Synopsis: Goku gets back on his feet, still accusing Tenshinhan of using a dirty trick, but Tenshinhan has no idea what he's talking about. Kuririn doesn't know what Goku is getting at either, but Roshi mentally curses Tsuru-sennin. Tenshinhan asks Goku if he's gone crazy and rushes him once more, with Goku rushing to meet him. Before the two can clash however, Tsuru-sennin instructs Chaozu to use his powers again, and Chaozu freezes Goku in place, allowing Tenshinhan's kick alone to connect, sending Goku flying towards the edge of the ring.
It looks like Tenshinhan is about to win by ring out, but at the last second, Goku uses a quick Kamehameha to launch himself into the air, and back into the ring. Goku quickly launches towards Tenshinhan once more, but just like before, Chaozu freezes Goku just before he gets ready to attack, allowing Tenshinhan's punch to connect with Goku's head. This time however, Tenshinhan notices that something is off. As the announcer starts the ten-count, Tsuru-sennin tells Tenshinhan that now's his chance to finish off Goku once and for all. Realizing what's been happening, Tenshinhan mentally tells Chaozu to stop what he's doing and let Goku free, as he doesn't want to win in this way. Chaozu is conflicted between Tenshinhan's request and Tsuru-sennin's orders when Tsuru-sennin tells Tenshinhan not to care about the tournament anymore and to just kill Goku. As the count continues, Tenshinhan remains frozen in the ring, before finally yelling verbally for Chaozu to stop it. The announcer and crowd react with confusion as Goku gets back onto his feet, preparing to rush Tenshinhan again, but Roshi tells Goku to stop as well. Tsuru-sennin curses Tenshinhan for disobeying his master, and Tenshinhan tells him that he wants to win a legitimate match, saying that he doesn't need any help to win this fight. Tsuru-sennin tells Tenshinhan once more to kill Goku, but Tenshinhan tells him that if he does that, he'll never be able to feel like he really won, and that he no longer wants to be an assassin at all. Roshi reacts with pride, but Tsuru-sennin accuses Tenshinhan of having been brainwashed by Kame-sennin, making him forget all that he owes his master for making him into the fighter he is today. Tsuru-sennin snaps and says that he and Chaozu will kill bot of them then, and orders Chaozu to paralyze both Tenshinhan and Goku. Chaozu falters and pleads with Tsuru-sennin, saying that Tenshinhan is fighting at his full strength for the first time, so he wants to see how this fight ends as well. Tsuru-sennin picks up Chaozu and says that everyone who disobeys must die, so he'll start with him then. Tenshinhan screams, but before he can do anything, Roshi tells him to step aside as he launches a Kamehameha from the sidelines that crashes into Tsuru-sennin, forcing him to drop Chaozu and sending him flying far away into the sky. With Tsuru-sennin sent flying away, Roshi cautions them that it'll take more than that to finish him for good, but tells Goku and Tenshinhan that they're now free to fight as they want. Goku apologizes to Tenshinhan for thinking that it was him behind the cheap trick that kept happening, while the audience and announcer are still in a daze over what just happened. Tenshinhan says that now that he's betrayed his master, he truly cannot allow himself to lose, and warns Goku that he'll be finishing the match with his very next attack. Goku prepares to defend himself, while Chaozu gasps and realizes that Tenshinhan must be about to use “that” move. Review: Alas, Tsuru-sennin – we only just met you, and now you're gone. Granted, we've already gotten to know what a terrible person he is, so granted it's fitting that he's dispatched with so we don't have to look at his despicable face anymore. All things told though, it is a little sad that this is pretty much all he amounts to in the end. The Crane Hermit's role in the story was really only to introduce Tenshinhan (and to a far lesser extent Chaozu) as students from a different, rival school to the Turtle style. Toriyama then seemingly came up with the idea of making him Taopaipai's brother as a way to instill further drama in the tournament's proceedings, as well as making it fine to bring back the Dodonpa as another energy attack rather than having to come up with another all new one. I'm not sure at what point it was he decided to also make him a former rival of Roshi's, but with all of these elements coming together, it feels like Tsuru-sennin is being built up to be someone of far greater impact than he ultimately is sadly. I mean, think about it. In an earlier review, I broached the idea of a scenario where the Turtle and Crane rivalries weren't dealt with by the end of the tournament, and thus it became a different sort of drama altogether between them after it's conclusion. In a scenario like that, it would have been pretty easy to see Tsuru-sennin as someone with further story potential, a character that could truly act as a dark counterpoint to Roshi's. With the tournament bringing all of that to rest however, there was really nothing left for the Crane Hermit to be but petty and snide, so once that was no longer useful, he's whisked off the page quicker than he first appeared. It's a bit of a shame, but what can you do? And in all fairness, the story has somewhat suggested that he's Roshi's lesser in terms of power, and considering Roshi himself is now being eclipsed as well, it's likely Toriyama wouldn't have really had much in mind for him past this point anyway. Of course, this won't actually be the last time we see him at all, but more on that when it comes. The fight between Tenshinhan and Goku in this chapter is largely repetitive by design, so there's not really much I can say on it. The real meat of this chapter however is Tenshinhan finally coming into his own and telling Tsuru-sennin to stay out of his affairs, and it's pretty enjoyable, albeit a little abrupt, to see the character mature and become the man we'll know for the rest of the series moving forward. It's almost a whiplash when you really look at how quickly his personality changes here, and made pretty funny when compared to the likes of a similar character we'll meet later on that takes a much, MUCH longer time to change. Tenshinhan ironically loathes this other character despite them sharing these similarities...or maybe it's because of those similarities and he just doesn't realize it or want to admit it? Hmm... And then of course there's Chaozu who, now stripped of everything that made him interesting, is quickly settling into his new permanent role of character with an extreme fondness for Tenshinhan because reasons. Sure hope you guys enjoy hearing them say each other's name back and forth constantly from this point forward – it's gonna border on 'InuYasha!' and 'Kagome!' levels of repetition. 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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