[Major Spoilers for Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero ahead!] Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero is currently in theatres in Japan, and while it won’t have its US and UK release until August 18, many spoilery details have been revealed from the marketing and trailers for the film in Japan.
Series creator Akira Toriyama has now opened up about fan-favourite character Piccolo’s new form and the powers it brings him, which bring him up to a level on a par with Goku. Toriyama has confirmed that Piccolo’s new form is called Orange Piccolo – while this is his first proper transformation, Toriyama says it could have been (and perhaps should have been) even more over-the-top.
He added; “…personally I’m just happy that [Piccolo’s] finally obtained battle power on par with Goku and co.” Toriyama wanted to make the transformation visually distinct, and to ensure it came with a significant boost in his strength. In the trailer, the transformation changes the colour of Piccolo’s skin from green… to a slightly lighter shade of green, and removes the lines from his arms.
We also saw (in the trailer) his ki briefly flash yellow in a similar fashion to the way the Saiyan’s aura turns golden when they transform. However, with his new form being called Orange Piccolo, it sounds like this goes further in the full movie.
The various iterations of Dragon Ball are now available on Crunchyroll, if you want to get caught up before watching the movie. Fans will be keen to find out whether the rumours that the movie brings back a resurrected form of The Cell are true.
While we wait until August to find out exactly what’s involved in Piccolo’s transformation, check out our guide to the best anime series.