Dragon Ball: Did Kami create the Dragon Balls? Wish granting objects' origins, explained

Modified Jun 05, 2024 22:00 GMT

Dragon Ball and Kami's creation of the orbs (Image via Toei Animation).

Who created the dragon balls in Dragon Ball? This question has a lot of significant lore that has defined the series as a whole and one of the most important elements is that these orbs is that they were created by the Namekians.

If it wasn't for that race, the entire series wouldn't have happened and there is a strong argument to be made that the whole universe would have been destroyed by different threats, when breaking it down.

Furthermore, there is a lot to explore when it comes to these orbs and their influence in the franchise, including the character of Kami. While he was eventually removed from the plot by merging with Piccolo in the Cell saga, there is a lot to unpack with his character and if he was the creator of these objects.

Disclaimer: This article contains spoilers for the Dragon Ball series. Any opinion expressed here belongs to the author and not Sportskeeda.

Explaining if Kami created the orbs in the Dragon Ball series

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The answer to the question of who created the dragon balls is very simple. Kami created these orbs on Earth when he arrived on the planet and expelled his evil side to become the protector of this world.

However, he is not the creator of the first-ever worlds in this universe and they were created in Namek, with the Super Dragon Balls in the sequel many years later. It is also worth pointing out that each set of orbs in this series has its own limitations and abilities.

For example, originally, the ones that Kami created couldn't revive a person who had already died while the ones in Namek could grant three wishes instead of just one but couldn't revive a lot of people with just one wish. On the other hand, the Super Dragon Balls don't have almost any limitations, meaning that they can grant a lot of different wishes.

They were created by Zalama, although very little is known about the character, so it is complicated to gauge the full nature of these orbs. However, most of them have established that if the creator dies, the orbs are destroyed as well.

Kami's role in the story

Goku and Kami in the Saiyan saga (Image via Toei Animation).

Kami is arguably one of the most underrated characters in the entire series and his influence in the plot cannot be understated, especially considering that he is the creator of the orbs on Earth but he was also the world's protector for a long time. Furthermore, it was through him expelling his evil side that the Demon King Piccolo came to be, which is something that led to several major plot points.

It is also worth pointing out that Kami was arguably one of Goku's most important masters as he not only taught him during the end of the original series but also during the protagonist's key years of physical development, going from a kid to a young adult.

And he was the one who cut his tail, probably saving Goku a lot of problems if there was a full moon. Such is the man who created the dragon balls in the series. Kami was also the one in charge of helping Goku get his special training with King Kai in the afterlife during the Saiyan saga.

If it wasn't for Kami's intervention, there is a good chance that Goku and his friends wouldn't have been able to defeat Vegeta and Nappa when they arrived on Earth.

Final thoughts

Kami is the creator of the Dragon Balls on Earth but he isn't the one who created the original ones. The orbs hail from the character's native planet, Namek, and the Super ones were created by Zalama, an individual the franchise has not revealed a lot of, as of this writing, which is something that might be developed further down the line.

This confusion is normal as the lore of the series is quite diverse when compared to other anime series. Despite the origins of the dragon balls, there exist several other mysteries in the series out of which some need to be unveiled and some have already been unveiled.

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Edited by Prem Deshpande