Episode 209 of Dragon Ball Z, first broadcast in Japan on December 8, 1993 and titled Camera Shy in Funimation's dub, closes the Great Saiyaman stretch with a double game of hide-and-seek. On one side, Videl's classmate Sharpner is determined to unmask the costumed hero; on the other, Goku and his friends have to get through the preliminaries of the 25th World Martial Arts Tournament without revealing how strong they are. Almost all of them manage it.
Summary
Sharpner has come to the island to cheer Videl on, and he never misses a chance to flirt with her. She ignores him completely, and when he catches her talking with the Great Saiyaman, jealousy takes over. Who is hiding behind those sunglasses? Sharpner swears he will find out and goes hunting for a photo of the hero's bare face.
Each attempt is clumsier than the last: a squirt of water in the face to make him remove his glasses, an ambush from above that misses, a grab at the shades with his bare hands. Gohan, more or less oblivious, gets away by a hair every time. In the end, with help from a little boy, Sharpner actually gets the shot, but his joy is short-lived: Piccolo, fed up with reporters and lenses, blows up every camera in the area in one go, Sharpner's included.
Meanwhile, Goku walks toward the competitors' area with his old friends. The tournament announcer recognizes him and greets him, delighted to see him after so many years. Then Goku notices the blonde woman next to Krillin and is floored to learn that Android 18 is now his wife and that the two have a daughter. His congratulations come with his usual simplicity.
In the fighters' hall, the officials explain the format: there are sixteen spots in the final bracket, one reserved for the reigning champion, and the other fifteen will go to whoever throws the hardest punch at a machine that measures striking power. To set an example, Mr. Satan steps up and scores 137 to thunderous applause. Goku, Krillin and Piccolo barely tap the machine and still beat the champion by a wide margin; Android 18 posts a 774 that leaves the staff speechless. Vegeta, on the other hand, has no intention of holding back: his punch reduces the machine to scrap.
Our take
The chapter being adapted was short, and the anime pads it out with Sharpner's hunt for the Great Saiyaman. It is openly filler, built as a string of slapstick gags, but it does give some room to a character who is little more than an extra in the manga. Having Gohan's secret saved by Piccolo, who has no idea what Sharpner is up to, is a neat bit of plotting.
The best part, though, is the punching machine, one of the most famous gags of the whole saga. Mr. Satan's 137, hailed as a superhuman feat, captures in a single number the gulf between ordinary humans and the Z Fighters. And Vegeta's move, throwing all caution away, says everything about his state of mind: he came to fight Goku, not to play hide-and-seek.
Trivia
- It adapts chapter 431 of the manga. Written by Takao Koyama and directed by Yoshihiro Ueda, with Yūji Hakamada as animation director.
- It earned a 22.8% share in Japan.
- All of Sharpner's scenes are anime additions: in the manga he shows no interest in Videl and only makes a brief appearance at the tournament.
- The number Android 18 draws for the punching machine test is, fittingly, 18.
- The full rules of the World Martial Arts Tournament are on our dedicated page.
Did you know? When Sharpner tries to drop onto the Great Saiyaman from above, he misses because Gohan has bent down to pick up a frog: it is Captain Ginyu, stuck in the animal's body ever since the battle on Namek.