The best game of cat and mouse in Dragon Ball GT!

Dragon Ball GT
Baby reveals himself to Trunks! Pic credit: Toei Animation

Why does one of the best enemies in the Dragon Ball franchise have such a dumb name? Dragon Ball GT was arguably the darkest in the franchise.

The Dragon Balls were next to useless or couldn’t be used. And healing was barely allowed. Add a long Dragon Ball hunt across the universe, and throw in an enemy that makes Buu and Cell look like chumps, and you have a recipe for high stakes.

But my favorite part is how Baby learned from his mistakes and saved a special trap for Goku, Trunks, and Pan. We’ve seen villains wait until the Dragon Balls are collected and then steal them.

We’ve seen people being absorbed or turned into candy and eaten. But how many times have we seen someone possess another character, switch bodies, and leave eggs behind?

Dragon Ball GT
What started as a calm moment will soon turn into a fight for their lives! Pic credit: Toei Animation

Let me thank you for that occasion.

Baby is easily one of the most intelligent villains in Dragon Ball. He doesn’t appear to be much of a threat when first introduced.

Especially when Goku, Trunks, and Pan are working together. But that was just round 1 in a long game.

The viewer sees more of Baby than our main trio does, and it doesn’t take away from the tension. We watch as Baby slips away in Dr. Myuu’s leg undetected.

Only for him to begin leapfrogging from body to body with some unexplained loopholes. How did he get from Dr. Myuu’s spaceship and into General Rilldo’s body before our group could escape?

And how’d he get ahead of them with enough time to absorb more people before taking over a nameless boy’s body? How did Goku and Trunks not sense the boy’s ki when Pan saw movement behind them?

But it’s round 2 where things take a turn for the worse. After failing to sneak up on Pan in time and being led into a trap, Baby finally manages to infest Trunks’ body.

Unfortunately, he didn’t have enough power to claim Trunks, but he had enough time to give him a parting gift. One that he would savor while going to Earth and after the remaining Saiyans!

Prepare yourself for today is your new birthday.

Unaware of the danger, our heroes finish gathering the Black Star Dragon Balls and head home. They give the Dragon Balls to Dende and Mr. Popo and split ways to see their families.

Geru decides to stay with Trunks and tries to warn him that something is wrong. But Trunks assumes that he’s worried about meeting his father.

An ironic point that I’ve always loved about this part. Because Baby is now using Vegeta as a host, and he’s been waiting to greet Trunks properly.

After a short chat where Trunks confirms they left the Dragon Balls with Dende and Mr. Popo, Baby leads them into the living area of Capsule Corp.

Trunks only has a second to look around and relax before an infested Bulma welcomes him home. Except she doesn’t look happy to see him and says he’s been bad, so she’ll leave Trunks to be punished by his father.

Trunks watches as she leaves the room and voices his confusion, only for Baby to laugh. I like the dub and sub versions of this conversation.

You can see that Baby is enjoying this. But, at the same time, Geru is the only one who sees the truth.

The moment Baby lets his mask slip, letting Vegeta’s hair turn white, the metallic markings and red eyes appear, and calling Trunks a Saiyan in his voice instead of Vegeta’s. It was the perfect reveal.

Geru tries to save Trunks, but it wouldn’t have worked even if Baby weren’t using Vegeta’s body. Nothing was going to take Baby’s attention away from Trunks for more than a moment.

His original Saiyan host was right where he wanted him, and now he gets to watch as his egg takes control of Trunks!

The one that got away!

I wish we had more time to see Baby with his new family. Considering Baby stated he would kill Vegeta after infesting the universe.

GT could have been much darker, and the Baby Saga could have been longer. But the final episodes of the Baby Saga were satisfying.

Goku transforms into a Gold Great Ape, then Super Saiyan 4, and calling Mr. Satan Grandpa Satan makes everything feel lighter. And Baby’s reaction to seeing Trunks free from his control felt real.

Depending on which version you watch, you can hear his frustration, confusion, and maybe a hint of betrayal. Baby was going to let Trunks live as a reborn Tsufurian or Tuffle.

Trunks was the first Saiyan, and arguably the first one he laid an egg in, and now Trunks is free and choosing death over serving Baby. And then Baby sees Gohan and Goten are free as well.

I hate how Baby just up and abandoned the reborn Tsufurians, but I loved watching Goku kill him. It’s rare for Goku to kill an enemy, which shows that Baby is one of the few people he never wants to encounter again.

Subscribe
Notify of
guest

0 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
0
Would love your thoughts, please comment.x
()
x