At the end of season five of Dragon Ball Z, artificial android Cell achieved his perfect form and challenged the Z Fighters to a martial arts tournament to determine the fate of the Earth. Now the tournament begins, but it proves to be a very uneven adventure. The contest begins slowly: The first 11 episodes are just set-up and filler, with little action. The battles between Cell and the Z Fighters offer plenty of excitement, as the brawlers blast each other through rocky cliffs and fling bursts of energy into space. Goku correctly predicts that Gohan will crush Cell. But the story falls into repetitions; Cell has to be killed three times before he'll stay dead. When Cell announces the tournament on TV, Mr. Satan, a WWF-type, appears as Earth's champion. Although he's a coward and a phony, the TV crew fawns over him--a lame gag that goes on far too long. The filmmakers also change the rules in mid-story. Cell had to absorb Androids Nos. 17 and 18 to achieve his perfect form. After a series of body blows from Gohan, he vomits up No. 18 (intact); later, he regenerates himself into an even more perfect form without the Androids. Goku is killed and decides to remain in the Next World with King Kai, rather than risk attracting more evil creatures to Earth. But when Trunks returns to the future, he destroys Cell before he can travel to the past and achieve his perfect form
which means the Cell that killed Goku never existed. Season six could have easily fit on four discs--the last two discs contain just three episodes apiece, and the only extras are textless songs and some trailers.(Rated TV PG. suitable for ages 8 and older: violence, tobacco use, ethnic stereotypes) --Charles Solomon
(166. What Is the Tournament? 167. The Doomsday Broadcast, 168. Meet Me in the Ring, 169. No Worries Here, 170. A Girl Named Lime, 171. Memories of Gohan, 172. A New Guardian, 173. Dende's Dragon, 174. The Puzzle of General Tao, 175. The Games Begin, 176. Losers Fight Fir
