Synopsis: Tenshinhan commends Goku for how much stronger he's gotten after three years of training, but warns him that there's one crucial thing that doesn't seem to have changed at all – his speed. Seeking to prove his point, Tenshinhan disappears, and Goku quickly hurries after him, with the crowd once again being left unable to see the fighters. Even Kuririn and Yamcha lose track of them for a moment, finally spotting them in mid-air, where Goku kicks at Tenshinhan and misses, as Tenshinhan praises him for seeing him. Tenshinhan says that seeing his movements won't be enough however, and Tenshinhan quickly flies above Goku, slamming an elbow into him and sending him crashing back down to the ring.
Goku manages to land properly, and as Tenshinhan disappears again, Goku launches himself into an elbow strike aimed at where Tenshinhan is moving to. He catches only an afterimage however, and as Goku tries to get out of the way, Tenshinhan catches him from behind with a vicious kick. Goku manages not to get thrown out of bounds by spinning his body like a top, landing back in the ring. Goku says Tenshinhan moved even faster that last time so he must have been holding back before, and Tenshinhan confesses that he'd wanted to see what Goku could do. Finding that Goku's speed truly hasn't changed much, Tenshinhan claims victory for himself, and even Goku praises him, saying he never imagined Tenshinhan could get so fast. Goku asks Tenshinhan if he can take a moment to get out of some of his clothes, and Tenshinhan agrees, noting that it is pretty hot out. As Goku starts to remove parts of his gi, Kami (as Shen) is amused that Goku's already taking it off, noting that he must consider Tenshinhan to be quite the opponent. As Goku struggles with and finally gets off his undershirt, he drops it on the floor of the ring, making a rather loud thud and catching Tenshinhan's attention. As Goku continues stripping, Tenshinhan picks up the shirt and is surprised to find out how heavy it is. Goku says that it's the same concept as the training he did before with Roshi while wearing a heavy turtle shell, and as he removes them, it's revealed that Goku's wrist-bands and boots are all extremely heavy as well, his entire weighted clothing weighing about 200 pounds. Goku is surprised by how much lighter his body feels now that he's taken off the weights, while Tenshinhan is likewise surprised to find out that Goku was fighting him so well while wearing such things, saying it was little wonder his speed didn't seem to have increased at all. Tenshinhan thinks this will make things more interesting now, and the two fighters rush each other once more. Goku moves quicker now, but Tenshinhan is still able to follow his movements, catching up with Goku and forcing him to block an incoming strike. Tenshinhan chuckles and says that Goku might be a little faster this way, but he still can't keep up with his own speed. Goku laughs as well, and as the two back away, he asks Tenshinhan what's in his hands then, holding up a stretch of fabric. Tenshinhan recognizes the sash of his gi just as his pants fall down. Review: Coming off of the end of the previous chapter, the fight seemed very much like it was going in Goku's favor. He was able to match everything that Tenshinhan threw at him, and wasn't even winded in the slightest, compared to Tenshinhan who was already having to catch his breath a little. To keep things exciting, this time the pendulum starts to swing back in the other direction, making it look like Tenshinhan is the one who has this fight in the bag...at least, at first. It is an interesting notion brought up, that someone could be stronger yet slower than their opponent who is weaker but faster than them. It's a notion we'll see the series kind of flirt with in the future as well, but unfortunately, it's something that's very rarely actually put into practice. If two fighters are relatively close in strength, then the factor of who's faster might come into play, but more often than not, the stronger character is also the faster one. While this does make some narrative sense, especially as the characters begin to focus more and more on ki use, it is disappointing, and definitely puts an even greater limiter on what the characters can do, especially as a large chunk of the cast falls even more dramatically behind what Goku and the other future front-runners are capable of. As much as I love this series, it's not without it's faults, and that the very ethos of it's combat usually boils down to 'who can hit harder and how are they going to hit the hardest today' is definitely one of them. No series is perfect, but there are definitely series that manage to make their combat systems feel at least a little more balanced in that regard – that said however, many of the examples I can think of came out after Dragon Ball, so there's a decent chance that some series like Naruto and One Piece learned lessons from where Dragon Ball faltered as well as from where it prospered. Seeing the return of heavy weights for training is definitely a welcome addition to this arc, particularly with it coming in the form of clothing that Goku can wear and it not look as out of place as the large turtle shells had. Factoring the weights into the new default look of Goku's clothing was a wise choice on Toriyama's part from a design perspective, but it also works wonders as a narrative choice as well. Now Goku has the ability to up the ante without necessarily going full force either, adding another gradual step to his power increase at any given time. It's basically the same function that powering up and later transformations will serve a well, an easy visual showing of how hard or not a character is trying at any given time. Once Goku has removed his weights however, the pendulum that had swung towards Tenshinhan's favor is immediately wrenched right back over to Goku's side, as he makes Tenshinhan drop his drawers, and all I can say is it's a good thing Tenshinhan didn't go commando that day. Or a bad thing I guess, if you're into that sort of thing. 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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