Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot Makes Controversial Piccolo Retcon

Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot is now in the hands of players around the world, and one of the most exciting things about it for long time fans of the franchise is the fact that it would feature some additional story bits enhancing the canon of the original anime series. But as fans continue to dig through the massive experience, more irregularities are beginning to show themselves as it makes additions or changes to the already established story. This initially meant that video game original characters such as Android 21 have been inserted into the canon, but it seems like Piccolo has been the subject of a major subtraction.

One of Piccolo’s biggest feats in Dragon Ball Z was when he destroyed the moon in order to stop Gohan’s Oozaru rampage, and this was a huge moment for the character that showed just how powerful he was. But in Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot‘s version of the events, it turns out that Piccolo didn’t blow up the moon at all.

As spotted by @DragonBallBLK on Twitter, Kakarot explains the event as such, “Similar to how Master Roshi destroyed the moon when Goku transformed, Piccolo destroys the moon when Gohan transforms — or so it seems. In truth, Piccolo creates an illusion in which the moon only appears to be destroyed.”

There’s a lot going on in that retcon, for sure. There have been some notable issues among fans when it comes to the game’s translations of things, but this is certainly a head scratcher. Piccolo confirmed in the original series that he indeed destroyed the moon (which was later reaffirmed when Vegeta needed to use the Power Ball in the fight against Goku), and the only time he dealt with an “illusion” is when he destroyed a Saiyan Pod with the projection of the moon.

It’s a weird adjustment to make for the scene, but the game itself sees Piccolo blowing up cede moon. So it might just be the center of debate for quite a while. Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot is now available on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC. Did you nab a copy for yourself? How is it so far? Let us know your thoughts in the comments or talk to me directly about all things anime and other cool things @Valdezology on Twitter!

The Japanese-language and English dub releases of Dragon Ball Super are now complete and available to stream with FunimationNOW and Crunchyroll. Viz Media is releasing new chapters of the manga at a monthly rate that can be read entirely for free through the Shonen Jump digital library, and Dragon Ball Super’s big movie, Dragon Ball Super: Broly, is now available on Blu-ray and DVD. Fans in Japan are also able to enjoy fresh non-canon adventures from the franchise with new episodes of Super Dragon Ball Heroes‘ promotional anime series.