Episode 152 of Dragon Ball Z, first broadcast in Japan on August 12, 1992 and titled Say Goodbye, 17 in Funimation's dub, closes the Imperfect Cell stretch with the monster's first real meal. Android 16 comes within inches of destroying him, but Android 17's arrogance ruins everything: Cell absorbs him, changes shape and grows far stronger. Now it's up to Tien to buy time for Android 18.
Summary
Android 16 gives Cell no rest, pounding him nonstop and driving him into the ground. Then he detaches his forearms and unleashes Hell's Flash, a blast that scars the whole area. The light can be seen for miles: Krillin, flying to Bulma to collect the shutdown remote, notices it and senses Tien near the battle, but decides he can't afford a detour.
Android 16 senses Cell is still alive and tells his companions to run. Android 17, however, is sure no one could survive that attack and laughs with his back to the crater. In Japanese he adds that he wants to finish Cell himself after the humiliation he suffered. That's his mistake: the monster rises behind him, spreads his tail over his head and, despite Tien's shouted warning, swallows him whole.
The transformation is instant. Cell becomes taller and bulkier, with an almost human face, and admires himself in a puddle. At Kami's Lookout, Goku explains to a speechless Gohan that the sudden spike in power can only mean one thing: Cell has absorbed one of the androids.
Android 16 scoops up Android 18 and tries to escape, but the new Cell catches up effortlessly. The giant lashes out on instinct and pays for it with a blast to the head that splits his skull open and exposes his circuitry. With her protector down, 18 hears her brother's voice calling her: Cell is mimicking it to lure her in. The spell is broken by Tien, who pins Cell to the ground from above with his new Tri-Beam, ready to sacrifice himself.
Our take
The Japanese title calls the transformed Cell a "super gourmet," and it fits: after ten-odd episodes spent chasing the androids, the monster finally eats, and the change shows immediately. The semi-perfect design is an awkward in-between stage, half insect and half warrior, and that awkwardness is exactly what makes it unsettling.
Android 17's fall plays like a punishment. He has spent the saga toying with everyone, sure he is untouchable, and he falls at the very moment he feels safest. The American dub leans even harder into his arrogance, having him dream of the whole world as the androids' playground; the original is drier but reaches the same moral.
On the other side stands 16, whose Hell's Flash proves he really was Dr. Gero's best weapon. His collapse, skull open and wires sparking, is one of the saga's harshest images. And there is Tien: a human who knows he can't win but stands in the way anyway, just as he did against Nappa.
Trivia
- It adapts the closing pages of chapter 371 plus chapters 372 and 373. Written by Aya Matsui and directed by Yoshihiro Ueda, it drew an 18.0% share.
- It is the last episode of Funimation's "Imperfect Cell Saga"; the "Perfect Cell Saga" begins with episode 153. Funimation's dub aired on October 20, 2000.
- Goku and Gohan commenting on the fight and Cell admiring his reflection are anime additions.
- In Japanese, Tien's inner monologue is an apology to Chiaotzu, since he fears he won't come back; the dub has him wonder what Goku would do.
- In the remastered Funimation dub, the narrator mistakenly calls the Hyperbolic Time Chamber the Pendulum Room at the end of the episode.
- This is the only time Imperfect Cell's eyes glow.
Characters
- Cell, Android 16, Android 17 and Android 18
- Tien
- Krillin
- Goku, Gohan and Mr. Popo