insideDragon BallManga, the moment the villain Raditz appears, the series abruptly shifts from a mystical fantasy story to a sci-fi escapade. Instead of using ancient martial arts techniques to fight generations of evil, the cast now go head-to-head against aliens, bio-weapons and space creatures that are destroying the cosmos. With this abrupt change in tone and style, it's no surprise that the anime split up this change, labeling everything that began with Raditz asDragon Ball Z. It's also not surprising that the demons Piccolo and Kami have been reconfigured to be part of an alien race called the Nameks.
Hailing from the planet Namek, Nameks are essentially magical snails. They can create the titular Dragon Balls and possess a wide range of unusual biological functions. They are mainly released during the Namek saga when the evil space tyrant Frieza tries to gain immortality with his dragon orbs. They don't play a major role in the story that follows this arc, but Piccolo, and to a lesser extent Dende, play an important role in the events ofDragon Ball Zand supporting roles inDragonball super.
While Piccolo uses the Namek's unique biological abilities to great effect in combat, most others of his race simply incorporate some of their abilities into their daily lives. Of course, Namekian culture also contains its fair share of surprising traits. Each character inDragon BallIt has some ridiculous elements, and these 25 elements are some of the weirdest things about Nameks that most people forget or ignore.
25 For a time they were just called "Namekians".
There are many differentDragon BallDubs that show a wide range of accuracy in relation to the source material. One of the "dubisms" that emerges from one of the less accurate translations refers to Nameks simply as Nameks. While not entirely inaccurate, this name feels a bit harsher and even pejorative than most pacifist aliens deserve. This misnomer was so common that it even appeared in a number of video games, such as B. the titles invon Goku's LegacySerie.
24 You don't have to eat
Nameks need only drink water or other liquids to survive, and only eat solid food as a reward. This facet of their biology really shows how similar they are to snails, and it's surprising that these humanoid creatures don't require solid food to survive. While mostly consuming only water on Namek, during their time on Earth, Nameks have been shown to consume juice and milk as supplemental sustenance. It's quite odd that creatures with an apparent ability to consume solid food somehow also evolved to make such consumption unnecessary.
23 they are magic
It's a bit of an understatement how odd it is that the Namek sages can create magical powers that grant wishes.dragon ballswho can perform all sorts of impossible feats. Supposedly, they got this ability after encountering a super-sized Dragon Ball and learning how to craft their own smaller versions. Difficult, this part of the tradition is still quite unexplored. It's not entirely clear where the thematic line is in these snails creating wish-granting dragons, but it's still a staple of the series.
22 His excellent hearing is both a strength and a weakness
Nameks have excellent hearing, which is one of their greatest strengths and weaknesses. Piccolo can easily hear conversations from several feet away, and his hearing makes it almost impossible for someone to sneak up on him. However, as shown in the film Lord Slug, the high-pitched noises cause extreme pain to the Nameks. In exchange for his exceptional hearing, the mere hissing is enough to send even the strongest Namek into crippling pain.
21 They have children who spit eggs
Nameks create more Nameks by spitting eggs out of their mouths. This is how the evil king Piccolo created his minions and Piccolo Jr. It is also more than likely that Lord Guru created Dende and many of the other Namekians on the planet Namek. While this way of playing is great, it also comes with a number of unanswered questions. Are Namekin descendants technically clones? Why do Nameks have such a wide range of appearances when they're all technically brothers? These questions will likely never be answered.
20 There are mutated Nameks
InDragon Ball, King Piccolo created the Namekian mutants: Cymbal, Tambourine, and Drum to aid him in his quest to find the Dragon Balls and eliminate all martial artists. They are far more monstrous than any other Namek and it is likely that King Piccolo knowingly altered their physiology to enhance their Dragon Ball hunting and fighting abilities. It's unclear what other traits these demonic Nameks share with their more educated counterparts, and it's unlikely these deformed characters will ever play a major role in the story again.
19 They can grow to gigantic sizes
A rarely used Namekian ability is gigantic. Piccolo and Lord Slug can grow so large that they become as tall as a building. This greatly increases his destructive power and he doesn't lose any of his other abilities. The only downside to this technique is that it consumes a large amount of energy and turns your vital areas into much bigger targets. Unfortunately, this technique is not used very often in the series, although it is enormously useful and powerful.
18 They can stretch their limbs to impossible lengths
Nameks can stretch and bend their limbs to any extent. This allows them to easily close the distance between opponents or incapacitate an enemy by wrapping their flexible arms around them. Piccolo rarely uses this technique in the series, but when he does he never fails to catch his opponent off guard. This ability proved crucial when Piccolo defeated Cooler's Armored Squad, allowing the green warrior to come close to defeating the rogue Frost in the Universe 6 and Universe 7 tournaments.
17 You can make clothes out of nothing
several times continuouslyDragon Ball, Piccolo uses his energy to create new clothes out of nothing. How he is able to pull off this impressive feat is never really explained. Presumably he channels his energy and molds him into clothing, but how he learned or invented this technique is never mentioned. This technique is incredibly useful, and it can only be assumed that all Nameks use this ability to dress themselves, as they don't seem to have the materials or the technology to create cloth through more traditional means.
sixteen You can of course merge
Any Namek can merge with another Namek as long as both parties agree to the merger and at least one of them knows the technique. This results in the dominant personality gaining an incredible amount of power while the weaker entity assimilates into their essence. Nail used this technique so Piccolo would have enough power to fight Frieza's second form. The Universe 6 Nameks in the Tournament of Power also joined forces with several others of their people in hopes of saving their universe.
15 They can be divided into separate units
Nameks can also fork into new beings by splitting off and molding parts of their personalities. Kami created Piccolo and Lord Guru created Lord Slug, driving out all evil within them. Of course, this also weakens a Namek dramatically by giving up half of their combat power to the new Namek. However, these Nameks will always share a connection, meaning that if one travels to the Otherworld, the other half will also go to that realm.
14 Nameks can transfer their soul
After King Piccolo's defeat at the hands of Goku during the events ofDragon Ball, quickly spat out an egg on the horizon and transferred its soul into the soon-to-hatch creature. This gave the infant Piccolo Jr. all of his father's memories and personality traits, as well as the experience of growing up alone and anxious. This is a rare ability and it's odd that more Nameks don't use it throughout the series as it makes them functionally immortal.
13 Some of them can heal, some can't.
Some Nameks, like Dende, can heal another person's wounds, but other Nameks lack this extremely useful ability. Dende's healing technique is so powerful that Vegeta recovers from a fatal injury in seconds. It's unclear if this tremendous restorative power is a technique only some Nameks learn, or if it is a biological trait present in only a few members of the alien race. Either way, useful as it is, you'd think the Nameks would prioritize those in power better.
12 They live for hundreds of years
Nameks have an incredibly long natural lifespan, almost longer than any other species on Earth.Dragon Ball. Both Guru and Kami were hundreds of years old when they first appeared in the series. Though weakened by age like most other living beings, they both prove incredibly powerful even in their advanced years. While his exact natural life is unknown, Dende has been shown to be barely middle-agedDragonball online, where he would have lived almost 250 years.
11 They are named after instruments and shells
Most Nameks inDragon Ballshare one of two naming conventions. Piccolo and its mutant offspring the cymbal, tambourine, and drum are named after instruments. Other Nameks have names that revolve around snails. Dende's name derives from the Japanese word for snail "Denden-Mushi". Similarly, Nail's name is just the word "Snail" without the "S" at the beginning. While Guru and Kami share none of these naming conventions, it is likely because their names are titles passed down with their positions as guardians of their planets.
10 Many are farmers, although they do not need food
Throughout the Namek saga, the viewer sees many Nameks growing a cabbage-like plant in the various settlements of their planet. This is pretty strange considering they don't need to eat solid food, but apparently they grow these plants and dump them in water sources to increase the nutritional value of that water. While this may seem somewhat indirect, they apparently prefer to eat the plants directly, further cementing their unusual biology and culture.
9 There is a clan system that doesn't make much sense
Most Nameks belong to one of two clans, the Warrior Clan and the Dragon Clan. The warrior clan trains in martial arts to protect the Namek people from threats, and the dragon clan learns how to craft dragon orbs and presumably other mystical feats. Although called clans, they seem more like schools since the Nameks seem to be a monoculture. Additionally, a person can learn techniques from both clans since Kami was from the Dragon Clan and Piccolo was from the Warrior Clan, although the two were originally the same person.
8 hardly survive
During the Namek saga, we learn that little more than a hundred Nameks lived on Namek when Frieza began his invasion. These declining numbers are likely due to the natural disaster that devastated people prior to the start of the series. Although it's weird that the Namek population is still so low considering Guru could make as many new Nameks as he wanted. Perhaps with larger numbers, they could have fought off the Freeza Force invasion and numerous attacks better.
7 Most other aliens recognize them
Despite their smaller population, they are apparently recognized by most space-traveling extraterrestrials. Both Nappa and Vegeta immediately recognized that Piccolo was a Namek and argued that a Namek would have a high enough level of power to defeat Raditz. Perhaps their ability to create dragon orbs made them a well-known people, or it could be that they regularly traveled through space before the Cataclysm. Unfortunately, this fame proved problematic for her, as it inspired Frieza to invade her planet in hopes of wishing for immortality.
6 They can get heavier
Despite a diet consisting mostly of water, Nameks can somehow get heavier. Apparently, as Nameks get older and exercise less, they gain weight more easily, just like humans. They also gain weight very easily from eating solid foods instead of just liquids if they don't get enough exercise to compensate. However, none of these explanations really justify how Lord Guru managed to attain his extremely large stature.