Episode 225 of Dragon Ball Z, first broadcast in Japan on April 27, 1994 and titled Eighteen Unmasks in Funimation's dub, brings the Mighty Mask caper to an end. Above the ring of the 25th World Martial Arts Tournament, Android 18 takes on the masked fighter, who proves far tougher than expected. When Goten and Trunks turn Super Saiyan inside the costume, she works out exactly who she is facing and ends it with one well-placed attack.
Summary
Inside Babidi's ship, Goku, Vegeta and Gohan wait for their next opponent with a nonchalance that leaves the Supreme Kai speechless. Dabura is still in the meditation room, wrapped in a globe of light and crackling electricity, and Babidi is delighted as he feels his power climb. In a brief flashback the wizard recalls the demon king slaughtering the people of a distant planet: the more evil his heart, the easier he is to control.
At the stadium, 18 and Mighty Mask fight in midair while Mr. Satan gapes from below. Inside the costume, though, the boys struggle to coordinate: Trunks, perched on Goten's shoulders, does all the work until he promises his friend a new toy in exchange for a few kicks. Mighty Mask lands some blows, but 18, cheered on by her daughter Marron, slams him into the stone ring twice. Both times the fighter gets back up, because in the crater Goten and Trunks swap places without anyone noticing. Master Roshi, meanwhile, watches closely and starts to suspect something.
Unable to win hand to hand, the boys decide to transform, sure the costume will hide everything. Instead Mighty Mask lights up with a golden glow, and Trunks fires an energy blast that 18 barely dodges and that explodes far outside the city. Now she understands. To keep anyone from getting hurt she decides to finish quickly, calls them by name and hurls a razor-sharp energy disc. Goten and Trunks dodge in opposite directions and the costume is sliced in two in front of the whole stadium.
Chi-Chi and Bulma recognize their sons with a shriek. The boys try to keep fighting barefaced, but the announcer disqualifies them: teaming up is against the rules. Goten and Trunks fly off with their mothers yelling after them. Back on the ship, the meditation room door finally opens and Dabura declares himself ready.
Our take
This is the funniest episode of the tournament arc, and one of the liveliest to look at. The anime greatly extends a fight that lasts a few pages in the manga, where the boys never land a hit on 18, and fills it with slapstick, craters and costume swaps. For once, the expansion adds something rather than diluting it.
The fan detail is the finishing move. The disc 18 uses to split Mighty Mask in half is the Destructo Disc, named as such (Kienzan) in Toei's own synopsis: the signature technique of Krillin. The Android who was once the Z Fighters' enemy ends the match with her husband's move while their daughter cheers from the stands. Her motive matters too: she is not out to win at any cost, she wants to stop two overpowered kids from hurting someone. Her showdown with Mr. Satan, now alone with her in the ring, is left for the next episode.
Trivia
- It adapts chapter 453 from page six to the end. Written by Hiroshi Toda and directed by Kazuhito Kikuchi, with Masahiro Shimanuki as animation director.
- It drew a 20.0% share in Japan.
- Dabura's meditation, Mighty Mask's successful hits, the place swaps, the brief barefaced scuffle before the disqualification and Chi-Chi and Bulma calling the boys back are anime additions.
- Here Goten and Trunks abandon the remains of the costume before fleeing, yet in the next episode they are seen taking it off again; in the manga they fly away still wearing the scraps.
- In Dragon Ball Kai, the fight gets an episode whose Japanese title closely echoes this one.
Characters
- Android 18, Mighty Mask (Goten and Trunks) and Mr. Satan
- The announcer, Killa and Jewel
- Chi-Chi, Bulma, Marron, Master Roshi, the Ox-King and Yamcha
- Goku, Vegeta, Gohan and the Supreme Kai
- Babidi and Dabura