Episode 176 "Save the World"

The Summary: 'Twas the day after Christmas, …and right in my home. young Gohan killed Cell, and Piccolo didn't even moan. (well, maybe just a little…) The two had launched their attacks ahead,With the hopes that in 25 minutes the other would be dead. The rest of them look on with shock and with fear, As their Kamehameha's drew ever so near. The fighters pulled out to a safer location, But it caught up and sent them into a spiral rotation. …and while the two remain deadlocked, and it seemed like Gohan was through, what would the rest of the Z fighters do? Help Gohan! That's what they couldWhat they should, And inevitably what they would... On Piccolo… On Tien… On Yamcha and Krillin… Help Gohan fight Cell, and vanquish that villain! They put up a fight, each giving their best, But it was Vegeta in the end, who distracted Cell from his test. …with a shout and a blast, and some words from his dad, Gohan showed Cell the true power he had. He unleashed a fury that pushed the Earth to its height, So that not even Cell could recover from the fight. So with the blast shot into space, And the day saved once more, Gohan collapsed…Straight to Earths floor. Thank you Goku and Gohan, You did it once again.You provided quality entertainment, For our audience to attend!

Summary Notes: On December 26, 2000… CN witnessed the final destruction of Cell. Why am I giving you the punch line first? Because we saw TWO episodes today. That's right. In the Japanese version, the footage on this episode was actually from two separate episodes, which I happened to watch on the International channel some weeks before. I must say that I am really glad that FUNimation did this, because the two episodes were quite tedious to watch. Seriously… could you watch those two go back and forth like that for an hour? Just goes to show that short attention spans that we Americans exhibit. Once again, I will make a note here about the animation. The animation style has changed once again to that polished look that we expect from our DBZ animators. I've noticed that the facial animation has once again really stepped up with the detail and line quality. (jots a note to self…) Now my only question is after the Cell saga is finished, will CN simply recycle it Ad Nausium like they did the Frieza Saga? I certainly hope not. But we'll find out.

The Review: All of the following ratings out of 7 Dragon Balls How did you like that Holiday rendition of today's episode? ANIMATION: As noted earlier, I noticed that once again the quality of the animation, particularly in the faces, has improved once again, the line quality is far better than even some of the earlier episodes, which is very good to see. I only hope that when they bring over the BUU Saga, the animation will be just as top-notch. CHOREOGRAPHY: It was good, but not as good as A Hero's Farewell. I did enjoy the background imposition of Goku as he speaks to Gohan throughout the episode. It had a kind of STAR WARS effect. Above par, but not spectacular. MUSIC: Pretty Good, but there wasn't too much for it to do today. The "Vegeta Song" kicked in right on time as usual, which was really the only thing I noticed. DIALOGUE: There was a lot of touching conversation in this episode. In fact, if I didn't know nay better, I would say Goku was eloquent with his words today. Also, I didn't hear, "No, it can't be," from Vegeta today. I did note a, "It's not fear that's holding me back, its just - - -." That was pretty good. Maybe FUNi is becoming sensitive to all the cracks were making about them. PLOT: Ding Dong Cell is Dead, The wicked Cell The evil Cell! Ding Dong the Android Cell is Dead! How's that for plot? We encountered the resolution today. …And while the Muchkins sing and dance in Munchkin land, we'll have the falling action tomorrow. I am very anxious to see what FUNi and CN will do after the Cell Saga is fully complete. OVERALL: Well, its over, almost. I had a blast with the Cell Saga, much more than the Frieza Saga. Its just too bad that they are not making any new Dragon Ball Z episodes anymore. The Celestrian gives today's episode a dose of his Yule-Time Cheer and