Episode 273 of Dragon Ball Z, first broadcast in Japan on August 2, 1995 and titled The Innards of Buu in Funimation's dub, reveals Vegito's plan and immediately throws it off course. The fusion let itself be swallowed on purpose to free the absorbed fighters, but as soon as it drops its barrier inside Super Buu's body, it splits back into Goku and Vegeta. The Saiyan prince seizes the moment to destroy his Potara earring, and a trek through the monster's insides begins.
Summary
On the Sacred World of the Kai, Kibito Kai believes it is all over. The Elder Kai, however, notices a detail: after every absorption Buu changed his appearance, but not this time. On Earth the monster celebrates by tearing through a city, while Mr. Satan (Hercule) grabs Dende and begs him to do something, since he is Earth's guardian. Buu himself then notices that he has not changed and concludes that Vegito is just hard to digest.
Inside the monster, Vegito is intact, sealed in a barrier he raised a split second before being engulfed. The Elder Kai figures it out: he let himself be captured so he could find and free Gohan, Gotenks and Piccolo. But when Vegito lowers the barrier there is a flash, and the fusion breaks: Goku and Vegeta are flung in opposite directions. Neither can explain why, since the earrings were supposed to keep them together forever.
Vegeta wastes no time wondering. Relieved, he crushes his earring in his fist. Goku is furious, but the prince cuts him off: Buu could destroy everything at any moment, and this is no time to argue. Goku gives in and crushes his own.
The search gets messy fast. The spongy ground gives way and the two drop into Buu's stomach, piled with the sweets he has devoured; Goku does not notice the gastric juices eating at his legs until Vegeta yells at him. Dragged into a whirlpool of acid, they blast their way out. Further on, thousands of tiny green slimes swarm Goku, cover him and paralyze him. The ground shakes, and a giant worm rises up, ready to swallow him whole.
Our take
The question everyone asks is why the fusion came undone. This episode does not answer it: Goku and Vegeta are as baffled as we are. In the manga Goku ventures a guess, blaming the foul air inside Buu. Much later, Dragon Ball Super added a new rule: Potara fusion is permanent only when a Supreme Kai is involved, and otherwise it lasts an hour.
Vegeta's gesture says more than any explanation. For him Vegito was a price to pay, not an achievement, and the moment fate offers a way out he takes it without hesitation, even if it means giving up the strongest weapon they had. It is pride, sure, but also a choice to face Buu as a Saiyan and not as half of someone else.
From here the anime goes its own way. In the manga Vegeta finds Piccolo and the boys almost immediately; in the show the discovery is postponed and Buu's insides become a maze of stomachs, acid and creatures, part adventure film and part comedy. The nonstop bickering between a disgusted Vegeta and an all-too-relaxed Goku carries the detour well.
Trivia
- It adapts pages two to eight of chapter 506; the trip through the stomach is an anime addition. Written by Masashi Kubota and directed by Yoshihiro Ueda, with Masayuki Uchiyama as animation director.
- Its 12.1% share is the lowest of any Dragon Ball Z episode in Japan.
- Buu's rampage through the city and Mr. Satan shaking Dende are anime additions.
- In the Ocean dub, Vegeta grumbles that there is not a vegetable in sight among Buu's food.
Did you know? Dragon Ball Daima picks up the idea: Supreme Kai and Kibito say they split out of Kibito Kai by passing through Majin Buu's body.
Characters
- Vegito, Goku, Vegeta and Super Buu
- Kibito Kai and the Elder Kai
- Mr. Satan, Dende and Bee
- The slimes and the giant worm