Synopsis: Goku's eager to keep the match going, and his excitement starts to annoy Jackie. Deciding to show the youth what he can really do, Jackie moves fast, leaving behind an after-image. Goku can tell this is a trick, and tries to deduce where Jackie is, attacking another spot where he reappears. Much to Goku's shock however, that too was an afterimage, as Jackie appears behind him and kicks him hard, sending him flying into the arena wall. Jackie asks Goku how he likes his Niju Zanzoken (Double Shadow Attack), but doesn't really expect an answer as he thinks Goku is out cold. To Jackie's shock however, Goku emerges from the rubble, fine as can be. Goku says it's his turn now and leaves behind an after-image as well, and Jackie scoffs at him for thinking that he can beat him by using the same technique as him. Jackie looks at an obvious second after-image and instead attacks a third spot where Goku appears – only for that to be an after-image as well! Dropping from the air, Goku slams his hands into Jackie's head, knocking him onto the ground, before asking how the old man likes his Triple Shadow Attack. Roshi is thrown for such a loop by the attack that he asks Goku how he could hit his own master's head so hard. Goku asks why he's calling himself his master when the old Turtle Hermit is his master, and Jackie catches himself, saying that he must've been hit even harder than he thought. He tells Goku that he truly has a great master though, to have gotten him this far, and asks him if he thinks he can handle his next attack. Jackie assumes a fighting pose but soon begins wobbling around in a drunken-like stupor, prompting the announcer to wonder if he got into some sake before the fight. Goku suggests that the old man lie down for a while, but Jackie takes the opportunity to hit the unguarded boy on top of the head. Goku gets back up but isn't sure how to handle the seemingly drunk Jackie, who lands another vicious kick on him. Yamcha shouts for Goku to watch out, telling him that Jackie must be using the Sui-ken, or 'Phony Drunk Attack'. Goku recognizes that as a technique his grandpa used to use but never like this. Goku tries again and again to attack Jackie, but fails to connect with anything, and only gets hit in return every time. Thinking he's got this match in the bag now, Jackie is surprised to see Goku running away from him, and warns him that's no way to win. Facing away from Jackie, Goku starts to make weird noises that cause Jackie to wonder if he's made him cry, but Goku turns around with a fierce look like an animal. Going down on all fours, Goku leaps at Jackie like an enraged beast, and when the old man flinches, Goku leaps behind him and delivers a mighty kick, sending the old man flying into the arena wall just as had been done to him earlier. When Jackie gets back up, he angrily asks Goku what in the heck that move was supposed to be. Goku proudly declares that it was his 'Kyo-ken' or 'Mad Fury Attack', but Jackie angrily corrects him that that means 'Mad Dog' not 'Mad Fury'. The announcer is amazed by what he's seeing, and suggests that if things keep going as they have been, Goku may well be declared the victor! Review: Now that's more like it! While this chapter is still largely composed of action scenes, less of them are two page spreads or focusing on the same tactic, so there's finally some more meat and potatoes as far as what I can describe. As far as what there is to talk about, well...that's still a little scant honestly. At this point in the fight, Goku and Jackie are basically at a deadlock where they both just keep trying out new technique after new technique, and seeing how the other handles it. For the most part, it's actually Jackie instigating the new techniques, and then Goku imitating them back at him in some sort of improved manner, showing just what a brilliant fighter Goku already is. Despite Roshi's many more years of experience, Goku's adaptability is proving hard for the martial arts master to work with, because anything he tries that doesn't actually put Goku down for good is liable to get thrown right back at him twice as hard. This also basically sets a precedent for Goku moving forward sadly too. Despite him coming up with that spinning attack against Namu and the Mad Dog attack here, Goku basically won't come up with any moves of his own in the future. He'll basically train with or fight against someone, and then steal their moves for his own, like a sponge. Often times he'll tinker with a move, putting his own mark on it in some form or another, but that's largely all it amounts to. It's a bit of a shame that as good as Goku is shown to be, we never really see him create any attacks of his own that actually stick around. You might have noticed I'm still referring to Roshi as Jackie for much of the time. That's because, despite us the audience knowing who he is, the deception has finally stuck as far as the rest of the cast goes. It also makes it easier to talk about moments where the facade almost falls if I'm not already calling him Roshi (as I have been off and on, for moments where it's from his own point of view). As fun as this tournament is, I can't wait for it to be over so I can escape this portion of it. Oh yeah, and Yamcha calling out to warn Goku of EXACTLY what technique Jackie is using against him? That totally should count as a violation as well. Maybe not enough of one to make Goku lose, but surely enough of one for Yamcha to be ejected from the arena. Lousy cheater! Until next time! Favorite Panel: Next Time: The Technique Free-for-All continues!
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Synopsis: As Jackie rushes Goku, the young boy attempts to dodge by jumping into the air. Jackie immediately counters this however by leaping into the air after him, delivering a mighty kick that lands in the small of the young warrior's back, sending him flying away and seemingly out of the ring. Goku's friends and the crowd are shocked, and Roshi himself seems to be surprised that he actually won so easily after all. Seeing no other choice, the announcer prepares to do a post-match interview with Jackie, when suddenly the crowd notices something. Everyone is amazed to see Goku, flying his way back into the ring by spinning his tail fast like a helicopter blade. Jackie curses how lucky Goku is, and Goku says that he'd at first considered flying back into the ring by Kamehameha like Jackie had done before. In the end though, he decided he'd rather save that for later. Jackie calls Goku out, saying there's no way he could perform a Kamehameha half as strong as his own. Goku insists that he can, and Jackie decides to call his bluff. The pair channel their energy and both launch Kamehameha at each other, with the beams colliding in mid-air between them. The shock of the clash is enough to throw both of them down to the ground, but still in the ring. While Yamcha and Kuririn fret over how terrifying what they just witnessed was, Jackie and Goku slowly get back on their feet. Goku laughs at how evenly matched they were, and Roshi can't believe that Goku is as good as he is. As the announcer and the crowd eat it up, it really seems like this match could go either way. Review: Like before with Goku V.S. Namu, this fight is carefully balancing itself between taking itself seriously and just having fun with the kind of crazy things that are possible in the world of Dragon Ball. Overall though, this is another chapter that doesn't really leave me with a lot to say, something that will probably become increasingly frequent as battles start to dominate the series more and more. Goku's use of his tail to fly back into the ring is as amusing as it is improbable – though it's hardly the first or last time the series will ignore the laws of physics – but really, did anyone think Goku was going to lose THAT easily? Toriyama might be having us think long and hard about whether we actually want Goku to emerge victorious or not just yet, but it would definitely have been disappointing if he lost that easily. It would have made it seem like all the training they did was completely worthless after all, no matter how much stronger they've gotten. No, this is a situation where the only way to make either outcome feel acceptable is to have both characters go as far as they can and hit their limits, and Toriyama knows that. This chapter does feature the series' very first beam clash though, and that's pretty neat. While energy attacks get perhaps a little too frequent later on in the series, it's always exciting when we get a good energy clash, so hooray for starting the trend here. And...yeah, that's it really. The chapter's not a bad one by any means, just fairly light on content, as most of it's pages are dedicated to showing the action. Better get used to that, really. Until next time! Favorite Panel: Synopsis: As the newly arrived witch floats in the sky next to the gigantic werewolf, she remarks about all the bumpkins staring up at them. While Velou and the villagers freak out about what they're seeing, Velou questions how a werewolf could be so huge. Grimm, seemingly horrified and like she knows something, tells Velou to take the villagers and run. As the giant werewolf loudly reassures the villagers that he's not here to eat them at the moment, just to check on his sons, the witch spots Grimm and points her out to the wolf, calling him Lycaon, and the both of them recognize her as 'Grimm of the Hundred Cannons'. Wasting no time, Grimm leaps into action with a chain, saying that she doesn't care why they're here, all werewolves have to die. Lycaon says her response is worthy of her name, and swings his fist so hard that a shockwave destroys much of the village. Grimm, anticipating this, used the chain to gather together debris and form a ball and chain, slamming the spiked debris ball into the werewolf's head. While the wolf is hurt, he tells Grimm it's time to stop buzzing around like a gnat, and swings another fist, much harder and faster than the previous one. Velou is shocked that such a large creature can move so fast, but to both he and Lycaon's surprise, Grimm is alive, having taken the blow from behind, though clearly the worse for wear. She tells Velou again to run and get the villagers out of here, and Velou starts to comply. Lycaon is impressed by Grimm's strength, but just then, her body starts to smoke. Grimm laments that time's almost up, and the witch mockingly asks 'Grimsey' if her magic spell is about to wear off. Velou stops upon hearing those words, and Lycaon notices at last that it's not Grimm he smells the blood of his sons on, it's Velou. Lycaon bends down to talk to Velou, saying that Dodou's regrets in particular are clinging to Velou's spirit, proving him as a warrior. While the witch sighs saying that Lycaon's doing it again, Velou picks up a hoe and brandishes it at the giant wolf, vowing to give everyone time to escape. He tells Lycaon that if he's talking about familial revenge, then that's a feeling he knows all too well. Much to Velou's surprise, the gigantic wolf merely laughs before standing tall once more. He applauds the youth for wanting to take him on with a simple farmer's tool, and says that killing a werewolf at such a young age is no small feat. Out of respect for Velou's bravery, Lycaon doesn't plan on eating him right now. Instead, he'll wait until Velou is a true warrior, and he'll look forward to savoring the taste of his blood at that time. Grimm tries to tell Lycaon that they can't leave, but Lycaon tells the witch that his sons are dead so it's time for them to go home. The witch whines that she hasn't gotten to do anything yet, so Lycaon asks her – revealing her name to be Cinderella, the Ashen Witch – to light a final bonfire as a signal pyre for his sons' journey to Valhalla. The witch readily agrees, and uses her wand to set off a fireworks like spell that lights the remaining buildings of the village on fire. As Velou tries to find some way to put the fire out, a villager drags him away towards the lake, all while Lycaon loudly chants something in a foreign language. Before they can leave, Grimm (now reverted back to her child form) asks Cinderella a few final questions. She refers to Cinderella and Lycaon as 'direct retainers', and wonders why they'd come all the way to such a remote location just to check on two minor flunkies. Between that, the axe, Velou himself, and how attracted werewolves are to this place, she knows something must be going on, and asks them what they're really after. Cinderella scoffs and says that instead of answering that, she'll give Grimm a message to take back to the guild: the Red List is on the move again. She tells Grimm that they can hunt and kill as many as they want, the list will only get longer because they want to live as well, and someday, there'll be too many of them for humans to handle. With that final message spoken, the pair disappear. A short time later, Velou and Grimm sit overlooking the destroyed hamlet. Grimm says that her mission was an utter failure, and as agreed upon in their contract, she'll return the fee the mayor paid to Velou. Velou tells her to keep it however. He laments that Kasoka Village is no more, with many people missing and the confirmed survivors moving on to search for new homes. Velou angrily reiterates that he'd sworn to protect them all, and he failed. Grimm says that she'll call in a new hunter and reinforcements to search the area for the missing, and once that's done, she'll be leaving. Velou at last asks her to take him with her when she goes, saying he's ready to go to the Hunters Guild. Review: *deep breath* Ho. Ly. CRAP. There is a LOT to unpack from this chapter, and let me start out by saying that this is absolutely the best chapter the series has had since it's start, possibly blowing away even it's opening chapter. There is clearly a lot of world-building going on here, most of which we can only begin to speculate on as of now, but I'll do my best to reign in my excitement and analyze or theorize what we do have to talk about here. Right off the bat, there's a notable difference in Grimm's reaction to seeing these two compared to how she reacted to the previous werewolves. Whereas before she was confident and pushed Velou to stand and fight, here her immediate reaction is to tell him to run. It's made very clear throughout the chapter that she knows more than she's letting on about these two as well, so it's not just that she can tell these guys are in another league – it's that she knows exactly how dangerous they are and that Velou isn't anywhere near ready for them yet. The main spotlight of the chapter is on the giant werewolf, Lycaon. That name looked familiar to me, but I couldn't quite place it at first. One short Google trek later, and I was reminded that this was the name of a character from a famous Greek myth. That Lycaon was the King of Arcadia who, after deciding to test Zeus' divinity by feeding him one of his own sons, was turned into a wolf by the enraged god. This could simply be the author pulling a somewhat known werewolf related name into the mix, or it could potentially be something more than that. Don't forget, the series has established that nobody knows what exactly causes a person to become a werewolf. The series itself also brings up the idea of it tying back to a curse, so what if it's exactly that? Instead of being a witch's curse however, it could be a curse from a god. Not Zeus himself per say, but a series original god. At the same time though, what if it IS Zeus? Lycaon does bring up the idea of Valhalla, the resting place of great warriors from Norse myth, later on in the chapter. Maybe it's not so crazy to think that the likes of Greek and Norse mythology exist in a much more real fashion in the world of Red Hood. Or maybe the author has just done his research and is pulling in names that he thinks fit and also sound cool. Either one is possible, and either way I wouldn't be too surprised to see the likes of Romulus and Remus or even Fenrir (who may also have inspired this gigantic wolf Lycaon, come to think of it) at some point. In addition to the lore behind his name, Lycaon also serves as an excellent showcase of just how big the world outside of Kasoka Village is, at least in terms of strength. Sure, Velou has proven himself to be a capable fighter, and he's even killed a werewolf (and aided in killing another), but he's got a long way to go before he'll be able to tangle with the likes of Lycaon. Heck, even Grimm seems like she's barely able to keep him at bay, and there's lots of things to suggest Lycaon was far from going all out here. To make matters worse, Grimm later refers to both he and Cinderella as 'retainers', which means that they're both only servants to someone – maybe even multiple someones – even stronger than they are. Needless to say, it's a good thing for both Grimm and Velou that Lycaon seems to operate based on some sort of warrior's code, or they would have been completely annihilated right here and now. With all of the great things that Lycaon brings to the table, it's unfortunate that his counterpart Cinderella doesn't get quite as much attention. She seems to be the 'brains' of the duo, as well as the one that can use magic, but for now that just amounts to her noticing Grimm and bringing her to Lycaon's attention, and serving as their means of coming and going. Her naming scheme doesn't really bring anything else interesting to the forefront either, as it's of the same mold as Grimm's own name – which actually, now that I think of it, does bring something interesting up, but I'll touch on that in a moment. We're also treated to a spell by Cinderella, showing that witches do use wands in this world. Yay for more minor lore building, I suppose. It's through both Lycaon and Cinderella together that we start to get a better picture for just who Grimm is as well, though a lot of it is still kept really vague for now. She's apparently a well known enough Hunter for both of them to recognize her by name and sight, though that could simply mean that they've encountered each other before as well. Grimm's apparent nickname is 'Grimm of the Hundred Cannons', and though nothing is shown or explained why she's called that in this chapter, I'm almost wondering if it has something to do with her ability to continually pull guns out of her case. It seems like it either has something to do with that, some past event she was a part of, or an ability of hers that we've yet to witness. One mystery that's been at least partially solved though seems to be Grimm's true form being that of a child, and her adult body being achieved through some sort of spell. Which leads to a new theory I have in regards to Grimm – she herself is a witch, or connected to witches somehow or another. Perhaps she's only half witch, or is descended from witches, or something of the sort. There's a few reasons I'm starting to think this, first being that she can use magic, something that thus far seems exclusive to witches. Secondly, there's a moment where Cinderella refers to her as 'Grimsey'. This could be nothing, but between Cinderella being who first notices her and this informal, familiar way of talking to her, I sort of get the feeling they know each other pretty well. And finally, there's the fact that they both share fable based names. Perhaps there's a naming scheme going on here, akin to the ones Toriyama uses in Dragon Ball, and all witches have fable-related names? Only time will tell how right or wrong I am on any of this. Cinderella also ends up dropping some one more piece of world-building on us before making her exit, namely the 'Red List'. It's not made entirely clear what this is, but with the context given, I'd wager it's some sort of organization made up of witches, werewolves, and perhaps even other creatures, all fighting to try and make more of themselves so that they'll be able to rule over the world instead of humanity. It's name could even come from an actual list that the Hunters guild has – a list of monsters that need to be exterminated by the Red Hood, ie the Red List. The notion of this being a battle for survival between humans and supernatural creatures raises a lot of possible moral questions that the series could explore with time. Perhaps humans aren't as blameless as we'd think in how things are – perhaps this world had something similar to our world's Salem witch trials, and the witches went into hiding and are now striking back. A similar sort of bad history could exist for the werewolves as well. If this does become a thing much further down the line, it'll be really interesting to see how Velou, with his rather rigid sense of justice, responds to it. As many questions as this chapter answers, it raises so many more theories and leaves even more questions, some of which we've had since chapter one, still unanswered. If these two are retainers, who or what are they retainers for? Why does Kasoka Village seem so important, even now that it's been wiped out? What language was that that Lycaon was chanting as the village burned, and what was it he was saying? What is it about Velou that interests Grimm so much? And just what is the deal with the mayor's axe? All of these questions will probably be answered in the future, but I wouldn't expect many of them to get resolved in the next chapter. It's clear the author is setting up for the long game here, and I hope they get to see it through. Until next time! Favorite Panel: Next Time: Chapter 6 Synopsis: With Goku's victory over Namu, it's official that the championship match will be between Goku and Jackie Chun. While Goku's friends all congratulate him on his victory, Yamcha in particular is sure he wouldn't even stand a chance against Goku now. Jackie remarks that even he can't be sure he'll win, so he'll have to stay on guard the entire time. Namu climbs back into the ring, looking surly at first, but he too congratulates Goku on his victory. The announcer says there'll be a ten minute intermission before the final match begins. During this time, Jackie catches Namu packing his things to leave. When he asks if Namu won't at least stay to watch the match, Namu says that while he wishes he could, he can't afford to hang around. He thinks about how hard it's going to be to return to the village emptyhanded, when Jackie tosses him something – a capsule. When Namu asks Jackie why he's giving him this, Jackie says that he doesn't need it – it's empty, but it could be filled with a large amount of something, like water perhaps. Namu is taken aback at how Jackie knows about his problem, but Jackie asks him to give him some credit for being perceptive: he is the invincible old Muten Roshi, after all. Namu is shocked at Jackie's confession, and Roshi quickly quiets him down, lest Yamcha and the others overhear him. Namu asks Roshi why he's going through with all of this, and Roshi confesses his reasoning at last. He had Goku and Kuririn enter the tournament so they could test their abilities, but much to his surprise throughout their training, they surpassed his hopes and then some. Goku especially has proven incredibly strong, so much so that he very well could win this tournament outright. Roshi fears that if either of them won the title of Strongest Under the Heavens, it'd go straight to their head and they'd feel like there was nothing else left for them to learn. Fearing the loss of their potential growth, Roshi decided to enter the tournament in disguise and stop them from winning, so that they'd learn that there's always someone out there stronger than you are. Namu then asks Roshi if he really is wearing a wig then, and Roshi confirms that the wig is glued to his head with some sort of glue so that it wouldn't come off so easily. Namu says he's honored to meet someone as renowned as Roshi, but that he must return the capsule as, without winning the tournament, he has no money with which to buy water to fill it. Roshi merely laughs however, and points to a nearby well, informing Namu that water is so plentiful in this area that anyone can just take as much as they'd like. Namu is amazed at such a thing, and as the announcer calls for the two finalists to return to the arena, he thanks Roshi profusely. Roshi at first tells him not to worry about it, but a thought occurs to him, and he asks Namu for a small favor. As Goku and 'Jackie' make their way back to the arena, Yamcha teases the latter about how awful it would be to lose to his own student. Jackie tells him once again that he's not Muten Roshi, but Yamcha says he can't be tricked anymore. Looking into the stands, Jackie points and asks Yamcha if he's Kame-sennin, who's that? To Yamcha's surprise when he looks, a man appearing to be the Turtle Hermit is watching from the stands! Yamcha reports this back to Goku and Kuririn, seemingly settling the matter – Muten Roshi is Muten Roshi and he's in the stands, and Jackie Chun is Jackie Chun and he'll be fighting Goku in the final match of the 21st Tenkaichi Budokai. As Namu removes his shades and fake beard, he bids farewell to Roshi and Goku. In the arena, the announcer asks Goku why he's so happy, and Goku says he's just excited to get to fight someone so strong. Roshi thinks to himself that he can't afford to let someone as innocent and pure as Goku be lead astray by arrogance, so he has to beat him here and now. As the two take their stances, Jackie tells Goku not to hold anything back, and Goku agrees. As the announcer declares the match begun, everyone watches as Jackie immediately dashes towards Goku. Review: At long last, the ruse of Jackie Chun is over, and thank Kami because I don't know how much more of this 'mystery' I could take a chapter at a time. I've been writing these reviews a few chapters at a time and even that has been excruciating on this topic, I can't imagine how this must've been for kids back when the chapters were coming out on a weekly basis. At any rate, despite all my complaints, I will say that now that it's revealed why Roshi is doing this, the ruse – while in-of-itself annoyingly fooling nobody – is actually well worth it. Roshi's reasoning basically paints this as one final lesson for his students, and it's definitely an important one for the Goku and the series as a whole. 'There's always someone better out there'. This is the mantra by which Goku lives his life moving forward, and it's a lesson that the story continues to hold true to this very day. Whether it's other fighters, demons, aliens, cyborgs, magical beings, gods, or anything and everything in-between, there is always someone else out there strong enough for Goku to actually be tested against. Roshi's actual power may be eclipsed fairly quickly into the series, but his teachings are the very heart and core of the franchise. It's also a little humorous that now, when the disguise that fooled nobody is finally revealed to be exactly that, now is when Yamcha is proven “wrong”, and the deception is finally complete. Only when it is outright said 'Okay, yeah, you got us' does the trick actually, in-story anyway, become credible. Huh. Maybe this was Toriyama's plan all along. Either way, it's certainly better than the unfulfilled gags of Lunch, so hey, I'll let this one slide. At least it's over now. It's also nice that everything works out in the end for Namu. I mentioned before that he was the only fighter shown to have an actual reason to enter the tournament and that it was a shame that he had to get matched up against the likes of Goku and his protagonist power. Hell, he's such a nice guy that he even congratulates Goku who just unknowingly doomed his village to death. Perhaps Toriyama felt this way too, because even he seems to have felt it was too mean-spirited to actually send Namu home without a way to save his people. It also speaks to the absurdity of the Dragon Ball world that Namu would both be aware of who Muten Roshi is and know what capsules are, but be blissfully unaware that water is so plentiful that you can just get however much you want in this area. Both Namu's plight and Roshi's reasoning come together to ultimately ask one central question: Should Goku actually win the tournament? It seems logical that of course he's going to win, he's the lead character, and he's constantly being shown to be strong enough to handle whatever comes his way. Up to this point, we've never truly seen him lose a fight, not even once. While he's never been arrogant about it before, there's every chance that something like being considered the best in the world would actually be disadvantageous to him at this point in his development, both as a fighter and as a person. At the same time though, Goku is the main character. It's him that we're supposed to root for more than any other, narratively speaking. So shouldn't we want to see him win, and believe in him that it'll be fine if he does? This is the biggest question in regards to characterization the series has yet dropped on us, and it shows how far the series has already come since the opening days of pee and genitalia jokes. The series has finally hit it's stride and found the balance of themes that are going to go on to make it arguably the most well known and popular anime in the world. Until next time! Favorite Panel: Synopsis: Namu succeeds in landing his deadly Tenku-Jiken attack on Goku, crashing into the young boy's neck with his arms crossed into an 'X'. He gets back up, but Goku remains on the floor of the ring, much to the horror of all of his friends. The announcer starts his ten count, but Jackie is concerned that Goku will be lucky if he survives the attack at all. Namu says he's a peaceful man however, and would never strike to kill – he is confident however that Goku won't be getting up for at least ten days. Right as the ten count is about to end however, Goku leaps back onto his feet, stunning everyone. The young boy is still in pain, but is able to continue fighting, much to Namu's surprise. The only thing that Namu can figure is that he must have missed Goku's pressure point. With so much riding on his victory, he can't afford to make the same mistake a second time, and leaps far higher into the air than he did the first time. Undeterred, Goku leaps into the air, chasing after him. Once Namu is high up into the clouds, he proceeds to fall downwards in the attack form of the Tenku-Jiken once more, but is caught off guard when Goku suddenly appears in the air as well. The two chase after each other as best they can in the air, with Namu trying to throw a punch at the young boy, but Goku simply dodges by falling downward more quickly than before. As the announcer comments on how much harder the fight is to watch now, it appears that Goku is going to land back in the ring first, and Namu is ready to hit him with his attack, even openly declaring victory. Goku refuses to give up however, and jumps backwards as soon as he lands, launching a vicious flying kick that manages to connect with Namu just as he comes back into range. The kick sends Namu flying out of the ring and onto the grass, earning Goku the victory and his way to the championship round! Watching from the back, Yamcha and Kuririn are thrilled at Goku's win, but Jackie Chun comments that it only now occurs to him that he might actually lose this next match... Review: I said it last chapter, and I'll say it again here – Goku V.S. Namu is the first real fight in the series, and it's a GREAT introduction to the kind of insane action you can expect to see in the series once it really hits it's combat stride. That said, most of the actual fighting was taken care of in the last chapter, with this one basically existing to wrap things up so far as the actual match goes. Jackie's comment about Goku being lucky if he even survives such a blow definitely feels earned, because I can't imagine your neck getting slammed into with a whole person's body weight is very good for you, especially not if it's an adult slamming into the neck of a child. Thank god for Sai – er, shonen endurance, huh! Nothing is really brought up about what would have happened if Namu had erred in his judgement however. We know that if he'd actually killed Goku, he would have been disqualified, but with an attack that can put someone into a coma for ten days, how do you really judge that after the fact? Would the committee have been waiting to declare who won until after Goku had recovered? If he was stuck in a coma forever, or actually did die, but Namu won the tournament outright, would they strip him of his win? Nothing is ever said as to how they'd go about any of that, and I'm betting even they don't have a plan for something like that in mind, so for once they should be very thankful for Goku's toughness. The mid-air combat, while entertaining, is actually the weakest point of this fight for me. While it's cool to see, it's mostly an improbable race rather than fighting, and to this day I'm not at all sure how in the heck either Goku or Namu are changing trajectory the way that they are. It's almost like they're flying rather than falling, so I kind of wonder if Toriyama remembered this scene years down the line and thought 'you know, mid-air combats cool, but it'd be easier if people could actually fly'. In the end, Namu is taken down by Goku, and Jackie Chun is left wondering if he'll be able to beat him at all. After chapter after chapter after chapter of the series toying with the idea of 'Is Jackie Chun actually...!', that sub-plot will be finally coming to a head in the next chapter. Thank Kami. Until next time! Favorite Panel: Next Time: Up next on TeenNick: Jackie Chun Explains It All Synopsis: The second match of the semi-finals is about to begin, but as the announcer talks about the tournament's grand prize, only Namu shows any interest in the money. He thinks back to the people of his village and how badly he needs the money to buy water for them all, while Bulma happily yells out to Goku that dinner's on him if he wins.
The announcer declares the match's start, and Goku wastes no time in trying out what he just saw Jackie Chun do. He moves quickly enough to leave an after-image and tries to catch Namu unaware with a kick, but Namu is able to see through it and jump into the air. Namu returns the favor by attempting to kick Goku, but Goku nimbly dodges out of the way as well. Goku is disappointed that his technique didn't work, but Yamcha and Jackie are amazed that he pulled it off after just seeing it once, and that Namu was unaffected by it. Namu renews his attack on Goku, and the two exchange blows for a bit until Goku is knocked down. Namu descends upon him, intending to throw him from the ring, but gets tripped by Goku's tail. Deciding to try a trick he himself came up with, Goku spins around rapidly, becoming a miniature twister and heading towards Namu. Namu is unable to defend against it and ends up on the defensive, constantly dodging, until he realizes he's now cornered at the ring's edge. He gives himself up as lost, only for Goku's spinning to slow to a stop before hitting Namu, falling over from how dizzy the spinning made him. Namu is so shocked by this turn of events that he almost falls out of the ring on his own, but recovers. He doesn't want to approach Goku too closely lest his tail trip him again, so he decides to make sure Goku is unconscious first. He leaps high into the air, and crosses his arms in front of him, aiming towards Goku as he falls, declaring this his Tenku-Jiken (or Heavenly Cross) technique. Will Goku manage to get out of the way in time? Review: While this is a really, really entertaining fight, I think just about everyone walks into it knowing how it's going to end ultimately. Namu has the better reason for fighting, a cause he's actually fighting for, but neither of those things are strong enough to defeat the plot armor of a shonen protagonist. Reality can be so cruel sometimes. But that's jumping ahead, as this chapter as it stands leaves the fight unfinished as of now. It more than makes up for that by upping the scale, and then some. Whereas much of Kuririn V.S. Jackie was about what we couldn't see, here the blows are shown in all their glory, whether that means the audience in attendance can see them the same way or not. Heck, outside of a few joking moments here and there, this is the first fight in the series that takes itself entirely seriously as a fight between martial artists. As much as I love the humor of Dragon Ball, even I can't lie, it's nice to finally get to a fight that actually feels like there's fighting going on. I'd be willing to bet this fight is what finally started to win people over back when it first came out as well, showing that Toriyama could do more than just jokes about super strong people, but actually demonstrating with them in combat. There's not really a whole lot else to take away from this particular chapter, other than it does continue to show off the character of Namu. Despite his steadfast dedication to his cause, he's rather easily thrown off his game whenever something unexpected happens or he thinks that he's lost. It's hard to tell if he's really that confident in himself as a fighter at all honestly, he's just a man on a mission to win. Again, it's just his bad luck that he got matched up against Goku of all people. As a final note, we get introduced to two different techniques here, Goku's unnamed spinning attack and Namu's Tenku-Jiken. This is the only time either of them will be seen that I can recall, which is a bit sad in the case of the Tenku-Jiken. It's kind of a neat technique really. Goku's spinning attack, I'm sort of surprised we haven't seen make a comeback in Super though, just as something really stupid for Goku to try. Who knows, maybe in the next movie. Until next time! Favorite Panel: Synopsis: With Jackie Chun sent flying into the air, the victor of the match seems certain to be Kuririn. Yamcha thinks this will be the ultimate proof of his theory of Jackie actually being Roshi is true or not as well, because if he is Roshi, surely he'll think of some way around this. Left with no other choice, Jackie resorts to the only tactic he can think of – he fires a Kamehameha, and uses it to propel himself back into the ring, shocking Yamcha, Goku, and Kuririn. Even Bulma remarks that it feels like she's seen something like that somewhere before, and the announcer goes wild upon realizing that the technique was the legendary Kamehameha. In Yamcha's mind, this settles it – Jackie Chun HAS to be Kame-sennin in disguise. Jackie readies to continue the fight, and Kuririn asks Goku for advice but all Goku can tell him to do is win. Feeling like he has no other choice left, Kuririn tries to rush Jackie, but Jackie jumps out of the way, causing Kuririn to run head-first into the ring's back wall. When Kuririn tries to rush him a second time, Goku shouts to warn Kuririn that it's a trick, but it's too late – what Kuririn rushed was an after-image left behind by how quickly Jackie moved, and Jackie succeeds in knocking Kuririn out with a quick chop to the back of the neck. Once he's down for ten counts, Kuririn is carried out of the ring, and Jackie is officially declared the winner. Back in the waiting room, Kuririn is awake but sore, and Jackie tells him he still needs more training. Yamcha confronts Jackie once more about being Roshi, but Goku says that can't be true, because Roshi's bald. Yamcha says it could just be a wig, and tries to prove this by pulling off Jackie's hair, but when it won't come off, he theorizes that Roshi always had hair and usually wears a bald cap, angering Jackie. Yamcha asks Goku if he can smell him to see if he's the old master, and even Kuririn is starting to think he sort of sounds like their master. Goku can't tell for sure however, as while Jackie kind of smells like Roshi, there's something else there too. Yamcha catches Jackie spraying on cologne, and Jackie claims he always wears it. The scene is interrupted by the announcer calling on Goku and Namu to enter the arena as the next two fighters. Goku's excited, but Namu seems as serious as ever, interesting Jackie, who still has Yamcha glaring daggers in his direction. Review: This chapter manages to both finish a fight, bridge the gap in-between, and get the next fight ready to go pretty successfully. There's also far less logical fallacies in how the fight goes down, so overall I'd say the better part of the fight is in this chapter – though it could definitely be argued that the opening part of it was more exciting, regardless of it's issues. This chapter all but seals the deal that Jackie is Roshi, something that I know I've been harping on constantly, but the story itself won't stop talking about it either. It still doesn't play all of it's cards just yet though, as while the Kamehameha and sort-of smelling like Roshi seem like pretty damning evidence on top of everything else, there's the fact that Jackie seems to have hair and it's hair that won't leave his head when pulled on. Gee, however could he have pulled this off, I wonder. You might be thinking that I'd have issues with Jackie launching his way back into the ring by Kamehameha, but I don't actually. Unlike Goku's kinto'un or Kuririn's panties, this is entirely a technique, and just because he didn't use it offensively, there's still nothing happening here that I'd really call against the rules on his part. A little bit of a double standard since I did have slight issue with Giran's wings, but it is what it is. It's usage here does highlight how rare the move still is at this point in time actually though. Up to this point, we've only seen two characters (Roshi and Goku) perform it, and even between them, we've only seen it performed three times in total. It's almost more of a last-ditch effort than an attack in how it's been used so far, as we've not truly seen it used in combat just yet. That'll be changing soon enough. Speaking of techniques, this chapter also marks the first time we see an after-image left behind by someone moving super quickly. Considering how fast they were moving in the previous chapter though, it's a little weird to suggest that Jackie was moving EVEN FASTER now. We're two arcs in and already there's a little suspension of disbelief required to make these fights work, but they're exciting enough that I don't think anyone's ever had a problem suspending their disbelief. Until next time! Favorite Panel: Synopsis: As Kuririn gets back up from Jackie's punch, he muses about how he couldn't even see it coming. Goku shouts to him that he should be able to if he just looks real close however, because Goku himself was able to see it. As Kuririn stands back up, ready to fight, Jackie tells him he won't take it easy on him this time. He throws another punch, but this time Kuririn is able to see it, and the two clash unseen before landing in front of each other. The announcer remarks about how neither he nor the crowd could see anything, but they really haven't 'not seen' anything yet. Jackie remarks that it's been a long time since anyone's been able to match his speed, and Kuririn retorts that he's just the person to do it seeing as how he was trained by Kame-sennin. The two warriors then rush each other once more, this time landing facing away from each other. Both of them seem fine at first, but Kuririn promptly falls over, landing on his face. Kuririn is able to get back up before the ten count finishes, managing to stay in the match for a little longer. Jackie thinks to himself that maybe Kuririn really did take his training seriously, but before the match can continue, the announcer asks if he and the crowd could get a quick explanation as to what just happened. Jackie is annoyed, but agrees to explain it just this once. With the announcer's help, the two recreate their fight scene: Jackie rushed in to kick Kuririn, Kuririn dodged and tried to throw a punch, but pulls his hand back when Jackie starts to spit at him. Jackie tries to throw a punch of his own, but also pulls back when Kuririn snorts boogers at him. As the two warriors pondered strategies, Kuririn notes that up to this point, only 0.2 seconds of their clash had passed. Jackie had then challenged Kuririn to Rock-Paper-Scissors, and once he won, he tried to distract Kuririn by pointing to the right. Kuririn stubbornly looked left instead, but it still left him open to a flying kick that Jackie landed on the back of his head, and the two warriors landed, bringing us back to the present. The announcer is in disbelief that so much could have possibly happened in such a short span of time, but is thrilled that the tournament is as intense as it is. He implores the fighters to get back to the fight, but Kuririn realizes that he's outclassed by Jackie in just about every way. Left with no choice, he decides to go with plan B. He pulls out a pair of panties he'd kept in his shirt and tosses it onto the ring, and when Jackie goes for them, he kicks the elder warrior, sending him flying through the air, and seemingly out of the ring. While Goku and Kuririn celebrate Kuririn's seeming victory, Yamcha wonders how he could ever have thought someone like Jackie was actually Kame-sennin. Review: Almost the entirety of this chapter is focused on how ludicrously fast the characters are moving now, and while it does serve to hype up the fight while also getting a laugh or two, it does somewhat muddy the waters a bit in regards to later fighting. I mean, if the characters are already moving this fast NOW, just imagine how fast they're moving by the time of the 22nd Tenkaichi Budokai, or even much further, into the 'Z' era? That's all a problem only brought on by how much longer the series goes and only in retrospect however. For now, it's just an easy way for Toriyama to illustrate just how crazy strong these characters are. The ruse of Jackie being Kame-sennin lifts even further this time, with Jackie commenting mentally to himself on things that only make sense for him to think or say if he knows Kuririn personally. I can't help but wonder if Toriyama got feedback from his editor telling him to basically not even hide it anymore because it wasn't fooling anyone and was funnier this way anyway. The lengthy explanation for how Jackie and Kuririn fought each other in the space of just a few seconds is equal parts funny and ludicrous. My personal favorite is the exchange of spit and snot, especially the snot given that this very same arc just a few chapters ago established that Kuririn doesn't even have a nose. How did he snort out boogers without a nose? He's just that damn good. The rock-paper-scissors game where the loser is told to look in a direction and receives a hit if they do is something I've seen a lot in anime and manga, but never once in real life. It's certainly not a way that I've ever played the game, so I'm left wondering if this is a Japanese thing, or if it's something pulled from another anime or manga and is referenced in tons of later works. Or maybe we just played it wrong when I was a kid, who knows. As funny as the gag with the panties is, I have to say it – Kuririn should be disqualified. Sure, he brought the panties into the ring with him, though where, how, and why he got them in the first place is a bigger mystery, but by that same logic someone could have brought in any other sort of weapon into the ring. It was already on their person, so why would panties get a free pass? Is it only because he used them as a distraction rather than a weapon? That's just silly. Until next time! Favorite Panel: Synopsis: With Giran resignation, the announcer officially declares Goku the winner, and comments how unbelievable it is that the tournament has two semi-finalists who are so young. Bulma, Oolong, and Puar however are more worried about what Goku's tail growing back could mean. Kuririn himself is surprised that Goku never mentioned having a tail before, but Goku's just happy to see it back.
The announcer decides to do a quick interview with the two young fighters, first asking for their ages. Kuririn is revealed to be 13, whereas Goku – once he figures out what a microphone is – reveals that he's 12. Kuririn calls him out for previously saying he was 13, but Roshi apparently taught Goku more proper math and he learned that he's actually only 12, a fact Bulma thinks explains why he was never interested in her. The announcer then asks Goku if his tail is real, something Kuririn doubts with how quickly it grew, but Goku drops his pants and shows the entire crowd that his tail is indeed real. The announcer tries to salvage the interview by asking Kuririn about the uniform both he and Goku are wearing, asking what dojo they train at. Kuririn reveals that they've been trained by Kame-sennin, a revelation that stuns both the crowd and the announcer As Jackie Chun and Yamcha listen from backstage, Jackie is pleased at first to hear such praise of Kame-sennin, but almost falls over when the announcer's takeaway is disbelief that he could still be alive at his age. Yamcha approaches Jackie and asks him if he's really the turtle hermit, but Jackie emphatically says that he's Jackie Chun. Yamcha says he must be Roshi, due to their similar appearances, their skill, and the way they act around women. As Jackie ignores him and heads out to the stage when it's time for the fight to begin, Yamcha wonders if it's all just a coincidence after all. He decides to watch the match very closely however. Jackie asks the announcer if he wants to interview him as well, and the announcer says no, but Jackie grabs the microphone out of his hands anyway. After an incredibly awkward song and dance routine, which Goku joins him in, the announcer is finally able to get Jackie to take the stage, and his fight with Kuririn begins. The fight starts somewhat equally, with Kuririn launching attacks fast enough that Jackie can barely dodge them, eventually having to block a blow instead. Jackie is impressed, but when the two fighters separate, he gets serious, launching a punch so fast that nobody can see it. Kuririn is knocked into the ring's back wall, bleeding from where his nose would be. Review: While this chapter touts itself as beginning the next match, it's really more of a transitional chapter. We do get a little bit of the fight at the very end, but it's more concerned with answering a few questions, introducing a retcon, and setting the stage for where the rest of the tournament will go from here. Other than the obvious reminder of what Goku's tail coming back could mean, the first thing brought to the table in this chapter is the retcon of Goku's age. We never had Kuririn's age stated previously I don't think, but we did have Goku's, way back in the first arc. There, Goku himself stated that he was 14, which prompted Bulma to get angry at him for being so casual around her while she was in the tub. Now however, Goku says that he's 12. While not knowing math and thus being incorrect about his age is totally in character for Goku, the way it's being used here is a little bit odd, at least in retrospect. Goku's indifference to Bulma was played at the time as if he just wasn't the type to be interested in girls, but now it's almost as if the story's trying to imply that it has more to do with his young age. That's certainly how Bulma's taking the revelation at any rate. As we'll see as the series continues though, Goku's age has nothing to do with his lack of interest in the opposite sex – he's just Goku. It's also possible that Toriyama was concerned with Goku growing up too fast if he kept him at his originally stated age. Either way, Goku's 12 now. Surely this'll be the only time there'll be questions as to his exact age in relation to the story. This chapter continues the 'mystery' of whether Jackie Chun is indeed Kame-sennin or not, but unlike the previous chapters, I'm actually sort of warming up to the obviousness of it this time around. Unlike with the Lunch gag or the previous handful of chapters, this one seems to gleefully relish in the fact that it's such an obvious mystery. You can practically hear Toriyama going 'Of COURSE Jackie Chun is Roshi, the disguise is so awful it's hilarious, right?'. And, admittedly, the series acknowledging how silly this premise is actually does make a world of difference to how enjoyable it is, at least to me. It's now treating it in a very tongue-in-cheek manner rather than acting like it's actually fooling us when it's not and it never was. This does unfortunately leave Yamcha looking even more like an idiot when he starts to doubt his certainty that Jackie is Roshi however. His fall from grace continues. Jackie's routine once he takes the mic away from the announcer is so...so awkward, to the point that I can't tell if I love it or hate it. It's padding to be sure, and once again I'm left feeling like the only reason it's here is to hit the page count needed for a chapter, but I do get a laugh out of how the announcer just stares in confusion afterward only to immediately get the story back on track in the very next panel. So, job well done, awkward gag? Once the fighting gets going, we're introduced for the very first time to the idea of a character moving so fast that other characters can't even see them. It's practically become a battle shonen trope at this point, and it's certainly one for Dragon Ball, as we'll see this gimmick used time and time again to indicate how incredbly fast someone is moving. After a while you have to start wondering how anything in this series is visible. Thank goodness it is though, or else we'd be bored. Until next time! Favorite Panel: Synopsis: With Goku stuck in his gum, Giran tells him that struggling is useless, as his movements will just make the gum stick to him even worse. Taking advantage of the situation, Giran strikes Goku hard on top of the head before picking him up and lifting him over his own head. He tosses Goku up into the air and out of the ring, and it looks like this is it for Goku, as once he lands outside of the ring, he'll have lost the match. Thinking quickly, Goku calls for kinto'un, and the cloud zooms to his rescue, catching him before he can hit the ground and depositing him back on the stage. Giran is outraged and demands to know if that's allowed – surely using that cloud counts as using a tool, right? Goku questions Giran's own flying and the gum, but Giran defends them as being part of his body, as even the gum was something that he spit up. After talking it over with the head monk, the announcer says they'll make a one time exception, but Goku is forbidden from using the kinto'un a second time. If he does, he'll be disqualified. This works well enough for Giran, as he still has Goku trapped in his gum. All he has to do is knock him out, a task that he thinks couldn't be any easier. He brings back his fist, intending to hit Goku as hard as he can, but when his swing is done, it connects with nothing but air. He looks around, trying to find where Goku disappeared to, only to find that the boy is hanging from his arm...by a tail? Goku is excited to see that his tail has grown back at long last, while Kuririn and Jackie Chun are mystified by it, and Yamcha and the others are horrified since they know what the tail can mean. Goku happily drops to the ring, thinking that he has a chance now. First, he has to get out of the gum though. He flexes his muscles as hard as he can, eventually breaking the gum apart, to Giran's horror. Deciding to test how strong he is now that his tail's back, Goku uses it to propel himself into a kick at the wall off the stage, and breaks it apart easily. He then turns his attention back towards Giran, ready to resume the fight, but Giran is waving a white flag in defeat. Goku wins his match and proceeds to the next round of the Tenkaichi Budokai, though Bulma and the others worry about when the next full moon is... Review: Picking up exactly where the last chapter left off, the rest of this fight is, honestly, not as good as the first half. It's got way too many plot contrivances that only work out in Goku's favor due to him being the main character, rather than things that actually make a lot of narrative sense. Right off the bat, there's him getting tossed out of the arena. I mentioned before that I had a slight problem with Giran's non-ring-out for this same reason, but Goku's case is even worse because he only avoids ring-out by calling in kinto'un. If I had to guess, this was mostly done to keep readers on the edge of their seats as to how Goku was going to get out of this, but also to remind kids of the cloud's existence – we haven't seen it since the very start of this arc after all. That still doesn't really make this much better though. Goku most definitely used an outside tool here, so by all counts, he should be disqualified at this point. The reasoning behind him not being rung out is basically 'rule of cool', and while there are some situations where that's enough of a reason for something to happen, I don't think it's strong enough here to really excuse this. Sorry guys, Goku lost in the first round of the 21st Tenkaichi Budokai. Pack it up. The series is over. I will say that Giran's defense of his own wings and gum in comparison to Goku's kinto'un use is entirely justified as well. I only have a slight problem with Giran flying back into the arena, I have a much bigger one with Goku's kinto'un use. The gum doesn't bother me at all personally, I look at that more as an ability no different than if Goku fired off a Kamehameha in the match. When we then return to the fight, it's basically just one punch thrown that doesn't connect, then afterwards a kick thrown that's not even aimed at the opponent. The best parts of this fight have already happened sadly. Now, let's talk about Goku's tail growing back. This is also a plot contrivance, but this one doesn't bother me nearly as much. It's unexpected, sure, since the closest thing to Goku and his tail, a monkey, can't just magically grow theirs back if they're cut off. It also requires a pretty big suspension of disbelief that his tail grew back, all at once and not gradually, right at the exact moment it was needed. All of that definitely counts against it. Unlike kinto'un though, it's not really cheating, or giving Goku a way to stay in the match that's not deserved. It's something he already had as a part of his body at the very start of the series, and it's simply grown back now. It's not a tool in any way shape or form. It's definitely something completely legal to the rules of the tournament. This one gets a pass, mostly. The differing reactions to Goku's tail are all pretty amusing as well. Goku is of course just happy to see the thing, especially since it instantly seems to make him feel stronger than he did before. Giran and Kuririn are all just confused as to what just happened, as is the rest of the Budokai audience and staff, as there was no way for them to know Goku ever even had a tail since it wouldn't have ever come up – though you would have thought it would have come up in conversation at some point while Goku and Kuririn were training. “Jackie Chun” knew about the tail but has no knowledge of the real reason it was cut off or why it coming back could be a bad thing. Yamcha, Bulma, Oolong, and Puar however know exactly how bad this could be, as evidenced by the latter trio fearing for the next full moon. This was definitely a chapter of highs and lows, far from the worst, but definitely not the best writing in the grand scheme of things. Let's hope the second round picks things back up as the 21st Tenkaichi Budokai continues onward. Until next time! Favorite Panel: Next Time: Kuririn V.S. Totally Not Roshi |
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