Dragon Ball Kai 2014 -dub- Episode 46 Review

Sumitomo’s score during the transformation is not triumphant. It is a low, cello-driven dirge with screeching violins. It sounds like a horror movie. Because it is. We are watching a 10-year-old boy’s psyche shatter.

Compare this to the Z dub, which played electric guitars and drums. Kai 2014 treats the SSJ2 transformation like a possession. Gohan’s eyes go white. He laughs. Not a heroic laugh—a broken, hollow chuckle. After Gohan destroys the Juniors and snaps Cell’s Android 17 out of his body, Cell detonates himself. Goku teleports him to King Kai’s planet, sacrificing himself.

If you watched the original Dragon Ball Z (Ocean or Funimation dub), you remember the line: “Do it, Dad. Let it go.” But the 2014 Kai dub—specifically the Nicktoons/Toonami version—reframes this moment entirely. Let’s break down why this episode is not just a fight, but a funeral for Gohan’s childhood. First, a crucial distinction. The 2014 Kai dub (often called the "Final Chapters" dub) arrived nearly a decade after the Saiyan/Namek Kai arcs. By 2014, the voice cast—led by Sean Schemmel, Christopher Sabat, and the incomparable Colleen Clinkenbeard as Gohan—had matured into their roles. This wasn't the scratchy, over-exaggerated delivery of 1999. This was precise, cinematic voice acting. Dragon Ball Kai 2014 -Dub- Episode 46

Gohan whispers: “Dad?”

And that is the most terrifying Super Saiyan transformation of all. What are your memories of this episode? Did the Kai dub change how you view Gohan’s character arc? Let me know in the comments. Because it is

Furthermore, this dub tonally corrected a major flaw of the Z-era: the "heroic" soundtrack. Where Faulconer’s synth rock might have hyped up Gohan’s rage, the Kai 2014 score (by Norihito Sumitomo) leans into dissonance and tragedy. Episode 46 picks up mid-massacre. The Cell Juniors—those nightmarish, smiling clones—have broken every bone in the Z-Fighters’ bodies. Goku, having admitted he cannot win, throws the Senzu bean to Cell, a decision that still divides fans decades later.

No music. Just wind.

On the surface, this is the episode where the legendary “Cell Games” reach their emotional zenith. But beneath the kiai shouts and aura flares lies a masterclass in psychological horror, paternal regret, and the tragic deconstruction of a pacifist forced into war.

The 2014 dub emphasizes this line. In the original Japanese, it’s more neutral. In Kai English, Schemmel makes it sound like Goku realizes he sacrificed his son’s humanity for a tournament victory. Kai 2014 treats the SSJ2 transformation like a possession

Let’s sit with that. Goku threw a Senzu bean to the monster currently killing his friends—because he wanted a fair fight. Episode 46 argues that Goku’s saiyan instincts are a character flaw, not a virtue. The tragedy is that Gohan, the half-breed, is more human than Goku. And to win, Gohan must kill that humanity. Look at the color palette in this episode. The sky is a sickly yellow. The blood (uncut in the home release, but notably dark red in the 2014 TV edit) pools like oil. The Cell Juniors don't just punch; they gnaw.