Dragon Ball: Shenron failed to grant one wish because technology came in the way

Dragon Ball is a world of wonder where nothing is impossible. As fans have already witnessed, even the death of a character means nothing, as Earth has the Eternal Dragon Shenron to grant them any wish, which includes reviving a dead person.

The series' main protagonist has been revived various times with the help of the dragon balls, and so have many other characters. However, Shenron's wish-granting capabilities also have limitations, and fans witnessed one at the end of Cell Saga. After that, Gohan defeated Perfect Cell, and Future Trunks left for the future.

The Z fighters later wished for Goku to return to life but were avoided by the protagonist himself. Krillin stepped up and wished Shenron to turn Andriod 17 and 18 into humans, as he had a crush on the latter. Unfortunately, he couldn't do it because fans speculate Shenron cannot make a robot (android) into a human.

Disclaimer: This article contains the author's opinion that does not belong to Sportskeeda.

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Dragon Ball: Exploring Shenron's inability to transform the Androids into humans

Androids standing alongside Dr. Gero (Image via Toei Animation)

Android 18 and 17 were two androids created by Dr. Gero, introduced during the Android Saga of Dragon Ball Z. These two were one of the finest specimens of Dr. Gero, and he activated them after Android 19 was defeated by the Z fighters.

After activating them in his laboratory, they acted calmly, as they were aware Dr. Gero had a button that could end them at any moment. After a while, the Z fighters arrived outside the laboratory and tried entering it. Gero panicked and dropped the button, which could end the Androids he just awakened. Android 17 grabbed the button and destroyed it.

They showed their real colors and demanded answers from Dr. Gero about some androids. Gero lost his cool and started scolding Android 18, which triggered Android 17 to decapitate him. Dr. Gero was now dead, and the Androids were released.

These Androids later participated in the Cell Games during the Cell Saga, and both were eventually absorbed by Cell. As the Saga reached an end with Goku defeating Perfect Cell, both of them returned to life. Unfortunately, Goku died while fighting Cell, and the Z fighters decided to revive him after the Cell Games.

Shenlong as seen in the anime (Image via Toei Animation)

So, they gathered the dragon balls, summoned Shenron, and were about to make the wish until Goku interfered and said to avoid reviving him as he was a trouble magnet and wanted Earth to stay in peace without him. Shenron accepted and asked if they had any other wishes, to which Krillin wished that Shenron transformed both Andriod 17 and 18 back into their human forms.

As revealed by the author Akira Toriyama, Android 17 and 18 were normal human beings named Lapis and Lazuli, kidnapped by Dr. Gero and transformed into Androids. Unfortunately, Shenron couldn't grant this wish, as fans speculated he couldn't do anything with something that was so technologically advanced.

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The real reason and speculation

Shenron revealed the reason why he couldn't turn the androids back to humans (Image via Shueisha)

Technological advancement wasn't the reason Shenron didn't turn the Androids back to their human selves. In the anime/manga, Shenlong declared that the powers of these Androids were too great and strange for him to understand, due to which he couldn't revive them.

These 'strange' powers of the Androids could be linked to the fact that they were cyborgs (not humans nor robots). Due to this, Shenlong couldn't understand Krillin's wish.

If Krillin had asked Shenron to turn their bodies back to the state before they were kidnapped by Dr. Gero, then his wish could have been granted. However, this would have resulted in them transforming into little kids.

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