Synopsis: As King Piccolo and Goku continue to square off, Tenshinhan can't believe his eyes at how well Goku is doing. Piccolo scoffs in disbelief himself, but Goku says it's his turn to attack this time. Piccolo mocks him, asking if he really plans to attack the great Demon King, while boldly proclaiming that the moment Goku sees his true power will be his last. Goku however says that Piccolo has taken away a lot of things he really cared about and he can't let him get away with that. As Piccolo's attendant and Tenshinhan watch on, Goku is able to quickly land a punch to Piccolo's jaw, sending him flying backwards and crash-landing into the attendant, killing the pterodactyl-like demon instantly. As Tenshinhan marvels at Goku's speed, noting that not even his eyes were able to see any of Goku's movements, Goku stands formidably before Piccolo, ready to continue the fight. Tenshinhan notes that even he's starting to get a little afraid of Goku purely because of how strong he's clearly become. Getting back to his feet, Piccolo angrily swears to make Goku pay, and launches at the boy again, trying again to hit him by any means necessary. Piccolo eventually manages to land a kick that knocks Goku back, but Goku leaps back in and lands a kick of his own to Piccolo's chest, winding the demon, but Goku doesn't stop there. Goku presses forward with a flurry of punches to Piccolo's chest, ultimately kicking him once again and staggering him back even further, though Piccolo just barely manages to remain standing by the end. Rather than growing even more enraged however, Piccolo merely smirks and chuckles. He praises Goku as being the first opponent to have injured his pride so severely, worrying Tenshinhan that the demon may yet have something up his sleeve. Goku confirms this by telling Piccolo to come at him with his full power already, horrifying Tenshinhan. Piccolo laughs and says he's not surprised Goku noticed, and says that fighting at full power shortens his life so he prefers not to do it too often. Faced with Goku however, he's left with no choice, and lets out a yell, channeling his ki to it's maximum level. Tenshinhan is taken aback by Piccolo's aura, and Piccolo tells Goku he hopes he's prepared for what he's unleashed. Goku says the same back to him however, stating that he can fight all out now as well. Piccolo doubts Goku's posturing however, and both agree the only real way to test things now is to continue the fight. Piccolo waves his arm in front of him, causing a shock wave that almost pushes Goku back just from the air pressure alone. As Goku braces himself, Tenshinhan is horrified by such power. Review: This chapter contains a lot of the tropes that Dragon Ball is known for, and while it's not really the first chapter to dabble with them, it does bring them even more into focus when they're all gathered in one place like this. Two super strong characters fighting while other people are on the sideline making comments about how incredible it all is, one character saying they're not even using their full power and then deciding to kick things up a notch while the other responds in kind – these are all things we're going to be seeing a lot more of moving forward, and while it does kind of feel like we've been here and seen this all before the more and more it happens, I can't lie and say it's not effective at building the drama as well, chiefly because we've seen what came before this that helped set up this whole conflict. If it hadn't been for Goku's previous defeat as well as the loss of his master and friend, or for Piccolo's own gains, this material wouldn't hold up as well as it does. Toriyama already knows exactly what to do to make a final fight compelling, and he's utilizing it to great effect here. There is of course still a few hang-ups here and there though. If everything I mentioned before is definitely going to become old by the end of the series, than the one thing that's already become very, very old, is people commenting on how fast someone is going and saying it's impossible to see with their eyes. We've seen this going all the way back to the 21st Tenkaichi Budokai, and by now any of that fighting feels quaint in comparison. It's no doubt true that the characters are only getting faster and faster now, and that even stronger characters that would normally be able to keep up with such things are suddenly finding themselves in that same position of being outclassed. My problem isn't with it being unrealistic by any means, it fits perfectly well within the situations the story keeps finding itself in – it's just really dull and predictable to see happen time and time again. Surely there has to be some other way to get the point across that these characters are moving faster and faster, and if there's not, maybe just let the sense of speed speak for itself rather than having people comment on it all the time? Manga is a limited medium to some degree, but it is still a visual one, and as such, a certain degree of show not tell is always better, and this just feels a little too much like telling, at least for my tastes. Speaking of not telling though – RIP, er, Piccolo's attendant, I guess. Poor guy never even got his name revealed in the manga proper, though the anime saw fit to call him Piano, fitting with the musical instrument name puns going on with Piccolo's group. It's hard to really feel anything about his loss given he never really did anything, but that in-of-itself's a little sad I suppose. It does bring into question how much or how little Piccolo actually cares about his minions though, because despite his outrage at Tambourine, Cymbal, and Drum's deaths before, he doesn't even seem to register that Piano's dead at all. So much for the first born son I guess. The fight choreography after Piano's death is much better than it was prior, with a lot of shots that seem to be calling back to Goku and Piccolo's first clash, which more than works for me because a lot of that was really creative and fun to look at. I also love how expressive Piccolo's face can be in a lot of these shots, it's something I wish had been kept around to a better degree for a certain future related character, though I guess that would have been...odd...for certain scenes. I'm not really sure how to feel about the notion that Piccolo's full power is so great that it shortens his life however. It's something that comes out of nowhere, and seems to not really be a concern for any other character going forward, so it's a little weird when looking back. I suppose it could be more akin to just being really taxing on his body and thus likely to shorten his lifespan, akin to a later technique of Goku's; or perhaps he hasn't had the occasion to hone his body to get it used to using all of that power, akin to a later villain's modern-era transformation. Either way, given how long-lived the character already is and that he's already had the clock reset as it were, don't be so stingy Piccolo. The rest of us are lucky if we even get to approach 100, you've got plenty of time left if you shave off a few years to win a fight. 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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