Episode 107 of Dragon Ball Z, first broadcast in Japan on September 11, 1991 and titled Goku's Alive!! in Funimation's dub, is the epilogue of the Namek and Frieza saga. After the despair of the previous episode, the solution comes from the last person anyone expected: Vegeta. The Namekian Dragon Balls bring the fallen back and reveal a surprise: Goku is alive, but has decided not to come home just yet.
Summary
As everyone mourns Goku and Krillin, Vegeta suggests a loophole: ask Porunga to bring their souls to Earth's afterlife first and only then revive them, so they will be reborn on Earth. Gohan and Bulma are overjoyed, and a grateful Bulma invites the prince and the Namekians to stay at Capsule Corporation. Vegeta accepts, claiming he only wants Goku to teach him how to become a Super Saiyan. Meanwhile Chi-Chi and the others, who were about to set off for Namek again, arrive: mother and son are reunited at last.
A hundred and thirty days pass and the Namekians settle into life on Earth. Thanks to the power Moori inherited, their Dragon Balls become active again and Porunga appears in the skies over West City, to the amazement of passersby. The first wish is meant to send Goku's and Krillin's souls to the afterlife, but the dragon grants it only for Krillin: Goku cannot be moved because he is still alive. Everyone is stunned. With the second wish Krillin returns to life; as for Goku, Porunga reports that he will come back to Earth on his own, in his own time. Master Roshi suggests he is just scared of facing Chi-Chi, and regrets it the moment she grabs a sword. The third wish goes to Yamcha. Vegeta, determined to find his rival and learn the secret of the Super Saiyan, takes a Capsule Corporation spaceship and leaves for space.
After another 130 days Porunga is summoned again: he revives Chiaotzu and Tien and moves the Namekians to an uninhabited, Namek-like planet found by King Kai. Dende says a tearful goodbye to Gohan and vanishes with his people. On Earth, for now, peace returns.
Our take
It is an epilogue with room to breathe, and after nineteen episodes of duel and ten of countdown, one was needed. The anime greatly expands the manga's few pages: it shows the Namekians at Capsule Corporation, West City's crowds staring at Porunga, the revivals of Yamcha, Tien and Chiaotzu, and the farewell between Dende and Gohan, all of which the manga only narrates. These additions close the emotional threads of more than seventy episodes, and audiences welcome them.
Only one addition matters to the plot: in the anime Vegeta heads into space to look for Goku, while in the manga he goes nowhere. The change serves the anime, which will not adapt the manga again until episode 118. In between comes the Garlic Jr. Saga, entirely original, from episode 108 to 117: a way to give Toriyama time to move the story forward.
The most striking detail is an absence: Goku never appears on screen, and his choice reaches his friends only through Porunga's words. For a lead who was in every key shot up to the previous episode, it is an elegant way to leave the audience hanging.
Trivia
- It adapts the first ten pages of chapter 329, plus many original scenes. Written by Hiroshi Toda and directed by Daisuke Nishio, it drew a 19.3% share.
- The Frieza Saga ends here: Wikipedia closes it at episode 107, and Kanzenshuu lists episode 108 as filler with no manga chapters.
- The episode spans 260 days, two Namekian "years" of 130 days each.
- It uses the insert song Kuchibue no Kimochi from the movie Lord Slug.
- It is the last episode of Funimation's dub to use the Rock the Dragon opening, in use since the first episode of the Ocean dub.
Did you know? The edited English broadcast had a police officer mistake Porunga for Godzilla.
Characters
- Vegeta, Gohan, Bulma and Chi-Chi
- Krillin, Yamcha, Tien Shinhan and Chiaotzu
- Dende, Moori, the Namekians and Porunga
- Master Roshi, Dr. Brief and Piccolo
- Goku, only mentioned