Episode 15 of Dragon Ball Z, first aired in Japan on August 9, 1989, returns to Gohan and his long, lonely survival. The boy is stronger and more confident, but he is still four years old and desperate to see his mother again. So he tries to run away, and the sea reminds him that the world is bigger than he thought.
Summary
There are eight months left until the Saiyans arrive. To train at a level no one else on Earth can offer, Piccolo splits himself in two and fights a copy of himself. The duel between the two Piccolos is fierce and no-holds-barred.
Gohan, meanwhile, is getting better at fending for himself. He slides down the desert dunes on a vehicle he built, escapes a giant eagle and makes it all the way to the sea. Exploring the coast and climbing a mountain, he discovers the truth: the land where Piccolo left him is an island. With him is a big cat that has followed him everywhere for some time, his only company during these months.
Homesickness wins out. Gohan thinks of Chi-Chi and of home, and decides to go back. Using his new skills, he builds a raft and sets out to sea. But the ocean is not the wilderness he has learned to handle: at night a storm breaks, the waves rise and the raft starts falling apart. Gohan cannot swim, and when a waterspout swallows the raft, there seems to be no way out. Far away, Piccolo senses that his student is in danger.
Our take
This is another entirely anime-original episode: in Akira Toriyama's manga, Gohan's six months of survival take up only a few panels. The anime tells them instead as a serialized coming-of-age story, and this is perhaps the best chapter after the robot, because it tackles a feeling that had stayed in the background until now: homesickness.
Gohan is not running out of fear but out of love. He has learned to survive and now he wants to go home to his mother, and the viewer can hardly blame him. Having the escape fail not because of Piccolo but because of nature is a smart choice: the enemy is not the teacher but a world bigger than a child.
The scene of Piccolo fighting himself is a strong idea too, showing just how alone he is in his training. The open ending sets up the next episode, one of the most unusual in the saga.
Trivia
- In the 1996 English dub, this episode and the next formed Escape from Piccolo, which never aired in the original syndicated run because of Saban's concerns about its content. It was first released on home video in late 1997.
- In Japan the episode drew a 15.6% ratings share. It was written by Katsuyuki Sumisawa and directed by Kazuhisa Takenouchi.
- The uncut 2005 redub titled it Dueling Piccolos, after Piccolo's fight with his double.
- No footage was reused in Dragon Ball Kai.
Did you know? The Italian dub gave the episode a gentler title, "Gohan Wants to Go Home", putting the homesickness front and center instead of the escape.