Episode 88 of Dragon Ball Super, first broadcast in Japan on April 30, 2017 and titled Gohan and Piccolo—Master and Pupil Clash in Max Training! in Funimation's dub, is devoted to the series' oldest bond after Goku and Krillin's: Piccolo and Gohan, master and student. The Namekian confronts the young man with his flaws and pushes him to recover the power he had against Majin Buu. In Universe 6, meanwhile, Cabba hears a name that will change the tournament: Caulifla.
Summary
Piccolo already knows everything: right after the exhibition, Goku explained the situation to him, including the threat of erasure and Gohan's shaky showing. He has agreed to compete and taken two senzu beans from Goku to use at the end of their training. Gohan is ready for anything, turns Super Saiyan and attacks, but keeps ending up on the ground.
At Capsule Corporation, Trunks struggles to change Bulla's diaper until Vegeta steps in with a deftness that leaves him and Goten slack-jawed. Beerus, watching everyone relax while the universe faces extinction, would like to tell the truth, but fears Bulma's reaction and keeps quiet. Krillin, home from work, spars with Android 18 and loses, while the neighbors wonder why the couple is always fighting.
Gohan is distraught: at this rate he will not be able to protect Videl and the others. Piccolo explains that the urge to protect can be a source of strength, but if it grows too strong it clouds judgment. In Universe 6, Cabba flies to a planet to ask for help from Renso, the former captain of Sadala's defense force who trained him. Renso has a bad leg and declines, but suggests recruiting his younger sister Caulifla: she may look like a thug, but her potential far exceeds his own.
Warm-up over, Piccolo gets serious. He stretches his arms, wraps Gohan in a crushing hold and forces him back to base form: Gohan is strong, but lacks a warrior's mindset, just as when he got cocky against Majin Buu after Old Kai's power-up. Gohan focuses and recovers his most powerful form. He slices off Piccolo's arm and thinks he has won, but one of the Namekian's copies blasts him in the back with that very arm: he has dropped his guard again. Gohan thanks him, asks to keep going and suggests working on combination attacks. Nine and a half hours remain until the tournament.
Our take
This is one of the high points of the recruitment arc, because it treats Gohan honestly. The series had often played up his bookish laziness; here it shows him as a grown man afraid he is not up to the task, and Piccolo pinpoints his two flaws precisely: the anxiety to protect and the habit of counting his victories too early. They are the same weaknesses seen against Cell and Buu, and hearing them named gives the character real continuity.
The return of his Ultimate form, complete with his Buu-saga hairstyle, is a gift to fans who had wondered where that power went. The Cabba and Renso scene is short but essential: it opens the door to two of the tournament's most important figures.
Trivia
- Written by Toshio Yoshitaka and directed by Masanori Satō, with Tomoko Kusunoki, Yui Kinoshita and Hiroyuki Itai as animation directors. It drew a 4.4% TV rating in Japan.
- It is the first Dragon Ball Super episode in a long time in which Goku does not appear, apart from a memory of Piccolo's.
- Renso does not exist in the manga, where the Gohan and Piccolo training is only alluded to.
- It is also the first time Gohan enters his Ultimate state directly from Super Saiyan.
Did you know? The dinosaur seen at the end belongs to the same species that chased little Gohan during his first training with Piccolo.