Synopsis: Goku says he's going to go meet the car that's headed their way and ask if he can borrow their Dragon Ball, but Yamcha says finding the car might not be that easy. Baba thinks it shouldn't be a problem however, as it appears to be the only car on the road, but Bulma is still trying to figure out why the Dragon Ball isn't showing up on the radar if it's just in a car. Goku calls down kinto'un, and leaves the other six Dragon Balls in the care of Upa while he goes to retrieve the last one.
As Mai drives the car, Pilaf goes over their plan one last time to make sure his minions have got it down – so long as they grab Goku's tail, he'll be easy for them to deal with, and this time he'll get his wish and become the ruler of the world. Shu asks Pilaf what he's going to do first when he's the king, catching Pilaf, who doesn't have a real answer to that question, by surprise. The conversation is soon interrupted when Goku lands on top of the car and leans down over the windshield, asking if he can have the Dragon Ball. The trio stares at the boy incredulously for a moment, until Goku starts to think they look familiar. Freaking out, Mai swerves the car and throws Goku off of it, and the car stops a few feet away from where Goku easily lands. The trio have no idea how Goku could have possibly found them, especially since their Dragon Ball should be shielded from detection by the box Pilaf put it in. Goku recognizes the trio at last as the group that tried to kill him and his friends at the end of their first search for the Dragon Balls, prompting Mai to ask Pilaf what they should do now. Pilaf tells her to remain calm, saying that this could actually be the best thing that could have happened to them, especially since they still know Goku's weakness. Goku yells for them to get out of the car, and the trio does so, with Pilaf complimenting Goku for somehow finding out the location of their Dragon Ball. Goku asks if they're plotting something evil again and tells them to just hand over the ball, but Pilaf says they're not so different, he and them, since they all want the Dragon Balls for themselves. Pilaf then proposes a deal – they'll fight, and if Goku wins, he gets their Dragon Ball, but if Pilaf and his minions win, they get all six of the balls Goku has. Goku is surprised they know he has the other balls, but ultimately agrees to the deal. Goku is ready to fight the Pilaf trio, but the Pilaf trio first throws out capsules, revealing a trio of different robot suits that they all climb into. Pilaf laughs and tells Goku he may as well surrender as there's no way he's stronger than their suits, but Goku tells them to fight already. Pilaf asks Goku if he really wants to die that badly, warning him that he'll regret it if he's mocking the suits Pilaf himself designed. Pilaf then tells Mai to show Goku how strong the suits are, with Mai objecting and saying that Pilaf himself should probably go first, outraging Pilaf who accuses her of not trusting his handiwork. Goku decides that if they don't want to, he'll attack first, and promptly kicks Pilaf's robot, sending it flying into a nearby boulder before falling to the ground. Shu and Mai rush over to their leader to check if he's okay, and inside the suit Pilaf questions if Goku is even human. Review: We're in the endgame of this arc now, and as this chapter primarily sets things up for that conclusion even further, this is another one where I'll most likely be pretty brief. Remember how I said the fight with Black was, action-wise, quite a big step down from us seeing Goku take on Taopaipai for a second time? Well, this is pretty similar to that – there's absolutely nothing the Pilaf gang can do to rival the spectacle we've just seen from Goku and Gohan, but like that previous finale, I think this one works well enough for what it's going for. The Baba arc as a whole was less about breaking new ground and more about establishing the new status quo (mainly by showing just how strong Goku is now) and wrapping up the last plotline left over from the Red Ribbon arc, and this story beat with Pilaf serves basically the same function as well. It also serves as a way to make the world feel more alive in a way, by showing us that previously defeated but not killed villains such as the Pilaf gang could still be out there, plotting away against our heroes unseen. Hmm...that sounds a little familiar, actually... That's getting way ahead of ourselves though, and as of right now, the Pilaf gang is basically just a fun callback to the original storyline of the manga, and as I said before, I for one love seeing them again. I still think it may have been more effective if it was only now, in this chapter, that we learned it was them that had the last Dragon Ball however. The surprise was already spoiled two chapters ago, and the last chapter didn't even feature them at all, so as fun as it is seeing them again now, it can't help but feel a little bit lesser since the 'wow' factor of their return is gone. Pilaf's robot suits are a fun surprise though, as they make for a pretty comedic subversion of the robot suit we saw Black don in his attempt to best Goku. Unlike that one, these are all far smaller, much less imposingly designed – though they are each varied and unique to which character is piloting one, which is nice – and they certainly don't seem to be as impressive. Remember that with his suit, Black was actually able to hurt Goku. Not lasting damage by any means, but Goku at least felt it's hits. Based on the performance of Pilaf's suit so far, it doesn't seem likely that these ones are going to be anywhere near as impressive. Guess instead of designing these himself, he should have outsourced the work to someone outside his group. Though...that does beg the question of just who DID design all of the Red Ribbon's tech, doesn't it? Hmm... That's a question that long time fans already know isn't going to get answered for a long, long time though. Until next time! Favorite Panel:
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Synopsis: Goku leaps into the air yelling in pain as a result of his tail snapping off in the Masked Man's hand, and Roshi comments that this means Goku just lost his one weak point. The rest of Goku's friends however are more interested in Roshi's revelation that the Masked Man is actually Goku's grandfather, Son Gohan. Bulma says she's sure Goku said he died a long time ago, and Roshi says he truly is dead, pointing out the halo above the man's head. Bulma wonders how it's possible for him to be here right now then. Goku angrily prepares to fight again over the loss of his tail, but the Masked Man simply laughs and concedes his defeat, surprising the young boy. Baba sighs and says this really is it then, and the Masked Man praises Goku for having become so strong, though says he did warn him about his tail before. Goku suddenly figures out who he is, and the Masked Man takes off his mask at last, revealing the face of Son Gohan to his grandson.
Overjoyed at seeing his grandpa again, Goku rushes at the old man and tackles him into a hug, sobbing happily. His friends can't help but be touched by the scene before them, with Yamcha acknowledging that no matter how strong he is, Goku is still a kid after all. Gohan apologizes to Goku for ripping off his tail, and says he had just wanted to teach his grandson a lesson for not training to overcome that weakness, but he didn't know his own strength. Still, Gohan can't believe that he was actually the one to lose this fight. Gohan asks Goku if he trained with Muten Roshi, and Goku confirms that he did. Gohan turns then to his old master, bowing and greeting him. Goku asks his grandpa when he came back to life, but Gohan confirms that he really is dead, explaining that Baba is able to travel freely from this world to the next, and that she often scouts fighters for her matches from the other side. Goku asks if this means that his grandpa can come live with him again, but Gohan sadly concedes that the dead can only return to this world for a single day. Bulma is surprised that Gohan's one day would just happen to be the day that Goku showed up, but Roshi says his sister can see the future and probably arranged for this to happen. Baba confesses that when she met Gohan, he asked her to let him know if a boy with a tail ever came by, but she had been surprised to learn that it was his grandson. Gohan thanks Roshi for taking such good care of Goku, saying he can rest easy now knowing how strong Goku has become. He then discreetly asks Roshi if Goku has been turning into a giant monkey at all lately, and Roshi calms his concerns by explaining how he destroyed the moon. Goku quickly grabs the Dragon Balls to show them to his grandpa, especially the four-star one, and Gohan is confused by how many of them there are now, prompting Bulma to explain what the Dragon Balls really are, and how that one ball has changed Goku's life forever. Kuririn says that Upa's dad will come back to life for sure now, but Upa is concerned that it's not fair for his dad to come back to life when they could revive Goku's grandpa instead. Gohan happily tells them not to worry about him, as he's actually enjoying the other world quite a bit – especially the pretty girls there, prompting Yamcha to tease Roshi about Gohan having picked up one of his bad habits. Baba prepares to divine the location of the last Dragon Ball, as Gohan says his goodbyes to everyone. He tells Goku how happy he is to see him doing so well, and asks everyone to continue looking after his grandson for him, saying he hopes to see a much more grown up Goku some day in the future. He also looks forward to meeting the rest of them again someday too, a meeting they hope won't be for a while, considering. With that, Gohan disappears and returns to the afterlife. Goku shouts to the sky and tells his grandpa that he's going to train his tail when it grows back, and it and he are both going to become a lot stronger, something Roshi says is going to destroy his reputation. Baba divines the last Dragon Ball's location at last, revealing it to be in a car that's moving towards them. Bulma thinks it's weird that it's just in a car and yet her radar isn't picking it up at all, but Goku's happy that the Dragon Ball is almost here. Review: As much as I lambasted the previous chapter for giving us the answer to the Masked Man's identity without giving us it's payoff in the same chapter – and I do still think that's a problem, at least with how the chapter itself functioned – I can't lie and say that the payoff wasn't still extremely gratifying regardless. Everything about Gohan's reveal once we fully get to see his face and everything is on the table is great. It's easily the most emotional moment the series has had up to this point, and arguably might be one of the very few tear-jerker moments in the franchise as a whole. Gohan's character and personality fits everything you would have imagined him to be like based on what we've known of him prior, and it's clear that he truly loved his adopted grandson, a fact that hasn't changed one bit even after his unfortunate demise at the hands of said grandson. There is one little snafu here though sort-of, and that's with just how strong Gohan is. We knew he was a capable martial artist – hell, even Yamcha had heard of him out in his desert – but we just saw him go toe-to-toe with a Goku that's pretty much surpassed Roshi by this point. It begs the question, was Gohan always this strong and Roshi already wasn't the strongest man in the world prior to Goku's usurping that role? Or has Gohan been able to receive some sort of training in the afterlife that's bolstered him to this new level of strength? Honestly, either answer is fine as it's not really the point of this reunion at all, but thinking about the latter does really help set up how the afterlife is going to be portrayed much later on in the story. No, the real purpose of this reunion I think was to finally give Goku some sort of reward for all of his recent efforts and do-gooding. Goku's not a superhero by any means, but he is a good enough person that he's generally not going to let bad people hurt good people, and he's been doing an awful lot of saving good people lately, Upa being his latest example. And just like with the first Dragon Ball hunt, Goku's not the person who's really getting their wish granted this time either. The first time around, Goku got his reward in the form of getting to see the dragon, and finally getting to go out into the world at large, which has lead him to this point in his life. This time though, his reward is even greater in that he's finally gotten to reunite with his grandpa after all this time, and it's just so incredibly sweet to witness. As a result of this chapter's focus on emotion, there's probably the least amount of fighting or gags we've ever had in a Dragon Ball chapter, but that's not to say there aren't at least a few jokes here and there. In particular, I really like Gohan's questioning if Goku's been going ape lately or not. I mean, he WOULD be concerned about that, you know...considering... All things told, this chapter is an excellent and fulfilling finale for the Baba arc, with the next couple of chapters basically wrapping up the last few loose ends – or loose end, singular, really – left over from the end of the Red Ribbon arc. Before Bora can be brought back to life, there is one more foe still in Goku's way – can he possibly take on Pilaf? ...Yeah, we all already know how this is gonna go. Until next time! Favorite Panel: Synopsis: The Masked Man compliments Goku for being able to dodge his attack at the last second, and Goku declares it's his turn to attack this time. The Masked Man thinks Goku is making a mistake, trying to attack from mid-air where he can't control his body as well, and prepares to fire another Kamehameha at Goku to prove his point. Goku takes the initiative first however and prepares his own Kamehameha, catching the Masked Man by surprise that he can do the move as well. Goku's Kamehameha hits the ground and knocks the Masked Man off of his feet, and Goku promptly lands and leaps over to slam a knee strike into his opponent's chest. Goku asks him if he wants to surrender now or if he should deliver the final blow, and Goku's friends cheer while Baba frets. The Masked Man laughs however, before reaching up and grabbing Goku's tail. Goku immediately feels his strength drain away from him, and falls to the ground as the Masked Man gets back to his feet while still holding the boy's tail. Yamcha remembers suddenly the secret of Goku's tail, a fact that surprises Roshi as even he didn't know about that, and Yamcha says that he was sure only he, Puar, and Chi Chi knew about it. He thinks the Masked Man must be a true master to be able to figure out Goku's weakness so quickly, but Roshi watches on curiously. The Masked Man lifts Goku up by his tail and chastises him for letting his guard down, while Baba berates him for letting the tables turn like this. As the Masked Man begins to slam Goku into the ground by his tail, Roshi says that he's figured it out – it wasn't that the Masked Man guessed Goku's weakness...he already knew it. Watching the fight between Goku and the Masked Man via a satellite's reception, Pilaf, Shu, and Mai cheer as they've finally discovered Goku's weak point! Mai says that they had been left unsure what to do when they found out the boy was gathering the Dragon Balls again, but now they can win for sure. Pilaf reveals that they've had the last Dragon Ball locked in a special case that blocks it's signal from being picked up by radar, but now with their own satellite radar and the knowledge of Goku's weakness, taking the other six Dragon Balls from him will be a breeze, and soon he'll get his wish to rule te world at long last. The Masked Man calls Goku stubborn for still not begging for mercy no matter how many times he slams him into the ground. Bulma asks Roshi how the Masked Man could possibly have already known Goku's weakness, and Roshi drops a bombshell – it's because the Masked Man is actually Goku's dead grandfather, Son Gohan. As everyone freaks out over this revelation, the Masked Man tries to slam Goku into the ground once more, but a loud snap fills the air, and he soon finds himself holding only Goku's tail. Review: So after all of that mystery building, we're finally getting our pay-off as to who the Masked Man is, and honestly? The reveal actually works really, really well, at least better than anyone could have expected from Toriyama based on his previous efforts to keep a character's gimmicks secret. All of the evidence laid out in previous chapters perfectly fits to hint at him actually being Gohan, and while I'll touch much more on that next time when the reveal is fully finished, I can definitely say that I enjoyed this much more than anything done with Jackie Chun or Lunch previously. That said, I can see how it could be a little underwhelming as well with Roshi just blurting out who he is, especially when the chapter ends right after that with the full payoff of that revelation coming in the following chapter. It might have been better if that reveal had been saved until then as well, with our only reveal here coming in the form of Roshi saying he knows who it is, and maybe cryptically adding that it's someone both he and Goku know very well. That would have lead to just as much theorizing and talk among fans back when the chapter originally came out, while allowing the reveal and it's payoff to work together rather than being separated by chapters. I'd say it's also a little underwhelming for another character to just blurt it out like that, especially when it's not a character that's directly interacting with the mystery in the way Goku is by fighting the Masked Man. It's not like Goku's the one that's going to make the deduction though, so...it works, it's definitely a lot better than Toriyama's previous efforts, but it still isn't perfect. Likewise, the reveal of Pilaf having the last Dragon Ball is a little strange as well. While I always appreciate the return of this character (and don't forget, not counting anime filler, this is the first time he's been seen since the end of the original Search for the Dragon Balls arc), just showing us that it's them and explaining how they have the Dragon Ball hidden when the whole point of this arc was having Baba divine it just feels really forced and rushed. It's almost like Toriyama wanted to separate the Gohan reveal and it's payoff into separate chapters, realized he needed more stuff happening in this chapter to allow that to happen and meet the page count, so he just threw this in here rather than later. This could have been a much better reveal had it been Baba divining the ball's location, Goku rushing in, and then both he and us as the audience get to see that it's the Pilaf gang once again. Just giving us the answer without letting the story get to it in the way that it's been teasing it would just feels wrong somehow. There are a few other tidbits in this chapter I really liked, such as the Masked Man being surprised that Goku knows the Kamehameha (something that's both ironic given his own use of the move was surprising everyone else before, and also another nice hint to his true identity), and the long-awaited return of Goku's tail being his weakness (also used as another hint), but overall, everything about how this chapter does it's reveals just feels ill-balanced, and that's really disappointing after how good the fight leading up to it was. Until next time! Favorite Panel: Synopsis: Goku's friends watch on in amazement at how strong both he and this mysterious Masked Man are, with them wondering just who in the world Baba's final fighter really is. Goku and the Masked Man waste no more time and rush each other in another furious exchange of blows, with the Masked Man quickly gaining the upper hand and tossing Goku high into the air, only for him to leap after him and kick him back to the ground so hard that he breaks through the arena's floor. The Masked Man is sure he's landed a decisive blow this time, but Goku soon leaps from the rubble, kicking him in return and sending the Masked Man flying into the side of Baba's building. The Masked Man recovers quickly and repels off of it, aiming another devastating kick towards Goku, but Goku is prepared this time, and braces himself, taking the kick full on in the chest without flinching or taking any damage at all.
Goku's friends and the Masked Man are all amazed by Goku's defense, but Goku smirks and says he's getting really excited by how strong the Masked Man is. The Masked Man wonders just what kind of training Goku has gone through for him to be able to take one of his kicks at full force like that, and decides that maybe he should pull out one of his surprises after all. Everyone watches in surprise as the Masked Man begins going through the motions of the Kamehameha, with Kuririn wondering if this is some sort of trick, but the beam launching towards Goku quickly proves it's the real deal. Goku dodges out of the way with a last second after-image, reappearing in midair and surprising Baba and the Masked Man both with how quickly he can move. Roshi however is more interested in the Masked Man's use of the Kamehameha. Could...he be... Review: This is another one of those chapters that is an absolute thrill to read that really doesn't leave me with much to talk about unfortunately, because almost all of it's pages are dedicated to showing off the fight – but oh man, when the fight's as good as this one is, that is in NO way a bad thing. Needless to say, if you've not actually seen it for yourself before, go read it – you will NOT be disappointed. All of the chapter's dialogue and non-fighting panels are dedicated to the fight as well, as much like last time, everyone is absolutely blown away by the insane skill level of both participants. While Goku's friends are impressed with his own improved skills, they're quickly becoming even more interested in what the Masked Man can do since he's matching Goku at every turn. Throw in the mystery of him also being able to do a Kamehameha, and yeah – from their point of view, things have just taken a step up in terms of insanity. It's even more interesting, at least slightly, when you stop and think about what this means from their perspective in-story as well, when compared to our perspective as readers. For them, this is the second time they've seen a mysterious person whip out a Kamehameha out of nowhere, after Jackie Chun did just that at the tournament. Of the characters present, only Roshi is aware of why that wasn't surprising at all. But in this instance, he's as surprised as we the audience would have been if we were experiencing this for the very first time, because this time around we DON'T know who the mystery man is, so we DON'T know how he could possibly know the Kamehameha. The shock factor here is much more palpable, at least for the time being. It also serves as one more really big hint as to the Masked Man's true identity. A mysterious seemingly-old man, who seems familiar to both Goku and Roshi, AND he knows the Kamehameha? Hmm...well, Roshi at least seems to be on the trail of figuring out who he is now. Until next time! Favorite Panel: Synopsis: As Goku celebrates his victory over Devil Man, his friends look on in stunned joy as well, while Baba can't believe this is happening. Goku tells her to bring out her last fighter, and Baba admits they're the first group to have made it this far, but assures them they've never seen anything like the last guy. She shouts for him to come out, and the 'Masked Man' comes out of the statue opposite Goku, happily greeting everyone. As Kuririn wonders if this last fighter really is that tough, the Masked Man tells Baba he'd really like to fight Goku in a no-holds barred fight, and requests that they move the fighting back to the arena outside, and Baba obliges him.
As Baba leads the way back to the outside arena, she asks the Masked Man if he's going to win, and he says he thinks he can. Kuririn tells Goku he thinks he's got this in the bag, but notices that Goku seems off somehow and asks if he's tired. Goku says it's not that he's tired, it's just that the smell of this new fighter is somehow familiar and makes him happy, confusing Kuririn greatly. The Masked Man speaks to Baba privately again while Yamcha asks Roshi why he's being so quiet. Bulma thinks he's worrying about Goku's chances of winning, but Roshi too says there's something very familiar to him about this Masked Man, almost like he's met him before somewhere but can't place him. He can however tell that the man has a great aura of power behind him, which would explain why Baba's so certain about saving him for last. With their talk finished, Baba is surprised by what the Masked Man has told her, and Goku asks if they're going to fight now or not. Baba says that if Goku wins, as she'll have no fighters left after this, she will divine the location of the last Dragon Ball for them. As Goku goes into a fighting position, the Masked Man chastises him for not doing a pre-match bow, and Goku promptly does so, interesting Roshi greatly. Baba declares the match's start, and as the two fighters stare each other down, Roshi says this won't be an easy match. Goku himself can tell that this guy is on a whole other level from the previous fighters, but when the man tells Goku to attack, Goku does so. The Masked Man launches his own attack, forcing Goku to dodge, and the two end up in a deadlock, until the Masked Man flips through the air, landing behind Goku and knocking him into the air. Goku lands and rebounds back, landing a powerful kick to the man's face, forcing him back as well. Goku's friends watch in disbelief over how intense the fight is already getting. Review: While there's plenty of good things in this chapter, it's yet another one that serves mostly as a transitional point to the next beat in the story, and as such doesn't really leave me with as much to comment on as I'd like there to be. As always though, there are at least a few things I want to touch on. First and most importantly of all, I have to really hand it to Toriyama here. In comparison to how he handled the 'reveal' of Lunch's transformations, or the poorly kept Jackie Chun secret? The mystery of the Masked Man's identity is handled SO much better. There's ample clues spread throughout this chapter to really make a new fan's brain start thinking and trying to deduce who it is, but he never actually plays his hand outright and gives us too much to go on and spoil the surprise. To be fair though, I guess that's a little easier to do here than with Jackie Chun, since this time it's not a character we've met before and spent plenty of time with like we had Roshi by that point. Still though, kudos to him for perhaps learning from previous underwhelming writing on his part. The main clues as to the Masked Man's identity of course come from Goku and Roshi. Goku thinks he smells good (and familiar), and Roshi also feels like he knows him, and both also recognize him as a very strong fighter even before the first punches are thrown. The biggest hint of all though comes from the fact that both of these characters in particular have this deja vu like feeling with him, but nobody else does. Kuririn not getting that feeling would suggest it's someone Goku and Roshi met before Kuririn came along, but that then begs the question of why Yamcha and the others don't seem to think he looks familiar either, when it was that very first journey that brought them all together that lead Goku to meeting Roshi for the first time. Someone that both Goku and Roshi met at some point in time we haven't seen, that doesn't include any of the other characters? It's a very coy hint, by Toriyama standards anyway. As much as I'm praising it though, the hints of a big mustache from behind the mask, as well as various design choices seeming to hint at an advanced age for the character, probably leads a lot of first time fans with their thinking caps on to predict who the character is pretty accurately too. A better sense of mystery doesn't necessarily mean it's a particularly hard one either. In contrast to that, another mystery is presented without any hints whatsoever, and that's what Baba and the Masked Man could possibly be talking about on their own that surprises Baba. More and more mysteries continue to pop up around the Masked Man, and it all becomes even more intriguing when we see that Goku and Roshi's prediction about him being a strong fighter prove correct. Remember, we've just come off a couple of chapters that showed just how amazingly strong Goku has become in comparison to the rest of his friends, and now we have someone who seems to be fighting evenly with him. Hell, this is actually the first truly even fighting we've seen him do since the Tenkaichi Budokai, and more importantly, it's the first even fighting we've seen him do since getting his power-up via Karin's training – just who IS this Masked Man, and why is he so strong? Until next time! Favorite Panel: Synopsis: Goku tells Devil Man that he doesn't seem that strong either, infuriating the devil. Baba tells him to just take care of Goku already, and Devil Man goes in for another furious attack, only for Goku to dodge every blow before dodging out of the way and landing another strike on Devil Man's face. The attack sends Devil Man flying away, almost falling into the acid bath below before he struggles to fly back up to the tongues. Though he's clearly out of breath, Devil Man haughtily asks Goku if he really thought he could take down a devil with only that, but Goku surprises him again by saying he was just testing him. Kuririn says that Devil Man doesn't seem like much after all, but Roshi says it only looks that way because Goku is just that much better than him – in fact, Devil Man is a two time champion of the Tenkaichi Budokai. Kuririn and Yamcha are both taken aback by this, but Baba yells at Devil Man to do better than he is, and Devil Man smirks and says he'll show his true strength now. Putting two fingers to each temple of his forehead, Devil Man says that everyone has at least a little bit of evil in their heart, and he just so happens to have a technique that can grab that bit of evil and expand it until a person explodes. Roshi is horrified and shouts that if Devil Man is really using that technique, the Akumaito Beam, then he really does mean to kill Goku. Before Baba can shout that Devil Man really doesn't have to go that far, the Devil launches he beam and it lands a direct hit on Goku. Devil Man laughs ruthlessly and commands the evil in Goku's heart to grow rapidly, and everyone is certain they're about to see Goku die...but nothing happens. Devil Man is mystified as Goku merely keeps standing there, wondering what that light show was all about. Devil Man is forced to grapple with a surprising realization – Goku doesn't seem to have any evil in his heart at all, with Baba comparing the boy to a baby or an animal. Everyone cheers that Goku is saved now, with Roshi suggesting that Goku's heart really must be that pure or he'd just managed to clear his mind entirely in that moment, and Bulma ruins the moment by pondering how well Roshi would have held up against that attack. Left with no recourse, Devil Man says he'll have to resort to his ultimate move, and summons a three-pronged pitchfork from thin air. He starts to stab at Goku with it, with Goku accusing him of cheating by using a weapon. Goku says that if that's how it is, he'll get serious now too, and appears to launch a kick at Devil Man – but that's all anyone, even Roshi, is able to see before Devil Man is shown stuck in the opposite wall. Goku wonders if he overdid it a little while Roshi grapples with just how fast Goku must have been moving just then. Review: You know, personality wise maybe it actually was for the best that Devil Man didn't end up being the final fighter. Either that or his personality ended up being dictated by the fact that he wasn't the last one, because either way, he's a bit of a let down. An entertaining let down, but a let down none-the-less. Whereas Mummy Man only started to show outrage at the idea of Goku beating him so easily, Devil Man seems to take it even more personally, almost like he's being denied the chance to play with his food. In fact, I'd go so far as to say that this is the first one of Baba's fighters who actually feels like a bad guy in any real capacity, as he definitely would have killed Goku if he'd been given the chance. Like Mummy Man before him however, he's completely outclassed when faced with a Goku that has now conquered Taopaipai and the Red Ribbon Army. This unfortunately puts him at risk of coming off even less threatening than he needs to be for the fight to be exciting in any way, so Toriyama seems to have been faced with a bit of a dilemma – how does he big up Devil Man even further without actually giving him any ground? The answer Toriyama came up with was a two-fold one. First, while it's the least exciting route, he has to tell us how amazing Devil Man is rather than show us, and he does that with the rather throwaway reveal that Devil Man is a two-time winner of the Tenkaichi Budokai. The only person we've seen win the tournament so far was Roshi disguised as Jackie Chun, and that seemingly was the first and only time he'd done so, but Devil Man has won TWICE. Wow! Amazing! That's...cool, I guess? Honestly it feels a little too try-hard, though it's real purpose may have been to again remind us of the Tenkaichi Budokai's existence anyway, so it achieves that, I guess. The second way Toriyama tries to make Devil Man a little more effective as a threat is by giving him a cool special move, and honestly? This one works a lot better, even if the move itself is a dud upon arrival. The Akumaito Beam might not look like much (though it ironically does bear some similarities to a later technique used by Piccolo, visually at least), but in theory? It could have broken the entire back end of the franchise wide open. A technique that can grab even the most remote bit of evil in a person's heart and use that to make them explode? Holy crap! That basically would have taken care of practically every other threat Goku would ever face. It's probably safe to assume that there is some level of power at play here too, so it's probably unlikely that Devil Man at this current level of power could have used this technique to actually end, say, Freeza (though wasn't that fun in Budokai Tenkaichi 3?), but Goku at later points in the series would have been much closer in power to most of the opponents he struggled against. That mixed with the fact that most later opponents are much more openly villainous, and man...let's be happy this is one of the few times Goku didn't steal someone's move, because the rest of the series could have been really, really boring. The seemingly OP technique is, of course, no use against someone like Goku, who despite being fairly rough around the edges, is too good of a person for the technique to work on. This seems...somewhat dubious in some ways, especially given later choices the character will make, but like with kinto'un's judgement, it's hard to really say what makes one qualify for 'good' or 'evil' in the Dragon Ball world, outside of the extremely obvious examples. It might even be safe to say that anyone capable of riding kinto'un might be good enough to avoid being instantly killed by the Akumaito Beam, but there's really nothing ever said or shown to really confirm that as a theory either. All things told, basically everything about Devil Man is used only to make Goku seem even more impressive than he already does, and nothing drives this fact home better than a relatively unseen attack to end the fight, one that even Roshi was unable to see. With all of this build-up, Toriyama better have something really good in mind for who the final fighter is if they're going to stand a chance against Goku. Until next time! Favorite Panel: Synopsis: Mummy Man can't shake the feeling that there's something really imposing about Goku despite his size, but Baba urges him to hurry up and get the show on the road. Left with no choice but to just go for it, Mummy Man rushes in and lands a mighty blow on Goku, sending him into the air before kicking him into one of the demon statue's faces and back to the ground in a heap. His friends are all shocked to see Goku go down so easy even if Mummy Man is really strong, but Mummy Man is pleased to see that he was worrying over nothing. Baba says that losing consciousness is the same thing as a loss, so she asks Goku to speak up if he's still able to. Surprising everyone, Goku gets back up and says it's his turn now, and begins to approach a stunned Mummy Man. Roshi is surprised to see Goku get up after such a vicious assault, and notices that Goku doesn't even appear to have taken any damage at all from it. Outraged, Mummy Man punches towards Goku again, but Goku merely ducks under the larger man's fist, and slams his own punch into Mummy Man's gut, knocking him out in one blow. Baba is shocked, and Goku says that Mummy Man seems to be knocked out, so he wins right? Baba confirms this, and Goku celebrates and says he'll move Mummy Man now so he's not in the way for the next fight. Kuririn and Yamcha can't believe Goku just defeated such a strong foe in one attack, and even Roshi says that it's hard to believe Goku could become so powerful, and says it's possible they've never seen the likes of him before – it's beginning to make more sense now how he was able to decimate the entire Red Ribbon Army all by himself. Kuririn thinks Goku doesn't look any different from before though, so what in the world did he go through since they saw him last? Goku says that he only needs to beat two more people to get Baba's help, and Baba tells him it's too soon to smile. From inside one of the statues, Baba's remaining fighters – a devil-looking man and a man wearing a fox mask with a curious halo over his head – discuss how strong Goku seems to be. The masked man simply laughs, but the devil thinkgs that even though nobody has ever made it this far before, the boy's luck has run out now that he'll have to deal with him. Baba calls out her next fighter, and the devil – Devil Man – steps out onto the tongues. Goku is surprised to see yet another weirdo take the stage, but Roshi is even more surprised as he knows this one. Devil Man was usually his sister's right hand man and the final of her five fighters, meaning she must have found someone even more incredible to save for last this time. Baba declares the match's start, and Devil Man instantly uses his wings to take to the air, something that Bulma calls out as unfair. Devil Man asks Goku if he'd like to visit where he came from, Hell, and rushes towards Goku with his claws out before him – only to get kicked away by a quick-moving Goku. Baba, Goku's friends, and especially Devil Man are taken aback by Goku's ability. Review: So, if you couldn't tell by my tease last time, we've officially hit the point of no return in regards to Goku's power far outstripping his friends. Sure, the gap isn't as wide now as it's going to become later, and there are still new future allies we've yet to meet that will be far closer in strength (at least at first if nothing else), but make no mistake – it's at this point that Goku is set on a pedestal that the others just aren't ever going to truly be able to reach. That's not to say the rest of the series doesn't find continually creative ways to be exciting, but we're definitely reaching the beginning of 'Oh man, Goku's amazing!' and 'If even Goku can't beat this guy, then...?!', and that's a little bit disappointing. As much as I love this franchise, it can't be denied that power creep is one of it's biggest writing issues, and a big factor of that is just how badly Goku ends up leaving everyone else in the dust. This chapter starts us down that path in spades, with Goku taking no damage from an opponent that just beat up a character we know to be fairly good in a fight, and then taking out said opponent in just ONE hit, only to go on to immediately be at an advantage against another opponent even stronger than that. But I'm getting ahead of myself a bit. Before we get to that last part, let's take a final look at poor Mummy Man. I mentioned before that he seemed to display quite a bit of humanity for someone that might be a monster, and that he didn't want to kill Yamcha even after the former outright tried to kill him. Nothing in this chapter takes away from that surprising humanity, but we do get to see that he doesn't like being shown up, especially not by someone else that he assumes is being cocky. It's just his bad luck that Goku can actually back up anything the former takes as empty bravado. At the end of the day, I'd say Mummy Man was probably the best of Baba's fighters thus far. He managed to feel like an actual threat rather than just a gimmick to be overcome, and what little bit of personality we got out of him wasn't tied to his theme either. I can't say I went into these chapters expecting him to be one of the highlights of this arc narratively, but damn if he didn't surprise me. With Mummy Man's defeat, we're actually shown the next two fighters outright rather than only when they step out into the arena, something that's a big change compared to how we were introduced to the previous five. Unfortunately, that sort of undercuts the threat that we're meant to be feeling from whoever steps out next, because we already know what the person beyond them looks like. It was already pretty much a given that we'd get to see all five fighters anyway, but this just seems to take away from the mystery a little bit. I think Toriyama knew this though, because he then tries to build the mystery back up again in a different way. Roshi tells us that Devil Man was usually his sister's best fighter, the one she held in reserve just in case someone strong enough to get through her other fighters came along. For a fighter like that to get demoted even one slot is pretty telling – whoever this new fifth fighter, the man with the mask and the halo, is, they must be incredibly strong. So basically, we're exchanging any sort of menace we would have felt from Devil Man, so that the next guy beyond him can get hyped up even more. It's an interesting tactic, and it does serve to change things up at the tail end here, but it does feel a little unfair to Devil Man, poor guy. Speaking of, Devil Man and the as-of-now unnamed final opponent both slightly break the trend Baba's fighters had going until now. As mentioned before, a vampire, the Invisible Man, and a mummy are all classic pulls right out of the classic Universal Monsters catalogue. We already essentially had Frankenstein's Monster via Android 8, but it would have been a safe bet to predict the other two fighters would've completed this roster by being the Creature from the Black Lagoon and the Wolf-Man. Instead, we're treated to a Devil and whatever the masked man will turn out to be. I know of course, but the chapter itself doesn't spell anything out about him just yet, and for first time readers, I wouldn't be surprised if people thought the final fighter must be an Angel of some sort. The halo, and being a fighter that surpassed a devil would certainly hint in that direction in some capacity. We'll cross that bridge when we get to it however. Until next time! Favorite Panel: Synopsis: As Yamcha remarks that he never expected a mummy to be so fast, Mummy Man asks him if this is the best he can do. With his friends cheering him on, Yamcha goes on the attack once more, trying to hit Mummy Man with his Rogafufuken, but it's no use as Mummy Man simply kicks his feet out from under him before landing a solid knee strike to Yamcha's gut.
With Yamcha down and seemingly out, Mummy Man asks him if he won't just surrender, but Baba wonders if the boy is even still conscious. Yamcha surprises them all however by swiping Mummy Man's legs out from under him, sending the fighter falling off of the statues' tongues and heading for the acid. Yamcha asks for Mummy Man's forgiveness, but the mummy isn't out of the fight just yet – using his bandaged wrapping, Mummy Man grabs hold of one of the tongues and rebounds off of the wall just above the acid, launching himself back up to the arena. Everyone is surprised, especially Yamcha, and Mummy Man laughs and says Yamcha is the type that will stoop to any trick, so now he'll have to pay for it. The fight begins anew, with Mummy Man quickly overpowering Yamcha once again, eventually holding him up by the front of his shirt over the acid. Mummy Man asks him again if he'll surrender or if he'll have to toss him into the acid, and Yamcha at last relents, surrendering the fight. Battered and beaten, Yamcha returns to his friends, with Bulma saying she can't believe he got beaten up by someone wrapped in bandages, though Kuririn says he's pretty sure those aren't because Mummy Man is hurt. Roshi says they may need to reevaluate what they're up against here, and Baba says that they're down to their last fighter now, Goku. She asks if the boy is ready to fight, and Goku happily says he is. Upa asks Goku to reconsider, saying he's done enough for him already, but Goku tells him not to worry and rushes down onto the tongues. Goku tells Mummy Man he's ready whenever he is, but Mummy Man laughs in disbelief that the last fighter is a little boy. Kuririn asks Roshi if Goku has any chance against this opponent, and Roshi says that the Goku they knew before probably didn't, but with the training he's undergone since they last saw him... Goku again tells Mummy Man he's ready to go, but if Mummy Man would like, Goku can make the first move. To Mummy Man's surprise, Goku stands completely open, not even taking a fighting stance, and yet, there aren't any openings in his guard at all. Review: Oh, Yamcha. You aren't eating dirt as hard as Kuririn did in his fight, but you're still getting a pretty good taste of your own hubris now, and you really don't have anyone to blame but yourself. While this fight basically exists just to give Yamcha a more proper showing against Mummy Man, rather than getting things to Goku right away, it does end up presenting a couple of interesting facets of the characters we're currently dealing with here. Since I'm already talking about Yamcha, let's keep the spotlight there and start with him. Through the course of this fight, Yamcha throws everything he has at Mummy Man – and, okay, yeah, what he has is really just one move at this point (man has he already been ill-used since his introduction) – but nothing he tries is working. He expected to at least have a leg up on the brute in terms of speed, but Mummy Man has quickly proven to be not just stronger than him but faster too. The match ends up going so poorly for the former bandit in fact, that he resorts to a cheap trick to try and win the match, one that had it been successful would have resulted in Mummy Man's death. Yamcha seems to feel some regret at this course of action, but he still made it of his own volition, so he can't be feeling THAT broken up about it. Now contrast that with Mummy Man. He's been pretty happily wailing away on Yamcha for the course of this fight, but that is what happens in a fight after all – one person tries to hit the other. Some of Mummy Man's strikes have been fairly brutal, but there hasn't really been anything that seems particularly like a cheap shot or like he's trying to radically injure Yamcha. No, he seems like he wants to just force Yamcha to realize he's bitten off more than he can chew and to surrender. Hell, even AFTER Yamcha tries to straight-up murder him, Mummy Man still offers him the chance to surrender rather than get thrown into the acid bath below. I hate to say it, but Yamcha's the bad guy in this situation. For as much as Baba's fighters are themed around movie monsters, they're surprisingly human...which, come to think of it, fits that inspiration even more. Oh, and can I just say, I love the ridiculousness of Mummy Man just Spider-Man-ing himself back to safety? It's a brilliant use of the character's design even if nothing before or (to the best that I can recall) after this suggests he can control his bandages like that. With Yamcha taken out of action, that leaves only Goku left on our heroes' side, and three fighters left on Baba's. The odds couldn't be more stacked against Goku, right? ...Well... Until next time! Favorite Panel: Synopsis: Yamcha is happy to see that Bulma and Roshi have arrived, but Bulma is annoyed that they're all fighting instead of asking her where the last Dragon Ball is, prompting Kuririn to explain exactly what's going on. Once they're filled in, Roshi comments that his sister is as greedy as ever, surprising everyone. Baba says her brother doesn't seem to have changed a bit either based on his perverted outburst earlier. Kuririn says that if Baba is Roshi's sister than couldn't he ask her to help them out for his sake, but Baba scoffs and says she only lives for two things: money, and fights. Yamcha proclaims that he's okay with this as it gives him a chance to train and fight more, and Baba praises him for being so bold before announcing they'll be changing arenas now. She starts to lead them inside, and Roshi asks her how much money she has now, only for her to refuse to answer him. Bulma introduces herself to Upa, but Kuririn cautions him that she's a bad influence, with Bulma saying he has no room to talk. Once inside, Baba says they'll be fighting in the Devil's Cesspool next, and Yamcha asks Roshi if he has any advice, with Roshi telling him simply not to die. Baba sends Yamcha in through a door, before leading everyone else further upstairs to a viewing area. Stepping into the arena, Yamcha is surprised to see the true appearance of the Devil's Cesspool – a pair of giant statues of demons sitting on toilets (complete with a toilet paper roll on the wall), with their tongues extending out from their mouths and meeting in the middle. Baba says that they'll be fighting on top of the tongues now, and that both Yamcha and her fighter should be careful not to fall into the bubbling acid below – she drops a steak into it as an example, and its instantly dissolved. Baba says that this is their last chance to call off the match, but Yamcha nervously claims he lives for battle. Impressed by his spirit, Baba calls out her third fighter – Mummy Man! Yamcha remarks about the theme going on here with Baba's fighters, and thinks that the mummy looks like the type of fighter who bowls opponents over by pure strength, so he should be alright if he uses the narrow field to his advantage and fights with speed. He rushes at Mummy Man, only to be caught by surprise when the Mummy rushes at him with equal or greater speed. Mummy Man leaps into the air and lands behind Yamcha, attacking him with a series of vicious strikes, causing an onlooking Roshi to comment that the mummy is incredibly fast. To his surprise however, Goku doesn't think he's moving that fast at all. With a quick chop to the neck, Mummy Man knocks Yamcha off of the tongues, shocking everyone as he almost falls into the acid below. Yamcha barely manages to hold onto the edge, and as Baba laughs, Mummy Man tells him to climb back up – it's no fun if the match ends this quickly. Review: This is another of those chapters that both feels like it has a fair bit going on it it, but also not at the same time. We get a good couple of reveals – well, one reveal at least, and one tease of upcoming events – and as such, the chapter is more focused on setting the stage for the following chapters of the arc than it is doing great things within it's own page count. In all fairness though, that's fine really. We just had a successful Yamcha fight with the previous chapter, and as a fan who knows well where the character and the series overall are going? It'd be foolish to really hope for much more than that. The big reveal of the chapter of course is that Baba is Roshi's sister, which certainly explains some things like how he knew about her (though it's not impossible for him to have just heard about her, even being a hermit), and why he recommended they go see her. It's funny though, because outside of this confirmation and their brief interactions here? We'll barely ever see them together ever again. Baba doesn't seem to get the same invites to hang out that the rest of the gang gets, and there will barely ever be a reminder of their relationship, so it's almost like Toriyama just threw this connection out on a whim. Bulma does have a quip about what their parents must have been like, which is a pretty fun thing to think about, especially considering how wacky her own parents are. The real star of this chapter if you ask me is the new locale for this and the next two fights as well – the Devil's Cesspool is hilariously entertaining to look at, and I'm disappointed it's not a stage in more series fighting games. Actually...I don't think it's in ANY games that I'm aware of. What the hell, Bandai Namco – give me a Devil's Cesspool stage in FighterZ or something! You can't tell me it doesn't get much more unique than fighting on top of the tongue-kissing tongues of two demons on their toilets. ...Actually, this presents a lot of questions about who, how, and why these statues were made, presumably at Baba's request no less, so...maybe we should leave sleeping dogs to lie after all. Then there's the reveal of Mummy Man, and three fighters in, it's really not that surprising to see him pop out at all – even Yamcha's getting wise to the gimmick now, which is actually kind of funny as this is sort of the end of the gimmick. The next two fighters don't really fit the theme in the same way (though they do fit the general horror vibe, they lack the Universal monsters theme that was going on with the first three). I'd rank where I'd put Mummy Man in terms of interest compared to the previous two, but we're not quite through with him yet, so I'll hold off on that for the moment. The most interesting part of the chapter has to be the tease right at the end of it with Goku not thinking Mummy Man is that fast at all, despite him wiping the floor with Yamcha who is known to be a speedy fighter himself, and even Roshi being impressed by the mummy. Longtime fans will probably recognize this as being a very similar turn of events as something that happens way later in the DBZ era...but more on that once that 'twist' is revealed. Until next time! Favorite Panel: Synopsis: With Dracula Man's defeat, the gang is overjoyed and think everything is back on track now, but Baba warns them that each champion will become progressively stronger. Yamcha is still confident he can handle whoever is next though, and steps into the ring after telling Upa and Puar they can rest now. Baba laughs and says she thought they learned their lesson about expecting only two remaining fighters to be able to take her remaining four, but Yamcha insists he can probably get the job done all by himself, much to Goku's objection as he wants to fight too. Yamcha says they're keeping him in reserve though, and tells Baba to bring out the next fighter. To Yamcha's surprise however, Baba says they're already here.
Everyone looks around to try to find this new fighter, and Baba laughs and says it's natural they can't see him, as the next fighter is Invisible Man. She declares the match's start, and to Yamcha's surprise, a voice speaks from out of nowhere in front of him before he's hit by a series of unseen strikes. Yamcha bemoans that this isn't fair and tells the coward to show himself, but Invisible Man simply continues to attack Yamcha, with Yamcha unable to land a blow in return. Yamcha curses, and Baba asks him what happened to all that bravado he had moments before. Goku asks Kuririn why Yamcha is fighting all by himself, but Kuririn quickly tells Goku to go get Roshi and Bulma and bring them here quickly. Goku leaves to do so, and Baba remarks that the boy has a kinto'un, prompting her curiosity about him further. Yamcha continues trying to fight, deciding that he'll have to try and figure out where his opponent is based on minute air movements from his opponent's movements, and in doing so he's able to just barely land a kick on Invisible Man. Yamcha thinks he's figuring out how to fight him now, but the Invisible Man laughs and says it won't be that easy. Suddenly, Baba starts to sing, drowning out any sounds of movement Invisible Man would make, and Invisible Man resumes beating Yamcha viciously. Baba asks Yamcha if he'd like to surrender, and Yamcha laments that this fight would be easy if he could just see his opponent. Just in the nick of time, Goku returns with Roshi and Bulma in tow. Bulma demands to know what Kuririn needed them for as she was just about to head home, but Kuririn says he just wanted them to watch this match for a little while. As Yamcha continues getting beaten, Kuririn positions the two of them how he wants them to watch, with Bulma standing in front of Roshi and Roshi looking at her with his head raised up. Kuririn keeps them positioned that way until Yamcha and, presumably, his opponent come in range...and Kuririn yanks down Bulma's top, giving Roshi an up close view of her breasts. Roshi's nose sprays blood out, splashing all over the Invisible Man, allowing Yamcha to see him at last, and with the fighter's advantage gone, Yamcha is able to quickly beat down the Invisible man who promptly surrenders. Goku and Kuririn are overjoyed at Yamcha's victory, but Bulma hits Kuririn hard in the head and asks him what the hell he thinks he was doing. Kuririn insists it was all to save her boyfriend, but even Roshi says he could have been given a hemorrhage over something like that. Kuririn says he didn't know what else to do, and Roshi slyly tells him it's okay and he can pull something like that again anytime he wants, as Bulma scowls at both of them. Baba praises their clever tactic, but thinks it'll take more than cleverness to defeat her next three fighters. Review: At long last, Dragon Ball has hit it's first 100 chapters, and as inappropriate as the scene itself may be (especially given Bulma's age still), I think we can all agree that it makes total sense that Toriyama being Toriyama, the chapter just so happens to be the first one with blatant female nudity in a long, long while. More on that in a bit though. Despite how humbled the gang became in the last chapter, it looks like they're really not paying a lot of attention to lessons they should be learning, because they revert right back to being overconfident and thinking that only Yamcha and Goku will be needed to deal with the rest of Baba's fighters. The fact that they're right and are primarily right just due to how strong Goku has become now is really a mute point, because man are their egos getting out of control here. Yamcha, you're supposed to be the smart one, you should really know better than this. Yamcha's opponent this time, an invisible man, is like-wise inspired by old Universal monster movies just like Dracula Man was, and he's even more blatantly named. Unlike Dracula Man though, Invisible Man is handled a lot better in my opinion. While, yes, the entire gimmick of the character is tied to what he is just as Dracula Man's was, and it really only has one utilization compared to the multiple vampire tropes tossed into the previous chapter, this one just feels like more fun is had with the idea. Dracula Man was a fairly tough opponent since Kuririn couldn't deal with him, but Invisible Man, despite Baba's claim that each fighter gets tougher? Really doesn't seem that tough – he just has a seemingly “unbeatable” gimmick. It also helps that, despite Yamcha's overconfidence being similar to Kuririn's, he still gets to show off some intelligence by deducing that he can follow the sounds the Invisible Man makes when he moves, making this fight seem a little more balanced and not played entirely for laughs. It still leans pretty heavily into comedy of course though, what with Baba's awful singing voice. Kuririn's suggestion brings Roshi and Bulma back into play as well, and alright, let's talk about THAT scene. Dragon Ball, by this point in time, had fairly largely moved away from the sex jokes that were so prevalent at the start of the series. I'm not entirely sure what caused this change, as it's clear that Toriyama is still a big fan of such gags, but for whatever reason, we hadn't really had anything quite on this level in some time – hell, the last nudity in the manga, while just a few chapters ago, was Goku's junk being on display because he didn't know not to just strip in the street. While still nudity, that's played quite differently from the nudity on display here with Bulma's breasts. It's also hard to really say what prompted the return of this type of humor and fan-service either – was Toriyama just itching to do this sort of thing again? Was it just something that seemed to further help alleviate the seriousness that the previous arc had delved into? Was it actually a big celebratory thing in his mind for reaching 100 chapters? Was it a combination of all of this? As far as I know, nothing is ever said one way or the other, but one thing is for sure – this scene is pretty famous to fans that have read or watched the original run of Dragon Ball, especially if you were a younger male fan when first coming across it, and I don't think there's any mystery as to why that is. Toriyama, you sly, pervy dog you. 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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