"Huh... This is a new feeling. Pride in someone else. Unfortunately, it's overshadowed by ALL THIS UNYIELDING RAGE!"
—Vegeta
Original Airdate: December 27, 2015
Vegeta is contemplating many things here, not the least of which is how far Trunks has come...at thwarting his plans.
After stroking Vegeta's pride, Cell gets his chance to continue searching for Android 18, finding her almost instantaneously. Krillin gets close enough to deactivate 18, but realizes that he's truly in love with her and proceeds to destroy the remote. Trunks, Krillin, Android 16, and 18 all engage in a battle against Cell in order to stop him from accomplishing his goal, but it proves to be an insufficient effort, due in part to Cell's battle strategies and Vegeta impeding them. Eventually, Cell absorbs 18 and reaches his Perfect form, to the horror of everyone but Vegeta.
Meanwhile, Piccolo, Tien, and Bulma spectate on the fight from the Lookout, and Goku and Gohan continue their training in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber.
"T" is for how Troped you are:
- Actually Pretty Funny: Vegeta actually laughs a bit when Trunks snarks at him for being a terrible/non-existent parent.Vegeta: Boy, don't make me come up there and be a parent!
Trunks: First time for everything!
Vegeta: Ohoho! - The Bad Guy Wins: Cells manipulates Vegeta into allowing him to absorb 18 and, despite everyone trying to stop it after a couple of f-ups, he finally succeeds in achieving his perfect form.
- Better to Die than Be Killed: Discussed briefly after Krillin crushes the remote that would have blown up 18. She awkwardly says that although that was sweet of him and she appreciates it, it would have probably been smarter for him to keep it around longer. This implies she would have wanted him to use it on her if Cell caught her so he couldn't absorb her, which is eventually what happens.
- Big "NO!": Krillin thinks one to himself when Cell begins his transformation to perfect form.
- Trunks spends over a minute screaming the Big "NO!" he started at the end of the previous episode, only to be cut off by Vegeta.
- Book Ends: This episode starts with Goku singing a song about how he wants to see Gohan become a Super Saiyan. It ends with Cell singing a song about how he's now perfect and everyone's fucked.
- Bread, Eggs, Breaded Eggs: When asked whether to bet on Vegeta or Krillin screwing up, Bulma decides to go with both. She's proven right shortly after.
- Call-Back:
- Tien describes Krillin as being "a total bitch." This is the exact description Bulma used for Krillin in Episode 13 when they got trapped on Namek.
- After hearing that Cell will give Vegeta "everything he has coming to him", Vegeta responds with an enthusiastic "Ominous!" This mirrors a response that Imperfect Cell gave to Piccolo in Episode 43 when the latter said they both increase their power through absorption.
- Vegeta's "I know you're playing me, but you're right" comes up again, with him having previously said it after Piccolo convinced him to let someone else fight Android 20.
- Trunks tells Cell that he isn't involved in the conversation between himself and Vegeta, to which Cell replies that he thinks he's pretty involved. This refers back to Cell's previous exchange with Harry just before he blew up the islands in his attempt to find 18.
- When Trunks attempts to hold him off, Cell notes that Vegeta's claim from the previous episode about his son being almost as strong as him was true.
- Krillin is compared to a duck again.
- Vegeta brings back the "thwarting my plans" running gag from the Namek Saga. While Gohan, back on Namek, lies that he wasn't (and later hesitantly says yes when asked a second time), Trunks proudly and angrily shouts YES.
- Trunks tells 18 to blow herself up or leave (he doesn't care which), much like Tien did previously.
- Android 16 asks 18 in an agitated manner why she is still in the area, just like he did to her and 17 when Imperfect Cell attacked them episodes earlier. 18 replies, just like her brother did, that they're the three amigos (or, in this case, dos compadres).
- Perfect Cell introduces himself with a song, just as Imperfect Cell did in his first appearance.
- Calling Your Attacks: FUTURE KICK!
- Complaining About Rescues They Don't Like: Although 18 doesn't really complain about Krillin stepping on the remote in order to avoid killing her, she also notes that, pragmatically, he probably should have kept it around.
- Curb-Stomp Battle: Cell is alternately giving one to 16, 18 and Krillin and receiving one from Super Saiyan Grade 2 Trunks.
- Delayed Reaction: It takes a while for Piccolo to understand what the significance is of Android 18 being a girl, having little understanding of romance or attraction. When Tien reveals that it means that Krillin destroyed the remote in order to get laid, Piccolo simply responds with "Oh. Gross."
- Does This Remind You of Anything?: Cell mentions how 18 is practically "asking to be absorbed" because of what she is wearing, as if he is blaming someone who had been abused. Krillin doesn't take the jab lightly.
- Double Entendre: Cell continues to drop all kinds of creepy innuendos.
- Everybody Knew Already: Piccolo expects Krillin to screw things up, while Tien expects Vegeta to. Bulma expects both of them to screw up somehow, due to her experiences with both of them, only questioning who will first. Regardless who does, she was right.
- Exact Words:
- Cell promises to give Vegeta "everything that's coming to you" once he completes his final transformation. Vegeta picks up on the ambiguous nature of this statement ("OMINOUS!") but is too confident in his own abilities to care.
- Android 16 adamantly refuses Krillin's plea not to kill anyone purely because he's still set on destroying Goku, who would technically be categorized as "anyone".
16: No deal! Goku is a person. Therefore, he is part of "anyone". Therefore, No. Deal. - Explain, Explain... Oh, Crap!:
- Krillin tries to bring himself to activate the remote to kill 18. He goes on to lament if he fails, everyone he loves will die at Cell's hands, including her. Upon realizing he would lose 18 either way, he tries to Take the Third Option: attempt to protect her.
- Tien is confused why Krillin destroyed the remote to kill 18, since it was supposed to be so easy. But then:
Tien: I don't understand! All he had to do was push the button and blow up the... the girl.Bulma: Oooh. That makes sense. - Foreshadowing: When Krillin tries to help 18 get 16 away, she plants the seeds for their future canon relationship. And, of course, she makes good on this promise at the end of the season/series.18: If we make it through this, I am going to rock his four-foot world.
- Freeze-Frame Bonus: As per usual, there is a still frame when Cell uses Solar Flare, only this time they go for
Nightmare Fuel instead of Squick with a (mercifully cropped) picture of Cell holding 18 in a provocative manner. - I Will Only Slow You Down: 16 convinces 18 to follow Krillin without him because he's too damaged to escape in an efficient way, and Cell is only interesting in her; not that Cell could absorb 16 anyway as he already failed last time.
- If We Survive This: Krillin getting back time and again to desperately protect 18 from Cell (and later help her carry the injured 16 away), simply because she promised she and 16 were going to quit being villains, eventually has her promise to "rock his four-foot world" if they manage to live through their ordeal. Given the source material, it's almost certain that it's a Call-Forward to her making good on that promise.spoiler
- Last Request: 18 tells 16 to look after Krillin just before Cell absorbs her.
- Little Guy, Big Buddy: 18's last words are to exhort 16 to protect Krillin.
- Love Epiphany: Krillin realizes that he's in love with 18 as he's holding the remote, which leads to him stomping it.
- Love Makes You Dumb: Once he's been assured to his satisfaction that 18 doesn't want to kill anyone (except Cell), Krillin destroys the detonator. 18 even lampshades that herself, saying it might've been a good idea to keep it anyway since Cell still wants to absorb her. Tien, back at the Lookout is frustrated that Krillin chose one person he has a crush on (and is a potential threat to humanity and key to an even bigger threat) over the rest of the world.
- Lyrical Dissonance: Perfect Cell introduces himself to everyone by belting out a cheery song...detailing the pain and torment he's about to inflict on everyone.
- Mood Whiplash: Apart from the "Krillin Owned" tally going up from when Cell blasts him, Cell absorbing 18 is played completely seriously, along with everyone's reaction him transforming to his prefect form. And then Cell breaks into a Villain Song, which makes Krillen and Trunk's reactions to him appear less out of horror and more shock from the surrealism of what they are seeing.
- The battle between 16, 18 and Krillin vs Cell with Cell outclassing them and being sinister contrasts to his battle against Trunks, which is happening at the same time, where he's a complete Butt-Monkey.
- Mythology Gag: Cell hums the Perfect Cell theme music
as he marches his way to 18. - No One Gets Left Behind: To 16's chagrin, 18 comes back to ask him how he's doing after he previously told her to take off without him. She reiterates what her brother said about them being True Companions.
- No Cell: Cell doesn't even register a modicum of pain at the hits that 16, 18, or Krillin give him. Trunks is able to actually do some damage, but Cell ends up using Solar Flare before he can be finished off.
- Poor Communication Kills: Krillin is immediately and understandably confused by the fact that 18 and Trunks are shocked that he destroyed the remote. Mainly because nobody told him that the possibility of Cell absorbing 18 is now an even greater problem than her being a threat in general (he doesn't even know Cell can do that, period, as far as he knows Cell is an entirely unrelated issue); hence why 18's assurance that she and 16 don't intent to hurt any innocent people or any of the heroes was enough to make him break it. This is mainly because the situation had changed rather dramatically from the time he acquired said remote, and nobody had given him any heads-up in that time. Granted, him knowing beforehand probably wouldn't have changed much, but still.
- Punctuated! For! Emphasis!: 16, asking why 18 still hasn't escaped from Cell.16: Why. Are You. Still here?
- Rage Breaking Point: Trunks is pushed past this by the mix of Vegeta helping Cell to absorb 18 and Krillin's failure to destroy her. Notably, at the beginning of the episode, he was still submissive enough to his father that he immediately stopped screaming when Vegeta ordered him to can it. By episode's end, he's grown so angry that he actually blasts Vegeta away when the latter goes on about Trunks ruining his plans.
- Shout-Out:
- The opening song Goku sings about Gohan becoming a Super Saiyan is a parody of the "Giant Woman" song from Steven Universe.
- After getting beaten up by Trunks, Cell quotes Bugs Bunny's famous "This means war" gag from Looney Toons.
- The opening song Goku sings about Gohan becoming a Super Saiyan is a parody of the "Giant Woman
- Side Bet: Piccolo and Tien bet on whether Vegeta or Krillin will screw things up for everyone. Bulma bets on both. And wins.
- So Proud of You: Subverted. Trunks' act of rebellion makes Vegeta feel pride in someone else for the first time in his life. However, since it also involved potentially robbing Vegeta of his ultimate challenge against a Perfect version of Cell, said pride is taken over by UNYEILDING RAGE.
- Suddenly Shouting: When Bulma starts gloating in a sing-song voice about the guys owing her zeni, Piccolo screams about how Cell is going to kill them all.
- Take a Third Option: Krillin can't bring himself to kill 18, nor can he allow himself to let Cell take her. After having her promise not to kill anyone, even Goku, Krillin destroys the remote and attempts to protect her.
- Throw the Dog a Bone: After three seasons and multiple movies of being the series' official Chew Toy (and especially his experiences with Maron) Krillin realizes he is in love with Android 18, and she actually starts to reciprocate...for about 5 minutes before Cell absorbs her.
- A Twinkle in the Sky: Trunks sends Vegeta blasting off to stop him from allowing Cell to become Perfect.
- Uncovering Relationship Status: Krillin admits beforehand that it's probably an inappropriate time for this, but he still asks 18 if she's "seeing anyone right now" while they're desperately trying to run away from Cell.
- Villains Never Lie: When Trunks angrily points out to Vegeta that Cell has been manipulating him in their conversation, Cell points out that he actually hasn't lied the whole time. He just wants to absorb 18 to become "perfect", and convinces Vegeta that he can be a better challenge in doing so.
- Villain Song: Cell's "P.E.R.F.E.C.T." song at the end of the episode.
- What the Hell, Hero?: Trunks freaks out when he realizes that Krillin not only failed to blow up Android 18, but even destroys the remote that his mom spent 20 hours to make.Trunk: WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU?!?!?!
- Bulma, a little earlier, when Piccolo tells her what Krillin did.Bulma: That was 20 hours of my life! That dick!
- Piccolo himself when he hears that Vegeta is allowing Cell to seek out 18.
- Bulma, a little earlier, when Piccolo tells her what Krillin did.
- You Have GOT to Be Kidding Me!: Tien cannot believe that Krillin actually risked the lives of everyone by destroying the remote for a girl; especially one who became half-machine and was meant to kill them all.Tien: He really did it... He actually risked every life on the planet just for...for cyber sex! I didn't Kikōhō myself half to death so he could get laid!Piccolo: Oh. Gross.
"My name is Perfect Cell, and I'd like to say...hello."
