Synopsis: As Gyumao's castle begins to crumble as the fire rages more fiercely than ever before, all seems lost for Goku's new father-in-law. At the Eightfold Furnace, Goku again pleads with Annin to do something about the furnace otherwise Gyumao will burn to death, but the caretaker insists that saving one life isn't worth risking the fate of the entire world. Goku gets frustrated enough that he knocks Annin's fork from her hands, and while Gohan and Chi Chi try to apologize for him, Annin tells Goku that if he's so full of energy and truly wants to put out the fire, then all he has to do is turn the handle on a nearby pillar as far to the right as he can. Goku rushes to the handle with Gohan struggling to stop him, and Goku even knocking his grandfather backwards in his efforts to put out the fire. Annin leaps in and grabs Goku with the tendrils from her head-dress, tossing Goku high above the furnace. When he lands back on the ground, she asks him if he noticed all the steam pouring out, and explains that that steam turns into the mist that leaves from Mt. Gogyo and connects this world (the world of the living) to the next (the afterlife). Gohan further explains that everyone who dies passes through this mist, and that likewise anyone that dies and comes back passes through it as well. If the fire goes out and the mist were to disappear, the souls of the dead would wander aimlessly in the world of the living, unable to rest eternally, and eventually causing the dead to rise from Hell as well and throw the entire world into chaos. Hearing this dire news, Chi Chi asks if they can put the fire out for just a short time so that the steam won't disappear, but Annin says it won't work, as it will take at least 2,000 years to re-light the fire if it goes out. Chi Chi frets and asks if there's truly nothing Annin could do, and Annin looks at Goku and says that there might be something she can do after all. Without warning, Annin summons a spear and attacks Goku with it, and Goku is ultimately able to knock the weapon from her hands and knock her backwards. Gohan asks Goku what he's doing attacking someone who has been guarding the furnace for over ten thousand years. Goku's surprised to hear that Annin is 'so old', angering Annin further and causing her to transform back into her giant form. Goku continues fighting the now giant Annin, ultimately resorting to pulling out the Basho Fan, but even that fails to knock her over. Annin stops the fight however, surprised to see that Goku has such a thing, and tells Chi Chi that there is a way to save Gyumao without putting out the fire at all. Annin explains that the Basho Fan can't put out the furnace's fire, but it can help them plug the hole that must have formed at the bottom of the furnace. Annin explains however that there's still a problem, as the materials needed to fix the hole – egg shell from the Fire-Eating Bird, and honey from bees that live in octagonal beehives – are not easily acquired. Chi Chi reveals that she has them both however, shocking Annin further. Annin cautions them not to celebrate too quickly however as what needs done is still risky, and if Goku fails, he'll almost certainly die. Goku says he's going to do it however, so Annin tells him that while she lifts the furnace's pan slightly off of the fire, Goku will have to head into the furnace to patch the hole. Gohan objects, saying that the fires inside are too hot for even Goku to withstand, and Annin says that's where the Basho Fan comes in, telling Goku that he'll have to swing the fan from the furnace's surface, parting the flames and giving him a short time get down there, patch the hole, and leave. Despite all of this risk, Goku confidently says again that he'll do it. As Gyumao begins to lose hope and say that he wishes he could have seen his daughter in her wedding dress, Annin lifts the pan and tells Goku that the hole is likely somewhere in the middle of the furnace. Goku uses the Basho Fan, and as the flames part, he leaps into the furnace. Annin struggles to keep the pan lifted, and Goku reaches the bottom and desperately looks for the hole. Goku eventually spots it underfoot, and places the egg shell in the hole and affixes it with the honey. As soon as Goku does so, the fire begins to go out back at Gyumao's castle, prompting Baba to wonder if Goku has truly done it. With time running out to escape however, Goku leaps up and flies out of the furnace, barely making it out in time (and having to resort to the nyoibo for help to boot) before the flames re-converge and Annin puts the pan back down. Annin thanks Goku for the help and apologizes profusely to Chi Chi for the trouble, and Gohan congratulates Goku and Chi Chi for overcoming their first ordeal as husband and wife, wishing for them to live together in happiness. Back at Gyumao's castle, Baba is horrified at first to discover what she thinks is a dead Gyumao, but Gyumao reveals that he merely covered the wedding dress with his body, successfully preventing it from receiving any damage. With the fire out at last, Goku and Chi Chi's wedding is finally held, and the villagers all toast to their happiness as Gyumao sobs happily at finally seeing his daughter in the wedding dress. As the narrator wonders if days of happiness truly await the newlywed couple, Baba looks into the future with her crystal ball, seeing something that she then blocks anyone from seeing, and winking to the camera. Review: Everything in this arc finally comes to a head in this episode, and every one of the story elements that seemed completely at odds with each other all tie together at last – well, more or less. Goku and Chi Chi did need Baba's help to set them on the right path to fixing things, and while it looked at first like she'd accidentally sent them on a wild goose chase searching for the Basho Fan, it turns out that they needed each and every place they stopped to actually achieve a good ending here. If they hadn't gone to the octagon shaped hot springs, they wouldn't have heard about the Fire-Eating Bird and thus gotten it's eggshell; and if they hadn't gotten that, they wouldn't have then heard about the ice mountain, which lead to them getting both the Basho Fan and the honey from the octagon loving bees. Even if Baba had later divined the true cause of the fire, they would have been out of luck fixing the problem if they didn't have those items on hand. I'm of two minds on this really. On the one hand, it's nice that it makes all of the previous episodes actually have more of a point now that we've been through them. It sort of makes this all come off like an RPG's side-quest as well, with one side-quest opening up another, and each of them needing completion to reach the 'true ending'. On the other hand though, considering how insanely specific the item's needed were, it's a little on the nose that they just HAPPENED to get the items needed on their way here. This holds especially true for the eggshell, as at least the honey was directly given to Chi Chi by the old lady. If Chi Chi hadn't taken the eggshell as a souvenir on a whim, then they'd be in pretty dire straights right about now, and that's pretty crazy to think about. What works better than this happen stance is the reason behind the furnace being unable to be turned off. I'd say causing a disconnect between the worlds of the living and the dead is a pretty good reason to keep the fire going after all, though Annin's comment about saving one life not being worth saving in comparison is a little bit crass - Logical, yes, ethical, no. Goku seems to disagree as well, given that he goes as far as to shove his own grandfather away to try and stop the fires from burning. I don't know if Toei planned it that way, but that's far more striking of a visual to show off how far Goku's willing to go right now than him fighting the caretaker of the furnace, someone he's only just met. Goku's venture into the furnace is where the stakes at last feel compatible with Goku's newfound levels of strength as well. It's hard to believe he's really in any danger from the likes of the Pilaf gang or even volcanos and icy mountains, but a fire that literally bridges the gap between the living and the dead? Yeah, that's just supernatural and crazy enough for us to believe Goku could really die from coming into contact with it if he's not careful. It only really comes in at the last portion of the episode, but I can sympathize with how hard it must've been for Toei to come up with something at this particular stage of the story, so I have to give kudos where they're deserved. Once the fire is taken care of, Annin and Gohan wish the newlywed pair well, and then proceed to never be seen ever again. It's a shame for Gohan as I said before, but everything Annin takes care of will basically be handled in a different way by Toriyama in very short order anyway, so...yeah. She's rather expendable on that front, it's just a shame that Gohan ends up sharing chiefly the same fate. What's also a shame is that we don't actually get to see much of Goku and Chi Chi's wedding at all! Dragon Ball so rarely dabbles in romance – it's not something Toriyama is anywhere near good at writing, so it's probably for the best, as disappointing as that is – but c'mon Toei, you couldn't have at least thrown us a bone here? What's almost even more damning is what it does show us, in that nobody from Goku's group of friends is there to witness it. If we go by what we have here, the only people close to the pair that's in attendance for the wedding are Gyumao and Baba. I could kind of see Tenshinhan and Chaozu not showing up, but c'mon, at least Bulma, Yamcha, Puar, Oolong, Roshi, Kuririn, and Lunch all should've been invited and shown up – this is just a sad state of affairs. At the end of the day, I can't say this arc is particularly memorable. It tries to serve as a bridge between the end of the 23rd Tenkaichi Budokai and where the series will be going next with Goku's life, but all it really manages to do is be a romp that tries to be like old times. Which isn't to say it's terrible – it's actually kind of nice to have another adventure like that again. But it doesn't quite manage to stick the landing, passing up far too many chances to do something that Toriyama himself wouldn't have been equipped to do, while also relying a little too much on contrivances to get where it needs to be by the end. The arc's well worth watching at least once if you haven't seen it before, but beyond that, there's a reason it's not talked about as much as a bunch of other filler material in the franchise. Until next time! Favorite Scene: Seeing Goku and Chi Chi's wedding is a short but nice moment that it's kind of surprising we didn't get to see anywhere else but here. Next Time: Piccolo (and the Farmer) and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day
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Synopsis: Despite Goku's best efforts using the Basho Fan, the fire engulfing Gyumao's castle refuses to go out. Urunai Baba suddenly reappears, and tells Goku that it's no use, as these fires seem to be coming from the Eightfold Furnace, and as such the Fan will actually just make the fires worse. Using her crystal ball, Baba shows Goku and Chi Chi the Eightfold Furnace (which is shaped like an octagon), and explains that the Fan was originally used to fan it's flames. Goku asks how they can put the fire out then, and Baba says their only choice is to climb Mt. Gogyo and ask the Furnace's caretaker to put it out for them. Baba then reveals that Mt. Gogyo is on the exact opposite side of the world, prompting Goku and Chi Chi to rush quickly off on kinto'un, but Baba cautions them further, stating that the peak of the mountain leads to the next world where people's spirits go when they die, and says that no living person has ever made it there. She also warns them that evil spirits lurk at the base of the mountain, so even on their way up there, they'll surely come under attack. As Baba uses a megaphone to inform Gyumao of what's going on, he worries about his daughter and his new son. At Mt. Gogyo, Goku forces open the large gates to the mountain's base, and soon finds a long road surrounded by large rock spikes on all sides. The pair run along the road, eventually running across a long chasm in the middle of it. Goku tries calling for kinto'un but gets no response, leaving Goku no choice. He leaps across the chasm, easily making it to the other side, but Chi Chi's not sure she can do the same. She jumps, but bats suddenly attack, causing her to almost fall onto the spikes, but Goku saves her at the last second and pulls her back up onto the road. Running further down the road, the pair next comes across a bizarre fog, from which five shadowed warriors step out and tell them to leave. Goku refuses, but every time he tries to attack the warriors, they instantly disappear. Goku tries to get the drop on them with an afterimage, but soon finds himself cornered in mid-air, barely managing to dodge, receiving a cut on his cheek from it's sword, and almost falling onto the spikes below. Flipping back onto the road, Goku notes how good these fighters are, and decides to try a Kamehameha on them next. The blast envelopes the warriors, seeming to blow them away but causing rock debris to fly towards him and Chi Chi. As Goku tries to knock the rocks away, they fly back and form a large stone warrior. Goku realizes that they're getting nowhere fast at this rate, and pulls out the Basho Fan to try blowing away the stone warrior. The wind from the fan seems to work, but before Goku and Chi Chi can get much further down the road, lightning envelops the end of the road before them, and a humongous dragon suddenly appears. Before Goku can do anything, a large group of shadow warriors again appears behind them, forcing them forward towards the dragon by firing arrows at them. As Goku and Chi Chi run towards certain death, Chi Chi slips off of the road and falls to a lower one that seems to lead to a large field of flowers, a seemingly much safer route to take. The shadow warriors smile and disappear as Chi Chi points out this path to Goku just as the dragon comes towards them. Goku notices that the cut on his cheek is gone however, as is a similar injury he got from the arrows. He closes his eyes and tries to see things with his mind's eye, and as Chi Chi begs Goku to come with her down this other path, Goku tells her to trust him and stands his ground. Chi Chi moves to stand beside him, trusting in Goku, and as the dragon swipes it's tail at them, Goku leaps into the air and fires an energy blast that sends them flying into the dragon's mouth. Rather than being eaten however, the pair finds themselves flying through the air, as a voice remarks in shock that Mt. Gogyo is receiving its very first living visitors. Goku and Chi Chi find themselves back on the road, as Goku explains that everything they saw before now was an illusion designed to trick them, and they proceed further into the mountain. Back at his castle, Gyumao continues to run around with the wedding dress tucked under his arm, as at Mt. Gogyo, Goku and Chi Chi finally find their way to the Eightfold Furnace. Goku calls out for the caretaker to come talk to them, but soon receives a surprise, as out steps Grandpa Gohan. After recognizing Goku, Gohan is overjoyed to see his grandson as an adult, and as the two reconnect, Goku remembers that this place is supposed to be connected to the afterlife and Gohan wonders how he managed to get here while alive. Gohan asks Goku who the lady with him is, and Goku introduces Chi Chi as Gyumao's daughter and his wife. Gohan asks how Gyumao is and Goku explains what's going on, and Goku asks Gohan to help them with the fire, but Gohan explains that he's just helping out here, explaining that the caretaker is someone else. A woman's voice calls out and a gigantic figure appears behind the furnace, and Gohan introduces her as Annin, the caretaker of the Eightfold Furnace. Gohan explains to Annin that his grandson has come to see her, and the giant woman steps forward before shrinking down to normal human size and eating noodles. Goku asks Annin to put out the flames for a while, and Gohan and Annin theorize that there may be a hole in the Furnace if fire from it is reaching the exact opposite side of the world. That said however, they refuse to put out the fire, stating that if it does go out, both this world and the next will become like hell. Review: So after everything leading up to the Basho Fan turns out to be wasted time for our pair, you might be left wondering exactly where the story could go next now that all of that failed to work? The answer turns out to be surprisingly simple – go to the source of the fire itself. Yeah, it's a little weird that up until now, nobody questioned exactly why this fire had broken out like it had once before, just like it's a little weird that even the suggestion of using the Dragon Balls to put it out never comes up. Once we learn the fire's supernatural origins as well, I also can't help but be left wondering why Roshi's Kamehameha succeeded in putting it out all these years ago either. I mean, it seems like a pretty safe assumption that that fire was also caused by the Eightfold Furnace, right? Maybe Roshi's attack only put out the fire above ground, and it was always smoldering down below and just took this long to kick back up again, or...something. The story's not really concerned with the exact mechanics as to how this all works either, so it's probably best that we don't dwell on it too long either. Where the story does go is pretty interesting however, albeit in a way that's a little disappointing for any fan familiar with where the franchise will be going next. Without spoiling too much, let's just say that all of this talk about Mt. Gogyo and the Eightfold Furnace being related to the afterlife (something that will get fleshed out even further in the following episode), as well as it's caretaker, is going to ultimately amount to nothing as Toriyama is going to have his own take on such ideas in the very near future. In fact, without checking dates between these episodes airing and manga chapter dates for comparison, I can't say for certain, but there's a pretty good chance Toriyama's take had already been revealed in the manga by this point, as certain parts are exceptionally similar in some basic ways. The most notable of these are a long, treacherous road in the afterlife leading to some ultimate goal at the end of it – that's going to sound very, very familiar, very, very soon. The impending unimportance of this material aside however, this episode does manage to make itself entertaining enough, with the mountain throwing anything and everything it seemingly can at Goku and Chi Chi to try to stop their progress. About the only thing missing here is a snowstorm, but we already had that back at Mt. Misogyny. The shadow warriors in particular are pretty interesting, but in effect they don't really achieve anything more than any of the other illusions, though I do like things ultimately being taken care of by Goku utilizing some more of the training he received from at Kami's sanctuary. The big surprise at the end of the episode is the return of Grandpa Gohan, and it's this element that most makes me sad that this really is filler that's incompatible with the series at large. As far as the canon material goes, the fight at Baba's palace was the first and only time we ever get to see Grandpa Gohan. Even going by filler material, this is pretty much the only non-flashback appearance of him as well. It's a shame, because I really like the idea of him getting to see Goku at least one or two more times, to see how much his life has changed at various points. This time feels particularly meaningful, given that Goku has only recently gone through a great change in build, and that he's found someone to spend his life with as well. Dragon Ball being Dragon Ball of course, it doesn't linger on that for long, though at least this time it has an excuse, what with Gyumao about to burn alive and all. From Gohan's reveal comes the even bigger reveal (literally and figuratively) of Annin, as well as the idea that the furnace can't be put out. We aren't given real details as to why yet, just a vague mention that 'both worlds will be sent to hell', but given how much of this arc has already been 'one step forward, two steps back', it's fitting that something as seemingly helpful as running into Gohan again actually doesn't help at all. But what in the world could possibly be so bad about putting out some giant furnace, you might ask? Well... Until next time! Favorite Scene: It's a small moment as the plot quickly gets moving again, but I love an older Goku getting to meet Grandpa Gohan one more time, as well as introducing Chi Chi to him. Next Time: Married at last, and how...sweet it is...well, we'll talk about that soon enough. Synopsis: As Gyumao continues running for his life and to save his late wife's wedding dress from the fires engulfing his home, Goku and Chi Chi fly on kinto'un to an ice-covered mountain said to have something to do with the Basho Fan. As they get near the summit, a snowstorm suddenly kicks up and knocks them from the cloud, sending them crash-landing into a nearby forest and right in front of an old lady's home. The frozen couple introduces themselves to the old lady, who likewise introduces herself as the 'Octagon Woman'. The pair immediately wonder if this is who Baba meant all along and if the Basho Fan is finally close at hand. The Octagon Woman takes the pair inside to warm up, and informs Goku that the reason the snowstorm kicked up was because he tried to bring Chi Chi with him – the mountain has long been called 'Mt. No-Women-Allowed by locals due to a curse that refuses to let women set foot on it. She inquires why they want to go on the mountain in the first place, and when they explain about the Basho Fan, she claims to have never heard of it before. Goku finds this strange, given Baba's reading and the old lady's name being 'Octagon', but the lady reveals that they misheard her – her name is actually the 'Teeth-All-Gone Woman'. It seems like the Basho Fan isn't here after all, but the old woman consoles Goku, saying that if their goal is to put out a fire, then he just needs some of the snow off of the mountain, as it's so cold it can even freeze fire. Goku and Chi Chi think this sounds like a good plan after all, so Goku prepares to head out on his own this time to get some of the snow, leaving Chi Chi behind with the old lady. The woman asks Chi Chi if Goku is a good husband and if Chi Chi wants to be a good wife for him, and decides to 'train' Chi Chi in proper wifely etiquette. Flying over the mountain in an aircraft, the Pilaf gang looks all over, trying to find this Basho Fan thing that Goku and Chi Chi were looking for, thinking that it might be even more powerful than the Dragon Balls, and thus they could conquer the world with it for sure. A snowstorm kicks up again due to Mai's presence, freezing even the flames from their engines, and the trio crashes into the side of the mountain. In their robot suits, the trio tries desperately to salvage their ship when suddenly Goku comes across them, interrupting and causing them to let their ship fall to the ground below. Mai tries firing a rocket at Goku, but it misses and fails to hit Pilaf only due to the flame freezing again. Goku thinks this snow really will work after all. Back at the old lady's house, the woman sets Chi Chi to cleaning up various neglected and messy rooms of her home, instructing her that if she needs water that there's a lake just a few valleys past the forest. Pilaf demands that Goku hand over this Basho Fan thing, and tries to instruct Shu and Mai to attack, but they balk due to knowing how strong Goku is. Goku wonders how they even know about the Fan, and though the trio ultimately does try to attack him again, they find that all of their fire-based weaponry instantly freezes. Goku figures out that Mai is a girl, and tells the trio that it's because of her presence that the mountain is making a snowstorm. Hearing this, Pilaf kicks Mai down the mountain as a test, and sure enough, the snow instantly stops. Back at the old lady's house, Chi Chi throws herself into the housework set to her, determined to prove that she can be a good housewife for Goku. Meanwhile, back on the mountain, Goku rolls up a massive snowball, thinking it'll be easier to carry back the snow this way. Pilaf thinks this is the perfect time to try to attack Goku again, but just as they try, Mai returns and causes the snowstorm to kick off once again. Pilaf vows to Goku that this won't be their final meeting, and the trio rush off. Chi Chi brings a cup of tea to the old lady as she tends to her bees, claiming to have finished all of the housework. The old lady next sets her to tending to her garden, which just so happens to be the entire forest, telling her about a dustpan out back that she can use. As Goku tries carrying back the snow, it all starts to melt. Meanwhile, the old lady looks over Chi Chi's housecleaning efforts, finding that she did well save for a pile of broken dishes. Suddenly, Chi Chi is attacked by a gigantic bee, and in her efforts to shoo it away, she swings the dustpan at it, inadvertently causing a strong wind – the 'dustpan' is actually the Basho Fan, which the old lady found on the beach years ago. As Goku returns to the house, dejected due to the snow all melting, Chi Chi shouts up to him that they found the Basho Fan. The pair is excited to return home and save Gyumao now, but the Pilaf trio reappears and steals the fan out of Chi Chi's hands. Goku demands that they give it back, but Shu threatens to cut it with scissors if Goku doesn't back down. Mai wonders if such a grubby looking thing can really be worth all that much however, so Pilaf asks Chi Chi what it is. She tells him to try swinging it and find out, so Pilaf orders Shu to give it a swing. He does so, and sends Pilaf and Mai flying towards the mountain again, after which Shu flees in fear, dropping the Fan before Goku and Chi Chi. Chi Chi thanks the old lady for teaching her so much, but the old lady has one final gift for Chi Chi before she leaves, handing her a small vial of honey made by her bees, revealing that it's extremely rare as her bees only live in octagon shaped beehives. The old lady thinks the honey will come in handy for them someday as it's said to have many great properties, and tells Chi Chi she has faith that she'll become a great bride. As the Pilaf gang are once again beset by a snowstorm on the mountain, Goku and Chi Chi return to Mt. Frypan at last with the Basho Fan in hand. Goku swings the fan numerous times, but no matter how hard they try, it doesn't seem to be able to put the flames out at all. Review: There's a lot of places you could have predicted this episode to go, but I don't think there's any way you could have predicted that it would involve a sexist mountain. And yet, here we are, at the foot of Mt. Misogyny. There's never really much of a reason given for why this particular mountain is cursed so that women can't step foot on it, but at the end of the day, I guess it doesn't really need one, as it's really just a means to an end to set up two different things – Chi Chi having to stay behind with the old lady they've just met, and some amusing antics with the Pilaf gang trying to deal with Goku. The first part of that setup is the main focus of the episode in a lot of ways, especially given how it's that relationship that ultimately leads to the end of the episode and where the story will be going next. Having Chi Chi, who was so fervent about marrying Goku that she suddenly reappeared in his life at the Tenkaichi Budokai of all places, have to undergo 'training' to become a housewife is...well, it sure is a thing, I guess. I'm holding back from putting my full thoughts on where Chi Chi's character is ultimately going until we get to her (or at least discussion of her) when I get back to the manga, but suffice to say, a lot of issues I have with the character could be placed at the foot of the Teeth-All-Gone lady apparently, at least in-universe. Oof. The latter part with the Pilaf gang is actually really funny, and makes for a way for them to interact with the now much stronger Goku in a way that doesn't leave them as completely flummoxed as they otherwise would be. Goku doesn't have to do a thing to stop them, the mountain keeps doing that for him by freezing the flames needed for their attacks. It's also just hilarious to see Pilaf just throw Mai off of the mountain to see if Goku's lying to him or not. Remember that this is a character that finds crass things to be absolutely horrifying, but seemingly has no problem yeeting his own servant off a mountain on the off chance that his enemy is telling him the truth, but doesn't think far enough ahead to realize that the decrease in man power is going to make the job of taking down this incredibly strong foe even harder. I love Pilaf's stupidity. Beyond that, the only other thing to really talk about in this episode is how they finally come across the Basho Fan – apparently when Roshi threw it out, it eventually washed up on the shores of a beach near here, and this old lady has just been using it as a dustpan for years. Guess it's a good thing she never tried to shake any lingering dust off of it, she could've blown away her whole house. From there, the ending of this episode continues to do what this arc as a whole has done for it's whole run thus far, and show that every step forward is actually a step back seemingly. Not only did the snow turn out to be a bust, but now the Basho Fan itself, the thing that they were desperately trying to find some way to get, doesn't seem to work on the fire at all. With that option exhausted, is there any way at all for them to save Gyumao? ...Is...there any reason at all that none of them are considering the Dragon Balls? I guess the idea is that it would perhaps take too long to gather them all again, and given how every other quest to gather them really has turned into a whole debacle that's a fair assumption, but c'mon, they're already spending a lot longer trying to save things than they expected, just go summon Shenlong and ask for help! Until next time! Favorite Scene: Pilaf kicking Mai off of the mountain just to test if what Goku told him about the mountain being sexist is hilarious. Next Time: Oh, things weren't weird enough already? Let's make it all MYSTICAL now. Synopsis: As Goku and Chi Chi head to Roshi's for more clues about the Basho Fan, the Pilaf crew spies on a man investigating an active volcano. Meanwhile, the villagers continue trying desperately to put out the fire engulfing Gyumao's castle, but nothing they try seems to have any effect on the blaze. Finally arriving at Kame House, Goku has to reintroduce himself and Chi Chi to the turtle who doesn't quite seem to recognize them now that they've grown up. The couple soon finds that everyone else still hasn't made it back from the Tenkaichi Budokai yet, but the turtle is more than willing to help the pair look for the book said to show how to make a new Basho Fan. Digging through piles of old dirty magazines in Roshi's closet, the Turtle eventually finds an old hermit manual that indeed describes how to make a Basho Fan, revealing it to be made from the feathers of a magical Fire-Eating Bird that lives at Mt. Kiwi. With a new destination in mind, Goku and Chi Chi fly off on kinto'un once more, with Chi Chi enjoying spending time with her husband-to-be. Eventually the pair comes to the volcanic Mt. Kiwi, and upon entering it, run into a large lizard. The creature at first appears to want to eat them, but Goku is able to calm it down, with the whole scene being witnessed by Shu and Mai who surmise that the pair of strangers must be looking for the bird as well. As they try to leave to go inform Pilaf of their company, Shu tries to calm the creature in the same manner as Goku, but fails and almost gets eaten. Goku and Chi Chi continue further into the volcano, all the while being tailed by Shu and Mai, and eventually Chi Chi stumbles and falls into another area, where they discover a large egg surrounded by a bunch of computers. Chi Chi guesses that it might be the Fire-Eating Bird's egg, and the pair are soon approached by the man that Shu and Mai spotted before, who tells them not to mess with the egg. The man confirms their guess as to the egg's nature, and when they ask where the mother is, the man tells them that it died forty years prior during an eruption, and that he's been taking care of the egg in the hopes that it will one day hatch, but he can't be sure when or if that day will ever come. Seeming to be at a dead end once more, Goku and Chi Chi prepare to go back to Baba for more help, but their departure is interrupted by the arrival of a large drill-bearing vehicle. Shu and Mai step out of it and demand the egg be handed over to them, and as Goku starts to think that they look familiar, they soon introduce their leader, Emperor Pilaf. Pilaf talks about his plan to sell the egg for great wealth due to it being the only one in existence, and when the scientist tells him to leave it alone, Pilaf turns to his cronies and whispers a plan to them. They ask Chi Chi to come over for a moment, and though she hesitates at first, she ultimately does and gets 'taken hostage' by Mai. Pilaf tells them to hand over the egg if they want her back alive, but as Shu and Mai get a better look at Goku, they finally start to think he looks familiar. They ask Chi Chi for his name, and when she tells them 'Son Goku', they finally recognize him and start to freak out. Chi Chi uses this opportunity to knock them both aside, and as Pilaf tries to rush back to the drill ship, Goku cuts him off and punches the ship hard into the side of the volcano. This is enough for Pilaf to finally recognize him as well, and the trio immediately flees in fear, now knowing that they're in far over their heads. The scientist thanks Goku and Chi Chi for their help, and the pair starts to leave once again, when the volcano starts to erupt. To their surprise however, an adult Fire-Eating Bird steps forth from the flames and lava, and flies over to the egg. It soon begins to peck at the egg, cracking it and ultimately freeing the baby inside. With the baby safe at last, Goku quickly gets everyone out of the volcano before they can get hurt, and they watch the new parent and child leave, leaving some feathers behind that fall towards them. As they try to catch the feathers however, they discover that they burn away into ash as soon as they're touched. When they ask the scientist about it, he says that story they heard was a load of rubbish, as the Fire-Eating Bird would starve to death if it's feathers put out it's own source of food – back at Kame House, Roshi likewise chastises the turtle, saying that he was drunk when he wrote that book. All seems lost, but the scientist tells Goku and Chi Chi about a place far to the north called Ice Mountain that he's heard there supposedly being a Basho Fan at. As Goku and Chi Chi fly towards another place to investigate, Chi Chi is revealed to have taken a piece of the Fire-Eating Bird's eggshell as a souvenir, and the Pilaf gang is shown overhearing where they're heading next. Review: Man, if I had a dime for every time a volcano was a threat in Dragon Ball filler...I'd have two dimes, but it is strange that it happened twice, right? To be fair, the volcano's never really much of a threat in this episode, certainly not as much as it was in the previous filler installment. Neither are the Pilaf gang for that matter, but that's okay – at the point that we've gotten to with Goku, it was going to be exceedingly hard for the writers at the time to come up with a credible threat for him to face, given that it's something Toriyama was having to reinvent the series a bit with in the next manga arc as well. That arc would have already been running at the time these episodes aired, and probably when they were produced as well, but they wouldn't have wanted to step on his toes probably either. In effect, this episode shows even more so how this arc is returning Dragon Ball to it's comedy adventure roots more than it's been in some time. A lot of the antics that are happening here are very much the kind of antics you'd expect from the series earlier in it's run, and coming back to them now definitely feels a little nostalgic. The story's elements aid a lot in that feeling too, especially with so much of it focusing around the Basho Fan, an item we had referred to back in the first arc but never got to see in action. As things stand now, we still haven't either. Goku and Chi Chi's efforts towards finding the fan keeps leading them in circles, and every step forward basically sends them on another rat race. We're only two episodes into this adventure, and they've already changed directions three times and are on their way to a fourth – it's certainly a hectic pace, but it does keep you on your toes and prevents you from getting bored, even as things kind of slow and things don't happen for a while. It might sound like I'm calling this episode boring, and really there isn't a lot that sticks out as things that make this episode 'great', but it really does manage to be entertaining enough. One thing I really love about it – beyond the Pilaf gangs antics I mean, I always love that – is how it keeps the DB tradition of things not turning out to look like what you might imagine them to. All throughout the episode, we keep getting discussions about the Fire-Eating Bird, and between it's name and where it lives, you'd naturally start imagining some sort of phoenix-looking creature. What we actually get in the end is more along the lines of a giant ostrich that just walks across the sky rather than flying. It's completely derpy and I kind of love it. As mentioned before, this episode doesn't really get Goku and Chi Chi any closer to saving Gyumao and putting out the fire, but with another lead to chase down and the Pilaf gang seeming like they might still be involved somehow, things are greatly set up to get even more hectic. Until next time! Favorite Scene: It's short-lived, but I absolutely love the return of the Pilaf gang – especially once they realize who Goku is and decide they want absolutely no part of any of this. Next Time: So THIS lady's who we can blame for modern Chi Chi, good to know. Synopsis: After leaving the 23rd Tenkaichi Budokai, Goku and Chi Chi fly on kinto'un back to Gyumao's rebuilt castle, which towers above a nearby village. Gyumao is thrilled that his daughter and Goku are finally getting married, and treats Goku to a lavish dinner and says he's going to throw the two of them a big wedding ceremony as well. Gyumao then tells Chi Chi that he still has her mother's wedding dress from when they got married, and he'd like to give it to Chi Chi to wear for her wedding as well. Chi Chi is ecstatic and wants to have the wedding ceremony as soon as possible, and Gyumao promises her it'll be the biggest ceremony the area's ever seen, but as they'll need help from the local villagers, it will take a little time to put together first. The villagers all help set up the castle as Gyumao oversees their work and thinks of his own late wife. The festivities are soon interrupted however by an earthquake strong enough that it starts to break the castle apart. Things only get worse from there however as fire begins to erupt from the ground, and the villagers flee for their lives. Goku and Chi Chi start to leave as well but stop when Chi Chi remembers that the wedding dress is in her father's room. Gyumao tells them to leave it to him, and rushes upstairs to get the dress. Goku tries to rush after him but is cut off by the fire, which soon engulfs the entire castle. Goku tries using a Kamehameha to put out the fire, trying to do a weak enough one to spare the castle from being destroyed much as Roshi's did years before. The attack is successful, but the fire immediately starts back up just as fierce as it had before. Goku next gets on kinto'un to try to fly overhead and rescue Gyumao, but the fire once again stops his efforts. Inside the castle, Gyumao rushes through the hallways with the wedding dress under arm, noting that the fire is acting weird. Once on the rooftop, he shouts to Goku, telling him that only the Basho Fan can put out these flames, causing Goku to remember the fan that Roshi was said to once have. He recalls that it got dirty and Roshi had thrown it out, and seeing little other choice, Goku decides to go ask Urunai Baba for help divining it's location. Baba tries to help, but has caught a cold that causes her to have a hard time using her magic. She eventually divines an octagon, saying that it seems to have something to do with the fan and that it seems to lie to the east, so Goku grabs both her and Chi Chi and flies away on kinto'un once again. Following Baba's crystal ball, the trio eventually finds their way to a small village where Goku sees a familiar face. He walks up to a pig that he thinks is Oolong, but the pig tells him that his name is Jasmine. Goku is surprised to see a second 'Oolong' step out, and Jasmine has the new pig help explain to Goku that he's not Oolong, though both pigs do vaguely remember that being the name of a guy who studied at the Southern Transformation Kindergarten and got kicked out for harassing the teacher. Jasmine is offended that he'd be mistaken for some pervert like that, seeing as he's the greatest gentleman in all of Octagon Village. Hearing that name, Chi Chi immediately asks if they know where the Basho Fan is, but neither pig has ever heard of it, and wonder if she instead means the Basho Hot Spring. Baba has heard of it and says it's said to be able to cure any ailment, so she drags Chi Chi along to bathe in it (exciting the two pigs who begin to drool at the idea of a naked Chi Chi), as Baba thinks she'll be much more help to them once her cold is cured. Thinking that Goku will only get in their way, the two pigs lie and say they do suddenly remember that some kind of magical fan is said to be in a valley nearby, and Goku decides to go investigate while the girls head to the hot spring. As Goku looks for the fan, the pigs lead Chi Chi and Baba to the open air hot springs, and are excited to start peeping on Chi Chi. Chi Chi is worried about Goku, but Baba eventually convinces her to trust him and get into the water with her. Goku finds the valley at last and comes upon a large octagon shaped 'pond', just as a large crowd of pigs is revealed to have gathered, all of their peeping attempts causing the changing room to collapse. Chi Chi screams, just as Goku spots something in the water and dives in to grab what he thinks is the Basho Fan. As Chi Chi knocks away the perverted pigs, Goku causes the whole hot spring to drain away like a bath tub, as it's revealed what he thought was the Basho Fan was actually the stopper keeping the water in the hot spring. All seems lost at first, but Chi Chi soon spots an odd inscription on the side of the large stopper, that seems to be instructions on how to make a Basho Fan. Chi Chi can't quite understand part of it however, but Baba recalls seeing this diagram once in a book at her brother's house, so Goku and Chi Chi rush off to Kame House, leaving Baba to soak in the puddle of hot springs water that's left. Review: In the manga, everything about Goku and Chi Chi's marriage is handled entirely off-screen – er, off-page. By the time the next chapter that I'll be reviewing rolls around, there will already be some rather big developments and changes for the characters (though I don't think we're made privy to most of those changes until the following chapter, if I recall correctly). Because it needed a few weeks to let the manga get a little further ahead again, the anime decided to jump on the good opportunity presented to them to flesh things out a bit further, resulting in this five episode filler arc to close out the original Dragon Ball anime. For the most part, this first episode does a pretty good job setting up the problem that the characters are going to need to deal with, as well as seemingly presenting the way to fix it, though that of course leads to new problems of it's own. It's pretty fun to see the series delve back into a bit of an 'adventure' story, when it's been almost entirely focused on martial arts for the longest time now, though whether this story will be ultimately memorable will be something we'll talk about as we go along. As far as the characters themselves go, it's particularly interesting to see what Gyumao is like nowadays, as well as what his new lot in life appears to be. Gone is the armor-wearing monster of a man we saw way back when, and in his place is a large, doting man wearing normal clothes and an ox-horned hat on top of his head. This design actually comes from further into the manga than where we are currently, but I guess the anime staff decided to introduce it a bit earlier here. What's even more interesting is that all around his rebuilt castle is a village of people that seem thrilled to have him there. It's weird, it was implied that there were nearby villagers back in the first arc, but this is the first time we've seen them. Given how Gyumao acted back then, I guess he probably drove most of them away, and now they've come back? Either that or these are all new people invited to the village as a result of his changed demeanor. Either way, it's a little weird to see him treated as actual royalty, though it does explain his stores of cash that he apparently still has. The most interesting aspect of this early part of the episode is the brief moments we get talking about Gyumao's (presumably) late wife and Chi Chi's mother. What we get isn't much, but it does serve to make you all the more curious about what kind of woman she was in life. You also can't help but wonder...well...not to be too lewd, but how in the hell did they even PROCREATE? We don't see her face, but a painting shows that the woman was normal sized as opposed to Gyumao's massive build, so...yeah. It's uh...it's certainly a quandary. Moving on from that, the story itself changes suddenly after this opening act as well, as the fire that Roshi once put out once again engulfs the castle. Back then, we never really got much details as to how the castle got caught ablaze, but it did seem weird that it just kept burning for as long as it apparently did, and nothing was able to put it out. Well, now that we see the fire starting again, we can tell that there's definitely something particularly strange about it. This time around, even a Kamehameha doesn't do the trick, leaving only the Basho Fan as a method for putting the fire out. This of course presents the same problem it did back in the original story arc of the series – the Basho Fan's long gone, tossed away when Roshi got rid of it. The roster of characters have expanded greatly since then however, so Goku immediately thinks to go ask Baba for help, but of course, Baba's sick, leading to yet another side quest opening up – it really does basically turn into an RPG fetch quest at this point. Goku takes Baba and Chi Chi to where her crystal ball points to something 'Basho Fan' related, and they run into pig people that Goku mistakes for Oolong. A little bit racist, when you think about it, actually... You'd think we'd get a bit more on Oolong's backstory here, but all we really get is a repeat of what we already knew, which is a shame. The entire hot springs situation basically serves to set up things to happen in the rest of the arc to follow, with their next stop being heading to Roshi's after all. But will this wild goose chase actually result in a Basho Fan, or will that ultimately be just as much of a dead end as it was in the first story arc? The arc's only started, but one thing's for sure – it's definitely going to be a different sort of ride than what our last storyline was. Until next time! Favorite Scene: Gyumao and Chi Chi thinking back on the 'Ox Queen' is a sweet moment. Next Time: If they really needed someone that could eat fire, all they had to do was put in a call to Fairy Tail. Synopsis: As the volcano near the village continues to erupt, the villagers flee in fear, taking what few belongings they can carry. Mint's grandfather stays behind, continuing to pray to the fallen statue of the mountain god, and Mint tries to get him to leave, but Paoru says they have no time to waste and need to run away. Mint asks Paoru if he thinks Kuririn and the others will be okay, and Paoru scoffs, calling them fools for running up the mountain and thinking they can do something against the anger of the mountain's god. As they run up the mountain, Chaozu asks Tenshinhan if he has a plan, and Tenshinhan says this is the perfect chance for him to show how strong he is, with Yamcha and Kuririn in agreement. Up on Kami's sanctuary, Goku continues his training and tries to catch a fleeing Popo while blindfolded. Popo chastises Goku for trying to find him by following the sound of his voice and tells him to instead sense Popo's ki, but Goku can't quite seem to figure out how to do that. Coming face to face with the approaching lava, Yamcha and Kuririn brace themselves as another massive earthquake sets off below their feet, with Tenshinhan and Chaozu avoiding it by flying. Kuririn falls into a crevice that opens in the ground, only to be saved by Chaozu, prompting Tenshinhan to suggest that it might be a good idea for them to teach Kuririn and Yamcha how to fly. Mint tries again to get her grandfather to leave, but the old man insists on staying until the end to pray with all his might for the mountain god to spare the village. Kuririn rushes ahead of the others as the magma begins flowing towards them, and wishes he could have shown Mint this as he fires a Kamehameha at the lava. All he ends up accomplishing however is making the lava flow faster. Tenshinhan tries next, using his Dodonpa to cause a landslide to block the lava, but this causes it to divert into two different flows still heading for the village. Kuririn runs off ahead again to try and save Mint, as Yamcha tries to figure out some way they can stop the lava. While wishing that it would rain, he spots a large waterfall nearby and asks Tenshinhan to handle the lava for now with Chaozu. Figuring out Yamcha's plan, Tenshinhan repeatedly fires Dodonpa into the magma to try and keep it at bay as much as he can. Kuririn runs through the village trying to find Mint, eventually finding her with her grandfather and Paoru at the fallen mountain god statue. Kuririn pleads with them to leave with him, but Mint says her grandfather refuses to leave as the old man says there's no way the mountain god will abandon them if he keeps praying. Kuririn tells them the lava is moving fast, but Paoru shuts him down, saying that an outsider like him has no right to question them. The volcano erupts even harder, sending more lava cascading down the ground, and even as Tenshinhan makes a large chasm in the ground to stem it's flow, it almost immediately overflows and continues on it's path towards the village. Yamcha fires a Kamehameha into the wall of the waterfall, trying to free up more water, but doesn't blow up as much of it as he'd hoped, cursing himself as he's certain Goku would have done much more damage. Trying again, Yamcha manages to cause a tidal wave of water to flow out towards the magma, cooling it down and putting out fires. Much to the delight of Mint's family and other villagers hiding just outside of town, the village appears to be saved, and the people return. Mint's grandfather says his prayers must have worked after all, and as Kuririn congratulates Tenshinhan and Yamcha for helping out, Paoru accosts them and accuses them of having done nothing, saying it was only the grandfather's prayers that made a difference. Kuririn angrily objects, but before anything more can be said, Chaozu predicts another eruption, and lava soon erupts out of the ground just in front of the village. The villagers flee again as Mint's grandfather falls to the groudn in prayer once more, and Kuririn, Yamcha, and Tenshinhan have to break a large rock just as it hurtles towards the family. Paoru apologizes for his treatment of them, and the fighters make one final stand against the magma, with Yamcha and Tenshinhan firing a Kamehameha and Dodonpa respectively to create a large enough trench to divert the lava. With the village saved once more, Mint rushes forward to thank Kuririn, as the village as a whole thanks the group for saving them. The group then leaves to continue their search for Karin Tower, as Goku continues his own training at Kami's sanctuary for the next three years. Review: As fun as it was seeing the focus shift to Kuririn and the others rather than Goku, I can't lie – I don't really think the story for these past two episodes was quite strong enough to stretch across more than one. There's probably a reason this episode in particular is filled with repeated shots of the lava just moving closer and closer to the village, as well as a shot of Kuririn moving a large boulder that...doesn't seem to actually change anything. I think they were struggling to get more out of this concept, and if nothing else, I do have to hand it to them that they didn't just revert to showing Goku much more, or having something he was doing tie in to what they were doing somehow. That praise still really isn't enough to save the episode as a whole for me though. There's far too much repetitiveness from the previous episode, and in this one towards itself even, for me to get past. There's some effort given to give each character something different to do and to change how they interact with what's going on – Tenshinhan wants to prove that he can be as strong as Goku, Yamcha wants to prove a similar notion though for him it's more about not wanting to get left behind, Kuririn wants to impress the girl, and Chaozu...Chaozu senses things – but it all largely leads them to the exact same place and plans, so it doesn't really pay off unfortunately. There is one moment of the episode that I do feel speaks volumes however, though I don't know if Toei meant it to. At the end of the last episode and through much of this one, Mint's grandfather refuses to leave, putting all his faith in praying to the mountain god. The other villagers, even though they run, were also shown to be very particular about their faith in the god. Even Paoru, who seems to be able to see at least somewhat more how strong the group is than the other villagers can, comes down hard on the side of placing their faith in the god and scoffs at the idea that they actually did anything for the situation. In the end however, it's definitely Kuririn and the others' actions that actually save the day. There's definitely an argument to be made for the theme at play here – faith in whatever you believe in is perfectly fine, but sometimes, faith isn't enough. If it was, a lot more things in this world would be less screwed up than they are (I'm speaking EXTREMELY broadly here, mind you). Faith, no matter how devout, however, only goes so far, and sometimes, it's only going to be through human effort that things actually get done. Faith can be a reason for humans to take action, but action still has to occur for anything to get done. It's a big reason why the phrase 'thoughts and prayers' are so widely lampooned whenever they're used after a tragedy, because in effect? They do nothing, sadly. But again, I'm not sure how much of that is actually what the writers of this episode intended, versus what I'm getting out of it via my own beliefs. I would definitely be interested in hearing other people's interpretation of this part of the episode. The manga skipped over pretty much all of Goku and the others training in this period, which is a shame. Honestly though, as fun as some parts of these episodes can be, I can't really say Toei's efforts to show it were much better, due to the way they were handled. A nice effort Toei, but there's probably a reason that not a lot from these episodes tend to be remembered by the fandom at large. Moving onward from here though, we'll be getting to the 23rd Tenkaichi Budokai proper, as well as some really big changes for our characters, and I can't wait. Until next time! Favorite Scene: Kuririn falling into the crevice only to get saved by Chaozu is a nice moment, given their history. Next Time: The more things change, the more they stay the same. Synopsis: In a small village, a strange ceremony is held before a large statue of a demon. Nearby, Kuririn, Yamcha, Tenshinhan, and Chaozu camp out for the night, with Kuririn wondering if Karin Tower really exists. Tenshinhan says it must because Goku himself said that he trained there and that he got much stronger from doing so, and Kuririn wonders if he can climb it as well. Yamcha says he'll have to, they'll all have to, if they want to catch up to Goku. Tenshinhan says they should look for a house in the area tomorrow to ask for directions to the tower, and the group goes to sleep. Later that night, Kuririn wakes up to find Tenshinhan awake and staring at the sky. The others wake up as well, as Tenshinhan says that he can hear the sound of drums and people singing and shouting. None of the others can hear it, but Chaozu becomes transfixed by a vision, and tells them all that something terrible is going to happen. Kuririn tells Chaozu not to scare them like that, and he and Yamcha go back to sleep, as Tenshinhan and Chaozu continue to be concerned. Up on Kami's sanctuary, Goku awakens for another day of training, and Mr. Popo says that he'll be Goku's opponent again today. Goku says he won't lose as easily today, but Popo tells him they won't be fighting – instead, they'll be playing tag. Popo covers his eyes with a blindfold and tells Goku to run and hide wherever he wants and Popo will try to find him. Goku thinks this will be easy, but quickly finds that he's unable to get away from Popo, who is sensing his ki wherever the boy goes. Kuririn and the others approach a mountain village, with Kuririn especially hoping to find a hot meal and maybe even a cute girl there, but Yamcha tells him not to get his hopes up. The group soon runs into another group wearing demon masks and wielding pitchforks, but are surprised when one of them turns out to be a cute girl. The villagers all take off their masks and prove to be friendly, asking if the group has come for the festival and inviting them to the village to celebrate with them. The girl explains to Kuririn that the village comes together to express gratitude to their mountain god once a year, and points to a nearby mountain as the location of their mountain god. As the group continues to get shown around, Kuririn introduces himself to the girl who likewise introduces herself as Mint. Before Kuririn can get any closer to her however, a large flock of birds suddenly flies overhead, and Chaozu again feels uneasy. Up at Kami's sanctuary, Goku continues to try to outrun a pursuing Mr. Popo, but to no avail as he is once again caught by him. Goku asks Popo how he always knows where he is, and Popo says that he could sense Goku's ki. They then switch places, with Goku wearing the blindfold and trying to find Popo, but Goku proves unable to follow Popo's ki the same way that Popo was his. Popo explains that while Goku can't conceal his ki, Popo can, and this is another skill that Goku needs to master. Back in the village, the celebration continues with lots of food, and even a small fighting ring where fighters are able to show off their skills if they wish. Yamcha asks Mint for directions to Karin Tower, but she's never heard of it, saying that maybe her grandfather would know more. Chaozu continues to stare at the mountain with concern, and Tenshinhan asks him what's the matter, but Chaozu isn't sure. As a man named Paoru is declared the village's strongest for the fifth year running, Mint introduces Kuririn's group to her grandfather, who insists they all sit and celebrate with them before talking. The group does, and though Kuririn at first objects to a drink that's handed to him, he downs it when being told that it's just juice – however, he still ends up drunk. Mint asks the inebriated Kuririn if he does martial arts as well, and he says that he does, while Tenshinhan catches Paoru giving him the stink eye. Paoru challenges Tenshinhan to a fight, and Mint's grandfather says he'll tell them whatever they want to know if they actually manage to beat Paoru. A drunken Kuririn insists on fighting instead however, and although Paoru thinks it laughable, agrees. Mint tells her brother to do his best, and Kuririn is shocked to hear that he and Mint are siblings. Paoru thinks Kuririn has left himself wide open, and Kuririn is somewhat off his game due to being drunk, but he still manages to dodge pretty much all of Paoru's blows, even while growing dizzier and dizzier throughout. Seeing Mint watching him however, Kuririn gets a second wind and defeats Paoru almost by accident. Paoru is shocked, but congratulates Kuririn on his victory, though he's confused when Kuririn refers to him as 'brother'. As Yamcha starts to ask Mint's grandfather about Karin Tower, the village's animals start to go nuts, and Chaozu loudly proclaims that the mountain is going to explode soon. The villagers are shocked and outraged to hear such a thing said about their guardian deity, on the day of their festival no less, but Chaozu insists it's about to happen. Much to their horror, the ground begins to shake, and Kuririn has to save Mint and Paoru from a falling statue of the mountain god as the mountain erupts, proving itself to be a volcano. Mint's grandfather says they must have angered the god in some way and says they all need to pray hard to be spared his wrath, as lava begins to pour down the mountain towards the village. Kuririn tells the villagers they need to get out fast, and Tenshinhan says he'll stop the lava, thinking this is the perfect chance to train. Yamcha tells him it's a crazy idea, but Tenshinhan says that Goku could probably do it, so he'll have to do the same if he wants to catch up to him. Yamcha, Kuririn, and Chaozu agree in the end, and rush off with him to try to find some way to stop the lava's advance. Review: What do you know, I was wrong – they COULDN'T get through an episode without showing Goku at least once. Thankfully, as it is once again just a new variation on the same theme, Goku's part of this episode is very much the B plot as opposed to the A as it was before. As such, there's not really much for me to comment on with him, though one thing I do want to draw attention to is the exact nature of Popo's lesson this time. It was somewhat alluded to before, but here Popo straight up says that one of the things he needs Goku to learn how to do is mask his own energy, making himself harder or impossible to sense. This is something we'll see done pretty constantly by our heroes in future arcs, and something that becomes so second nature to them that it actually kind of bites them in the butt in an even further arc, so it's interesting to see it's humble beginnings here. The main crux of the episode however is with Kuririn and the others going to the mountain village. The group is still trying to find their way to Karin Tower, and only stop at this village initially to ask for directions, but leave it to Kuririn to find a reason to want to stay around a little bit longer. It's been a long time since it really came up, but Kuririn's goal in life is basically still the same thing that it was when we were first introduced to him. He didn't exactly get into martial arts for purely altruistic reasons, he got into them because he thought they'd help him impress girls. So far, the series hasn't really given him much in the way to see if that's worked for him or not. The only girls he's been around really have been Lunch and Bulma, who are both older than him. One's also potentially scary, while the other is definitely scary and also in an off-again, on-again relationship. He's always been training at Kame House otherwise, or at the tournaments, or most recently...well, dead. Here however, he's finally able to meet a girl that's seemingly his own age, and he's gonna do his best to try to appeal to her if he can. Kuririn's romantic longings are only part of what's going on here however, with much more emphasis being placed on the collective desire of the group to get stronger and keep up with Goku, as well as the impending doom that Chaozu keeps sensing. Chaozu's premonitions end up turning true when the mountain the village keeps worshipping turns out to actually be a dormant volcano. Well, dormant until now anyway. This actually makes for a pretty good problem for our heroes to have to deal with, because it's an extremely strong force of nature that normally would be far beyond the capabilities of martial artists to deal with, but without making it a new character that we'd be left wondering how Goku would deal with them if he were here. There's also another factor to this that will get brought up more next episode, but it's already teased a bit here with the villagers disbelief that someone would dare suggest something bad about their god. Ahh, religion. Until next time! Favorite Scene: Kuririn's drunken moments are pretty great, especially his fight with Paozu. Next Time: Despite it being a pretty good match for them, you never see the volcano playable in any fighting games, SMH. Synopsis: Goku wakes up for another day of training at Kami's sanctuary and begins meditating, but Mr. Popo tells him he hasn't fully mastered what he should be doing yet. As they speak, Popo waters the flower beds around the sanctuary, instantly bringing drooping flowers back to life with 'the water of life' that can grant life to anything. Popo suddenly has an idea and offers Goku a new form of training – a sparring partner. Goku likes that idea, so Popo says he'll bring him by shortly. When Goku asks if this opponent is good, Popo assures him that he'll match Goku's skills perfectly. Popo then takes a hair from Goku's head, and leaves the boy to meditate while Popo goes to 'retrieve' his sparring partner. In another room of the sanctuary however, Popo builds a doll out of clay, and sticks Goku's hair into it's chest. Down on the Earth, Tenshinhan, Yamcha, Kuririn, and Chaozu jog towards the land of Karin with the intention of scaling Karin's tower and receiving the same training that Goku did previously. As they race past people and even a car, they eventually come to a large mountain they'll have to climb first as well, with Kuririn vowing not to lose to Chaozu (who can fly). Mr. Popo finishes working on the doll he was working on, and it follows him out of the back of the sanctuary, where he introduces it to an impatient Goku. Goku has his doubts and asks Goku if this opponent is really that strong, and Popo assures him that he'll find out when they fight. Popo says the pair will fight until one of them is unable to continue, and Goku and the doll begin their fight, with the doll almost perfectly mirroring Goku's fighting style. Goku is surprised to find his opponent's power, speed, and technique are almost exactly like his own, but notices one difference right away – he's getting out of breath due to the thin air, while his opponent isn't. As the two start to fight again, Mr. Popo pops a balloon, distracting Goku long enough for the doll to knock Goku down, with Popo chastising the boy and telling him not to get distracted. Goku decides to up the ante and moves fast enough to leave behind multiple after-images, but his opponent sees through them and hits the real Goku, knocking him down again. The doll continues to surprise Goku, but nothing surprises him more than when he knock's it's mask off and sees his own face looking back at him. Popo reveals the origin of Goku's opponent to him, and the fight continues, with Goku at first faring no better than he did before. Popo listens as the two move fast enough to be unseen and clash violently, but eventually the doll gets the better of Goku yet again. Goku finds that he can't read any of the doll's movements even though it seems to be able to read his, and Popo says it's due to ki – with Goku so full of bloodlust in the fight, even the doll can tell what he's going to do before he does it. Deciding to try something different, Goku zips around the doll in an effort to confuse it, and then tries attacking from far away, launching a Kamehameha at the doll. To his surprise however, his attack catches only an afterimage, before the doll reappears and appears to be firing a Kamehameha of it's own. Goku attacks, but that too proves to be an afterimage as the doll appears from above and knocks him to the floor. Goku says the doll is way stronger than him, but Popo says that the doll has the same level of strength that Goku does – it just has a far clearer mind, free from distractions, making it what Goku could be if he masters his training. Popo says that if Goku can do that, then he wouldn't lose to the doll. Goku says he doesn't understand what Popo is saying, but he refuses to give up, and gets back up to attack the doll. Popo tells Goku that giving up and relying on brute force won't work, and again urges him to calm his mind. Goku tries to empty his mind, but only succeeds in blanking out and getting hit by the doll. The fight continues long into the day, and as the sun begins to set, Popo warns Goku that at this rate, he's going to get killed by his own doll. Goku finds himself at the edge of the sanctuary, unable to think of any way to defend as the doll rushes him – but to his surprise, his body moves on it's own, punching the doll back. As Goku marvels at this, the doll gets back up and attacks again, with Goku barely being able to dodge back onto the sanctuary. Popo notes that after his one brief success, Goku's mind is now flustered as he tries desperately to remember what he just did. As he focuses, Goku can sense the doll's approach, and dodges instinctively out of the way before pummeling it with a series of blows, sending it flying. Goku is happy, thinking that he's finally mastered controlling his ki, but Popo says that's not the case, pointing out that the water's effect on the doll has worn off, as it's body returns to motionless clay. Goku is disappointed that he wasn't able to conceal his ki after all, and Popo tells the boy he still has a long way to go yet, as he falls to the ground and falls asleep, utterly exhausted. Down on the Earth, Goku's friends continue their journey towards Karin's tower to continue their own training, as the future of Goku's own training continues to be in doubt. Review: After three really good episodes following Goku's training, I think we've finally hit a point where they're not getting as much mileage out of it as they were before. This episode has more outright fighting than any of the previous three, and there is some pretty great choreography between Goku and his doll's clashes, but overall? It just feels underwhelming. That said, Popo's lesson that he's wanting to teach Goku, which all still ties back to him quieting his mind, is still an interesting one. We're beginning to see how all of that ties together now – if Goku can keep from getting distracted and react without thinking, he'll move much quicker, but he'll move only when needed. He won't make wasted movements that expend energy needlessly, and he won't make movements that will give away what he's doing to his opponent. He'll be able to control his energy as well, and get the drop on them when they least expect it, while also masking his movements better that way as well. These are all great, martial arts philosophy lessons for Goku to learn. But after three episodes of seeing him kind of get it, only for it to end every time with him not quite getting it after all...it all just starts to feel mundane. And that's really unfortunate, as actually seeing the training rather than skipping right over it is usually one of the more fun parts of filler like this. I think it comes down to the fact that Goku's just not getting any wins here. He's constantly on the backfoot, constantly not figuring out what it is Popo's trying to teach him, and when it's largely the same lesson but approached different ways? It gets tedious seeing Goku not improve much for four episodes in a row. I think this episode could have been saved at least a little bit by changing just the very ending of it. Let Goku actually have figured out how to quiet his mind, but have Popo tell him not to get too happy with himself, as now he expects Goku to be able to do that more often and much easier. This would allow Goku to still have a ways to go, without making his 'win' at the end entirely a fluke where he's learned nothing. Beyond all of that though, I do like the idea of the weird training doll. Having Goku fight himself is a pretty unique way of showing him what he could be if he can just master his own powers, while also seeming to further set the precedent that the best training happens when there's at least one training partner involved, so there's not much to dislike with this part of the episode. It just isn't enough to save it overall. I can't help but wonder if the staff also started to realize they'd taken this train of thought with Goku, the 'we'll show him training but not actually improving yet' thing, about as far as they could too, because now with the next episode, we'll be switching to following Kuririn and the others instead. I honestly don't remember if we even SEE Goku in the next two episodes, and if we don't, that's a really rare feat that almost never happens. Until next time! Favorite Scene: Kuririn and the others passing a driver on the road while running is pretty great. Especially love the snippet of one of Kame-sennin's characters songs on the guy's radio. Next Time: Alright, enough about Goku – what are Kuririn and the others up to? Synopsis: Goku's training continues as he once again spars with Mr. Popo, and still finds himself unable to actually land a blow on Popo at all, even when using what he's learned thus far. Popo says that Goku has gotten stronger but only a little bit, and tells him that today, Goku will be starting another new training regiment. Leading Goku to another part of the sanctuary, Popo first makes Goku a new gi to replace his damaged one, saying that it's important to approach this new training with a new mindset. He then leads Goku to a room filled with clock faces, called the Room of Time. Popo explains that all of time is connected in this room, and as such, Goku will be able to travel through time and meet a strong person who will help Goku learn something. Goku asks if this person is really that strong, and Popo says he'll understand once he meets him. Popo sets one of the clock faces to a particular time, and Goku then falls through a hole that opens up, seemingly plummeting through time itself. Elsewhere, Tenshinhan, Yamcha, and Kuririn continue their own training, marching up a mountain while carrying large boulders upon their backs. Roshi's advice echoes in their minds, and Tenshinhan breaks his boulder with his fist, saying that at this rate, they'll never be able to catch up to Goku. Back at Kame House, Bulma and the others wonder how everyone is doing, with Bulma hoping they don't hurt themselves trying to hard. Roshi scoffs and says that at their age, worrying about getting hurt should be the last thing on their minds. Puar asks Roshi what kind of training he went through when he was young, and Roshi describes his training under Mutaito as a daily hell. Bulma asks if this was back when Tsuru-sennin was training with them as well, and Roshi confirms it, saying that the Crane Hermit has been a pompous jerk for as long as he can remember. Roshi boasts that in comparison, he was a much better student, and soon became renowned for his skill, with Bulma wondering how he ended up becoming just a dirty old man after all that. Everyone's concern turns towards Goku next, as they hope he's doing well in Heaven as well. The scene changes to a young man in sunglasses trying to peep on a girl bathing in a hot spring. His attempts to peek are soon interrupted by Goku falling from the sky on top of him, alerting the woman to their presence before she mistakenly thinks what she heard was a nearby monkey. The man chastises Goku, telling him he needs to be more careful when he's trying to be a peeping tom. Goku thinks the man seems familiar, and he introduces himself as Turtle-chan, thinking Goku must have heard of him due to his fighting prowess. Goku is surprised to hear he's a fighter as well, and when Turtle-chan mentions that he trains under Mutaito, Goku asks if that guy's really strong, prompting Turtle-chan to be outraged that Goku's never heard of the greatest martial artist in the world. Hearing such praise of him, Goku resolves to fight Mutaito, a notion that Turtle-chan finds laughable. Changing the subject, Turtle-chan asks Goku if he got a look at Fanfan's boobs before she left, but their conversation is soon interrupted by a pebble striking the back of Turtle-chan's head. The rock is soon shown to have been thrown by a man Turtle-chan refers to as Crane, with his two henchmen in tow. The henchmen accuse Turtle-chan of peeping at the girl who will someday be Crane's wife, a notion that Turtle-chan scoffs at, saying Fanfan would never fall for a guy like him. Crane says those are strong words coming from a weakling, and the two prepare to fight, only for Turtle-chan to fake back pain to get out of fighting. Goku finally figures out who that Turtle-chan reminds him of Kame-sennin, and Turtle-chan objects to being compared to some old man when he's only eighteen. At Mutaito's dojo, Turtle-chan introduces Goku to his master. Mutaito asks Goku where he trains, and when Goku says he's currently training with Kami-sama in heaven, all of the other students laugh at him. Mutaito asks Goku for his name, and Goku introduces himself before asking Mutaito to fight with him. Crane interjects saying that Goku wouldn't stand a chance, but Mutaito accepts his challenge, sensing that Goku is a true martial artist. Crane offers to fight in his stead, but Mutaito tells him to step back as he wants to fight Goku himself – besides, he feels that Goku is likely too much for Crane to handle. Goku gets into fighting position and asks Mutaito why he isn't doing the same, but Mutaito says he's been in position ever since Goku entered the room. With that, Goku launches an attack on the sitting Mutaito, but soon finds all of his blows blocked easily. As Turtle-chan, Crane, and the rest of the students marvel at how fast Goku is, Goku soon finds himself outmatched, barely able to dodge one of Mutaito's attacks before Mutaito flanks him, ending up catching up to Goku and knocking him backward with only a finger. Goku is amazed by how strong Mutaito is, but Mutaito says that it's Goku who possesses rare speed and power. Goku wonders how Mutaito was able to knock him back so easily by barely even touching him, and Mutaito explains that he used his ki, the energy that every living being possesses, saying that if Goku trains hard enough, he should be able to use it as well. Mutaito leads Goku and Turtle-chan to a waterfall, and asks Goku if he can cut it. Goku is confused, and Mutaito gives him an example, swiping his hand upward and causing the waterfall to split into two separate waterfalls temporarily. Mutaito instructs Goku to concentrate all of his energy into one fist until he's able to do the same. Watching from behind the rocks, Crane is infuriated to see his master teaching an outsider something more advanced than he's ever been taught. As Goku tries to do what Mutaito showed him, he proves unable to, and a watching Turtle-chan tells him that just because it was simple for Mutaito doesn't mean it'll come easily for anyone else. As Turtle-chan takes a nap, Fanfan washes clothes in a nearby river with her grandmother, only for one of her shirts to get away from her and end up going over the waterfall. Goku fishes the shirt out of the water and returns it to her when she comes looking for it, and an awakening Turtle-chan uses this chance to try to impress her, saying that he's teaching the young Goku all he knows about martial arts. Fanfan isn't impressed however, and leaves after wiping away some of Goku's sweat for him. A watching Crane scowls as he watches Turtle-chan follow after Fanfan, and he and his goons soon catch up with her. Crane asks Fanfan for a response to his love letter, and Fanfan turns him down, saying that people like him really aren't her type. Crane's toadies are outraged and ask her what her type is then – surely not someone like that twerp (Goku) she was just talking to. Fanfan messes with them by saying that he was pretty cute, causing Crane to demand that she agree to be his girlfriend, and when Fanfan mocks him, he knocks her out with a punch to the stomach. Outraged, Turtle-chan moves in to stop him but gets knocked back, and Crane gives him a message to pass on to Goku: come to the harvest field. Elsewhere, Tenshinhan and the others have made camp when Tenshinhan suggests they go meet this Karin person that Goku trained with before, as it might help their own training. Turtle-chan quickly grabs Goku and rushes with him towards the harvest field to rescue Fanfan, and they find Crane waiting for them there. Crane attacks Goku viciously, but quickly proves unable to land a single blow on the boy. When Goku hits him, Crane points out Fanfan tied to a tree with one of his henchmen pointing a knife at her, telling Goku that she's dead if Goku so much as moves again. Goku allows Crane to pummel him, but much to Crane's annoyance, nothing he does is enough to put Goku down for good. Left with no other choice, Crane has his henchman light the grass on fire, surrounding Goku and Turtle-chan with flames. Turtle-chan resigns himself to his demise, but Goku remembers what Mutaito told him about focusing his energy, and uses the waterfall splitting technique to create a path through the flames. Waking up at last, Fanfan incapacitates one of Crane's men with a kick to the groin, and as the other prepares to hit her, he finds his fist stopped by Mutaito. Facing with both Goku and Turtle-chan now, Crane tries to leave but is stopped by Mutaito, who gives him a choice – he can either leave, or he can start over all of his training from square one. Crane is outraged, but accepts the offer to start his training over again. Mutaito apologizes for the trouble that his student has caused Goku, but Goku isn't fazed at all. Turtle-chan tells Goku he was really impressed to see what he did before, and vows to train really hard and surpass Goku one day. Fanfan says that if Turtle-chan keeps that promise, she'll wipe his sweat off for him, greatly thrilling the young fighter. Mutaito chuckles, and Goku and Turtle-chan return to the waterfall, only to find that Goku hasn't quite mastered what he did before as he can't get the waterfall to split at all. A watching Kami and Popo can't decide if Goku has promise or not, as they watch him train alongside the young Turtle-chan to try to split the waterfall. Review: This is a really hard episode for me to judge honestly. On the one hand, it continues what Goku has been doing for the past couple of episodes, by trying to teach him to better control what he already has in is fighting arsenal – this time though, the focus switches from improving his movements to improving his ki control. On the other hand however, it doesn't really explain it's goals as clearly as the previous two episodes, and as such comes off a little less focused in comparison. That said, we get quite a bit more compelling group of “new” characters to follow in this one, which makes for a more entertaining romp even if that might also be part of the reason the episode's lesson is slightly more muddled. It's really fun to see a young Kame-sennin – or as he calls himself in this episode, Turtle-chan, proving that he's been known by some moniker related to Turtles for some time now, rather than whatever his real name is – and Tsuru-sennin, not to mention their master Mutaito. These are characters who's pasts are largely shrouded in mystery outside the most basic moments the series usually makes mention of, so it's nice to see at least a little bit more of them in action. At the same time though, I really can't shake the feeling that them being characters we have an attachment to on some level is why the episode feels a bit distracted. There are moments where it feels almost more like it wants to revel in showing us these characters, in particular the younger Kame-sennin, rather than focusing on Goku's growth as a character. It pulls things back in the right direction as it moves along, but it always feels like it wants to show us more of Turtle-chan instead. Which, again, is nice, it's something we don't really get to see much of – but this feels like maybe the wrong time to give it to us? That said, it is interesting to see what a different person the younger Kame-sennin was compared to the old man we've known for so long now. Oh he's still a perverted letch – something that seems to go against previously established comments from the sea turtle and the fact that he could ride kinto'un – but here he's seemingly far less sure of himself in a fight despite boasting about his skill, as he does everything he can to avoid actually fighting Crane. It's somewhat implied that his interactions with Goku are what lead him to become a more serious martial artist, but it's hard to say how seriously we can take that given...well, time travel. The time room itself is an interesting mechanic, and it's one we'll see revisited in another filler episode in Z (though it shouldn't be confused with a similarly named room that will become pretty important far later in the Z era). It's certainly more mystical in nature than the random teleportation machine at the sanctuary, though I'd wager that while that actually takes Goku somewhere in the world that actually exists, this room just recreates a simulation of the past – especially given it's ability to leave Earth entirely in that later filler episode. All things told though, it's still an entertaining episode to watch, even with these faults, and it's always nice to see emphasis placed on how ki channeling actually works as opposed to it just happening as will become more and more common place as the series progresses. I wish we could have seen more done with that element of the episode, but it is what it is. Until next time! Favorite Scene: Goku's interactions with Mutaito when first meeting him are fun, particularly their short sparring match. Next Time: Goku V.S. ...Goku!? Synopsis: Goku awakens to find himself back at Kami's sanctuary, where Mr. Popo informs him he's been asleep for three days straight. The last thing Goku remembers is being hit by lightning, and Popo tells him his body seems to be quite sturdy. Goku is eager to get back ot the training, but Popo says it's too advanced for him at this time, so they'll be having him do something else instead. He takes Goku back to the teleporter, and says he'll be sending Goku into a forest where he must learn to move 'as quietly as the sky'. Goku instantly thinks there must be a strong guy there that he'll learn this from, but Popo declines to comment on that, and sends Goku on his way. Upon being transported into the forest, Goku immediately falls into a bottomless swamp, and only manages to save himself from drowning by firing a Kamehameha. Washing his clothes off in a river, Goku's nose then leads him to food, but when he tries to grab it off of a plate, he gets caught in a rope trap. Upon breaking free from it, he meets the hunter who set it, who takes the boy back to his family's house to warm up and dry off. The hunter introduces himself as Mousse, and soon introduces Goku to the rest of his family – his wife Eclair, and their nine children, Purin, Crepe, Donut, Jelly, Bisuke, Bavarois, Choco, Cookie, and Shuku. Mousse invites Goku to have dinner with them as he's sure his father-in-law will be back soon with lots of fish for them all to eat. Sure enough, the old man soon comes home, and is immediately mobbed by his loving grandchildren for attention. The man surmises Goku is a guest, and the family soon eats dinner, and as they watch Goku wolf down food, Mousse finally asks Goku why he was in the woods. Goku starts to explain about Kami, prompting all of the kids to wonder about Kami-sama's true nature and appearance. Goku then mentions that there should be someone really strong around here, and the kids figure he must be talking about Yaochun, a man that lives nearby who's said to be really strong and 'faster than lightning'. Goku asks for directions to Yaochun's house, and the family worries that if Goku fights Yaochun he'll die, but Goku says it's part of his training. The grandfather offers to take Goku halfway there on his way to go fishing the next day, so Goku spends the rest of the night playing with the kids. Back at Kame House, Yamcha, Tenshinhan, and Kuririn swim in the ocean for training, while Roshi sleeps on the beach. A short time later, Roshi turns down training the three of them, saying that he's already taught them as much as he possibly can about fighting, saying all he could teach them at this point is how to get girls. Roshi warns them that if things stay as they are, they'll never catch up to Goku. He encourages them to strike out on their own and train in the world just as Goku did before, and the three agree to do just that. Before they leave however, Kuririn wants to hear what Roshi has to say about getting girls, but before Roshi can explain, he catches Tenshinhan and Yamcha listening in as well. The next day, Goku heads out with the grandfather to find Yaochun. Goku is amazed to hear that the grandfather fishes all day every day and has done so for sixty years, providing for his family as well as some of the neighbors. When the road splits, the man wishes Goku luck and hopes he doesn't get hurt or trapped like yesterday, and Goku likewise wishes him luck in his fishing. Going further up the road, Goku soon finds a large man meditating near a waterfall, and figuring out that he must be Yaochun, challenges him to a fight. The man reluctantly agrees, saying he won't go easy on Goku even if he is a child, but to Goku's surprise, he finds the man's stance full of openings, and Goku is able to knock him down with just one punch. Yaochun begs Goku to spare him, and Goku asks if he really isn't strong enough or fast enough to dodge lightning, and the man says of course he isn't. Dejected, Goku walks back through the woods, wondering who it really was that Mr. Popo wanted him to meet here then. As Goku walks, he comes across the grandpa's fishing spot, and is caught by surprise, not having realized the old man was even there until he spoke. Goku asks him how he did that, and the old man just laughs saying Goku must be half asleep. He offers Goku a fishing pole to try fishing with, and coaches him through the proper calm and still technique to fish properly. The old man talks Goku through how to focus and not move lest he scare the fish, instructing him how to be 'as quiet as the sky'. Following his instructions, Goku is successful in catching a fish after noticing that when the old man does it, his presence becomes completely masked. The old man asks Goku if he met who he was supposed to earlier, and Goku responds uncertainly. Watching from the sanctuary, Mr. Popo says it seems that Goku still doesn't get it, but Kami isn't so sure that's the case, as they watch Goku succeed in catching another fish. Review: This episode very much continues the notions of the previous one, in that Goku is still trying to learn how to better utilize the skills he already has at his disposal rather than actually getting any stronger outright. After he got hit by lightning even after figuring out what it was he needed to do, Popo apparently decided that training was a bit too much for Goku at the moment, which is why he's come up with this new method. The new method being basically a combination of things we'd seen before – he's wanting Goku to again focus on not making wasted movements and sensing things around him, but this time he's sending Goku out into the world to learn from someone again, just as he did inadvertently with Chu-li and her bird. In this case however, Goku meets quite a few more people, and I mean a LOT. The Mousse family has NINE kids. I refuse to believe anyone, no matter how big of a Dragon Ball fan they proclaim to be, can actually remember all of their names, much less point out which one is which. That said, the family is really adorable, and it's nice to see Goku interact with such a large group of people that aren't fighters or masters or what have you, especially with so many of them being roughly his own age. I especially like the scene with Goku casually mentioning Kami and the whole family starts musing about what Kami must be like, and talking out how Kami must be even greater than their dad but surely isn't anywhere near as impressive as their mom. It's just so wholesome and fun. It's a good thing it's as endearing to watch as it is, because that takes up a good bulk of the episode. There's another cutaway back to the Kame House crew, and this one's longer than last episodes and does amount to more, but overall it's still a very small part of the overall story in this one. I do find it pretty hilarious that they continue to have Tenshinhan training with the group but not a Chaozu in sight, as well as Tenshinhan also trying to listen in on Roshi's pickup advice. They really, really didn't know what to do with him in filler scenes yet, and it shows. The idea of a strong guy living in the woods being who Goku thinks he needs to learn from is a fun one, though I think most people probably saw the inversion coming pretty much from the start. Goku's the only one who thought there would be a strong guy here for him to learn from, with Popo never suggesting any such thing. This is also immediately following the previous episode where Goku also learned a lesson from an unlikely source, so it's not too surprising that the trend continues here. Having him learn about stillness from an expert fisherman certainly makes a lot of sense as well, and is probably a little less forced than his learning to really 'listen' to things from a girl and her bird. The focus of Goku's training in these past two episodes has been very much about skill rather than strength, and it's definitely made these training episodes much more involved and interesting than anything we've seen since the Roshi training period. The characters thus far might not be as memorable, but I'd definitely say the training itself here is leagues beyond what we were given for filler leading up to the 22nd Tenkaichi Budokai. Until next time! Favorite Scene: The short scene of Goku playing with all of the kids and then sleeping in a big bedroom with the family is really sweet, it's nice to see Goku interacting with more people his own age that aren't fighters. Next Time: Everyone's always ready to jump Trunks for his time traveling, but they forget that Goku did it first. |
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