Episode 195 of Dragon Ball Z, first broadcast in Japan on July 28, 1993 and titled Warriors of the Dead in Funimation's dub, kicks off the short Other World Tournament arc, five episodes made up entirely by the anime. Goku, who died during the Cell Games, learns that the afterlife is packed with formidable fighters and meets the man who will become his rival there: Pikkon, champion of the West Galaxy.
Summary
On Snake Way, Goku can barely sit still. King Kai, now wearing a halo after Cell blew up his planet, explains how the cosmos is organized: each of the four galaxies has its own Kai, and above them all sits the Grand Kai, a martial arts enthusiast who lets the most righteous fighters keep their bodies and train on his planet. Goku dashes off, nearly knocks his master off the road, runs back to ask for directions, and finally loses patience: he grabs King Kai, Bubbles and Gregory and teleports them to King Yemma's desk.
From there, a rickety old plane carries them to the Grand Kai's planet. Goku finds it smaller than he imagined, until he spots dozens of warriors sparring in the courtyard. King Kai greets two former students he has not seen in 2,300 years, then gets completely sidetracked by a vintage car parked outside the palace.
West Kai shows up, laughs at his rival's halo and starts arguing over whose student is stronger. His is Pikkon, a tall, quiet fighter. Before the two can settle it, the Grand Kai appears in a burst of light and smoke: a casually dressed old man carrying a boombox. He has a problem. Cell, freshly arrived in Hell, has found Frieza, and the two are tearing the place apart. Pikkon heads off immediately, and Goku tags along without asking anyone.
In Hell, the ogre guards have fallen into the hands of Cell, Frieza, King Cold and four members of the Ginyu Force. Goku saves one ogre from a mountain of spikes and disposes of the Ginyu Force with ease. Cell charges in, but Pikkon knocks him into the Blood Pond, drops him and Frieza with a single blow each and then, spinning in place, sends the whole gang flying into the spikes. Soon the villains are locked in a cell. Pikkon, for the first time, smiles at Goku.
Our take
This is a transitional episode and it knows it: its job is to introduce a whole new world, and it does so with a light touch. A Grand Kai with a boombox, King Kai swooning over a car, a plane falling to pieces: after months of the Cell Games, the mood lightens all at once, and it is welcome.
The real treat is Hell. Seeing Frieza and Cell in the same shot is a gift to anyone who has followed the series from the start, and there is something funny about the most feared villains in the show being handled like troublemakers to be cleared out in an afternoon. Pikkon beats them without breaking a sweat, which is the anime's way of telling us who the new yardstick is. For Goku it is the best news imaginable: death is not the end of his training, it is a fresh start.
Trivia
- It is a fully anime-original episode, written by Aya Matsui and directed by Mitsuo Hashimoto, with Keisuke Masunaga as animation director. It drew a 22.5% share in Japan.
- The preview at the end of episode 194 showed Goku fighting in Hell as a Super Saiyan. In the broadcast version he stays in base form, with spikier hair and a yellow aura, apparently because the staff chose to keep the transformation hidden from Pikkon until the final.
- Frieza and King Cold had not appeared since episode 121, and the Ginyu Force members since episode 95.
- Among the fighters on the Grand Kai's planet are creatures resembling the Shamoians from Broly – The Legendary Super Saiyan and the Kanassans from the Bardock TV special.
- Pikkon's Japanese name, Paikuhan, is a food pun: paikū means pork ribs and han means rice. Most of the tournament fighters are named after Asian dishes or their own looks.
- Funimation's dub premiered on Cartoon Network on September 10, 2001.
Characters
- Goku, King Kai, Bubbles and Gregory
- Pikkon, the Grand Kai and West Kai
- King Yemma and the ogres of Other World
- Cell, Frieza, King Cold and the Ginyu Force