Synopsis: Aboard Pilaf's aircraft, King Piccolo points on the radar and says that since Cymbal died trying to collect that Dragon Ball, whoever killed him must possess the ball already. His attendant thinks it's highly unlikely that someone in the world could possibly defeat one of their clan, an assessment that the Pilaf gang tries to politely agree with, but Piccolo angrily asks them all how Cymbal died if that's the case. Piccolo swears that while he doesn't currently know who did the deed or where they came from, he will make them learn what happens to those that defy the great Demon King, and starts by calling in Tambourine. Elsewhere, in a small village, Tambourine is fighting Giran, kicking him hard and sending him flying into a nearby boulder. Getting back up, Giran says he's had enough of this, but Tambourine mocks him and asks if this is really the best he can do. Watching from inside their home, a small bear-child and his father are torn between happiness and horror as they watch the area's bully Giran get beaten to a pulp by this mysterious stranger. Giran tells Tambourine he's mistaken if he thinks he can get away with this and says he'll kill him for attacking him, but Tambourine says there's nobody in this age that can kill him. Giran spits out his gum, wrapping it around Tambourine and brashly challenging him to try to move, and Tambourine easily breaks it apart, much to Giran's horror. Tambourine launches forward and impales Giran through the gut with his arm, killing him instantly. With Giran taken care of, Tambourine licks his foe's blood from his arm before ripping up his tournament entrant sheet and leaving a demon mark paper on the body. Looking through the remaining entrant sheets, Tambourine chooses Yamcha as his next target. Before he can get far however, King Piccolo contacts him telepathically. Though Piccolo is pleased to hear Tambourine has already killed six targets, he regretfully informs him of the death of Cymbal, and tells him to abandon his targets for the time being and head to Cymbal's last location to kill whoever slew his brother. Piccolo professes faith in him as he is several times stronger than Cymbal was, and Tambourine vows to resolve this problem for his master. Back at the battleground, Yajirobe says that Cymbal was far tastier than he expected, and even says he could go for another. Goku tells him they'll probably be seeing another one very soon, causing Yajirobe to ask him how he knows that despite having claimed to have never seen Cymbal before. Goku explains that as long as Yajirobe has that Dragon Ball around his neck, they'll keep coming after him. Yajirobe takes offense at the blunt way Goku speaks to him and instructs him to speak more respectfully to him, but Goku ignores him and remarks how much his voice reminds him of Kuririn's, enraging Yajirobe further. Yajirobe muses that if their voices are similar, he and this 'Kuririn' must look similar as well, thus making Kuririn very handsome, but Goku tells him Kuririn was bald and had no nose, once again enraging Yajirobe for being compared to someone like that. Growing tired of Goku's antics, Yajirobe tells Goku to leave him be, and Goku prepares to leave, telling Yajirobe he'll see him again. Yajirobe scoffs and says he doesn't want to ever see Goku's face again, but Goku says that he'll have to gather the Dragon Balls to revive Kuririn, so at some point he'll have to borrow the ball around Yajirobe's neck. Yajirobe stops him and asks just what the heck the ball he has really is anyway, but before Goku can fully explain, they both catch sight of something in the air. Flying around and looking for whoever killed his brother, Tambourine is unaware that he's been spotted. Yajirobe is excited at the prospect of another meal, but Goku instantly recognizes Tambourine as the one that killed Kuririn and destroyed kinto'un. Goku yells up to Tambourine to get his attention, and prepares for battle, with Yajirobe saying he'll let Goku handle the fight, but the body is his to eat afterwards. Landing on the ground, Tambourine is surprised when he recognizes the boy who was yelling up at him. Review: With Cymbal's death, the scene is being set for Goku to finally get a rematch and a chance at revenge against Kuririn's killer, which might explain why Yajirobe already feels...extraneous, even in his introductory chapters. He chiefly existed here to be a new foil for Goku, and given that he has no interest in being any such thing, it's no wonder the story is already moving to rest fully back on Goku's shoulders again. In the midst of that however, this is still very much King Piccolo's story to tell. Toriyama makes sure to have Piccolo's anger at the destruction of his 'son' feel as palpable as possible, almost instilling a sense of actual care for him in the Demon King. Given the nature of his minions however, and the fact that he seems to actually feel physical pain when they die, it's arguable that it only looks that way and Piccolo is really just angry at anyone that would dare defy him in the first place. It would certainly fit with his outrage at martial artists in general, so this one could really go either way. The poor Pilaf gang basically has nothing left to offer at this point too, so they're quickly being reduced to a villainous equivalent to Goku's friends, just hanging out in the background, looking shocked and making commentary where appropriate. Take that more as an observation than a complaint however, as I'm not really sure what they realistically COULD offer at this point other than that. Seeing Tambourine kill Giran is definitely a scene rife with mixed feelings, isn't it? He's a character from far earlier in the series, one we haven't seen for a long time now, so we're bound to feel a little bit of nostalgic attachment to him...but at the same time, he's kind of an asshole, so it's not really that sad to see him get offed either. It's hard to say if this is just random, or a particular choice on Toriyama's part. We've already seen Kuririn die (though it did happen offscreen), and Namu – a character that definitely had more emotion attached to him than Giran did – has been killed offscreen as well. For Giran however, we get to see what happens front and center. Is it just who Toriyama decided to kill this time and we just so happen to see it? Or is Toriyama carefully choosing not to show us the deaths of characters he knows we care about, not to spare us the trauma of seeing them die per say, but instead maybe to heighten the drama for if we see anyone else we care about die next? Hmm... Either way, poor Giran didn't stand a chance, and it's very likely that Yamcha wouldn't have stood a chance either even if he didn't currently have a broken leg to deal with. Yamcha is luckily given a reprieve however thanks to Piccolo's new mission for Tambourine, which just so happens to be a lucky break for Goku as well, as it's going to give him exactly what he's been after this whole time: another chance to avenge Kuririn. On a final note however, I wanted to touch briefly on a rather curious exchange between Yajirobe and Goku that some people might not be aware of. Goku comments that Yajirobe's voice reminds him a lot of Kuririn's, and for once in Toriyama's writing, this isn't something he did completely on a whim. Knowing that Kuririn's death would be pending for the anime version and thus put Mayumi Tanaka (Kuririn's Japanese voice actress) out of work on the show for some time (if not permanently, as there was never a guarantee Kuririn would be coming back, but let's face it, it was always pretty likely to be honest). Feeling bad about that and being a fan of her work on the character, Toriyama decided to throw her a bone and made it a point to describe Yajirobe's voice as similar to Kuririn's, hoping that the staff at Toei would pick up on his little hint, and sure enough they did – Mayumi Tanaka was thus cast as Yajirobe as well, giving her a part to play on the show even with Kuririn's absence. Right now dub fans are likely scratching their heads as Yajirobe and Kuririn sound nothing alike – that's because in the dub they aren't played by the same actor (or actors) at all. At this point in time, the younger voice of Kuririn is played Laurie Steele, and Yajirobe is played by Mike McFarland (who had already been playing the role via DBZ), and their voices sound nothing alike at all. As such, the dub chose to just have Goku say something about Yajirobe reminding him of Kuririn in a more general sense. Just goes to show, not everything can be translated directly due to context. Until next time! Favorite Panel: Next Time: Tenshinhan's Growing Pains
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Synopsis: Cymbal again asks Goku and the fat warrior if they've seen a Dragon Ball anywhere around here, prompting the fat newcomer to call him out for acting high and mighty. Cymbal spots the ball hanging from the man's heck and orders him to hand it over, causing Goku to realize this new creature must be working with the one that killed Kuririn and took his Dragon Ball. The man asks Cymbal why he should give him the ball, and Cymbal asks him if he's really planning to defy him. If so, Cymbal doesn't mind giving him an early death and taking the Dragon Ball from his lifeless hands, and the man challenges him to try it. Goku says he wants to fight Cymbal himself, but the man objects and says that he's his prey. When Goku continues to argue, the man says they have no choice but to play rock-paper-scissors for it. Cymbal says they're insulting him with this display, revealing that he serves the great Demon King Piccolo...but neither boy seems to care. The fat warrior wins the game and gets to fight first, though he says he doesn't think Cymbal looks that tasty at all. Cymbal tells the man one last time that he'll regret this, but the fighter says Cymbal's the one who's going to regret fighting him. The man rushes Cymbal only to get knocked back by a swipe of the monster's tail, followed by a kick and a punch that knock him to the ground. Cymbal laughs and thinks he died too quickly to even feel regret, but to his surprise, the man gets back onto his feet. The man thinks it's weird that he ran into two people this strong in one day, but Cymbal compliments his toughness. The man surmises that Cymbal's too tough to eat raw, so he'll have to cook him after all. Cymbal is surprised the man still wants to fight him, but is even more surprised when he manages to land a powerful punch into his face. Annoyed now, Cymbal decides to stop playing around, and shoots a lightning-like blast of energy from his hand that the man is just barely able to dodge. The man continues to dodge blast after blast, resulting in Goku asking if he needs any help. The man scoffs and says he's just getting in his exercise. Cymbal asks the man what's wrong, and as the fighter leaps in again, he laughs and says he still hasn't learned his lesson after all. Cymbal tries blasting him one more time, but the man dodges forward, catching Cymbal by surprise and cutting him in half with one swipe of his sword. As Goku marvels at the display of strength from his new 'friend', in the Pilaf aircraft, King Piccolo feels a sudden pain at the death of his 'son'. As his attendant questions what's wrong, Piccolo reveals the sudden news, and remarks that it seems there's someone out there capable of resisting the demon clan after all. With Cymbal's death, the fat warrior doesn't let his body go to waste and immediately begins cooking it over a fire. He tells Goku he's not getting any, and Goku bemusedly says he doesn't want any anyway. The man sniffs the meat cautiously, but much to his surprise, it turns out to be pretty good, causing him to tell Goku once more that he doesn't get any. Once the man has eaten Cymbal entirely, Goku asks him for his name. The man says he has to tell him his first, and when Goku does the man remarks that he's got a weird name before telling Goku to call him 'Lord' Yajirobe. Review: As longtime fans would have already known, the fat fighter was indeed Yajirobe. What they might not have known though was just how strong of a fighter he really was. Coming into the franchise at the start of DBZ as a lot of English-speaking fans did, you wouldn't really think much of Yajirobe at all. Of the fighters brought in to train for the impending threat there, he's easily the least impressive, not taking the training seriously or even ending up on the frontlines immediately, both things that even Chaozu of all people manages to do. He gets a pretty impressive moment towards the end of Z's introductory arc, but after that, he largely exists in the background of the series, mainly serving as an attendant in his own right. You'd certainly never peg him for a fighter of any real merit, especially not someone who was capable of taking on people capable of using ki, or being anywhere near Goku's level, but those are both things he's just shown in this chapter to be capable of doing. So then, why does Yajirobe exist in such obscurity? If he's so strong, why doesn't he do anything to get stronger or seem to have any ambition to compete against other fighters? It's just down to his personality, frankly. As shown in both chapters serving as his introduction, Yajirobe as a character is really only concerned with two things in life – food, and his own comfort which usually means having food. He's arguably the most selfish 'good guy' the series ever gets, easily putting even Bulma to shame, and that's no easy feat. Even Oolong has already been shown to grow to care about Goku and his other friends even if he's still more concerned about himself at the end of the day, but Yajirobe? He's not really going to soften up any further from where he is now, with the only real change to his character coming when we see how he reacts to dangers too strong for him to deal with, namely wanting absolutely nothing to do with them. He's a character that exists completely and utterly for himself, and he's perfectly okay with that fact about himself. So really, when you think about it, it's almost a shame he's here in Dragon Ball and thus relegated to obscurity, because his mean-spirited attitude really makes him kind of perfect for a Toriyama series of it's own. Tell me you wouldn't read a gag manga from him following a self-serving fat samurai who only wants to eat all the food he can? It'd be great! Hell, I kind of wish he'd gotten to meet Arale at some point too. Yajirobe's introduction and personality aside, his fight with Cymbal isn't the most impressive we've seen, though it does manage to be at least more engaging than his clash with Goku, even if most of that is on the part of Cymbal rather than himself. Cymbal's lighting blasts are the first time in the series we've seen ki just fired out without being part of some sort of named technique, almost foreshadowing what's to come soon in the series. It's also interesting to see Piccolo's reaction to his creation's death. It could be that he just senses his brood's demise, but his reaction actually seems physically pained, suggesting that there's some sort of life-link between them. It's entirely possible this is the case given what we'll later learn about Piccolo himself and a different character, though it's clear that if this life-link does exist, it's not to the same level of extremes as that. It does sort of explain how the demon minions mature so fast though. Piccolo barely had to explain anything to Cymbal about what he wanted him to do, and Cymbal already pretty much knew exactly what to look for in terms of the Dragon Balls, suggesting some level of consciousness link as well (at least, up to the point that Piccolo spits one of them out anyway). Cymbal's dead body might also be the first time we've seen Goku not want to eat something too, proving that even he has some standards compared to Yajirobe at least. Sort of makes you wonder, if he'd actually been capable of killing them, what other later threats Yajirobe would have totally been willing to eat...guess the future timeline's lucky he's weak in more ways than one. Until next time! Favorite Panel: Synopsis: Goku is overjoyed at the sight of the large cooked fish and immediately leaps upon it, eating it down to the bones. With his stomach now full, he leaps back to his feet and punches a nearby rock, pleased with how much of it easily breaks, showing that he's back at full power now. Goku says he'll take care of that monster easily now and calls out for kinto'un...only for nothing to happen. Goku is taken aback as he realizes that the monster really did destroy his cloud after all, and swears to get revenge for it as well.
Goku pulls out the dragon radar to check for a nearby Dragon Ball as that should be where the monster is, but to his surprise one shows up far closer than expected. Thinking the monster must still be nearby, he looks around, barely noticing a large incoming boulder in time to jump out of it's path. Goku calls out for the monster to show itself, but instead a fat ruffian with a sword at his waist steps out and accuses Goku of eating his fish. Goku says the fish he ate was just laying around, which the other boy scoffs at, saying a pre-boiled fish doesn't just 'happen to be laying around'. As Goku gets a closer look at the man, he sees a Dragon Ball hanging from a necklace around the man's neck, and accuses him of taking his ball and working with that monster. The man says he has no idea what Goku's talking about but won't let that distract him from what Goku owes him. The two continue to argue until ultimately coming to blows, with the fat fighter actually proving able to go toe-to-toe with Goku fairly evenly. As both fighters are left wondering who in the heck the other is and why they're so strong, Goku finally notices that the Dragon Ball the other has is the one-star, not his stolen four-star. Goku asks the man how he got it, and he says he found it three years ago. Goku apologizes for the mistake, but the man once again says he won't be distracted by other matters and orders Goku to give him back his fish. Goku seems confused, causing the man to demand that Goku hurl it up right now, but Goku points out instead something approaching them from behind in the sky. Goku is outraged as it gets closer, thinking that it's the creature that killed Kuririn, but when it lands, he realizes that it looks a little different actually. Cymbal tells the boys that it has only one question for them, and if they lie they'll die – have they seen a small orb with stars inside of it anywhere near here by chance? Review: After a series of chapters dedicated to crafting the overall narrative of this arc, it was sort of nice to get to a somewhat more laid-back chapter that really only focuses on one thing at a time. Granted, it's only laid-back in relation to the plot itself, as it's full of fighting (hence another rather short review), though even the combat here feels a little more subdued compared to what we just came off of with the 22nd Tenkaichi Budokai. It's fine though – we can't expect every single fight to be a thrilling encounter after all. It's certainly an entertaining encounter however, as Goku at long last meets another face that will already be familiar to fans that started with DBZ. I'll talk more about him as of the next chapter when we get to see a little more of what he's like, at least early on, as well as his name. For now though, this nameless fat fighter manages to make quite the first impression, with both his stuffy attitude as well as his combat abilities. I said the fight itself isn't anything to marvel at, and it's really not – it's mostly just a back-and-forth of blows showing that both Goku and he are able to give as good as they get – but you have to remember that Goku's back at full power now after his meal. That means, even if he's not going all out just yet, he's back to being pretty strong...and this random newcomer is keeping up with him. I don't know if I'd go so far as to say that puts him in the same leagues as Goku or even Tenshinhan if they were going all out, but it's certainly the most impressive we've seen someone be outside of tournament participants. His stuffy attitude also brings with it a bit of mystery, as if he's so strong, why hasn't he ever gone to the tournaments? What's he doing out in the middle of nowhere cooking a fish? How in the world did he manage to run a string through the Dragon Ball? And considering his insistence that Goku puke back up the fish...was...was he still planning to eat it at this point? Urgh. That last question is thankfully left unanswered due to the arrival of Cymbal. He's not the monster Goku is looking for, but in it's own way it's a lucky break for Goku, as he really has no way to track down Tambourine at this point. Now that Goku's back to full power though, how will he stack up against Piccolo's newborn warrior? ...Well... Until next time! Favorite Panel: Synopsis: King Piccolo can't wait to get the Dragon Balls and wish to restore his youth and power, but instructs his minion, Tambourine, to focus on killing the remaining martial artists on the list. His attendant asks what they'll do about the Dragon Balls then, and Piccolo says he'll make another warrior to collect them. Shu and Pilaf worry that he's about to do 'that' again and make them lose their lunch, and Piccolo's attendant likewise worries that if he expends any more energy, he might die before they can gather the Dragon Balls. Piccolo assures him that he can still do this several more times without risk to his life, and decides that it's only fitting that a warrior to search for the Dragon Balls likewise looks like a dragon themselves.
Beginning a long chant, Piccolo eventually spits up a large egg from his mouth as the Pilaf gang looks away in disgust. Piccolo is winded and his attendant asks him if he's alright, but Piccolo ignores him and bids his newest creature, Cymbal, to awaken. A dragon-like being hatches from the egg, and Piccolo instructs the newborn Cymbal to gather the remaining six Dragon Ball for him. Piccolo demands Pilaf show them where the next closest Dragon Ball is, and Pilaf points it out on their radar. Looking over the tournament roster, Tambourine picks out Namu as his next target, and both he and Cymbal fly out of the airship to attend to their missions. Shu tells Pilaf that he's beginning to think Piccolo doesn't feel indebted to them at all, but Pilaf hastily shushes him lest Piccolo overhear, while saying that he's sure Piccolo will give them half of the world...probably... At Kame House, Bulma finishes filling in Tenshinhan about the Dragon Balls, and how they could even be used to restore Kuririn to life. Yamcha thinks they should first use the balls to get rid of King Piccolo, but Puar says if they do that they'll have to wait a whole other year to revive Kuririn, causing Oolong to worry that he'd just be a zombie by then. Bulma says she can make a special freezer capsule to keep him preserved however, but Roshi seems less hopeful, morosely commenting about a 'very pale gray'. Yamcha quickly asks his master what that means, and Roshi says he was only commenting on the color of Bulma's panties that he could see due to how she was sitting. Bulma hits the old man, who claims he was only trying to break the ice. Roshi says that their first order of business is to actually gather the Dragon Balls, then they can decide how to use them. Lunch alerts everyone to a news report on the TV, revealing that Namu has been murdered, and friends and family say it was a monster who left as soon as it killed him, leaving behind only a cryptic piece of paper with the mark for 'Demon' on it. They realize that the purge of martial artists has already begun, and Yamcha thinks they need to warn everyone, but Roshi reminds him that there was only one copy of the tournament roster and thus they don't know where anyone lives. Tenshinhan thinks they could ask the media to broadcast a warning, but that would probably only result in a worldwide panic. Roshi says they'll all be in danger if they remain at Kame House as well, and asks Bulma how long it'll take her to make a new radar. Bulma says even a rushed one will take at least half a day, and Roshi says that will have to do but asks her to hurry, and that they'll have to move out as soon as the radar is finished. A short time later, everyone leaves in a small plane, and Roshi says he's thankful that Tenshinhan and Chaozu decided to join them after all, though Tenshinhan's not sure how much use he'll be against a monster that could kill even Goku. As Lunch comments that she thinks they're going to need a lot of those freezer capsules, Bulma hopes that Goku might still be alive out there. On the ground below, Goku awakens at last, and remembers what happened to him as he gets back onto his feet. He wonders how long he was knocked out, but the question is soon pushed from his mind when he smells something cooking. Rushing in the direction of the smell, Goku is overjoyed to find a large fish cooking over a fire. Review: As opposed to the arc's incredibly speedy opening, things are starting to settle down a bit in regards to how fast things move along, and it already feels the better for it. We're also spending more time with our new villain than we are our heroes overall, something that's markedly different from previous arcs. Even with the Red Ribbon Army, we only really checked in with Commander Red every so often to keep the story moving along, but this time, Piccolo IS the story. And because of that, we're getting a fairly decent look into how he operates. As mentioned before, he's a far shrewder villain than any we've had thus far, seemingly as a result of having already been defeated once before. While nothing is said for certain, I'd also make a guess that's probably also the purpose of his pterodactyl-headed attendant. While nothing's been said outright in the series thus far, I'd make an uneducated guess that the attendant is probably Piccolo's 'first-born' of this new brood of demons, with Tambourine as the second. Piccolo likely did this so as to have a voice of reason to consider if he did start to take things too cavalierly, someone to help balance out his more destructive tendencies we'll say – that said, he's still likely to ignore him if it suits his needs, as seen with him ignoring the attendant's worries about his health both before and after he spits out the egg. Oh yeah, that's a thing too – who would have thought regurgitated egg birth was something you'd ever see in the series? Or our lives in general? It's certainly a unique and bizarre way for Piccolo to 'make demons from within himself' as Roshi put it, and it certainly makes for a disturbing image as well. The chant is a little strange though. If I recall correctly, it's based on a chant Japanese children would do while playing a particular game, so Toriyama's likely using it here just to be amusing...but does Piccolo have to do that every time he gives birth? Is the chant some form of dark magic that causes them to come out as demon minions rather than...well, to jump ahead a bit, beings more similar to himself? Hmm. At any rate, that's now two monsters on the loose, both of which are sure to cause more death and mayhem for our heroes to contend with, while also leaving us as an audience to wonder which one they'll come into conflict with first. Goku was after Tambourine specifically, but there's nothing to direct him towards him now, while Cymbal's going after the Dragon Balls, which Goku now no longer has one of either. He's kind of up shit creek without a paddle, as the saying goes. Before we really get back to Goku though, we now at least know what our other heroes are going to be up to in the interim as well. Roshi's ice-breaking aside, it's very smart of the characters to be planning contingencies about how to deal with Piccolo as well as how to wish back the fallen Kuririn, and you'll notice this might be the wordiest Dragon Ball has ever been up until now – another sign of just how much this story arc is changing the status quo of the series as a whole. With Namu's death (poor guy really didn't deserve to go, but evil monsters gonna evil monster), Roshi quickly realizes that none of them will be safe on the island, presumably because...hey, wait...why WOULDN'T they be safe on the island? Think about it, the reason they're going to be targeted is because the roster lists living locations for all tournament participants. But Kuririn's dead. They already assume Goku is dead. Roshi presumably put a false location down when he entered the tournaments as Jackie Chun, I would think. So that only leaves Yamcha who I would have thought would have still listed West City as his residency. So really, Kame House should be safe for now, shouldn't it? Either they're leaving for nothing, or either Roshi or Yamcha did list Kame House. That aside, going back to Goku, it probably wasn't too surprising for people that he was still alive, even if this was the longest time we'd spent thinking he was dead. C'mon, it's the start of the story arc – what kind of Dragon Ball storyline would start off with the main character's dea - ...Oh. ...*cough* Well that comes later anyway. Until next time! Favorite Panel: Synopsis: Having finally caught up with the monster that murdered Kuririn, Goku angrily demands that the creature give back the Dragon Ball and Kuririn's life. The creature is at first confused as to who Goku is, but quickly realizes that Kuririn must be the name of the fool that tried to stop him from taking the Dragon Ball and the list, and is overjoyed to hear that he truly did die. Goku is even more enraged to see how gleeful it is over Kuririn's death and swears to avenge his friend, but the creature merely laughs and thinks it'll be amusing to kill someone who's out to kill themselves. Goku swiftly tries to attack the creature, but it dodges easily and kicks Goku away, only being saved from falling by the movements of kinto'un. Goku realizes now that all of his energy is still spent from the tournament, but the creature laughs some more and assumes there's just not much to Goku in the end. Goku says if he could just get something to eat then he'd make short work of him, but the creature decides to end things here. Launching a quick blast from it's mouth, it destroys kinto'un, leaving Goku stranded in mid-air, only to follow up with a vicious swipe of it's hand that sends Goku hurtling to the ground. The creature laughs and remarks about how much it enjoys killing, before it continues on it's way back to it's master. As Goku lies on the ground, seemingly dead, night begins to fall. Back at the tournament grounds, Bulma wishes she'd never let Goku take the radar and hopes he comes back soon, but Roshi thinks that it's already been too long, and he's probably not coming back. He says they need to get back home and bury Kuririn, and Yamcha curses King Piccolo for what he's caused, vowing to find some way to stop him. Bulma angrily asks him what he thinks he can do against a guy like that and if he wants to add himself to the body count, but Yamcha reminds her that with the tournament roster in Piccolo's hands, he's already on the kill list. Oolong is overjoyed at the realization that he won't be on that list, causing Bulma to angrily retort that he still won't do well if Piccolo really does take over the world. Tenshinhan asks Roshi if he knows how to use the Mafuba that his master used to seal away Piccolo before, and Roshi says that Mutaito passed away without having the chance to pass the technique down to anyone else. The announcer surmises that calling the police probably won't do any good in this situation, so instead he'll have faith in all of them to save the world. Roshi thanks him and asks him to pass on word that they've gone home on the off chance that Goku does turn back up. Tenshinhan asks if he and Chaozu can accompany them after all, and Roshi thinks that's a good idea as they'll all be stronger together. Oolong comments that his future is looking bleak, causing Lunch to rebuke him by saying this isn't all about him. Back on Pilaf's airship, the creature presents King Piccolo with the Dragon Ball, confirming that Pilaf's radar truly does work. Piccolo is happy to think that eternal youth will soon be his, and is made even happier when his creature reveals it also retrieved the tournament roster for the last ten years or so. He asks his creature to paste them on the wall, and Pilaf offers to help. When the creature gets to Kuririn's picture, it laughs and crumples the paper, saying there's no need for that one as he already killed him. Mai finds Goku's picture and the Pilaf gang are astounded to learn that he came in second place twice now, but realize that this explains why he was too strong for them to deal with. Seeing that picture as well, the creature says it's pointless to put it up as well, as he also killed him. The Pilaf gang are taken aback that their long-time enemy could be killed so easily, and the creature says that if he was considered the second strongest, then King Piccolo has truly come back in an age of weakness. Piccolo thinks this will just make things easier, but he still wants to proceed with his plan as is just to be on the safe side. To ensure that he'll never have to face the Mafuba again, he wants every martial artist listed in the roster killed as soon as possible. They also still need to gather the remaining Dragon Balls, and once that's done, world domination will come easily. As Goku's body continues to remain motionless on the ground below even as the sun finishes rising again, Shu and Mai ask Pilaf if maybe they might have made a mistake in reviving King Piccolo. Review: We haven't seen Goku so readily defeated like this since the likes of Taopaipai, but while Goku's far stronger now and that suggests a pretty extreme level of strength for Piccolo's creature, I don't know that I'd say his loss here is anywhere near as shocking. When Goku first lost to Taopaipai, he was coming at him with a similar sort of rage, but also in seemingly peak condition at the time, so the assassin's victory over him is as shocking as can be. Here though, Goku's running on an empty tank, so a creature strong enough to kill Kuririn taking him out just isn't as shocking. His seeming demise however still manages to land pretty solidly (just like Goku's body hitting the ground actually), since that is one hell of a fall he just took. We'll check back in on him soon enough though. In fact, Goku's brief fight with Piccolo's nameless (for now) minion has another similarity to a previous fight in that it results in the destruction of kinto'un, just like Goku's, er, “fight”, with Colonel Silver did. Poor cloud just can't go very long without getting incapacitated or restricted one way or another, can it? After Goku's defeat, his still body ironically still manages to serve a purpose in this chapter by helping show the passage of time in relation to his defeat. We see him laying on the ground when it's daytime, only for night to come in the next scene, followed by daylight in the following scene that ultimately ends up showing us his body once more, still lying there. If only time passing was always shown so clearly in this manga. At any rate, there's not really much to talk about with Goku's friends just yet. While it was good that Toriyama showed us how long they waited for Goku's return and where they're now moving to now that they've been forced to more-or-less give up hope, there's not really much in the way of plot progression with them yet as they mostly just go back over what we already know. The only interesting things brought to the table here are Tenshinhan deciding to stick with them all for now after all, and his questioning if Roshi might know the Mafuba, something that Roshi shoots down immediately. Hmm... No, the more interesting exchanges come this time in the scene with King Piccolo and his minions with the Pilaf gang. To help further drive in the idea that they'll be killing every Tenkaichi Budokai participant, we briefly see posters for both Namu and Ranfan being put up before Piccolo's minion starts pointing out Goku and Kuririn as people he's already killed. Pilaf finally learning just exactly who he was dealing with all this time is amusing, but it's immediately thrown off by the creature's reveal that he's killed him too. This revelation brings both parties on the aircraft to different conclusions. While the Pilaf gang now start asking themselves if maybe things aren't getting out of hand very quickly, King Piccolo is being put into a place where he's going to be severely underestimating what the remaining martial artists can throw at him. Well, sort of. Don't forget that while Kuririn was probably also a little tired from the tournament, he wouldn't have been anywhere near as winded as Goku, and the creature did still manage to kill him. If he's that strong, Piccolo's sure to be even stronger, but despite that, he still wants both the Dragon Balls to restore his youth and the death of all martial artists just to be on the safe side. As a villain who's already lost once before, he's not going to take things as lightly as any villains we've seen prior to this. You don't get to be the Demon King without being careful after all. Until next time! Favorite Panel: Synopsis: As everyone tries to process Kuririn's death, Roshi confirms with the tournament announcer what he just said, that the monster that killed Kuririn stole both Goku's Dragon Ball and the tournament roster. The announcer says Kuririn tried his best to stop it but the creature was just too powerful. Enraged, Goku grabs his nyoibo and asks Bulma if she has the dragon radar with her. Roshi orders Goku to stop, but Goku ignores him and takes the radar from Bulma before calling down kinto'un and flying off into the sky. Checking the radar, Goku sees that there are two Dragon Balls nearby, but only one of them is moving – that must be the monster he's after. Back at the tournament grounds, Roshi curses Goku for acting foolishly, saying that if that monster really is strong enough to kill Kuririn easily, a tired Goku who just got done fighting an exhausting tournament match won't stand a chance. Tenshinhan carries Kuririn's body and remarks what a terrible turn of events this is, while Oolong finds a scrap of paper on the floor and asks if it could be related to what's going on. Bulma reads the symbol on the paper as the mark for 'Demon', causing a surprised Roshi to grab the paper from her to look at it. Much to his horror, it appears to be just as he feared – it's the mark of the Demon King Piccolo. While Lunch says that's a stupid name for some kind of 'demon king', Tenshinhan says he recalls hearing that name once before as a master of demons said to have plunged the world into darkness and terror a long, long time ago, but he thought... Roshi cuts him off and says what Tenshinhan heard is correct: Piccolo is a terror that should never have resurfaced in their lives. Roshi says that despite the innocent sounding name, Piccolo was a fearsome demon with an overwhelming power, able to conjure up further demons from inside of himself and strong enough to transform the world into a dark void of death in an instant. He further explains that even in his youth, Piccolo was too strong for him, Tsuru-sennin, or even their own master, Mutaito, to defeat. Unable to stand by and watch Piccolo's destruction however, Mutaito eventually devised a way to deal with the demon differently – he created the Mafuba, or 'Demon-Seal' technique, and using it was able to seal King Piccolo away inside of an electric rice-cooker with a talisman placed upon it. In doing so, Mutaito gave up his own life. Roshi is adamant that there's no way King Piccolo should have been able to return, as he buried the rice cooker in the ocean floor himself. Chaozu wonders if perhaps Tsuru-sennin could be behind this, but Roshi says that not even he would do something like this, being all too aware of the terror of Piccolo himself. Yamcha suddenly realizes that this means the monster that killed Kuririn is likely one of Piccolo's minions, and Roshi hopes that Goku doesn't get himself killed. Tenshinhan hopes that maybe Goku won't even find the creature, but Lunch says there's no way he won't since he has the radar. Tenshinhan still doesn't understand what they're talking about when they mention Dragon Balls and radars, but Roshi is more troubled by something else. The demon took both the Dragon Ball and the tournament roster...what in the world could they be planning? Elsewhere, inside of a large aircraft in the sky, a large, foreboding figure sits upon a demonic throne while his pterodactyl like attendant stands next to him. King Piccolo confirms what Pilaf, Shu, and Mai have just told him, that the seven Dragon Balls gathered together will grant any wish. Pilaf asks him if his wish would surely be for world domination, but Piccolo scoffs and says he has no need of such a wish. What he wants is eternal youth, and once that is granted to him, he can easily dominate the world via his own power. Pilaf blanches but praises him for his reasoning, but tries to casually remind Piccolo that it was he and his henchman that found the rice-cooker and freed him, as well as telling him about the Dragon Balls in the first place. Piccolo tells him to get to the point, and Pilaf requests that maybe, once Piccolo has conquered the world, he can give them half of it. Upon seeing Piccolo's stony glare, Pilaf quickly amends his request to a third or even a fourth of it, and Piccolo coldly says that he'll consider it. Scoffing about martial artists, Piccolo blows up the rice-cooker that was his prison with a mere glance, saying that he still can't believe he was sealed away by such a gutless spell. He vows to show all of this era's 'great' martial artists what real power is. Roshi suddenly realizes exactly what King Piccolo's plan must be – since it was the Mafuba that sealed him away, Piccolo must fear the chance that another martial artist will know it and use it against him. The announcer says that with that list, Piccolo will know who the best martial artists in the world are, and Tenshinhan says everyone on the list must be marked for murder. As Roshi fears that is indeed the case, up in the sky, Goku finally catches up with the winged creature that must be Kuririn's murderer. Review: Right at the very start, there's an incredible difference in how this arc hits the ground running as opposed to the more leisurely pace that the previous arcs have taken up until now. In the first search for the Dragon Balls, the entire story is pretty laid-back up until the finale where they finally meet someone else after the Dragon Balls. The 21st Tenkaichi Budokai arc starts off just being about Goku and Kuririn's training before it finally escalates by taking the action to a tournament. The Red Ribbon Army arc slowly builds up the threat of the army before only revealing their leader's true goals right before the closing of the arc. And even the last arc prior to this one, the 22nd Tenkaichi Budokai arc only really starts getting the ball rolling when Goku's mentioning of Taopaipai gives Tenshinhan and Tsuru-sennin a reason to become actual villains rather than annoyances. Here though, we have a main character dead right from the very start, and in the course of the chapter we're already going to learn both the who and the why behind his death. So why the difference? I'd say part of the reason for that is so that it will feel different form the previous arcs right from the get-go – this is a clear moment of change for the series as a whole, one that it will never completely move away from. Since it's so different from everything that came before it, I think Toriyama wanted to let fans know from the very start what they were about to be in for, to some degree anyway. A bigger part of the reason though is probably because Toriyama himself is still learning – he's been primarily a gag manga artist up until this point, so this is all new ground for him as well as for the series itself. By front-loading most of the exposition for the arc at the front of it, Toriyama is free to get right to what he's really wanting to show in this new story afterwards, and that's some great action. The story's not the only thing different here either, as we've never before seen Goku quite like this. We've seen him angry before, but this is a rage that almost looks out of place on his face. The closest things I can think of prior to this were his rage at Murasaki for trying to blow up Android 8, and his rage at Taopaipai for the death of Bora. In both of these cases though, things got defused almost immediately afterwards – in the case of Murasaki, Goku stops him before he can do it, and in the case of Taopaipai, it's Goku himself who is put down. Here though, Goku doesn't have an immediate outlet for his anger, but he knows how to find one and he pursues it in such a blind rage that I'm not sure he ignores Roshi so much as he just doesn't hear him at all. Either way, this is a Goku on a mission for vengeance. Then we hit the first of two exposition dumps in the chapter, and admittedly I can see how this would make the chapter unenjoyable for some people. I can certainly see the argument that revealing parts of this over time rather than all at the front would have been more engaging. That said, I love everything that's brought to the table here, so it's hard for me to be too upset at it for blowing it's informational load too early. An ancient threat thought long dealt with rearing it's ugly head as the new problem for our heroes to deal with is an excellent chaser after the more modern threat the Red Ribbon Army portrayed, and it ends up feeling pretty organically tied to the introduction of Tsuru-sennin as a former rival of Roshi's. The idea that this is a problem dating back to their own youth, and one that resulted in the death of their own master, heightens the tension even further than just Kuririn's death would have. It's still Toriyama and it's still Dragon Ball however, so there has to be some levity here, and both Piccolo's name and the fact that he was sealed in an electric rice-cooker of all things help keep things from feeling TOO grim. It's pretty funny to hear a character named Lunch complain that Piccolo's name sounds stupid though – pot, meet kettle. Of course, even with the question of who King Piccolo is and how one of his minions could be strong enough to kill Kuririn answered, there's still the questions of how he was brought back and what his goals are now left to ponder...which is where the chapter's second information dump comes in. It's this second moment that I do have some issue with, no matter how much I love this story, as it probably would have been more interesting to let at least a few of these questions linger for a while, even if it was just one more chapter (therefore buying a week of theorizing and contemplating for fans when this series was first running). The most frustrating part is that the seeds to do just that are already here – Chaozu wonders if perhaps Tsuru-sennin could be behind this, a theory that Roshi shoots down immediately, but what if he didn't? He would seemingly be the most obvious suspect, being the only other person who might know where the rice-cooker is buried and having an axe to grind with our heroes, so what if they had to track him down quickly and confront him, only for it to turn out he has no idea what they're talking about and wants nothing to do with them, especially if they're going to be trying to combat someone like Piccolo. Granted, it's a little suspect that the Crane Hermit would have had time to go unleash Piccolo in the short amount of time between the 22nd Budokai's final match and this point, but let's be honest, it wouldn't be the first (nor the last) time this series has played fast and loose with the passage of time. Unfortunately, we don't get anything like that, and the answer of who released Piccolo (the Pilaf gang) and what his goals are (eternal youth, the death of all skilled martial artists, conquering the world by his own power) are pretty much just handed to us. Again, it's not really that different from us being just handed the explanation of who he is, but I would have liked to see this drawn out just a little bit more. Maybe we could have gotten some of Goku's fight with Kuririn's assassin this chapter, so that some of this could have been given to us in the midst of that? To make matters worse, it's not just us the audience that knows what's going on now, but Roshi himself correctly guesses that the roster is so that Piccolo can kill anyone who could potentially learn the Mafuba, so now the only thing of importance that they don't know and we do is that Piccolo wants to regain his youth. Cripes, leave SOME mystery here, wouldn't ya, Toriyama? Until next time! Favorite Panel: Next Time: Goku meets his match! Synopsis: The Pilaf gang finish making a dragon radar at the request of Tsuru-sennin who thinks that having it along with the power of the Mifan Empire will make gathering the balls much easier. Pilaf says he's glad to have been of service to him, and Tsuru-sennin asks Taopaipai to “reward” them as Tenshinhan watches. As the opening theme plays, the scene changes to Goku and Kuririn completing their training with Kame-sennin following the events of the previous movie. Goku asks Roshi to train them properly now that they're done, but Roshi reveals that they've basically already completed it, instead offering to take them to compete in the martial arts tournament being held in Mifan soon so that they can test their skills and see how much they've improved. In Mifan, the royal army ransacks village after village, with a rumor buzzing around that they're looking for Ran Ran, the 'bride' of their king who suddenly went missing. Tsuru-sennin reports to king Chaozu that they've yet to find her anywhere, but suggests that they may be able to call upon the powers of the Dragon Balls to find her. One of Chaozu's soldiers, Blue, interjects with the suggestion that Tsuru-sennin may be seeking to use the power of the balls for himself as the only place in the kingdom they haven't checked for Ran Ran yet is the Crane Hermit's own room. Blue's objections are met by a challenge from Taopaipai, who promptly slays the soldier using only his tongue. Chaozu is horrified, but Tsuru-sennin swears to him that they'll gather the Dragon Balls and bring Ran Ran back to him as soon as possible. Elsewhere, Bulma has drug Yamcha, Puar, and Oolong along for another search for the Dragon Balls. They soon find one far underwater, but as Bulma tries to dive with their ship to get it, they're soon attacked by jets. Bulma evades and shoots down the jets, but they're prevented from getting the Dragon Ball once again when a large Mifan submarine runs them off with torpedoes. Meanwhile, Roshi takes his students and Lunch to Mifan for the tournament, telling them about the tournament's ultimate prize – the winner will have their heart's desire granted to them by the king of Mifan. More importantly than that though, he wants them to do their best and really show what they can do. In the Land of Karin, the Mifan soldiers continue searching for another Dragon Ball, as Upa and Bora watch from a nearby cliff. Upa asks his father if they should just give the ball to the soldiers so they'll leave, but Bora thinks the men will just kill everyone once they have what they want, so instead leaves with Upa to go to Mifan to talk to the king there himself. Back in Mifan, Tsuru-sennin cackles as he looks at the six Dragon Balls he already has hidden in an ornate statue. A soldier comes to tell him they've located the last Dragon Ball, a fact overheard by Bulma with her rocket camera just outside the window. Bulma decides to steal the Dragon Balls from Tsuru-sennin as payment for how harshly his men attacked them earlier, dragging Yamcha and the others with her to Mifan. In a Mifan restaurant, Roshi treats his students to dinner while a disguised Bora sneaks into the building with Upa. Soldiers lead by Metallic soon storm in and accost the pair, and in the ensuing chaos, Goku and the others end up involved in the conflict. Taopaipai arrives shortly after and is recognized by Roshi as he's able to easily stop Bora from using his spear. Roshi speaks up before the fight can escalate further however, claiming that Bora is a guest coming to the tournament just like them, and thus is under the king's protection. Taopaipai recognizes Roshi as well, and reluctantly agrees to let them be for now, but warns them all not to leave the city until after the tournament. Back in their hideout, Tsuru-sennin confirms with the radar that Bora has the last Dragon Ball, and Taopaipai says if it hadn't been for the witnesses and Roshi's intervention they'd already have it. Tsuru-sennin isn't concerned however, as he thinks Taopaipai is more than enough to deal with even Kame-sennin, and the last Dragon Ball will soon be theirs. Now back in their hotel room, Roshi remarks with amazement after Bora tells him what's been going on, but Bora insists that he's sure it's not the young king of Mifan himself behind all of this. Bora says he'll win the tournament and ask him himself, and both Goku and Kuririn agree to do the same if they're the ones that win. Lunch comments that it won't be any use if they find the last Dragon Ball first, but Bora pulls out the four-star Ball, overjoying Goku. Later that night, Chaozu wakes up from a nightmare, causing Tenshinhan to rush to his side to comfort him. Chaozu asks Tenshinhan to call him by his name instead of his title since they're friends, and reveals that he had a nightmare where he was killed. Chaozu says Tenshinhan is the only person he can rely on completely, and Tenshinhan's reactions show how conflicted he is with his part in Tsuru-sennin's scheming. The next day, the tournament starts at last, with Goku, Kuririn, Bora, and Yamcha all prepared to enter. Bulma spots Goku and runs over to show him with her radar that alls even Dragon Balls are in Mifan now, and asks Lunch to come with her to try and steal the six Dragon Balls Tsuru-sennin has. Bulma has Oolong and Puar transform into Chaozu and Tsuru-sennin, and they begin to sneak into the castle. As the tournament starts, Yamcha fights first and performs well enough that it scares away a bunch of the other competitors. When Bora steps in to fight however, Roshi yells out a distraction that causes Yamcha to lose. Before Bora can be declared the victor however, Taopaipai jumps in to continue their fight, resulting in Bora's death when Taopaipai throws him onto a nearby statue's spear. Tsuru-sennin uses this chaos to launch his takeover of the Mifan empire. Chaozu pleads with Tenshinhan to intervene, but Tenshinhan struggles internally before ultimately telling Chaozu to remain silent. Goku angrily tries to fight Taopaipai for what he's done, but is sent flying away courtesy of a Dodonpa. Tsuru-sennin gloats to Roshi that between the might of Taopaipai and the power of the Dragon Balls, the world will be his for sure. A soldier soon alerts Tsuru-sennin to the fact that the last Dragon Ball is shown flying away on the radar, and Taopaipai realizes that Goku must have been the one that had it instead of Bora. Goku crash-lands in a strange tower and meets a cat named Karin. Karin tells Goku that the Dragon Ball that fell from the hole in his shirt must have saved his life, and asks him if he really wants to defeat Taopaipai. When Goku says he does, Karin gives him a senzu to replenish his strength, but tosses the Dragon Ball into a nearby pot of water. He explains to Goku that anger is like the ripples in the water, clouding what needs to be seen, and that all Goku has to do to win is focus his mind and overcome his anger. Back in Mifan, Taopaipai takes one of the castle's pillars and uses it to fly in the direction he sent Goku in, while Bulma struggles with Tsuru-sennin's statue. She finally gets it open and finds the Dragon Balls, but this causes an alarm to go off and alert Tsuru-sennin. As Tsuru-sennin and Tenshinhan rush away, Roshi and Kuririn take advantage of the confusion to start beating up the soldiers holding them. Realizing that Taopaipai will be coming for him as well, Goku heads out on kinto'un to meet him. Before the two can meet however, a strange girl throws a boulder at Taopaipai, knocking him from the pillar and sending him crashing to the ground. Bulma and Lunch try to escape the castle with the six Dragon Balls they took, but not even Lunch's machine gun is able to stop Tsuru-sennin who promptly catches the bullets and tries to kill Bulma with a Dodonpa. Yamcha leaps in and grabs Bulma out of the way, causing the both of them to fall into the lake below, and the Dragon Balls to spill out of Bulma's bag and into a dark crevice in the depths. Back at the tournament grounds, Roshi is able to defeat Metallic but is felled by Tenshinhan, garnering him praise from Tsuru-senning who asks him to kill Chaozu next. Tenshinhan objects, saying that won't be needed once they get the Dragon Balls back, but the Crane Hermit doesn't want anything left to chance. Tsuru-sennin laughs and says that all they have to do now is wait for Taopaipai to return. In Penguin Village, Arale Norimaki pokes the body of Taopaipai before he leaps out of the ground just in time for Goku to arrive. Taopaipai's attempts to fight are interrupted by the antics of Arale and the Gatchans, so Taopaipai tries to kill Arale with a Dodonpa, earning him an electric attack from the Gatchan in kind. Arale leaps back up to show that she's alright, and Goku and Taopaipai fight again at last. Goku easily defeats Taopaipai this time, even proving able to withstand a Dodonpa himself. Left with no other choice, Taopaipai feigns asking for forgiveness to steal Goku's Dragon Ball, and leaps onto a capsule aircraft to fly away, launching rockets at Goku and Arale as he leaves. Goku and Arale knock the rockets back into the air towards Taopaipai, and the killer is blown up, leaving Goku to catch the Dragon Ball and head back to Mifan, while Arale cheers and a confused Senbei Norimaki walks into the scene. Tsuru-sennin is told that the Dragon Balls are too deep into the crevice to retrieve, and decides to settle for ruling Mifan for now instead. Tenshinhan tries to kill Chaozu but ultimately can't bring himself to do it, earning him praise from a surprisingly alive and awake Roshi who pleads with him to change his ways. Tsuru-sennin tells Metallic to kill Upa if Tenshinhan won't listen, but Tenshinhan just can't kill Chaozu. Enraged, Tsuru-sennin launches a Dodonpa at Chaozu but gets blown away instead by a quick Kikoho from Tenshinhan. With his master defeated, Metallic prepares to kill Upa but is stopped for good at last by Goku crash-landing headfirst through his chest as he returns with the last Dragon Ball. The remaining soldiers swear fealty to Chaozu one again, and Tenshinhan returns his bride (actually a doll) Ran Ran to him. Tenshinhan tells Chaozu to give him whatever punishment he sees fit, but Chaozu thanks him for saving him. Bulma and Yamcha return from the lake, showing that everyone has survived this ordeal...except for Bora. Goku says the Dragon Balls can surely bring him back to life and asks Bulma to let him use the wish, which she agrees to while warning Goku that the other Dragon Balls are probably impossible to get to now. Chaozu says that the crevice in the lake is said to be where a dragon lives, and Goku tosses the four-star ball into the water before calling for Shenlong. As the credits begin to roll, Shenlong is summoned, Bora is brought back to life, and peace is returned to the Mifan Kingdom. Review: So as I'm sure you've gathered by now, this movie is...a LOT. I'll be honest, I've long remembered this movie as being one of my favorite of the non-Z or Super movies, and it was usually my go to answer as my favorite of the original three films. After revisiting it with a reviewer's mind set however...I think I may have just ruined this movie for myself, because it is one of the most convoluted, crammed-to-the-brim-with-things-we've-already-seen works in the franchise we've ever gotten outside of the video games. In a franchise that routinely rolls out references to it's past story arcs like they're going out of style? That's saying something. Picking up pretty much right where the second movie left off, this third theatrical installment for Dragon Ball finds Goku still undergoing his initial training with Kame-sennin after the first search for the Dragon Balls. You've likely noticed between where I'm choosing to place this movie in terms of when I review it and a lot of characters featured in it, that this movie came out way, WAY past that storyline being current for the franchise in any shape or form. While the idea of telling an alternate universe story that built upon itself with every installment was an interesting way for Toei to go about making movies for the franchise, it must have become obvious to someone at the studio how far behind this was leaving them in terms of relevancy. Two movies down and they're barely past the starting line for these characters. As a result, someone decided to press the fast forward button and leave it on when coming up with this film's story, because we burn through referenced plot points and characters at a pace never-before-seen. To put it further into perspective, I repeat: this movie starts off in a place that would be considered maybe the halfway point of the 21st Tenkaichi Budokai arc, just before the tournament actually starts. This movie goes from there and runs through things from that arc, the Red Ribbon Army arc, and even the 22nd Tenkaichi Budokai arc as well. That is a LOT of ground to cover, and honestly, I can't really say it does it super well. Which brings me to one other way this movie sets itself apart from it's predecessors. While the first two Dragon Ball movies saw fit to loosely take characters and ideas from how they were introduced in the manga first (the second movie doing largely it's own thing after a short introduction period for Kuririn), this movie takes pretty much every single thing in it from the manga. Whereas the first movie contained original characters and a new villain for Goku to fight by their ends, this movie decides to utilize only characters introduced in the mainline series. While it's neat to get to see some of these characters shine once again, none of them really fare any better than they did before – most of them fare worse, honestly – leaving us without really anything new to look at and hold our interest. But that's all a major summation of the film's flaws. Let's look at a few parts of it in more detail, so as to show exactly what I think doesn't work, and...try to find something that I think does. Getting a cameo at the beginning of the movie for the Pilaf gang (marking their only film appearance until Battle of Gods, believe it or not) is a fairly nice inclusion, albeit a sad one when you realize they just got killed off-screen. I mean, I guess there's a chance they survived given we don't actually see anything, and Taopaipai just beat them up, but...more than likely they're dead. Poor dolts. Likewise, I do have to praise the movie thinking to showcase some of it's needed backstory – ie Goku and Kuririn's training – through montage as the opening song plays. This is a really neat way to make use of the film's runtime, and lord knows it needed it as they do a similar thing with the end credits. Still, it makes for a fun alternate way to watch and hear Makafushigi Adventure instead of just seeing it with the same opening animations that the series got. One interesting change I did want to mention involves Roshi telling the boys about the upcoming tournament. In the original version, he tells them to do their best, but ultimately decides to enter as well as Jackie Chun so that he can ensure their loss so that they're inspired to greater heights. Here however, he straight up tells them that he hopes the tournament inspires them to keep training and get even stronger than they currently are. Movie Roshi must have taken Original Roshi's advice and decided to cut out the middle man rather than going through the whole disguise charade. Thank goodness for it too, because I think I would have legitimately gone insane if I'd also had to account for Roshi in disguise while writing the synopsis. The most interesting part of the film's plot is probably how it recasts Tenshinhan and Chaozu and likewise their relationship with both each other and the likes of Tsuru-sennin and Taopaipai. As we've just covered in the manga, they're originally students of the Crane Hermit while Taopaipai is someone they (or at least Tenshinhan) idolizes. Here however, Chaozu is the ruler of the movie-original land of Mifan, with Tenshinhan as his...guard? Attendant? He's still his friend however, and if anything the level of closeness they feel here is a more apt explanation for how the two will interact later on than them having been training buddies. Likewise, Tsuru-sennin isn't their master but rather one of Chaozu's advisors who's looking to usurp him, and Taopaipai is his own bodyguard. This is all very creative uses of taking liberties with the characters as they were, far more than what has been done with any of the other characters prior to this. It's interesting, but at times can leave them feeling like all new characters rather than the characters they originally were at all. It's almost like they had a plot in mind with a barebones idea for characters needed to tell that story, and then changed them out with existing characters so as to be more caught up with where the series itself was by that point in time. This is especially evident with the likes of Metallic, Blue, and the any other element of the Red Ribbon arc that's not Taopaipai. Metallic is pretty close to being who he was, but outside of one moment where he's a little brutal in regards to searching a guy's van, Blue may as well be an all new person compared to his Red Ribbon counterpart. This one even tries to save Chaozu by pointing out the entire crux of the movie before it even happens, only to get offed by Taopaipai in exactly the same manner as he was in the original series. Huh...more on that in a bit though. Nobody feels more shoe-horned into this movie than Bulma's group sadly, as they don't really offer much to the story at all. In fact, Bulma's whole reason for being here at all is rather nebulous – she seems to want to make a wish on the Dragon Balls, but we're never made privy to what exactly that wish would be. She's still with Yamcha seemingly, they don't seem to be arguing quite as much as they were in the Red Ribbon arc, so unless she's finally going after that lifetime supply of strawberries, it seems like she's just here to tie the Dragon Balls into the plot – something that really didn't need doing thanks to Upa and Bora's inclusion. Upa and Bora are largely the same as they were in the manga as well, and their inclusion actually feels rather natural. The main adversary in this movie, fight-wise anyway, is Taopaipai, and one of the most shocking moments with his time in the series was the brutal murder of Bora. As long as the movie's going to be running down a check-list of notable moments to cover again (and oh man does it ever do that), it may as well include the one that really stands out amongst the others. Once all the individual pieces of this story's plot are finally set up, the story's pace picks up quite a bit as the characters all start to meet up and exchange information on what's been going on. Frankly, it's kind of amazing how much they already know going into things only to proceed to do absolutely nothing to stop it from happening really. The only character that has much of an excuse to be caught unaware is Chaozu, and he's PSYCHIC. Well...kinda. His powers do seem to be severely downplayed in this version, with the only aspect shown for sure being the ability to speak telepathically with Tenshinhan, and that's something taught to him by the latter in this version apparently. At any rate, the tournament itself quickly proves to play no part in the story at large, really only existing as a framing device for why Goku and Kuririn would be going to Mifan in the first place. That still doesn't stop Yamcha from losing in the tournament though. Poor guy can't catch a break even in alternate timelines. Once Bora is killed by Taopaipai (in a method very similar to his manga demise, after a reference to the original version earlier tries to mislead you into thinking it won't happen this time), the pace of the movie switches once again, going from the slow building of the opening act, the light jog of the second act, to a full-speed dash for the finale for it's final act. On the one hand, this means the movie starts getting a little more entertaining than some may have found it to be at the start. At the same time though, even with everything the movie has already shoved in, it somehow finds a way to shove even MORE in at this point. Goku losing to Taopaipai, Goku training with Karin, Goku fighting Taopaipai again, a Dr. Slump crossover, Tenshinhan's match with Roshi, Tenshinhan 'betraying' Tsuru-sennin, Tsuru-sennin being sent blasting off again like he's Team Rocket – it's all here, coming at us at a mile a minute, and it's really...really disorienting to be honest. It doesn't help that all of this is material we've already seen, and material that's already been largely done far better in the manga and the TV series version of the anime before getting it for a third time here. It's almost like someone really did have a check-list of moments from the original series that they HAD to do again here, and they're just writing them in and marking them off as they go along. It's a shame, because as a result, none of these moments get anywhere near the time to breath that they need. There's another reason for that as well though, and I think that's one of this film's greatest weaknesses. While it revels in showing you moments you've already seen warmed back up again, it also knows you've seen them and doesn't go out of it's way to explain anything that might be different this time or why. Nowhere is this more evident than in the relationship between the Crane members in this version. Why is Tenshinhan working for Tsuru-sennin despite seeming to have a close friendship with Chaozu? No reason given; it's just because he was an evil prick at that point in the manga Tsuru-sennin was his master. Why does Taopaipai work for Tsuru-sennin despite seemingly being far stronger than him? No reason given; it's just because of their relationship to each other in the original manga, which is doubly hilarious when they could have brought up his job as an assassin and the amount of pay he expects as compensation. Why does Roshi recognize Taopaipai and Taopaipai him? This one at least I can sort of handwave, as Roshi is a known figure in the world of Dragon Ball...but at the same time, was that only in the series version, or was he still a renowned master that just about anyone would know of in the movie-verse? I honestly can't remember at this point. And Roshi recognizing Taopaipai is, again, an element that's pulled entirely from his relationship with Tsuru-sennin in the manga. Hell, there's even a moment of Tsuru-sennin gloating to Kame-sennin much to the latter's chagrin, despite the fact that nothing else in the film indicates they have any familiarity with each other before this. This movie really tries to have it's cake and eat it too in a way, showing us so much that they already know we'll like without putting in the work to make it work in this new version. And yes – that sadly includes Arale's cameo. I love Arale. I love Dr. Slump. But honestly? It has no place in this movie. It was a cute return of characters that people loved in the manga, but here it just doesn't work, and feels completely out of place. It gets just as much screen time as Karin's part of the story as well, which only makes it feel even more like a distraction. Once that portion is over, the film wastes no time wrapping things up quickly, leading to the ultimate reveal that Chaozu's missing wife was a doll all along (which IS pretty funny, but also weird given that she was mentioned early on and then barely ever again after the film's opening acts), and Goku proving what a good boy he is by using the Dragon Balls to wish back Bora. There's a throwaway line from Chaozu about a dragon living in the dragon-shaped crevice that Shenlong is ultimately summoned out of as well, and I'm just...not at all sure what to make of that line. Is the movie trying to suggest this is where Shenlong lives? That this lake crevice is where he is when the Dragon Balls aren't being used? That's a neat idea I guess, but it comes completely out of nowhere at the end of the movie, so it just sort of exists. Sure am glad that's not elaborated on anytime before or after this. I really wanted to like this movie. I honestly used to enjoy it quite a bit. But upon revisiting it with a more critical eye, I can't really lie and say that there aren't a ton of flaws with this one. I had to ask myself just why I enjoyed this movie so much in the first place, and I think I finally figured out why. I'll be showing my age a bit with this one, so bear with me. Back when I first got into Dragon Ball, like with so many others, I got into it with DBZ. Dragon Ball was something of an enigma to me. I knew it existed, I knew about a lot of story that happened in it, but I didn't get to watch it as easily as I did DBZ, because at the time it hadn't been brought over in full. Then FUNimation did start to release it at last, even securing a spot for it on Toonami alongside it's follow-up. I got to watch Dragon Ball at long last, and even taped every episode of the first two arcs on VHS. After that though, we ended up moving and I lost access to Cartoon Network for a good few years. By the time I had access to the TV again, Toonami had reached the King Piccolo arc. Over the years, I managed to get a few more official VHS tapes for Dragon Ball, but a lot of the material this movie covered, I never managed to get or see until years later when FUNimation would retroactively re-release the original anime on five 'Season Sets'. As a result, the first time I really got to see a lot of these story elements WAS in this movie. This movie is where I first saw Upa and Bora; where I first saw the ferocity of Taopaipai; where I first saw Tenshinhan and Chaozu and 'how they met' everyone else, as well as their 'backstories'; and yes, even where I first saw Arale and the Dr. Slump crossover. This movie was my first taste of a lot of things that to this day are some of my favorite parts of Dragon Ball, and at the time I first got it, it was my only way to view those story beats. Nostalgia is a hell of a drug, especially when mixed with limited availability. But with the entire series available now, both in manga and anime form? This movie's existence just doesn't do it for me the same way it used to. It's sad, but sometimes things really just don't hold up when you re-visit them, and pretty much everything about this movie that's good, I'd rather re-visit in it's original manga or TV series form. Until next time! Favorite Scene: The sweet release that is the movie's ending. ...Okay, fine. I actually really like the joke with Lunch thinking the cops are after her only to realize she hasn't broken any laws yet. Next Time: Goku's angry! No, not that angry, but it IS pretty similar to that far more talked about scene. Synopsis: Using his Kamehameha to propel him through the air, Goku launches himself towards Tenshinhan in mid-air for one final attack. Goku tells Tenshinhan that not even he is that fast in the air, and Roshi shouts jubilantly about his student's quick thinking as Goku slams head-first into Tenshinhan's chest. Both fighters begin to fall towards the ground as the announcer tells the crowd what just happened, and Kuririn shouts that Goku's won the match for sure now, but Roshi thinks that it might not be entirely over yet after all. The announcer notes that Goku doesn't seem able to move, so it's going to come down to who touches the ground first. Goku realizes he spent too much energy with that last Kamehameha, causing his body not to listen to him. Seeing both fighters hurtling towards the ground away from the arena, the announcer quickly pulls out a jet capsule and races towards them to continue his commentary. He notes that Goku seems to be lower and likely to hit the ground first, but Goku quickly uses the very last dregs of his ki to make a tiny Kamehameha. The blast barely works, but it's enough to push him back higher into the air than the falling, seemingly unconscious Tenshinhan. Listening in with a radio from the hospital where his leg was broken leg was treated, Yamcha along with Bulma, Puar, and Lunch all celebrate Goku's impending victory. Kuririn lets out a sigh of relief as well, but at the last second, Goku collides with a van driving down the road, causing his body to hit the ground a fraction of a second sooner than Tenshinhan's does. As a result, the announcer declares the end of the 22nd Tenkaichi Budokai, as well as Tenshinhan as it's new champion. Later that day, the announcer tells everyone that he'll see them again in three years, and Goku and friends prepare to depart from the island once again. Seeing that Goku's uniform is all torn, Kuririn gives him his own gi and changes into the suit he arrived in. He bemoans that Goku was so close to winning this time, but Goku thinks that a loss is still a loss. An awkward Tenshinhan offers to give him half of the prize money, but Goku rejects him saying that he doesn't understand how to use money anyway. Tenshinhan tells him he has a right to the money, since if they're talking purely about strength, he lost this match outright to Goku. Roshi chuckles and says that luck is part of strength as well, and says that Goku learned a lot from fighting someone like him, a fact that Goku readily agrees with. Roshi suggests they all go out to dinner, and Tenshinhan says that they should at least let him pay for dinner then. Kuririn laughs and says that's his worst mistake yet, as he's about to find out just how much one of them can eat. Goku suddenly realizes he forgot the four-star ball and his nyoibo, and Kuririn offers to go get it for him since he must be exhausted. As Kuririn leaves, Tenshinhan apologizes to Yamcha for all of the terrible things he did to him, but Yamcha tells him not to worry as he's just glad to be alive. Roshi asks Tenshinhan and Chaozu what their plans are now that they're off on their own, and offers for them to come back with him to Kame House. Lunch (in her blonde form) quickly agrees to this idea, saying that she's fallen in love with Tenshinhan's savagery. Tenshinhan says he's grateful for the offer, but says that although they've left the Crane School, they still can't walk side-by-side with the Turtle School like their time there didn't happen. Tenshinhan says he and Chaozu will find somewhere else to settle, with Lunch cursing and asking if they can stay in touch at least. The discussion is interrupted by a sudden scream of pain, with Goku instantly recognizing the voice as Kuririn's. Everyone rushes back into the tournament grounds, only to find Kuririn and the tournament announcer both lying on the ground next to the nyoibo and a small, empty bag. Goku rushes to ask Kuririn what happened, and the announcer says that a monster came out of nowhere, took the tournament roster from him and a strange ball from Goku's bag, and then fled. As Tenshinhan checks on the announcer's condition, Goku makes a horrifying announcement – Kuririn isn't unconscious on the ground...he's dead. Review: The final chapter of the 22nd Tenkaichi Budokai arc is one full of highs and lows, as well as being a turning point that's going to end up defining the series for the entire rest of it's run, as well as all future incarnations of it. But more on that later (likely in the next chapter's review rather than this one's), for now let's wrap up the tournament with as much gusto as it deserves. Last review was largely a lot of talk about the Kikoho, but now it's time to talk a little bit about Goku's increasingly creative uses of the Kamehameha. From the series' start pretty much all the way through the Fortuneteller Baba material, Goku has largely always used the move as an attack, or to destroy something that was in his way. Starting with this tournament, we've seen him use it a couple of different times just to save himself from going out of the ring, a trick he probably picked up from remembering “Jackie Chun” do just that back in the 21st Budokai. Here though, we're seeing him combine those two ideas, firing the Kamehameha as a means of propulsion rather than outright as an attack in-of itself. That's just such an obvious yet crazily fun use for the move that I love seeing every time it happens, with a personal favorite coming later in the next Budokai. Both instances I think perfectly cement the Kamehameha as the superior move between it and the Dodonpa, despite the series insistence at this point that the Dodonpa is stronger. Strength isn't everything, and the Kamehameha seems to have far more ways to use it creatively than we ever see with the Dodonpa. While this final blow is a brilliant one, I unfortunately can't really say the same about the finale that it leads to sadly. In some ways, this ending is very similar to the one from the previous 21st Budokai, but since we've already seen that one, it feels a bit repetitive to see it again here, where I also don't think it's handled quite as well. Something about the pacing or the paneling just doesn't make the tension of who's going to hit the ground first work as well as who's going to stand up first did last time. It also feels more like a cheap outing and theft of Goku's victory compared to last time. Goku fought “Chun” to an even match, and was never outright the winner of the fight between them. He also had more to gain from losing that tournament than he did from winning it. Here, Goku is already older, wiser, and Roshi even notes that neither of his students are the types to rest on their laurels if they win, so there's no thematic reason for Goku to lose like there was before. It's also pretty clear that he's the stronger of the two fighters this time. It really does feel more like he was robbed of victory this time, and I wouldn't be surprised if Japanese fans were somewhat disappointed by this outcome when it first happened. Amidst the fight's ending though, it is nice to finally see Yamcha and Goku's other friends again, listening in to the tournament via radio at least. They were left unseen for the majority of this tournament, with only Oolong and Turtle remaining behind in the stands, so this was the first inkling we really got that Yamcha was alright all things considered. After this point, he largely seems to take his loss, as well as Tenshinhan's earlier ugly bravado, fairly well all things considered, and forgives him immediately. The guy is way too good for what's coming for him down the line, I swear. With the tournament's conclusion, we're once again left with the question that we and Toriyama have both had to ask ourselves a few times now – what's next? At each turn of the story, what's coming next has been a fairly easy conclusion to reach. Throughout the first hunt for the Dragon Balls, Goku meets Roshi and wants to train to get stronger, so he heads off to do that since he can't get his grandfather's memento back just yet. In the 21st Tenkaichi Budokai arc, he trains with Roshi, gets entered into the tournament, and loses, thus gaining a new goal to win it one day, while also reaching a point in time that he can go and retrieve the four-star ball. The Red Ribbon storyline leads him to ultimately get his Dragon Ball back, while also greatly increasing his strength so that he can then get right back to his newfound goal of winning the next tournament. With the conclusion of the 22nd tournament, Goku has lost yet again, still leaving him with the goal of winning the next one perhaps...but beyond that, what does he do now? He has his Dragon Ball, he already seems to have trained about a much as seems to be possible with what we have established in the world so far. The story seems to have nowhere to really go outside of jumping ahead another three years to get us to the 23rd Tenkaichi Budokai right away, a feat that would probably feel pretty hollow since we just finished it's predecessor. Nowhere to go, that is, outside of a swerve that comes completely out of left field. The tone of this chapter's already somewhat somber ending changes completely from one page to the next, as we're immediately ripped away from the hilarity of Lunch hitting on Tenshinhan (a relationship that's always left me scratching my head, no matter how much I do enjoy it in a way), to the sight of Kuririn on the ground. Goku's Dragon Ball is missing, his best friend is dead, and there's an air of mystery as we don't know who killed Kuririn, or even ultimately why. An educated guess can be made that the Dragon Ball had something to do with it, both due to it's nature and the fact that it was taken...but what of the tournament roster? What exactly is going on here now that the story has charged immediately into the next one, and such a grim opening at that? As mentioned before, the answer will completely change Dragon Ball moving forward. Buckle up folks – we're in for a wild ride now. Until next time! Favorite Panel: Synopsis: As he floats in the sky, Tenshinhan pleads one more time with Goku not to try and take the Kikoho head on. Roshi shouts to Goku that he needs to listen to Tenshinhan, as this move is one so terrible that it can even kill it's user. Chaozu pleads with Tenshinhan to reconsider, as the crowd wonders what in the world is even going on at this point. Kuririn fretfully wonders why Tenshinhan is going to use a move that even risks his own life if he just wants Goku to dodge it anyway, and Roshi theorizes that since Tenshinhan can fly, he probably intends to win the match by ring-out. Kuririn is confused, but before Roshi can elaborate further, the match continues. Tenshinhan channels all of his ki into his hands, causing them to glow from the intensity of the energy gathered there. Even just by looking at it, Goku can tell this is an amazing power. Tenshinhan cups his hands together in front of him and says to himself that his target is the arena, not Goku. He also thinks to himself that he needs to leave at least some of his power in reserve, or else he really could die from this. Wasting no further time, Tenshinhan launches the Kikoho, resulting in a large burst of power that crashes into the ground below even as Roshi shouts for Goku to get out of the way. When the dust clears, the crowd as well as Kuririn and Roshi are met by a shocking sight – where the arena once stood, there's now only a large, cavernous pit, left behind from the Kikoho's destruction. As the announcer does his best to describe to the audience what just happened, Roshi is amazed by just how much power the Kikoho truly wields, saying that the Kamehameha could never hope to match it. Kuririn looks around for Goku, and when he can't spot him he worries that Goku really was killed, but Roshi assures him that he must still be alive because he can still feel his aura. As Tenshinhan catches his breath, Chaozu shouts how glad he is that they're both still alive after all, with Tenshinhan realizing that Goku is in the air above him. Flying further into the sky to meet him, Tenshinhan tells Goku he's amazed that he managed to jump so high so fast. Goku likewise tells Tenshinhan that he was right – if he hadn't jumped out of that way, that blast really could have killed him. The announcer surveys the scene high in the sky with some binoculars as Tenshinhan tells Goku the match is his now – with the ring destroyed, everywhere on the ground is out of bounds now, and since Tenshinhan can fly and Goku can't, there's no way for Goku to win now. On the ground below, Roshi thinks that Tenshinhan's gambit has truly paid off, but Goku asks Tenshinhan if he'd like to face his last attack, saying that he's going to take a gamble with all of his remaining strength. Tenshinhan wonders what Goku can even do falling from the air like a rock, but Goku thinks he and Tenshinhan should both be pretty equally drained of energy after that last attack. He starts to charge a Kamehameha, and Tenshinhan laughs and says he must truly be desperate if he's falling back on a move that Tenshinhan's already proven doesn't work against him. Roshi likewise says that Goku will never win with a Kamehameha. Despite everyone thinking Goku is wasting his remaining energy, Goku continues to channel the Kamehameha normally until he suddenly turns to face away from Tenshinhan. Goku releases the blast, sending himself hurtling towards Tenshinhan at rapid speed as he turns back to face him, and Tenshinhan and Roshi both suddenly realize what Goku's real plan is. Review: I think we can all agree probably that the Kikoho, while again largely just another big energy blast the likes of which we're going to be seeing a lot of from here on out, is infinitely more memorable than the Shiyo-ken. In a way, it's not even fair to compare it outright to the likes of the Kamehameha or other energy beams seen throughout the series either. The way it's presented, at least in this initial form, it's more of a large burst of energy rather than a beam, or even an energy construct like some later techniques. It's almost like a far more potent kiai, sort-of, in a way. The caveat that it can cause the death of it's user is also something that sets it apart from other energy attacks seen in the series. ...Again, sort of. Truth be told, it's the drawbacks and the scope of this move that sort of work against it just as well as for it. Sure, it's an impressive sight to behold, especially at this point in the series, but ultimately nothing that makes it unique is going to remain as wholly inherent to it as a move. The idea that using the Kikoho can bring about the death of the person that fired it is never really addressed, as the few other times we see it used in the series, Tenshinhan usually comes out of it fine in the end. And the one time it does seem to result in some lasting damage, it's hard to say for sure if it's the technique taking it's toll on him, or just pure exhaustion (or even blood loss, come to think of it...) that actually does him in. And the idea that it shortens a user's life span? Don't expect that to ever really come up again either, as Tenshinhan has been seen alive in both the likes of Super and the even further ahead in the timeline GT, so he's going to be pretty long-lived it seems like. Heck, even the size and destructive aspects of the Kikoho are going to be robbed from it and given to other moves. Even the Kamehameha will be capable of being blasts this big before too much longer, and even small blasts of concentrated energy will be shown able to do just as much, and sometimes even more, destruction. Frankly, I think Toriyama may have over-embellished the Kikoho's destructive power as well – sure, destroying the arena and leaving one hell of a crater in the ground is really impressive, but we've already seen Roshi destroy both a mountain and even the moon itself with his Kamehameha, a move that the series is in the middle of downplaying in strength in comparison to both the Kikoho and the Dodonpa. Remind us again which move is going to remain the most iconic and used of the three? All snark aside however, a lot of that is again taking from what later knowledge of the franchise brings us. It's true either way that we've seen Roshi's Kamehameha do arguably far more impressive feats than the Kikoho here, but there are a couple of caveats to consider with that. Firstly, Roshi's been using the technique longer than any of the other characters have been alive, so even if his power itself is being eclipsed, his Kamehameha is probably on a whole other level compared to the others at this point. Secondly, the first Kamehameha he fires was back in the first arc, when the series was far more comedy based; the second was in the arc immediately following that, where the transition to a more serious outlook was in it's infancy. Toriyama at the time would have had no idea what he was going to do down the line, so it's fair to see some of the same ground retread in an attempt to make really impressive and exciting set pieces. And really, at the end of the day, I just can't bring myself to hate the Kikoho. It gets the job done as an impressive technique, and far later on it's going to lend itself well to one of the best scenes Tenshinhan ever gets, a scene so good that TeamFourStar's Dragon Ball Z Abridged will play it almost more straight than for laughs – but we'll cover that when we get to it. Until next time! Favorite Panel: Next Time: A bald man rises...and a bald man falls... Synopsis: Tenshinhan says that his defection has allowed him to feel more free than before, able to focus merely on fighting and defeating Goku rather than killing him for the sake of vengeance or rivalry between their schools. Goku lauds him for becoming a good guy, a sentiment that Roshi agrees with from the sidelines, but Tenshinhan reiterates that his defection also means he can't afford to lose now that he's given up everything. He warns Goku that his next attack will end the match for sure. As Chaozu worries that Tenshinhan is going to use “that” move, Goku prepares himself as Tenshinhan holds his arms out by his sides and focuses his energy. Roshi wonders what the young man is up to, as the announcer notes that whatever Tenshinhan is doing seems to be very painful. Chaozu happily says that Tenshinhan isn't preparing the Kikoho at all, but rather the Shiyo-ken (Fist of Four Arms), and much to everyone's surprise, an extra pair of arms suddenly sprouts from Tenshinhan's back. Tenshinhan laughs and tells Goku the fight is over now, while Goku watches in shock at what an amazing move he just witnessed. Tenshinhan rushes Goku, and though Goku blocks his first blows, the second pair of arms are easily able to slam Goku over the head and onto the ring's floor. Goku immediately leaps back up and away, but Tenshinhan gives him no time to rest, rushing back in and forcing Goku onto the defensive. He eventually manages to grab Goku by each limb, holding him up above his head and slamming Goku's gut down onto his head. Goku is winded and Tenshinhan laughs, saying Goku doesn't have a leg to stand on now. Goku chuckles however, and smacks Tenshinhan hard in the face with his tail, forcing him to drop him. Goku says he still has a tail to stand on, and Tenshinhan curses and says he forgot about that. Not wanting to be outdone, Goku boasts that if Tenshinhan can have four arms, than he can have eight, and promptly appears to grow an extra six arms to everyone's amazement. Roshi chuckles however and says it's not that Goku has actually grown more arms like Tenshinhan has, but rather that he's moving his arms so fast that it appears he has eight of them now. Goku rushes back towards Tenshinhan and quickly overwhelms him with the speed of his blows, knocking his opponent away from him and showing that four arms still won't be enough to put him down. Tenshinhan still can't believe Goku is pressing him back, but realizes that every time he goes head to head against him, he ends up at a disadvantage. He praises Goku for his skill at such a young age, and reverts back to his normal two-armed self. He warns Goku however that his next move won't just end the match – it'll kill Goku if he tries to take it head on. He pleads with Goku to dodge the move as he really doesn't want to kill him now, and Kuririn wonders why Tenshinhan would ask his opponent not to get hit by his own attack. Roshi starts to worry, and Chaozu shouts out that it really must be the Kikoho (Ki Blast Cannon) this time, pleading with Tenshinhan not to go through with it. Roshi is likewise horrified, and also tells Tenshinhan not to do it, asking him if he wants to die himself. Goku is confused by what's going on, as Roshi explains to Kuririn that the Kikoho is a move of huge destructive force, many times more powerful than even the Kamehameha. It's power is so intense in fact that it drains it's user's life force, so that fighters who have used the move have often died, and even those that have survived have shortened their overall lifespan. Roshi curses Tsuru-sennin for teaching Tenshinhan such a move as Chaozu continues to plead with Tenshinhan, but Tenshinhan assures him he won't use the move at full force. As Tenshinhan floats back into the sky, he again warns Goku to dodge the Kikoho. As the announcer says he doesn't quite know what's happening now, Goku proclaims that he won't run away no matter what, with Roshi shouting to him not to be stubborn and dodge. In the air, Tenshinhan prepares to fire the Kikoho. Review: So, this chapter is a little bit weird when you stop and think about it. As of the end of the previous chapter, Chaozu is already thinking that Tenshinhan is about to use “that” move, something that he previously wondered earlier in the tournament as well. It's been hinted for a while now that Tenshinhan has some sort of ultimate gamble, a move that he's holding back from using for some reason. And here it seems like he's finally about to use said move...only for us to get some sort of other move instead. Narratively speaking, it puts whatever move is used as a stop-gap at a bit of a disadvantage in terms of impressing us. The move is already NOT his most powerful technique, so we're going to be left instead wanting to see what that ultimate technique really is. As such, there's an onus put upon this penultimate move to be something impressive, something that leaves us going “oh man, if that's just his SECOND best move, then his BEST move must be something wild!”. ...Instead his second-best move is the ability to grow an extra pair of arms. To be fair, this is a pretty off-the-wall technique, and it's certainly a unique and impressive sight compared to anything we've seen before and almost anything else we're going to see after as well. In those terms, it's certainly a more stand-out move than what's about to follow it, as that's going to largely be the same sort of attack as the Kamehameha or the Dodonpa, just on a larger scale. That said? It still somehow ends up feeling really, really lackluster. It doesn't help either that the move will never come up ever again after this point, leaving it to feel like a really absurd footnote in Tenshinhan's history. I'm not really sure what could have been done to make this move stand out more either, it's already an extra freakin' pair of arms jutting out of his back. What also hurts the Shiyo-ken is how easily Goku overcomes it. He just...moves his arms really fast. Something we've already seen him do with his entire body multiple times now. For a fight that's largely been entertaining at every turn, this part of it just feels really underwhelming no matter how you slice it. I guess if I had to give it one bit of praise, it does allow us to see Goku using his tail in combat for exactly one attack, so I mean, that's cool – but it's not enough to save it. No, it's once Tenshinhan is ready to use his REAL final attack that things start to get interesting. Tenshinhan warns Goku that this move will kill him without a doubt, and since he doesn't want to be a killer anymore, he pleads with Goku repeatedly to dodge it. Roshi and Tenshinhan both plead with Goku to dodge it. Roshi and Chaozu both plead with Tenshinhan not to even use it. We haven't even seen the Kikoho in action yet, but everything about the reaction of the characters who know what it is and what it can do are screaming at us that this is going to be a really big deal when we see it. This can't help but get us hyped up, but after the last move was a bit of a dud, you can't help but wonder if it really will be THAT big of a deal. ...Wait, was that the whole point of the Shiyo-ken? To get us off guard so that we'll be even more impressed when the Kikoho is actually something cool? If that's the case, Toriyama, you stupid genius you! Until next time! Favorite Panel: |
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