Dragon Ball Super Introduces New Namekian Technology

The Namekians have gone through A LOT in the history of Dragon Ball. While not introduced proper until Dragon Ball Z, the race's name was dragged through the mud at first by the Demon King Piccolo. Once rehabilitated, it was during the Frieza Saga that Piccolo was able to visit his home world and meet his kin, that is after they were brought back from the dead after being kill by a combination of Frieza, his henchmen, and Vegeta. Still, progress marches forward and this latest installment of Dragon Ball Super introduces us to some new tech the Namekians are packing.

There are a lot of differences between the Earth Dragon, Shenron, and the Namekian Dragon, Porunga. First and foremost, while Shenron is able to grant one wish, Porunga gives its' summoners three in total. The Dragon Balls associated with each also differ wildly in terms of their size. One of the main caveats of using Porunga however is that to summon this dragon, you need to do so in the Namekians' original tongue.

When Frieza was originally attempting to summon the Dragon during his saga in early Dragon Ball Z, he found it near impossible to bring him forth, thanks to his inability to speak the language. It was only with the help of Dende that Krillin and Gohan managed to make their wishes, leaving both Frieza and Vegeta high and dry. However, some new Namekian technology may have inadvertently backfired on the downtrodden race.

In the latest chapter of Dragon Ball Super, Moro's henchman Cranberry manages to place a Namekian translator helmet on to the head of one of the children and uses it to translate the former Frieza Force member's wishes. Using this new technology, Cranberry has Porunga heal himself and restore Moro's once lost magic, causing the sorcerer to be at full strength once again. Before Cranberry could finish however, Moro backstabs him and kills his assistant, making one last mystery wish before "peacing out".

This new Namekian technology couldn't have been introduced at a worse time. By using it for nefarious purposes, Cranberry was able to save Moro and give him the upper hand. It should be interesting to see if there is any other Namekian technology that the audience isn't privy to that could potentially help, or harm, our heroes in their fight against the ancient wizard.

What did you think of the latest chapter of Dragon Ball Super? Are you excited to see any more Namek tech coming around the bend? Let us know in the comments or feel free to hit me up directly on Twitter @EVComedy to talk all things comics and anime.

Dragon Ball Super currently airs its English dub on Adult Swim during the Toonami programming block Saturday evenings at 11:00 p.m. It is also available to stream on Funimation and Amazon Video. The Japanese language release of the series is complete, and available to stream on FunimationNOW and Crunchyroll. The manga has chapters that can currently be read for free thanks to Viz Media. Dragon Ball Super: Broly is now available on Blu-ray and DVD.