I always read it as the blast was so powerful it paralyzed him into taking the full brunt of it once he was hit. He was able to shield Gohan, at the expense of himself...no more than that.
to be fair, that quote is from the 'Kai' version (where they super-condense an entire "season" into One Video)...but their take on the 'full scene' perfectly addresses OP's question-- Piccolo was *totally* planning out what to do in his "big hero moment", even realizing that there was enough time to keep moving (with Gohan) out of the way...but he was too caught up in that Moment of being the Big Hero that he hesitated too long and got hit...
(not saying that you, u/Dward917, dont know this; i just wanted to jump on this comment thread with some supplemental info, for anyone who DOESNT already watch TFS more than official dubs :-P)
It feels faster in the manga, don't think he actually had time to get both of them out of the way.
I always read it as the blast was so powerful it paralyzed him into taking the full brunt of it once he was hit. He was able to shield Gohan, at the expense of himself...no more than that.
Dying breath, “Why didn’t you DODGE?!” Dies. -TeamFourStar
to be fair, that quote is from the 'Kai' version (where they super-condense an entire "season" into One Video)...but their take on the 'full scene' perfectly addresses OP's question-- Piccolo was *totally* planning out what to do in his "big hero moment", even realizing that there was enough time to keep moving (with Gohan) out of the way...but he was too caught up in that Moment of being the Big Hero that he hesitated too long and got hit... (not saying that you, u/Dward917, dont know this; i just wanted to jump on this comment thread with some supplemental info, for anyone who DOESNT already watch TFS more than official dubs :-P)
I mean not to mention what’s to stop Nappa from…. Turning his head? Literally then catching them both in the blast
It happens very fast in the manga, plus nappa could just send it on their way