Episode 199 of Dragon Ball Z, first broadcast in Japan on September 1, 1993 and titled Goku vs. Pikkon in Funimation's dub, wraps up the Other World Tournament with the final between Super Saiyan Goku and Pikkon, and with a verdict nobody sees coming. In its last minutes the series jumps forward seven years to show a teenage Gohan getting ready for his first day of school: the doorway into the Majin Buu arc.
Summary
Goku's transformation leaves everyone speechless, and King Kai gloats to West Kai that the planet at stake is as good as his. Goku opens with a lightning-fast Kamehameha and a barrage of energy blasts, but Pikkon, free of his weights, dodges every one and reappears standing on one of the moons circling the arena. Then he unleashes his Hyper Tornado, spinning until a vortex sucks Goku in, batters him from every side and covers him in cuts. Goku gathers his strength, steadies himself inside the whirlwind and flings it out into space.
Goku then surprises his rival with a Kaio-ken, called "Super Kaio-ken" in the Japanese version, and smashes him into a moon. Pikkon recovers quickly and strikes back, and the two end up facing each other, exhausted. Meanwhile East Kai reminds the Grand Kai that he promised to train the winner: in all the excitement, he had forgotten.
Pikkon decides to end it with his strongest technique, the Thunder Flash, a horizontal pillar of fire that slams into Goku and leaves him in a crater at the edge of the ring. Goku gets back up and is hit a second time. The fight climbs so high that only the Grand Kai can follow it, and the two, spinning out of control, bounce off the arena's ceiling before resuming close combat. When Pikkon readies a third Thunder Flash, Goku sees his opening: he uses Instant Transmission to appear behind him and blasts him point-blank with a Kamehameha, sending him crashing into the stands.
Goku helps his rival up and explains that he lost because he used the same move three times. The two promise each other a rematch. Then the Grand Kai steps in: both fighters touched the ceiling, which counts as leaving the ring, so both are disqualified. The training? Maybe in two or three hundred years. Secretly, the old man is relieved: he has been slacking off and doubts he could keep up with two students like these.
Seven years pass. On Earth, Chi-Chi packs lunch for a grown-up Gohan, who until now has studied on his own and by correspondence, and who sets off on the Flying Nimbus for his first day at a school in Satan City.
Our take
A strong final, perhaps the best of the fights the anime invented for Goku. The Thunder Flash feels like a genuine finishing move, and the win comes through brains: Goku watches, learns and strikes at the weak spot, just as he always does when it matters. The return of the Kaio-ken, perhaps a nod to King Kai, in whose "honor" the tournament is held, is a small gift for longtime fans.
The disqualification is a very Dragon Ball joke: just like in his first two World Martial Arts Tournaments, Goku does not win. But what stays with you is the last minute. Gohan on the Nimbus, Chi-Chi at the door, the narrator introducing his new life as a student: anyone waiting for the next arc could tell that Gohan was ready to step into his father's shoes. The next episode picks up right there.
Trivia
- It is a fully anime-original episode, written by Aya Matsui and directed by Hiroki Shibata, with Naoki Miyahara as animation director. Its 23.9% share is the highest of the five tournament episodes.
- It is the last episode to use the original opening and ending animations, set to Cha-La Head-Cha-La and Detekoi Tobikiri Zenkai Power!.
- Robotoriyama, the little robot Akira Toriyama used as his self-portrait, can be spotted in the crowd.
- Goku touches the ceiling first: strictly speaking, as Kanzenshuu points out, Pikkon could have been declared the winner.
- Flashbacks aside, the Flying Nimbus had not been seen since episode 46.