In the third episode of Dragon Ball Z, All Right! This is the Strongest Combo in the World!, first aired in Japan on May 10, 1989, something no fan of the original series would have predicted happens: Goku and Piccolo fight on the same side. Raditz has kidnapped Gohan, and the only way to get him back is to team up with the old archenemy. The episode sets up the fight and ends with news that chills them both.
Summary
Raditz repeats his ultimatum: a hundred dead Earthlings by tomorrow, or Gohan will not come back. He adds that Earth is doomed anyway, since he and the two other Saiyans expect to clear it out in a month. Then he flies off with the crying boy. Goku wants to give chase immediately, but Roshi and the others hold him back: he would only get himself killed.
Thinking it over, Goku remembers the Saiyan weak spot: squeeze the tail and all their strength drains away. But someone has to keep Raditz busy. Krillin and Roshi volunteer, even though both have already died once and Shenron cannot bring them back again; Yamcha and Tien are nowhere to be found. Meanwhile, Bulma's Dragon Radar tracks Gohan through the Four-Star Ball on his hat.
At that moment Piccolo shows up. He has already met Raditz and knows that neither of them can win alone, but together they might. He is not doing it out of kindness: the Saiyan stands in the way of his plans for world conquest, and Goku is next on the list. Goku agrees, takes the radar and leaves on the Flying Nimbus, with Piccolo following in flight.
Raditz, meanwhile, has locked Gohan inside his space pod. His scouter picks up a power level of 710 coming from it, and he dismisses it as a malfunction. Shortly after, he detects two powers approaching: Goku and Piccolo. Before fighting, Piccolo removes his weighted cape and turban, Goku sheds his weighted clothing, and their readings rise. It is not enough. Raditz gets behind them with frightening speed and, to top it off, reveals that the other two Saiyans are far stronger than he is.
Our take
The alliance between Goku and Piccolo is the heart of the episode, and the writing makes it believable. Piccolo does not suddenly change his nature: he is arrogant, makes it clear that working together turns his stomach, and spells out that the truce ends with Raditz. And yet something cracks. It is the first step on a path that will turn him, within this very saga, into one of the most beloved characters in the series.
The adaptation of chapters 198 and 199 of Akira Toriyama's manga is faithful and keeps the comic's brisk pace. The weighted-clothing scene is a small nod to Master Roshi's training in the original series, when Goku and Krillin trained with turtle shells on their backs.
The ending plays with the scale of the threat. The scouter had already turned strength into numbers; here we learn that the highest number seen so far is not even the highest one on its way. The series will reuse the trick many times, but here it still feels fresh.
Trivia
- The episode restates a key rule: Shenron cannot grant the same wish twice, so anyone who has already been revived cannot be brought back a second time.
- In Japan the episode drew a 16.2% ratings share. It was written by Katsuyuki Sumisawa and directed by Kazuhisa Takenouchi.
- The 1996 English dub called it The World's Strongest Team; the uncut 2005 redub went with Unlikely Alliance.
- The triumphant original title, roughly "Hooray! This is the strongest duo on Earth!", is contradicted by the episode's final minutes.
Did you know? The 710 reading that Raditz writes off as a glitch comes from Gohan, locked in the pod: a four-year-old who, for a moment, outclasses both his father and Piccolo.