Episode 70 of Dragon Ball Z, first broadcast in Japan on December 5, 1990 and titled Frieza Approaches in Funimation's dub, splits the action across two fronts. On one, Goku finishes powering up and leaves Captain Ginyu speechless; on the other, Frieza reaches the home of Grand Elder Guru, father of all Namekians, and finds the warrior Nail barring his way.
Summary
Goku's power keeps climbing. When it passes 117,000, Jeice notes that he is now within a hair of the captain's maximum. At 140,000 Ginyu loses his nerve: he hurls a boulder that crumbles in the Saiyan's aura, then a volley of energy attacks that Goku sends straight back. Finally the scouter settles at 180,000. A terrified Ginyu wonders whether he is facing the legendary Super Saiyan. True to form, Goku offers to call it off and let him leave. The captain refuses: he bows to no one.
Meanwhile Bulma, heading for the Dragon Balls, passes through a ruined Namekian village and truly grasps for the first time how desperate things are. Gohan and Krillin reach her cave, find it empty, and follow the hover bike's tracks to find her.
At Guru's home, Nail has turned back. The Grand Elder scolds him for not helping the Earthlings, but Nail senses this is the most dangerous hour and wants to be at his side. Guru then sends little Dende to the Earthlings with the password to summon the dragon, granting him the power to heal before he goes. On the way, Dende flies right past Frieza, who pays him no attention at all.
The tyrant arrives. Three Namekian warriors, against Nail's advice, rush him and are swept away in an instant. Nail warns Frieza that if Guru dies, the Dragon Balls die with him. Forced to hold back, Frieza cuts open a window and comes face to face with the elder, who openly defies him: Nail, Namek's mightiest warrior, will be his opponent.
Our take
Grand Elder Guru is a figure the audience barely knows, and this episode finally gives him weight. He never throws a punch, but he stands up to Frieza with words alone, and he is the one moving the pieces: sending Dende, keeping Nail close, choosing to buy time. That is the whole Namekian plan, slow the enemy down long enough for the Earthlings to reach the dragon.
On the other front, the episode gives us Goku at his most self-assured in the saga. Offering to let Ginyu go is not naivety; it is the same logic he applied to Jeice, that the beaten may leave. And it is exactly that attitude that pushes the captain toward his desperate move in the next episode.
Several scenes are anime additions: the boulder and blasts Ginyu throws during the Kaio-ken, Bulma's visit to the ruined village and the three warrior Namekians who attack Frieza, none of which are in the manga. Nail's return to Guru, which Toriyama leaves implied, is also shown on screen here.
Trivia
- Written by Aya Matsui, directed by Yoshihiro Ueda, with animation direction by Minoru Maeda. It adapts chapter 285, with a 24.4% ratings share.
- A photo of Yamcha riddled with darts can be spotted in Bulma's abandoned cave.
- In the original Funimation dub all three warrior Namekians were voiced by Sonny Strait, Krillin's actor; the remastered dub recast them.
- Frieza's chest plate is briefly colored black instead of purple while he talks to Guru.
Did you know? Frieza flies right past Dende and does not give him a second look. A tiny detail that will cost him dearly, since Dende is the one carrying the dragon's secret to the Earthlings.