It is quite possibly the dumbest episode of Dragon Ball Z in existence - and I say that as a compliment. It feels much more like an episode of the original Dragon Ball, than its much more serious successor. “Goku’s Ordeal” stands out from the average Dragon Ball Z fanfare for a few reasons, but the biggest of all is its humour.

Though certainly a filler episode, this painfully offbeat adventure is thought to be inspired by the official Dragon Ball art (seen above) featured as the cover for chapters 255-256 of the manga.

Known as “Goku’s Ordeal,” the episode centres on powerful Z warriors Goku and Piccolo as they attempt to… acquire their driver’s licenses. The best filler episode (or possibly the worst) aired on Februin Japan and Septemin America. Within Dragon Ball Z’s nearly 300 episode run, around 40 filler episodes were produced, with most falling in between story arcs. In the case of Dragon Ball Z, filler episodes usually involved characters training, a conflict with a lesser villain, or simply screaming really loud for an extra hour or two. Unsurprisingly, most anime filler episodes don’t add much to the main plot of the show. Thus, those in charge found a way to entertain viewers while their cartoon waited for the its print counterpart to catch up - filler episodes. It was important to the Dragon Ball Z showrunners that the anime storyline never surpass the manga, for fear of spoiling the ongoing plot for dedicated fans. For a show that aired every single weekday without fail, this wasn’t much of a gap to fill.

When the Dragon Ball Z anime premiered in April of 1989, it was a mere six months behind its Dragon Ball manga source material.

Dragon ball z driving school