Synopsis: Flying a small capsule plane, Tenshinhan contacts Yamcha, Bulma, and Lunch at Kame House via the radio to tell them that they failed to gather the Dragon Balls and that King Piccolo had his wish for youth granted. He also informs them of the loss of Kame-sennin and Chaozu, news that greatly distresses the others. Tenshinhan warns them that if they leave Piccolo to his devices then things are only going to get worse, and says he's now looking for Piccolo's aircraft so that he can take him down, so he gives them the location of Roshi and Chaozu's bodies to retrieve. Yamcha tries to stop Tenshinhan, telling him that if he's as strong as he says, he doesn't stand a chance, but Tenshinhan tells Yamcha that he's mastered the Mafuba. Yamcha remembers that those who use the technique die, but Tenshinhan cuts him off saying that he's not merely martyring himself for the world – it's merely his pride as a martial artist that's unable to let him rest until he's taken down Piccolo. Bulma and Yamcha try again to get Tenshinhan to stop, saying that they can just use the Dragon Balls to set things right over the next few years, but Oolong interrupts when he catches the news saying something about Piccolo. They turn up the TV in time to hear the King's speech handing his seat to Piccolo, but the old man finishes by begging someone to please defeat Piccolo and save the world. Piccolo grabs the King by the throat and reminds him he wasn't supposed to improvise, but Piccolo spares his life for now. Taking over the speech, Piccolo announces himself as the new king, and forewarns the world that they should know exactly how strong he is from the examples he's given by blowing up parts of the city. As Lunch and the others get their first look at Piccolo, Tenshinhan overhears this over the radio and realizes Piccolo must be at King's Castle, changing course to head there immediately. King Piccolo continues his speech by saying that the words he hates most are 'justice' and 'peace', but says that nobody should worry about him trying to enslave them. In fact, he wants the opposite – he tells everyone to do whatever they want, as he's abolishing every form of law enforcement, allowing people to steal, destroy, and murder as much as they want, with the only people he plans to exterminate outright are those who try to uphold order. As he welcomes them all to his glorious new world of terror, Yamcha and Bulma wonder if his monstrous plan is serious, though Lunch comments that it doesn't sound all that bad to her. Up on Karin's tower, Goku can tell that he's way stronger than he was before, almost to the point that he doesn't even recognize himself. Despite this, his heart feels really calm, and Karin too is amazed at the change in Goku's nature. Yajirobe says Goku doesn't look that different to him, but Goku suddenly looks to the distance and says he can feel a huge evil power, surmising that it must be Piccolo. Karin is astounded that Goku can just feel the energy, and Goku says he's going to go take care of Piccolo now, certain that he can really do it this time. Karin wishes him luck and says he has faith in him as well, and also gives Goku a gift – calling out for kinto'un, a much larger cloud suddenly appears beside the tower. Karin tells Goku to tear off however much he'd like to ride, and Goku asks if the kinto'un he got from Roshi came from here, with Karin confirming that he gave it to Roshi long ago. Goku is ovejoyed and takes a portion of kinto'un roughly the same size as his previous one. Goku offers to take Yajirobe with him, but Yajirobe chooses to stay behind, wanting no part in fighting Piccolo. Goku thanks Karin again for everything he's done and says he'll be back if he survives, and flies off on kinto'un, heading towards Piccolo. Watching Goku leave, Yajirobe marvels at how fast kinto'un can move and asks Karin to give him one as well, but Karin says he doubts he could ride one in the first place. Karin is still astounded by how strong Goku has become and thinks he might actually stand a chance now, while back at King's Castle, Piccolo continues his broadcast, promising the people of the world that he's just getting started. Review: When Piccolo killed Kame-sennin and Chaozu and had his wish granted, I referred to those events as the beginning of this story arc's second half. Looking back now, I probably should have referred to it more as the beginning of the intermission, during which we see both sides – Piccolo's side and Goku's side, with a bit of Tenshinhan as well – preparing for the final phase of the arc. In Piccolo's case, this meant disposing of the Pilaf gang that was no longer of use to him, and heading towards King's Castle to finish his takeover of the world. In Goku's however, it meant healing up from his prior defeat, as well as trying to find some way to get stronger. Tenshinhan's mostly unseen efforts amount to the same end as well, though he always had a particular idea in mind as opposed to Goku, who really lucked out that the Super Bullsh – er, Super Holy Water, existed. It's a little sad to see how little Goku's other friends have to do in this arc though. If I'm remembering correctly, this is the first time in the manga we've even seen them since everyone left the tournament grounds, and we pretty much won't see them again until the arc's over and done with either. On the one hand, there's not really much they could have contributed at this point, with Yamcha's leg still being on the mend and nobody else being a fighter, but on the other – well, come up with something for them to do! In the future, Toriyama's writing will continue to be a sort of mixed bag when it comes to giving characters not at the forefront of the team things to do during the arc, but overall he does get a little better at it than what's on display here...kind of. We'll talk about that when we get to it though. With King Piccolo's speech over the airwaves, we finally get some indication of what exactly it is he plans to do when he rules the world, and it certainly is a pretty grim picture. Say what you will about the state of things in this world of ours – and believe me, there is plenty to say that I am both ill-equipped to fully get into nor is an anime/manga review blog the place to do it – but laws, or at least the idea of laws, are in place to help keep the peace and garner a greater good in our society. The things that King Piccolo wants to happen freely, in particularly the 'right' to hurt, or worse, kill others, is a terrifying thing to think about. He basically wants to create the world from that horror movie The Purge, and I think we can all agree that there's enough chaos and discontent without people having even the least bit of worry about legal ramifications for murder. That's all thinking about this far more broadly than Toriyama intends it however, as really the only thing he's getting at here with Piccolo's new game plan for the world is 'chaos is bad'. He also keeps things from getting too heavy with Lunch's great comment about thinking this all sounds pretty good to her. Dammit Toriyama, I know what's coming, don't start making me actually like Lunch again this far in. Goku's side of things is kept a little more vague in contrast. He and Karin are both pretty sure that he's gained a lot of power, but there's not really anything to go on just yet other than their word, though there is Goku's newfound ability to sense energy. This is something that will become extremely commonplace amongst our heroes as the series progresses, and unlike flight which will get an explanation on how that works (far later into the series, but still), this common ability never really does get explained. We don't even really know exactly how one learns it. One would be forgiven for thinking it had something to do with reaching a certain level of power, but Goku has already far eclipsed Roshi and just learns it, whereas there have been a few indications of Roshi having at least a vague ability to sense energy a well. There's also an entire set of groups who are all far, far stronger than any of the characters are right now, and not a single one of them has the ability to sense energy, so... If I had to guess, I'd wager this is sort of similar to the kiai we've seen a few times, in that it's a more fantasy-oriented take on an actual martial arts technique or methodology, and as such Toriyama expects most Japanese audiences to already be familiar with such things, so it doesn't really need explained any further. While that's left unexplained however, we get an answer to a question we didn't even know we had, and that's where Roshi got the kinto'un in the first place. It makes sense that he'd have received it from either his own master Mutaito or from someone like Karin, and given Karin's mystical nature, it makes the most sense that it comes from him. You have to wonder though, how few other people have actually qualified for their own kinto'un over the years? For that matter, where'd they come from in the first place, and is Karin the only person you can receive one from? This answer just ends up raising more questions come to think of it. 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
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