Episode 278 of Dragon Ball Z, first broadcast in Japan on September 13, 1995 and titled True Saiyans Fight Alone in Funimation's dub, is the calm before the final battle. On the Sacred World of the Kai the survivors come to terms with the loss of Earth and find a way to undo it, while Kid Buu crosses the galaxy destroying planets. In the end it is Goku and Vegeta who call him to them.
Summary
Elder Kai confirms the worst: Earth is gone, and Gohan, Goten, Trunks and Piccolo with it. Mr. Satan, also known as Hercule, refuses to believe it. Convinced he is dreaming, he treats the old god like a crackpot, asks why the gods never stopped Buu and, sure he can fly, leaps off a hill and lands badly. Vegeta, meanwhile, blasts Goku for leaving the boys behind: Earth's Dragon Balls were destroyed with the planet.
Dende rekindles their hope: New Namek has its own Dragon Balls. Goku cannot get there with Instant Transmission because he cannot sense the Namekians' energy, but Kibito Kai can take them to any planet. Elder Kai frowns at the idea of using another world's Dragon Balls, so Goku tries to win him over with a promise involving Bulma, which sends Vegeta into a jealous rage. The argument stops when the crystal ball shows Kid Buu whole again in space.
The monster teleports from planet to planet, blowing each one up: he is hunting for the two Saiyans. At last he lands on Grand Kai's planet, where the dead warriors train. They take him for a newcomer and mock him; he answers by cutting a few of them down. Pikkon tears him apart with a single attack, but Buu re-forms, and Krillin and Yamcha try to stop him with no success. Kid Buu then charges an energy sphere to wipe the place out.
On the Sacred World of the Kai, Elder Kai suggests using the Potara earrings. Goku and Vegeta refuse and crush them. Then they power up to the maximum: Buu senses them, forgets about Grand Kai's planet and appears in front of them with a smirk.
Our take
Much of this episode is the anime's own invention. In the manga Kid Buu teleports straight to the Saiyans as soon as he re-forms; the planet-hopping and the stop at Grand Kai's planet push the fight back by a week. They do have one merit, though: they paint the enemy as an aimless force of nature who destroys out of boredom, and they give Krillin, Yamcha and Pikkon a moment in the spotlight.
The key scene is the refusal of the Potara, and Funimation's title captures it well. After Vegito, who had outclassed Super Buu, Goku and Vegeta choose to face the monster as Saiyans, with no shortcuts. It is pride, of course, but it is also a statement of intent: the finale of Z will not be won by a fusion.
After a tragedy like the one in Episode 277, Mr. Satan's gags and Vegeta's jealousy risk feeling out of place. Yet they say something: the Vegeta defending Bulma's honor is the same man who was raging over the boys' fate minutes earlier. The prince has a family, and he no longer hides it.
Trivia
- It adapts the first eight pages of chapter 509. Written by Hiroshi Toda and directed by Osamu Kasai, with Masayuki Uchiyama as animation director.
- Its 14.1% share is the lowest among Episodes 276 to 280.
- Buu's planet-to-planet hunt and the whole sequence on Grand Kai's planet are anime additions.
- Goku's bribe changes between versions: in the original Japanese it is far less innocent than in some English dubs.