Dragon Ball Rewatch, Week 96 - DBZ 264-268

[Robo4900]

Hello, ladies, gentlemen, and everyone between and beyond, and welcome to week 96 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.

The end of the manga nears!...

Previous thread: Week 95 (DBZ 259-263)
Next thread: Week 97 (DBZ 269-273)

Anyway, without further ado...

Episode 417 - Has He Done It?! Majin Boo’s Great Explosion (DBZ episode 264)
Dub title: Search for Survivors
Originally aired 17th of May 1995
Written by: Atsushi Maekawa
Episode director: Kazuhito Kikuchi
Animation supervisor: Yūji Hakamada

Unable to allow anyone to be stronger than him, Boo declares that he will murder Gohan. Sensing danger, Gohan takes Goten and the others and escapes into the air. At that instant, Boo self-destructs. But Gohan, who had figured out what Boo was going to do, finds Dende and Satan as Boo hides himself. Boo then suddenly appears before Gohan and the others, saying he wants to fight with Gotenks.

Anime-only/filler content: Super Boo fighting Gohan, Mr. Satan and Bee drinking, Mr. Satan trying to remind Boo of their time together.

Episode 418 - Boo’s Worst Foul Play!! Gotenks is Absorbed?! (DBZ episode 265)
Dub title: Majin Buu Transforms
Originally aired 24th of May 1995
Written by: Atsushi Maekawa
Episode director: Hidehiko Kadota
Animation supervisor: Yoshihiro Ueda

Egged on by Boo, Gotenks fuses once again and transforms into a Super Saiyan 3. As Gotenks is about to attack Boo, ghastly objects attack him and Piccolo. These parts of Boo’s body swallow them up. Boo then absorbs them, and obtains Gotenks’ power and Piccolo’s brains. Having gained formidable power, Boo comes at Gohan. What is the fate of Gohan, who Boo was helpless against before…?!

Anime-only/filler content: Bee noticing Boo's sneak attack, Gohan and Boo having a real fight after he absorbs Gotenks instead of Boo curbstomping him.

Episode 419 - For the Sake of the Entire Universe… Return to Life, Son Goku (DBZ episode 266)
Dub title: The Old Kai's Weapon
Originally aired 31st of May 1995
Written by: Sumio Uetake
Episode director: Mitsuo Hashimoto
Animation supervisor: Keisuke Masunaga

Having obtained the powers of Gotenks and Piccolo, Boo fiercely attacks Gohan as Goku and the others watch from the Kaiōshin Realm. The Elder Kaiōshin declares that in order to protect the Earth and Gohan from Boo, he will give his life to Goku. Meanwhile at Enma’s Mansion, Vegeta is summoned by Enma-daiō, who asks him to aid them in saving the Earth. Back on Earth, as Boo is about to kill Gohan, Tenshinhan appears and uses his Kikōhō to save Gohan in the knick of time.

Anime-only/filler content: Extensions to Boo's fight with Gohan, including him using some of Piccolo and Gotenks's iconic moves, Bee and Mr. Satan continuing to try to get through to Boo, and continuing to fail (though he does hesitate to do anything about their disruptions to the fight).

Episode 420 - A One Time Only Miracle… Will the Super Combination With Gohan Come About? (DBZ episode 267)
Dub title: Ready to Fuse?
Originally aired 7th of June 1995
Written by: Hiroshi Toda
Episode director: Yoshihiro Ueda
Animation supervisor: Naoaki Hōjō
Chief Animation Supervisor: Naoki Miyahara

Now revived, Goku receives the potara, a mysterious item, from the Elder Kaiōshin. If two people wear a potara on one ear each, they will merge and gain formidable power. Meanwhile on Earth, Boo is about to finish off Gohan. Goku teleports to Earth and cuts Boo in half. Saving Gohan, he throws him a potara, but Gohan misses it. Boo catches Gohan off-guard and absorbs him. What will you do, Goku?!

Anime-only/filler content: Tenshinhan firing additional Kikohos at Boo, extensions to Goku fighting Boo.

Episode 421 - Merged!! Vegeta’s Pride and Goku’s Rage (DBZ episode 268)
Dub title: Union of Rivals
Originally aired 28th of June 1995
Written by: Hiroshi Toda
Episode director: Osamu Kasai
Animation supervisor: Kazuya Hisada

With Gohan having been absorbed by Boo, Goku is in a great pinch. At that time, a gigantic ki appears on Earth and Goku teleports to it. The ki turns out to belong to Vegeta. Goku begs Vegeta to merge with him through the potara, but Vegeta refuses. The two fight Boo with all they’ve got, but are no match for Boo’s strength. Goku informs Vegeta that Boo absorbed Trunks and the others. Vegeta then resolves to merge with Goku, and through the power of the potara, the ultimate warrior Vegetto is born!!

Anime-only/filler content: Goku considering fusing with Dende, Vegeta refusing to fuse for way longer, resulting in them having to fight against Super Boo for a while while not fused.

-

Interesting trivia:

• At this point in time in the manga, Goku and Pan go to the next Tenkaichi Budokai, and Goku meets Oob and flies off with him as his student. THE-END
• If Toriyama had continued Dragon Ball as a GT manga, then assuming that one episode translates to one "chapter" (as the anime had been doing during most of the Boo Arc), it would have covered up to the first Imecka episode by the end of this week.
  • We would have taken the GT animanga into consideration, but neither of us could find any detailed information about how many episodes go into a chapter, or how long the chapters are, either on Kanzenshuu or elsewhere.
• The Chapter where Gohan starts high school released in May 1993. It would take Goku sixteen years to do the same in 2009's Dragonball Evolution.
• Super Boo was able to detect Gohan's spiked ki from the Land of the Kais. This gives away its position to him, and is likely why he found it so fast after he destroys the Earth and uses Kibitokai's teleportation ability.
• Trunks says that he gave the Dragon Radar to Piccolo, an exchange that isn't actually depicted to the audience.
• As Mr. Satan struggles from dehydration, he pines for beer. This is actually the last thing he should want, as alcohol has a dehydrating effect that would only worsen his condition.
• When Piccolo says that the Earth would remain a rock were Dende not alive to keep the Dragon Balls usable, he's uncharacteristically forgetting that the Namekian Dragon Balls exist.
• Episode 265, where Gotenks and Piccolo are absorbed by Boo, marks the final time in the original anime run's history where the manga released a new chapter that week. It's also the absolute latest concievable (albiet unlikely) point in time for Toei to learn that the manga is ending and figure out what the heck to do next.
• Goten and Trunks fusing to face Super Boo for the final time is actually the first time they say the words without re-using the panels from the failed fusions. Instead, Toriyama opts to show a panel of rocky pinnacles with the words shown on them, to compress the transformation down to a single panel.
• Boo's ability to absorb others into his body is a skill copied directly from Cell, however Boo can do it covertly at a distance, and inherits specific traits of those he's absorbed as opposed to Cell's more generic strength boost.
• Interestingly, despite having absorbed hundreds of thousands of people, it isn't until Boo absorbs Gotenks and Piccolo that he changes in any way. This is possibly due to the alternate method of absorbtion, however this contradicts the way Evil Boo was able to absorb Good Boo as chocolate. Perhaps the stronger battle power of Good Boo, Gotenks and Piccolo are enough to exert their effects on him?
• For the second time, Goku is in Other World urging his son Gohan, Earth's last hope, to kill the big bad before it's too late. Similarly, Gohan has for the second time acquired a massive boost in power only for his opponent to do the same in order to maintain the tension.
• Boo undergoes several changes after absorbing Gotenks and Piccolo, most notably that he's able to speak much more eloquently and with fuller sentences than before. Boo also gains their nose, five fingers and Gotenks' vest, but his antenna also gets much longer. While this may be to reflect that Gotenks was Super Saiyan 3 at the time he was absorbed, it stays long even after Gotenks defuses within him and Boo absorbs Gohan.
• Boo merged with Gotenks and Piccolo appears to consider himself somewhat individual over his former, more simple-minded self, calling it "the former Boo".
• Boo says that Gohan should recognise Gotenks' constricting rings move. This is odd for him to claim considering that Boo knows that Gohan was in the Land of the Kais at the time, and Boo was fighting Gotenks in the Room of Spirit and Time when the move was used.
• While the lifespan of a Kaio wouldn't be elaborated on until Toriyama's infamous "apple tree" origin story for them, which revealed that Kais can live for millions of years, it is hinted at when Elder Kaioshin says he has "only" a thousand years left in him, despite looking 120 years old.
• Gohan is able to break out of the restricting rings through brute force, much as his father did at the end of the match with Giran in the 21st Tournament.
• Despite being at the very top of Other World's heirarchy, Kaioshin has absolutely no idea that King Enma witheld Vegeta's soul from purification and had him resurrected.
• Z episode 267 is the 420th episode of Dragon Ball anime.
• The Potara Fusion method was devised by Toriyama after Z movie 12 created Gogeta, and he wanted to avoid repeating the same thing the movie did (which is ironic considering the movies reused his manga plot ideas rather frequently).
• It's easily forgotten, but Elder Kaioshin explicitly states that Potara Fusions work better than Dance Fusions. If he's referring to the power of the fused individual and not the permanance of the fusion, this means that Vegetto is abjectly stronger than Gogeta (assuming Goku and Vegeta are from the same point in time, of course).
• The Potara Fusion being executed through earrings may be Toriyama using items that are to hand to use in a pinch rather than placing another reverent artifact in the Land of the Kais. This has the amusing retroactive effect of making Zarbon look like he's wearing Potara Earrings, which have interesting implications on Zarbon's two distinct forms.
• Kaioshin and Kibito's fusion actually works very oddly: rather than clipping a single pair of earrings, they remove half of two pairs and fuse anyway. This suggests the earrings work from proximity, and has interesting implications for if they AND Old Kai removed one of their earrings all at the same time. Multi-Fusions were explained to be possible for the Fusion Dance by Toriyama in later interviews.
• Mr. Satan is the only named character to use a gun against a ki blast (excepting any filler moments like the army firing at Cell or something like that).
• In Dragon Ball Super, Kibitokai would later use the Super Dragon Balls to defuse back into Kaioshin and Kibito.
• Before he sets off, Goku lodges the interesting question on if he'd have to attend Gohan's high school. While "Gokuhan" would combine the knowledge of both Goku and Gohan, it's notable that Goku never went to high school in the first place!
• Elder Kaioshin tells Goku that using Super Saiyan overstresses the body. While that may be true for novices of the form, both Goku and Gohan learned to master it so that it didn't stress their bodies at all.
• Elder Kaioshin notably does not gain any of the clothing that the old witch had when she put on his Potara Earring, something which occurs with every other Potara Fusion.
• Kibitokai interrupts Elder Kaioshin explaining how he became ugly because it was taking too long and Boo is about to destroy the Earth. Ironically, the anime makes this flashback longer!
• Unlike when he first showed Super Saiyan 3 to Boo, Goku is able to pop straight to it after Gohan fails to catch the Potara Earring. It's jarring to say the least.
• Tankobon #41, the penultimate collection of the manga, ends on the cliffhanger of Goku considering fusing with Mr. Satan.
• The title page artwork for Tankobon #42 depicts Goku and Bulma, referencing the very start of the manga. Further, the Content page art is Goku relaxing on Kinto'Un.
• When Goku ponders on fusing with Mr. Satan, he guesses that doing so would "probably" make him weaker. Not one Chapter beforehand, he said that Piccolo was "holding Boo down" after the Gotenks fusion wore off, making it seem like he knows for a fact that weaker fusees make the overall fusion less powerful.
• As Goku contemplates whether to fuse with Dende or Mr. Satan, in the manga we see a hypothetical "Mr. Gotan" fusion. The anime goes the extra step and provides a hypothetical "Denku" fusion as well.
• Goku complains that it's not fair for Boo to have absorbed so many and deprive him of Fusion options. This is odd considering that no Earthling is anywhere near Goku's level to not hold him back the same way Piccolo does for Boo. The only possible contender would be Android 18.
• Vegeta doesn't seem to sense Goku's ki, given how surprised he is when Goku appears next to him alive and well.
• Vegeta says that he was able to see Goku use Super Saiyan 3 from Other World. The only possible way for him to have seen that is if he was at King Yenma's desk being judged and saw it happening on his TV before he was given final judgement and put aside (explaining why he doesn't know what happened to Bulma), which would be an EXTRAORDINARY coincidence to say the least. The anime at least shows villains watching the events from Hell, but Vegeta's brief time there is never brought up despite them watching him in action.
  • Later on in the anime, while he and Goku are inside Boo, Vegeta also explains he saw the two Boos fight, which we see as a flashback. Funimation changed Vegeta's dialogue to instead imply Goku and Vegeta are reading Boo's mind... which apparently was never useful to them before this point.
• Goku is quite fortunate to know that Boo absorbed Bulma: it was the very first thing he saw in Elder Kaioshin's crystal ball!
• While Vegetto was voiced by both Goku and Vegeta's respective actors overlaid on top of one another in the Japanese version and in Funimation's English dub, Ocean opted to have Brian Drummond (voice of Vegeta) solely perform the role, using a voice and personality half-way between his Vegeta and Kirby Morrow's Goku.

Trivia primarily written by KBABZ. Episode summaries, airdates, and titles courtesy of Kanzenshuu's episode guide.

[Dragon Ball Ireland]

I remember watching these episodes for the first time, and hoping to see Goku and Gohan fuse. Although I think in the long run it was better that Vegeta came into the fray as his arc involved learning to respect Goku as a warrior, and having to work with him served that much better than having him left out from the final battle would.

[SuperSaiyaManZ94]

Another thing to note in terms of real life within the series during this time frame is that Kohei Miyauchi, the original seiyuu of Kame-sennin/Roshi sadly passed away in the middle of this batch of episodes from an abdominal condition on June 2, 1995. His last performance as the character was back in ep 260 and apparently he was one of the first of the core cast members to pass at the time while the show was still airing first run. I've read some comments from Nozawa and other fellow seiyuu in publications from shortly thereafter where they talked about how it simply wasn't the same in the recording studio after he was gone and the difficulty they had carrying on given he'd been there since shortly after the anime started back in 1986. Truly he was by far the best voice and none of the others after (Aizawa, Masouka, who have since passed themselves) really captured Roshi the way he did, though Masaharu Sato has done an overall decent take in later years with Kai, Super and the recent movies

[Koitsukai]

Didn't Kibitoshin use the Namek DBs instead of the Super Dbs?

I was under the impression Buuccolo was still stronger than the default Super Boo.


I still wonder if Beerus would die if only Shin dies. Or, if for it to happen, the Elder Kaioshin's death is needed, alongside the Dai Kaioshin's death, who happened to not be dead after all.

I can't believe I have no recollection of my first time watching the fusion bargain sale arc. I remember where I was when SS3 landed, but how I came to know Gotenks and Vegito is lost somewhere in my head.

[MyVisionity]

These episodes are way better than what comes before and after. The Gotenks and especially Vegetto episodes are some of the worst ever in my view.

Interestingly, despite having absorbed hundreds of thousands of people, it isn't until Boo absorbs Gotenks and Piccolo that he changes in any way. This is possibly due to the alternate method of absorbtion, however this contradicts the way Evil Boo was able to absorb Good Boo as chocolate. Perhaps the stronger battle power of Good Boo, Gotenks and Piccolo are enough to exert their effects on him?

Boo didn't absorb the people of Earth. He turned them into candy and ate them, which killed them. He absorbed Gotenks and Piccolo, so he transformed, but Gotenks and Piccolo were still alive inside Boo's body. Fat Boo not dying after being eaten might be because he isn't human, and his supernatural nature protects him from being killed or something like that.

Despite being at the very top of Other World's heirarchy, Kaioshin has absolutely no idea that King Enma witheld Vegeta's soul from purification and had him resurrected.

I doubt that Kaioshin has any awareness or control over what takes place in the afterlife. That seems to be solely Enma's domain.

Another thing to note in terms of real life within the series during this time frame is that Kohei Miyauchi, the original seiyuu of Kame-sennin/Roshi sadly passed away in the middle of this batch of episodes from an abdominal condition on June 2, 1995.

This is unfortunate. Miyauchi was a great voice actor and brought life and soul to one of the greatest manga/anime characters ever. Roshi was never truly Roshi again after his passing.

I suspect that they would have given Roshi more appearances in the filler material during the rest of the Boo arc were the actor alive, particularly in the last few.

[KBABZ]

Boo didn't absorb the people of Earth. He turned them into candy and ate them, which killed them. He absorbed Gotenks and Piccolo, so he transformed, but Gotenks and Piccolo were still alive inside Boo's body. Fat Boo not dying after being eaten might be because he isn't human, and his supernatural nature protects him from being killed or something like that.

Also occurs to me that Boo killed Dabura by turning him into a cookie and nothing happened there either.

I doubt that Kaioshin has any awareness or control over what takes place in the afterlife. That seems to be solely Enma's domain.

I disagree: the Land of the Kais is in Other World (Goku didn't sense Gohan's ki until he went there), and King Kai's home is/was there as well at the end of Snake Way. For the Kais to do their job it makes far more sense to have their worlds be in the realm of the living, particularly the Galaxies they're supposed to watch over.

IMO it's naturally implied that the Kaioshin have some jurisdiction over Other World and taking care of it, particularly since what happens in the realm of the living can affect Other World.

[MyVisionity]

I doubt that Kaioshin has any awareness or control over what takes place in the afterlife. That seems to be solely Enma's domain.

I disagree: the Land of the Kais is in Other World (Goku didn't sense Gohan's ki until he went there), and King Kai's home is/was there as well at the end of Snake Way. For the Kais to do their job it makes far more sense to have their worlds be in the realm of the living, particularly the Galaxies they're supposed to watch over.

The Kaioshin Realm is separate from Other World. If Goku could sense Gohan's Ki from Other World, it's probably because the Afterlife/Other World is supposed to be positioned closer to the Kaioshin Realm than the Living World is. (Or if not exactly geographically closer, then spiritually.)

I agree that Kaioshin watches over the Other World as well as the Living World, and that he is ranked above Enma. But Enma is the ruler of the Other World itself. I can see why Shin may not catch everything that goes on there, only the big and serious issues.

[MasenkoHA]

I gotta say I do like Ocean’s idea to just have Brian Drummond talk a bit more like Kirby Morrow for the Vegetto voice. The “two voices talking in unison” thing gets old especially in the Funi dub.

[SuperSaiyaManZ94]

I gotta say I do like Ocean’s idea to just have Brian Drummond talk a bit more like Kirby Morrow for the Vegetto voice. The “two voices talking in unison” thing gets old especially in the Funi dub.

That and it doesn’t work as well as the Japanese version with Vegetto/Gogeta because Nozawa and Horikawa pull off the simultaneous speaking much better, and same with Gotenks as the former and Kusao work having Goten and Trunks doing the same. It just doesn’t sound quite as convincing with the dub actors.

[Koitsukai]

I never heard the english dub Vegito but it does sound interesting to have one fusee speak like the other, specially when these two are so different. Goten and Trunks sound too similar to pull this one off.
Kale and Caulifla could do it.
Kibito and Shin... maybe.

[MasenkoHA]

I never heard the english dub Vegito but it does sound interesting to have one fusee speak like the other, specially when these two are so different. Goten and Trunks sound too similar to pull this one off.
Kale and Caulifla could do it.
Kibito and Shin... maybe.

https://youtu.be/Q4rUysFkf3A


It’s basically Drummond impersonating Morrow with a bit of that Vegeta snarl present. It’s a neat idea tbh.

[KBABZ]

The Kaioshin Realm is separate from Other World.

I don't recall this ever being mentioned.

[Koitsukai]

I never heard the english dub Vegito but it does sound interesting to have one fusee speak like the other, specially when these two are so different. Goten and Trunks sound too similar to pull this one off.
Kale and Caulifla could do it.
Kibito and Shin... maybe.

https://youtu.be/Q4rUysFkf3A


It’s basically Drummond impersonating Morrow with a bit of that Vegeta snarl present. It’s a neat idea tbh.

Granted, I have no idea how Vegeta sounds, but if that's Vegeta talking like Goku, then shut up and take my money.

--

My own little piece of trivia: Elder Kaioshin dies and wakes up on the spot, with an aureola.
That didn't happen to Shin when Dabura killed him, so probably that only happens on that planet.

[Demon Prince Piccolo]

Wow, Ocean Vegetto sounds like such a troll. I admit, I'm used to the Funimation version and can appreciate it (although sometimes it's grating), but after hearing this...it's no contest as to which I prefer. It just sounds like a perfectly fused voice. This makes me long for Ocean Kai that much more.

[SuperSaiyaManZ94]

This is unfortunate. Miyauchi was a great voice actor and brought life and soul to one of the greatest manga/anime characters ever. Roshi was never truly Roshi again after his passing.

I suspect that they would have given Roshi more appearances in the filler material during the rest of the Boo arc were the actor alive, particularly in the last few.

Indeed, which is what made losing him that far into the series so devastating. He was without a doubt the best performance as Roshi and thus his successors Kinpei Aizawa, Hiroshi Masouka and even Masaharu Sato (who has done a decent job himself in recent years with the more recent material) since then have never been able to fully capture the feeling of themselves. That's not to say they didn't try as best they could, but Miyauchi left big shoes to fill and no matter who they got to succeed him it was never going to be the same again.

[MyVisionity]

The Kaioshin Realm is separate from Other World.

I don't recall this ever being mentioned.

It's exact location is never mentioned within the manga or anime itself, no. But there's no reason why they can't be separate realms. The Kaioshin are essentially presented as a separate race from the Kaio.

Outside of the series itself, Toriyama states in interviews that the Kaioshin Realm is indeed a separate world existing outside of the rest, as seen in his complete map of the cosmos that he drew for the Daizenshuu and official guidebooks.

[Dragon Ball Ireland]

Wow, Ocean Vegetto sounds like such a troll. I admit, I'm used to the Funimation version and can appreciate it (although sometimes it's grating), but after hearing this...it's no contest as to which I prefer. It just sounds like a perfectly fused voice. This makes me long for Ocean Kai that much more.

Let's hope the first 98 episodes of Ocean Kai get a release. We know they didn't dub the Boo arc, but theoretically if the first part of Kai gets released it will do well enough for Ocean to dub more. Not knowing what Richard Ian Cox's Goku sounds like it's anyone's guess how an Ocean version of the fight in Kai would sound, but I'm confident Drummond could go a good impression of Cox's Goku combined with the Vegeta voice he'll use in Kai (which is thought to be more smooth, ala his traditional Vegeta combined with Zechs Marquez).

[Robo4900]

Wow, Ocean Vegetto sounds like such a troll. I admit, I'm used to the Funimation version and can appreciate it (although sometimes it's grating), but after hearing this...it's no contest as to which I prefer. It just sounds like a perfectly fused voice. This makes me long for Ocean Kai that much more.

People forget this, but the voice performances in the Westwood dub, especially in the Boo arc, were really damn good.

[Demon Prince Piccolo]

Wow, Ocean Vegetto sounds like such a troll. I admit, I'm used to the Funimation version and can appreciate it (although sometimes it's grating), but after hearing this...it's no contest as to which I prefer. It just sounds like a perfectly fused voice. This makes me long for Ocean Kai that much more.

People forget this, but the voice performances in the Westwood dub, especially in the Boo arc, were really damn good.

There's got to be some way for me to watch the Westwood dub.

[Majin Buu]

About episode 418/265...

I'm on record saying the whole "Gohan got shafted" complaint is overblown, but I will acknowledge that the anime mishandled the lead up to Buu absorbing Gotenks and Piccolo in a way that does genuinely make Gohan look bad that wasn't present in the manga (to the point where it borders on character assassination).

In the manga, Gotenks fuses next to Piccolo then immediately jumps onto the field demanding for Gohan to let him take another crack at Buu, then Buu immediately absorbs him and Piccolo. The way it plays out in the manga gives the sense that this all happened way too quickly for Gohan to react to.

In the anime, Trunks and Goten instead jump onto the field then fuse, with Gohan standing there watching the entire time, and once Gotenks is back, Gohan actively steps aside and lets him take the field, telling him to "be careful", then the absorption happens.

This has the unfortunate effect of making the success Buu's plan look more like Gohan's fault than it was in the manga since he actively chose to step aside for Gotenks, playing into Buu's plan along with Gotenks; while in the manga it was solely Gotenks' fault for falling for Buu's taunting and inserting himself into a fight Gohan would have had under control, with Gohan simply being caught off guard by Gotenks' appearance.

Toei genuinely did Gohan dirty here, in my opinion.