Synopsis: Goku's friends have all arrived on Papaya Island and are wondering where Goku is, as the tournament registration is going to close soon. Roshi returns from the bathroom and they all take a taxi over to the tournament arena, where Kuririn and Yamcha sign up as entrants. Roshi asks the attendant if a 'Son Goku' has signed in yet, and though the attendant recognizes Goku's name as the runner-up from last time, he doesn't seem to have arrived yet. Roshi hopes that Goku hasn't forgotten what today is, knowing how irresponsible he can be. Yamcha says there's only about five minutes left to sign up and Lunch considers entering the tournament for a shot at the 500,000 zeni prize, but Turtle tells her that they don't allow weapons. As they all chat, Roshi sneaks back over to the attendant and asks him to sign up 'Jackie Chun' as well, and also asking him to keep his identity a secret. Kuririn asks Roshi where he ran off to this time, and when Roshi says the bathroom again, Turtle tells him he needs to watch his diet.
The wait for Goku is interrupted by a snide old man with a crane-hat and his two students, a tall three-eyed man and a small pale child. Roshi instantly recognizes Tsuru-sennin, the Crane Hermit, and tells him he's shocked he's still alive. Tsuru-sennin says Roshi is as foul-mouthed and ugly as ever, and says he heard a rumor that Roshi's students did quite well at the last tournament. As such, Tsuru-sennin has decided to enter his own students and show everyone what real martial arts looks like, so he'll understand if Roshi pulls his students out of the competition now. Roshi says Tsuru-sennin still has a warped sense of humor to tell such a joke, and the two continue to bicker until Tsuru-sennin leaves saying this tournament will settle things. As they walk away, the three-eyed man snorts in derision at Roshi's students. Yamcha asks Roshi who the rude old guy was, and Roshi explains that Tsuru-sennin is a former rival of his. With only a minute left before registration closes, Yamcha asks Puar to transform into Goku and sign up for him, but Lunch spots Goku – now dressed in a tiger pelt – arriving just in the nick of time. Everyone rushes to see Goku as Roshi gets his student signed up, with Yamcha noticing that Goku's gotten a bit taller now, something that irritates Kuririn who says he's gotten taller too. Roshi tells Goku that he had them all worried and asks why he didn't come on kinto'un, but Goku reminds Roshi that he told him not to use it. Oolong says that Goku surely didn't swim all this way, and Goku says it was only from a place called Yahhoi, astonishing everyone as Yahhoi is on the other side of the world. An announcer asks over an intercom for all tournament entrants to come to the gymnasium so the preliminaries can begin. Goku, Kuririn, and Yamcha change into their Turtle gi's, and everyone wishes them luck, with Roshi telling them to show everyone how much they've improved in the past three years. Once in the gym, Kuririn notices that it looks like there's even more people here than last time, and some of the fighters recognize the trio as contestants who made it all the way to the tournament three years before. Back outside, Puar and the others notice that Roshi has disappeared on them again, and they wonder if he had to go to the bathroom yet again. Now in his Jackie Chun disguise, Roshi is soon approached by Goku who is happy to see he's come back to fight again. Goku says he's going to do his best to beat him this time, and Jackie Chun compliments him for clearly having trained hard in the past three years. Thinking to himself, Roshi reveals that he too has been secretly training hard, as he can't bear the thought of losing to his own student. An announcer thanks all contestants for coming to the 22nd Tenkaichi Budokai. He reminds everyone that interest in the tournament has skyrocketed as evidenced by the large number of entrants this year, so they'll now be having the tournament every three years rather than five as they had done previously. Out of the 182 fighters gathered, only 8 of them will move on to the actual tournament. As all of the fighters listen to this announcement, Goku's friends watch him with some annoyance as he casually eats a riceball. Review: With the true start of this next arc, we finally enter the series very first time skip of note, and...well, I've got feelings on that, but love them or hate them, you'd better get used to them, because you're going to be seeing a fair few more of these moving forward. Toriyama's time skips usually carry two different effects with them – they allow him to move the characters forward and change things about them rather abruptly rather than going through each step in the process or each day in their lives, and they allow him to increase everyone's strength in a rapid manner rather than going through each step of that either. The latter is something that I've already spoken at length about not being the craziest about when it allows us to skip out on whatever training the characters are going through to get such results, but even I can't deny that the former is a good way to shake things up. Heading into this arc might be one of the most subdued period of change the series will ever have, but it is there and easy enough to see. The most noticeable change of course comes with both Goku and Kuririn, who are both a good bit taller now than they were before, and generally not drawn in the same round-bodied style they used to be. It's easy to forget about that, but during this period you can definitely see a change in how they look in all of Toriyama's art, and it goes a great way to show that these characters really are getting older as time passes. The passage of time is less noticeable in regards to the likes of Yamcha and Bulma, but I think part of that is because we've already seen both of them change their hairstyles a handful of times in the series, so them doing so yet again doesn't hold quite the same level of surprise as the boys growing taller does. If you squint, or have artwork of them from earlier in the series side-by-side with their current designs as of this arc however, you can spot some more minor differences. In the case of everyone else though? They're basically the same as they ever were, and will largely stay that way throughout the rest of the franchise other than the occasional clothing change. Amidst everyone's antics while waiting for Goku, it's Roshi who actually ends up taking center stage, and in a weird way, he'll continue to be a very central figure for the rest of the arc as it's both his history and his choices that are going to dictate how things play out. It's almost a little surprising to see him enter the tournament under the guise of Jackie Chun again, seeing as how he seemed fairly certain that Goku had surpassed him by the end of the Baba arc. He gives his reasoning as not wanting to get shown up by his own students, particularly Goku, and while that's probably true on some level – the pride of a martial artist and all – I think it's very much for the same reasons he did it the first time. He showed Goku and Kuririn that there was always someone way stronger out there in the world, and then Goku's adventure gathering the Dragon Balls reinforced that lesson even further, resulting in Goku becoming stronger than Roshi could have possibly imagined. This tactic seemingly worked on Kuririn and Yamcha to some degree as well, so Roshi is probably hoping to keep them all going just that much longer so they can reach their fullest potential. Roshi is also the focal point of the new threat in this arc, in the form of the Crane School. Tsuru-sennin is an interesting character in the way he somewhat fills a gap that we didn't even realize we had. Despite how long we've had Roshi around as a character, we really know shockingly little about him. Where he came from, what his real name is, what sort of training he got up to in his own youth – these are all questions that by and large we still don't have answers to even today (other than knowing that, as far as parallels with Goku's own training goes, he never went any further than training with Karin). With the introduction of Tsuru-sennin however, we now know he had his own rivalry in the past, and that there's another skilled old master out there teaching the next generation of martial artists. It's made clear very quickly that the two old-timers don't get along, which even without knowing their history is an understandable enough sentiment – not once prior to this in the series has anyone ever mentioned a Crane Hermit. Hell, even Yamcha who is usually a repository of information on notable martial artists, doesn't seem to have ever heard of him before, and yet various people throughout the story have recognized Roshi's name and reputation. If their rivalry wasn't bitter before, it certainly would be after that kind of disrespect. It's fitting that all of this is bubbling just under the surface of this tournament, because this arc as a whole is going to quickly prove to be about just that – your choices dictating the type of person you are and how you're remembered, and handing things off to the next generation rather than continuing to pump up your own pride. Until next time! Favorite Panel:
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Synopsis: Three years have now passed since Goku last saw his friends at Baba's palace, and the day of the 22nd Tenkaichi Budokai has almost arrived. As Goku searches for food in a forest, he soon comes across a car chase happening on a nearby road where a green fox-man is trying to get away from another car with a tiger, boar, and gorilla inside of it. The trio eventually catch the fox and begin beating him up, but Goku intervenes and tells them to stop bullying weaker people. Goku makes quick work of the trio, thus rescuing the fox, Konkichi, who is incredibly grateful to him. As repayment, Konkichi takes Goku with him in his car and gives him plenty of canned food to eat, though Goku notices that he keeps calling him 'bro' instead of Goku. Either way, Goku is glad he ran into Konkichi as he has no idea how to get to Papaya Island from here, and Konkichi says the least he can do is take Goku to the airport. Goku says he was just planning to run there rather than take a plane, and Konkichi thinks that Goku must be joking. Once at the airport, a receptionist tells them that the next flight to Papaya will leave at 3 P.M., after which the next plane won't leave for another week. Unfortunately, one ticket cost 15,000 zeni, and Goku doesn't have a bit of money on him, causing Konkichi to be horrified to realize that Goku was serious about running everywhere. Konkichi tells Goku that Papaya Island is on the other side of the world from where they are now and that there's no way Goku will get there in time unless he takes that 3 P.M. flight, but Konkichi tells him not to worry as he'll take care of this. Konkichi runs through the airport, eventually bumping into a man who is talking with his wife about catching that flight, before running into a police officer and worrying that he or someone else may have seen what he just did – Konkichi it seems is a pickpocket, and though he attempted to steal the tickets for Goku, he ends up returning them to the officer out of fear of being caught and leaves the airport quickly with Goku. Konkichi tells Goku they have an hour and a half to somehow get 30,000 zeni, and Goku notices that's more than what one ticket costs, with Konkichi now saying he'll be taking that flight alongside Goku. The pair head into town, and Konkichi leads Goku to a street where a carnival is being held. Goku asks how they can get money at a festival, but the pair soon come across a crying young child whose balloon has flown away into the sky. Goku leaps up to get the boy's balloon, but as he's returning it to him it gets popped, causing the boy to cry again. Konkichi gives the boy a lollipop and makes funny faces to cheer him up, and Goku tells him he's good with kids, with Konkichi confessing that he loves kids. Nearby, a strength tester competition is being held where whoever can make a bell ring with a hammer wins 30,000 zeni, with an entry fee of just 3 zeni. Konkichi enters Goku and tells him what to do, though the game runner thinks Goku doesn't stand a chance. Goku tosses away the hammer and hits it with a chop of his hand, breaking the game but ringing the bell just the same, earning the pair the 30,000 zeni they needed. Konkichi is overjoyed that Goku and he have enough money now to go to Papaya Island, but the pair are soon found by a familiar face – Fortuneteller Baba recognizes Goku after seeing him win the strength tester game and tells him he really must have gotten stronger in the three years since she last saw him. Goku asks what she's doing all the way out here, and she says it's nice to go sightseeing every now and then. Goku introduces Baba to Konkichi, and Konkichi explains how Goku saved him from some people after him before, and Baba starts to get suspicious about Konkichi's true nature, asking him why those men were after him in the first place. Konkichi nervously runs off to get some juice and wonders if he should make a run for it while he can, though he doesn't want to leave Goku hanging, only for him to be found by the three men from before. They gang up on him and find the 30,000 zeni on him, telling him that he's still 20,000 short of what he owes them. Konkichi protests that the money isn't his, but they demand that he repay them what he owes, but offer to give him a job to make up for the rest of the money instead. On Roshi's island, Roshi and the others prepare to head out to Papaya Island, with Roshi making them run behind by trying to find the best suit to wear. Lunch is ready to stay behind, but once she sneezes and turns back into her blonde form, she decides to go along with them after all. Yamcha and Kuririn are excited to show what they can do now, as well as seeing Goku again and finding out how strong he is now too. Goku waits with Baba for Konkichi to return, but it's soon only 40 minutes until the plane leaves. Baba suggests that maybe Goku should go look for him, when the sound of gunshots suddenly ring through the air. Police swarm a bank where a bank teller has been shot, and Konkichi is standing there holding a shotgun. The police quickly apprehend him, but Konkichi yells that it wasn't him. Goku and Baba come across this, and Konkichi begs Goku to help him, but the police insist that they'll be arresting him. Baba convinces them to let Goku talk to him first, and Goku asks Konkichi if he's really a bad guy. Konkichi insists that he hasn't done anything wrong, but one of the officers is the policeman from the airport who tells Konkichi he knows he actually tried to steal those plane tickets before. Konkichi confesses to Goku that he's a thief who's never had a friend before or anyone to help him, so he was happy when Goku saved him and just wanted to help him out. He pleads with Goku to believe him when he says he didn't rob the bank however, saying it was the men from before who made him take the blame for the robbery to repay the money he owed them. Goku believes him and asks Baba to locate the three men for him. Baba says she doesn't divine for free, but she'll let Goku owe her payment later, and uses her crystal ball to find the three men driving away in a car. Goku runs off and soon catches up to the three men who are horrified to see Goku again, even more so when he catches the bullets from the gun they fire at him. He stops their car and turns them into the police, but unfortunately sees the plane he was supposed to be taking leaving without him when it flies overhead. Konkichi tearfully thanks Goku, and the boy that Konkichi cheered up before runs over and gives Konkichi a lollipop of his own and asks him to play with him sometime, causing Goku to praise him for finally having made another friend. Baba tells Goku that Papaya Island is on the other side of the world in a straight line from where they are now, and Goku decides to swim there. He tells Konkichi to take care of himself before leaping into the ocean, and Konkichi shouts that he truly believes Goku can make it all the way to Papaya Island, as crazy as it seems. The 22nd Tenkaichi Budokai begins in just three short days, and martial artists from all over the world are gathering for it, including the pair of scam artists fighters Goku ran into before. Who will be the champion this time? Review: This episode sees us off from the filler arc about Goku's training in a rather subdued fashion. Rather than giving us any actual fights to showcase how strong Goku may have become, it instead gives us a more mundane story that chiefly exists to show how Goku ended up having to swim all the way across the world to get to Papaya Island (as we'll see in the following chapter). Despite all of that however, the episode does manage to have it's own charms, and honestly? In this case it's better that they do hold off on showing us exactly what Goku can do now. I realize I've been very back and forth on what I want to see of Goku's training – on the one hand, I've praised this arc for filling in a gap left in the original manga; on the other, I've criticized it in places for showing off Goku's tail training and spoiling the existence of Tenshinhan and Chaozu. There's a delicate balance here that I don't think either version of the story has really hit just right to be honest. I WANT to see Goku's training period, I want to see what kind of people he runs into during the three years on his own, and I want to see the kinds of things he's getting up to that might provide more reason for him being as strong as he is by the time of the tournament. At the same time however, the tournament is just around the corner, and it definitely holds a few surprises for us. Spoiling too many of them beforehand can take away from the experience, and a couple of moments in these episodes came a little too close to doing just that. But that's all about this arc in general. For this episode itself, I think it plays it's cards appropriately close to the vest, especially seeing as how it's now jumped to just a few days before the tournament and Goku's training period is all but complete. If it had given us a fighter of any note for Goku to go up against here, it could have risked giving away a hint of just how much stronger Goku has become, and while done right that could have been interesting, I can't blame them for playing it safe and just having Goku run across mooks with guns, the very sort of people he's been able to take out easily since the very first chapter. The character of Konkichi also presents Goku with a rather interesting lesson that could be argued becomes another key point of Goku's character. Konkichi isn't evil by any means, but he is on the wrong side of the tracks, the sort of person Goku would consider a 'bad guy' under normal circumstances. By the end of the episode however, he's able to turn over a new leaf, showing Goku that sometimes people can change for the better – given how often Goku is willing to give even the worst sort of people the benefit of the doubt, this is a lesson that Goku definitely seems to take to heart at some point even in the manga...though in some cases, this lesson could definitely be seen as a detriment, but we'll get to those moments later on. All things told, this episode is kind of just so-so when you actually watch it. As much as it gives me room to ruminate on what's been done right or wrong with this filler arc as a whole, Konkichi unfortunately doesn't make for the most interesting or engaging character, and is largely forgettable as soon as the episode is over. It was interesting to see an animal-type person actually given a plot for once though, but when that's all there is I can really praise Konkichi for, it's not much really. Until next time! Favorite Scene: I'm going to have to cheat and choose two scenes here as they make a collective whole – the scenes with Konkichi and the little boy he cheers up and befriends at the end are adorable as heck. Next Time: New (unless you watch the anime) rivals, same old Goku. Synopsis: Goku continues his solitary training in preparation for the next Tenkaichi Budokai, eventually finding himself tired and hungry in another area he's never been to before. He sees a family on an out of control vehicle and helps bring them to a stop before they can crash or fall off the mountain. The family thanks him gratefully, and when Goku asks why they were in such a hurry, the father explains that a monster called Inoshikacho, a large boar with a deer's antlers on it's head and a pair of butterfly wings on it's back, has shown up in their village. Their own house was destroyed by the creature, and nobody in the village was capable of stopping the beast's rampage. Goku asks if the creature is really that strong, and the man says their whole village is probably in shambles by now. Goku thinks this Inoshikacho sounds like the perfect opponent for him and asks for directions to their village. Meanwhile, back on Roshi's island, Yamcha and Kuririn continue their training by sparring while Roshi relaxes in a nearby chair. Bulma spots him looking through a photo album and asks him who the cute young man in a photograph is, with Roshi saying that it's him when he was younger. Another photo shows a young Roshi alongside another man he refers to as Crane, with Crane holding a small boar in his arms. Roshi explains that it's actually a rare creature called Inoshikacho that they found deep in the mountains, and though it was docile at first, it grew bigger and harder to control as it got older. Bulma asks what happened to the creature, and Roshi says he's not sure as they moved away from that area shortly after, though he's sure it's fully grown by now. Goku arrives in the village just in time to find the villagers hunting down Inoshikacho alongside a pair of martial artists wearing the same green and yellow outfits. The two fighters – a tall bald man with a third eye and a short pale child – make quick work of Inoshikacho, and by the next morning, the beast is tied up by it's feet and hanging from a tree. The villagers thank the fighters and pay them 100,000 zeni for their trouble and ask them to stay another night for a feast, but the tall fighter says they're in a hurry but will take Inoshikacho's body with them to dispose of it, and the short one says they'll take some corn on the cob as well. Later that night, Goku is using his tail to try and fish in a nearby lake but isn't having any luck. He smells something cooking and rushes over to find it, and to his surprise, he finds the two fighters cooking and eating the corn alongside a surprising third body – an alive Inoshikacho. Goku overhears the two fighters thanking Inoshikacho for putting on such a good act and that they'll call it quits after two or three more villages, and Goku approaches and asks them if they're all friends now. The tall fighter says he can't let Goku live now that he's heard their secret, and attacks Goku with quick attacks that Goku is able to dodge despite how hungry he is. The tall fighter asks Goku his name, and the small fighter feels like he's heard the name somewhere before. Another attack from the tall fighter causes a tree to fall on Goku, and he's certain that Goku will die if they leave him out there on his own. Back on Roshi's island, Bulma wakes up from a nightmare where she dreams of Goku being killed by Inoshikacho, causing her to worry about how Goku is doing out there, but Roshi doesn't seem too worried about his student, even cracking a joke that earns him a smack to the head. The next day, Goku awakens in an unfamiliar house where a girl named Tanmen. She says he was found under a huge tree, causing Goku to remember what he saw the night before. Tanmen is surprised since she heard that Inoshikacho was dead, and explains that this must mean the two fighters tricked everyone just to take their money. Goku tries to get out of bed and hunt them down but is too hungry to move, so Tanmen brings him a lot of food to help get him back on his feet. In another nearby village, the two fighters have let Inoshikacho loose once again and are watching as he destroys a field and chases farmers, thinking that they could even get 200 thousand zeni this time. As Goku heads out to search for the pair and Inoshikacho, he runs into the same couple again running away from their new village. Goku runs in the direction they were running from, determined to put a stop to them this time. By nightfall, the pair have once again “defeated” Inoshikacho and are just about to receive payment when Goku rushes in and says that they're a fraud. He reaches up and tickles the tied up Inoshikacho, causing it to laugh and reveal that it's alive, so that Goku can reveal what the two fighters have been up to. The tall fighter takes advantage of the situation and claims that Goku is the real trickster, causing the villagers to be unsure who to believe. The tall fighter says he'll prove his claims and picks up a burning torch to place under Inoshikacho. Goku objects and asks them how they could do such a thing to their friend, and as the fire starts to burn Inoshikacho, Goku angrily frees Inoshikacho to save it. This causes the villagers to believe the two fighters instead of Goku, though the small fighter now worries what's going to happen if they've truly made Inoshikacho mad. The angry villagers throw rocks and fire guns at Goku and Inoshikacho to drive them away, causing the beast to rampage once again. The two fighters decide this is their best chance to make a getaway, and Goku chases down Inoshikacho to stop it from rampaging. He picks up the creature and runs into the woods with it while the villagers chase after them quickly, with Goku saying he could never fight the villagers. It's only once they get into the woods that Goku notices how badly burned Inoshikacho's back is. As the next morning comes, Goku carries Inoshikacho back to Tanmen's house to get his burn treated. To his surprise however, he soon finds himself surrounded by the angry villagers who accuse him of tricking them. They open fire again, and just as Goku thinks he has no choice left but to fight, Tanmen and the village chief of her hometown run out and explain that Goku's telling the truth. Tanmen agrees to patch Inoshikacho up, and the creature seems much more docile now that people aren't trying to hurt or use it anymore. With everything settled, Goku wonders what happened to the two scam artists anyway, and Tanmen says she overheard them talking about the Tenkaichi Budokai. Goku says he'll be entering that tournament too and needs to keep fighting strong opponents so that he's ready, causing Inoshikacho to rush at him, allowing Goku to get in some training by fighting against him. Elsewhere, the two fighters have managed to get out of the area cleanly, with intentions of entering the Tenkaichi Budokai where they will surely meet Goku once again. As Goku leaves the village, it's revealed that Inoshikacho now lives in peace with the villagers and even helps them till a field. Review: This episode might be one of the more notorious instances of filler in the original anime series. Unlike much of the filler in DBZ, the filler in DB is generally regarded as less obtrusive and generally able to fit into the world of the franchise without creating too many problems. As I've already said with the last couple of episodes however, this batch of episodes doesn't really live up to that reputation very well, and this episode in some ways might be even harder to make work with the series proper than the last one. The biggest elephant in the room here are the early introduction of the characters of Tenshinhan, Chaozu, and even a cameo appearance by a young Tsuru-sennin. These are all characters that are going to be properly introduced to us in short order at the 22nd Tenkaichi Budokai, but for whatever reason, Toei decided to have them introduced to us here in a filler episode first. This is an unprecedentedly bizarre decision – I'm sure it can't be the only time, but off the top of my head? I'm struggling to think of any other time in any anime adaption of a manga that I've seen where they introduce a canon character in a filler episode preceding their actual debut. Easter eggs and teases of characters sure, but outright showing them the way they do Tenshinhan and Chaozu? That's just crazy. As we've only had them very briefly here, and we'll be dealing with them a lot more closely soon enough, I'll hold off on really saying much about the Crane students at this time, but I will say that one nice thing with this episode is that their personalities do feel about the same as when they'll be around later. There's also a weird moment where Chaozu comments about Goku's name seeming familiar, and I'm not really sure what that's supposed to be getting at. Has he heard Goku's name before as a result of him being runner-up at the last tournament, or does he just think it sounds similar to Gohan if Tsuru-sennin has talked about Roshi and his former students to them before? Or is it supposed to be an early hint about his psychic powers? Nothing is elaborated on further in this episode, so it's really hard to say what they had in mind with that line. The main crux of the episode beyond those two revolves around the scam they're running around Inoshikacho, a creature with a name that probably sounds very familiar to fans of Naruto. And it should, as the two sets of characters share a common source to their names – Ino means 'boar', Shika means 'deer', and Cho means 'Butterfly'. In the case of the Naruto characters this is expressed in Ino's personality; Shikamaru's family lands; and Choji's Butterfly Mode, as well as the collective trio name for their fathers, themselves, and even later on their own children being 'InoShikaCho'. In the case of Dragon Ball's Inoshikacho however, the name is even more obviously represented as that's exactly what he is, a Boar with the antlers of a Deer and the wings of a Butterfly. As another interesting tidbit, I was curious why this particular set of three completely different animals were represented in both series, as it felt like something that couldn't be a coincidence, and surprise, it's not – InoShikaCho also happens to be the name for a card combination in the hanafuda-based game of Koi-Koi, a game that anime fans might remember from pivotal scenes in Mamoru Hosoda's Summer Wars film. Big thanks to DanielSQ over on Twitter for letting me know about this connection, as I've actually never heard about it even once in all my years as an anime fan. Just goes to show, there's always more to learn. Anyway, Inoshikacho himself is a pretty curious creature, and not just because of the weird combo of animals in his makeup. From the first cutaway scene featuring Goku's friends, we learn that Inoshikacho isn't just some monster that Tenshinhan and Chaozu found, but rather an old pet of Roshi and Tsuru-sennin when they were younger themselves. This is one of a few curious moments where we get to see and learn a bit about their past together – and curiously enough, the youthful designs for them are anime original – but it also means that Inoshikacho has to be a hell of a lot older than we might have otherwise guessed. Don't forget that Roshi himself is like three centuries old at the start of the series, which means Inoshikacho is at least over 200 years old by this point. That is a hell of a long life for an animal like him! ...I guess, at any rate, it's probably kind of hard to determine the lifespan of a BoarDeerButterfly, come to think of it. Despite the problems the narrative of this episode presents to fitting within the series proper, it's a fun enough romp that's hard not to love regardless. Seeing Tenshinhan and Chaozu just scam village after village out of money and food is a treat, and a different and refreshing sort of villainous action compared to the sort we've seen plenty of by this point. The villagers also end up being pretty fun as well – none of them get names other than Tanmen, and they don't really get to establish any individual personalities, but damn if they don't turn hilariously blood thirsty as soon as they think Goku's the one that tried to trick them. They repeatedly fire guns at a small child for crying out loud! That's just hilariously brutal, even if we know Goku's never really in any danger from them. Overall, this episode might be one of the best out of this batch of filler stories, probably only being edged out by it's predecessor purely for it's gothic feel. If you want a fun filler episode that's tone feels more like the series as a whole though, this one is the clear winner thus far. Until next time! Favorite Scene: The villagers just going complete warzone on Goku. Next Time: Son Goku gets out-manned by a con-fox. Synopsis: Cinderella tells Debonair and Grimm that what the Mayor wants isn't just to destroy the Book, but the whole world along with it. She says that if the world ends, everything will be lost to darkness, which is the opposite of what the Red List wants, so she's left with no choice but to swallow her pride and ask them for their help in stopping him. The Red List was never able to find exactly where the Book is being kept, but she's sure they know and will be able to put a stop to this, and if they'll just do that, she'll even let them kill her if it'll satisfy their desire for revenge. Debonair interrupts Cinderella's begging however, and kisses her without warning. Grimm asks why and Cinderella recoils in disgust, but Debonair says she just did something that she knew Cinderella would hate. She says killing her would be the easy way out, and she's not going to grant her that. Instead, she tells Cinderella to come with them and all three of them will stop the Mayor. Just outside of the room, a bunch of the recently passed applicants overhear this discussion. Tylty asks Bonkers if he got all of that, and Bonkers says there's a lot he doesn't fully understand. Merrio says the gist seems to be that Velou and the entire world are in danger, and asks what they're going to do. Bonkers says he's going to the Hunters HQ – Velou saved him from his own darkness, so it's the least he can do. Tylty says he's in as well, and Merrio and Porschen both seem agreeable as well, when Mosko speaks up and surprises everyone by saying he'll go along too, immediately making them all think that he's up to something. Velou asks the Red Hood how they could do everything that they've done, and the Red Hood insists it's for the sake of the world. Velou objects and says that if the Book really works the way they say it does, why can't they just write that humanity eradicates werewolves and solve everything that way. Dutt interjects and says that they've already tried that, seven times in fact, and each and every time has failed and resulted in the eradication of the human race itself. He reiterates what Cursa was saying before about how every human has the potential to become a werewolf within their genes, meaning that werewolves essentially have all of humanity as their reserve, making it so that eliminating one eliminates the other, and allowing one to thrive allows the other to thrive as well. He says it's just how the story has been written, and that each time they've failed, a new humanity has been deployed and a new battle against the monsters begins. Velou says the way they're describing it makes it sound like there's some sort of God involved and Red Hood says that's exactly it. He tells Velou of beings they call 'the Readers', beings that exist far, far away from them, and who watch their world from the outside. Debonair and Cinderella rush towards HQ with Grimm in tow, much to Cinderella's annoyance as she carries her on her broom. She says that Grimm's character has been eroded to the point of just being a husk of her old self, but Debonair still thinks she'll prove useful. As they fly over the island, Debonair tells Cinderella that the Book is kept deep underneath it. She says the Scrivener's Room doesn't have any doors, so their only option is to make an entrance here and then have Cinderella warp them out later. Debonair channels her fire magic up to 6100 degrees and has Cinderella focus it even further, launching a devastating beam of pure heat, the Comet Laser, straight into the base of the island. The Red Hood continues to explain about the Readers, saying it's a name they gave to the ones who created the framework of their world and filled it's earliest pages, making them amount to Gods from their perspective. They further explain that the world as they know it is simply a stage created by the Readers, and they simply play out the roles given to them upon it as mere entertainment for those higher beings. Velou doesn't seem to grasp it at first, but Red Hood compares it to the sorts of ritual dances or plays that his village likely held for holidays and such, and says that it's the Guild's job to oversee the play and appease the Readers. Red Hood then asks Velou an important question: What happens when the ritual performed isn't good enough? Velou doesn't have an answer to that question, and Red Hood says that the purpose of the Book is to entertain the Readers, and says it's not fun if the story is resolved too easily. If they did that and displease the Readers, then judgment will be passed upon them, and their world will end, saying that a story that doesn't entertain is abandoned and the world within it thus disappears forever. The guild works hard to avoid that fate by trying to create good main and supporting characters and scenarios that are exciting, even using the very monsters they seek to exterminate towards that goal. In the process of doing that, they hope to produce heroes and appease the Readers with them, while subtly reducing the number of monsters and somehow hold the world together. Dutt explains that this is their eighth attempt and they've set it up so that werewolves come from the lycanthrope virus and have dangled the possibility of curing it with a special medicine one day, an idea Red Hood says has potential even while being roundabout. Unfortunately, Ludwig (the Mayor) isn't interested in that, and wants to instead destroy everything. Red Hood confesses that any scenario they write doesn't seem to affect Velou, and in fact he actively unravels anything they write about him. Red Hood asks if that was the plan, to have Velou unravel the book itself, and Ludwig says that the moment humanity took up the Book is the moment they failed. He questions what point there is in a world that's sole purpose is creating tragedies to appease merciless gods, and suggests that it would just be better to end things. Not a happy ending, not a tragic ending – just an ending. Suddenly, the Scrivener's Room starts to shake, and Dutt receives a radio call that Debonair is attacking the HQ alongside Cinderella and Grimm, and warned that it seems their goal is to reach the Scrivener's Room. Ludwig says that they must have caught on, and tells the other three to stay where they are before encasing them in a much smaller, more durable room with his magic. As Debonair's laser finally breaks through to the room, it's destruction is stopped by Ludwig, who tells mere extras such as them not to interrupt. Review: First things first, let's get the elephant out of the room. I fell extremely far behind on these reviews as a result of various things, and as such, unfortunate but expected has already long since passed – by the time of this writing, The Hunters Guild: Red Hood has ended it's run in Shonen Jump. The writing had been on the wall for some time now, between the low rankings in the magazine and the way the story had been going. I can't lie and say that this wasn't immensely disappointing regardless, as one thing that's probably shown through brightly in these reviews is just how much I enjoyed this series and thought it had a lot of potential. But Shonen Jump is a fickle beast, and it is what it is. At some point in the future, I'd like to cover the series as a whole and talk about what sort of things I think we may have seen in the future, and elaborate further on the potential I think we've missed out on here, but that's all for another day. I've held off on reading the next and final chapter and avoiding any and all spoilers on it's contents so that I could review this particular chapter with only it on my mind, so let's focus on that for now – it certainly gives us plenty to focus on. Cinderella's heel-face turn to asking Grimm and Debonair for help is something that still feels surprising even with it being built up in the previous chapter, and it's something else that makes me sad to think about how much more effective it could have felt if it had come after a much longer runtime than what we ended up getting. Cinderella was first introduced as a witch that seemed like she was going to be a major threat, and like someone who had a bad history with Grimm (and Debonair as well once she was introduced). The seeds of an interesting character are here, but given the rush to get us to our ending, nothing has had ample time to grow, and Cinderella unfortunately ends up feeling extremely shallow. She apologizes to Debonair for all of the terrible things she's done, even offering to allow herself to be killed if it'll make up for them, but there's no weight to her words because we don't KNOW anything that she's done other than attack Velou's village. If it were at least Velou she were telling this to, then it would still hold a little bit of water, but since it's not, it just falls completely flat. You can't have a villain turn good when they've not done enough villainous things to really make us feel the weight of their sins first. But again, I think this is just another aspect of the story that's falling victim to this rushed ending and was likely something Kawaguchi had planned for a much more built up and grandiose ending and just kept it around here regardless. And if nothing else about this scene hits, the bit with Debonair planting one on Cinderella just because she knows she'll hate it is pretty funny, especially with Grimm's non-plussed yet confused reaction. Grimm is unfortunately another element of all of this that's feeling somewhat wasted, though she's not nearly as affected as poor Cinderella. In Grimm's case, we've at least spent just enough time around her and seen some of what she's capable of to actually believe she's a powerful warrior and is now being drained of all usefulness. It's an interesting choice narratively, and although it does leave her feeling lesser than she was before – well, that's the whole point. She IS less than she was before. It's unsatisfying, but it fits with where the story is trying to go in it's final moments. It's uncertain if we're going to see much more from the rest of Velou's graduating class, but they (or at least some of them) do seem to be heading towards the Hunter's HQ as well, so maybe they'll get one final hoorah before this series is done as well. I at least have hope for Bonkers to get one more moment, as he's probably the most built up character out of the additional cast thus far, which is pretty good for a guy who considered himself an outsider in his own story. Not sure if I really think Mosko's gonna be able to get up to anything or not though, and given the brief amount of time left, that's probably for the best. The main point of interest in this chapter is of course where it continues to get more and more meta, and I've said it before, I'll say it again – this is the series most potent aspect. Even in this rushed, neutered form, this can't help but grab my attention every time, and as good as it is here, I can't imagine how hard this would have all hit if we'd gotten whatever Kawaguchi had originally planned here. The idea that a story and it's characters only live so long as it's readers are interested in it is a beautiful, and yet, sad truth for any story and storyteller. There are numerous stories that have stood the test of time, and they've al done it because they've managed to resonate strongly enough with enough people that they've been able to be remembered even decades, or centuries in some cases, after their author has passed. The opposite is unfortunately also true – a story that doesn't manage to captivate it's readers is a story that's going to be forgotten by and large, and as much as I love this series for what it's trying to do, there's really no way around the fact that it's falling into the latter. I'll always remember it fondly, as will many other fans who had high hopes for it just as I did, but by not managing to capture a big enough audience, it's destined to go down as yet another failed story. You can really feel the pain stemming from Kawaguchi's pen shine through in Ludwig's dialogue, almost as if the character is speaking for him specifically, and it's heartbreaking to think of it that way. It's right at the moment his heartbreaking dialogue is spoken however that Debonair's attack on the Scrivener's Room starts to break through, and even though he seems in control, it looks like things might not be going the way Ludwig thought or hoped. Velou doesn't yet seem convinced by anything he's heard, and although he does seem upset at the idea of a story being written in the book that reduces people's lives to playthings, I have a feeling he's going to make the right – or at least an unpredictable – choice in the end. Because if there's one thing this entire series has well established in it's short run time, it's that Velou is the type of character that firmly makes his own decisions, and they're often surprising to those around him. Until next time! Favorite Panel: Next Time: Chapter 18 Synopsis: In the dark of the night at a castle, a princess is seen sleeping in her bed before being awakened by a weird feeling. The sound of a bell soon goes off, causing her to get out of bed and walk to close her window, but other strange things soon happen in her room, such as a series of wet footprints being left by something unseen walking around, and a dark reflection of her reaching out of her mirror and grabbing her. Elsewhere, Goku is continuing his training journey by walking upside down on his hands again, now dragging a large tree behind him by a rope tied to his waist. An old lady spots him and asks what he's doing, while also warning him not to go any further as he'll soon be near a castle said to have a village of demons somewhere in the forest around it. She even tells him that just last night the castle's princess disappeared and rumor has it that at night, monsters come out from the Demon World Gate to cause havoc. Goku asks what the Demon World Gate is and she explains that it's a gate meant to separate this world from the Demon World, and further warns Goku to be on his way. Goku's stomach interrupts the tense talk by growling, and the lady leaves him with her advice and a leftover riceball she had. Goku eats the riceball but thinks demons might be just the thing for him to train against. Goku continues on his training path towards the village, and is soon spied on by people hiding in their houses who mistake him for a monster based on his outrageous strength by tossing the tree. Goku walks into the village and inadvertently sets off various traps meant to catch monsters, but he avoids every one of them and tells whoever set them to come out immediately. A villager runs out to stop Goku from further destroying their traps and takes him to see the king at his castle. As Goku eats his way through a feast, the king asks the villager if he really thinks this boy will be able to rescue Princess Misa, and the villager insists he's seen how strong the boy is and thinks that he should be a match for any monster. The king says that if Goku goes through the Gate, he'll be sure to encounter Shura, the Demon World's best martial artist, and the villager says Goku keeps saying he wants to fight strong people no matter who they are. The king asks Goku for his name, and the king cautions him that if he steps through the Gate he may never be able to return, responding that if the demons catch him he'll likely be eaten or held hostage for his whole life, but Goku isn't worried. The king insists that Goku would never be able to do anything against them, and orders his knights to have the foolish child thrown out, but Goku makes quick work of the knights, impressing the king after all. The king apologizes for underestimating Goku, and asks him who taught him. When Goku mentions Kame-sennin, the king is convinced that Goku is the real deal, but still cautions him that rescuing the princess probably means fighting Shura, and warns Goku that numerous strong martial artists have fought Shura and never returned. Goku says he'll beat him though and get the princess back. A nearby noise catches everyone's attention, and the king explains that ever since Shura stuck his sword into the Demon World Gate, minions from the Demon World have come out at night to wreak havoc. The demons are then shown ransacking the village, destroying houses and taking crops for their own. Goku wants to go stop them, but the king stops him and says getting the princess back is the most important thing and that they have to wait for the right time to send him through the gate. As daylight returns, the demons start heading through the gate, and the king shows Goku where Shura's sword is keeping the door open. The king says the sword is Shura's challenge to humanity – until he is defeated, the sword can't be removed, and until it's removed, demons will continue to come and go as they please at night. Goku asks the king if Shura really is that strong, and the king says he's never been defeated, but Goku decides to try and pull out the sword but fails. Seeing that there really is no other way but to defeat Shura first, Goku runs through the gate into the Demon World. Back at Kame House, the blonde form of Lunch has Roshi serving her food and drink, prompting Roshi to try to cause her to sneeze and revert back to her more kindly form. All the while, Kuririn and Yamcha are doing the milk delivery training and wondering what sort of training Goku is getting up to, with Kuririn saying that knowing Goku, it's something crazy. In the Demon World, Goku is soon attacked by a lady with a whip. She asks Goku where he's going, and he simply says 'that way'. A large male demon steps out and says that only those with a permit from Enma or Kami are allowed to pass, and says they'll spare Goku's life if he leaves, but Goku quickly shows his strength by being able to push back the large demon's weapon. The woman stops their fight, saying Goku is truly impressive to be able to push back Gora, the strongest person in the Demon World. She asks Goku his name and introduces herself as Mela, explaining that they guard this area so people can't come and go as they please. Goku accuses them of letting Shura do just that, and the two demons are shocked, asking Goku if he's trying to get to Shura. Goku explains that he's here to get back Princess Misa, and the demons warn him that Shura is impossible for someone like him to defeat, and say that tonight is Princess Misa and Shura's wedding celebration so there'll be tons of other monsters there as well. Goku insists that he's going to do what he came here to do, so Mela smiles and says she'll show him the way. In another area of Demon World, monsters and demons surround a large arena, with Shura and Princess Misa sitting at the top. A martial arts tournament is about to be held to celebrate the wedding, and a demon announcer asks anyone who wants to fight to step up, with Goku eagerly hopping into the arena. Shura asks who the boy is, and another demon explains that Mela brought him, likely to try and get on their nerves again. Goku challenges Shura, but Shura tells the other demons to teach the boy his mistake. A large demon steps into the ring, but is defeated by Goku in one kick. Goku again says he really wants to fight Shura, and despite the crowd's objections, Shura agrees to fight him. Goku spots the princess and tells her he's here to take her back, but Shura quickly kicks Goku out of the ring with a surprise kick. Getting back into the ring, Goku tries to attack Shura, but finds that none of his attacks are connecting and Shura keeps just throwing him away. Shura knocks Goku down once more by using shockwaves, but Goku just keeps getting back up, eventually launching a Kamehameha at Shura that also blinds the surrounding demon's with it's light. Shura is unable to dodge due to the distraction of a kunai flying towards him, and after the Kamehameha connects, Goku then rushes forward and strikes Shura repeatedly to knock him out of the ring. Mela shouts to Goku to do it now, and Goku quickly runs to Misa to lead her out of here while the demons are all still blinded. Misa praises Goku's strength for beating Shura, but Goku says that Shura and the other demons are just weak to light – he's going to have to get a lot stronger if he wants to actually beat Shura. Mela tells Goku to pull the sword out once he gets outside, and Goku thanks the demon pair for being so helpful, prompting Mela to laugh and explain that they're doing this for their own reasons. Hearing the approaching demon hoard, they tell Goku to hurry. Misa thanks Mela as well, and Mela tells her they'll meet again one day, but hopefully not too soon. Misa is returned to her parents, and the demon hoard tries to get past Gora and Mela but are stopped when they ask for a permit. Shura arrives and says it really was them behind this, and tells his minions to move ahead while he deals with them. Goku struggles to pull the sword free from the ground, eventually pulling it free just in time, allowing the door to close before any of the demons can get out. Mela tells Shura that things have been corrected now, and only the gods of death with the right key can come and go now. Shura can't believe he was shown up by Goku, and returns Mela's kunai to her, with Mela saying being hurt every once in a while is good medicine for him. Shura acknowledges this and tells them that the party is still going on, inviting the pair to join in the festivities, and they agree. Back in the castle, a great celebration is also held, with Shura's sword held in a place of honor between the king and queen. Goku feasts to his heart's content as the village is saved at last, though Goku already can't help but think of whatever his next adventure will be. Review: This episode just oozes appeal, much in the way that the second film 'Sleeping Princess in Devil's Castle' did. In fact, you'll notice right a way that a lot of it's gothic backgrounds, as well as the designs of the various demons seen in the Demon World, are ripped right from that movie (literally in the case of the background demons). While this all makes for a really fun and different romp for the series, it does unfortunately make this one of those filler episodes that's kind of hard to make work in the greater narrative due to how it interferes with information we'll have later about the world of Dragon Ball. The main issue comes in the form of Demon World itself. This is something that will later get brought up with the character of Dabura in the Majin Boo arc, and since it's never really adequately expanded upon there, you could assume that hey, maybe this is the same place and Dabura's just not a thing yet. That sadly just doesn't really gel with what outside information has on Dabura however – not to mention the various ideas brought in by the likes of Dragon Ball Online, Xenoverse, or god forbid Heroes, but the less said about those for the time being the better. There's also mention of both Enma and Kami, characters that you'd be forgiven for going 'wait, they haven't been introduced yet' that doesn't seem to fit either, but there's a good reason for that – the mention here isn't really that relevant to the characters themselves. The concepts of Enma and Kami are both concepts from actual Buddhist and Shinto religions, and pop up regularly in all sorts of anime and manga, and it's that vague notion of them that's being referenced here rather than the specific Dragon Ball versions of them. Basically, this episode is playing fast and loose with vague notions pulled from ideas known well to a Japanese audience. The franchise later delves into actual versions of these concepts however, leaving this episode feeling weird when taken into context with those later elements. The idea of a gate between the regular world and the Demon World is definitely an interesting one, though in effect it's really just a big door at the entrance of a cave, so who knows – maybe the 'Demon World' here is less the actual plane of existence that we later know exists, and is actually just some cave where a bunch of renegade demons and such hang out. As cool as Shura is, he wouldn't have stood a chance against Dabura, so maybe he got his butt kicked out. That aside, Shura doesn't have much in the way of personality – none of the demons do really – but his fighting style is pretty interesting to watch. Overall, the whole episode also feels like a story that Goku has just wondered into, even more so than any of the previous episodes in this training mini-arc. The kingdom not so much, but there's definitely something about the demons that feels like there's a side of the story we're not getting here, especially with the likes of Gora and Mela's feud with Shura. It's sort of a shame that these characters and concepts don't ever come up again in a later filler episode just to further expand upon things, even if it too ultimately wouldn't work with the larger world of Dragon Ball. Just think, we could have had a Goku V.S. Shura re-match somewhere in the wedding filler arc, for example, and gotten even more details on how exactly this version of the Demon World works in relation to everything else. But alas, it wasn't to be, and I don't think we're likely to ever see these guys ever again. I'd also be remiss if I didn't bring up the fact that yes, even the plot seems to be taken pretty much straight from Sleeping Princess – just in this case, it's actually a princess that's been kidnapped by a demon rather than the princess turning out to be a crystal to power a laser to destroy the sun. Hmm. Somehow it actually being a princess IS less interesting when I put the two ideas next to each other. Until next time! Favorite Scene: Goku's fight with Shura is pretty entertaining despite how short it is, thanks to Shura's interesting movements and techniques. Next Time: Man, this is not what I thought the fusion of Shikamaru, Ino, and Choji would look like. Synopsis: Son Goku continues his training travel around the world with various training methods, such marching up a large mountain top in a rainstorm with a large boulder strapped to his back, and walking long distances on his hands while upside down. Goku's training eventually leads to him falling down a ravine – something he tries to prevent by grabbing a branch with his tail, showing that he has trained it somewhat now – and he soon runs into an old lady washing her laundry. He asks her if there are any strong people around, and she tells him that she's heard about a man in town named Chin Taiken who's said to be very strong. Goku gets directions to the town from her, and soon runs off to find Chin. In the town, Goku comes across a fight happening in the streets, where a group of three men are accusing a man's son of stealing their wallets. They insist that the boy did however, saying that the two are probably starving based on the state of their dojo. The man finally tells his son, Shoken, to stand back while he takes care of this, and he quickly takes out two of the accusers. He prepares to take on the third, only to be overcome by a coughing fit. Before the third can attack him, Goku finds his wallet on the ground, and the man grabs it from him and accuses him of being the actual thief. Goku says the man probably dropped it himself and says it's not good to accuse people, and the man says he's going to teach Goku a lesson for back-talking, attempting to attack him. Goku easily dodges the man's attacks and prepares to attack himself, but the fight is soon interrupted by the large man's older brother. The brother apologizes for his younger brother's rude actions, and tells his brother (Shao Long) that there's no need to cause such a ruckus – he's going to kill Taiken tomorrow at the Imperial Match anyway. The man asks Goku if he's okay, and Goku says he can tell the mans' really strong, with Shoken insisting that his dad is the strongest in the world. Goku asks the man if his name is Chin Taiken, and the man says he is. Goku asks him to fight him, and Shoken says there's no way Goku could stand a chance against him, but Taiken sees something in Goku's eyes that he likes and agrees to fight him. They go back to Taiken's dojo for the match, with Shoken continuing to tell Goku he doesn't stand a chance. The two prepare to begin their match, and they leap at each other in the air, but before the match can really get going, Taiken is again overcome by a coughing fit. Taiken lays down to take a rest, and it's revealed that Taiken did land a blow on Goku, one that Goku couldn't even see, with Shoken revealing it's their style's secret technique, the Gensei-ken (or Illusion Star Fist). Goku ponders if it's something like the zanzoken afterimage technique, confirming to Taiken that Goku is incredibly skilled after all. Taiken apologizes to Goku and reveals that he's quite ill, and though he's tried to take care of himself, he might not be able to perform well in the Imperial Match, a fight performed before their area's king where the winner is made the official martial arts instructor of the kingdom. Goku asks if his opponent is strong, and Taiken tells him it's the brother who intervened in the street fight earlier, Hyoga Ten Long of the Hyoga Style. Taiken says Ten Long's strength is incredible, but he must face him head on to restore the pride of their school. Goku offers to go get some medicine for Taiken, but Taiken warns him that the Longs are very vengeful and are sure to attack him again if they see him and he'd prefer not to start any trouble with them before the match, so Goku promises not to fight back no matter what they do to him. Goku runs through the village, having gotten some medicine, and is soon spotted by a drunk Shao Long, who tries to pick a fight with him, his brother allowing it so long as he doesn't kill him. Goku refuses and tries to leave, but Shao Long continually attacks him, and Goku dodges every blow without ever fighting back. Eventually, Goku's dodging causes Shao Long to fall into the river, prompting Ten Long to get involved. Ten Long is far faster and stronger and Goku is unable to dodge his attacks as readily, but in the end Goku is able to get the medicine back to Taiken. Back at Hyoga's dojo, Ten Long 'trains' his students by mercilessly beating them down even with his hands tied behind his back, while Goku has successfully gotten the medicine back to Taiken. Later that night, Shoken is practicing his martial arts on his own, intending to take on Ten Long himself if he has to. When morning arrives, Goku finds Taiken giving his son the bad news that he's pulling out of the match as it would be dishonorable to try and give a good fight in his current position. Shoken objects and says the position of instructor will fall to Ten Long in that case, something Taiken doesn't like either but doesn't see any way around it. Shoken says he'll fight in his father's place, but Taiken tells him he won't allow it before starting to cough again. Goku offers to fight for them since he wants to fight Ten Long anyway, and explains that he's on a journey to fight strong people anyway. Taiken accepts but warns Goku there's no guarantee he'll survive this. Shoken objects and says he's stronger than Goku, but Taiken tells his son the difference between himself and Goku is vast, prompting Shoken to leave angrily. Still upset, Shoken prepares breakfast for the three of them but discreetly puts something in Goku's food before serving it to him, saying that he's going to be the one to fight. As they arrive at the Imperial Match, Shoken is on edge as he wonders why Goku doesn't seem affected by the medicine. The match between Ten Long and Goku is started, with Ten Long objecting at the last minute substitution of Goku, but seemingly ready to take his anger out on the boy. Goku and Ten Long's fight is fierce even from the very start, with Goku quickly having to resort to multiple afterimages to try to combat his opponent. As the fight continues to ramp up, Shoken s surprised that Goku is as strong as he is, but suddenly Goku is overcome wit the urge to go to the bathroom and tries to call a timeout, but the Imperial Match doesn't allow such things and if he leaves the ring, he loses. Ten Long takes advantage of this to continually beat down Goku, with Shoken shouting for Goku to get up and fight, inadvertently dropping the medicine bottle that he spiked Goku's food with, revealing his treachery to his father. Still needing to use the bathroom badly, Goku finally takes out Ten Long by using the Gensei-ken move that he observed only once, and quickly runs out of the arena to find a bathroom to use. With the match's conclusion, Ten Long realizes how arrogant he'd become in his own strength, and vows to re-train himself under Taiken's care, and says he wishes to fight Goku again someday. Taiken asks Goku if he's leaving now, and Goku says he still wants to find even stronger people to fight out there. Shoken tries to apologize to Goku for what he's done, but Goku says the food Shoken made earlier was really good, so Shoken tearfully sees Goku off with a gift of riceballs, wich Goku happily eats as he runs off to his next location. Review: This episode was better in some ways than the previous filler tale, but less compelling in other ways – though a large part of that is through no fault of it's own – so in the end I'd say they're about equal. Let's look into what this episode does right and what it does wrong though. The biggest improvement with this episode over the former one is that the characters Goku run into feel much more fleshed out even with about the same amount of time given to get to know them. Taiken and Shoken both feel much more interesting, especially Shoken with his deep care for his father intermingling with his desire to be seen as more than just a little boy. Likewise, Ten Long feels like a much more credible threat than either Ginkaku or Kinkaku did before, and he's shown to be incredibly skilled, enough so that even Goku has at least a little bit of trouble with him. It's also really neat to see Goku run into someone like Taiken, who seemingly isn't quite as strong as he really is, but can still get a leg up on him with a useful technique and can see how strong Goku is rather than just dismissing him due to his age and stature as so many that Goku encounters briefly do. It honestly reminds me a lot of a filler episode far later on in DBZ, and I can't help but wonder if the episodes shared writers or something. Where the episode starts to suffer somewhat is it's subject matter, as well as one brief moment at the very start of the episode, as both unfortunately kind of step on the toes of the storyline we're heading towards after this. The idea of Goku getting involved in a clash between two rival martial arts schools is a really good one, but here's the thing – spoilers, that's exactly what we're going to get in the 22nd Tenkaichi Budokai. The way it's handled in that arc is also way more satisfying than the one presented here (since Goku's actually involved in that one, rather than just happening across it like this one), so getting an episode like this so shortly before that storyline kind of steals it's thunder a little, or tries to. The worst part is it's basically damned from either direction – while this episode takes place before the tournament, it's production was almost definitely begun after the tournament had begun in the manga, so they were definitely stealing the idea from where they knew they were heading next, and that's just...disappointing. Also, while I know I called out the manga for not showing us a lot of his training, this episode sort of shows the one bit of training we probably shouldn't see yet, and that's that Goku has been training his tail. Jumping ahead of ourselves a little bit again, that's going to be an important factor of one of Goku's fights in the tournament, so to have the idea spoiled here before it's dramatic reveal there is also unfortunate. But again, for the most part, this is all not really the episode's fault, as if these elements had been in the same storyline but the episode had come far further in the anime – like, say, during Goku's various encounters with the Red Ribbon – I don't think it would feel as abrasive to the storyline following it. It's just too close to that content for it not to chafe a little. Until next time! Favorite Scene: Goku talking about how bad he needs to use the bathroom in the middle of the Imperial Match is pretty funny, proving that bathroom humor really can be kinda funny if done right. Next Time: An incredibly engaging idea and story, let's watch it go absolutely nowhere ever afterwards because it's filler. Synopsis: In a remote area some distance away from Baba's palace, a group of villagers are seen gathering food not for their own benefit but for someone else's, someone that has them so scared they won't even allow a child to keep so much as an apple for themselves. Elsewhere, Goku has begun traveling the world as per the orders of Roshi, for the purposes of training himself. Goku soon becomes crippled by hunger, only to come across a young girl who is trying to buy a large tiger bandit's services to come help her village. The tiger bandit instead wants to eat her, but Goku gets involved and ends up taking out the bandit, much to the girl's surprise. The girl promises to give Goku plenty of food to eat if he'll come with her back to her village and save them. Back in the village, some of the villagers are worried that Chao hasn't come back yet, and hope that the food they've gathered is enough to please the people on their way back to the village. A lookout post soon spots the devious pair of Kinkaku and Ginkaku headed their way on a motorcycle, and the pair announces their arrival loudly by terrorizing the villagers with their bike and by firing a gun into the air. The girl, Chao, explains that the Ginkaku and Kinkaku pair took a liking to the food the villagers grow and have been taking food from the villagers as a monthly payment for their continued survival for a while now, and it's causing the villagers to suffer. Goku thinks this sounds like the perfect thing to continue his training with and promises to take out the pair for her. As they run through a barren patch of trees, Chao explains that the land is usually quite pretty, but they're experiencing a drought on top of everything else. Ginkaku and Kinkaku are enjoying all of the food brought to them by the villagers, but they notice that there's less offering this month than the prior one, and accuse the villagers of holding out on them. The villagers say they need some food to survive, but the pair say it's either they die later or die now, their choice. Kinkaku suggests an alternative and has Ginkaku gather everyone for a roll call just as Goku and Chao arrive back in the village. All of the villagers quickly gather together fearfully, and Chao quickly sneaks back into the crowd along with Goku to tell her father that she found someone strong to take out the pair for them. Kinkaku starts the roll call as Ginkaku uncorks the gourd, and everyone whose name he calls out has to stand up and say 'here!' loudly enough to be heard. Goku is confused, but Chao explains that the gourd is their secret weapon, and anyone that doesn't respond immediately upon their name being called gets sucked into the gourd and dissolved into sake. Seeing that nobody is failing to respond, Ginkaku asks a lady in the crowd for the name of her two-week old baby, knowing that it won't be able to respond. Before Kinkaku can call the child's name however, Goku interrupts and says he was brought here to put a stop to them. Kinkaku starts to laugh this off, until Goku easily flings him around a few times. Outraged, he even tries to shoot Goku, but Goku stops all of the bullets with his nyoibo. Ginkaku stops his partner, telling him he won't be able to handle Goku, and steps into the fight himself with his sword, but soon finds himself unable to stop Goku either. Chao's father tries to grab the gourd while the pair are distracted, but Kinkaku stops him and tosses the gourd to Ginkaku, who calls Goku's name, and when Goku fails to respond, the gourd sucks him into it. Seeing their one hope defeated, the villagers quickly fall into despair, and are left with no choice but to try pleasing the bandit pair into the evening. Still trapped in the gourd, Goku has stopped himself from falling to the bottom and dissolving by extending the nyoibo, but soon finds that even firing a Kamehameha isn't enough to break him free. He's suddenly overcome with the need to pee and does so, so when Kinkaku checks to see if there's any liquid in the gourd, hears it sloshing around and thinks Goku has finished dissolving. He pops open the gourd to take a drink, inadvertently freeing Goku who quickly takes the gourd away from the pair. He torments them by repeatedly calling their names fast and repeatedly, tripping them up so that they both get sucked into the gourd as punishment. Trapped in their own gourd, the pair soon begin to wail to be let out, just as rain finally returns to the region, allowing the villagers to grow more and better crops than they'd been able to do for some time now. Goku leaves the gourd in the care of the village's elder, and Ginkaku and Kinkaku are revealed to have been freed and are being made to work to repay the villagers for everything they took, lest they get sucked into the gourd again. Goku leaves the village, continuing on his journey to grow stronger and stronger. Review: As a stand-alone episode and the anime's first foray into filling the series first time-skip – something I only now realized we were looking at and wish I'd brought up in the previous chapter review – this episode works pretty well. It's not my favorite piece of filler by any means, but it's innocent enough in that nothing in it breaks any conventions of the series either before or after this point, so there's really nothing to say that this doesn't actually happen in the manga's version of events as well. Given the dubious nature of plenty of other Dragon Ball filler, that's a pretty refreshing distinction actually. This episode also benefits in a way by going back to Dragon Ball's very origins – for those unaware, the characters of Ginkaku and Kinkaku as well as their magical gourd, are all taken straight from the original Journey to the West story that inspired Toriyama to create Dragon Ball. That's also where the characters by the same name in Naruto came from as well, so while we know Masashi Kishimoto is a huge fan of Dragon Ball, it's more likely he pulled the characters from that source rather than this one honestly. Anyway, I'm always for even more fantasy elements from Journey to the West being brought into the world of Dragon Ball and viewed through it's lens, so this was definitely enjoyable in that regard. Beyond that though, I can't really say the episode is a must-see for any fan that hasn't seen it before. The new characters introduced are largely forgettable and basically feel like another version of the townsfolk from Oolong or Suno's villages, and Chao herself is basically just another little girl Goku runs into and saves, ala Suno or Penny from the first movie. Ginkaku and Kinkaku are a little more interesting, especially with their design motifs screaming Fist of the North Star mooks (potentially on purpose too, considering Toei also animated the original anime of that series), but there's not really a whole lot more to them than that either. Ginkaku does get a moment where he's really into the idea of liquifying the baby because it'll probably be very tender and make really great sake, so you know, HOLY CRAP man – but even that's not enough to make him particularly engaging. So in a way, while I'm glad this episode exists and the idea of Ginkaku and Kinkaku did get used in Dragon Ball, it's almost a little sad that they did already because it makes it that much more unlikely that the concept of them would ever get used in the franchise again later in a more satisfactory fashion. Ah well. You can't have everything. Until next time! Favorite Scene: Goku peeing in the gourd and that being the reason Kinkaku thinks he's already dissolved is absolutely priceless, and it's made even better by a scene just a little later where Kinkaku notes that it 'smells like pee' inside the gourd. Next Time: Goku gets involved in a fight between two rival martial arts schools. Wait, is this already the 22nd Tenkaichi Budokai? Synopsis: Seeing his father alive again, Upa rushes over and tackles a confused Bora in a hug. Bora then remembers that he died, and Upa explains that Goku gathered the Dragon Balls together and wished him back to life, with Bora looking up at the dragon in awe. With his job done, Shenlong bids them farewell and disappears, the Dragon Balls flying up into the sky to disperse across the world once more. Goku watches carefully for which one is the four-star ball, and leaps up as it starts to fly away, grabbing it. Upa runs over to Goku when he lands, confused, and Goku explains that once a wish is granted, the Dragon Balls turn to stone for one year and scatter across the world again, so he had to grab his grandpa's ball before it flew away. Bora thanks Goku for all that he's done for him and his son, and Upa tells his father that Goku even climbed Karin tower to train and then defeated the man (Taopaipai) who killed him. Goku prepares to leave again, and Upa and Bora try to convince him to stay long enough for a feast, but Goku says his friends are waiting (though he really wishes he could stay long enough to eat). Goku calls back down kinto'un and flies off again, and Bora asks his son if he thinks they can live each and every day of their lives as courageously as Goku does. Goku returns to his friends and gives them the good news about Bora's revival, and they all praise him for having done something really good. Goku interrupts the moment by realizing he really needs to pee, and running over to the edge of Baba's outdoor arena to relieve himself, prompting them all to wonder if Goku really is the type to save the world one day... When Goku comes back over, Puar and Bulma say that Goku's journey to gather the Dragon Balls is over at least until they're active again and he has to go get the four-star ball again, but Goku reveals that he caught the ball before it could fly away. Kuririn wonders if this means Goku won't ever have to look for the Dragon Balls again, and Goku says his focus now will be on training for the next Tenkaichi Budokai. Yamcha reveals that while Goku was gone with Upa, he's been accepted as another student of Kame-sennin's, and will now be training under Roshi so that he can catch up to the likes of Kuririn and Goku, a fact that Goku is overjoyed by when he thinks this means they'll all be training together. Roshi interjects however and says that Goku is on his own. He tells Goku that he's already an amazing fighter and has learned everything Roshi has to teach him, so the only way for him to get even stronger now is to go out into the world on his own and learn more about life. He assures Goku that there are many adventures out there just waiting for him, so he wants Goku to go on those adventures and then come back to him to show him just how strong he can get. Roshi thinks he's made a really good speech, but Goku ruins it by saying he doesn't really get it but thinks it sounds fun anyway. Roshi says they'll all meet again at the next Tenkaichi Budokai, and Kuririn worries that this means they won't see Goku for five years, but Roshi reveals that the next tournament will be in only three years – it seems the last tournament was so popular that there's been a growing demand from both audiences and entrants, so the tournament has switched to a more frequent schedule. Kuririn still thinks that'll be a long time, but Goku can't wait to come back and see how strong everyone has gotten, with Yamcha swearing that he'll be able to beat Goku next time. Kuririn similarly vows that he'll be taller than Goku by that point too, but Goku says he'll still be growing too. Goku wishes farewell to his friends and starts to call down kinto'un once more, but Roshi stops him, telling him to instead travel the world by his own power by walking, running, and swimming. His friends are aghast at such an idea, but Goku happily agrees to it and runs off intot he distance, causing Bulma to wonder if anything ever fazes him. Baba chides her brother by saying that of course a master will practice what he preaches, and Roshi leads the way and says they can all at least run back to his house, causing Yamcha and Kuririn to rush after him with Bulma and Puar doing their best to keep up behind them. Three years pass, and the day of the 22nd Tenkaichi Budokai arrives. Roshi, Kuririn, Yamcha, Bulma, Lunch (in her blonde form), Oolong, Puar, and even the turtle all travel by plane towards Papaya Island. Yamcha is excited, and Puar thinks he might even be able to win this time, but Kuririn cautions them that he's going to be there too. Bulma thinks they've all forgotten that Goku's going to be coming as well, and Oolong further reminds them that there's a good chance that the previous tournament's winner, Jackie Chun, could be showing up as well. Everyone's excitement about possible glory and what could be coming next is soon interrupted by the antics of Lunch (who really feels like she needs to hijack the plane just because) and Roshi (who really needs to use the bathroom), embarrassing the rest of the group. Review: This chapter finally brings the second search for the Dragon Balls to an end, but since pretty much all of the story threads from that were taken care of as of the previous chapter's ending, this chapter primarily serves as an epilogue to that, while also sort of becoming a prologue for the next storyline. It's interesting to note that Bora seems confused when brought back to life. For longtime fans who got into the series via the 'Z' era of the franchise, that might seem a bit confusing, but as we'll learn later on, not everyone is given the same treatment upon death that our heroes are. Taking into consideration what we learn at that point, it's safe to assume that as good of a person as Bora is, he didn't quite rank to keep his body after his passing, and as such his last memory prior to waking up in the dirt is...well, dying. It's pretty easy to imagine how that'd be pretty confusing to go through. Discounting brief moments of filler (none of which are important enough to review here that I can recall off the top of my head), this is sadly the last time we'll see Upa and Bora until almost the very end of the series, and I can't lie, that's a little bit sad. While we never really saw much in the way of fighting potential for Upa, and I'd be lying if I said he had the most engaging of personalities, we've not had a character before this stick around outside of their own arc unless they were intended to come stick around or come back again later on. Heck, comparing him to Chi Chi right now (and again not counting filler), Upa's already been around and involved in more than she ever was, but only one of the two gets to come back into the story proper and be considered part of the group. Given the fate of almost every additional character is to eventually be shoved aside by newer and more powerful characters though, it probably is for the best in the long run that Upa didn't stick around – if there's one thing the cast of characters in this series is rich with, it's faces to stand around and look shocked or amazed. Once Upa is seen off into the great void of off-panel life, the chapter switches gear and focuses entirely on the feeling of 'now what?' that we were sure to be left with. The idea that Goku is going to save the world someday is briefly paid lip service to again, but quickly put aside as the story needs to figure out what's coming in the immediate future rather than the distant, and two panels basically clear the air and tell us exactly what to expect – since he caught the four-star ball, Goku will seemingly never have to go on another Dragon Ball hunt again; and as such, all of his focus is now going to be on returning to the Tenkaichi Budokai. The former beat is a bit presumptive of Toriyama to say perhaps, as surely a series titled after the Dragon Balls can't not have them involved in some way, but ironically, he is pretty true to his words here – we'll never again see Goku go on a journey to find these particular Dragon Balls again, and as such we'll never see him have to find his grandpa's ball specifically. There are unseen points in time where we know he has to have done just that, and there'll be plenty of times where we see characters gathering the Dragon Balls for one reason or another again, but the search for them is never the focus of the story anymore after this. Overall, I think that's a pretty wise decision on Toriyama's part. I mean, think about it – with the first search, we saw various one-off locations and adventures leading up to the ultimate gathering of the seven balls and conflict with a previously unseen foe in the form of Pilaf; and with the second, we saw more locales, but there was always one driving force in that of the Red Ribbon Army, that Goku was constantly going up against to gather them. Toriyama's already expended the most logical two choices to make a Dragon Ball search exciting, so unless he could come up with something exciting and new about it, there's not really any reason to go through it all again. Narratively it just wouldn't be very exciting. Without Dragon Balls to search for, that then naturally leads to the question of what Goku's next goal is going to be. At the end of the first arc, I mentioned that the series had to switch focus to Goku and give him something that he wanted to do to keep the story going. At that point in time, it was to get stronger, and that goal naturally lead Goku to the Tenkaichi Budokai, where he got to show that he had indeed gotten stronger...but not that he was the strongest. Now with his grandpa's ball in his possession once more, Goku's focus as well as the narrative switches gears back to that again, with Goku's desire to grow even stronger and to prove it by winning the tournament. You might be noticing a bit of a pattern forming here between Dragon Ball searches and tournament arcs, and I don't think that's entirely not on purpose, as each serves to get Goku closer and closer to his goal of proving himself as the strongest person in the world. It's also the most natural place to keep the story moving next as well, as the only remaining dangling thread at this point is that Goku didn't win the last tournament he was in. Moving forward from here is where we unfortunately hit a little bit of a snag – how in the world can Goku get even stronger now than he already is? As much praise as I give Toriyama, this is one of those times where I actually have to call him out instead, because he just sort of throws his arms up in the air and goes 'I dunno. Adventures?'. Don't get me wrong, Roshi's suggestion that Goku travel the world by his own power is a good one, as he relied on kinto'un for large portions of the Red Ribbon arc, and we've already seen how much stronger he got just from climbing Karin's tower a few times – it's probably a pretty safe bet that traveling around the world will be an even greater distance and push him even further. No, my problem is the fact that we don't get to see ANY of those adventures whatsoever. This is the first time in the series where Goku's power gain is going to happen entirely off-screen, with us not really getting to see how or why it happened other than some vague notion, and I can safely say that I'm not a fan of it. I think the anime staff must have felt similarly, because the anime takes it upon itself to fill in this gap a little bit thankfully. As far as the manga itself goes though, it's onto the 22nd Tenkaichi Budokai arc, and the characters dialogue does it's best to hype us up about what we're going to be seeing. Just how much stronger have Yamcha and Kuririn gotten now, not to mention Goku? Will we be seeing Roshi don his Jackie Chun disguise again, and even if he does, does he stand a chance against any of his students at this point? Will it be one of them that wins the title of champion this time around, or will there be a new foe coming to the forefront of this story arc? Until next time! Favorite Panel: Synopsis: With the last Dragon Ball retrieved at last, Goku quickly flies back to his friends waiting at Baba's palace. Kuririn notices right away that Goku's clothes are different now, but Goku simply laughs it off. He asks Upa if he's ready to go back to Karin, and then calls kinto'un back down for one more trip. Goku helps Upa climb back onto the cloud and tells him to hang on as they'll be going fast this time, and Goku tells his friends he'll be back as soon as they've brought Upa's dad back to life. Upa thanks Goku's friends for all of their help, and the two fly off, heading towards Karin.
Roshi is amused by his student's impetuous nature, while Kuririn laments that he didn't get to go see what Shenlong looks like. Yamcha says that collecting the Dragon Balls was even harder this time than the first, and says it shows how remarkable Goku is that he was able to do it. Baba interjects at this point and says that Goku is even more remarkable than any of them now, as one day he'll even save the world. Everyone is surprised to hear something like that, but Baba reminds them that she is gifted with the power of prophecy, so something along those lines will definitely happen...someday. Goku and Upa soon arrive back at the land of Karin, and Upa points out the mound of dirt where he buried his father. Goku brings out the seven Dragon Balls, and proceeds to call out Shenlong. Much to his surprise, the sky turns dark first, but then the dragon emerges from the balls, floating in the sky before them. Goku marvels that Shenlong is just as amazing as last time, and when the dragon asks to hear their wish, Goku tells Upa to speak. Upa wishes for his father to be returned to life, and when Goku asks Shenlong if he can do that, Shenlong says that there's no wish that he cannot grant. As if to prove this point, the mound of dirt above his body begins to stir, and Bora emerges from beneath it, alive. Review: While this chapter was fairly short in terms of content covered and story advanced, this is one of those times where I think that's perfectly okay, because even though the content is brief, the ideas presented are big and/or new enough that they benefit from the breathing room. Goku's return to his friends here is brief, but it leads to the first big surprise of the chapter in the form of Baba's prediction that Goku will one day save the world. While things have certainly gotten a lot more serious since the beginning of the series, a statement like this still carries a lot of weight because, frankly? Nothing in it has been anywhere near that dire yet. Sure, Goku stopped an evil army that said it was bent on world domination, but we haven't really seen enough of the world they all live in yet to really say for sure how close to that goal they truly were. While world domination may have been their ultimate goal, for all we can really tell, Goku may have stopped them before they'd even taken control of the particular continent they were based on. They weren't quite at the precipice of achieving their goal yet either, what with most of the Dragon Balls being in Goku's possession for most of their arc, and that fact coupled with Commander Red's true desire being to grow taller, it's hard to really say for sure that Goku defeating them 'saved the world'. It was certainly no small feat however, so the idea that there's something even grander than that on the horizon for Goku? It basically can't NOT get you hyped to see where the story's going to go next. The latter two surprises come once Goku returns to the land of Karin and summons Shenlong. When Shenlong was summoned last time, it was already night time, so nothing strange seemed to happen other than a big dragon appearing in the sky. This time however, it's still daylight, so it's here that we're introduced to the concept of the sky turning dark whenever the dragon is summoned. It's an interesting bit of lore to add here when it seemingly doesn't really change much other than perhaps set the mood even more that something mystical is happening, which might be all that Toriyama had in mind at the time, but it later on becomes a way for our heroes to be able to tell if the Dragon Balls are being used even if they're not glued to a radar to see them all in one place. It's a small thing, but ingenious in it's own way. The biggest game changer of all however is Upa's wish being granted and Bora being brought back to life as a result of it. It's at this point that we learn just how powerful the Dragon Balls truly are. Don't forget that at this point in time, we've only seen the balls used once, and that result was a pair of panties. Other wishes we've seen contemplated by people trying to gather the Dragon Balls include a lifetime supply of strawberries, the perfect boyfriend, and various forms of world domination (and we do know that at least one wish a long, long time before the series began, did make someone a king), but this is the first time we've seen or heard of the Dragon Balls doing something that would be otherwise impossible, and that changes the world Goku and his friends live in quite a bit. Now, even death isn't something irreversible, which means the stakes of the story will be allowed to get higher and higher...or will they? There's been many debates over the course of my years in the fandom, and I'm sure they pre-date it as well, over the idea that the Dragon Balls remove any tension in the series because they'll always be there to fall back on, so no death in the series is ever actually a problem. While this is definitely true on some levels, and I can't argue that over time the series greatly reduces the inherent drama around characters dying, I can't say that I agree that they alleviate ALL tension in the series. I'll go more in-depth on these various occasions as they come up, but give Toriyama at least the credit he's due here – I think he knew the problem that this reveal introduced to the story. While he certainly takes advantage of that as a crutch to fall back upon (and there are certainly times in the story where that crutch is leaned on far too heavily), he also takes on the responsibility of finding ways to make tense situations still feel like they have the weight needed to hit at the time that they were being introduced to readers. Again, I'll go into more detail as I come to those events, but I want longtime fans to sit back and think for a moment of one of the many, many times where a character's death occurs, and try to remove your knowledge of how things ultimately work out in the end. In most situations, Toriyama introduces some reason or another as to why things might not work out after all, whether that's through the Dragon Balls being unavailable for some reason, or another rule getting tacked onto the Dragon Balls themselves (because Shenlong's boast about being able to grant any wish? That isn't without it's own caveat). In the moments that the tense situations occur, things are almost always presented as being dire for an external reason around the Dragon Balls or in spite of them, and I think too often fans look at the whole picture now that the series is many decades finished, rather than thinking about how things would have looked if they were coming to the series for the very first time like many readers were when the series was still running in Japan. This is one of those things where, ultimately, looking at the bigger picture is actually a disservice to the story – in this case, it's far better to look at the individual parts I think. But that's all getting way, way, way ahead of the point of the story we're at. Until next time! Favorite Panel: Synopsis: Goku accuses Pilaf of not being that strong at all, while Shu and Mai desperately check on the well-being of their master. Pilaf curses his luck, not having expected Goku to be so strong either. He sees no other choice but to go with their emergency plan of grabbing Goku's tail immediately. The Pilaf trio quickly circles around a confused Goku, and Pilaf is just about to give the order when Shu shouts to Pilaf to wait – Goku's tail isn't visible, seemingly hidden away in Goku's pants. Pilaf is surprised by this turn of events and says they'll have to adapt the plan accordingly, and tells Goku to hold on a moment. Goku looks on in confusion as the trio huddle up together to discuss their new tactic.
With a new plan in mind, the Pilaf trio prepares again to fight Goku, with the boy eager to finally get this show on the road as well. The three Pilaf gang circle around Goku in their robot suits once more, and as Goku readies himself for their attack, Pilaf points dramatically behind Goku. The confused boy turns to look, and Mai takes this chance to grab Goku with her suit's arms. With Goku held in place and struggling to free himself, Shu uses a flamethrower from his suit to burn away Goku's pants. Pilaf leaps into action, ready to grab Goku's newly exposed tail...only to be met with the sight of Goku's naked, tailless butt instead. Goku begins to overpower the strength of the mechanical arms of Mai's robot suit, and she and Shu urge Pilaf to quickly grab the boy's tail, but Pilaf announces that Goku doesn't have one. The two react with horror as Goku finally breaks free, leaping away and landing before them. Goku angrily reacts to his clothes being destroyed, but Pilaf asks him what happened to his tail, with Goku responding that it got torn off. Shu and Mai ask Pilaf what their plan is now, and Pilaf says their only chance is to win through brute strength. The three robot suits combine into one bigger robot before Goku's eyes, and Pilaf loudly asks Goku what he thinks of their power now. Undeterred, Goku smiles and charges up a Kamehameha, blowing off one of the robot's arms with ease. As the trio stares in horror at the damage, Goku says that that was just a 'light' attack, prompting Pilaf to wonder what in the world Goku even is. Mai reports that her suit is totaled and won't move a bit, and Pilaf says they'll have to change tactics, and orders Shu and his own suits to abandon Mai's and combine into 'Swan' mode, with Mai landing on top of the much smaller combined robot. Pilaf then orders their next tactic – escape! Goku chases after the retreating trio, and Pilaf orders Shu to fire a missile at Goku so they can get away, but Goku easily catches the missile and throws it back, exploding the robot suits with the Pilaf gang inside. Goku walks up to the crumbled heap of metal and the battered trio and says that since he won, they have to give him the Dragon Ball, and Pilaf does so in a daze. Goku also says that he needs new clothes now, and Shu gives him his, which happen to fit perfectly. Review: I don't think anyone has ever gone into a fight less prepared for what they were getting themselves into than the Pilaf gang did here. Say what you will about how outmatched they were even in the beginning of the series, they at least were a credible threat on some level there. Here though? They don't stand a chance, and it's hilariously sad to witness them try and fail. I mean, think about it. Pilaf's group relies heavily on technology, it always has. And while the robot suits we see them with here are new for them, nothing about them functionally seems any more impressive than what they had the last time we saw them. And while their tech may have been impressive in it's first appearance, by this point in time we've seen even more incredible inventions from Bulma, and more importantly, from the Red Ribbon Army. In fact, the Pilaf gang's reliance on technology isn't that different from the Red Ribbon's at all, but whereas the Army was a force to be reckoned with and actually had technology to challenge Goku, Pilaf's gang just doesn't – not to mention, by this point, even the Red Ribbon's higher level of tech failed to take Goku down for good, so it was a pretty foregone conclusion how this encounter was going to go. That said, however? It almost wasn't. The Pilaf gang actually went into this fight with knowledge that the Red Ribbon, for all of their information gathering and power, never did, and that's the secret of Goku's weakness. It's only their bad luck that Goku just happened to lose his tail in the brief span of time since they overheard that secret and when they finally encountered him, but just imagine if that hadn't happened. They made the deal with Goku, who did agree to it, and had they been able to grab his tail, victory would've been theirs no matter how much stronger than them Goku normally is. Even with Goku being arguably the strongest character in the story now, he still could have lost a fight to arguably some of the weakest. This is all played for laughs, especially with it not working out in Pilaf's favor after all, but I think Toriyama might actually have been thinking ahead, even slightly, at this point. Goku's going to get stronger and stronger as the series goes on, and he's going to need to come up with other ways to showcase those new increases in power, and one of the easiest ways to do that is showing Goku overcoming one of his only weaknesses. Toriyama sets it up perfectly for that to be on our minds moving forward, and shows that no matter how strong you are, there's always a way for someone weaker to take advantage of any openings you give them, a fact that holds true even in modern day Dragon Ball material...for better or worse in some cases, depending on how you feel about certain implementations of this idea. So with all seven Dragon Balls in his possession at last, the time has come for us to see Shenlong once again, and see if he really can bring people back to life! That's a pretty tall order even for a dragon god, right? Until next time! Favorite Panel: |
About the AuthorAspiring author and big anime/manga fan, just trying to do my best in the world. For more details, go to About Me. Archives
September 2022
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