Episode 187 of Dragon Ball Z, first broadcast in Japan on May 26, 1993 and titled Cell's Break Down in Funimation's dub (Cell's Mighty Breakdown on its first Toonami airing), is where Cell loses his perfection in the most literal sense. Gohan dominates him, overpowers his strongest Kamehameha and, with a kick to the stomach, makes him spit out Android 18. It is also the episode in which the boy chooses not to end the fight, a choice he will pay for dearly.
Summary
Wounded and furious, Cell throws himself at Gohan again, but the boy blocks every blow and kicks him back into the dirt. The monster then tries techniques stolen from the other fighters. He hurls Destructo Discs, which Gohan catches in midair as Krillin looks on in disbelief, then a Special Beam Cannon that is swatted aside, and finally a barrage of energy blasts the boy simply ignores.
Nearby, Mr. Satan announces that he will make Gohan his number one student: the kid's style is still sloppy, he claims, and would improve under his guidance. Meanwhile the narrator reveals that Cell now regrets having awakened the boy's power.
The monster flies up and charges a full-power Kamehameha. If Gohan dodges, the Earth will be destroyed; if he takes it, he will die. Gohan does neither and fires a Kamehameha of his own. The two beams collide and shake the valley, then the boy's blast overwhelms Cell's and hurls him into the sky. The monster survives, but without an arm and both legs. For the first time since becoming a Super Saiyan 2, Gohan smiles.
Goku remembers their training in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber: after an exhausting bout, Gohan, back in his base form, stood up wrapped in a golden aura crackling with lightning, with a power that frightened even his father, before collapsing.
Piccolo warns that Cell can regenerate, and Goku shouts at his son to finish him now. Gohan refuses: he wants the monster to suffer more. Cell rebuilds his body and, blind with rage, bulks up his muscles to an enormous size, forgetting it is the same mistake he mocked Trunks for. Slower now, he cannot touch the boy, who drives a kick into his stomach. Cell staggers, doubles over, and out of his mouth comes Android 18, intact and unconscious. Without her, what will remain of his perfect form?
Our take
This is the peak of Gohan's dominance and, at the same time, the start of his fall. The Kamehameha that drives back Cell's is pure satisfaction: the son truly uses his father's technique for the first time, and uses it to save the planet. Then comes that smile, and the tone shifts completely.
Gohan's arrogance is the heart of the saga, and the story stages it without excuses. The boy watched Android 16 die and saw his friends beaten down, and the rage that transformed him has not faded: it has become a desire for revenge, for making Cell pay. Goku, who bet everything on his son, shouts in vain. It is a dynamic that makes Gohan more human than many invincible heroes, and it is why his final victory will come at a price.
The training flashback is an anime addition, and one of the most effective: it shows that Gohan's hidden power had already surfaced for a moment, which explains Goku's faith in him. Mr. Satan's gags are less necessary, but by now they are a ritual of the saga.
Trivia
- It adapts chapter 410 and the first ten pages of chapter 411. Written by Katsuyuki Sumisawa and directed by Kazuhito Kikuchi, with Masahiro Shimanuki as animation supervisor, it drew a 20.1% share.
- It is the first time Gohan uses the Kamehameha. In the manga Cell regurgitates Android 18 after a kick to the head; in the anime there are two kicks, the last to the stomach.
- Apart from the Trunks TV special, Android 18 had not appeared since episode 159.
Did you know? The edited American versions removed the shot of Cell vomiting up Android 18, cutting instead to Gohan smirking while the monster screams off-screen.