In Dragon Ball Z‘s Namek/Frieza Saga, Goku first tries to defeat Frieza with his powerful Spirit Bomb attack. However, Frieza was on a different power scale, and Goku would hardly leave Namek alive after defeating Frieza after using one of his strongest attacks (although that Spirit Bomb only had energy from Namek). The Frieza Saga is one of the most beloved arcs in Dragon Ball.
After the deadly battle, Goku barely escaped alive, and it would be a long time before he returned to Earth — at first, the remaining Dragon Team even thought he was dead. What exactly happened to Goku after Namek and before going back to Earth?
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Why Did The Namekians Create The Dragon Balls?
Namekians are the only species in the universe that can make Dragon Balls, but why did they create these wish-granting items?
Namek’s Explosion And Planet Yardrat
Frieza is still alive even after Goku throws a Spirit Bomb at him — and he wants to kill Piccolo, Goku and Krillin for getting in his way. Goku gets so angry at seeing Krillin die that he unleashes his Super Saiyan form for the first time in the series and fights Frieza, who soon realizes that he is no match for Super Saiyan Goku. Frieza then decides to blow up Namek, and throws an energy ball at its core. Now a crumbling Namek will explode in a few minutes.
On Earth, Kami and Popo gather the Dragon Balls and wish for the resurrection of those killed by Frieza. Then King Kai asks the now revived Grand Elder Guru to bring everyone back to Earth, except Frieza. However, Goku asks to stay and ensure that Frieza is defeated.
Goku and Frieza keep fighting, and Goku has the upper hand. While it seems that Frieza is going to die after Namek explodes, Goku desperately tries to get off the planet in Frieza’s ship, as he won’t be able to get to his own ship in time. When the planet finally explodes, it first seems that Goku wasn’t able to escape. However, when they try to ask Porunga to revive Krillin and Goku, they learn that Goku is actually still alive.
Goku actually ended up in Ginyu Force’s spaceship after failing to get Frieza’s ship to take off. The Force was supposed to invade a planet called Yardrat, so the ship was already programmed to go there. Thus, Goku ends up in Yardrat after luckily getting out of Namek in time.
What Does Goku Do On Planet Yardrat?
Goku arrives in Yardrat badly injured. Fortunately, the Yardratians take care of him until he fully recovers, and they also give him new clothes, since his clothes were all torn up. He stays on Yardrat for about a year, and then finally heads back to Earth.
It was during his stay on Yardrat that Goku learned one of his coolest techniques, Teleportation (also known as Instant Transmission and Instantaneous Movement) — and he could have learned even more.
I didn’t have much time, so I only learned one technique. Even so, I had to work really hard to get it down. I can now perform “Instantaneous Movement.”
Although the Yardratians are weak when it comes to ki and physical strength, they are able to manipulate space and time and use unique techniques.
How Long Are The Events of Namek In-Story?
A Little Longer Than A Month
The Frieza Saga is one of the most popular arcs in Dragon Ball Z, especially due to the thrilling final showdown between Frieza and Goku and the introduction of Super Saiyan. In the original anime, it lasts for about 70 episodes (considering that Namek, Ginyu, and Frieza arcs are all part of the same larger Frieza Saga), so it is also quite a long saga.
However, in-story, it lasts for about 40 days — which is long but maybe not as long as it seems in the anime. This also means that Goku spent about nine times more time on Yardrat than he did on Namek.
Dragon Ball Z is available to stream on Crunchyroll, subbed and dubbed in many languages.
- Release Date
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1989 – 1996
- Directors
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Daisuke Nishio
- Writers
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Akira Toriyama, Takao Koyama
