Episode 4 of Dragon Ball Z, first aired in Japan on May 17, 1989, is the series' first real fight. Goku and Piccolo throw themselves at Raditz, but the power gap is huge: they will need a secret technique, a trick and a lot of luck. In the end, though, the one who changes the game is the smallest person on the battlefield.
Summary
Goku admits to Piccolo that he is scared: for once, the idea of a super-strong opponent does not excite him at all. Before starting, he checks the crater holding Raditz's space pod and promises Gohan, locked inside and crying, that he will get him out soon. Then the two attack together, but Raditz blocks everything with ease and answers with energy blasts. Piccolo loses an arm.
While Bulma, Krillin and Roshi fly toward the battlefield, worried that Piccolo might switch sides, Piccolo reveals his ace in the hole: a new technique, the Special Beam Cannon, which he had been developing specifically to kill Goku. It works even with one arm, but it takes time to charge. It is up to Goku to keep Raditz busy.
Goku charges a Kamehameha, and Raditz's scouter registers a sudden jump in his power: these Earthlings can focus their strength into a single blow. The Saiyan blocks the attack and knocks Goku down, but meanwhile Piccolo's reading keeps climbing. The Special Beam Cannon fires and obliterates a mountain; Raditz dodges it by a hair, suffering only a wound to the shoulder.
Enraged, the Saiyan prepares to finish Piccolo, but Goku manages to grab his tail. Raditz collapses, drained, and immediately changes tactics: he begs his brother, swearing he will leave Earth and never hurt anyone again. Piccolo screams at Goku not to believe him, but Goku lets go. Raditz springs up, floors him with an elbow and starts crushing his chest underfoot. At home, Chi-Chi cooks dinner and finds one of Gohan's tests with a perfect score. Back on the battlefield, the father's screams awaken something: the pod cracks, then bursts apart, and Gohan emerges shaking with fury.
Our take
The episode crams three chapters of Akira Toriyama's manga, 200 through 202, into a single installment, and it shows: the pace is relentless, with every scene pushing the battle forward. Director Yoshihiro Ueda leans on the scouter readings, which here become a real storytelling tool: the audience watches the numbers climb along with Raditz and understands the danger before the blast is even fired.
Goku's naivety in falling for his brother's act may be frustrating, but it is true to the character built in the original series. Goku does not know how to hate, and Raditz exploits that without a second thought. Piccolo, who sees through the bluff instantly, speaks for the viewer.
The real twist, though, comes at the very end. Gohan has been introduced as a timid crybaby, as the Japanese title itself says, which is exactly why his outburst hits so hard. It is the first sign of a theme that runs through all of Dragon Ball Z: the hidden power of Goku's son, which wakes only through anger.
Trivia
- The episode drew a 19.5% ratings share in Japan, the saga's highest so far. It was written by Toshiki Inoue.
- The Special Beam Cannon, Makankōsappō in Japanese, debuts here and will become one of Piccolo's signature techniques.
- The 1996 English dub titled the episode Gohan's Hidden Powers; the 2005 redub called it Piccolo's Plan.
- The Italian title calls Piccolo "Junior", after Ma Junior, the alias he used at the 23rd World Martial Arts Tournament.
Did you know? Between shedding his weighted clothes in the previous episode and charging the Kamehameha here, Goku's scouter reading jumps from just over 400 to 925. It is the first time the series shows a power level rising and falling at will.