Episode 160 of Dragon Ball Z, first broadcast in Japan on October 14, 1992 after a week off and titled Cell is Complete in Funimation's dub, contains two births. On the island, Cell completes his transformation and becomes the perfect being Dr. Gero dreamed of; in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber, young Gohan turns Super Saiyan for the first time. The full Japanese title, "Battle Power Infinity!! Birth of the God of Destruction Named Cell," uses a phrase that would become a real title twenty years later.
Summary
Having absorbed Android 18, Cell withdraws into his metamorphosis and gives off an aura that shakes the whole planet. Trunks tries to stop him, picturing his own future repeating itself in the past, with friends and family killed one by one, but his attacks are useless. The sky darkens, a storm breaks out, and at Kame House the sea floods Master Roshi's home. On Kami's Lookout, Piccolo tells Bulma that Cell has reached his perfect form and that Krillin destroyed her remote, leaving her stunned.
In the Hyperbolic Time Chamber, Gohan asks his father to stop holding back. Goku transforms and presses him until he fires a Kamehameha at him. The boy thinks of every time he stood by while others suffered, from Nappa to Frieza, and anger at his own weakness makes him explode: he deflects the blast as a Super Saiyan. He is too angry to hold the form, though, and loses it shortly afterwards.
On the island the glow fades and Perfect Cell appears, sleeker and more human-looking. Thoughts of Android 18 torment Krillin, who blames himself for not shutting her down when he could and hurls himself at the monster in a rage. He lands blow after blow, then throws a Destructo Disc at the back of Cell's neck, the same technique that sliced off Frieza's tail, but it does not leave a mark. Trunks joins the assault, with no better luck. Testing his new body, Cell gives Krillin a light kick, and that single blow leaves him down and nearly dead as Android 16 looks on. Vegeta, the only one not afraid, finally has the opponent he wanted.
Our take
The episode is built on a contrast between noise and silence. Cell's transformation is an anime invention: in the manga he changes inside his barrier with no storms or flashes seen around the world, while here the Earth quakes and Kame House goes underwater. It is spectacle, but it makes tangible an idea Toriyama conveys only through the characters' reactions.
The real heart, though, is Gohan. In the manga we simply find him already transformed; the anime shows the moment and ties it to the frustration of a boy who always feels useless. It is a smart choice, because it foreshadows the nature of his power: Gohan breaks through when he can no longer bear to stay on the sidelines, and that is what the Cell Games will hinge on.
As for the title, the Japanese word hakaishin returns decades later for Beerus, the God of Destruction of Battle of Gods. Here it is just hyperbole, but it fits.
Trivia
- It adapts chapter 382 from page 2 onward and the first page of chapter 383. Written by Katsuyuki Sumisawa, directed by Shigeyasu Yamauchi with animation direction by Masahiro Shimanuki, it drew a 17.6% share.
- Gohan is the fourth character to go Super Saiyan, after Goku, Trunks and Vegeta; before transforming he recalls Nappa, a Saibaman, Recoome and Frieza.
- Krillin's Destructo Disc and Trunks joining the attack on Perfect Cell are anime additions: in the manga Krillin attacks alone, barehanded.
- Oolong returns after fifteen episodes away, hiding in a suitcase at Kame House.
- In the Ocean Group dub, Kirby Morrow takes over as Goku from this episode. Funimation's English dub premiered on Cartoon Network on November 1, 2000.
Characters
- Cell, Trunks, Krillin and Android 16
- Vegeta
- Goku and Gohan in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber
- Piccolo and Bulma on Kami's Lookout
- Master Roshi and Oolong at Kame House