Episode 108 of Dragon Ball Z, first broadcast in Japan on September 18, 1991 and titled The Heavens Tremble in Funimation's dub, is the first episode after the Frieza Saga and opens the Garlic Jr. Saga, ten installments made up entirely for the anime. Goku has yet to come home from space, and the one who shows up instead is an old enemy fans had only met at the movies: Garlic Jr., the villain of Dead Zone (1989).
Summary
With no recap, the episode opens on two demonic thugs killing a handful of innocent people while their master, Garlic Jr., strolls through the ruins of his old castle. Gohan is out fishing when he runs into a dressed-up Krillin, who introduces his new girlfriend, the scatterbrained Maron, and invites him to the party Master Roshi is throwing at Kame House for Turtle's birthday. Chi-Chi will not hear of it: Gohan has homework to do.
Meanwhile, Kami finds Piccolo sparring with copies of himself and offers him the post of Earth's guardian. Piccolo refuses, but warns him that his meditation brought a disturbing vision.
With Kami away, Garlic Jr. and the Spice Boys storm Kami's Lookout. In front of Mr. Popo the demon recalls how, shortly before Raditz arrived, he had won immortality with the Dragon Balls, defeated Kami and pushed Goku and Piccolo to the brink, until Gohan's fury, unleashed at the sight of his father being dragged away, sent Garlic Jr. himself into the Dead Zone, the dimensional prison he had opened himself. Now he intends to become Earth's new Kami. Popo tries to flee but is shrunk down and sealed inside a bottle.
At Kame House the party is in full swing, and Gohan sneaks out of the house on Icarus, his pet dragon, to join it. Kami returns to the Lookout and attacks the intruders, but he is paralyzed and imprisoned just like Popo. With a free hand, Garlic Jr. lets the Black Water Mist pour down onto the planet to turn every living creature into his servant.
Our take
With episode 107 the anime had caught up with the manga, and Toei had to wait for Toriyama to move on. The answer is an original saga by Katsuyuki Sumisawa, who makes a smart call: rather than invent a villain from scratch, he brings back the antagonist of the first Z movie and turns a standalone film into backstory for the TV series. Popo's flashback, built from movie footage, places Dead Zone just before the Saiyan arc. No other movie villain, from Cooler to Broly, would ever get that treatment in the show.
Goku's absence is the real gamble. Earth has to defend itself, and the weight lands on Gohan, the same boy who had already beaten Garlic Jr. in a burst of rage. Meanwhile the episode takes its sweet time with comedy, from Krillin in love to Maron flirting with anyone in sight and Roshi being Roshi: after months on Namek, the shift in tone is stark.
Manga readers can skip these ten episodes, and Dragon Ball Kai cut them altogether. As an opener, though, it works: it sets up the threat, ties it to a film fans already knew and hints that Piccolo will take center stage.
Trivia
- Filler episode with no manga chapters. Written by Katsuyuki Sumisawa and directed by Yoshihiro Ueda, with animation supervision by Masayuki Uchiyama, it drew a 20.2% share.
- In Japanese, Garlic Jr. passes from Akira Kamiya, his voice in the movie, to Shigeru Chiba, who had voiced his henchman Nicky in Dead Zone.
- Icarus, until now a movie-only character, makes his TV debut. Turtle returns after a 70-episode absence.
- The Japanese narrator says ten months have passed since the battle with Frieza. Funimation's dub has Garlic Jr. speak of ten years in exile instead.
- Funimation's Cartoon Network run, which had merged several early episodes, numbered it 93; it aired there on April 8, 2000.
Characters
- Gohan, Krillin and Maron
- Garlic Jr. and the Spice Boys (Spice, Vinegar, Mustard and Salt; in Japanese Gashew, Vinegar, Tard and Zald)
- Kami, Mr. Popo and Piccolo
- Chi-Chi, Master Roshi, Bulma, Oolong and Puar
- Turtle and Icarus
- Goku, in flashbacks only