#just like nappas gotta step in and knock some sense into him for his own good | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

duhragonball · 5 years

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Dragon Ball Z 153

Perfect Cell Saga! Well, actually, that’s a misleading title, since Cell spends about half of the arc in his semiperfect state. He absorbed Android 17 last episode, so now all he has to do is absorb 18, and he’s all set. So why doesn’t he? All he’s gotta do is climb out of that hole and grab her.

Oh yeaaaaahhhhh...

Basically, Piccolo was the world’s only hope of keeping Cell away from the androids, and when he fell, #16 stepped in to hold the line, and when he failed, Tien decided he had no choice but to do whatever he could to buy a little more time. Tien was no match for Imperfect Cell, let alone Semiperfect Cell, but he does have the Ki Ko Ho, also known as the Tri-Beam. We’ve only seen him use it a few times.

The first was when he destroyed the tournament ring while battling Goku in the 22nd Tenkaichi Budokai. Tien’s reasoning was that if there was no ring, Goku would be forced to land out of bounds and lose the match. The whole time he was setting it up, Chioatzu was horrified that he would go to such an extreme, and Master Roshi observed that it was the sort of technique that drains the life of the user. As far as he was concerned, the fact that the Crane Hermit taught such a move to Tien was proof of how evil he had become. The key point, though, is that the Ki Ko Ho was much, much stronger than the Dodonpa or the Kamehameha.

The second time Tien used it, it was in a desperate bid to kill Nappa. By then, Chiaotzu had already died in his own suicide attack, and Tien was exhausted and missing an arm, so I’m pretty sure he figured he had nothing to lose. He died from the strain, and Nappa survived, although he seemed to think he might have been in danger if he hadn’t noticed it coming at the last second.

Now, we’re seeing Tien use the Ki Ko Ho repeatedly, against a live target. I think this is important to note, because Tien’s been training throughout all of DBZ, but this is one of the few signs of the progress he’s made. Before, his Ki Ko Ho didn’t eve faze Nappa, but now it’s got Cell flummoxed. It doesn’t seem to be hurting Cell much, but it is impeding his progress. Think about how badly Cell wants to absorb 18 and how long it’s taking him to move towards her. That’s all Tien.

At the Lookout, Goku can sense what Tien is doing, and he begs for him to stop.

But what else can he do? Piccolo’s down, 16 is down, and Vegeta and Trunks still haven’t come out of the Hyperbolic Time Chamber. Tien has to do this, and he’s determined to keep doing it until his body gives out.

And for my money, this is what DBZ is all about. Tien’s staring into the face of Doomsday and saying “over my dead body”. He’s not going to win this, and he’s probably not going to survive, or even buy that much time, but he’s going to do whatever he can.

At Kame House, Chiaotzu is just suddenly here for some reason. He’s worried about Tien, of course, and Yamcha decides that they should head over to help him, but Roshi convinces them that there’s nothing they can do. It’s painful, but they have to accept they would only add to the list of Cell’s victims. Kind of weird how all four of the characters in this screenshot have been in the World Martial Arts Tournament, and now they’re basically reduced to civilians.

At last, Tien’s body succumbs ot fatigue and he collapses onto the ground. Cell floats out of his hole and considers how someone like Tien could have given him this much trouble. By now 18 and 16 have flown too far for him to find easily.

On the lookout, Goku... wait, where’d he go?

Cell kicks Tien around a bit, then decides to finish him off, even though he looks like he’s about to die already. But then--!

Goku appears, placing himself between Cell and Tien. He admits that he can’t beat him as he is now, but he promises Cell that he’ll be ready for him in just one short day. Then Goku notices someone else...

Turns out Piccolo’s still alive. For that matter, he must be doing better than he looked before, because somehow he managed to drag himself back onto the shore. Goku teleports over to pick him up.

Cell isn’t keen on just letting these three go, but Goku’s teleportation keeps surprising him. When Goku finally leaves, he has no idea where he went. At last, he decides to forget them and resume his search for 18.

Meanwhile, Krillin’s on his way to fetch the remote control from Bulma. Look how happy he is to see her in this shot.

Bulma informs him that the remote only has a ten meter range, so Krillin will have to get pretty close in order to use it. She also has fresh clothes for the Z-Fighters, but Krillin tells her that the Saiyans will be fighting next, and they’re all on the Lookout, so Bulma heads there next.

On the Lookout, Piccolo and Tien have gotten senzu beans and are fully recovered, but Piccolo paints a grim picture of the situation. Cell’s just too powerful, and he doesn’t think anyone can beat the guy.

Then, Popo tells them that Vegeta and Trunks are finally coming out of the Hyperbolic Time Chamber. How does he know that, exactly? Did they knock first? Is there some sort of signal you use when you’re ready to leave?

Anyway, here they are! I’m kind of amazed that their clothes are this much in tact after being stuck in there for a year with nothing else to wear.

#dragon ball #2019dbliveblog #perfect cell saga #cell #semiperfect cell #tien #goku #piccolo #gohan #mr popo #vegeta #trunks #bulma #krillin #master roshi #chi chi #yamcha #chiaotzu

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