"Namek's Destruction" (ナメック星消滅か！？大地を貫く魔のせん光 Namekku-sei Shōmetsu ka!? Daichi o Tsuranuku Ma no Senkō, lit. "The Destruction of Planet Namek?! A Demonic Flash Penetrates the Ground") is the twenty-third episode of the Frieza Saga and the ninety-seventh overall episode in the uncut Dragon Ball Z series. This episode first aired in Japan on July 3, 1991. Its original American airdate was October 20, 1999.
Summary
On a distant, Frieza-owned planet, several workers in the watchtower detect the two huge powers on Namek, and to their horror, notice that one of them is bigger than Frieza's. One soldier expresses his delight at the news, since Frieza destroyed his entire race, although he is killed on the orders of the boss, ironically the same race as the traitor. However, Goku's power proves to be too high and the computers explode, killing everyone inside.
Gohan lays Piccolo in the ship
Meanwhile, on Namek, Gohan finally reaches Goku's ship and lays Piccolo there. As he examines Piccolo's wound, a computer screen turns on and Chi-Chi and Master Roshi appear on the other side, from the ship on Earth. Gohan relays the news that Frieza killed Krillin and Goku is fighting Frieza, and leaves to find Bulma.
Frieza reminisces about getting hit by the Spirit Bomb and is enraged even further. When Frieza realizes that he cannot defeat Super Saiyan Goku, he resorts to drastic measures and fires the Destroy The Planet! attack straight into Namek's core and the planet disappears behind a blinding light.
King Kai senses that Piccolo is alive
King Kai detects this on his planet, and fears that Namek has been destroyed. However, from Earth, he is contacted by Kami, who tells him that Mr. Popo is currently searching for the Earth Dragon Balls so that they may restore Yamcha and Tien Shinhan. Then, King Kai realizes that Piccolo must still be alive if Kami is on Earth. He searches again, and sees that Namek is actually still there.
Frieza irritably admits that he held back too much power. As Goku mocks Frieza for his attempted suicide, Frieza counters by telling him that even if Namek explodes and they both survive, Goku will die and he will not, as he can breathe in the vacuum of space. Furthermore, he tells Goku that Namek's core has been destroyed and the planet will explode in five minutes. Goku brushes it off, confident that he can beat Frieza within the time limit. Frieza declares his intention to reach his maximum power level and win the fight, and the two charge towards each other to resume their fight.
Major Events
- Frieza destroys Namek's core, causing a countdown to the planet's destruction.
Battles
- Goku (Super Saiyan) vs. Frieza (Final Form-50%)
Appearances
Characters |
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Locations
Objects
- Battle Armor
- Frieza's Spaceship
- Capsule Corporation spaceship
- Capsule Corporation spaceship 3
Transformations
Differences from the manga
- The sequence involving Frieza's soldiers on Planet Frieza 79 is exclusive to the anime.
- In the anime, when Gohan returns to the Capsule Corporation Spaceship with Piccolo he is contacted by Chi-Chi, Master Roshi and Dr. Brief on Earth. This did not happen in the manga as Chi-Chi was still back at Goku's House.
Trivia
- In the scene where Goku is charging his Kamehameha, his eyebrows turn black, then to gold again, then back to black.
- This is the first episode to use Kikuchi's music from Dragon Ball Z: Lord Slug.
Gallery
 Original 1999 FUNimation title card  Frieza, mad that he gave Goku the opportunity to gain his Super Saiyan powers  Soldier that is the same race as Cui  Soldiers about to shoot the Cui's race soldier  The soldier being shot under orders from a commander of the same race  The soldier being shot to death for treason  Unnamed Commander  The computers in a building overload from the power of Goku   The entire building explodes   Goku and Frieza's powers clash  Gohan appears on the monitor, before Chi-Chi, Master Roshi and Dr. Brief  Frieza drawing in his power  Frieza's "Destroy The Planet!" technique  Frieza wielding the "Destroy The Planet!" Death Ball  Frieza launches his "Destroy the Planet!" attack  Frieza throwing "Destroy The Planet!"  "Destroy The Planet!" hitting Namek  The effects of "Destroy The Planet!", as seen from space  Frieza laughing hysterically after seeing "Destroy The Planet!" hit Namek  King Kai senses that Piccolo is alive |
| ← Captain Ginyu Saga |   |
Garlic Jr. Saga→ | |||||||
| Manga | |||||||||
| Dragon Ball Chapters | 291 • 292 • 293 • 294 • 295 • 296 • 297 • 298 • 299 • 300 • 301 • 302 • 303 • 304 • 305 • 306 • 309 • 310 • 311 • 312 • 313 • 314 • 315 • 316 • 317 • 318 • 317 • 318 • 319 • 320 • 321 • 322 • 323 • 324 • 325 • 326 • 327 • 328 • 329 | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dragon Ball Z Chapters | 97 • 98 • 99 • 100 • 101 • 102 • 103 • 104 • 105 • 106 • 107 • 108 • 109 • 110 • 111 • 112 • 113 • 114 • 115 • 116 • 117 • 118 • 119 • 120 • 121 • 122 • 123 • 124 • 125 • 126 • 127 • 128 • 129 • 130 • 131 • 132 • 133 • 134 • 135 | ||||||||
| Dragon Ball Volumes | 25 • 26 • 27 • 28 | ||||||||
| Dragon Ball Z Volumes | 9 • 10 • 11 • 12 | ||||||||
| Anime | |||||||||
| Episodes | 75 • 76 • 77 • 78 • 79 • 80 • 81 • 82 • 83 • 84 • 85 • 86 • 87 • 88 • 89 • 90 • 91 • 92 • 93 • 94 • 95 • 96 • 97 • 98 • 99 • 100 • 101 • 102 • 103 • 104 • 105 • 106 • 107 | ||||||||
| Kai Episodes | 36 • 37 • 38 • 39 • 40 • 41 • 42 • 43 • 44 • 45 • 46 • 47 • 48 • 49 • 50 • 51 • 52 • 53 • 54 | ||||||||