Synopsis: Goku warns Piccolo that he's never seen something like this, and starts to prepare his 'Super' Kamehameha, surprising his friends at such a thing, with Kuririn suggesting that it must be even better than the usual Kamehameha. Before Goku can fire the blast however, Roshi shouts for him to stop, reminding him that if he kills Piccolo, then Kami will die as well. Goku curses himself for forgetting something like that, and Piccolo laughs, saying that Goku's greatest weakness is his sentimentality. He claims to share no such weakness, stating that while Goku's caring won't allow him to fight him full force, Piccolo can do whatever he wants – including killing everyone there in an instant. The announcer and crowd are taken aback by this statement, and Piccolo vows to show them all a splendid hell, with his only regret being that their deaths will be instantaneous and he won't get to enjoy their suffering. As Piccolo starts charging his energy, Goku shouts that it's unfair and that Piccolo is fighting him and him alone, so he should leave everyone else out of it. Piccolo however, asks Goku if he really thinks that he cares. As Piccolo prepares to fire the blast, Bulma and Oolong wonder if this is some sort of joke, and Goku and his other friends brace themselves for what's coming. Suddenly, Kuririn shouts to Goku that they still have the Dragon Balls, reminding him that they can be used to bring Kami back to life even if Goku does kill Piccolo, and urging him to fire the Super Kamehameha. Goku thanks Kuririn for reminding him about that, and gets back into position. Piccolo laughs, saying that Shenlong was destroyed three years ago, and fires another massive blast towards Goku in the ring. Goku counters by saying that Shenlong was brought back, and fires a massive Kamehameha, larger than any he's fired before. The two blasts meet in the air, and Piccolo is horrified as Goku's blast overtakes his own and he's bathed in energy, barely able to cross his arms before him to try to withstand it. As everyone watching is thrown back by the force of the attack, Goku pants at last as his blast finishes firing. Much to his surprise however, Piccolo is still alive, floating in the air high above. As Goku praises his ability to withstand such an attack, Piccolo is shown not to be entirely unscathed, as his turban and much of his gi have been ripped apart. Review: So that part about old tricks not coming to save Goku now was a bit of a lie as you can now tell, but not entirely – it says right on the name, it's a SUPER Kamehameha! That's totally and legally distinct from a regular Kamehameha, and if you disagree, why, Toriyama will see you all in court. I joke, but honestly, as overdone as the technique is going to become in time, I really can't blame Toriyama for reutilizing it in this way, as by now it had already become an incredibly iconic part of Goku's character. Basically, if you show off his haircut, his gi, or say the name of this attack, people are almost always going to instantly know you're showing them or talking to them about Dragon Ball, and at the end of the day, the goal of this series was always just as much about staying popular and making money as it ever was to tell an engaging story, so why mess with success? It's worth noting that that's exactly what Toriyama did by aging Goku up at all however, so you can't help but wonder if keeping this attack was always Toriyama's plan, or if it was another concession towards allowing him to change things up as much as he ultimately did. As far as I'm aware, nothing suggesting that has ever been said in any interview or guidebook however, so I'm entirely hypothesizing here. For all intents and purposes, the Super Kamehameha truly is the same attack, right down to how it's performed, just bigger and better. If the previous Kamehameha were a rifle, this is a high-powered tank, and given what we just saw Piccolo pull off last time, it was something Goku definitely needed in his arsenal for it to be believable that he could beat him. Hell, it's arguable he needed something of this level when he defeated King Piccolo. Now that it's here, it's basically here to stay, and pretty safe to assume that practically every other Kamehameha we see from this point on is of the Super variety, either by size or just power. Piccolo's commentary on what he's willing to do and Goku isn't is basically a retread of what I discussed last chapter, so there's not really much for me to add to it this time. Instead, I do however want to talk a little bit about Kuririn's remarks here that urge Goku on to fire the Super Kamehameha after all, though I can't fully dive into this moment until towards the end of the arc unfortunately. For now however, I do like that it's Kuririn, the one character on the scene who's died and been brought back before, that brings up the idea of just reviving Kami after the fact. It's a good plan in theory, and he's the perfect person to bring up such an idea...it's just a shame that, after everything is said and done, this moment is part of the one plotline of this arc that's a little...off, at least in implementation if nothing else. It's also worth noting that Piccolo seems to remember that Shenlong was destroyed, but has absolutely no memory that Kuririn should be dead if the Dragon Balls weren't brought back. In all fairness, King Piccolo probably paid very little attention to the faces of those that Tambourine said he'd already killed, so it's a forgivable enough misunderstanding on his part. That said, you'd think he would have maybe considered the idea that Goku could have convinced Kami to bring them back, especially given the presence of both of them here at the tournament. With Piccolo's survival of the Super Kamehameha, it's clear that this fight still isn't over just yet, as neither character has been as injured as one might think after facing off with energy blasts strong enough to level entire countrysides. Piccolo's outfit seems to have taken more damage than anything else, and believe it or not, that's actually going to have ramifications of it's own. 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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