Deep Thoughts: The Imperfect Cell Saga

[ABED]

My favorite part of the entire Cell arc is the mystery. I love a good mystery and for a series that trod over so much ground after hundreds of episodes, this is genuinely fresh. How is so much different from Trunks' timeline? Is he at fault? Why are there more cyborgs than he anticipated? Why are they stronger than in his timeline? Why did Goku's heart virus occur so much later? Why is there another time machine and how is it the exact same one? Why is saying it came back a year earlier than Trunks? Why are all of these cities empty and all that's left are clothes on the ground? All of this is incredibly compelling. Too bad it didn't last longer. The answer to these questions is ultimately the butterfly effect of Trunks and Cell coming to the past.

Enter Cell, who makes one hell of an entrance. Not only does he look like he's from a horror movie, but absorbing that greedy businessman with his tail is one of the most horrific and memorable images in the entire series. Sadly, this feeling doesn't last, as Cell lets the cat out of the bag in a way that would make even a Bond villain sigh, "Why did you give away EVERYTHING?" This isn't just exposition, it's an exposition dump. I'm not a big fan of exposition. I like SOME information, but usually only a little more than what is needed for the plot or story to function. Even if he does think Piccolo is at his mercy, there's no reason to give away most of this information. He gives away his birth, where to find the previous version of himself, and his motivation. He doesn't even keep it vague. He flat out states he needs them to reach his perfect self. It's really dumb when you think of it that he tells Piccolo where to find the hidden lab, or even that there was another lab at all. Does he know how time travel works? How does he know them killing the early version of himself in that lab wouldn't blank him out of existence? For a character that's supposed to be clever, this was in the words of Benoit Blanc, "just dumb!" I don't know how much longer Toriyama could've kept the mystery going, but my thought would be until Cell arrives on the island. Perhaps he might think Cell wants to join up with the cyborgs, but doesn't realize until it's too late what Cells true motivation is. Regardless, this would all be far less interesting if Cell wasn't played by the great Norio Wakamoto. Nakao is hard to follow, but Wakamoto is able to give him a run for his money. It's too bad the writing doesn't support his performance. I can't tell the difference, but is there a subtle distinction among the different forms. In the dub, the distinction is obvious, but I can't tell here.

Speaking of which, these 13 episodes have one of my favorite fights and it's the best one of this arc – Piccolo vs. 17. The two just beat the crap out of each other. It's just a joy to watch. It's like a great wrestling match that ends with outside interference to further another story. I get why it's done, but I wish we got something more conclusive. It gets interrupted so Cell can absorb 17 and reach his second form. Good thing Toriyama's editor had enough trust that he could give him honest feedback. Cell's second form is awful looking. It's second form Cell where things start to get really boring, and they don't rebound. And so, we come to the end of the Imperfect Cell Saga, which is right in the middle of Tenshinhan hitting Cell with the Kikoho. Why end here? It's simply symmetry. This and the next "saga" are both 13 episodes.

Random Thoughts:
The interactions between Chichi and Goku are really sweet. Finally, Chichi is growing up and no longer acting like the nagging wife. Even Muten Roshi comments on it.
Does anyone else feel like there's a subtle difference between the Piccolo we've seen recently and after he's merged with Kami?
Does anyone else wince when No. 16 rips off Cell's tail?

Dub:
Dameon Clarke is one of my favorite bits of Dragon Ball casting. He's a good actor and a versatile one. I find it funny that his voice for the second form is as reviled as his voice for the first form is loved. I love the creepy voice for his first form, and for the longest time I disliked the marble mouthed second form, but neither as much as others nor as much as I despised Young's Freeza. There was recently a thread about Cell's second form, and I'll say what I said there and that it's a dumb form, so a dumb voice is fitting. I know he's supposed to be menacing, but he's not. He looks dumb and when he's up against a superior opponent, he spazzes out like a petulant child. And just because he's supposed to be intimidating doesn't make him so. Last point, I know there are Supernatural fans here. Clarke has been in a few live action shows like 24 and Supernatural. I can't remember who he was on 24, but he played the Rugaru in season 4. It's a great episode and I highly suggest checking it out.

Home Video:
Like the Freeza Saga DVDs, there's an animated menu with a wavy background and a Cell like creature that comes towards the screen. I guess it's supposed to be a nascent Cell in his amniotic fluid. It's on all Cell Saga discs. The only think that I think changes is the background color, but I could be wrong.

[Dragon Ball Ireland]

The mystery aspect of the Imperfect Cell saga is quite great I agree.

I never noticed much of a difference between Piccolo before and after merging with Kami, other than us never seeing anything like how he freaked out when he departed Krillin, Tien, Yamcha and Chaoitzu on his way to the lookout. An argument could possibly be made he was a bit wiser too.

There have been anecdotal accounts of the original UK broadcast being tampered with after the fact, as from what some fans have said Imperfect Cell's first absorption was more graphic and the victim's face melted, as was the case in the uncut version. I sadly have no memories of this particular scene being uncut when it first aired on Cartoon Network, suffice to say all existing recordings have this scene cut.

[90sDBZ]

I like Damian Clarke's 2nd form Cell voice. It feels like he's halfway between being a creepy insect and human (his Perfect form is the most human looking, and the most graceful/composed). It fits the idea that he's evolving.

I feel like that form being goofy is very much a conscious choice. There's a scene were he fires a Galick Gun at Vegeta, only to lose his balance and fall over right after.

I like the idea that different cells are dominant in him depending on the form. He's supposed to have Nappa's cells, which would certainly explain his 2nd form. His Perfect form feels much more Goku-like; composed and enjoying a good fight. His 1st form felt similar to Vegeta on Namek; sneaking around and being tactical to achieve his goal.

As for Piccolo, I did get the sense he became less reckless and battle hungry after merging. On Namek he ignored all warnings and went out of his way to fight Frieza, even though everyone else needed him alive for the Dragon Balls. He also went out of his way to fight Gero. I think he was more cautious with Cell, wanting to eliminate him or the Androids before he became too powerful. He also expressed uncertainty in his ability to beat the Androids, and ultimately knew he was just buying time for the Saiyans.