Episode 34 of Dragon Ball Z, first broadcast in Japan on January 31, 1990 and known in Funimation's dub as Krillin's Offensive, is the one where Krillin throws the Spirit Bomb. One shot, Goku's last energy, and a target that moves far too fast. Just when it seems to be over, Vegeta gets up yet again.
Summary
As Gohan and Vegeta chase each other at blinding speed, Krillin holds the ball of energy aloft and waits for the right moment. Gohan fires a Masenko, Vegeta evades it and answers with a hail of blasts. The target never stays still. Then King Kai speaks to Krillin from his planet: he must not aim with his eyes but sense Vegeta and let instinct tell him when to throw. The hopes of the entire planet, he reminds him, rest on his shoulders.
At Kame House, Chi-Chi cheers for her son, then breaks down and sobs in the lap of her father, the Ox-King, while Fortuneteller Baba struggles to follow the movements on her crystal ball.
Vegeta slams Gohan into a rock and rushes in for the kill. It is the perfect moment, but just as Krillin is about to throw, Yajirobe yells at him to hurry up and draws the Saiyan's attention. The Spirit Bomb flies, Vegeta leaps and dodges it. At that very instant Baba's crystal ball explodes, leaving everyone at Kame House in the dark. Goku tells Gohan telepathically to bounce the sphere back: the Spirit Bomb does not harm the pure of heart. Gohan reaches out, deflects it upward and hits Vegeta square on, sending him into the sky.
At Kame House, Bulma decides to fly Chi-Chi to the battlefield in her plane. Master Roshi joins them along with, to everyone's surprise, Korin, whom Bulma mistakes for an ordinary cat. On the battlefield, Vegeta's body crashes down near the three fighters. Yajirobe gloats and Krillin is already thinking about digging him a grave, but Vegeta wakes up, injures Krillin and releases all his remaining energy in an explosion. The three survive. Staggering, Vegeta approaches Gohan to finish him, and freezes: the boy's tail has grown back, and the artificial moon is still in the sky.
Our take
The Spirit Bomb is Dragon Ball's most "collective" technique: borrowed energy, not owned. Having Krillin throw it instead of Goku is a lovely choice, because it turns the final attack into a team effort. And the idea that the sphere does not harm the pure of heart lets Gohan become decisive once again.
Toriyama does not hand out an easy victory, though. Vegeta survives everything, and that resilience is exactly what makes him memorable. Gohan's regrown tail is the perfect twist: the very weapon Vegeta used against Goku can now turn against him.
The anime adds several Kame House moments, from the exploding crystal ball to the plane trip with Korin, offended at being compared to a house cat. They are comic breathers that ease the tension before the last episode of the saga.
Trivia
- In the Japanese version, Gohan mistakenly shouts "Kamehameha" while firing his Masenko; Funimation's dub corrects the line.
- When Vegeta wakes up, the dubs have Krillin insult his face; in the Japanese version Krillin talks about digging a grave and Vegeta retorts that it will be for them.
- With a 23.4% ratings share it is one of the saga's most-watched episodes in Japan. It adapts parts of chapters 237 and 239 and all of 238. It was written by Takao Koyama and directed by Minoru Okazaki.
Did you know? This is the last episode in which Baba is voiced by Junpei Takiguchi, a male actor. From the Cell Saga onward the role passes to Mayumi Tanaka, who is also Krillin's Japanese voice.