Dragon Ball's Mai was originally an adult woman, but when Dragon Ball Super came around, she was shown as a child. How exactly did this happen?
Many of the characters who appeared in the earliest chapters of Dragon Ball are still hanging around by the time period of Dragon Ball Super, like Yamcha or Korin. Mostly, they look about the same, or they've clearly gotten older, but one character has stood out: Mai, a member of Pilaf's gang, was an adult woman... but in Super, she's a child again, closer in age to Trunks. So how did that happen?
Pilaf, Mai, and Shu were minor recurring villains back in the Dragon Ball days, playing a role similar to that of Team Rocket in the Pokémon anime. Pilaf considers himself the Emperor of Earth, and intends to use the Dragon Balls to make that a reality. Mai is his serious, more grounded henchman, partnered with the more comedic Shu, a dog man who dresses like a ninja. Mai, in this iteration, is specifically styled after the image of Soviet spies, with long hair, a long coat, and red star patches on her sleeves. While she's fairly smart and competent, the gang's plans often go awry because of the incompetence of her compatriots, and half the time, Goku and friends aren't even aware of their attempted interference.
Related: How Old Goku Is In Each Dragon Ball Saga
In Dragon Ball Super, Mai appears to be 8-10 years old, but is still traveling alongside Pilaf and Shu. Her personality is a bit different, much more playful and childlike than the serious woman seen previously. As it turns out, the Dragon Ball Super manga features a special Bonus Story that only appears in the second collected volume, offering an explanation. In the time of the Android Saga, shortly after the birth of Trunks, Pilaf and company actually do manage to get their hands on the Dragon Balls. They summon Shenron, and Pilaf makes their first wish: to be made significantly younger. Shenron, always happy to oblige, does precisely that and turns the trio into babies. Bulma arrives shortly thereafter, causing the trio to scatter, but not before baby Mai and baby Trunks can share a glance for the first time.
While this event is explicitly stated to have taken place in Future Trunks' timeline, where Trunks and Mai would soon become resistance fighters together against Goku Black, it's safe to assume that something similar happens in the main timeline as well. The Battle of the Gods film alludes to this, since that is the first debut of these younger designs, but the event isn't actually shown there, and isn't addressed in the Dragon Ball Super anime at all.
While all three members of the gang are de-aged, it's only really noticeable with Mai, since Pilaf and Shu aren't human, and were already pretty short to start with. Presumably, the trio age back up to where they are in Super the long way, explaining why Mai behaves like an ordinary child. They do explicitly remember their previous lives from the Dragon Ball days, but it seems that for the most part, the Pilaf Gang have been content to side with the heroes and live off Bulma's wealth in Dragon Ball Super.
Next: Dragon Ball Super: Why Super Hero's Animation Style Is So Divisive
Carlyle Edmundson is a news and features writer with an affinity for science fiction and fantasy. He graduated from the University of North Carolina Wilmington with a BS in Film Studies and is glad that it's relevant to his work. A lifelong fan of anime and manga, he has attended dozens of conventions over the years and may or may not have cosplayed at them. Currently developing a retro-RPG themed visual novel, "Elven Revenue Service."