Episode 73 of Dragon Ball Z, the first of 1991, first broadcast in Japan on January 9 and titled Gohan, Defeat Your Dad!! in Funimation's dub, puts Goku's theory to the test: a powerful body is useless if you do not know how to run it. Captain Ginyu learns that the hard way, but Gohan has a different problem. The enemy he has to hit is wearing his father's face.
Summary
Ginyu powers up to the max and asks Jeice to read his power level. The answer stuns him: a mere 23,000. Goku, from inside the captain's broken body, explains why. Ginyu took the muscles but not the mind; he cannot control the ki of that body or use the Kaio-ken, the technique that pushed Goku to 180,000.
Gohan and Krillin attack together. Gohan, though, keeps hesitating: every time he is about to land a blow, he sees his father's face. Goku urges him not to be afraid and to hit hard, because that is not really him. Little by little the two boys gain the upper hand. Ginyu calls Jeice for help, but Vegeta, finally out of hiding, steps in to block his path.
Far away, Nail keeps soaking up Frieza's punishment. He knows he cannot win, but every minute he holds out is another minute for Dende.
Around the ship, the fight swings again. Ginyu starts getting the hang of Goku's body and puts Gohan and Krillin on the back foot. Goku, in the captain's body, briefly manages to fight and throws himself into the fray, only to be swatted aside. Vegeta, meanwhile, overwhelms Jeice with his new strength and kills him, proclaiming himself a Super Saiyan.
Ginyu scoffs at the claim. So Vegeta turns on him and pummels him until he crashes to the ground, badly hurt. As the prince swoops down to finish him, the captain smiles: he still has one card left to play, and he begins preparing another Body Change, this time aimed at Vegeta.
Our take
The Japanese title says it all: "That ain't me! Gohan, don't flinch, hit your father!" It is a nightmare scenario for a child, and the anime milks it more than the manga does. Gohan freezing in front of his father's face is a Toei addition, and one of the best of this stretch: it gives emotional weight to a gag that, on the page, might have stayed a mere curiosity.
The episode also confirms the theme from last time. Ginyu has the strongest body he has ever had and cannot use it; Goku has a wrecked body but still knows how to fight. For Toriyama, strength is experience, control and self-knowledge.
The fights are greatly extended compared with the manga, with Gohan and Goku more involved and Ginyu adapting to his new body. Ginyu's reaction to Jeice's death changes too: in the manga he is stunned and frightened by Vegeta's power, while in the anime he merely disputes the prince's Super Saiyan boast.
Trivia
- Written by Hiroshi Toda, directed by Daisuke Nishio, with animation direction by Mitsuo Shindō. It adapts the end of chapter 288 and chapter 289, with a 22.9% ratings share.
- From episode 73 to 80 the series was shot on 35mm film instead of the usual 16mm.
- In the dub, Jeice mocks Vegeta as "Vegetable breath" during their fight.
- Vegeta's armor briefly takes on the colors of his previous suit just before he slams Ginyu into the ground, a slip that Dragon Ball Kai did not fix.
Did you know? Three weeks passed between this episode and the last: episode 72 aired on December 19, 1990, and the series returned after the holidays on January 9.