Mai (Dragon Ball)

"Pilaf, may I remind you that we don't have time to shop today?"

- Mai

Mai is the right hand of Emperor Pilaf in the Dragon Ball series. She is a spy and treasure hunter, who works alongside her partner, a ninja dog named Shu. Of the three villains, Mai is the most competent, showing skill in computers, gadgetry, and gunwielding. Mai's main goal is to gather Dragon Balls for Emperor Pilaf, so that he may wish to rule the world.

Appearance
While her companions seem more cartoonish and goofy, one being a dopey fox in traditional ninja garb, and the other a squat and cute little blue imp dressed in Chinese imperial robes, Mai has a more serious and intimidating appearance, tall, beautiful and stern, with long black hair, and dressed in a blue (sometimes green) military trench coat with a Soviet style red star insignia on each shoulder, green cargo pants, and brown boots. She wears a brown belt and a pistol holster for her weapon. She wears red eye shadow and lipstick, sometimes missing the lipstick. When she is portrayed as an old woman in Dragonball GT, she has white hair and wears a navy blue bandana covering the top of her head and a red trench coat. When she is transformed into a child in DragonBall Z: Battle of the Gods, her manner of dress is similar to her normal attire, but she does not wear makeup, amd her trench coat is olive green and Soviet style.

Personality
Mai is intelligent, calculating, and resourceful for the most part, though being a part of the Pilaf Gang, she is still prone to bumbling, and being the victim of incompetent planning. She has a serious demeanor most of the time, and a dry, sometimes perverted sense of humor, though she is very shy and reserved about sexuality, blushing when Emperor Pilaf blows a kiss at Bulma as a failed attempt at sexual intimidation. She has on one occasion used seduction to avoid a threat of death from Emperor Pilaf, though it appeared to be out of fear and as a last resort. She appears to suffer from a poor self image, due to years of abuse at the hands of her employer, and has described herself as "very stupid" along with Shu. She is fiercely loyal to Emperor Pilaf, and seems to value his approval very highly. Whatever her motivation is, she seems to want to see Pilaf succeed in his goals, regardless of the hardship she has to endure. She is not a hand to hand fighter, and when put in a situation where she needs to fight, she will usually use a gun, or some sort of machine (including a customized mech suit) or she will rely on traps and wit.

History
Mai has acted as a thief and spy for Emperor Pilaf throughout the original Dragon Ball series. She is usually sent out to take care of Pilaf's dirt work, searching for Dragon balls and stealing them when need be. Throughout the first saga, Mai and Shu followed Goku and Bulma, attempting to steal their Dragon balls until they finally managed to succeed by luring them into Pilaf's castle and knocking them out with gas. After their wish was ruined by Oolong, Pilaf along with Mai and Shu attempted to trap the heroes in a room that would cook them alive when the sun rose. This plan was thwarted when Goku transformed into a giant ape and destroyed their palace, wrecking their plane as they tried to escape.

Later, when the Red Ribbon Army was seeking the Dragon Balls, Mai and the Pilaf Gang very bravely attempted to fight them off, but failed and were captured. The army confiscated their Dragon ball.

She also accompanied Pilaf in reviving King Piccolo, but was eventually punished for her efforts along with Shu and Pilaf as soon as Piccolo was sick of them. They were all thrown from his airship, but managed to survive the fall. She helped Pilaf and Shu attempt to defeat Goku with thier mech suits on a seperate occasion, but was again defeated by the hero. Near the end of the original series, Mai, Shu, and Pilaf attempt to steal a valuable egg from a rare and magical bird. They again try to fight Goku with their mech suits and are defeated. Mai attempts to hold Chichi hostage at gun point, but Chichi escapes and knocks Mai out.

Dragon Ball GT
At the beginning of Dragon Ball GT, Mai and the Pilaf gang attack Goku with their mech suits when he interrupts them attempting to steal the black star Dragon Balls from Kami's tower while he is about to leave the lookout to return home. After Mai and the Pilaf gang failed to attack Goku with the missiles as he is still too strong, Pilaf wishes that Goku was still a kid, so he could beat him, but the wish does not make Goku any weaker as Goku is turned back into the size of a kid, and the trio are defeated again.

Battle of Gods/Dragon Ball Super
In the movie Dragon Ball: Battle of the Gods, Pilaf wishes for youth for himself, as well as Mai and Shu, but the wish backfires when they are transformed into children. While attempting to steal a Dragon Ball from Trunks, she is spotted. Trunks tells Goten that she is his girlfriend to try to impress him. Mai feels embarrassed, and doesn't want to play along, bit Pilaf convinces her to, in order to get the ball. She is invited to a party with the Brief and Son families, and comes dangerously close to being discovered, so she ends up holding Trunks at gunpoint, but no one in the family is concerned. She shoots him, but it does no damage to him because he is a half-Saiyan. One of the bullets hits Videl, and the gang flees. At the end of the movie, Mai is shown with Trunks, at the party, and the two seem happy.

In Resurrection F she, along with the rest of the Pilaf Gang, helps collect the Dragon Balls for Sorbet and Tagoma so they can wish Frieza back to life.

Trivia

 * Mai, Shu and Pilaf's fate in Battle Of Gods overrides and replaces that of the GT continuity. Dragon Ball Super is considered canon and the true sequel of Dragon Ball Z.