Dragon Ball
‘Dragon Ball Z’: What are the real names of the fearsome Android 17 and Android 18?
Akira Toriyama revealed the true identities of the villains created by Dr. Gero years ago; does Android 16 also have a human name?
The Android Saga in ‘Dragon Ball Z’, one of the most popular among fans, had several antagonists, from Android 19 and 20 to numbers 16, 17, and 18 - also known as Android 16, Android 17, and Android 18 - culminating with the all-powerful Bio-Android Cell and his various transformations. However, Android 17 and Android 18 have a common past as humans whose real names were revealed by Akira Toriyama himself years ago. What were the real names of Android 17 and Android 18?
The real names of Android 17 and Android 18
In a 2014 issue of Saikyo Jump magazine, Akira Toriyama himself revealed the real names of Android 17 and Android 18, who were twin brothers before they were kidnapped by Dr. Gero and turned into androids whose goal was to kill Goku. So Android 17 was named Lapis, while Android 18′s real name was Lazuli. If we combine both names, we get the term lapis lazuli, which is an ultramarine blue gemstone that was very common in ancient jewelry.
Let’s not forget that after Cell’s Saga, Androids 17 and 18 become friendly again and regain their humanity, though without losing some of their distrust of humanity; nevertheless, Android 18 marries Krillin and they have a daughter together named Marron, while Android 17 becomes a Ranger to later marry a naturalist and adopt two children. Both become allies of the Z Warriors during the final arc of ‘Dragon Ball Z’ and the following adventures of ‘Dragon Ball Super.’
What is the name of Android 16?
The third android in discord, Android 16, who accompanies Android 17 and Android 18 in their quest to assassinate Goku, actually has no real name, as he is a creation of Dr. Gero, based on his own son named Gevo, who died some time ago. Gevo was a Red Ribbon Army soldier who died years ago for unknown reasons, and bears a strong physical resemblance to the android Android 16. Recently, Toyotaro, the illustrator of ‘Dragon Ball Super,’ shared an unpublished illustration of Gevo, in which we can see the strong resemblance to the android later created by his father.