Episode 13 of Dragon Ball GT, first broadcast in Japan on May 22, 1996 and titled The Man Behind the Curtain in Funimation's dub, reveals who stands above Dolltaki: Dr. Myuu, a scientist watching everything from afar. While Goku and Trunks discover that Lord Luud is enormously strong but clumsy, their unseen opponent decides to give the machine the fuel it is missing: Pan.
Summary
Luud is awake and towering over the two Saiyans. Dolltaki slips away to safety, and the colossus blocks Goku and Trunks from going after Pan. Goku taunts it to lure it away and hits it square with a Kamehameha, but the machine barely notices. Soon after, it knocks them both down and pins them under its feet, forcing them to go Super Saiyan to break free.
Meanwhile, back in his room, Dolltaki keeps playing dress-up with doll Pan and picks out a Chinese dress for her. He is interrupted by a voice summoning him to a secret room, where Dr. Myuu, the mind behind the whole operation, speaks to him from a screen. The scientist is furious: Luud was woken before it had stored enough energy, with only a little over half its power, and now it is losing.
Out on the battlefield, Goku has spotted the giant's weakness: it has immense strength but no idea how to use it. He and Trunks pound it with attack after attack, even after dropping back to their normal state. Dr. Myuu, however, has noticed something Dolltaki missed: the doll he carries around holds an extraordinary amount of energy.
The order is simple: Pan must be fed to Luud. Dolltaki, by now attached to his new toy, refuses. Myuu punishes him by turning him into a doll as well and has the colossus absorb them both. Powered by Pan's energy, Luud changes shape and finally reaches full strength, ready to start the fight all over again.
Our take
This episode has a clear job: widening the horizon. Up to now the hunt for the Black Star Dragon Balls had been a treasure hunt across bizarre planets with villains of the week. With Dr. Myuu, the series hints that a bigger design lies behind Luud, the Para Para Brothers and the cult, and the Japanese title says it with a wink: "this guy is the boss?!" Anyone who knows what comes next knows how much this character will matter, sticking around until the Super 17 Saga.
The fight against Luud is more fun than tense. A giant monster that does not know how to use its own strength is a natural setup for comedy, and Goku exploits it with the same lightness he brought to the villains of the original Dragon Ball. This is GT finding its best balance between action and gags.
Then there is Dolltaki and his creepy fixation on doll Pan, which the episode pushes a little further still. The final reversal, with the tormentor turned into a toy by his own master, offers some small satisfaction at least.
Trivia
- Written by Aya Matsui and directed (storyboard) by Yoshihiro Ueda, with Dragon Ball Z veteran Tadayoshi Yamamuro as animation director and Tsutomu Fujita as art director.
- It drew a 13.5% share in Japan.
- Dr. Myuu is voiced in Japanese by Kazuyuki Sogabe.
- Funimation's dub aired it on April 9, 2005, together with episode 14.
- The dress Dolltaki chooses for Pan is a Chinese-style outfit much like the ones worn by Chi-Chi, her grandmother.