Episode 247 of Dragon Ball Z, first broadcast in Japan on November 23, 1994 as "Absurdly Awful-Looking!? The Special Training Transformation Pose" and titled The Fusion Dance in Funimation's dub, swings between two very different moods. On one side, Majin Buu, free of Babidi, flattens whole cities for fun; on the other, Goku, with half an hour of life on Earth left, starts teaching Goten and Trunks the technique meant to save the world. Too bad the fusion pose looks, as the Japanese title warns, absolutely ridiculous.
Summary
Buu drops Babidi's headless body and vaporizes it with an energy blast. With nobody left to boss him around, the pink demon flies from city to city destroying whatever catches his eye, and a military helicopter that tries to attack him comes to a swift end. During a lull, he tries to impress a girl by reshaping his face into that of a celebrity from a magazine.
At Kami's Lookout, Fortuneteller Baba brings bad news: going Super Saiyan 3 burned through almost all of Goku's borrowed time, and he has just thirty minutes left. Piccolo asks him to give his regards to Gohan in the Other World and apologizes for failing to protect him. Then he asks whether Goku could have beaten Buu. Goku is not sure, but admits he did not want to settle things alone: he wants the Earth to have defenders of its own once he is gone.
While they wait for Trunks, Goten kills time sparring with Krillin. On the Supreme Kai's world, Gohan keeps grinding away with the Z Sword under the eyes of the Supreme Kai and Kibito. Once Trunks lands with the radar, the lesson can finally begin.
Goku starts with the basics: the two boys must bring their power levels into line, both in base form and as Super Saiyans. Then he shows them the trickiest part of the Fusion Dance: a series of poses performed in perfect mirror image. Goten and Trunks watch in horror, and even the grown-ups seem unconvinced that such moves could create a warrior capable of stopping Buu.
Our take
It is a transitional episode, but it says a lot about where the saga is heading. Goku's answer to Piccolo is the heart of it: after the Cell Games, where he stepped aside for Gohan, he makes it clear again that the Earth's future cannot rest on a dead man out on day release. Refusing to win alone is his way of being responsible.
The comic counterpoint works because it is pure Toriyama: the decisive technique is also the most embarrassing to perform, and the boys' disgust lays the groundwork for Gotenks, a hugely powerful fighter who is also an incorrigible clown. In the background, Buu shows his most unsettling side. He is not evil in the classic sense; he destroys the way a child breaks toys, without hatred and without limits. Evil Buu, the truly ruthless one, has yet to be born, and the series will only get there later on.
Trivia
- It adapts chapter 476 and the first three pages of chapter 477. Written by Hiroshi Toda and directed by Shigeyasu Yamauchi, with Keisuke Masunaga as animation director.
- Its 17.9% ratings share is the lowest among episodes 241 to 250.
- Goten's sparring session with Krillin and the helicopter Buu destroys are anime additions. In the manga, Goku and Piccolo's conversation also comes before Gohan's sword training scene, while the anime reverses the order.
Did you know? Counting the 153 episodes of the original Dragon Ball, this is the 400th episode of the animated saga.