Gohan's Rage

Gohan's Rage (悟空死す! ラストチャンスは一度だけ, Gokū Shisu! Rasuto Chansu wa Ichido dake; lit. "Goku Dies! There's only One Last Chance") is the fifth episode of the uncut Dragon Ball Z series. Its original Japanese air date was May 24, 1989. Its original American air date was June 21, 2005.

Summary

Gohan bursts through Raditz's Space Pod, shocking Piccolo and Raditz. Goku tells Gohan to run away, but Gohan is too deeply enraged to make sense of anything. Raditz, reading Gohan's Power Level to be well above his own, begins to panic.

GohanVsRaditz — Gohan lands a crushing blow on Raditz

Suddenly, Gohan charges at Raditz and hits him in the middle of his chest, leaving him mortally wounded. Gohan runs to his father's side as Raditz staggers to his feet. Goku pleads with Gohan to run, but now he is too scared to run. Raditz reads Gohan's power again: it has substantially dropped to one. Raditz knocks Gohan unconscious, which sends him a few feet away.

Raditz approaches Gohan and begins to gather energy to kill him. Raditz reveals that Gohan was the first person to wound him this severely. As Raditz raises his arm for the final blow, Goku puts him in a Full-Nelson, preventing the attack. He tells Piccolo to try the Special Beam Cannon again, even if it means his own death. Piccolo, without hesitation, begins to gather energy for another Special Beam Cannon.

PiccoloSpecialBeamCannon — Piccolo's first attempt to defeat Raditz with a Special Beam Cannon

Raditz pleads with his brother to reconsider what he is doing, but Goku only holds on tighter. Piccolo finally gathers enough energy for the technique, and fires it at Raditz. The beam goes directly through both Saiyan brothers. The two fall to the ground fatally wounded. Piccolo approaches Raditz, who is lamenting that Goku foolishly sacrificed his life.

Piccolo tells Raditz about the Dragon Balls and that they can grant any wish, which includes bringing the dead back to life, but Raditz secretly relays the message to his two partners in deep space. Raditz triumphantly tells them that these two are far stronger than him, and that they will very likely come to Earth to use the Dragon Balls to wish him back in one year. Raditz laughs maniacally, and an irate Piccolo finishes Raditz off.

Gokuandraditzgettingkilled — Goku sacrifices himself to defeat Raditz

In deep space, Raditz's partners, Vegeta and Nappa, pick up Raditz's signal and learn of the Dragon Balls. Vegeta decides to wish for eternal life, so they get into their Space Pod, and head for Earth. Meanwhile, Bulma, Master Roshi, and Krillin arrive just in time to bid Goku farewell.

Goku's body begins to vanish, which Piccolo states was Kami's doing, while everyone is left to mourn his death and prepare for the approaching threat.

Battles

Goku, Piccolo, and Gohan vs. Raditz

Techniques used

Leave My Daddy Alone! - Used by an enraged Gohan, injuring Raditz.
Shining Friday - Raditz was about to use it to kill Gohan, but is interrupted by Goku.
Full-Nelson - Used by Goku to trap Raditz and prevent him from killing Gohan.
Full-Nelson Special Beam Cannon - Used by Piccolo and Goku, fatally wounding the latter along with Raditz.

Trivia

In the English dub, Gohan's Power Level while enraged was read by Raditz to be 1,370 and still rising while in the manga and Japanese dub it is stated to be 1,307. This is fixed in Dragon Ball Z Kai where Raditz states it to be 1,307.
This episode marks the debut appearance of Vegeta and Nappa in the anime. They are shown in colors quite different from their later ones, especially Vegeta. This is because Toei guessed their colors, as the corresponding Manga volume was not in color. Vegeta's case is corrected in the Dragon Ball Kai version of this episode. Nappa's was not, though it is possible he owns more than one suit of Battle Armor.
The Japanese version has a specific line with Piccolo asking Goku why he is holding Raditz in a Full-Nelson style hold instead of grabbing his tail. Goku responds by saying Raditz could sever his own tail to escape this weakness. No such quote is in the dubbed version.
In the English dub, it is not until this episode that Raditz reveals he has fellow Saiyans on the way to Earth. He revealed it a few episodes earlier in the original Japanese version. In the English dub of Dragon Ball Kai, this revelation is first given at the correct time.
This episode marks the first time the term Super Saiyan has been mentioned.
At the end of the episode, after Goku's body is taken away by Kami, Piccolo can be seen (from behind) with both of his arms. However, he does not grow his arm back until the next episode, after putting his turban and cape back on.
The uncensored version features one of the most graphic scenes in the series, of Raditz and Goku falling to the ground, with huge bloody holes in their chests following Piccolo's Special Beam Cannon. Edited dubs obviously cut this out or edit it. Dragon Ball Kai replaces the graphic spots with large purple wounds that almost look more like bruises, due to heightened censorship requirements.
When Piccolo finishes off the wounded Raditz, the camera cuts away. This is not an edit for the English version, as the scene cuts away like that in the uncensored Japanese version too.
The Saban dub has a plot hole in that Krillin says "Who's Kami?" in regard to Goku's body vanishing. He should know who Kami is since they were both together at the 23rd World Martial Arts Tournament. This is corrected in FUNimation's re-dubbed version.
The planet Nappa and Vegeta are on when the scene switches to them looks like the Earth during the Carboniferous Period.
Although Raditz believes that Vegeta and Nappa will wish him back to life, since they are far more powerful than he is, they have no reason to waste their wish on Raditz, a fact he should have known.

Gallery

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