Why is Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero changing Piccolo's arm design? After the mammoth success of Dragon Ball Super: Broly, it was only a matter of time until Goku's next big screen adventure, and after a slow start, details are finally emerging. The follow-up goes by the not-quite-as-catchy title of Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero, and will seemingly be set after a time skip. A special panel at SDCC's recent Comic Con at Home revealed Pan in her school uniform, Krillin back pounding the streets as a cop, Piccolo's Namekian-style home on Earth, and two new alien characters who appear to be twins.
Without further plot details, there's little for Dragon Ball fans to get excited over just yet, but one major talking point can be found on the underside of Piccolo's arms. Traditionally in the Dragon Ball anime, Piccolo is animated with Namekian green skin and sinewy pink muscles on his inner arms, biceps and shoulders. As revealed by concept art for Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero, however, Piccolo's pinkish parts have been recolored to a lemon yellow. After decades sporting more or less the same look, why is Dragon Ball altering Piccolo's palette now?
There are two main factors in Piccolo's new design - the first being that it's actually not new at all. Although Piccolo has routinely been shown in the Dragon Ball anime with pink arms, color artwork from Akira Toriyama for his original manga uses the lemon yellow instead. Essentially, this means Piccolo always should've had this combination of colors. This change is one of several made to the Namekian warrior between page and screen, with the anime version growing a finger and getting a manicure recoloring.
The second reason explains why Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero is fixing Piccolo's design now, when Akira Toriyama has already passed on numerous opportunities to correct it. Although the likes of Piccolo, Nail and Dende all appeared in the anime with pink arms, older Namekians such as Kami, Grand Elder Guru and Moori all have the manga-traditional yellow patches. As far as the Dragon Ball anime is concerned, young Namekians start with pink muscles on their arms and shoulders, but this coloring becomes yellow with age - the equivalent of humans getting gray hair, wrinkled skin, or being unable to sleep at night without getting up to pee. Piccolo is getting old, and may now be considered an elder of his people - another indication of Dragon Ball's incoming time jump.
While the color of Piccolo's arms doesn't strictly matter, his advancing age could have a huge impact, both in Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero and beyond. Piccolo may not be able to train as harshly as he did back in the day, meaning he'll need to find a new purpose outside of chasing physical and spiritual strength. The birth of Pan has amplified Piccolo's parental instincts (first triggered during his time training Gohan), and as the youngster grows older, her Namekian grandpa might take a more active role in caring for Pan - especially if he can't pump iron all day.
Piccolo's visible signs of aging could also be a bad omen for those hoping the Namekian will one day catch up to Goku and Vegeta. Predictably, the Saiyans are only becoming more monstrous, showing no signs of wear and tear, and with Piccolo's body now looking more like an elder, that gap will inevitably widen. Maybe Piccolo will be forced to rely more on his sharp intellect and tactical nous in Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero. That's one advantage he'll always hold over Goku and Vegeta.