Synopsis: Bora helps give Goku and Yajirobe a head start to getting back up Karin's tower by throwing the pair high into the air, past the lowest clouds. Yajirobe grabs hold of the tower and complains that even with that, he still can't see the top, and Goku tells him it'll be a bit further yet. Left with no other choice, Yajirobe begins to climb up the tower. At the castle of the King of the World, King Piccolo and his minion gloat over what will soon be their home. As the pair start to walk inside, Piccolo is confronted by a soldier who tells him nobody can enter without the king's permission, and Piccolo kills the man with a chop to the neck while proclaiming that he is the king. Another soldier tries to shoot Piccolo to no effect, and Piccolo blows him up with a pair of energy beams shot from his eyes. Forcing his way through the front gate, Piccolo and his attendant are soon surrounded by even more soldiers, with Piccolo smirking and referring to them as annoying bugs. At Karin's tower, Yajirobe is quickly running out of breath while climbing the tower, and demands Goku confess that this is all some trick. Goku insists that it's just a little further, and Yajirobe is annoyed and says Goku has been claiming that for hours now. Looking down, Yajirobe thinks it's too scary to climb back down now though, so he keeps climbing upward. Having made his way through the soldiers, Piccolo now steps inside the castle proper. His advance is stopped by a much larger soldier, who has seen the 'demonic powers' that Piccolo uses, as well as the fact that guns don't seem to work on him. The soldier is confident that his strength will be enough to stop Piccolo however. Piccolo offers the soldier the chance to give up and join him instead, promising him a place as his shoe-shiner, but the soldier refuses and orders Piccolo to surrender. Piccolo scoffs at the order as he claims it's the soldier that's about to die. Enraged, the soldier throws a punch at Piccolo, but Piccolo easily catches it in hand. Piccolo backhands the soldier into the wall before grabbing him by the front of his uniform. Piccolo asks the soldier where he can find the person who currently calls himself 'king', and when the soldier refuses to talk, Piccolo stabs him through the chest with his hand, killing him instantly. As other soldiers that had been watching until now try to flee, Piccolo cuts them off and asks again where the 'king' is, with one soldier telling him about the top of the western tower. Piccolo's attendant spots a small aircraft trying to leave, and Piccolo chuckles before flying after it. At Karin's tower, Yajirobe asks Goku if what he sees in the distance now really is the top, only to discover that Goku has fallen asleep much to his annoyance. He tries to wake Goku up as they're almost at the top, while back at the King's castle, Piccolo has landed on top of the escaping aircraft. Review: While both Goku and King Piccolo are actively on the move in this chapter, it's only Piccolo's part of the story that's actually engaging, and I think Toriyama knew that since it's front and center while Goku's part is kind of running in the background. To be fair, we've already seen Goku climb the tower once before, so there's not really much we can get out of seeing Yajirobe do the same. It is worth noting however that due to Bora's help, Yajirobe doesn't actually climb the entire length of the tower, which could potentially explain him not receiving Karin's training, at least not that we ever get to see. He does climb the vast majority of it though, with the weight of someone else clinging to his back, so that surely counts for something right? The main other point of interest with Goku and Yajirobe's section is that it starts out in the daylight but is night by the end of it, whereas it remains daylight throughout all of Piccolo's section. I guess there's a bit of a time zone difference between the two areas. It's a small thing, but it does help sell how far apart the two locations are in a simple, effective way. Piccolo's casual stroll into the King's castle is a little bit reminiscent of Goku's storming of Red Ribbon HQ, but it's even more of a curb-stomp. Here in the manga at least though, it doesn't look like the King's army throws anywhere near the same level of firepower at this intruder that the Red Ribbon did at Goku. We do get to see a neat new power from Piccolo out of it though, his eye beams, so it's fun enough I suppose (and I suspect showing off this particular skill of his is probably one of the main purposes of the scene, to establish he has that kind of attack in his arsenal). The large soldier that tries to take on Piccolo is unnamed, and only around for a short while, but you can't help but wonder just how strong of a fighter he is or isn't. He certainly seems confident, but we've seen that type get knocked down with ease since the very beginning of the story, and seeing as how the only person we see him fight is someone way out of his league, it's really impossible to say for sure. I'm sure someone out there has a power level theory for the guy though. And the chapter ends with our first look at the King of the world – which is something else I'll talk about a bit in the next review – and he's...a dog. Huh. 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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