The nineteenth episode of Dragon Ball Super, broadcast in Japan on November 15, 2015, opens the Resurrection 'F' Saga. The remnants of Frieza's army, falling apart after years of defeats, decide the only way to survive is to bring their emperor back to life. For that they need Earth's Dragon Balls, and someone who knows where to find them.
Summary
In a gloomy corner of the afterlife, beneath a lake, lies a flowery meadow where fairies and stuffed animals dance and play music. This is Frieza's personal Hell: the tyrant is wrapped in a cocoon hanging from a tree, forced to watch the sickly sweet show, and he answers the fairies' attempts to cheer him up with nothing but screams of rage.
In space, Sorbet and his crew are repairing the damage from their encounter with Champa and Vados. Between that and the rebellions, the army has already lost 60% of its soldiers. Sorbet announces that the only solution is to revive Frieza: according to his simulations, with him they could conquer 70% of the universe. Tagoma is skeptical, but Sorbet reminds him how feared the tyrant was. The Namekians cannot be found; that leaves Earth's Dragon Balls, which the Pilaf Gang happens to be gathering right now. Sorbet picks Tagoma as his only companion, so as not to attract the Saiyans' attention.
On Beerus' planet, Goku and Vegeta take on Whis together without managing to touch him. Whis has signed their clothes without them noticing, and he corrects them: Vegeta is too tense, Goku too relaxed, and to prove it he sucker-punches him.
At Gohan's house, Piccolo is babysitting Pan and pulling funny faces, until Gohan and Videl walk in and catch him in the act. Then he senses something. Sorbet and Tagoma find the Pilaf Gang just as they locate the last Dragon Ball and persuade them to cooperate with a shot from the ring blaster. Shenron is summoned and the sky goes dark. Sorbet asks for Frieza's resurrection; the dragon warns that the body was cut to pieces, but Tagoma assures him their machines can regenerate it. The tyrant's cybernetic remains rain from the sky, still alive. Before Sorbet can use the other wishes, Shu asks for a million Zeni and Mai for the best ice cream in the world. The two soldiers gather up the pieces, with Pilaf even lending a hand, and leave promising to return with Frieza and his men. A strange frog with antennae watches the ship take off, as if it recognized it.
Aboard the ship, Frieza regenerates in the medical pod, back in his first form and with no mechanical parts. Tagoma wonders whether it is worth it; Shisami is furious at his lack of respect. When the tyrant steps out of the pod, his energy shatters every scouter on board. On Beerus' planet Goku has a bad feeling, but Vegeta tells him to get back to sweeping.
Our take
The saga gets off to a stronger start than the first one: in a single episode it builds the threat, explains why the army needs Frieza and reaches the resurrection. The Hell full of fairies is a brilliant comic idea, which the film already had and the TV series keeps intact.
The additions work. Piccolo pulling faces for Pan is a small gift to fans, and the frog with antennae is a clue anyone who remembers the Namek saga will catch right away.
Trivia
- Written by Makoto Koyama and directed by Kōhei Hatano, with Yukihiro Kitano as animation director. Its 6.6% rating places it among the most-watched episodes of the first two sagas.
- It draws on the film Resurrection 'F' and on Toyotarō's manga adaptation of it.
- The frog that recognizes the ship is Captain Ginyu, stuck in that body since the events on Namek. He does not appear in the film.