Episode 117 of Dragon Ball, first broadcast in Japan on June 29, 1988 and known in the English dub as The Ultimate Sacrifice, ends the long stretch of preparation and gets the saga moving again. Goku survives the poison of the Ultra Divine Water and discovers a new strength inside him, Tien completes the Mafuba, and the world sinks into the lawlessness King Piccolo has unleashed.
Summary
Goku writhes in pain as an increasingly anxious Yajirobe looks on. Then the crisis passes and the boy gets up, filled with an energy he has never felt before. Extending his Power Pole, he vaults himself and his companion out of the land of ice.
On the surface, after Piccolo's proclamation, criminals rule the streets: there is looting, prisons are stormed, police officers are attacked. Bulma, Yamcha and the others follow the news in dismay. In the devastated capital, Android 8 (Eighter in the Funimation dub) arrives looking for Suno and finds her helping the wounded among the rubble. When a biker gang starts throwing its weight around, one of them even hurling a knife, the gentle giant steps in and forces the thugs to help the injured instead.
Far from it all, Tien finally masters the Mafuba (the Evil Containment Wave in the dub). Yamcha and the others manage to reach him, and Launch scolds him for wanting to throw his life away. Tien replies that he is not going off to die as a sacrifice: his pride as a martial artist simply will not let Piccolo run free. Then he takes off for King Castle.
Goku and Yajirobe, meanwhile, return to their starting point and make it back to Korin Tower. Goku feels the new power coursing through him and instinctively knows which way the demon is. Before he leaves, Korin gives him a new Flying Nimbus to replace the one Tambourine destroyed, revealing that long ago he was the one who gave the first cloud to Master Roshi. Goku hops on and flies off to face King Piccolo.
Our take
After two episodes shut inside the labyrinth, this one suddenly widens the frame. The anime shows what the manga only implies: a world that, once the rules are gone, gives in to violence. It is the bleakest part of the episode, and it is cleverly balanced by the return of Android 8, the gentle giant of the Red Ribbon Army Saga, who uses his strength to force bullies into doing good.
Cutting back and forth between Goku and Tien builds anticipation nicely. The two set off almost at the same time, armed very differently: one has just awakened an unknown power, the other has taught himself the technique that cost Master Roshi his life. Tien's answer to Launch also gives him a precise kind of dignity: he is not a martyr, just a fighter who cannot look the other way.
The gift of the cloud carries a small emotional charge as well. Korin closes a circle by tying Goku's fresh start to his old master, right as the boy heads out to fight for him too.
Trivia
- According to Kanzenshuu, the episode adapts pages 1-13 of chapter 152 of Akira Toriyama's manga. It drew a 17.0% ratings share in Japan.
- In the manga nobody is shown taking advantage of Piccolo's announcement: the looting, the prison raids and the attacks on police are all anime additions. So is the subplot with Android 8 and Suno, since Android 8 does not appear in the manga at this point.
- Katsumi Aoshima handled the storyboard and animation supervision and is the only key animator credited. The episode was directed by Mitsuo Hashimoto and written by Keiji Terui.
- In the Japanese version, one of the bikers asks a friend how to write the kanji 魔 ("demon") so he can paint it on another gang member's shirt.
Did you know? The Flying Nimbus Goku receives here stays with him for the rest of the series, and his sons Gohan and Goten will ride it later on.
Characters
- Goku
- Yajirobe
- Korin
- Tien Shinhan
- Android 8
- Suno
- Yamcha, Bulma, Launch
- King Piccolo