Synopsis: Standing atop the king's escape ship, King Piccolo kicks open the top of it and asks him if it's really fitting for the King of the World to run away like a rat. The King asks Piccolo who he is, and Piccolo introduces himself as the Demon King who will be taking the title of King of the World for himself now. One of the King's soldiers tries to shoot Piccolo, only to be taken by surprise when it has no effect. Piccolo chuckles at how they still don't seem to understand his power, before picking the soldier up by his head. The King pleads with Piccolo to let the man go, and Piccolo obliges by dropping him from the plane to the ground far below. The King asks Piccolo to state whatever it is he's after, and Piccolo reiterates that he's here to claim the position of King of the World for himself, and he wants the current King to announce the new situation to the entire world at once. The King says he couldn't possibly do such a thing, causing Piccolo to say he thought something like this might happen so he's prepared to give a 'demonstration'. He raises a fist in front of his face and the King asks him what he's going to do, and Piccolo tells him to watch closely before channeling his energy and causing a large section of the city below to explode, much to the horror of the King and his remaining soldier. Piccolo explains that if he's annoyed, he won't hesitate to destroy the entire world like this, so he asks the King once again to cede power to him lest he turn the entire area before them into a desert. Left with no other choice, the King agrees to Piccolo's demands. At Karin's tower, Yajirobe tries to catch his breath while Karin marvels at how remarkable the fat man is for climbing the tower while carrying Goku on his back. As Yajirobe is taken aback by a talking cat, Goku starts to explain the situation to Karin, but Karin already knows about his defeat and what's going on down below with King Piccolo, saying that he can see events of the world from his tower. Since Karin already has the gist of things, Goku asks him to please train him once again so he can get strong enough to take down Piccolo. Karin doesn't answer right away, instead tossing Goku a senzu bean. Hearing the name of it, Yajirobe is appalled that the 'feast' he was promised was such a little bean, and grabbing the pot from Karin, begins stuffing his face with them while complaining about the taste. Yajirobe soon balloons up from overeating and ends up back on the floor groaning in pain, while Goku explains that one bean will fill you up for ten days. After eating his own however, Goku is surprised to find himself healed as well as his stomach filled, and Karin explains that the senzu are able to restore energy and heal injuries as well. Now completely renewed, Goku asks Karin again to train him, but Karin informs Goku that he's already taught him all that he can, and tells Goku that he's already surpassed him in power to boot. Karin also says that it's impossible to win against Piccolo as his strength is otherworldly, and he was even too much for Kame-sennin to survive against. Goku is enraged at the news of his master's death, and angrily starts to storm off to fight Piccolo again, but Karin stops him and says he'll just die if he goes. Goku says he can't just let Piccolo keep getting away with this, and Karin asks him again if he's really willing to die if that's what it comes to. When Goku is undeterred, Karin says that if he's likely going to die anyway, then Goku may want to try and drink the Super Holy Water. Review: Like the previous chapter, this one gives us equal parts more or less on what Piccolo and Goku are both up to. This time around however, both Goku and Piccolo's portions move the story along and give us something to think about, but let's start things off with Piccolo since that's what the chapter does as well. With the cliffhanger ending of the previous chapter, we've now been introduced to the King of the World, and as I mentioned...he's a dog. This isn't the first or the last time we'll see animal people in the world of Dragon Ball (though it is something that becomes more and more irregular as the series continues sadly), but this is the first time since Oolong and Puar that one has been given any relevancy to the story whatsoever. I mean, if being King of the entire world isn't relevant, I don't know what is. The idea of the entire Earth of Dragon Ball being ruled by a single person is something that I don't think has ever come up before this arc either. Sure, ruling the world has been the desire of three different villainous entities by now – Pilaf wanted to wish to rule the world, and both the Red Ribbon before him and Piccolo curently have endeavored to conquer the world – but those were always coming from a position of taking it by force in some capacity. Despite that, nothing was ever said about there already being a solitary King in charge of the entire thing. The Red Ribbon's endgame likely would have been something akin to what Piccolo is now doing, just with more guns, but it really makes you wonder how Pilaf's wish would have gone if he'd actually gotten it. Would Shenlong have made the King call him up, give him the crown, and then announce it to the entire world? Would it have just been mass mind control and made everyone think Pilaf already was King? It's interesting to think about. At any rate, having the entire Earth be one collective society rather than there being different countries (though there do seem to be regions with their own cultures and lifestyles from what we've seen) does unfortunately make the world seem a little smaller than it was before. Everywhere Goku has gone before now has always been part of this same 'kingdom' as it were, and anywhere he could potentially go on Earth from here on out would also be a part of it. I don't think we would ever have realistically expected any sort of political intrigue or war between countries kind of story from Toriyama, but what I'm getting at is that having essentially a one world country be what Earth in the series amounts to does sort of limit the potential journeys Goku could go on from this point forward. With that in mind, it's easy to see why things ultimately go the way that they do in the 'Z' era. Piccolo's actions in proving his point by blowing up part of the city do more than convince the King to hand over his throne (a move that can be read into as him realizing this is the only way to save more lives at the moment), it also convinces us as an audience of just how much stronger Piccolo has become. Once again ignoring those times Roshi blew up a mountain and later the moon (man Toriyama really peaked a little too early with that one, huh?), we've not really seen anything quite on this level of destruction in the series. If nothing else, we've at least never seen those levels of destruction without it also taking a lot out of the character – Roshi was out of breath for a bit after blowing up the mountain, and he was all but spent from destroying the moon. Piccolo isn't even the least bit winded from blowing up the city, showing that he still has plenty of power in reserve. Things are about as stacked against Goku's favor as they could possibly be at this point. Which of course brings us to Goku's portion of the story. Before talking about the main reveal of that section though, let's first talk about the slight retcon going on in regards to the senzu. When they were first introduced to us, they were merely a bean that could fill your stomach up for ten days, something that worked even on the ravenous Goku. As a tool to utilize, they were pretty limited with that being their only function, so Toriyama reintroduces them here as basically a super medicine as well. I'm kinda of two minds on this one to be honest. On the one hand, the senzu being healing items is something I've known them as for basically my entire life as a fan, having been introduced to the Z material first like a lot of US fans were. They've always been useful in a pinch, and have allowed characters to get back onto their feet and ready for the next fight after brutal beatdowns so that the story can keep moving forward without having to go on break for a time so healing can happen. They're useful plot macguffins, arguably more so than the Dragon Balls, since these aren't limited to one use a year. At the same time, their usefulness kind of becomes a problem in-of-itself, which leads to Toriyama having to come up with reasons to limit them, as well as being yet another safety net for the characters to fall back on so things don't feel TOO dangerous. It also can't help but feel like the retcon it is since they just so happen to be revealed as medicinal right when Goku goes back a second time, injured, when nothing had been hinted as such prior to that. I'd be curious to hear how others feel about this change in senzu's capability. But then comes the arguably bigger reveal, though some of that I won't talk about until the next review. Karin reveals to Goku that there's nothing he can do to make Goku stronger than he already is as well as the death of Roshi, meaning Goku's down two masters in one conversation. It really seems like there's nothing that can be done, but Goku would much rather face Piccolo again and die – something that would almost definitely happen, even with Goku no doubt getting a power boost here (for reasons we learn far later), due to Piccolo's restored youth and powers – than stand by and do nothing. Which is why Karin decides to offer for him to drink the 'Super Holy Water'. But wait, haven't we already DONE this? Well, sort of...except this time...ugh. Fair warning – there's a rant in your future. 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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