Synopsis: Goku tells Kame-sennin that kinto'un really is awesome, to which the old man replies he got it from Kami-sama himself! This amazes Goku, but the old-timer is more interested in the fact that the girl with Goku now seems less...”interesting”...to him than the last girl. Goku explains that this girl is named Chi Chi and that she's Gyu-mao's daughter, surprising the old man.
For her part however, Chi Chi doubts this perverted old man can really be the invincible old master they've heard so much about. She reasons that if he really is, he should have no problem dodging a surprise attack from her helmet's blade. She tosses it at him in a test that he fails by trying (unsuccessfully) to block it with his walking stick, ending up with the blade stuck in his head for his efforts. Chi Chi accuses him of being a fake, but Kame-sennin insists that not even a master can dodge something that quick, and proves his identity with his driver's license. Chi Chi removes the blade and demurely apologizes, saying that she gets a little hasty sometimes. With the misunderstanding out of the way, Kame-sennin asks Goku why they've come to his island anyway. Goku aks him about the Basho-sen, and Roshi reveals what that really is – a magical fan that can raise a typhoon, thunderstorm, or even a monsoon with one-to-three waves. He asks what Goku needs it for, and he and Chi Chi explain about Fry-Pan Mountain. The old man says he's heard about the rumors, but takes a moment to consider if he should really loan it to them. He eventually agrees, but takes Goku aside to discuss his one condition – he wants to see that other girl Bulma's boobs. The turtle is aghast that he'd ask for such a thing, but Kame-sennin objects, claiming it's not so wrong for an old dying man to ask for one last wish to be granted. The turtle scoffs, reminding him that he drank the immortality elixir. Goku interrupts their arguments by abruptly agreeing to the condition, not seeing what the big deal is. Kame-sennin swears him to secrecy on this deal, asking him to keep it from Chi Chi and Gyu-mao both. With the deal in place, the old man looks all over his house for the fan, but can't seem to find where he's put it. He eventually asks the turtle if he knows, and the turtle seems to recall him using it as a potholder the last time he saw it. The old man is crestfallen, remembering now that he threw it away when he spilled soup on it and couldn't get the stain out. Goku and Chi Chi are stupefied and wonder if they'll have to give up on the whole thing now, but Kame-sennin vows to keep his end of the bargain: if he can't loan them the Basho-sen, then he'll just have to go and put out the fire himself. After reminding Goku of their secret deal, Kame-sennin quickly changes his clothes and says they can head to Fry-Pan now. Goku asks how he's going to come if he can't ride the kinto'un, but the old man simply laughs and reminds Goku that he is the 'turtle hermit' after all, before calling down a 'Baby Gamera' for himself to ride. He climbs aboard the turtle and follows behind the duo. Chi Chi wonders if the old man can really pull it off, but Goku's confident that he can. He is his grandpa's master after all, so he has to be great. Goku and Chi Chi arrive back at Fry-Pan first and explain what's going on to everyone else just before Kame-sennin himself arrives at last. Gyu-mao is excited to see his old master again, but the old man promptly turns around and vomits, having forgotten how much he hated flying on the rotating baby Gamera. Will everything really turn out okay? Review: This was a fairly short chapter all things told, but I'd imagine there were a couple of reasons for that. First and foremost, it had to figure out a good place to stop before the next chapter started, and stopping with Kame-sennin's arrival at Fry-Pan probably seemed like the most natural place in Toriyama's mind. There's also a fair bit of character interaction and set-up for the next chapter in this one, though I wouldn't say it's the most packed chapter we've had, so I think it's length had more to do with that natural stopping point issue. The old man quickly proves to be just as perverted as he was the first time we met him, so it's natural that Chi Chi has her doubts about him being who everyone says he is. It bears mentioning though that, like with Yamcha, Kame-sennin doesn't seem to bat an eye at Chi Chi despite her armor being rather skimpy all things told. Toriyama might be a pervert himself, but even he has standards. *remembers that Bulma is 16 at this point in the story* ...Sort-of. The blade embedding itself into Roshi's skull and him surviving the blow, no worse for wear than needing a large band-aid on his head afterwards, is a little bit of a different beast in some ways than Goku tanking Bulma's bullet in the first chapter. Whereas that was meant to surprise us at how strong this little boy was, here it's seemingly meant to be entirely for laughs. We'll be seeing a lot of that sort of injury in future chapters, and while it's always pretty funny, it does somewhat muddle the waters a bit for folks who like to argue about 'feats' and what-not. Thankfully that's one of the dullest aspects to Dragon Ball for me, so it doesn't really bother me too much personally, so – moving on. Speaking of laughs, I do sort of get a chuckle at Kame-sennin proving his identity with his driver's license. We never get his real name revealed (I'd be willing to bet it's some sort of turtle-based pun though), but when you stop and think about it, that can't be what's on his driver's license anyway if it's to serve as proof of identity to Chi Chi who doesn't know his real name either. That means the card says either 'Kame-sennin' or 'Muten Roshi' or the like – geez, even the old man himself doesn't know his original name anymore. We finally get an explanation for what the Basho-sen is as well. A magic fan that can summon gusts of wind certainly seems like a powerful item one could have, but like with the immortal phoenix before it, it ends up being worthless due to something stupid rendering it ineffective. Toriyama is a master of making something stupid into something funny, and I marvel at how he manages to pull it off flawlessly so often. There's a later point where he does sort of undo one of these gags in reference to Roshi, so he does sometimes turn the concept on it's head for a more serious take too. The condition Roshi has for his help is peak pervy turtle hermit, and while it is pretty funny and expected on it's surface, it is once again pretty messed up when you stop and consider it from a real world point of view. Even if Bulma wasn't underage – something that Kame-sennin doesn't really seem to know to be fair, but still – it's still a pretty scummy move. Hell, this is to help out an old student of his no less! The baby Gamera is of course a reference...parody...whatever you want to call it, to the actual Gamera, right down to it's method of travel. Makes you wonder why the turtle itself never seems to get sick. Until next time! Favorite Panel:
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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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