Episode 76 of Dragon Ball Z, first broadcast in Japan on January 30, 1991 and titled Piccolo's Return in Funimation's dub, is the episode of the wishes. Porunga has finally risen over Namek, but his three wishes turn out to be trickier than anyone expected: Gohan, Krillin and Dende have to decide fast who comes back to life, while Vegeta naps and Frieza closes in.
Summary
Dende asks the dragon to revive the friends killed by the Saiyans, only to learn that Porunga can bring back just one person per wish. On King Kai's planet the news sparks a squabble, with Yamcha and Tien arguing over who deserves to go first. Piccolo cuts through it. Speaking to Gohan through King Kai, he lays out the logic: revive him and Kami lives again, and with Kami come back Earth's Dragon Balls, ready to restore everyone else.
The first wish is granted. On Kami's Lookout, Mr. Popo watches his master take solid form and weeps with joy. For the second wish Piccolo asks to be sent to Namek. He wants to face Frieza and avenge his people, King Kai's protests notwithstanding. Porunga obliges, but drops him in some random spot far from his friends, so Dende suggests spending the last wish on bringing him over.
Meanwhile Vegeta has woken up. Stepping out of Frieza's ship, he sees the darkened sky and realizes the dragon has been summoned behind his back. He storms over, and a panicked Gohan blurts out that one wish remains. The prince demands immortality and roughs up Dende, who refuses to cooperate. Far away, Frieza spots the dragon and races toward it. With time running out, Krillin gives in: an immortal Vegeta beats having no chance at all. Dende starts to speak the wish, then Porunga vanishes and the Dragon Balls turn to stone. Grand Elder Guru has died. Moments later, Frieza lands right in front of them.
Our take
The episode is built like a countdown, and that is exactly why it works: every wish costs time, and time is the one thing the heroes lack. Porunga's one-at-a-time rule turns what could have been a celebration into a puzzle, and Piccolo's solution shows how far he has come. He thinks like a strategist, but also like a member of the team.
His decision to go to Namek is the real turning point. It is not just a thirst for battle: for the first time Piccolo has a homeworld and a people to avenge, and the story starts reconnecting him with his Namekian roots.
The ending is one of the bitterest twists of the saga. Vegeta gets within a sentence of immortality, and what stops him is not an enemy but an old man's life running out. Toriyama toys with expectations to the last second, and the anime sells it with the Dragon Balls quietly going dark.
The anime adds Yamcha and Tien's argument, King Kai's anger at Piccolo (in the manga he never comments on the choice) and Dende's idea of using the third wish to bring Piccolo closer. The Lookout scene is expanded too, with a tearful Mr. Popo.
Trivia
- Written by Katsuyuki Sumisawa and directed by Tatsuya Orime, with Masahiro Shimanuki as animation supervisor.
- It adapts the end of chapter 292, chapter 293 and the start of 294, with a 24.2% ratings share.
- The Japanese title calls Porunga "Super Shenron", framing him as a souped-up version of Earth's dragon.
- In Funimation's dub, Dende's line "don't piss off the god of love" was muted on Toonami UK and cut from later Toonami USA airings.
- Nobody points out that Chiaotzu, already revived once, cannot be brought back by Earth's Dragon Balls, yet he cheers Piccolo's plan along with the others.
Did you know? Bringing Piccolo back also revives Kami, so for the first time since the Saiyan Saga, Earth has working Dragon Balls again.