Episode 166 of Dragon Ball Z, first broadcast in Japan on November 25, 1992 and titled What is the Tournament? in Funimation's dub, is the first step toward the Cell Games. Cell has left behind a promise of death, and the heroes need to work out what his tournament really means. Between an unexpected ally, a reunion of old friends and a ring built by hand, it is a breather after weeks of fighting.
Summary
Left alone at the site of the battle, Trunks thinks back on Cell's words about savoring people's terror before destroying everything, and explodes with rage. Shortly after, Vegeta and Krillin reach him. The prince mocks him for thinking he could win; Krillin is about to tell Vegeta that his son has surpassed him, but Trunks cuts him off.
Trunks explains the tournament, and both Saiyans decide to go back into the Hyperbolic Time Chamber as soon as Goku and Gohan come out. Then Android 16 shows up, battered and with a damaged head: he wants to fight Cell and asks to be repaired. Trunks is wary, since in his future the androids were a plague, but Krillin vouches for him. Things do not have to go the way they did in Trunks's time.
In the Chamber, Goku and Gohan spar as Super Saiyans in a fiery zone until the boy gets hurt and drops out of the transformation. His father encourages him, and the two go off to eat.
At Capsule Corp, welcomed by Bulma's mother, Master Roshi, Yamcha, Chiaotzu, Chi-Chi and the others arrive. While Dr. Brief works on Android 16, Roshi recalls the history of the World Martial Arts Tournament and how Goku came out of it as champion. Trunks guesses that Cell wants to test his new powers; Chi-Chi, on the other hand, will not hear of Gohan fighting, and remembers dreaming of a scholar's future for him when he was a baby. Far from everyone, Cell picks a deserted plain, levels the ground with an energy blast, slices a huge boulder into perfect tiles and builds his ring.
Our take
In the manga this stretch is over in a flash: once Krillin takes Android 16 away, the story jumps to the next day, with Cell preparing his arena. Everything in between, from the Capsule Corp gathering to Roshi's history lesson, is an anime addition. For once, it does not drag. After so many fights, seeing the old gang gathered around a table is a reminder that Dragon Ball is a series about friendships as well as battles.
The key moment is Krillin standing up for Android 16. This is the same Krillin who smashed the shutdown remote to save Android 18 in episode 158, and his trust in the androids is becoming a theme: the idea that Trunks's future is not set in stone runs through him.
Finally, the scene of Cell building the ring is simple and unsettling. The monster cutting stone with obsessive care says more about his new personality than many lines of dialogue.
Trivia
- It adapts chapter 388 from page 11 onward and the first five pages of chapter 389. Written by Katsuyuki Sumisawa and directed by Jun'ichi Fujise, with animation direction by Masahiro Shimanuki, it drew a 16.8% share.
- Roshi says the tournament has not been held since Piccolo destroyed the arena; the Majin Buu arc later reveals that the 24th World Martial Arts Tournament took place anyway. Funimation's dub adds further slips to his recap, such as calling Goku's match with Tien a draw.
- This episode opens what Funimation calls the Cell Games Saga (166-194). The dub first aired on Cartoon Network on November 9, 2000.
- In Japanese, Android 16 is voiced by Hikaru Midorikawa.