"Oh, Ultraman Taro! A good-for-nothing planet filled with rotten Earthlings - I'm surprised you protect them!"
"Where are you from, Alien?"
"I am the prince of Nebula Piccola, Piccolo! I just came for a little visit, but now I've come to hate Earth! I'll destroy everyone! Now, come!"
- ―Piccolo and Ultraman Taro, Ultraman Taro episode 46 "From a Japanese Nursery Song - The White Rabbit Is a Bad Guy!"
The Alien Piccola are aliens based on Pinocchio that first appeared in episode 46 of Ultraman Taro. A prince of his home planet, Piccolo[1] happened to visit Earth by travelling on a periodic comet, where he befriended a human and discovered the truth about Kotaro Higashi. After being enraged by the cruelty of humans after his friend's pet rabbit was harmed, he took out his anger on a city, but fortunately calmed down after Taro engaged him in battle.
Subtitle: Mischievous Alien
History
Ultraman Taro
Piccolo was a youngster that liked to travel who also happened to be a prince from the planet Piccolo in the Nebula Piccolo, a star system in the vicinity of Earth. Wanting to learn more about the Earth, he was recommended by a friend to travel aboard the Hertz comet, a periodic comet which passes through the Solar System once every 60 years. As the comet approached Earth, Piccolo noticed a young boy and his rabbit. Distracted, he accidentally fell off the comet and landed in Japan. He made himself at home at an apartment building in Tokyo, and helped the child and his rabbit from before with transportation powers to keep the poor creature out of harms way and to keep the child happy. In the process, Piccolo shared a psychic bond with the rabbit. Piccolo kept a low profile from the attack team ZAT, especially when he realized that one of them, Kotaro Higashi, was actually Ultraman Taro in human form.
That evening, Piccolo decided that he had learned enough about the Earth and humans, and planned to return home as the comet had approached Earth again. However, he was struck with a sudden burst of pain, and realised through the psychic link he had created that his human friend's rabbit had been poisoned by the apartment building's landlord. Enraged by this act of cruelty, Piccolo grew giant and began to destroy the city with his mallet, all while the boy cheered him on. ZAT immediately responded to the chaos by attacking Piccolo, but with little success.
After exchanging fire with ZAT, Piccolo announced to the members of ZAT that Kotaro was Taro's host. Kotaro was unnerved by this revelation, thinking that his cover had been blown, but fortunately, his colleagues didn't believe Piccolo. As ZAT was occupied with trying to secure the area, Kotaro decided it was time to transform and take matters into his own hands, and Taro arrived. The two giants were evenly matched in close combat, but Piccolo kept the Ultra at bay with his hammer and cannon.
Realising why Piccolo was so furious, Taro decided to reason with the alien prince, explaining that there were indeed humans with cruel tendencies, but that most people were kind at heart. Piccolo disagreed, and accused Taro of lying to him, as his experiences had led him to believe that all Earthlings were 'filthy'. Taro then elaborated on his explanation, saying that the actions of the cruel minority only further emphasizes the kind behaviour of the majority of humanity. Still refusing to believe him, Piccolo tried to hit Taro with his mallet, but missed, now clearly starting to get tired. Continuing to reason with the alien, Taro stated that he couldn't abandon the Earth based on the actions of a few cruel people, and knocked the alien down.
Getting back to his feet, Piccolo charged, but Taro delivered a high kick that knocked him back down again. Realising the error of his ways, Piccolo finally conceded, and asked to be spared. After Taro promised that he would protect the Earth, Piccolo declared that he was going home, and asked the Ultra for help, as he was now too tired to move. Taro obliged, and threw him into orbit, where he was able to get back onto the Hertz comet and began the long return journey to his home planet.
Trivia
- Designer: Yoshio Suzuki
- Voice actor: Hisako Kyoda
- Suit actor: Keibun Yoshimura
- Despite that fact he is an alien, he is referred to by ZAT as a monster after growing large.
- In addition to using it as a weapon, Piccolo appears to care quite a bit about the condition of his hat, as after it gets knocked off his head by the force of an exploding oil tank, he angrily jumps up and down, briefly stopping his attack to retrieve it and dust it off before putting it back on.
Galaxy Rescue Force Voice Drama
Another individual of the Piccola race, this time a friend of Prince Piccolo named Poccola joined the Galaxy Rescue Force under the prince's request. He was a classmate of the prince's father's cousin's neighborhood friend. Andro Melos agreed to take in Poccola and train him, but Ultraman Ribut and Sora doubt his usefulness, especially when he says that he wants to fight Ultraman Taiga to restore honor to his people after Piccolo fought and lost to Ultraman Taro. A New Member
Later, Ribut and Poccola are on a mission because they received an information of a hostile life form on a planet. After having a little chitchat, a Dinozole approaches both of them. Ribut orders Poccola to stay behind him while the Ultra fights the monster, Unfortunately, Dinozole had the advantage thanks to his powerful tongue. Ribut was unable to beat the monster, but this ultimately leads to Poccola to lose control of his anger and beat Dinozole with a single blow. He then explained when he gets angry, he becomes extremely strong as a result of losing control of his emotions, and that he’s been able to do this since he was young.
Data
- Stats
- Height: 30 cm ~ 61 m
- Weight: 40 kg ~ 20,000 t
- Origin: Planet Piccola
- Powers and Weapons
- Cannon: Piccolo can fire explosive projectiles from his nose. These projectiles are on the same level as normal missiles.
- Saw Hat : The hat on Piccolo's head can be removed and thrown, While it travels, it will generate energy teeth while rotating at high speed.
- Psychic Link: Piccolo can create a psychic link between himself and another organism, allowing him to sense when that organism is in danger by sharing their pain.
- Wooden Mallet: Piccolo is equipped with a massive mallet which he uses as a weapon. Piccolo can swing it with considerable force, enough to pulverise smaller structures such as oil tanks and smash buildings to rubble with just a few strikes.
- Size Change: Piccolo can increase his size from that of a human's to a towering creature's.
- Teleportation: Piccolo can teleport any object or organism a short distance away at will.
- Ultra-Show Scope: Piccolo owns a miniature telescope that when used can reveal the human host of an Ultraman.
- Galaxy Rescue Force Voice Drama
- Charged Uppercut: When angered, Poccola can charge his fist with energy and deliver a powerful uppercut to enemies. First demonstrated to defeat Dinozole in one blow.
Gallery
![[2]](/wiki/File:Alien_Piccola_HD.png "Alien Piccola HD.png (2.63 MB)")
References
| Ultraman: Another Genesis Kaiju | |
|---|---|
| Antlar | A Monster from Another Dimension | Jean-Bot | Iron Rocks | King Joe | Old Man | Mirror Master | |