrated. Kami speculates that this may be due to Piccolo Jr. being less geared towards villainy.
* AnarchoTyranny: Demon King Piccolo escapes from his prison and proceeds to TakeOverTheWorld after regaining his youth and sending his minions out to murder every fighter who might be able to oppose him. He decides to abolish all laws and encourages people to fight and kill each other while he remains in charge, enjoying the chaos he has unleashed.
* ArchEnemy:
** Demon King Piccolo became this to Goku after he murders Krillin and Master Roshi, leading the young boy on his first true RoaringRampageOfRevenge, a feat that wouldn't be seen again until the Saiyan's battle with Frieza. Demon King Piccolo feels the same and gave his grudge to his final son, Piccolo Jr.
** King Piccolo served this role to Master Roshi since his master Mutaito had to sacrifice himself to seal Piccolo away with the Mufuba and he murdered his fellow disciples with the exception of Shen. Once he realises that Piccolo has returned Roshi immediately tries to reseal Piccolo at the cost of his life. And while Piccolo wasn't aware of who Roshi was he did send his sons out to murder every martial artist he could find on the off chance that someone with the knowledge of the Mufuba could exist.
** Finally, King Piccolo serves this role to Kami due to the former being [[EnemyWithout the personification of the evil that Kami had to expel]] in order to become God. Kami has had to watch the evils that Piccolo committed without being able to interfere and, when his son Piccolo Jr. attempts to follow in his father's footsteps, he directly decides to intervene and seal Junior away himself. When it seems like Junior can't be stopped he even asks Tien to kill him before his evil can hurt anyone else.
* AwesomeButImpractical: He generally doesn't use his full power as it shortens his lifespan, but he's near unbeatable when he does.
* AxCrazy: Demon King Piccolo relishes pain and destruction, and is prone to maniacal laughter and {{Slasher Smile}}s.
* BaldOfEvil: As a Namekian, he has no hair and is a cruel despot to boot.
* BenevolentBoss: He treats his minions well since they are his children. He becomes upset when he feels Cymbal and Tambourine die and goes out of his way to avenge them. This stands out since he is the ''only'' BenevolentBoss in the series until Sorbet is introduced. This doesn't extend to Pilaf and his cronies though, since they're not his offspring.
* BigBad: Demon King Piccolo and his son are the first true [[BigBad big bads]] and are also the final villains of the last story arcs of the original ''Dragon Ball''.
* BigEater: An infamous filler scene shows Piano ordering cooks to prepare 101 servings of each of his favorite dishes such as dinosaur tongues and newt feces. Blegh. Ironically, his species doesn't even ''need'' food.
* BizarreAlienReproduction: He gives birth to his children by vomiting out eggs after reciting a nursery rhyme, which freaks out the Pilaf Gang. In the dub, he gives a chant about his children serving him. Apparently these eggs form in his throat rather than his abdomen or torso, since he was able to spawn Piccolo Jr right after Son Goku charged through his midsection.
* BlackSpeech: In the original Japanese, he gives a strange chant as he lays eggs of his offspring. In RealLife, this is based on a children's chant in Japan..
* {{Bookends}}: Demon King Piccolo started ''Dragon Ball's'' descent towards more serious plots. Majin Buu - whose backstory is a word-for-word duplicate of Demon King Piccolo's - marks the point where the series brings back some levity (albeit still having terrifylingly high stakes).
* BreathWeapon: Notably used it to ''[[DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu kill Shenron]]''.
* CardCarryingVillain: He openly admits that he hates peace and justice more than anything.
* CastFromLifespan: Producing more offspring is an exhausting and painful process noted by Piano to shave any his vitality, though he insists that there would be no drawbacks after gaining eternal youth. Drum and Piccolo Jr. eggs notably didn't require a chant, and were quicker to produce.
* TheChessmaster: Demon King Piccolo's plan of world domination was so well thought out and intricately planned it even took the heroes by surprise. The first thing he did was have his henchmen kill all the Earth's strongest martial artists so that no one could oppose him. Then he swallowed the Dragon Balls he had gained so that if anyone tried to kill him they would in the process destroy the Dragon Balls. After he had wished for his youth to be restored, he then ''kills Shenron'' just to ensure that no one could use the Dragon Balls and use any wishes against him.
* CombatPragmatist: He immediately killed Chiaotzu when he tried to sabotage Demon King Piccolo's quest for immortality by making his wish to Shenron before Piccolo did. He also checked Goku's ''pulse'' before confirming he was dead in their first battle. Then during his second battle with Goku he took Tien hostage, threatening to kill him if Goku approached him.
* TheCorrupter: It is stated by Master Roshi that Shen became corrupted after witnessing King Piccolo's cruelty and humiliating his master. Also, part of the reason why Piccolo frees all the prisoners and abolished all laws is to stroke the darkest aspects of humanity.
* CurbstompCushion: While he kicks Goku's ass easily during their first fight, Goku ''did'' manage to land several hits and even knock him to the ground.
* DarkestHour: Demon King Piccolo took over the world, killed several beloved characters, killed Shenron so no one could be wished back, was going to blow up a section of the world every year; things were not looking good until Son Goku got a last-minute power-up.
* DeathOfPersonality: Maybe. [[FlipFlopOfGod It seems to depend on what mood Toriyama is in.]] Either Piccolo Jr. is just his son and King Piccolo is still around in the afterlife or Piccolo Jr. really is his father's reincarnation and Demon King Piccolo has effectively ceased to be. Videogames that give characters personalised interactions based on their opponents seem to imply that the two Piccolos are in fact separate entities.
* DefeatEqualsExplosion: For some reason, having a hole punched through his chest resulted in him exploding. Even stranger is that most characters killed by physical attacks at this point in the series normally simply die.
** Well, he ''is'' Kami's EnemyWithout. He might be literally MadeOfEvil.
** The anime implies it's an attempt at TakingYouWithMe, depicting Goku being injured and flung by the detonation. In the manga, he just fell.
** A better explanation would be that since he pocketed his essence into that last egg, thus reincarnating himself, his old body couldn't sustain itself any longer. The new demon was now officially Piccolo, and there couldn't exist two of him at once, so the original had to go.
* DespairEventHorizon: What he plunged the world into, twice, ''after he took over''.
* DidntSeeThatComing:
** His reactions when his kids get killed by Goku and Yajirobe. Even his right-hand man has a tough time believing it.
** Both Piano and King Piccolo are shocked when Goku reappears, still alive and stronger than ever, right after Piccolo all but killed him.
** Piccolo never saw coming that he would lose to Goku because he failed to disable his right arm.
* DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu: He actually ''killed'' Shenron with a [[BreathWeapon mouth blast]], just to prevent anyone from using the Dragon Balls again.
* DidntThinkThisThrough: Had Demon King Piccolo ''not'' been so estatic at regaining the power of "Everlasting ''youth''" and '''remembered''' to add the small but significant suffix "and life" to his wish from Shenron that Freeza would have done, he would have been literally invincible. Thankfully, his euphoria ''did'' override his common sense, resulting in a still-mortal lifespan (which he admits would significantly shorten if ever he used his full power) '''and''' make him pefectly-killable, as demonstrated by young Son Goku punching a hole clean ''through'' him.
* DirtyCoward: Near the end of his fight with Goku, Demon King Piccolo took Tien hostage and threatened to kill him if Goku tried anything. He then proceeded to break one of Goku's arms and both of his legs, immobilizing the boy. Too bad he left Goku an arm.
* DoNotAdjustYourSet: The first thing he does as Global Dictator is declare on International Television "I DON'T intend to lord over you: in fact, you are free to do as you please from now on: Kill, pillage, steal and rob to your heart's content: I hereby declare the end of peace and justice!". Cell must have taken notes from his genetic memory to have done the same 13 years later.
* TheDreaded:
** He is called the Demon King Piccolo. [[BigGood Master Roshi]] was terrified of him and he was considered the devil of the Dragon Ball world. Yajirobe really liked eating his minions, but upon learning ''who'' they were minions of he started shaking in fear and gave Goku the Dragon Ball that would have brought the demon to him. Three years after his death, when the World Martial Arts Tournament spectators discover Piccolo Jr.'s identity during his fight with Goku, they run out of the stadium en masse.
** From Piccolo's point of view, an Electric Jar. He was sealed in one for hundreds of years at the bottom of the ocean and fears it more than anything else, as well as the Evil Containment Wave, the technique that put him there. His first order of business upon his return is to kill every martial artist in the world to ensure he could never be imprisoned again. During his fight with Goku, he freaks out when he thinks Goku is about to perform the Evil Containment Wave (he was really charging a Kamehameha). And during his fight with Master Roshi, just Roshi mentioning his master Mutaito's name was enough to make Piccolo break out into a cold sweat. When Roshi shows him an Electric Jar, he ''runs for the hills screaming''. He also recoils in horror when Tien reveals that he intends to use the Evil Containment Wave on him (though Drum stops him from doing so).
* DubNameChange: In the Latin American Spanish dub, while largely retaining his original Japanese name, his name is pronounced in it as "Pikkoro Daima'''ku'''" for unknown reasons.
* DystopiaJustifiesTheMeans: Once Demon King Piccolo takes over the world, he says that he has no desire to rule over his subjects. Instead, he lets everyone do whatever they want, including robbery and murder. Later he decides to hold a lottery to destroy one region of the world per year. His goal is to make everyone live in fear for the rest of their lives.
* EarnYourTitle: He's called the Demon King and he turned the world into a living hell not once, but twice.
* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness:
** King Piccolo's children look nothing like traditional Namekians, having various odd features like wings or looking like reptiles. Suggested explanations are that either the parent Namekian can choose the appearance of their offspring, or King Piccolo's evilness twisted his offspring into mutants. It could also be a corrupted version of the magic Kami used to create Shenron.
** A filler scene shows Piano demanding chefs to prepare King Piccolo a massive feast to honor his taking over the world, but it is later revealed in the Namek Saga that his kind only needs water to sustain themselves. It is likely though that he either eats for pleasure or needs the extra nutrients to sustain himself on a planet that only has one sun.
** He bleeds red despite being a Namekian, whose blood is later shown to be purple. His reincarnation continued the trend up to his demise in the Saiyan Saga, though the ''Kai'' re-edit recolors his blood in that arc. By strange coincidence, they showed his son Drum's blood as purple.
** The fact that he didn't regenerate after Goku put that huge hole through his torso despite his reincarnation saying way later in the Buu arc that he can restore any injury as long as his head remains intact. To be fair, King Piccolo had already expended a good amount of his power on two Explosive Demon Waves during the fight with Goku, so he likely no longer had the reserves to do so.
* EnemyWithout: He is the evil within Kami's heart who took physical form after Kami expelled all the darkness inside himself.
* EvenEvilHasLovedOnes: For all of his evil, Piccolo ''does'' seem to care for his underlings/sons and personally goes after Goku to avenge them.
* EvilCounterpart:
** To Kami. He's the evil that existed within Kami before he became the Guardian of the Earth.
** He's also an evil counterpart to Goku. Both are aliens from worlds that were in distress (one being outright destroyed), they both were raised in isolation away from the civilized world, lost their memories of their old worlds, and had come to see the blue planet as their one true home. Their arrival on Earth also greatly impacted the planet changing it forever. The difference between them is that while living on Earth gave Goku the best qualities of humanity, it gave the Nameless Namekian that later split into Kami and Piccolo the worst qualities.
** The {{backstory}} about him being a demon "born" on Earth who once lead an army capable of destroying it before being sealed away are elements of Sun Wukong ''Dragon Ball'' Son Goku ''didn't'' inherent, making him even more of an evil counterpart. And, of course, Piccolo wasn't given a {{restraining bolt}} or MoralityChain when he was unsealed.
* EvilFeelsGood: He practically breathes this trope. See {{Card Carrying Villain}}.
* EvilHasABadSenseOfHumor: After his youth is restored, he summons Pilaf, Shu, and Mai and announces that their reward for helping him is...they get thrown off the ship. Pilaf is stunned for a few seconds and assumes he's joking. King Piccolo tells him that he doesn't waste time with jokes, and has them thrown out. Although what King Piccolo finds amusing is a ''lot'' different from what most people do. Pointedly, he saw Master Mutaito's struggling against his finger beams during their first battle as him "dancing" and brought it up again during their second.
* EvilIsBigger: He's ''huge'' compared to virtually everyone else he interacts with, as seen [[https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/dragonball/images/6/69/PilafGang%26PiccoloClan%28DBSagas%29.png/revision/latest?cb=20110312151250 here]]. Though it should be noted that this was back when ''Dragon Ball'' played it fast and loose with character heights. If Demon King Piccolo ever had a chance to appear in ''Dragon Ball Z'' or its successors, it's possible he'd just be above average in size.
* EvilLaugh: Frequently given how much he enjoys his work. His most notable moments are when he announces Piccolo Day and earlier when Shenron grants him eternal youth.
* EvilOldFolks: He's very old when he emerges from the rice cooker. Regaining his youth is his first priority.
* EvilOverlord: He calls himself the king of demons and wants to be emperor of the world.
* ExactWords: He repeatedly expresses the belief that no human could ever defeat him and is in disbelief when Goku does so. To be fair, he was technically right: no ''human'' ever beat him [[note]]though the human warriors would all surpass him eventually[[/note]]. Goku is a HumanAlien.
* {{Expy}}:
** His status as a demon seems to be a nod to the multiple demon enemies that Sun Wukong faced in ''Literature/JourneyToTheWest''.
** King Piccolo is also notable, in a series known for its persistent (if minor) use of RecycledScript, for having ''by far'' the greatest number of expies of his own in future ''Franchise/DragonBall'' villains. The list includes:
*** Characters who play on his AncientEvil [[SealedEvilInACan sealed in a can]] theme (both Garlic Jr. ''and'' [[TheGhost his father]], Bojack, Majin Buu, Hirudegarn, and [[Characters/DragonBallMoro Moro]])
*** Characters who play on his backstory (Garlic Sr. is an evil alien who attempted to become Earth's Kami, Lord Slug is an evil Namekian who wishes to have his youth restored, Dabura is a literal [[MaouTheDemonKing Demon King]], Beerus is an ([[AffablyEvil affably]]) evil counterpart to the local God expy who will die if said God is killed).
*** Piccolo Jr. is basically a direct continuation of his father's storyline and continues to frequently refer to himself as the Demon King.
*** Cell is essentially a DarkerAndEdgier (with a dash of DoingInTheWizard) retool of King Piccolo's entire storyline, including being a HopeCrusher {{Sadist}}, coming from a different time period ([[AncientEvil the past]] for Piccolo, [[TerminatorTwosome the future]] for Cell), gathering a set of artifacts in order to acquire a stronger physical form, [[{{Troll}} trolling]] the world by threatening with eventual (instead of immediate) destruction, spawning children to destroy the heroes instead of doing it himself, and is eventually defeated by a small child with only one arm (and [[DefeatEqualsExplosion exploding!]]).
*** Majin Buu continues the trend by being released by a diminutive villain who plans to rule the world/universe but is no real threat to the heroes himself (and is eventually betrayed by Buu to boot), being opposed by the local God and his attendant, and eventually reincarnating into a new body who eventually becomes an ally to Goku after fighting him at the next World Martial Arts Tournament.
*** Even Broly could be considered an expy, since both draw on the parts of Sun Wukong that Goku didn't exemplify: SealedEvilInACan for Piccolo, PowerLimiter headband for Broly, [[OutsideContextProblem unimaginable power]] (at the time) for both.
* EyeBeams: Notably the first character to utilize them, particularly when he zaps the original electric jar that Mutaito sealed him in. His reincarnation would utilize them to a greater extent.
* FamilyThemeNaming: King Piccolo and all of his children (Tambourine, Drum, Cymbal, Piano, Piccolo Jr.) are named after musical instruments.
* FangsAreEvil: He has his teeth on full display whenever he [[EvilLaugh laughs,]] which is fairly often.
* FantasticRacism: Not quite to the extent of Frieza's hatred of Saiyans, but he does view humanity as a whole to be lowly worms to be used for entertainment at best and target practice at worst, stating demons [[SuperiorSpecies to be superior.]] He passed the attitude onto all his sons, most notably Tambourine.
* FauxAffablyEvil: He speaks politely to Goku and even praises his skills in their first fight after Goku lands a few hits and manages to knock him down... before beating Goku within an inch of his life. He also calmly offers one of the king's guards a position as one of his men. When he refuses, Piccolo puts his hand through the guy's chest.
* AFatherToHisMen: Figuratively and [[TrulySingleParent literally]], and his only redeeming trait. Compared to ''every'' villain in the entire ''Dragon Ball'' series outside of Sorbet, he actually has some care for his underlings and will go out of his way to avenge them.
* FinalBoss: He is the final villain Goku confronts as a child or the Boyhood chapters in the manga.
* FluffyTheTerrible: The demon king of the Dragon World is named after a musical instrument. Launch outright mocks it, asking if that's his real name. Master Roshi is quick to point out that there is ''nothing'' charming about him despite his name. We learned much later that Piccolo chose the name because of its in-universe [[MeaningfulName meaning]].
* ForTheEvulz: Why he does everything. He loves to make others suffer.
* FreakOut: King Piccolo has the most noticeable showings of fear among ''Dragon Ball'' villains, his fear of Evil Containment Waveis why he sent his demon spawn to kill the world's best martial artists (At first it just seemed to be a simple case of PragmaticVillainy), and it's is so intense that the smallest hint someone is about to use it makes him panic, such as when he initially thought Goku's Kamehameha was Evil Containment Wave. And during his fight with Roshi, when Roshi says he was Mutaito's apprentice, King Piccolo breaks into cold sweat, and when Roshi shows an electric rice cooker and is about to use Mafuba, King Piccolo quickly tries to fly away. The only villain to show similar levels of fear is Android 19 from the Androids Saga, and even he only decided to run away once Vegeta ripped off his hands, which meant he couldn't fight back anymore, King Piccolo's fear prevents him from even fighting back if he thinks someone can use Evil Containment Wave.
* GeniusBruiser: [[{{Reincarnation}} Where do you think]] [[TheSmartGuy Piccolo]] [[ItRunsInTheFamily got it from?]] Demon King Piccolo gives himself plenty of insurance before and after acting on his plans. He had all of Earth's martial artists assasinated after a tournament when the strongest among them would be too worn out to fight back, he killed Shenron after getting his wish from him so that nobody else could use the Dragon Balls against him and he tried to turn humanity against itself so that they wouldn't unite against him.
* GreaterScopeVillain: For the original series before becoming the ArcVillain of the King Piccolo Saga. It was his actions that caused Kami to create the Dragon Balls. He wanted to give the people of Earth something to hope for after Piccolo's original rampage. Piccolo's cruelty is also the reason why the Crane Hermit became corrupt and abandoned his master's teachings. He also gave birth to his final son/reincarnation Piccolo Jr before dying.
* GreenAndMean: As a Namekian, he has green skin and is a daimao or "demon king" that brought unspeakable levels of terror and chaos to the Earth twofold. "Mean" would be giving him too much credit.
* HeroKiller: While he only directly kills Chiaotzu, he is also responsible for Master Roshi's death (who dies after failing to seal King Piccolo with the Evil Containment Wave) and orders the deaths of Krillin and many other World Martial Arts fighters. He also briefly kills Goku, though, in Goku's case, he was NotQuiteDead. He also comes ''damn'' close to killing Goku in their second fight and would have won if it was just them. Goku admits he would have been toast if Tenshinhan hadn't saved him from one of Piccolo's city-destroying blasts, and their fight ''would'' have been a mutual kill even with Ten's intervention if Yajirobe wasn't there to catch him at the last second.
* HumansAreBastards: King Piccolo's opinion of humanity is so low that he believed cutting them loose would cause more mayhem than establishing a dictatorship.
* ImpaledWithExtremePrejudice:
** He kills one of the king's strongest men by literally putting his hand through his chest.
** How he met his end at the literal hand of Goku, having ''punched right through him''.
* {{Irony}}:
** Nearly every one of King Piccolo's ambitions are fulfilled over the course of the series, such as Son Goku's death and humanity turning on each other for petty reasons. Of course, he doesn't live to see any of it and the last of his line became a good guy, so his victory is a hollow one.
** The boy who killed him would go on to have a son that would befriend Demon King Piccolo's own son.
* KnightOfCerebus: The wackiness of ''Dragon Ball'' with its childish enemies ended officially with him. There is nothing comical or light-hearted about him and his arc is the darkest in the original ''Dragon Ball'' in terms of both threat and deaths. Even in his old age, he beats Goku so thoroughly that Goku's heart stops, leaving him clinically dead for several minutes. Master Roshi [[LampshadeHanging acknowledges]] this when talking about his initial reign of terror long ago:
-->'''Roshi''': "His name may sound funny, but I assure you there is nothing amusing about that savage beast!"
* LargeAndInCharge: He is well over 8 feet tall.
* {{Leitmotif}}: Notable in that Kikuchi not only designed ''several'' variations for one particular tune but that it also carried over to Piccolo Jr. well ''into'' ''Z''.
* LooksLikeOrlok: He's bald, has goblin-ears, a hooked nose, pronounced canines and long nails. The anime also depicts him in a vampire-like fashion such as emphasizing his fangs and giving him a black and red cape in his past.
* MadeOfEvil: He's the physical incarnation of Kami's dark half. It is claimed that King Piccolo's malice is so potent that anyone who is killed by him or one of his demon spawn will have their souls trapped in limbo. As Son Goku was able to go to the afterlife upon being killed by Piccolo Jr, it appears that he might not be the same as his father.
* MakeSureHesDead: After beating Goku into the ground, he makes sure to check Goku's pulse before he leaves, discovering that Goku's heart has indeed stopped. Of course, he never anticipated that [[NotQuiteDead Goku's heart would restart itself shortly after he left]].
* MaouTheDemonKing: "Demon King" Piccolo. He was initially meant to be a demon lord that was the evil half of Earth's god and spawned a bunch of demonic minions, but later on, he was retconned as an alien Namekian, albeit one that was MadeOfEvil.
* MeaningfulName: An in-universe example. Piccolo means 'another world' in Namekian. So Demon King Piccolo's name translates to 'demon king from another world'.
* MindOverMatter: He levitates the hidden Dragon Balls, along with his two after Roshi dies. He was also able to fly back when UniquenessDecay hadn't stripped away the mystique of such an ability.
* MookMaker: Demon King Piccolo created his followers by birthing them through eggs.
* MoralMyopia: He's outraged that Goku has killed two of his sons and personally confronts him over it. This is despite the fact that Piccolo had been both - directly and indirectly - responsible for the deaths of countless innocents, including Goku's best friend Krillin.
* MyDeathIsJustTheBeginning: States something to this effect prior to giving birth to Piccolo Jr.:
-->"He's won for now... but my legacy on this planet ''will'' survive!"
** Piccolo Jr would eventually go on to kill Goku, indirectly give Vegeta the idea to find Dragon Balls on Namek and provide genetic material for Cell.
* NearVillainVictory: Piccolo succeeds in getting everything he wanted. He got the Dragon Balls to give him eternal youth and killed the dragon so no one could ever use the Dragon Balls against him. He also murdered a large number of the strongest fighters in the world, and seizes control of the entire world, turning it into a living hell. His reign was only short-lived because of Goku.
* NiceJobFixingItVillain: If King Piccolo hadn't spat out that last egg containing Piccolo Jr., Kami would've died with him, Shenron wouldn't have been restored, and all the people killed by King Piccolo and his sons would've stayed dead. In a wider sense, if Piccolo Jr was never born, Goku wouldn't have been as strong as he was to fight Raditz and assuming he managed to beat his brother on his own by some other means, he would be missing a powerful ally in all his future battles. Not to mention Gohan wouldn't have gained the combat skills necessary to help his father.
* NinjaPirateZombieRobot: An alien demon emperor kung-fu master, complete with his own gi, spaceship, and skull throne.
* NoHistoricalFiguresWereHarmed: Toriyama's editor Kazuhiko Torishima admitted King Piccolo's character and lust for malevolence were inspired by the tyrannical Roman Emperor UsefulNotes/{{Nero}}.
* NoHoldsBarredBeatdown: Demon King Piccolo delivered this to Goku in their first encounter. The beating was so severe he even stopped Goku's heart briefly.
* NoNonsenseNemesis: Demon King Piccolo's first order of business upon his return is to kill all the world's martial artists so no one could ever seal him again and collect the Dragon Balls to wish for youth. Upon finding out that two of his children are killed, he goes and deals with the threat directly and nearly kills Goku, even checking his heart to make sure he was dead. He allows the other heroes to collect the remaining Dragon Balls and swallowed his so they couldn't steal them. When he was about to make his wish Chiaotzu attempted to interrupt, only to be quickly killed. Once he regained his youth, he kills the Eternal Dragon so no one could ever use the Dragon Balls against him. There's a reason he remains the only villain in the series to [[TheBadGuyWins win]], only losing in the end because he never counted on [[NotQuiteDead Goku's heart restarting after he left]].
* NormalFishInATinyPond:
** If most power level claims are anything to go by, he's actually extremely weak by Namekian standards (260 at his peak, compared to the 3000 of the unnamed warriors Dodoria slaughtered easily), and he's technically not even a "real" Namekian, being half of one. Despite this, he was strong enough to be Earth's SatanicArchetype. Justified in a sense, as growing up on a planet with only a single sun, along with alien air and water would have left him severely malnourished compared to his brethren, to say nothing of his spawning ability draining his lifeforce.
** To elaborate, Piccolo, Jr. in 23rd Tournament has grown much stronger than his father. Yet, Junior was unable to defeat Raditz by himself, despite Raditz, in turn, being ''much'' weaker than even henchman villains like Dodoria!
** It has been stated by Guru that Kami and Piccolo became much weaker individually after they separated. Nail theorizes that the two fused together could beat Frieza (in his first form, at least), while Piccolo after fusing with both Nail and Kami made him a match for the Androids and Imperfect Cell.
** Demon King Piccolo is well and truly dwarfed by Dabura, who Shin states is in fact the true demon king. To add insult to injury, Dabura's main contributions to the plot involved getting brainwashed and eaten.
* NoSell: Demon King Piccolo took the Kamehameha head-on and did not receive so much as {{Clothing Damage}}.
* OhCrap: Demon King Piccolo inspires many of these when people realize who he is. Although he has a few himself; like realizing that Roshi knows the Evil Containment Wave, thinking Goku was going to use the Evil Containment Wave (he was doing the Kamehameha), when Tien (in the anime) uses it, and just before Goku punches a hole through his gut and he sees the shadow of the Great Ape.
* OmnicidalManiac: He decided to destroy one section of the world once a year. His first target was Bulma's hometown West City but was stopped by Goku before he could go that far. Needless to say, he is the first of ''many'' villains in the franchise to be this.
* OrcusOnHisThrone: For the early part of the saga, he remains on Pilaf's airship and lets his sons do the fighting for him. It isn't until Goku and his friends kill Cymbal and Tambourine that he directly intervenes.
* OurDemonsAreDifferent: Contrary to what some would have you believe, he is very much a demon ''in addition'' to being an alien (Namekian), ''not'' an extraterrestrial who mistook himself for something demonic. His being Kami's evil being given physical form and the mutant appearance of his sons should make that apparent. His final son/reincarnation also shared this trait for the beginning of his life, though it gradually lessened throughout ''Z'' until, by the time of his rejoining with Kami, it had all but vanished.
* OutsideGenreFoe: Before King Piccolo and his sons all of Goku's opponents have been mostly human and funny animals with some robots, androids, cyborgs, and mutants thrown in. King Piccolo's arrival marked a major shift in the story's tone and set the standards for the new enemies Goku will be facing. That said, he was anything ''but'' out of genre, as the old fantasy novels and movies which DB was inspired by had ancient demon kings as villains so often that it became cliche (case in point, ''Journey to the West'').
** Retrospectively, his supernatural origins and abilities would put him in the minority of Dragon Ball villains, as Toriyama invested more and more into aliens and androids, only going back to magical beings when ''DBZ'' was winding down.
* PapaWolf: Despite his evil, Demon King Piccolo genuinely cares about his children and is furious when Goku kills two of them.
* PoliteVillainsRudeHeroes: He's the first in a long line of villains who is well-spoken, polite, and is complimentary to his opponents. This contrasts with Goku who is blunt and greets Piccolo by yelling at him and threatening to kill him. That being said, King Piccolo's misanthropy is apprent no matter how respectful his tone might be.
* PostMortemComeback: Right after Goku ran straight through his gut, Piccolo threw up an egg that carried his offspring - his way of getting revenge for dying at the hands of Goku. Junior was definitely a powerful opponent at the time, but a subversion comes in the form of that legendary EnemyMine between the two against Raditz... which ends with Ma Junior (Piccolo) killing Goku...
* PowerDegeneration: Says that his life is shortened when he goes to his full power. It's never witnessed directly since Goku kills him soon after he goes all out.
* PsychicLink: He has this with all his "children." He can immediately tell when they've been killed.
* PsychicPowers: Demon King Piccolo is able to levitate objects and mentally link with his children.
* PutTheLaughterInSlaughter: Demon King Piccolo often laughs as he is killing people.
* {{Sadist}}: Once he took over the world, he set all the criminals free and abolished all laws, just so he could enjoy watching humanity tear itself apart. He then had a lottery where he would destroy one section of the world for the next 36 years, all so he could enjoy the terror on people's faces during their final moments.
* SatanicArchetype: An obvious Satan parallel in the context of the ''Dragon Ball'' world: God gives him physical form, and he plunges the Earth into pure chaos and anarchy--''twice''--just for evil's sake. Anime filler even goes so far as to depict some nasty Earthlings as willing to act on his behalf the moment he gives them free rein, like followers of an evil cult. He's the progenitor of a [[TheLegionsOfHell series of demons]] that spread fear and malevolence on his behalf, and in a final stroke to ensure his legacy, gives birth to his last child: an [[TheAntiChrist anti-Christ-like figure]] that hides out inconspicuously among humans waiting for the opportunity to reveal his true power and kill the divinely-trained hero. Note that King Piccolo's character was loosely inspired by Emperor Nero, who in Biblical circles, was actually considered satanic for his persecution of Christians. It's no surprise that the French and Latin American dub, King Piccolo is literally called this.
* ScrewThisImOuttaHere: He panicked and attempted to bail once Roshi started up the Evil Containment Wave, only to be caught. He was only spared due to, [[DramaticIrony ironically,]] the wave causing the rice cooker to shift which made Roshi miss his target.
* SealedEvilInACan: He was sealed inside an electric rice cooker for over 100 years before being released by Emperor Pilaf.
* ShadowArchetype: Given their similar backstories, Piccolo is what Goku would have become if he embraced his ruthless Saiyan nature.
* ShroudedInMyth: By the time of his return, only Master Roshi and the Crane Hermit remember his initial rampage, because they're the only ones left alive who witnessed it.
* SkeletonMotif: His throne is adorned with horned skulls, fitting for a demon king. It is later shown that other Namekians use the same chair, including his original pre-split self, although the skulls are unique to King Piccolo's.
* SlasherSmile: He loves showing off his teeth with these and is usually sporting one if not a PsychoticSmirk.
* SleepsWithBothEyesOpen: It looks like he's still staring ahead at the wall and it's no less creepy as the Pilaf Gang saw firsthand.
* SmugSuper: Believes himself to be the strongest in the world and that no human can ever match him. In fairness, he was right, no ''human'' ever matched him. Too bad Goku isn't a human.
* TheSociopath: Fittingly since he is Kami's evil given life, Demon King Piccolo naturally doesn't possess empathy and morality. He cares for nothing outside of himself and takes great delight in causing pain and suffering to humanity just cause he can. [[FatherToHisMen Although he treats his children well]], he still sees them as minions, and them getting killed is more a matter of his pride being hurt than him really caring about them. He notably saw Drum's death as a sign of Goku's defiance against him rather than show any genuine grief for the freshly killed demon. Hell, he didn't even take time to pay Piano's death any heed...despite being just as responsible for his eldest son's demise as Goku was.
* StarfishAlien: He has demonic powers, can lay eggs out of his mouth, alter his size, grow extra fingers, and [[DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu can kill Shenron]]. It's later revealed he's a Namekian.
* SuperiorSpecies: Firmly believes that he and his sons are this compared to humans and outright states as such. If he only knew that Namekians are small fry compared to some of the other alien races out there.
-->"That's the problem with the human race. No respect...for the superior species."
* TakesOneToKillOne: King Piccolo is utterly invincible to any human who didn't know the Evil Containment Wave, which kills the person who uses it. Only Goku manages to outmatch Piccolo and later his son Piccolo Jr. They are both aliens sent to Earth to save their lives.
* TakeOverTheWorld: He was actually ''successful'' in doing this, but Goku quickly restored the natural order of things.
* ThemeNaming: A piccolo is a type of flute. [[FamilyThemeNaming His sons continue the theme]], being named Piano, Tambourine, Cymbal, Drum, and [[DeadGuyJunior Piccolo]].
** Double points for continuing the series's established pattern of EdibleThemeNaming: the pronunciation matches the Japanese pronunciation of "pickle", hence his green coloration (and occasional name of "Mr. Pickle" [[DubNameChange in some translations]]).
* ThisCannotBe: Whenever the Evil Containment Wave is used or anybody appears to be using it against him, he panics. Once during Goku's rematch with him, he is flabbergasted to see Goku, a mere "human" boy, being able to stand up to his power.
* ToCreateAPlaygroundForEvil: His ultimate plan.
-->"First, I will tell you the two words I hate the most. They are justice and peace. Let me just say that I do ''not'' plan to bind you all into slavery or anything like that. Not at all. In fact, I want you to do anything you want. I'm going to abolish every law enforcement agency. You can steal, destroy, injure, and murder! No one will stop you! Evil shall be unfettered! Those who brandish the sword of justice shall be exterminated by my demons! This will be a glorious world of terror and hate!"
* TomTheDarkLord: Lunch ridicules his name when she first hears it. Roshi acknowledges that it sounds cute, but he's actually terrifying.
* TorsoWithAView: Goku takes him out by punching a gaping hole clean through his chest.
* TrulySingleParent: Demon King Piccolo asexually produced green demons, dragons and a pterosaur man. Also [[Characters/DragonBallPiccolo Piccolo]].
* VileVillainSaccharineShow: The show's status as a comical romp temporarily ends with his resurgence.
* VillainBall: Demon King Piccolo broke Goku's legs and left arm to render him helpless, then he flew up into the air to finish him off with a dramatic attack. By the time he realizes that he forgot to take out Goku's ''right'' arm as well, he's doomed.
* VillainousBreakdown: He becomes increasingly unhinged as his fight with Goku drags on. He was close to shivering in terror by the end and called Goku a monster.
* VillainousLegacy: He expels an egg from his mouth mere seconds before his demise. This egg eventually hatches and gives life to Piccolo Jr., who consciously seeks to conquer the world at his father's request. Fortunately, he becomes a good character in ''Anime/DragonBallZ''.
* WouldHurtAChild: Has no problems killing Chiaotzu or beating Goku to the point of near-death.
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Tambourine]]
!!'''Tambourine (タンバリン, ''Tambarin'')'''
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/tambourine.png]]
->'''Voiced by (Japanese):''' Creator/RyuseiNakao\\
'''Voiced by (English):''' Creator/DameonClarke (Creator/FUNimation dub); Tony Binns (Blue Water dub)\\
'''Voiced by (Latin American Spanish):''' Creator/HumbertoSolorzano
Tambourine was King Piccolo's second-oldest son at the time he was released from his imprisonment and the longest-lasting of the three named sons who engaged in combat (Piano lasted longer and seemed to be older, but he never fought before Goku killed him by throwing his father at him), he is by far the evilest and sadistic of the three, he was ordered by his father to hunt down and kill any martial artists who participated in the World Martial Arts Tournament to prevent him from being sealed, he becomes Goku's arch enemy for the first half of the saga because he murdered his best friend Krillin, he stole his Dragon Balls, and he destroyed his Kinto'un cloud. After these events, Goku faces off against him and loses. He eventually faces off against him again for a final showdown and Goku kills him with a Kamehameha.
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'''Original Series Villains''' ([[Characters/DragonBallRedRibbonArmy Red Ribbon Army]] [[[Characters/DragonBallDrGero Dr. Gero/Android 20]], [[Characters/DragonBallCell Cell]]], [[Characters/DragonBallDemonKingPiccolo Demon King Piccolo]]) | [[Characters/DragonBallZVillains DBZ Villains]] ([[Characters/DragonBallFriezasEmpire Frieza's Empire]] [[[Characters/DragonBallFrieza Freeza/Frieza]], [[Characters/DragonBallCooler Cooler/Coola]]], [[Characters/DragonBallMajinBuu Majin Buu]]) | [[Characters/DragonBallZMovieVillains DBZ Movie Villains]] ([[Characters/DragonBallBroly Broly]]) | [[Characters/DragonBallGTVillains GT Villains]] | [[Characters/DragonBallSuperVillains DBS Villains]] ([[Characters/DragonBallFrost Frost]], [[Characters/DragonBallGokuBlack Goku Black]], [[Characters/DragonBallZamasu Zamasu/Zamas]] [[[Characters/DragonBallFusedZamasu Fused Zamasu/Zamas]]], [[Characters/DragonBallMoro Moro]])-]]]]]
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'''Original Series Villains''' ([[Characters/DragonBallRedRibbonArmy Red Ribbon Army]] [[[Characters/DragonBallDrGero Dr. Gero/Android 20]], [[Characters/DragonBallCell Cell]]], [[Characters/DragonBallDemonKingPiccolo Demon King Piccolo]]) | [[Characters/DragonBallZVillains DBZ Villains]] ([[Characters/DragonBallFriezasEmpire Frieza's Empire]] [[[Characters/DragonBallFrieza Freeza/Frieza]], Freeza/Frieza]] [[[Characters/DragonBallFriezaTropesAToH A to H]], [[Characters/DragonBallFriezaTropesIToY T to Y]]], [[Characters/DragonBallCooler Cooler/Coola]]], [[Characters/DragonBallMajinBuu Majin Buu]]) | [[Characters/DragonBallZMovieVillains DBZ Movie Villains]] ([[Characters/DragonBallBroly Broly]]) | [[Characters/DragonBallGTVillains GT Villains]] | [[Characters/DragonBallSuperVillains DBS Villains]] ([[Characters/DragonBallFrost Frost]], [[Characters/DragonBallGokuBlack Goku Black]], [[Characters/DragonBallZamasu Zamasu/Zamas]] [[[Characters/DragonBallFusedZamasu Fused Zamasu/Zamas]]], [[Characters/DragonBallMoro Moro]])-]]]]]
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'''Original Series Villains''' ([[Characters/DragonBallRedRibbonArmy Red Ribbon Army]] [[[Characters/DragonBallDrGero Dr. Gero/Android 20]], [[Characters/DragonBallCell Cell]]], [[Characters/DragonBallDemonKingPiccolo Demon King Piccolo]]) | [[Characters/DragonBallZVillains DBZ Villains]] ([[Characters/DragonBallFriezasEmpire Frieza's Empire]] [[[Characters/DragonBallFrieza Freeza/Frieza]], [[Characters/DragonBallCooler Cooler/Coola]]], [[Characters/DragonBallMajinBuu Majin Buu]]) | [[Characters/DragonBallZMovieVillains DBZ Movie Villains]] ([[Characters/DragonBallBroly Broly]]) | [[Characters/DragonBallGTVillains GT Villains]] | [[Characters/DragonBallSuperVillains DBS Villains]] ([[Characters/DragonBallFrost Frost]], [[Characters/DragonBallGokuBlack Goku Black]], [[Characters/DragonBallZamasu Zamasu/Zamas]] ['''Fused Zamasu/Zamas'''], [[Characters/DragonBallMoro Moro]])-]]]]]
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'''Original Series Villains''' ([[Characters/DragonBallRedRibbonArmy Red Ribbon Army]] [[[Characters/DragonBallDrGero Dr. Gero/Android 20]], [[Characters/DragonBallCell Cell]]], [[Characters/DragonBallDemonKingPiccolo Demon King Piccolo]]) | [[Characters/DragonBallZVillains DBZ Villains]] ([[Characters/DragonBallFriezasEmpire Frieza's Empire]] [[[Characters/DragonBallFrieza Freeza/Frieza]], [[Characters/DragonBallCooler Cooler/Coola]]], [[Characters/DragonBallMajinBuu Majin Buu]]) | [[Characters/DragonBallZMovieVillains DBZ Movie Villains]] ([[Characters/DragonBallBroly Broly]]) | [[Characters/DragonBallGTVillains GT Villains]] | [[Characters/DragonBallSuperVillains DBS Villains]] ([[Characters/DragonBallFrost Frost]], [[Characters/DragonBallGokuBlack Goku Black]], [[Characters/DragonBallZamasu Zamasu/Zamas]] ['''Fused Zamasu/Zamas'''], [[[Characters/DragonBallFusedZamasu Fused Zamasu/Zamas]]], [[Characters/DragonBallMoro Moro]])-]]]]]
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'''Original Series Villains''' | [[Characters/DragonBallRedRibbonArmy Red Ribbon Army]] ([[Characters/DragonBallDrGero Dr. Gero/Android 20]] | [[Characters/DragonBallCell Cell]]) | [[Characters/DragonBallDemonKingPiccolo Demon King Piccolo]] | [[Characters/DragonBallZVillains DBZ Villains]] | [[Characters/DragonBallFriezasEmpire Frieza's Empire]] ([[Characters/DragonBallFrieza Freeza/Frieza]] | [[Characters/DragonBallCooler Cooler/Coola]]) | [[Characters/DragonBallMajinBuu Majin Buu]] | [[Characters/DragonBallZMovieVillains DBZ Movie Villains]] | [[Characters/DragonBallBroly Broly]] | [[Characters/DragonBallGTVillains GT Villains]] | [[Characters/DragonBallSuperVillains DBS Villains]] ([[Characters/DragonBallFrost Frost]] | [[Characters/DragonBallGokuBlack Goku Black]] | [[Characters/DragonBallZamasu Zamasu/Zamas]] | [[Characters/DragonBallMoro Moro]])-]]]]]
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'''Original Series Villains''' | [[Characters/DragonBallRedRibbonArmy ([[Characters/DragonBallRedRibbonArmy Red Ribbon Army]] ([[Characters/DragonBallDrGero [[[Characters/DragonBallDrGero Dr. Gero/Android 20]] | 20]], [[Characters/DragonBallCell Cell]]) | Cell]]], [[Characters/DragonBallDemonKingPiccolo Demon King Piccolo]] Piccolo]]) | [[Characters/DragonBallZVillains DBZ Villains]] | [[Characters/DragonBallFriezasEmpire ([[Characters/DragonBallFriezasEmpire Frieza's Empire]] ([[Characters/DragonBallFrieza Freeza/Frieza]] | [[[Characters/DragonBallFrieza Freeza/Frieza]], [[Characters/DragonBallCooler Cooler/Coola]]) | Cooler/Coola]]], [[Characters/DragonBallMajinBuu Majin Buu]] Buu]]) | [[Characters/DragonBallZMovieVillains DBZ Movie Villains]] | [[Characters/DragonBallBroly Broly]] ([[Characters/DragonBallBroly Broly]]) | [[Characters/DragonBallGTVillains GT Villains]] | [[Characters/DragonBallSuperVillains DBS Villains]] ([[Characters/DragonBallFrost Frost]] | Frost]], [[Characters/DragonBallGokuBlack Goku Black]] | Black]], [[Characters/DragonBallZamasu Zamasu/Zamas]] | ['''Fused Zamasu/Zamas'''], [[Characters/DragonBallMoro Moro]])-]]]]]
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* {{Flight}}: He invented the technique (at least on Earth) and thought it to Tien and Chiaotzu. They're implied to have then taught Goku how to fly.
* RivalDojos: With the Turtle School.
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* RivalDojos: With the Turtle School.
%%* TheSvengali: He is this towards Tien and Chiaotzu until they turn against him.
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%%* TheSvengali: He is this towards Tien and Chiaotzu until they turn against him.
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* AdaptationalWimp: If one interprets Tao Pai Pai as capable of flying but simply chooses not to (Which a lot of characters did that pre-Z), then he's definitely this in ''Budokai Tenkaichi 2'', where he's among the characters who can't fly and flail when mid-air, only to eventually fall down. ''Budokai Tenkaichi 3'' corrected, likely because producers must've remembered that Crane School were the first characters who could fly by using ki, so Tao Pai Pai should be included, even if he's never shown flying.
* AllForNothing: He spent all of his money to become a cyborg more powerful than ever, and was still too weak to defeat Tien, or even do any damage besides a cut on his chest, which only makes Tien angry.
* AllForNothing: He spent all of his money to become a cyborg more powerful than ever, and was still too weak to defeat Tien, or even do any damage besides a cut on his chest, which only makes Tien angry.
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* DramaticIrony: His fight against Tien in the 23rd tournament mirrors his first fight against Goku, only with the roles reversed and the intention of the stronger one being different, since Tien never had any intention to kill Tao Pai Pai. In both cases we have the stronger character winning with just two attacks, with the first hit not being serious, and the second hit ended the fight after the other character did something to piss them off (Goku's Kamehameha destroying Tao Pai Pai's clothes, Cyborg Tao using a blade in a tournament, showing Tien he has no pride as a martial artist left). The winner also casually [[NoSell dealt with the opponent's strongest attack]]; Tao Pai Pai tanked Goku's Kamehameha, and Tien neutralized the Super Dodonpa with just a kiai shout.
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* FightsLikeANormal: Relatively speaking for the time period he was around. Before Z, characters almost never flew, even when they could do it, and despite being part of Crane School, he is never shown flying, and is even the only one from Crane School who never flew, even when he shows up again in the 23rd tournament, he doesn't fly in any of the matches he takes part of, and Crane Elder does fly to take him away, so it seems it's a personal choice. Either that or he's not capable of flying but that is never commented on.
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* MotiveDecay: During Red Ribbon Army Saga he's a very proud and smug assassin who detests any inconvenience, may kill people because of any slight to his reputation, and is ultimately a coward when facing with a stronger opponent. During his return in the 23rd tournament, in almost every line of dialogue he spouts he's going to kill Tien and/or Goku, and is so desperate for revenge he quickly stops caring about the tournament and just wants to kill Tien once he proves to be superior.
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* BadGuysDoTheDirtyWork: The only known victim of his that won't be mourned is General Blue, a petty, horrible boss who had his men executed for minor offenses and (in the anime) was strongly implied to be a pedophile.
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* KickTheSonOfABitch: The only known victim of his that won't be mourned is General Blue, a petty, horrible boss who had his men executed for minor offenses and (in the anime) was strongly implied to be a pedophile.
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* CameBackStrong: Years after his supposed death, he returns as a cyborg. This makes him stronger, but not stronger enough to contend with most of the protagonists.
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* CameBackStrong: Years after his supposed death, he returns as a cyborg. This makes him stronger, but not stronger strong enough to contend with most of the protagonists.
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** Back in the 22nd tournament Tien learns that Goku killed Tao, and when Tien tells Crane Hermit about it, he wonders if this is why he hasn't heard of Tao over the last 3 years. This all makes Tao's sudden return on the 23rd tournament more baffling.
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[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/tao_pai_pai_artwork.png]]
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** How he beats Goku in their first fight, especially compared to how Roshi beat him. While Roshi had to use every technique in his arsenal to keep up with Goku's natural talent and only beat him to exploiting their natural difference in height, Tao counters Goku's attacks without even using his hands, easily immobilizes him, tanks his formerly unstoppable Kamehameha with only a ruined outfit to show for it, and one-shots Goku with the only beam attack he uses in the entire fight. Goku returns the favor in their second match.
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** How he beats Goku in their first fight, especially compared to how Roshi beat him. While Roshi had to use every technique in his arsenal to keep up with Goku's natural talent and only beat him to by exploiting their natural difference in height, Tao counters Goku's attacks without even using his hands, easily immobilizes him, tanks his formerly unstoppable Kamehameha with only a ruined outfit to show for it, and one-shots Goku with the only beam attack he uses in the entire fight. Goku returns the favor in their second match.
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* CurbStompCushion: He's actually still about on par with Goku during their rematch, brusing and bloodying him with his punches, with Goku even admitting that his blows hurt a lot and he was still really strong. Also while Goku does manage to block his Dodonpa, he has to brace himself ahead of time, still gets pushed back a lot, and shakes his hands afterwards while whining about how much it stung. He is at a sizable disadvantage due to initially underestimating his opponent and said opponent stuffing that power in a [[PintSizedPowerhouse much smaller package, however.]]
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* CurbStompCushion: He's actually still about on par with Goku during their rematch, brusing bruising and bloodying him with his punches, with Goku even admitting that his blows hurt a lot and he was still really strong. Also while Goku does manage to block his Dodonpa, he has to brace himself ahead of time, still gets pushed back a lot, and shakes his hands afterwards while whining about how much it stung. He is at a sizable disadvantage due to initially underestimating his opponent and said opponent stuffing that power in a [[PintSizedPowerhouse much smaller package, however.]]
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See Characters/DragonBallAllies
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See Characters/DragonBallAlliesCharacters/DragonBallTienShinhan
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Removing edit from troper with wonk about Bear Thief.
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* BadPeopleAbuseAnimals: If eating rare and endangered turtles doesn't qualify you as a bad person, nothing does. So evil, that Bear Thief.
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* BadPeopleAbuseAnimals: If eating rare and endangered turtles doesn't qualify you as a bad person, nothing does. So evil, that Bear Thief.
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* TheUnfought: None of the main characters fight him. The closest is when Roshi knocks him out with a single Kamehameha that sends him flying out of the arena.
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* TheUnfought: None of the main characters fight him. The closest is when Roshi knocks him out with a single Kamehameha that sends him flying out of the arena. A more direct example is when Shen attempts to kill Emperor Chiaotzu with a Dodon Ray but was thwarted when Tien knocks him out with a Tri-Beam in the ''[[Anime/DragonBallMysticalAdventure Mystical Adventure]]'' movie.
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** He immediately quits his fight against Gohan once he realizes who he's the son of, knowing that it was far too much effort and a fight he could not win (and even if it was, he knows provoking Goku's wrath, especially now, is [[TooDumbToLive a fool's errand]].
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** He immediately quits his fight against Gohan once he realizes who he's the son of, knowing that it was far too much effort and a fight he could not win (and even if it was, he knows provoking Goku's wrath, especially now, is [[TooDumbToLive a fool's errand]].errand]]).
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* NotQuiteFlight: When he wants to go somewhere, he just throws a pillar and rides it to his intended destination. To make it clear, he throws the pillar, and ''then leaps onto it while it is in flight.'' Slightly ironic considering that the Crane School's signature technique is teaching their students to fly, although Tao in the video games is shown to be able to fly.
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* NotQuiteFlight: When he wants to go somewhere, he just throws a pillar and rides it to his intended destination. To make it clear, he throws the pillar, and ''then leaps onto it while it is in flight.'' Slightly ironic considering that the Crane School's signature technique is teaching their students to fly, although Tao in the video games is shown to be able to fly. Slightly justified as ki-based flight as a mode of long-distance transport in ''Dragon Ball'' was only used by Piccolo Jr. and briefly by Master Shen.
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** He pulls an effortlessly [[PunchCatch spear catch]] on Bora, tosses him into the air, and then throws his own spear at him, killing him. [[TheWorfEffect This was mere minutes after]] Bora took out a squad of Red Ribbon soldiers while shrugging off submachine gun and shotgun fire.
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** He pulls an effortlessly effortless [[PunchCatch spear catch]] on Bora, tosses him into the air, and then throws his own spear at him, killing him.him in one shot. [[TheWorfEffect This was mere minutes after]] Bora took out a squad of Red Ribbon soldiers while shrugging off submachine gun and shotgun fire.
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* CainAndAbel: A flashback from Master Shen in the 22nd World Tournament paints Tao's past relationship with his elder brother like this, with Shen saying that his arrogance and the latter's inexperience with teaching led to infighting between them and caused them to lose all contact. However, [[DubText this is only]] [[DubInducedPlotHole in the English dub.]] Canon events in the 23rd World Tournament show that they get along rather well and that Shen is completely supportive of Tao's behavior in killing Tien.
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* CainAndAbel: A flashback from Master Shen in the 22nd World Tournament paints Tao's past relationship with his elder brother like this, with Shen saying that his arrogance and the latter's inexperience with teaching led to infighting between them and caused them to lose all contact. However, [[DubText this is only]] [[DubInducedPlotHole in the English dub.]] In the original scene, there is no audio; it's supposed to be the Crane Hermit reflecting on good times with his brother to illustrate why he's so angry that Goku "killed" him. Canon events in the 23rd World Tournament show that they get along rather well and that Shen is completely supportive of Tao's behavior in killing Tien.
* CombatPragmatist: In his fights with both Goku and Tenshinhan, he pulls out a blade (a dao-like sword in the first, a knife-arm in the second) when his fists don't appear to be doing the job. In both cases, he's more effective for it, but is defeated anyway.
** He pulls an effortlessly [[PunchCatch spear catch]] on Bora, tosses him into the air, and then throws his own spear at him, killing him. [[TheWorfEffect This was mere minutes after]] Bora took out a squad of Red Ribbon soldiers while shrugging off submachine gun and shotgun fire.
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* CurbStompCushion: Despite him getting out of his league with Goku in his rematch, Goku admits that Tao had gotten stronger (keep in mind his only improvement was a result of climbing up Korin's tower), implying that the fight would have been much closer if he hadn't screwed himself out of Korin's training (In Tao's defense, Korin purposely withheld the actual training part so that Tao doesn't gain any strength).
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* CurbStompCushion: Despite him getting out of his league He's actually still about on par with Goku in his during their rematch, brusing and bloodying him with his punches, with Goku admits even admitting that Tao had gotten stronger (keep in mind his only improvement blows hurt a lot and he was a result of climbing up Korin's tower), implying that the fight would have been much closer if still really strong. Also while Goku does manage to block his Dodonpa, he hadn't screwed has to brace himself out ahead of Korin's training (In Tao's defense, Korin purposely withheld the actual training part so time, still gets pushed back a lot, and shakes his hands afterwards while whining about how much it stung. He is at a sizable disadvantage due to initially underestimating his opponent and said opponent stuffing that Tao doesn't gain any strength).power in a [[PintSizedPowerhouse much smaller package, however.]]
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** After easily taking out Goku in their first fight, he's utterly outmatched in their second.
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** After easily taking out Goku in their first fight, he's defeated (though not without trouble) in the second. Years later at the 22nd Budokai, Tenshinhan and the Crane Hermit are both utterly outmatched in their second.shocked by hearing that Goku managed to defeat Tao, "the world's greatest assassin." They don't even believe him until after he trounces Chappa, Pamput, and finally Krillin with no effort, while still holding a lot of power back. Even then they state it's still only ''maybe'' possible that he did. Their doubts are only full dispelled when he shows his real power against Tenshinhan.
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* WorldsStrongestMan: The world's greatest assassin and the most potent martial artist on Earth for much of his life. When he first showed up he was far stronger than Goku and Roshi, who were themselves head and shoulders above all the greatest martial artists and monsters from the first three arcs (before he showed up). Even after Goku levels up enough to defeat him they're still fairly close in power, while Goku then proceeds to effortlessly dispose of all of Baba's fighters at a much lower level of power (including Devilman, who won ''two'' prior world martial arts tournaments himself). Three years during the 22nd Budokai and Piccolo Daimao arcs, his power is still held in high regard by his brother the Crane Hermit and former student Tenshinhan, who don't believe Goku could've beaten him until they see him uncork his full power. Flashbacks in the anime version show that Tao and the Crane Hermit used to spar and were about on par with each other, tying them for the world's title of the strongest by the time Tao showed up in the series, though by the 22nd Budokai Tenshinhan, Goku, and Roshi have all surpassed them both. Piccolo follows suit when he's resurrected.
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** How he beats Goku in their first fight. Goku returns the favor in their second match.
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** How he beats Goku in their first fight, especially compared to how Roshi beat him. While Roshi had to use every technique in his arsenal to keep up with Goku's natural talent and only beat him to exploiting their natural difference in height, Tao counters Goku's attacks without even using his hands, easily immobilizes him, tanks his formerly unstoppable Kamehameha with only a ruined outfit to show for it, and one-shots Goku with the only beam attack he uses in the entire fight. Goku returns the favor in their second match.
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* NotSoAboveItAll: Tao's debut characterized him as a professional and cool assassin who shows little emotion when dealing with his target. Come ''Z'' where he was just as giddy as Vodka and his gangster henchmen when they successfully tricked Goku into giving away his Dragon Balls and even joined Vodka in going for a walk in a river.
