Episode 40, "Freeza's Final Super Transformation! The Terror Greater Than Hell Starts Now"
*****SPOILERS*****
Synopsis: Enraged at Freeza, Gohan attacks and seems to overpower him with a ki blast, but Freeza pushes it back and Piccolo has to save him from it hitting Gohan. Freeza recognizes that Gohan is a Saiyan, but doesn't know who could have fathered him. Vegeta demands that Kuririn injure him near fatally so that when Dende heals him, he'll be more powerful than ever, because Saiyans get a power up every time they recover from near death. Kuririn, however, is hesitant to do so. Freeza decides to reveal his true form, changing again. Kuririn finally blasts Vegeta at full power, and Vegeta believes he'll finally become a Super Saiyan. As Freeza transforms, Vegeta tries to get Dende to heal him, but Dende refuses because of all the Namekians Vegeta killed. Dende heals Piccolo instead. Gohan manages to convince Dende to heal Piccolo. Now in his true form, Freeza immediately kills Dende to prevent any further recoveries. Gohan, Piccolo, and Kuririn attack Freeza, but cannot harm him at all. Then Freeza targets Gohan.
Comments:
This episode starts with another Gohan false start. In other words, one of those breakout Gohan rages that ultimately does nothing. I was fine with them in the Saiyan arc, even in this one up until after Ginyu, but during the Freeza battle it's just sort of annoying and sad. I realize he's being built up for the next major story arc, but really, we just went through this when Kuririn was run through, and now again? Stop raging if it's going to be useless, Gohan. On the other hand, it was pretty cool that Freeza pushed that blast back and Piccolo had to bail Gohan out (as usual). I like to see when the characters push something back that big.
Dende healed both Piccolo and Vegeta in this episode, but he won't be healing anyone again in this fight, because wisely, Freeza targeted him first after transofmring. Not that he would have been that much more useful at that point, with Freeza being overhwhelmingly powerful, but clearly it was annoying him. I like Vegeta's reaction to finally being healed. And, of course, Dende's death also spurred Gohan into another rage, but not nearly as big a one. I guess maybe because he just met Dende recently?
I like Freeza's real form, that sleek, compact one. It is sort of humorous that after all that transforming into bigger forms, his real form is so small, but I think I could have gone without those other forms entirely. It sort of wastes time.
Oh, and we get that Freeza song again when Gohan, Piccolo, and Kuririn team up on hiim. Yeah, because it's been so long since we last heard it. Calm down with the insert songs, Toei. Especially if it's the same freaking one.
Overall Score:
3 out of 5
