Namekians
Namekians are a species that features in Dragon Ball.
Contents |
History
The Namekians (ナメック星人|Namekkusei-jin) are a race of beings native to the planet Namek. Namekians have green skin, fangs and antennae. Among their innate abilities are a limited ability to stretch and expand their form, as well as the ability to regenerate lost limbs. Namekians reproduce asexually, spawning children from their own bodies, and can also merge together (permanently) in times of need to form powerfully enhanced warriors. They also have exceptional hearing.
The Namekians had a peaceful, contemplative culture, and were responsible for wonders such as the original Dragon Balls. Unfortunately, after Frieza learned of the Dragon Balls, he invaded the planet and wiped out much of its population. The Namekians were revived and transported to Earth using the Earth Dragon Balls and were later sent to a new home, New Namek, where they have lived since.
Overview
In appearance, they were humanoids with slug-like characteristics, including green skin and antennae. The patches on their arms in the anime seem to indicant age; younger Namekians have pink, while elders have a dull orange color. They require only water for sustenance and are adapted to a world with three suns, with at least one up at all times. They do not have genders and reproduce asexually by spitting out an egg. The offspring are not genetic copies of the parent; rather it appears as if the parent has some control over what type of child will be formed. This is carried to the extent that they may be mutated and not closely resemble others of the species. In the original manga, the Namekians' hands had four fingers per hand, while in the anime they hands had five fingers like humans' hands. Their physiology grants them many unique abilities.
In the series, Namekians demonstrate a wide variety of abilities, many of them magical in nature. These abilities are seen mostly by important characters, such as Piccolo, so it is unknown how many are common to the species versus the individual. It is likely that the vast majority of them are restricted to fighter-type Namekians as opposed to sage-like Namekians, as none of the normal Namekians displayed the ability to use them when facing the crisis of Freeza's invasion.
- Sorcery<ref>Dragon Ball Z manga, vol. 2, chapter 20 — ISBN 1-56931-931-6</ref>
- Heightened sense of hearing: Namekians' sense of hearing is far greater than that of humans. Piccolo told Goku that the large ears weren't just to frame his face and that he heard all that Future Trunks told him, indicating that their large outer ear structure gives them heightened hearing.<ref>Dragon Ball Z manga, volume 12, chapter ?</ref> In the movie Dragon Ball Z: Lord Slug, it is stated that very high-pitched sounds like whistling can be irritating to Namekians, to the point of causing them pain.
- Enhanced Physiological Regeneration: Namekians are an extremely resilient race and capable of healing themselves and regenerating body parts instantly, as long as their brains are intact. This does not make them completely invulnerable, though, as it takes a large amount of reserve energy to perform and it is possible for a Namekians to die with his body more or less intact after a battle.
- Body flexibility: A Namekian's body and limbs are also extremely flexible. They can elongate their arms and legs at will. With considerable effort, they are even able to grow many times their size.
- Awakening potential: A somewhat mystical ability used by Guru, he was able to raise the power level of individuals by awakening their potential. It's not just a normal power boost; it makes the person as powerful as they possibly could be at that point in time, assuming they already aren't. If the individual is already at their max, and they already meet their potential, the technique will do them no good.
- Object creation: Namekians can create items like clothing out of thin air. It is likely this ability is what is used for their most potent skill, the creation of Dragon Balls. It was noted in the series that only members of the "Dragon Clan" of Namekians were able to create the balls, but it is unclear whether their creation is a learned skill or innate to the species, as Kami created them based on a racial memory of sorts.
- Fusion: Namekians have a form of inverse reproduction where they are able to permanently join themselves with other members of their race. When this is done one of the Namekians serves as the base and gains the skills, memories and many of the personality traits of the other. It is unknown what happens to the soul of the absorbed Namekian, but it is hinted that the other soul simply remain with the body until it perishes, or that, at least, the personality and memories are, to some extent, present within the host being. This is evident when Nail talked to Dende through Piccolo, proving that Nail's knowledge and personality were still present, to an extent, or when, after the fusion of Kami and Piccolo (although this type of fusion was somewhat different, Piccolo and Kami were two parts to a whole) Piccolo's personality changed somewhat.<ref>The absorbing Namekian will not obtain any caste specific abilities from the other. This is shown when Piccolo, a fighter-type, is unable to restore the Dragon Balls, even though he had fused with Kami, who was a member of the dragon clan.</ref>
- Fission: The reverse of fusing, a single Namekian can also split into different copies of itself. One instance of this ability being used was when the son of Katattsu purged all the evil within himself by casting it off into a separate being, resulting in the good natured Kami and the demonic Piccolo Daimao. Both Namekians were able to read each others thoughts, and if one died the other would as well. Because of the drawbacks this ability should not be considered a perfect fission as they, in all considerations, are still one being. However, if one half were to die and spawn another Namekian, the other half would remain intact. Before Daimaō died at the hands of young Goku he spawned Piccolo Jr. and Kami didn't perish.
- Soul control: Both Kami and Piccolo Daimao demonstrated the ability to manipulate the very soul of beings. With Daimao, he was able to prevent the souls of those he killed from going to the afterlife, forcing them to remain in limbo for eternity; with Kami, he was able to incarnate his soul into another being, essentially possessing them. It is also likely that in Namekian fission, the soul is shared between the two new Namekians.
- Kaifuku/Healing: Dende is shown with the ability to heal other beings of virtually any injury.
- Increased lifespan: Both Guru and Kami were several hundreds of years old before they passed on, as was Piccolo Daimao until he received eternal youth from the Earth's Dragon Balls.
- Telekinesis and telepathy: Piccolo was able to mentally lift a pyramid in the anime. Guru can communicate with his offspring, despite their location on Namek.
- Ki manipulation: Namekians are more adept at manipulating chi than humans, granting them enhanced strength and super speed, as well as the art of flight and the ability to shoot concussive blasts.
- Sensing Evil: Namekians can sense the presence of evil in a power level where as most other fighters can only sense the magnitude. This was shown in Dragon Ball Z: The Tree of Might by Piccolo, in the Namek Saga by Guru who senses the arrival of the Ginyu Force<ref>Dragon Ball Z manga, volume 7, chapter ?</ref>, and in the Android Saga by Kami, wherein Kami says that he could sense an evil creature growing and changing on the Earth below<ref>Dragon Ball Z manga, volume 14, chapter ?</ref>. This creature was Cell.
Members
Notes
- The name "Namek" is derived from the word namekuji which means "slug" in Japanese.<ref>"Slug," Dictionary.com</ref> The naming scheme for most of the Nameks reflects this (Nail, 'snail' without an 's'; Dende, derived from the Japanese colloquial name for snails ['dendenmushi'], among others).
In other media
Movies
- In the films, high-pitched noises are painful to Namekians, due to their sensitive hearing.
- In Dragonball: Evolution, the Nameks were referenced in the setting of the live-action film with them primarily seen in Piccolo. They were described as being an alien race who once nearly destroyed Earth over 2,000 years ago with warnings about the species.
Video games
- In Dragon Ball Xenoverse, Namekians appeared as a playable race with the player making a custom character for the story mode.
Appearances
- Dragon Ball Z:
- Dragon Ball GT:
- Dragon Ball Super:
