Episode 231 of Dragon Ball Z, first broadcast in Japan on June 29, 1994 and titled Magic Ball of Buu in Funimation's dub, is the final countdown before the awakening. As Goku and Majin Vegeta keep trading blows with neither gaining ground, the Saiyan prince explains why he let Babidi take control of him. Meanwhile, Majin Buu's cocoon fills up with energy.
Summary
Gohan and the Supreme Kai reach the bottom of Babidi's spaceship, determined to stop the monster's rebirth. There they find the huge sealed ball, and Babidi and Dabura step out from behind it. The wizard uses his magic to move everyone outside, cocoon included. On the cliffside, Gohan spots the stone figures of Piccolo and Krillin, petrified by Dabura's spit. The matchups are set: Gohan against the Demon King, the Supreme Kai against Babidi.
Far away, Vegeta explains himself to Goku. Watching the match against Yakon, he realized that all his training had not narrowed the gap between them. He had seen what Babidi's magic did for Yamu and Spopovich and wanted that power for himself; he also wanted the wizard to reawaken the cruelty that years of quiet life on Earth had put to sleep. A wife, a son, a home: he now calls them petty attachments and claims he wants to be free of them. Goku does not buy it, and the fight resumes.
Gohan powers up and readies himself, thinking back to what his father told him during the Cell battle. Before the clash can start, though, Babidi checks his energy meter: the needle is maxed out. The duel between the two Saiyans has supplied the final push, and the cocoon begins to pulse and vent steam. The Supreme Kai is frozen with fear.
Elsewhere, Goten and Trunks fly toward the biggest energy on the planet, while back at the tournament grounds Mr. Satan holds court with reporters. On the battlefield, Goku and Vegeta keep cancelling each other out.
Our take
The heart of the episode is Vegeta's speech. For years we watched him soften without anyone saying it out loud; here he is the one listing everything that ties him to Earth, Bulma and Trunks included, at the very moment he swears he wants to erase it. It is a backwards confession: to justify his pact with Babidi, Vegeta admits that he has changed.
The weak spot is pacing. The manga wraps all of this up in a single chapter, while the anime stretches it with an extended duel, including a Final Flash that drives Goku into the sea, and some lighter interludes. Mr. Satan bragging to the press about his win over Android 18 and losing his towel in front of them earns a smile, but it breaks the tension at the worst moment. Viewers who prefer the manga's pace can find the same story, leaner, in Dragon Ball Kai.
The energy meter is a sharp idea: the power that wakes Buu comes from the very two Saiyans who should have stopped him. Babidi's plan succeeds thanks to Vegeta's pride, an irony the saga will make everyone pay for.
Trivia
- The full literal translation of the Japanese title is "The Seal is Broken! Out Comes the Vicious Majin Buu!!".
- It adapts chapter 459 of the manga. Written by Hiroshi Toda and directed by Osamu Kasai, with Kazuya Hisada as animation director.
- It drew a 21.6% share in Japan.
- Mr. Satan's interview, the Final Flash that pushes Goku into the water and Trunks suggesting to Goten, mid-flight, that they just go home are all anime additions.
- In the manga, Goku answers Vegeta's words with a grim smirk; in the anime he listens with a resigned frown.
Did you know? In the original Japanese broadcast, half of the next-episode preview was given over to a ticket lottery for the movie Bio-Broly, which opened on July 9, 1994. The Dragon Box release uses the rerun preview instead.