Episode 165 of Dragon Ball Z, first broadcast in Japan on November 18, 1992 and titled The Cell Games in Funimation's dub, ends the duel between Trunks and Cell with a martial arts lesson: raw strength is useless if you cannot land a hit. At the same moment Goku reaches the same conclusion on his own, and in the end Cell surprises everyone with a proposal that changes the course of the saga, a tournament.
Summary
Trunks goes back on the attack and for a while he really does seem to be the stronger fighter. When he realizes he cannot finish the job, though, he bulks up his muscles even further. On Kami's Lookout, Piccolo and Tien sense a power greater even than Cell's. And yet, from that point on, the monster dodges every blow with ridiculous ease.
Meanwhile Krillin, flying toward Kame House, stops on an island because Vegeta is in very bad shape. He gives him a Senzu Bean, and the prince gets back on his feet angrier than ever.
In the Hyperbolic Time Chamber, Gohan trains as a Super Saiyan until he collapses from exhaustion. Then Goku tells him to watch: he pushes past Super Saiyan in two steps and reaches the same swollen form as Trunks. Gohan is sure his father can now beat Cell, but Goku already knows better. Those muscles make him slow, and against an opponent like this, speed is what counts. His solution is different: stay transformed all day, every day, until Super Saiyan feels as natural as breathing.
On the island, Cell explains Trunks's mistake, then bulks up himself to show how easy it is, and how pointless against a faster opponent. Trunks realizes that Vegeta knew about this limit and stopped for that reason. He powers down and admits defeat. Cell could finish him, but he is curious: how did Trunks and his father get so strong so quickly? When he hears that Goku is training to beat him too, he has an idea. In ten days he will hold a martial arts tournament, take on challengers one at a time and put the fate of the Earth on the line. Then he flies off.
Our take
This is the episode where the saga changes direction. Up to now Cell's story has been a hunt: absorb, transform, survive. With the tournament proposal, the enemy becomes a showman. He gives the heroes time and, in effect, puts himself in their hands. It is a very Toriyama idea, bringing the series back to the tournament format it was born from.
The best part, though, is the parallel between the two scenes. On the island, Trunks learns the hard way that enormous power is no use if you cannot connect; in the Chamber, Goku works it out by himself, without needing an enemy to show him. It is the most elegant way the series has of showing the difference between the two: one is a brave soldier, the other a martial artist already thinking about the next fight.
As usual, the anime stretches things. Cell hits Trunks before showing off his own bulked-up form, while in the manga he simply dodges and then transforms.
Trivia
- It adapts chapter 387 from page 4 onward and the first ten pages of chapter 388. Written by Hiroshi Toda and directed by Masahiro Hosoda, with animation direction by Masayuki Uchiyama, it drew a 17.5% share.
- In the manga Krillin only gives Vegeta the Senzu Bean after the duel is over; the anime moves the scene earlier.
- The form Trunks, Goku and Cell show here is known as Super Saiyan Third Grade; Goku's intermediate step corresponds to the Second Grade that Vegeta used as "Super Vegeta."
- It is the last episode of what Funimation calls the Perfect Cell Saga (153-165). The dub first aired on Cartoon Network on November 8, 2000.
Characters
- Trunks and Cell
- Goku and Gohan in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber
- Vegeta and Krillin
- Piccolo and Tien
- Android 16