Episode 39, "The Reborn Piccolo Arrives! A Furious Freeza's 2nd Transformation"
*****SPOILERS*****
Synopsis: Challenging Freeza, Piccolo seems capable with keeping up with the tyrant in combat. Freeza is surprised, but not especially impressed, and presses harder. After removing his weighted training garbs, Piccolo is ready to get serious. Freeza brags that his power is even greater than Piccolo thinks, and is able to transform twice more. He then transforms again, and makes short work of Piccolo, spurring Gohan to come to help.
Comments:
There's actually not much to say about this episode. In fact, I was having difficulty doing a synopsis that wasn't just, "Piccolo fights Freeza, does well for a while, Freeza transforms, Piccolo is screwed." Maybe that's what I should have done. At least it would have gotten a chuckle, which is more reaction than the rest of this review will get. Because, really, there isn't much to this episode. It's pretty worthless.
Piccolo comes in and we know he isn't going to defeat Freeza. Even if you'd never seen DBZ, you know Piccolo is going to lose, because Goku hasn't had his shot yet. You realize throughout this fight that Freeza probably has another form and this is just a waste of animation, because Goku will be the one to defeat Freeza. At least when Vegeta attacks Freeza, as useless as it is, it has some thematic importance. Piccolo doesn't really even have any attachment to his home planet so him fighting to avenge the people there seems a little weak. The fight itself isn't even that exciting. It plays out like the past few episodes have, with somebody seeming to have the uppher hand, and then Freeza overpowering them and smirking about how much stronger he is. Great.
Well, it lasted two episodes in Dragon Ball Z, so at least we have Kai to thank for it only lasting a single episode.
Overall Score:
3 out of 5
