Synopsis: As the announcer comments on the scope of the fight seen thus far, Chun asks Tenshinhan why a fighter as great as him still hangs around with someone like Tsuru-sennin. Tenshinhan tells him off and says he won't get away with badmouthing his mentor like that, so Chun asks him to do something about it. Tenshinhan smirks and says he'll reveal a bit of his full strength for a minute, shocking both Chun and the listening Goku and Kuririn. Raising his hands to the sides of his face, Tenshinhan shouts and unleashes his Taiyo-ken ('Fist of the Sun'), producing a blinding flash of light that incapacitates Chun, Goku and Kuririn, and much of the audience. As Chun struggles to regain his vision, Tenshinhan appears from behind and slams his knee hard into the back of the old man's head, knocking him to the ground. As Goku and Kuririn continue rubbing their eyes as well, Tenshinhan says that while Chun isn't dead (killing him would disqualify him, after all), it's unlikely he'll ever wake up again. The announcer explains how Tenshinhan attacked Chun after the burst of light and begins his count, but shockingly Chun regains consciousness and climbs back to his feet after just five counts. As Goku and Kuririn finally can see again, Tenshinhan calls Chun stubborn while Chun accuses him of being disrespectful to his elders by using such an attack. A watching Tsuru-sennin starts to get suspicious about Chun's true nature as Tenshinhan asks the old man what on Earth he is. Chun responds by asking Tenshinhan to use his power for good instead of evil, telling him that his own power is crying out in shame, and telling him he really should break things off with his former mentor. Outraged, Tenshinhan says he'll make Chun eat those words and resumes his assult, but even as he's hit again, Chun claims that Tenshinhan's blows aren't like before so he must have struck a nerve. As Tenshinhan and Chun continue to argue, Goku asks Kuririn how the announcer was able to see and describe what happened while everyone else was blinded, and Kuririn points out that it was probably the sunglasses he's wearing. Chun asks Tenshinhan if he enjoys being hated by others like Tsuru-sennin, and a listening Crane Hermit finally figures out who Chun is, telepathically informing his student that he's facing none other than Kame-sennin himself. Roshi realizes that his cover has been blown, but he asks Tenshinhan to keep it to himself rather than telling his students, while also telling him that he really means what he's been saying – he thinks it's a waste for someone as good as Tenshinhan to waste his time being evil. Tenshinhan says that in return for Roshi's “advice”, he'll show him something interesting. Though Roshi at first asks if Tenshinhan has nudie magazines on him, Tenshinhan instead surprises everyone by firing a large Kamehameha directly at his opponent. Roshi remarks that a Kamehameha that big could easily kill some of the audience, so he braces himself and catches the blast with his hands, forcing it's trajectory upwards into the sky instead. As the audience watches in awe seemingly unaware how close they were to dying, the announcer remarks what a stunning sight it is to see someone from the Crane school launch a move from the opposing Turtle school. Goku and Kuririn marvel at how good Tenshinhan really is, while Tenshinhan himself chides the Kamehameha as being such a basic move that anyone could learn it after simply seeing it once, challenging Roshi to show him more moves that he can pick up on the fly. Roshi says that Tenshinhan is even better than he thought, and that learning this makes him happier than he can express. He once again urges Tenshinhan to change and follow the path of the light. Tenshinhan asks him if he's still harping on about that, but Roshi merely turns his back on him and says that he's been waiting for someone like Tenshinhan to come along so that he can retire again...before promptly leaping from the ring and surrendering the fight to his young opponent. As the announcer declares Tenshinhan the winner, the young fighter angrily asks Roshi why he would lose on purpose. Tsuru-sennin laughs and says it's because he was too ashamed to fight for real and lose in front of everyone, but Tenshinhan thinks to himself that Roshi hadn't yet unleashed his full power at all. As he leaves the ring with a confused Goku and Kuririn watching, “Jackie Chun” declares that it really is quite a new era dawning, he thinks. Review: The exchange of blows in this chapter might not be as intense as the first half of the fight, but don't mistake that for this match becoming any less interesting – I'd argue it's this second half that really makes this match stand out, for both competitors but in particularly for Roshi. This is especially poignant as this is more-or-less the last time we really get to see him fight in the original manga, making for a bitter-sweet but still ultimately pleasing finale for his time as 'the strongest man in the world'. Honestly, this fight and how his character operates within it, along with one further moment yet unseen, should define the character of Kame-sennin just as much as his perverted antics do, but that's sadly not really the case. I think this largely comes down to two factors – 1) there's still a large portion of the story left so the amount of time given to Roshi being perverted far surpasses the amount of time he's given as a wise old sage (especially if you take anime filler into account), and 2) related to that, these moments that help define Roshi as more than a letch are contained in the earlier part of the series that a lot of fans either didn't come to until later, or largely ignored period in favor of the more action-oriented 'DBZ'. The latter especially is a shame as we're currently neck-deep in really good fighting, but the former is somewhat more unfortunate as it's unavoidable no matter which medium or form you come to Dragon Ball in – Roshi's character past this point will almost always be perverted comedic relief. Moving beyond Kame-sennin for the moment however, Tenshinhan also gets a pretty good showing in this chapter that goes beyond his ability to keep up with, and even ultimately out-pace, the strength of Roshi. He's shown to be full of tricks and moves that already out-strip anything we've seen from even Goku – I mean, think about it. All we've seen from Goku at this point, as far as techniques that actually seem to stick, are the Kamehameha and the Janken Fist, the latter of which is already seen less and less. In comparison to that, we've seen that Tenshinhan can float (and presumably fly based on the fact that Chaozu could), that he likely has the Dodonpa (again, based on Chaozu's ability to do so and the fact that it's been hyped up as the Crane school's main move), and he even has another move in the form of Taiyo-ken. While that last move is more of a strategic one than a straight combat one, it's probably the move that has the longest staying power, and is fittingly stolen by both Goku and Kuririn at later points in the series, a fact that makes Tenshinhan's usage and lambasting of the Kamehameha as a move 'so simple anyone could do it' particularly hilarious in hindsight. Hell, flying gets stolen too, so as far as number of moves taken and used by other characters later on goes, the Crane School wins this round. It's also worth noting that Tenshinhan's one time use of the Kamehameha means more in a different way however. Up to this point, there's only been one other character shown to use it that also is shown to have gotten it down after only seeing it once, and that was Goku himself. Between his extreme levels of strength, his adaptability in battle, and his fighting smarts that are good enough to pick up new moves on the fly, Toriyama is building up Tenshinhan as an excellent mirror of Goku in a lot of different ways. As such, it was probably just as clear to him as it was to Roshi that it was time for Roshi himself to step aside. It's that stepping aside that I want to talk about last here. I mentioned before that this is a moment that should ultimately help define the character of Roshi, but it's also one that's representative of a recurring theme throughout Dragon Ball, the idea of the next generation out-doing the previous one. It's largely seen here in the form of Goku and his generation far exceeding the likes of Roshi and even Grandpa Gohan's era, but jumping ahead quite a bit, it's also seen in the form of Goku and his fellow Saiyan survivors ultimately going far beyond what the Saiyans themselves were ever capable of during their reign. It's also an idea that's flirted with constantly with the introduction of the second Son Gohan and somewhat with Goten and Trunks later as well. The next generation will always prove itself the equal and often the better of the previous generation, because that's what martial arts is about, bettering oneself and surpassing your own limitations. It feels like something that should be integral to what makes Dragon Ball the series that it is is...but sadly? This is one of the only moments that it's done more than paid lip service to. Don't get me wrong – there's still quite a few moments left to show that Goku's generation is far outdoing Roshi's, but whenever the chance is offered to show another generation beyond that getting a chance to shine, the series will ultimately fumble that at every opportunity. There are a lot of reasons and fan theories as to why that is, and I'll probably touch on those as the moments come up, but for now I just want to say what a shame it is that the franchise is kind of stuck in that rut. I love this franchise, I love it's core cast of characters, but as a series, Dragon Ball has always had some element of 'passing the torch' to it, but for the most part the torch passing only happens once and then it's stubbornly held onto forever afterwards, and I can't help but wonder if that's not ultimately what's holding it back from truly doing something new and exciting. Food for thought at any rate. Until next time! Favorite Panel: Next Time: Expectations for the next generation.
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About the AuthorAspiring author and big anime/manga fan, just trying to do my best in the world. For more details, go to About Me. Archives
September 2022
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