The twenty-first episode of Dragon Ball Super, broadcast in Japan on November 29, 2015, is the old guard's big battle. With Goku and Vegeta far away, it falls to Gohan, Piccolo, Krillin, Tien and Master Roshi to stop Frieza's thousand soldiers. They do brilliantly, until someone who trained side by side with the tyrant steps onto the field.
Summary
The ship lands and soldiers pour out. Gohan has not told Goten and Trunks, who are too reckless; Tien has left Chiaotzu at home; Majin Buu is asleep and cannot be woken. Master Roshi has brought senzu beans from Korin. Gohan, who has not trained in years, hopes he can still transform. Bulma arrives too, aboard Jaco's ship, and guilt-trips the Galactic Patrolman into fighting.
From above, Frieza recognizes Jaco as a member of the Galactic Patrol, spots the Namekian he met before and Krillin, whom he killed on Namek: he will kill him again, because making Goku despair by killing his friends is part of the revenge. Gohan tells Bulma he can handle the soldiers but not Frieza, who has become almost a different person. Bulma tries to talk the tyrant into waiting for Goku, and he grants her ten seconds.
Master Roshi works out that it comes to about 170 soldiers each. The group mows them down with ease, and Frieza is not surprised: his army is now a ragtag bunch of second-raters. He notes with disgust, though, that Gohan, gentle like his father, avoids killing his opponents. To liven up the party he announces a prize: whoever kills Krillin will get a planet of their choice.
On Beerus' planet, Whis halts Goku and Vegeta's training; the God of Destruction, annoyed by the racket, orders them sent "over there", and the two are sucked into Whis' staff.
On Earth, soldiers surround Krillin, who is nervous but dodges everything. Master Roshi reminds him that he has watched Cell, Buu, Beerus, Goku and Vegeta up close: these thugs cannot touch him. His confidence restored, Krillin fires a blast that splits into dozens of homing beams. Roshi takes out a crowd with a Kamehameha and then deflates, while Jaco distracts an enemy with the oldest trick in the book. Sorbet sends in Shisami, and Gohan insists on facing him alone: he has a daughter to raise in peace. But a beam from behind pierces Shisami and hits Gohan too. It was Tagoma, who sacrificed a comrade to take out the strongest enemy. Piccolo revives Gohan and Krillin gives him a senzu.
Tagoma recounts the four months he spent as Frieza's sparring partner, beaten to a pulp every day and then put back in the healing pod: he came out with a heart of ice and new strength. Far away, Goten and Trunks sense his energy and set off. Inside Jaco's ship, meanwhile, a familiar frog pops up.
Our take
This is the episode fans of the supporting cast were waiting for. Krillin finally overcoming his fear of Frieza, Master Roshi being a teacher again, Gohan fighting for his daughter: everyone gets a moment, and the direction gives them more room than the film did. Tagoma's cruelty, shooting through an ally, also shows the effect Frieza has on those around him.
Trivia
- Written by King Ryū and directed by Masanori Satō, with Shūichirō Manabe, Kazuhiro Koyama and Tatsuya Oka as animation directors. It drew a 5.0% rating in Japan.
- The scene where Goku and Vegeta are sent into Whis' staff does not exist in the film Resurrection 'F'.