Episode 290 of Dragon Ball Z, first broadcast in Japan on January 24, 1996 and titled Buu's Reincarnation in Funimation's dub, finally reveals the opponent Goku came back to the World Martial Arts Tournament for. His name is Uub, he is ten years old, he comes from a poor village on a southern island, and he is the reincarnation of Majin Buu. To face him right away, Goku has no qualms about rigging the draw.
Summary
Twelve fighters remain at the 28th World Martial Arts Tournament. Sparks fly before the draw: the towering Mō Kekko mocks little Pan, the flamboyant Otokosuki makes eyes at Trunks, and Nok taunts Vegeta, who knocks him out with a backhand before they ever set foot in the ring. Bra is thrilled; Bulma, less so.
When his turn comes to draw a number, Goku asks the good Buu to use his magic to pair him with a skinny, terrified boy named Uub. The kid has entered to win the prize money and buy food for his village. To a stunned Vegeta, Goku explains everything: ten years ago, as he destroyed Majin Buu, he wished for him to be reborn as a good person so they could fight again, and King Yemma must have heard him. Besides, just read the boy's name backwards. Piccolo and Dende, up in the stands, overhear it all.
The first match is Pan against Mō Kekko, a giant over two meters tall. The crowd objects and Mr. Satan fears for his granddaughter, but Pan drops him with a single kick and sends him flying out of the ring. Then come Goku and Uub, the bout Piccolo calls the real final of the tournament. Uub is frozen with fear, so Goku changes tactics to draw out his true power: he insults him, badmouths his mother and father and lands a kick. The boy, finally angry, charges at him.
Our take
Goku's wish from Episode 286 comes full circle here, and it is a remarkably elegant solution. The most destructive enemy in the series is not merely defeated: he is reborn as a boy fighting to feed his village, a motivation that recalls Nam at the 21st tournament in the original series. And the backwards-name gag miraculously survives every adaptation: Uub and Buu in English, Ub and Bu in Italian, Oob and Boo in Spanish.
The tournament itself is a showcase of scheming: Mr. Satan and Buu have a deal for the final, and Goku uses Buu's magic to fix the brackets. None of the heroes needs to win anymore, and the tournament becomes a pretext for something else. Even Goku's clumsy, almost embarrassing taunting comes from the manga: it is the least noble Goku imaginable, which is exactly why it is funny. The anime additions, from the bickering before the draw to Android 18 reminding Krillin she let Mr. Satan win, and Gohan and Videl cheering Pan on, build anticipation without stealing time from the main event.
Trivia
- It adapts chapter 518 from page eight to the end and the first eight pages of chapter 519. Written by Masashi Kubota and directed by Yoshihiro Ueda, with Yukio Ebisawa as animation director.
- It drew a 20.4% share, more than three points above each of the four previous episodes.
- In the manga, the announcer specifies that Mō Kekko stands 2.30 meters tall and lost to Buu in the semifinals of the previous tournament.
- In Z, Uub is voiced in Japanese by Megumi Urawa.
- Television airings of the English dub cut Otokosuki's scenes, and the uncut dub softened his lines to Trunks.