Hello, ladies, gentlemen, and everyone between and beyond, and welcome to week 72 of the first Dragon Ball rewatch of the decade.
We're doing five episodes a week, and we'll be watching every single episode of Dragon Ball, Dragon Ball Z, and Dragon Ball GT. All 508 episodes. Plus the TV specials and the movies.
I encourage you all to watch in Japanese with subtitles, especially if you have never done so before, but watch along in whichever way brings you the most joy.
Easing back into Wednesday postings!
As if to celebrate this, two weeks until Broly! Some of you will be, I'm sure, thrilled about this. Others, less so. It's certainly a divisive one in my experience, but we'll see when we get there. For now, we trudge slowly onwards to the Cell Games.
Previous thread: Week 71 (DBZ 154-158)
Next thread: Week 73 (DBZ 164-168)
Anyway, without further ado...
Episode 312 - A Shock to the Entire Universe!! Cell, A Spectacular Evolution Toward His Perfect Form (DBZ episode 159)
Dub title: The Last Defense
Originally aired 30th of September 1992
Kai equivalent: Episode 79 - And So, The Situation Takes a Turn for the Worst… Cell Attacks No. 18!
Written by: Katsuyuki Sumisawa
Episode director: Takahiro Imamura
Animation supervisor: Naoki Miyahara
Cell attacks, trying to absorb No. 18, but Trunks stops him. However, Vegeta wants to fight Cell in his perfect form, and actually attacks Trunks. In order to not have the Hellish future he has seen repeat itself, Trunks attacks Vegeta. Kuririn and the rest try to flee as Trunks fights Cell. But Cell uses the Taiyō-Ken to blind them all, and finally absorbs No. 18.
Anime-only/filler content: Trunks fighting Cell (in the manga, Vegeta stopped him), Bulma arguing at Piccolo, Goku putting Gohan to bed after a tiring day (or about 10 seconds outside) of training, Trunks attacking Cell before he uses the Taiyoken/Solar Flare, Kuririn trying to fight Cell while he absorbs 18, various added reaction shots to Cell's immense power.
Episode 313 - An Infinite Battle Power!! The Birth of the God of Destruction is Named Cell (DBZ episode 160)
Dub title: Cell is Complete
Originally aired 14th of October 1992
Kai equivalent: Episode 79 - And So, The Situation Takes a Turn for the Worst… Cell Attacks No. 18! and Episode 80 - The Tables Have Turned! Perfect Form Cell Finally Goes into Action
Written by: Katsuyuki Sumisawa
Episode director: Shigeyasu Yamauchi
Animation supervisor: Masahiro Shimanuki
Having absorbed No. 18 at last, Cell begins to transform, giving off ki formidable enough to shake the entire planet. Meanwhile, as he trains in the Room of Spirit and Time, Gohan manages to turn into a Super Saiyan through anger at his own softness! With Cell’s transformation complete, Trunks and Kuririn madly attack him, but even the Kienzan, which sliced through Freeza, doesn’t even wound Cell. Instead, Kuririn is defeated by a single light kick from Cell.
Anime-only/filler content: Trunks imagining Cell destroying everything, Kame House flooding from the force of Cell's powerup, the scene leading up to Gohan going Super Saiyan, Trunks helping Kuririn attack Cell.
Episode 314 - Super Vegeta in Peril!! An Absolutely Perfect Terror Closes In!! (DBZ episode 161)
Dub title: Vegeta Must Pay
Originally aired 21st of October 1992
Kai equivalent: Episode 80 - The Tables Have Turned! Perfect Form Cell Finally Goes into Action
Written by: Katsuyuki Sumisawa
Episode director: Jun’ichi Fujise
Animation supervisor: Masayuki Uchiyama
Defeated by Cell, Kuririn’s life is saved with a senzu. Kuririn trembles, having seen through Cell’s bottomless power. But at the same time, he has also seen through the fact that Trunks is hiding power even greater than Vegeta’s. Vegeta looks like he has the advantage against Cell, but Cell isn’t being serious. Angry, Vegeta nails Cell with a full power kick, but even this is unable to inflict any damage on Cell.
Anime-only/filler content: Piccolo and Ten sparring, extensions to Vegeta fighting Cell.
Episode 315 - Breaking Through the Boundaries of the Super Saiyan!! Trunks Summons a Storm (DBZ episode 162)
Dub title: Trunks Ascends
Originally aired 28th of October 1992
Kai equivalent: Episode 80 - The Tables Have Turned! Perfect Form Cell Finally Goes into Action and Episode 81 - Vegeta’s Full-Power Strike! But Cell’s Terror Grows and Grows
Written by: Aya Matsui
Episode director: Daisuke Nishio
Animation supervisor: Tadayoshi Yamamuro
Now that Cell has gotten serious, his single blow inflicts massive damage on Vegeta. This time it is Cell’s turn to look down on Vegeta. Vegeta puts all of his power into a Final Flash and pulverizes half of Cell’s body!! But Cell easily regenerates even taking such damage. Hit by Cell’s wild counterattacks, Vegeta finally loses consciousness. Having restrained himself in order to protect Vegeta’s pride, Trunks finally unleashes his hidden power.
Anime-only/filler content: Gohan setting fire to some food he was attempting to cook with ki blasts.
Episode 316 - Save Your Father!! Trunks’ Fury, Which Scorches Even the Heavens (DBZ episode 163)
Dub title: Saving Throw
Originally aired 4th of November 1992
Kai equivalent: Episode 81 - Vegeta’s Full-Power Strike! But Cell’s Terror Grows and Grows
Written by: Aya Matsui
Episode director: Mitsuo Hashimoto
Animation supervisor: Yukio Ebisawa
Having unleashed his power, Trunks transforms into Super Trunks, and begins a stupendous battle with Cell. Cell’s attacks blow Trunks away one after the other, but this is Trunks’ plan. As Trunks is purposely hit by Cell’s attacks, Kuririn takes this opening to rescue Vegeta. Kuririn carries the unconscious Vegeta and flies off. But Cell had known Trunks’ plan, and daringly lets them escape. No longer having to worry about Vegeta getting caught up in their battle, Trunks raises his ki even further.
Anime-only/filler content: Significant extensions to Trunks's fight with Cell (in the manga, Trunks never lands a single hit, and it's made far clearer far quicker that the form is useless), Gohan chasing Goku around the room of spirit and time.
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Interesting trivia:
- At this point in time in the manga, Dende is appointed the new God of earth, Mister Satan makes a big fuss of himself on TV, Dende makes the new Dragon Balls, Goku gathers them, the Cell Games announcer shows up, Mister Satan makes a big fuss of himself at the Cell Games, and Goku begins his fight with Cell.
- In the manga, Cell's use of the Taiyoken/Solar Flare against Trunks in Z episode 159 is the last time he uses the technique (unless he gets brought back in Super and uses it
). In the anime, he would use it once again during his brief reappearance in GT. - Z episode 159 (144 in edited numbering) marks the end of Peter Kelamis's involvement in Dragon Ball Z. He has since said that he nearly didn't come back for the Westwood Media dub at all, as his availability was very limited (he was recording shows like Ed Edd n Eddy, and he was doing standup as well), but he was eventually able to make room in his schedule. After this point during the leadup to the Cell games, there was a break in recording (at least for Kelamis's parts), during which he didn't receive any contact about Dragon Ball. He assumed it had ended again, and took other work. When DBZ began recording again, he was unable to fit it into his schedule, and so he unfortunately had to be recast.
- Personally, he's always been my favourite Goku. Some would say one reason he was good is that he sounded like Masako Nozawa; aside from a few of his screams from the second movie, I've never seen this similarity, but I always loved his laid-back, goofy take. It was the most authentic take on the character we'd heard in English until Sean Schemmel stepped up his game in Funimation's Kai dub.
- Peter Kelamis did technically do a little bit of extra Dragon Ball; thanks to Nitro, he and Brian Drummond each recorded a line from the Super Broly movie, so we have a tiny piece of what it would sound like if Ocean had dubbed that movie, using the 2002 cast.
- My pet theory for why Peter Kelamis wasn't invited to record any Dragon Ball for a while after Z episode 159/144 is that the producers knew Saffron Henderson was leaving, and since Gohan shares basically all of Goku's scenes, it made sense to just set aside those scenes and record them later when they had a Goku and a Gohan, and only dub all the other scenes in the meantime. However, this is pure speculation. Another possibility is simply that Ocean didn't have the masters for the next few episodes, so they went on a short break, though this would be weird, since another major actor departed six episodes later, with Saffron Henderson stepping away from Dragon Ball after Z episode 165/150 (more on that next week). It still puzzles me to this day that the two left six whole episodes apart, and yet Kelamis refers to a recording break.
- Starting from Z episode 160 (145 in edited numbering), the late great Kirby Morrow would take over the role of Goku in the Westwood Media dub. Second only to Sean Schemmel as the longest-serving English Goku (and second to none for the original UK run), fans such as myself always appreciated his chilled-out, matured-feeling Goku. Even though Kelamis was my favourite, Morrow was Goku in more episodes, and I remember seeing a lot more of the Boo arc than any others on TV, so in a way he was really my Goku more than any of the others. It hit me hard when I heard about his passing in November. His passing was stated to be related to his history of substance abuse. If any of you are struggling, please reach out, to someone, anyone. Kirby Morrow was taken from us far too soon. He was a good actor, and by all accounts, he was a good man. In his honour, his brother Casey Morrow set the Kirby Morrow Memorial Scholarship Fund to help young people fund an education in the performing arts. You can donate through this Gofundme.
- Z episode 161 is the first to use music from Z movie 7.
- Z episode 161 is also the 314th overall episode of Dragon Ball. Unfortunately, I don't think any pie is consumed on-screen to commemorate the occasion.
- Z episodes 162 and 163 (depends on your point of view) mark the debut of the ridiculous, impractical buffed-up form of Super Saiyan. Many hardcore fans refer to it as Super Saiyan Third Grade, many casual fans call it Ascended Saiyan.
- Funimation's title for DBZ episode 163, Saving Throw, likely comes from Dungeons & Dragons and other such tabletop roleplaying games, in which you make a saving throw when something particularly bad happens to you and you need to make a special dice roll against it. The term is actually far older than D&D, but Gary Gygax's use of the term in the first edition rulebook, intended merely as fancy prose, ended up leading it to become a term closely associated with D&D.
- There are 25 redrawn shots in Kai episode 79, there are 11 in Kai episode 80, and there are 17 in Kai episode 81.
