Synopsis: The announcer prepares to start the second and last semi-final match, with Kuririn suddenly realizing that his next opponent is none other than Goku himself. Goku is happy, saying this will be the first time that they've really gotten to fight each other, and says that he's going to do his best and that Kuririn should do the same. Kuririn tries to push his anxiety aside, and tells Goku he'll never forgive him if he doesn't use his full strength, and Goku agrees. The two fist bump and step out into the ring, with Oolong and Turtle both wishing them luck and thinking this will be a really good match. Kuririn thinks to himself that he's trained really hard since the last tournament, so if he gives it his all, maybe he has a chance after all. Backstage, Roshi finishes taking off his Jackie Chun disguise only to be found by Tenshinhan. Tenshinhan asks him why such a renowned master such as himself would disguise himself and enter the tournament in secret, and Roshi explains that he did so for the sake of his students, explaining his concerns about what could happen to their personalities if they won the tournament at such a young age. Tenshinhan smirks and says he understands now, stating that once Roshi saw how good he was he must have realized his students could never beat him, while also asserting that had the fight continued, he would have won anyway. Roshi chastises him however by saying that he's got it all wrong. As the fight between Goku and Kuririn is just about to start, Roshi explains that the real reason he forfeited was he suddenly realized that the next generation of fighters were turning out just fine, and there was no reason to worry any longer that his students would turn into slackers if they won, so he was no longer needed as a roadblock for them. Roshi further says to Tenshinhan once more that he's just not cut out to be evil, because if he was he wouldn't have bothered to come and ask Roshi these questions. Tenshinhan says he aspires to be the world's greatest assassin, just like Taopaipai before him, but Roshi says that at least one thing he's said to him today was likely true – if they had continued to fight, Tenshinhan would likely have been the winner. Roshi leaves Tenshinhan by saying he's expecting a good match and will be watching from the audience, leaving the youth to stew as to how someone so strong could swallow their pride well enough to acknowledge their own probable defeat. Back at the ring, Goku and Kuririn's fight as begun, with the two friends exchanging blows rapidly. Goku briefly gains the upper hand by knocking Kuririn back with an elbow strike, and flies towards him with a follow-up kick that Kuririn is just able to dodge before being forced back onto the defensive. Kuririn is finally able to force Goku back however, earning both boys a brief moment of rest. Kuririn praises Goku for being as fast as ever, asking him when he managed to get behind him, but Goku says Kuririn is just as fast for being able to dodge it. As the crowd marvels at how this is a match between children, Kuririn prepares to attack Goku again, but switches to a different kind of attack so as to catch Goku off guard. He succeeds in knocking Goku back, but as Kuririn leaps in to press his advantage, Goku leaps into the air to dodge. Kuririn follows after him, and after spotting the sun behind him, he smirks and tilts his head, causing the sun to reflect off of his bald top and blind Goku once more. Taking advantage of this newfound opening, Kuririn leaps higher into the air and kicks Goku downward, thinking that he's just won the match as surely not even Goku could handle slamming into the ground that hard, but much to Kuririn's disappointment, Goku lands on his feet and absorbs the impact without a scratch. Review: Despite the title and fight of focus for this chapter, the spotlight is actually still on Roshi and Tenshinhan for the moment just as much as it is on Goku and Kuririn. While that might be disappointing in some ways, there's still plenty of that fight yet to come, and honestly? Most of what Roshi and Tenshinhan discuss only serves to further emphasize what the Goku V.S. Kuririn match is really about, and that's really something that's needed in the long run. Let's be honest – we all know exactly how this particular match is going to turn out, both because there's almost no way Goku doesn't get to the finals yet again thematically, but also because there's been too much tension already built up between him and Tenshinhan for it to go unfulfilled. So while the conclusion of this match might not be up in the air, there's still a lot to be found in the character interactions leading into it. Let's start with Goku and Kuririn as, surprisingly, it's the two currently fighting that offer the least direct information on what's happening now. For Goku, this match doesn't really change much, at least not yet. He's excited to fight his friend, sure, and he's even more excited to see just how far Kuririn has come since he's last seen him, but it doesn't really go anyplace beyond that – this is simply Goku being Goku and being excited at the prospect of a really good fight coming his way. For Kuririn though, it's something more than that. Goku has been his rival since the very first day they met, and while it's come around to being a much more friendly rivalry, that fact has never changed. Kuririn didn't get to be involved in a large portion of Goku's last adventure, and as such, he saw Goku pull drastically far ahead of him in terms of strength and accomplishments. While this no doubt reinvigorated Kuririn to train harder than he ever had before, he knew that Goku was out there gaining even further strength as well. Now, he has to face off with that very strength, a power that's bound to be greater than the one that did in the Red Ribbon Army. For Kuririn, this is his chance to finally prove that he can be just as good as Goku, and to prove that he's still worthy of being Goku's rival. It's also a fight to prove to himself that he can still get better than he was the day before, and that's a fight that his pride as a martial artist won't let him back away from, hence his telling Goku to go all out against him. Regardless of how things turn out, this fight is the penultimate moment of Kuririn becoming the character we'll know for the rest of the franchise. Goku and Kuririn are both blissfully unaware of what's happening beyond their fight though, and it's something that Roshi can see clear as day. As mentioned before, Roshi's whole reason for discreetly entering the tournament and the one before was to ensure that his students, who had already surpassed normal human limitations just from their first round of training, still had someone stronger than them to try to overcome. Given how much Goku had improved since then, he initially felt the need to do the same again, to ensure that Goku still had something to strive for. But then he saw Tenshinhan and how good of a fighter he was, and I think a mix of that and just how dedicated his students still were to getting stronger made him realize that it's not a roadblock any of them need anymore – it's rivals. People still in their prime who are also going to be continuously growing stronger, and can thus keep his students on their toes and trying to keep up lest they get surpassed as well. Ironically, Roshi has seen what is going to be the main driving force for Goku in particular to get stronger and stronger throughout the course of the series – he just hasn't seen the revolving door the entrance to Goku's Room o' Rivals is going to have. Until next time! Favorite Panel: Next Time: Brains V.S. Brawn!
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
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
Categories
All
|