Warning: Contains spoilers for Dragon Ball Daima episode #11.One of the best parts about Dragon Ball Daima has been how both works have given Piccolo some much-needed focus and development. Not only did Super Hero essentially make Piccolo the protagonist, but Daima has done a lot to flesh out Namekian lore which, in turn, has made Piccolo feel more developed than he ever has before.

Piccolo has received a lot of welcome attention in recent years, but at least in Dragon Ball Daima, it hasn’t all been great. Daima has been filled with retcons to Dragon Ball lore in nearly every episode, and surprisingly, episode #11 might have made a very blatant retcon to one of the oldest elements of Piccolo’s character. One moment from Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero makes it less egregious than one would think, but regardless, it’s still a weird development to see in the series.

Dragon Ball Daima's Piccolo Retcon Actually Happened Years Ago In Super Hero

In Dragon Ball Daima episode #11, Neva ed the heroes on their quest for the Dragon Balls, mainly because they need someone to speak Namekian to activate them. Piccolo said he couldn’t do it because he’d been on Earth so long that he’d forgotten the language, Piccolo and Kami spoke fluent Namekian when they fought in the World Martial Arts Tournament, which happened after both of them had lived on Earth for centuries, so Dragon Ball Daima stating that Piccolo can’t speak Namekian is a clear contradiction of some of Piccolo’s oldest lore.

Piccolo not knowing Namekian also ignores how he fused with Nail, someone who spent his entire life on Namek.

Piccolo not knowing Namekian is undeniably weird, but surprisingly, it might not be a retcon. Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero was the first time Piccolo used his gigantification power since he fought Goku, and when Krillin brought that up to Piccolo, Piccolo said that he forgot he could do that. The implication is that Piccolo is somehow so forgetful that he forgets about some of his powers, so Piccolo not knowing how to speak Namekian is less a retcon and more playing into the joke about him forgetting about his abilities first established in Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero.

Piccolo's Weird Forgetfullness Plays Perfectly Into Dragon Ball's Humor

Why Dragon Ball's New Piccolo Joke Is So Good

Piccolo being forgetful to the point that he forgets his powers is odd to consider, but it’s much better than one might think. Not only is it a clever way of lampshading how long Dragon Ball will go without addressing certain powers or plot points, but the most classic style of Dragon Ball humor is the kind that revolves around characters acting as stupidly as need be for the sake of the plot, so Piccolo’s being so forgetful that he can’t his powers works because of how faithful it is to Dragon Ball’s style of comedy.

All of that, of course, plays well into the central conceit of Daima. The biggest selling point of Daima has been its return to the classic Dragon Ball aesthetic both visually and narratively, and because of that, Piccolo’s running gag of being forgetful perfectly plays into Dragon Ball Daima’s return to classic Dragon Ball humor. Whether that was intentional is unclear, but it continues to show how great the writing is for both Dragon Ball Daima and Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero, and that will hopefully continue into any future Dragon Ball projects, as well.

Dragon Ball Daima releases new episodes Fridays on Crunchyroll.