Episode 65 of Dragon Ball Z, first broadcast in Japan on October 31, 1990 and titled Let the Battle Begin in Funimation's uncut dub, delivers what fans had been waiting on for almost twenty episodes: at long last, Goku arrives on Namek. Getting there hurts, though. Gohan faces Recoome alone, and Frieza, aboard his ship, discovers that gathering the Dragon Balls is not enough to make a wish.
Summary
Enraged by what Recoome did to Krillin, Gohan powers up and attacks. His blows leave no mark, and the full-strength Masenko he fires fizzles out in the giant's hand, leaving it barely singed. Burter, eyeing his scouter, notes that the boy's power briefly topped 20,000. Then Recoome goes on the offensive and the fight becomes a beating.
Back on Earth, at Capsule Corporation, Chi-Chi senses her son is in danger. Nobody can calm her down: she climbs into the new spaceship built by Dr. Brief and tries to take off for Namek, but the engine fails and the ship crashes back to the ground.
Captain Ginyu delivers the Dragon Balls to Frieza, breaks into his dance of joy and is cut short by his boss, who is eager to become immortal. Nothing happens. Frieza then recalls the words of an elderly Namekian: even with all seven balls, he would never get his wish. There must be a secret. His scouter picks up three Namekians still alive, and Frieza decides to go himself, leaving Ginyu to guard the Dragon Balls. Nail, who had been flying toward the battle, senses the danger and turns back to protect Grand Elder Guru.
Gohan, meanwhile, keeps getting up, again and again, because he knows the others are counting on him. Recoome answers with a barrage of attacks and finally a kick that snaps the boy's neck. Gohan collapses, near death. On Earth, Chi-Chi comes to after the crash and breaks down thinking of her son. And at that very moment, not far from the battlefield, Goku's ship touches down.
Our take
The episode is built to arrive at the last possible minute, and it does so with real craft. Gohan's beating is one of the harshest moments of the saga, and the direction spares the viewer nothing: every time the boy gets back up, hope rises and is immediately crushed. So when the ship finally lands, the release is enormous.
The Frieza subplot matters just as much. The emperor, who until now seemed one step ahead of everyone, realizes he has made a mistake: he wiped out the Namekians before learning how to use their Dragon Balls. It is the first crack in his omnipotence, and it sets Nail and the Grand Elder's storyline in motion.
Several scenes were added by the anime. Chi-Chi's attempt to fly to Namek in the Capsule Corporation ship is pure invention, and so is Burter's reading of over 20,000: the manga never states Gohan's power level. The dance of joy changes as well: in the comic, Ginyu simply asks whether Frieza would like to see it, and Frieza says perhaps another time.
Trivia
- It adapts the second half of chapter 277 and chapter 278, with a 23.3% ratings share.
- Written by Katsuyuki Sumisawa, directed by Yoshihiro Ueda, animation supervised by Mitsuo Shindō.
- Goku left Earth back in episode 46, so his trip spans nearly twenty episodes.
- In the Ocean/Saban dub it was episode 52, aptly titled Enter Goku.
- In the Funimation dub, Ginyu's line introducing the dance no longer quite fits, because Frieza's preceding line was rewritten.
Did you know? In Japan, this episode aired a week after the TV special Bardock - The Father of Goku, so viewers met Goku's father just before seeing the son land on Namek.