"Emperor" Pilaf is a fictional character in the Dragon Ball manga and anime in which he appears as a major antagonist. He is a small, impish demi-human who craves nothing more than power and dreams of ruling the world. He is an emperor in that he has a crown and a castle. He rules over an empire known as the Reich Pilaf, however the only members of this evil empire are his two followers Shū and Mai, and despite his villainous ambitions has a rather meek personality.
He appears almost twice as much in the anime as compared to the manga. At one point in Dragon Ball, he collects all of the Dragon Balls and is about to make his wish when Oolong jumps in the way and screams a different wish than anyone had planned on.
Pilaf's first confrontation with Son Gokū is in the "Son Gokū Saga" over the Dragon Balls, which he seeks so that he can wish to rule the world. When he fails, he then releases Piccolo Daimaō from his confinement to achieve power.
Pilaf has a short return in the "Red Ribbon Army Saga", a shorter return in the "Fortuneteller Baba Saga", and a final appearance in Dragon Ball, prior to Goku and Chi-Chi's wedding.
Pilaf is never seen during Dragon Ball Z, other than a flashback stint, thanks to Bulma during the "Namek Saga" and an appearance in a picture stint on a card game in "Bojack Unbound".
In the first episode of Dragon Ball GT he makes a final major appearance as an old man. He finds Kami’s Lookout along with the now elderly Shū and Mai, and they manage to recover the seven Black Star Dragon Balls hidden in the Tower. Right as Pilaf is about to make his wish to rule the world, Gokū appears in front of them. Pilaf screams in rage and exclaims that he wishes Gokū were a little kid again so he could beat him up. Unfortunately, the Black Star Dragon overhears this and grants his wish. Later in the "Bebi Saga", when the Planet explodes, Pilaf and his gang are last seen briefly, when Goku saves them and takes them to the Tsufurian Planet.
Despite his seeming incompetence, Pilaf has an incredible amount of resources at his command, such as his own castle, airplane, laser weaponry, and high-tech floating base. Somehow he is able to improve on Bulma's Dragon Radar, develop a material that is capable of nullifying the electromagnetic pulses that a Dragon Radar picks up on, create an orbiting satellite detection system that can pick up images and sound from anywhere in the world, and find where the electric rice cooker Piccolo Daimaō was buried under the ocean floor hundreds of years ago even though he was believed to be only a legend by everyone save Kame-sen'nin and Tsuru-sen'nin.
Pilaf is one of the few characters to break the fourth wall, directly referring the Dragon Ball comic itself. It should also be noted that despite his incompetence, he is known to the citizens of Dragon World, as Bulma recognises him as Pilaf when they first meet.
Note: In the "Kid Buu Saga" of Dragon Ball Z, Dende wished back everyone that was not evil, even though Pilaf was evil, he was brought back which is seen by fans as a plot hole that led to the beginning of Dragon Ball GT. However, this can be argued due to the fact Pilaf wasn't a pure evil being (as opposed to a comical bumbling imp with dreams of power), as Piccolo Daimaō was the first true enemy to pose that type of threat.
Video game appearances[]
- Emperor Pilaf made a short appearance in Dragon Ball Z: Buu's Fury when Goten and Trunks try to take a Dragon Ball he found.
- He appears in the beginning of Dragon Ball GT: Transformation, where he mirrors his anime appearance.
- Pilaf is part of two bosses in Dragon Ball: Advanced Adventure, both in his robotic suit. In the first battle he and Shu both fight Goku in their robots, and in the second they merge with Mai's robot. His and Shu's robots are also playable in Bonus Mode.
- In his robot, he is also a playable fighter in Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 2 and 3.
Trivia[]
- DBZ anime movie/filler villain Garlic Jr., who shares the same voice and diminutive size as Pilaf, is similar to Emperor Pilaf except a much more serious villain.