The 134th episode of Dragon Ball Z, first broadcast in Japan on April 1, 1992 and titled Goku's Assassin in Funimation's dub, closes Dr. Gero's chapter in the most brutal way. The creator is eliminated by his own creations, and the android lineup gains Android 16, a silent giant even Trunks had never heard of. Their goal is singular: Goku, still bedridden with the virus.
Summary
Vegeta blasts open the lab door. Dr. Gero orders the two androids to attack, but they ignore him. Android 18 notices a third capsule and wants to see who's inside; the scientist forbids it, to no avail. Android 17 then decides to be rid of his maker: he takes Gero's head off and crushes it under his shoe as the fighters look on in shock. It's the same fate Gero met in Trunks's future, except that this time there are witnesses.
Trunks realizes that waking the third android would be a disaster and levels the lab with a barrage of energy blasts, but Android 18 carries the capsule to safety. Inside is a towering figure with a reddish mohawk: Android 16. He ignores his companions' questions, except to point out that he is entirely artificial, and only truly speaks up when he hears the name of his mission: to kill Son Goku. The three androids head off toward the Saiyan's home.
Vegeta is livid that the enemies didn't so much as glance at him. Trunks begs him to wait for Goku, but his father knocks him aside with a punch, turns Super Saiyan and takes off in pursuit. Piccolo, Krillin, Tien and Trunks follow.
Meanwhile Gohan makes a stop so Bulma can change baby Trunks, and Yajirobe gets sent to do the laundry in a river. At Goku's house, Chi-Chi cooks dinner in the hope her husband will wake up, while Yamcha gives him another dose of medicine. On a mountain road, Vegeta catches up with the androids and challenges them. Androids 17 and 18 laugh at him, Android 16 refuses to fight because Vegeta isn't Goku, and in the end it's Android 18 who takes him on.
Our take
The Japanese title, "Is it all too late?", captures the episode perfectly: every move the heroes make comes a moment too late. Trunks wrecks the lab once the capsule is already safe, and Vegeta gives chase once the androids are already on their way. Gero's death is curt and cruel, and it flips a classic idea on its head: the Red Ribbon genius who spent years engineering his revenge is discarded like a broken tool.
Android 16 is the real novelty. That Trunks doesn't know him confirms this timeline has gone off his script, and the mute giant with a one-track mind for Goku brings a different kind of threat from the two bored siblings. The anime additions are the usual ones by now: the diaper stop, Chi-Chi's dinner and a quick scan Android 17 uses to gauge 16's power before opening the capsule, whereas in the manga he simply assumed he was stronger.
The pace is quicker than in the previous episodes, and the ending, with Vegeta planting himself alone in front of three androids, sets up the first real clash with the enemies from the future.
Trivia
- It adapts chapter 350 from page 4 to the end and chapter 351. Written by Takao Koyama and directed by Jun'ichi Fujise, with animation supervision by Kazuya Hisada, it drew a 20.3% share.
- It marks the debut of Android 16.
- In Japanese, Chi-Chi asks Yamcha where Gohan is and he lies that the boy is probably out playing, even though she had watched her son leave to fight the androids. The inconsistency was already in the manga. Funimation's dub replaced the exchange with a joke about the heart medicine.