Episode 279 of Dragon Ball Z, first broadcast in Japan on September 20, 1995 and titled Battle for the Universe Begins in Funimation's dub, finally opens the fight on the Sacred World of the Kai. First, though, someone has to decide who goes first, and the two strongest Saiyans in the universe settle it like a pair of kids: with a game of rock-paper-scissors. What follows is a steady climb that takes Goku all the way to Super Saiyan 3 against Kid Buu.
Summary
Goku asks Kibito Kai and Elder Kai to leave, since the fight could tear everything apart. The two gods and Dende teleport to a distant planet with the crystal ball so they can follow the battle, but in their hurry they leave behind Mr. Satan (Hercule), who was nowhere to be found, and his puppy Bee. From their refuge, Elder Kai angrily wonders why the two Saiyans will not fight together. The answer is pride: a two-on-one is as unthinkable to them as fusing.
Goku and Vegeta play rock-paper-scissors for the first round: Goku throws rock, Vegeta scissors. Kid Buu, tired of waiting, has fallen asleep in the meantime. Goku thinks back on Earth exploding and turns Super Saiyan 2, while Vegeta steps aside to watch.
The duel begins. Goku hits hard, but Buu soaks it up, warps his body, makes bizarre noises and taunts him while his power climbs to its peak. Mr. Satan, hiding with Bee, cheers for Goku without really understanding what he is watching; on Grand Kai's planet, the dead warriors follow the fight through King Kai and West Kai. Buu hurls an energy sphere at the ground: Goku deflects it, but the monster steers it back and slams it into the planet, whose surface is mangled by the shock waves. Goku realizes the second level is not enough and transforms into a Super Saiyan 3.
Our take
Rock-paper-scissors is one of those touches only Dragon Ball can get away with: the fate of the universe decided by a playground game. It works because it tells you everything about the two characters without a word of explanation. Neither will accept fighting as a pair, and the game is the only way to settle who goes first without bruising anyone's pride. Goku winning also lays the groundwork for what Vegeta will admit in the next episode.
Kid Buu, meanwhile, emerges as the hardest opponent to read in the whole series. He has no strategy, no pride and barely speaks: he falls asleep while his enemies argue, pulls faces, twists himself into knots and then strikes with terrifying force. He is the exact opposite of the two Saiyans, who fight to test themselves, and the direction plays on the contrast between Goku's focus and the monster's childish madness.
The manga explains the pacing: there Goku turns Super Saiyan 3 right away and Buu wakes up with a start, all in just five pages. The anime adds a whole Super Saiyan 2 phase, which stretches things out but builds a genuine escalation. Leaving Mr. Satan on the planet is no throwaway detail either: in a few episodes, he will be the one standing face to face with Kid Buu.
Trivia
- It adapts pages 9 to 13 of chapter 509. Written by Hiroshi Toda and directed by Shigeyasu Yamauchi, with Keisuke Masunaga as animation director.
- Its 17.1% share is the highest among Episodes 276 to 280.
- In the manga Bee leaves with Kibito Kai, Elder Kai and Dende; in the anime he stays with Mr. Satan.
- The spectators on Grand Kai's planet are an anime addition.
Characters
- Goku, Vegeta and Kid Buu
- Mr. Satan and Bee
- Kibito Kai, Elder Kai and Dende
- King Kai, West Kai and the warriors on Grand Kai's planet