Episode 215 of Dragon Ball Z, first broadcast in Japan on February 2, 1994 and titled Forfeit of Piccolo! in Funimation's dub, finally gets the adult tournament under way. The full Japanese title ends with "An Unheard-of No-Fight Forfeit", and that is exactly what happens. The first match is a formality for Krillin, but the second stuns everyone: Piccolo, one of the strongest fighters on Earth, steps into the ring against the stranger Shin, stares at him for a long time and withdraws without throwing a punch.
Summary
Before the start, Mr. Satan plays to the cameras with his usual bravado, until a reporter asks about his match with Android 18 and he realizes, only then, that he will be fighting a woman. In the contestants' room the mood is different. Piccolo stands tense in a corner, and Gohan wonders whether he should be worried about his own opponent, Kibito. Krillin jokes that Goku and Vegeta will be playing the final in the first round and offers to beat Mr. Satan himself, but Android 18 claims that privilege. In the stands, Videl's classmates cheer for her, while Chi-Chi and Bulma argue over who will win between Goku and Vegeta and Yamcha, trying to break it up, ends up on the floor.
The first match pits Krillin against Pintar, a hulk four or five times his size who mocks his height and shows off with tumbling routines for the crowd. Krillin does not flinch. When the giant condescendingly grants him a free first hit, he sends him out of the ring without breaking a sweat. Little Marron, worried about her dad, can breathe again.
Next up is Piccolo, entered as Ma Junior, against Shin. The announcer, who remembers him well, begs him not to wreck the arena again. The two face each other in silence for so long that the crowd grows restless. Then Piccolo senses an enormous energy, unlike anything he has ever felt, and announces that he forfeits. He has realized that Shin is no ordinary man, and Shin in turn perceives that this Namekian was once Earth's guardian. Back with his friends, Piccolo tells Goku that Shin's power is beyond imagination.
The third match is Videl against Spopovich. As Spopovich walks past Shin, the mysterious fighter senses a dark energy in him. The episode ends with the two of them heading for the ring.
Our take
Piccolo's forfeit is one of the most telling scenes in the whole saga precisely because almost nothing happens. Goku's longtime rival, the man who trained Gohan and faced Android 17 and Cell, stops in front of a short man with lavender skin and decides it is not worth trying. Toriyama builds Shin's authority without having him lift a finger: we measure his strength through the fear of someone we know well.
There is also a nice echo of the past. Piccolo returns to the tournament under the alias he used at the 23rd, when he was the heir of a demon king and reached the final against Goku; now, as Earth's former guardian, he is the first to recognize a god. The anime additions, from Mr. Satan's interview to the Chi-Chi and Bulma squabble, mostly delay the moment. The pace suffers a little, but this is also the last time we see the whole gang together and carefree before the tournament falls apart.
Trivia
- It adapts chapter 439. Written by Sumio Uetake and directed by Osamu Kasai, with Yūji Hakamada as animation director.
- It drew a 26.2% share in Japan.
- Mr. Satan's interview, Gohan's worries about facing Kibito, the Chi-Chi and Bulma argument and Goten sipping juice because it is stifling inside the Mighty Mask costume are anime additions.
- The announcer's plea not to destroy the arena recalls the 23rd tournament final, when Goku and Piccolo's battle devastated the venue. The announcer has been the same man for decades; see our page on the World Martial Arts Tournament.