Episode 151 of Dragon Ball Z, first broadcast in Japan on August 5, 1992 and titled Silent Warrior in Funimation's dub, is the moment the saga's gentle giant stops watching. With Piccolo down and Android 17 at Cell's mercy, it is Android 16, the android who until now only seemed interested in birds, who steps in. And he turns out to be able to stand toe to toe with the monster.
Summary
At Kami's Lookout, everyone senses Piccolo's energy vanish. Gohan can't bear it and leaps off the edge to fly to the island, but Goku stops him with a punch: going now would only add one more victim. Mr. Popo explains to the boy that his father is hurting too, and Goku later apologizes and promises that the Namekian's sacrifice will not be wasted.
On the island, meanwhile, Cell is toying with Android 17. The android fights back and dodges the stinger on Cell's tail again and again, but he finally goes down, and the monster stomps on him with obvious relish before preparing to absorb him. Tien watches from a ridge, powerless. Android 18 wants to run; Android 16 tells her to get to safety and walks calmly toward the fight.
Just as Cell spreads the tip of his tail over 17's head, the giant grabs him by the shoulder and sends him flying with a single punch. Then, in his usual flat voice, he announces that by his calculations his power equals Cell's. The battle that follows is even. Cell manages to drive his stinger into 16's neck, but nothing happens: as 16 explains, he is entirely mechanical, with no organic parts to drain. Taking advantage of Cell's shock, he pins the tail under his foot and rips it off. The relief lasts a few seconds, because thanks to Piccolo's cells Cell grows it back instantly.
Elsewhere, Bulma is flying with baby Trunks toward her meeting with Krillin. She is carrying the remote that can shut down the androids, which the infant happily treats as a toy.
Our take
Android 16 is one of the saga's best characters because Toriyama builds him almost entirely through restraint. He barely speaks, loves nature and has none of his "siblings'" arrogance, so when he finally moves, viewers realize real power was hiding under all that silence. The episode gives him the entrance he deserves: one clean punch and a calm sentence that lands harder than any battle cry.
The tail business is the most interesting beat in story terms. Cell is a patchwork of great fighters' cells, and every ability he has comes from somewhere specific: his regeneration is Piccolo's, and 16's trick runs straight into that inheritance. It also shows that Dr. Gero took a very different approach with this model, built without human tissue.
Pacing-wise, the anime stretches things considerably. In the manga 17 falls almost at once; here his fight with Cell lasts several minutes, and Goku's punch to Gohan and Bulma's scenes with baby Trunks are Toei additions. The punch at least works, showing a Goku who is less carefree than usual, forced to play the stern father to keep his son out of a lost battle.
Trivia
- It adapts the last page of chapter 370 and pages 1-12 of chapter 371. Written by Aya Matsui and directed by Mitsuo Hashimoto from Kazuhito Kikuchi's storyboard, it drew an 18.9% share.
- Funimation's dub premiered on Cartoon Network on October 19, 2000. In Funimation's original edited numbering it was episode 136.
- In the manga baby Trunks never travels with Bulma, so the remote-as-rattle gag is anime-only. In Japanese, Bulma calls Master Roshi directly, while the dub adds a line from Dr. Brief.
- The English dub has 16 simply call himself "a different model"; the original makes clear he has no organic parts at all, which is why Cell's tail can't absorb him.
- This is the only time Imperfect Cell's teeth are visible.