The official Dragon Ball website is a great source to get updates about Akira Toriyama's world-famous shonen franchise, but it also features interesting interviews, with the latest featuring two scientists, who are also Dragon Ball fans, to share something interesting about Namekians, the race responsible for the creation of the Dragon Balls.
Science teacher Masayuki Kato and researcher Yudai Okuyama took the opportunity to dive into various topics relating to Frieza's alien race, the villainous Cell, while also talking about Namekians.
"In terms of biology, I'd propose that they get their energy via photosynthesis, just like plants," Okuyama said. "They are green, after all."
For those unfamiliar with the term, photosynthesis is the process by which plans use sunlight, water, and carbon dioxide to create oxygen and energy in the form of sugar.
Kato added: "You might be right. Planet Namek has three suns and no nighttime, so photosynthesis would actually be the ideal method of generating energy for the environment they live in."
Okuyama went on to compare real-world animals that use photosynthesis: "In fact, there are animals that live symbiotically with algae or whose bodies contain chloroplasts who use photosynthesis to generate energy. Coral is a famous example of this, but there are others too. One of them a species of sea slug called Plakobranchus ocellatus that actually kind of looks like a Namekian."
Okuyama went on to share some interesting thoughts about Planet Namek discussing the trees that were featured throughout Dragon Ball Z's Freiza Saga.
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"There's still a ton of interesting things about Planet Namek. For example, there's a rather unique species of tree on Namek called "Ajisa" that has just one little round bulb of leaves right at the top of its thin trunk."
The scientists also explained Cell's real-world origins, which you can read here.
While Plant Namek hasn't been featured recently in Dragon Ball Super, Toei Animation has already confirmed that the next feature film, Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero, will feature two of the shonen's popular Namekians, Piccolo and Dende.
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