Dragon Ball Wiki
Register
Advertisement

"The Preliminaries Begin" (せんかい Yosen Kaishi, lit. "The Preliminaries Begin") is the two hundred thirty seventh chapter of Dragon Ball Z and the four hundred thirty-first overall chapter of the Dragon Ball manga.

Cover[]

The cover features the opening scene of the chapter where it shows members of the Dragon Team walking toward the World Martial Arts Tournament arena.

Summary[]

As they head towards the preliminaries, Goku notices that Krillin isn't bald. Trunks tells Goten he really does look like his dad, but doesn't think he looks as strong compared to his own dad. Goten says that Gohan told him their father is the strongest in the universe. Then Goku notices that No. 18 is here too, and Krillin tells him that they live together at Master Roshi's house, and have a kid. Goku is shocked, and wonders how robots can have kids. Krillin tells him she's still a human who was modified a bit. As they approach the arena the interview lady and her cameraman notice the group coming their way. She first tries talking to Vegeta and Piccolo, but they simply ignore her. She thinks they looked familiar, though. Goku, however, says that he came from Other World and explains that his halo is not an accessory, you get it when you die. Piccolo decides to telekinetically destroy the camera before Goku says too much more, and the interviewer scolds the cameraman for breaking the camera.

A tournament attendant leads them inside, pointing out the changing room if they need it. Krillin, Trunks, and Vegeta all go in to change, with Krillin saying the only people who'll put up a decent fight are their friends. A man thinks Piccolo doesn't look okay, because of his complexion. When everyone is together again, they head out for the preliminaries and bump into the announcer. The announcer is very happy to see Goku and Krillin, and says he knows it wasn't really Mr. Satan who defeated Cell. He thinks the tournament will be much better with them participating, and tells Piccolo not to destroy the entire arena like last time. Then the announcer asks about the ring above Goku's head. Goku tells him he died during the battle with Cell and came back from Other World for today. The announcer thinks that"s not too weird, for them, and then heads off.

The preliminaries are starting, and not including the Youth Division there are 194 people here, but only sixteen can participate. Mr. Satan will participate automatically, since he is the reigning champion, but they'll now pick the remaining fifteen using a Punch Machine. The fifteen highest scores will pass. Mr. Satan will demonstrate the punch machine, saying no one can do better than him (Krillin smugly says otherwise). Piccolo again telekinetically destroys all the cameras, and says he did it for Gohan's sake. Gohan is very grateful, while everyone else is completely confused. Gohan goes off to search for a friend, just as Mr. Satan prepares to use the punch machine (now disappointed the world won't see).

Satan psyches himself up, and then punches the machine, getting a score of 137. He encourages the other fighters and then heads inside, exhausted. The attendants tell everyone to line up at the punch machine, while the kids need to come this way. Goku wonders where Tien Shinhan and Chiaotzu are, and Krillin says something about how they said "we'll probably never meet again". Some people go through the line, and finally it's #84's turn: No. 18. Krillin tells her to go lightly and not break the machine. No. 18 nonchalantly punches it, and scores 774. They think the machine is malfunctioning, and Krillin scolds her as they "fix" it. Her second score is more acceptable with a 203. #85, Krillin, gets 192. #86, Goku, gets 186. #87, Piccolo, gets 210. The attendant thinks it must really be broken, but then Vegeta destroys the machine with his punch, leaving everyone absolutely stunned.

Appearances[]

Characters[]

Locations[]

Site Navigation[]

v  e
Dragon Ball Z
Dragon Ball Z Chapters and Volumes
Volume 1 12345678910
Volume 2 111213141516171819202122
Volume 3 232425262728293031323334
Volume 4 353637383940414243444546
Volume 5 474849505152535455565758
Volume 6 596061626364656667686970
Volume 7 717273747576777879808182
Volume 8 838485868788899091929394
Volume 9 9596979899100101102103104105106
Volume 10 107108109110111112113114115116117118119
Volume 11 120121122123124125126127128129130131
Volume 12 132133134135136137138139140141142143
Volume 13 144145146147148149150151152153154155
Volume 14 156157158159160161162163164165166167
Volume 15 168169170171172173174175176177178179
Volume 16 180181182183184185186187188189190191
Volume 17 192193194195196197198199200201202Trunks: The Story
Volume 18 203204205206207208209210211212213214
Volume 19 215216217218219220221222223224225226
Volume 20 227228229230231232233234235236237238
Volume 21 239240241242243244245246247248249250251
Volume 22 252253254255256257258259260261262263264265
Volume 23 266267268269270271272273274275276277278
Volume 24 279280281282283284285286287288289290291
Volume 25 292293294295296297298299300301302303304305306307308
Volume 26 309310311312313314315316317318319320321322323324325
v  e
Great Saiyaman Saga
Other World Saga
Dragon Ball Z
Dragon Ball Z Kai
World Tournament Saga
Manga
Dragon Ball Chapters
Dragon Ball Z Chapters
Dragon Ball Volumes
Dragon Ball Z Volumes
Anime
Episodes
Kai Episodes
Advertisement