Episode 173 of Dragon Ball Z, first broadcast in Japan on February 3, 1993 and titled Dende's Dragon in Funimation's dub, fixes a problem left open ever since Piccolo fused with Kami: Earth has no Dragon Balls. Goku travels to New Namek in search of a new Guardian and comes back with Dende, who brings the dragon back. Meanwhile, on TV, a certain Mr. Satan makes his very first appearance.
Summary
At Kame House, Chi-Chi, Gohan and Krillin watch King Furry address the world: the army has been wiped out by Cell, and all the king can do is urge people to pray. Krillin bitterly notes that there is no Kami to pray to anymore.
Goku, meanwhile, is on King Kai's planet. His plan is simple: find a Namekian willing to become Earth's new Guardian so the Dragon Balls can return. King Kai locates the Namekians' new home, Goku locks on to their energy and arrives with Instant Transmission. The new Elder, Moori, welcomes him warmly and suggests Dende, who agrees at once. After a stop at King Kai's, the two reach Kami's Lookout, where Goku quickly fills in Piccolo, Trunks and Mr. Popo.
On television, the world martial arts champion announces that he will enter the Cell Games. In his view, Cell destroyed the army only thanks to tricks and explosives planted ahead of time. Goku picks up Gohan and Krillin, narrowly escaping another argument with Chi-Chi, and takes them to the Lookout for a reunion with Dende.
Dende explains that creating brand-new Dragon Balls would take a hundred days, but he can revive the old ones, which lie petrified around the world, by using the dragon statue Mr. Popo carved. At Krillin's request, the new Shenron will grant three wishes, although a mass resurrection will count as two. One spell in the Namekian language later, the balls are glowing again.
Goku drops by Capsule Corporation, where Bulma and Dr. Brief are repairing Android 16, grabs the radar and sets off. In a desert he has to whip up his own sandstorm to uncover a buried ball, then retrieves another from a herd of elephants. Vegeta meditates in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber, while Cell, motionless on his ring, wonders whether ten days of waiting was too generous.
Our take
This is a transitional episode, but one that leaves a lasting mark on the series. Dende becomes Earth's Guardian and still holds the job in Dragon Ball Super. Toriyama's choice to promote a character fans already loved, instead of inventing a new one, neatly closes the loop opened on Namek. Dende being a child hardly matters: he is the one who healed Gohan and Krillin back then.
The other debut matters even more. Mr. Satan arrives as a windbag who explains Cell's power away as "tricks," and the joke works precisely because viewers know the truth. Nobody in 1993 could have guessed how much room he would get in the Majin Buu saga.
As usual at this stage, the anime pads things out. In the manga, King Furry's speech plays out with Yamcha watching, not Chi-Chi and Gohan, and both Chi-Chi's scolding and the ball buried in the desert are Toei additions. The filler is light, though, and works as a breather before the tournament.
Trivia
- It adapts parts of manga chapters 393 and 394. Written by Hiroshi Toda and directed by Masahiro Hosoda, with animation direction by Tadayoshi Yamamuro, it drew a 21.0% share.
- The Dragon Balls had not been seen since episode 99, the Dragon Radar since episode 72.
- In the manga Goku hunts for the balls without Instant Transmission; here he hops from place to place even with no energy to lock on to.
- In Funimation's dub, Dende's explanation makes it sound as if Shenron simply grants two wishes, which later caused confusion in the Majin Buu saga.
Did you know? Dende as Earth's new Guardian had already appeared in the sixth Dragon Ball Z movie, released in theaters in March 1992, almost a year before this episode.