Episode 265 of Dragon Ball Z, first broadcast in Japan on May 24, 1995 and titled Majin Buu Transforms in Funimation's dub, flips the situation on its head. Super Buu talks Goten and Trunks into fusing again, but it is a trap: two pieces of his body creep through the rocks and swallow Gotenks and Piccolo. After absorbing them, the monster faces Gohan once more, and this time he is the one in control.
Summary
Super Buu taunts Goten and Trunks: he wants to settle their unfinished business, so they have to fuse again. The boys agree, perform the dance and Gotenks immediately powers up to Super Saiyan 3. Nobody notices that two lumps of pink goo have broken off Buu's back and are sliding along the ground through the rocks. Only Bee spots them, and the puppy tries in vain to get Mr. Satan's attention.
Just as Gotenks is about to charge, the two blobs suddenly spread out and engulf him and Piccolo. They return to Buu's body, which absorbs them and transforms: the antenna on his head grows longer, and with his new look comes strength and intelligence he never had before. Gohan is stunned.
The monster calmly lays out his plan. Ever since he sensed Gohan's power growing from afar, he had decided to absorb Gotenks to reclaim the top spot, and he went into hiding precisely to let the hour pass that Goten and Trunks needed before they could fuse again. Piccolo, on the other hand, was taken for his brains. Gohan asks why Buu did not simply absorb him instead, and the answer is almost insulting: having enormous power with nobody to fight would be no fun.
The battle resumes at a furious pace and at first seems even. After a pause, Buu tries to rattle Gohan with mind games, but Gohan does not take the bait: he is too well trained to fall for that. In the second round, though, fatigue starts to show and the monster takes over. On the Sacred World of the Kai, Goku and the two Kais watch with growing dread, and Elder Kai admits he never foresaw things going this way.
Our take
The Japanese title calls it Buu's "worst foul", and it is hard to find a better description. Until now the saga was a contest of strength; from this point it becomes a contest of cunning, and the monster has already won it. The plan is simple and ruthless: let your enemies put themselves back together, wait for the right moment, take them both. Buu choosing Piccolo for his intelligence also explains his new way of speaking, far colder and more calculating.
The bitterest irony concerns Gotenks. The warrior who was goofing around playing volleyball with Buu a few episodes earlier is absorbed at the peak of his strongest form without throwing a single punch. And the only one who sees the danger coming is a puppy nobody listens to, a small but effective anime addition.
For Gohan, this is the beginning of the slide. The hero who looked untouchable an episode earlier now finds himself chasing a stronger opponent, and the saga starts setting the stage for Goku's return.
Trivia
- It adapts chapter 499 from page four and the first seven pages of chapter 500. Written by Atsushi Maekawa and directed by Hidehiko Kadota from a storyboard by Yoshihiro Ueda, with Masayuki Uchiyama as animation director.
- Its 18.5% share is the highest among episodes 261 through 265.
- In the manga Gohan never lands a single blow on Buu after the absorption; in the anime the first round is even and Gohan only falters from exhaustion.
- Before the second round, Gohan and Buu strike the same stances Goku and Vegeta took at the start of their first battle.
- Despite the Funimation title, this is the episode where the dub calls the monster "Super Buu" for the first time.
Characters
- Gohan and Super Buu
- Goten, Trunks, Gotenks and Piccolo
- Mr. Satan and Bee
- Goku, Supreme Kai and Elder Kai