Episode 118 of Dragon Ball Z, first broadcast in Japan on November 27, 1991 and titled Frieza's Counterattack in Funimation's dub, opens the Androids arc and puts the show back on the manga's track after ten filler episodes about Garlic Jr. About a year has passed since Namek and Goku still hasn't come home. Then, in the final scene, Gohan senses an energy he hoped never to feel again: Frieza's.
Summary
At Kame House, Krillin, still moping after his breakup with Maron, vents by firing a Kamehameha over the sea and drenches a napping Master Roshi. On Mount Paozu, Chi-Chi introduces Gohan to his new private tutor, Mr. Shu (Shu Saiaku in Japanese). As soon as she leaves, the man shows his true colors: brutal questions, and the whip for every mistake.
During a lesson, Gohan dozes off and dreams that his father is back, until Goku's face twists into Frieza's and the boy wakes up crushing his tutor's hands. Shu sneers at Goku for abandoning his family, and when he tries to whip Gohan again, the boy catches the whip and grinds it to dust. Then Shu lashes him across the face in front of Chi-Chi, drawing blood, and she throws him out the window.
At Capsule Corporation, Vegeta's ship lands: he is back from space after searching for Goku in vain. Yamcha bristles, but Bulma invites the prince to stay until Goku returns. He grudgingly agrees and, with his battle suit in the wash, has to wear a pink shirt and yellow pants while Yamcha needles him.
While studying, Gohan senses two huge energies heading for Earth, and one of them is unmistakable. Krillin calls: everyone has felt it. Gohan slips into the armor he wore on Namek and rushes out. In space, aboard a starship, Frieza travels with his father, King Cold. He survived, part of his body is now mechanical, and he has one goal: to beat Goku to Earth and make him pay by going after his friends.
Our take
Episode 118 has two halves. The first is a family comedy invented by the studio: according to dragon-ballwiki.com, everything before Gohan senses Frieza is anime-only, and only the end of chapter 329 comes from the manga. Mr. Shu is the best of that material. He shows how heavily Goku's absence weighs on his son, and he gives Chi-Chi a mama-bear moment: the mother who demands a studious Gohan is the same woman who boots out anyone who hurts him.
The second half is Toriyama's story coming back, and you can feel it. The nightmare where Goku turns into Frieza is the bridge: minutes later, the boy's fear comes true. Vegeta's thread works too. In the anime he left to look for Goku at the end of the Namek arc; now he returns empty-handed and becomes Bulma's houseguest, an early taste of a relationship that will reshape the series. The pink shirt he also wears in the manga gets a comic explanation here.
How the sagas are split depends on the source. Funimation calls these first eight episodes the Trunks Saga, while Italian and Spanish Wikipedia fold them into a longer Androids arc. In the filler-free remake Dragon Ball Z Kai, the tutor is gone and Frieza and King Cold arrive in episode 55.
Trivia
- It adapts chapter 329 from page 11 to the end. Written by Takao Koyama and directed by Shigeyasu Yamauchi, with animation direction by Masayuki Uchiyama, it drew a 20.3% share.
- It debuts the new opening animation for Cha-La Head-Cha-La, used until episode 199.
- After episode 107, it is the second episode to hint that Bulma is taking a liking to Vegeta.
- Funimation's TV broadcast numbered it episode 103. In that dub, John Burgmeier takes over as Tien starting here.
Did you know? Gohan's dream, with Goku turning into Frieza, became the opening scene of the video game Dragon Ball Z: The Legacy of Goku II.
Characters
- Gohan, Chi-Chi, Ox-King and Mr. Shu
- Vegeta, Bulma, Yamcha, Puar and Mrs. Brief
- Krillin, Master Roshi and Turtle
- Frieza, King Cold and their soldiers
- Goku, only in Gohan's dream