Counting Down

is the 15th episode of the Vegeta Saga in the uncut Dragon Ball Z series. This episode first aired in Japan on September 27, 1989. Its original American airdate was July 19, 2005.
==Summary==
With the last day of Goku's training, King Kai does a recap of what he has learned so far. Goku is able to catch Bubbles in half a second and hit Gregory in one point two seconds. Goku tests the power of the Spirit Bomb, a life-energy ball technique which he learned along with the Kaio-ken from King Kai himself and pulls it off with flying colors. Unexpectedly, King Kai realizes that he failed to include the time it would take Goku to return to the world below and that he would now return a day after the Saiyans had arrived and it would be too late.
Goku contacts Master Roshi telepathically through King Kai to tell him to summon Shenron with the Dragon Balls and bring him back to life immediately. Master Roshi, Bulma, Oolong and Puar release the dragon, and Oolong asks if Shenron can wish the Saiyans to be defeated, but Bulma asks Oolong is he gonna leave Goku dead. Shenron answers that he would be unable to fulfill such a wish, since the Saiyan's power is greater than that of Kami, his creator. So instead, they wish Goku back to life after Master Roshi suggests to bring Goku back to life and Shenron answers that is a wish he can fulfill.
King Kai uses his powers to give Goku his new Gi which is able to repel small attacks. Goku's halo disappears as he is now alive again. Goku says his farewells, and streaks back along Snake Way; King Kai estimates that it will now take him just over a day to reach the end. The next day, at 11:43AM, the Saiyans' space pods land in the heart of East City much to the dismay of the Dragon Team who sense their presence.
==Major Events==
*Goku uses the Spirit Bomb for the first time on screen.
*Goku is brought back to life.
*The Saiyans land on Earth.
==Battles==
*Gohan vs. Piccolo
==Appearances==
===Characters===
*Goku
*King Kai
*Bubbles
*Gregory
*Piccolo
*Gohan
*Master Roshi
*Bulma
*Yamcha
*Yajirobe	
*Oolong
*Puar
*Turtle
*Shenron
*Vegeta
*Nappa
*Chiaotzu
*Tien Shinhan
*Krillin
===Locations===
*Earth
**Kame House
**Break Wasteland
**East City
*Other World
**King Kai's Planet
**Snake Way
===Objects===
*Earth Dragon Ball
*Attack Ball
*Scouter
*Battle Armor
*Tail
==Differences from the manga==
*As Gregory is an anime exclusive character, all of his appearances and interactions did not happen in the manga.
*The manga never concretely reveals if Goku ever notices King Kai's symbol on the back of his gi, while the anime does have him acknowledge it.
*The scene in East City of the little girl asking her father if they can have a bite to eat is only in the anime.
*The East City civilians examining the Attack Balls is expanded in the anime with more people expressing surprise at Nappa and Vegeta's emergence. The Saiyan's reacting with confusion to the rubberneckers is anime only.
==Trivia==
*The toilet in Kame House is shown to be in a room of its own when the toilet previously was in the same room as the bath throughout all of Dragon Ball, like bathrooms in western countries. It is possible the house has multiple bathrooms or has been renovated since then, as five years passed between the events of the original Dragon Ball series and Dragon Ball Z.
*The calendar by the toilet at Kame House has 1989 as the year, which is the same year that Dragon Ball Z and this episode first aired in Japan.
*The wish from Shenron later brought forth (or spawned) Rage Shenron.
*New footage of Goku training in the Kaio-ken with King Kai is showcased in the recap; a rarity for Dragon Ball Z. The other episodes to do this are "The New Threat", "The End of Snake Way", "The Heavens Tremble", "Krillin's Proposal", "Frieza's Counterattack", and "Gohan Goes to High School".
*The dialogue regarding the King Kai symbol on Goku's new gi is radically different in the Japanese and American versions. In the original Japanese version, Goku sees his Turtle School symbol on the front and is happy Kai did not put on "that ugly Kai symbol", only to find it on the back. In the American version, Goku's dialogue is completely the opposite, he wants to have the Kai symbol because he trained under King Kai and wears the symbol "with pride".
*This is the first episode to use music from Dead Zone.
*In this episode, Vegeta and Nappa's color schemes are corrected to their normal ones.
**It should also be noted that from this episode onward, the Scouter's design is also color corrected - note the red button and the grey grill. The old design worn for Raditz originally had the colors reversed, and the color change is reflected on Bulma's scouter as well.
*This is the second time an attempt to wish for the instant defeat of a villain was mentioned, but it was never used, since killing Vegeta and Nappa is impossible for Shenron as he was created by Kami who is weaker than either Nappa or Vegeta (some mistakenly believe it is because Shenron can't kill people at all, when in reality, all Shenron said was that he cannot grant a wish that exceeds the power of his creator, thus he was unable to defeat and/or kill Nappa and Vegeta as they were stronger than Kami).
*Footage from this episode was recycled for Saban's edited The Tree of Might dub.
==Gallery==
==Site Navigation==
Category:Episodes
Category:Dragon Ball Z episodes
Category:Vegeta Saga
Category:Uncut Dragon Ball Z episodes
es:Episodio 21 (Dragon Ball Z)
ca:Episodi 21 (BDZ)
pt-br:Sai daí Shenlong! Os Saiyajins chegaram à Terra
fr:Dragon Ball Z épisode 021