Synopsis: As he floats in the sky, Tenshinhan pleads one more time with Goku not to try and take the Kikoho head on. Roshi shouts to Goku that he needs to listen to Tenshinhan, as this move is one so terrible that it can even kill it's user. Chaozu pleads with Tenshinhan to reconsider, as the crowd wonders what in the world is even going on at this point. Kuririn fretfully wonders why Tenshinhan is going to use a move that even risks his own life if he just wants Goku to dodge it anyway, and Roshi theorizes that since Tenshinhan can fly, he probably intends to win the match by ring-out. Kuririn is confused, but before Roshi can elaborate further, the match continues. Tenshinhan channels all of his ki into his hands, causing them to glow from the intensity of the energy gathered there. Even just by looking at it, Goku can tell this is an amazing power. Tenshinhan cups his hands together in front of him and says to himself that his target is the arena, not Goku. He also thinks to himself that he needs to leave at least some of his power in reserve, or else he really could die from this. Wasting no further time, Tenshinhan launches the Kikoho, resulting in a large burst of power that crashes into the ground below even as Roshi shouts for Goku to get out of the way. When the dust clears, the crowd as well as Kuririn and Roshi are met by a shocking sight – where the arena once stood, there's now only a large, cavernous pit, left behind from the Kikoho's destruction. As the announcer does his best to describe to the audience what just happened, Roshi is amazed by just how much power the Kikoho truly wields, saying that the Kamehameha could never hope to match it. Kuririn looks around for Goku, and when he can't spot him he worries that Goku really was killed, but Roshi assures him that he must still be alive because he can still feel his aura. As Tenshinhan catches his breath, Chaozu shouts how glad he is that they're both still alive after all, with Tenshinhan realizing that Goku is in the air above him. Flying further into the sky to meet him, Tenshinhan tells Goku he's amazed that he managed to jump so high so fast. Goku likewise tells Tenshinhan that he was right – if he hadn't jumped out of that way, that blast really could have killed him. The announcer surveys the scene high in the sky with some binoculars as Tenshinhan tells Goku the match is his now – with the ring destroyed, everywhere on the ground is out of bounds now, and since Tenshinhan can fly and Goku can't, there's no way for Goku to win now. On the ground below, Roshi thinks that Tenshinhan's gambit has truly paid off, but Goku asks Tenshinhan if he'd like to face his last attack, saying that he's going to take a gamble with all of his remaining strength. Tenshinhan wonders what Goku can even do falling from the air like a rock, but Goku thinks he and Tenshinhan should both be pretty equally drained of energy after that last attack. He starts to charge a Kamehameha, and Tenshinhan laughs and says he must truly be desperate if he's falling back on a move that Tenshinhan's already proven doesn't work against him. Roshi likewise says that Goku will never win with a Kamehameha. Despite everyone thinking Goku is wasting his remaining energy, Goku continues to channel the Kamehameha normally until he suddenly turns to face away from Tenshinhan. Goku releases the blast, sending himself hurtling towards Tenshinhan at rapid speed as he turns back to face him, and Tenshinhan and Roshi both suddenly realize what Goku's real plan is. Review: I think we can all agree probably that the Kikoho, while again largely just another big energy blast the likes of which we're going to be seeing a lot of from here on out, is infinitely more memorable than the Shiyo-ken. In a way, it's not even fair to compare it outright to the likes of the Kamehameha or other energy beams seen throughout the series either. The way it's presented, at least in this initial form, it's more of a large burst of energy rather than a beam, or even an energy construct like some later techniques. It's almost like a far more potent kiai, sort-of, in a way. The caveat that it can cause the death of it's user is also something that sets it apart from other energy attacks seen in the series. ...Again, sort of. Truth be told, it's the drawbacks and the scope of this move that sort of work against it just as well as for it. Sure, it's an impressive sight to behold, especially at this point in the series, but ultimately nothing that makes it unique is going to remain as wholly inherent to it as a move. The idea that using the Kikoho can bring about the death of the person that fired it is never really addressed, as the few other times we see it used in the series, Tenshinhan usually comes out of it fine in the end. And the one time it does seem to result in some lasting damage, it's hard to say for sure if it's the technique taking it's toll on him, or just pure exhaustion (or even blood loss, come to think of it...) that actually does him in. And the idea that it shortens a user's life span? Don't expect that to ever really come up again either, as Tenshinhan has been seen alive in both the likes of Super and the even further ahead in the timeline GT, so he's going to be pretty long-lived it seems like. Heck, even the size and destructive aspects of the Kikoho are going to be robbed from it and given to other moves. Even the Kamehameha will be capable of being blasts this big before too much longer, and even small blasts of concentrated energy will be shown able to do just as much, and sometimes even more, destruction. Frankly, I think Toriyama may have over-embellished the Kikoho's destructive power as well – sure, destroying the arena and leaving one hell of a crater in the ground is really impressive, but we've already seen Roshi destroy both a mountain and even the moon itself with his Kamehameha, a move that the series is in the middle of downplaying in strength in comparison to both the Kikoho and the Dodonpa. Remind us again which move is going to remain the most iconic and used of the three? All snark aside however, a lot of that is again taking from what later knowledge of the franchise brings us. It's true either way that we've seen Roshi's Kamehameha do arguably far more impressive feats than the Kikoho here, but there are a couple of caveats to consider with that. Firstly, Roshi's been using the technique longer than any of the other characters have been alive, so even if his power itself is being eclipsed, his Kamehameha is probably on a whole other level compared to the others at this point. Secondly, the first Kamehameha he fires was back in the first arc, when the series was far more comedy based; the second was in the arc immediately following that, where the transition to a more serious outlook was in it's infancy. Toriyama at the time would have had no idea what he was going to do down the line, so it's fair to see some of the same ground retread in an attempt to make really impressive and exciting set pieces. And really, at the end of the day, I just can't bring myself to hate the Kikoho. It gets the job done as an impressive technique, and far later on it's going to lend itself well to one of the best scenes Tenshinhan ever gets, a scene so good that TeamFourStar's Dragon Ball Z Abridged will play it almost more straight than for laughs – but we'll cover that when we get to it. Until next time! Favorite Panel: Next Time: A bald man rises...and a bald man falls...
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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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