Episode 286 of Dragon Ball Z, first broadcast in Japan on December 13, 1995 and titled Spirit Bomb Triumphant in Funimation's dub, ends the longest battle in the series. The Spirit Bomb is ready, but Vegeta is lying right next to the target and Goku is running on empty. It takes an act of courage from Mr. Satan, Porunga's last wish and a parting word that will shape the ending of Z.
Summary
On the Sacred World of the Kai, Goku holds a colossal sphere of energy above his head but cannot throw it: Vegeta, spent after buying him time, is down beside the enemy. Kid Buu grasps the situation, plants a foot on the Saiyan prince and pelts Goku with ever larger blasts. The deadlock is broken by the good Buu, who wakes up, rams his evil double headfirst and pins him just long enough for Mr. Satan, known as Hercule in the dub, to run in and haul Vegeta away. Goku calls him the true savior of the world.
The Spirit Bomb flies, but Buu stops it with a Kamehameha and Goku has no strength left to push. Vegeta tells Mr. Satan to ask the people of Earth for more energy, but the champion refuses: King Kai warns that the exhausted crowd could die from it. That is when Vegeta remembers there is still one wish left on New Namek, and Dende asks Porunga to restore all of Goku's strength.
Meanwhile Gohan, Piccolo, Goten and Trunks reach the Lookout and reunite with their families, while in Hell Frieza, King Cold, Babidi and the other villains follow the fight. Back at full power, Goku turns Super Saiyan, halts the sphere Buu had been forcing back at him and drives it home. Before the final push he speaks to his enemy: he was incredible, and next time he should be reborn as a good person so the two of them can fight one-on-one again. Majin Buu is obliterated down to the last cell. Goku powers down and gives Vegeta a thumbs-up, which the prince returns.
Our take
The best thing about this episode is that the victory belongs to a team, and the unlikeliest team imaginable. The good Buu, born from the same creature that wiped out the Earth, throws himself at his evil half. Mr. Satan, who has spent the whole saga fooling the world, performs the first truly heroic act of his life with no camera rolling. And Vegeta, reduced to dead weight, is the one who finds the answer.
The anime shifts a few things from the manga. In chapter 516 Mr. Satan simply grabs Vegeta while Buu is not looking, with no help from the good Buu, and the idea of using the last wish comes from Dende. The plea for more energy and the villains watching from the afterlife are additions too. They stretch the tension, but they give the good Buu and Vegeta a clearer share of the win.
The heart of it is Goku's farewell. He does not hate Buu; he respects him, and his hope that Buu will come back as a good person is both an act of mercy and a fighter's wish, because he wants another match. It is a line spoken in the middle of an explosion, yet it is the seed of the whole ending: ten years later that wish will have a name and a face.
Trivia
- It adapts all of chapter 516 and the first page of chapter 517. Written by Atsushi Maekawa and directed by Takahiro Imamura, with Yūji Hakamada as animation director.
- It drew a 17.0% share.
- The good Buu's intervention, Vegeta's demand for more energy, Gohan's group arriving at the Lookout and the villains watching from Hell are all anime additions.
- The thumbs-up between Goku and Vegeta, on the other hand, comes straight from the manga, where it closes chapter 516.