Warning: Spoilers for Dragon Ball Daima, episode #10Dragon Ball Daimahas just revealed some new information about the Namekians, and these facts solidify their race as perhaps the most tragic in the entire franchise, even surpassing the Saiyans. The suffering of the Namekians began long before Frieza entered the picture, and colors their full history.
The destruction of the Saiyan homeworldwas undoubtedly a tragedy, but given all the evil things the Saiyans did under Frieza, there’s still a sense of karmic retribution to it–what goes around, comes around. Surely many good-hearted Saiyans perished as well as the evil ones, but overall it tempers the tragedy of their loss. The Namekians, however, have been tragic since before Universe 7 even existed, and their suffering continues to this very day. Their origins in the Demon Realm were revealed by the Supreme Kai, showing that even then, the Namekians couldn’t catch a break.
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Life Wasn’t Good for Namekians on their Homeworld
In episode #10 ofDaima, Supreme Kai reveals that the Namekians in the Demon Realm were treated as little more than slaves for the most part, used for their special abilities that other races don’t possess.They didn’t just leave the Demon Realm looking for a new home, but essentially were forced to flee their ancestral home because of the way their people were being treated by the rulers of the Demon Realm. It’s no coincidence that there’s only a single Namekian, Neva, left in the Demon Realm: he volunteered to stay behind to look after the Dragon Balls while all the others left.
It even makes sense why theDemon Realm Dragon Ballsare so closely guarded compared to other sets of Dragon Balls–the Namekians didn’t trust anyone in the Demon Realm to make use of them for good reasons. By creating the Tamagami, they could at least be sure that only the absolute strongest of the strong could gain control of the Dragon Balls, even if they couldn’t find a way to limit evil people from using them entirely. The less frequently used, the better as far as these Dragon Balls are concerned.
It’s unknown just how long the Demon Realm existed before the creation of the other universes, but it was surely enough time that the Namekians were more than happy to flee to the outside universe when that became an option. Settling on Planet Namek, they set about turning that world into a replica of their home in the Demon Realm through terraforming, until finally it looked and felt like the real thing. The Namekians lived there peacefully for millennia, until Frieza came along…
Namekians Were Already a Tragic People
Throughout the Frieza saga, the Namekians are effectively just bystanders who have been caught up in a power struggle that really doesn’t involve them. Frieza shows up at their doorstep looking for the Dragon Balls, and is willing to do anything to obtain them, including wipe out mass numbers of Namekians.It’s worth noting that even at the time Frieza attacked, there were only a few hundred Namekians living on Namek, an extremely small population given how long they must have been in the outside universe.This suggests that far fewer made it out of the Demon Realm in the first place.
The Namekians inDragon Ball Zare slaughtered for a conflict that they have nothing to do with, despite their peaceful ways. That made them a tragic species right from their conception, and this new information on the Namekians' past only further drives that point home. Planet Namek was founded by a small group of escaped slaves, the last remainder of their people, and despite that, they still tried to live a peaceful life without interfering with other species' development. Unfortunately, once again, their special abilities (i.e., the capacity to create Dragon Balls) drew the attention of tyrants in the form of Frieza.
It almost seems as if it’s impossible for the Namekians to have true peace, because their abilities will always be sought after by those who crave power. That alone makes them infinitely more tragic than the Saiyans, whose fall was in part due to their own evil ways. The Namekians deserve to have peace, and it’s certainly to their benefit to have a hero like Goku who’s looking out for them, even if it’s mostly to protect the Dragon Balls from misuse.Dragon Ball Daimatook the already tragic Namekians and turned up the tragic elements even further, ensuring they’ll forever be the most ill-fated group inDragon Ball.
Dragon Ball DAIMA
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Dragon Ball Daima sees Goku and his allies inexplicably shrunk into miniature forms, prompting a journey to the Demon Realm. This animated adventure, part of the Dragon Ball franchise, explores their mission to solve the mystery and restore their original statures. Released in October 2024.
