Episode 31 of Dragon Ball GT, first broadcast in Japan on December 11, 1996 and titled Collapse From Within in Funimation's dub, closes the Sugoroku Space detour and gets the saga moving again. Goku discovers the game was rigged, breaks free and starts training with Elder Kai, while Pan lands on Plant with a plan of her own. The final scene brings back a long-awaited face: Uub.
Summary
Four squares from defeat, Goku accidentally throws the die toward the lava, and the die yelps. On the second try it turns into a tiny creature crying for its daddy: it is Sugoro's son, Shusugoro, and the two are shape-shifting Space Lemurs, trapped there for ages and used to cheating. Goku shouts it for all to hear, despite Sugoro's pleading. Sugoroku Space has no patience for cheaters and starts to fall apart. Goku shields the pair, realizes his powers are back and blasts an opening with a Kamehameha. Amid the falling debris, Kibito Kai arrives in time to take all three to the Sacred World of the Kais.
There Goku learns the truth: Baby is moving humanity to Plant, and even Dende and Mr. Popo are under his control. He wants to leave at once, but Elder Kai holds him back: as he is now, he cannot win, so he needs to train first. The first exercise is grinding coffee beans, which Goku suspects is just the old man being lazy. Meanwhile, though, the base of his spine starts to itch, and Elder Kai grins.
On Earth, Pan has figured out how to get aboard: she and Mr. Satan hide inside Majin Buu, who reshapes his face so no one recognizes him. In line, Buu ends up next to Krillin, who is about to leave with his whole family and almost sees through the disguise. Buu gets the hundredth and final seat on the first ship, and Krillin stays behind to wait for the next one.
On Plant, Pan pops out of Buu's body and strikes back, handing out laxatives so the humans will flush out Baby's eggs. The plan seems to work until Videl kicks her out of the sky; then Gohan arrives, and Baby orders them to kill her. Through the Crystal Ball, Goku sees everything and begs to be sent there. Just as Gohan is about to strike his own daughter, a boy kicks him away: it is Uub, who escaped infection, and he tells Baby that he is now his opponent.
Our take
Sugoroku Space wraps up quickly, and that is a good thing: the cheating-lemurs gag can carry an episode and a half, not more. Far more interesting is the training with Elder Kai, which looks like a joke but actually sets up the saga's big turn. That itch at the base of the spine is a quietly planted clue, and anyone who remembers the original Dragon Ball knows exactly what it means.
Uub's return, on the other hand, ties GT back to the ending of Z. The boy is the good reincarnation of Majin Buu, the student Goku dropped everything for after the 28th World Martial Arts Tournament, and his perfectly timed entrance presents him as the hero's chosen successor. Finally, the shot of Krillin waiting in line with his family says more than any exposition: lifelong friends reduced to obedient passengers.
Trivia
- Written by Atsushi Maekawa and directed by Yoshihiro Ueda, with Tadayoshi Yamamuro as animation director.
- It marks the first GT appearance of Krillin, Android 18 and Marron; the Ox-King can also be spotted in the crowd waiting to board.
- Sugoroku, which gives the dimension its name, is a traditional Japanese board game with dice and a track of squares, a close cousin of Snakes and Ladders.
Characters
- Goku, Sugoro and Shusugoro
- Kibito Kai and Elder Kai
- Pan, Mr. Satan, Majin Buu and Uub
- Baby, Gohan, Videl, Bulma, Goten, Trunks and Chi-Chi
- Krillin, Android 18, Marron, Master Roshi and the Ox-King