Episode 40 of Dragon Ball GT, first broadcast in Japan on March 5, 1997 and titled Piccolo's Decision in Funimation's dub, closes the Baby Saga with a victory that feels like a funeral. The Tuffle parasite is gone, but the Black Star Dragon Balls were used and Earth is living on borrowed time. Goku ferries the whole population to Planet Plant, while Piccolo decides to stay behind and vanish with the planet.
Summary
The first problem is convincing the world that Earth really will explode within a couple of weeks. The announcement falls to Mr. Satan, the one man people believe without question, while the idea of relocating everyone to Plant, the old Tuffle homeworld, comes from Vegeta. Goku, who can use Instant Transmission again as a Super Saiyan 4, shuttles back and forth with Kibito Kai while spaceships carry everyone else. Within minutes the episode brings back faces GT had not shown yet, from Yamcha and Tien to Master Roshi and Emperor Pilaf.
Once the last ship has left, a couple realizes they forgot their son on the planet. Goku goes back for him and finds him safe in Piccolo's arms, but he has run dry: he drops out of Super Saiyan 4, shrinks back to his child form and can no longer teleport. Piccolo gives him just enough energy for one last jump. Goku grabs the boy, but the Namekian lets go and stays on the crumbling planet.
From there Piccolo reaches out to Gohan telepathically. The Black Star Dragon Balls, he explains, are too dangerous to keep existing, and with his death they will be gone for good. Then he says goodbye to his student in simple terms: watching Gohan grow made him stronger too. Gohan screams his name as Earth explodes.
On New Namek, Grand Elder Moori summons Porunga and the planet is restored, untouched. Capsule Corporation throws a party. Bulma asks Chi-Chi what it is like to have a husband who turned into a kid, and she replies that very little has really changed. Gohan, though, is in no mood to celebrate: Goku finds him off to the side and admits that he misses Piccolo too.
Our take
After a saga finale built on raw power, episode 40 goes the opposite way: a parade of classic characters that ends in a farewell. It works because the sacrifice comes from someone who had been pushed to the margins. Baby took Piccolo down early and left him a bystander for much of the arc; here he takes the stage back with a gesture that is entirely his own, reasoned and final. He does not die on instinct to shield someone, as he did against Nappa, but to close a problem nobody else had the nerve to face.
It also closes a circle with Gohan. Their bond began in the first saga of Dragon Ball Z, and GT, which had neglected both of them, gives the pair a goodbye worthy of that history. The closing party avoids speeches and leaves the bitterness where it belongs.
There is also a theme the series will carry to its last episode: wishes have a price. The Black Star Dragon Balls nearly wiped Earth out, and Piccolo's choice foreshadows the point GT will make later with the Shadow Dragons.
Trivia
- Written by Atsushi Maekawa and directed by Mitsuo Hashimoto, with Tadayoshi Yamamuro as animation director. Maekawa went on to write every episode up to 47.
- According to the Japanese Wikipedia, the Black Star Dragon Balls turn into ordinary stones when Piccolo dies.
- It is the last GT appearance of Emperor Pilaf, Mai and Shu, whose wish set the whole series in motion.
Did you know? Among the people Goku rescues with Instant Transmission is Nam, the fighter he beat in the semifinals of his first World Martial Arts Tournament back in the original Dragon Ball.
Characters
- Goku, Piccolo, Gohan and Kibito Kai
- Vegeta, Trunks, Goten, Pan, Giru, Majuub and Mr. Satan
- Bulma, Chi-Chi, Videl, Krillin, Android 18 and Marron
- Yamcha, Tien, Master Roshi, Nam, Emperor Pilaf, Mai and Shu
- Dende, Grand Elder Moori and Porunga