Synopsis: Goku and Yamcha try in vain to break everyone out of the cell, but it's no good, the walls are too strong. Thinking that there's no way the gang has any chance of escaping, the Pilaf crew play cards together before finally heading off to bed to rest up for the fun they'll have seeing everyone cooked alive in the morning. Out of energy, Goku and Yamcha have given up trying to break the cell walls, and everyone begins to accept that this really could be the end for them. Oolong notices Puar floating up at the roof, and when questioned Puar says he wants to look at something pretty before he dies, namely the full moon. Hearing this, Goku cautions them that a monster comes out at the full moon. Bulma scoffs at this idea as just some campfire story about a werewolf or something, but Goku insists that it's true, saying that his grandpa was killed by being stepped on by the monster. Yamcha is surprised to hear that it was a monster that killed such a legendary martial artist, but Goku insists that the monster killed him, destroyed the house, the trees, everything around them. When Oolong questions Goku about what sort of monster did all that, Goku says he never saw it because he slept through the whole attack, before adding that his grandpa always used to warn him never to look at the full moon. A sudden wave of horror descends upon the group as the seeming implications crash down over them. It doesn't seem like it'd be possible, but... Bulma asks Goku if he looked at the full moon the nigh this grandpa died, and Goku confirms that he did by accident while peeing. The gang continues to wonder if this could all possibly be true – Goku's obviously not normal, but a monster? There's really only one way to test it but it's too dangerous to do so, so Bulma points to the ceiling and warns Goku not to look at the moon, only for him to turn around and do just that. The gang is terrified, but at first nothing seems to happen. Just as they relax however, Goku's eyes widen and his body begins to shake. Before their very eyes, Goku begins transforming into something truly monstrous! In his bedchambers, Pilaf and his crew wake up and wonder what could be causing such a racket just as Goku, now fully transformed into a gigantic ape-like creature, smashes his way free from the holding cell. Review: Toriyama takes full advantage of the story's focus on the titular Dragon Balls being done for now to basically throw curveball after curveball at us, and it's astounding how natural he manages to make it all feel. None of our new reveals were hinted at in any way prior to this chapter, but they're each built upon the backbone of previously established information, thus making it much easier to believe when the new tidbits come to light. Take Goku's revelation about how his grandpa died. There was no great mystery to it really prior to this. Goku never indicated that anything untoward had happened, so up until now it would have been safe enough for anyone to assume that Gohan had simply died of old age. Even when the mythos of Gohan started to get built up as this incredible martial artist, that still didn't rule out the idea of him just dying in his sleep one night or something. The idea that he was killed is a brand new one, and it changes the game completely, at least in regards to Goku. The second part of Goku's revelation changes it even more. Even without Bulma's werewolf comment, it's immediately suspect that Gohan would both warn Goku about a monster that comes out on full moon nights while also telling Goku himself NOT to took at the full moon. Those two statements alone make the nature of Goku take on a whole new light, especially when you look back on previously established facts about him. Goku himself has no idea where he's come from, only that his grandpa found him in the woods, and that he has a tail. There's no clue whatsoever what Goku's real origin is at this point in the story, he's a mystery, and a mystery like that is just ripe for something weird to come out of it. In this instance, the something weird is a gigantic ape monster that's transformation is triggered the same way a werewolf's is. And as if the monster's existence itself isn't enough of a surprise, we now know that this monstrous form of Goku was strong enough to kill Gohan, a man who was known as the strongest martial artist ever trained by the invincible Muten Roshi. For a manga that ended it's first chapter with a pee joke, things have definitely just upped the ante quite a bit. That said, this casual approach of just revealing huge changes like this to the story, as Toriyama does so often, isn't without it's own weaknesses when you start to analyze them. In this instance, nothing breaks the story, but a few questions do arise. First off, how does Gohan know all of this about Goku's transformation? It's easy enough to answer by assuming that Goku must have transformed at least once before, probably before Gohan had trained him further, and was just weak enough for Gohan to handle. Nothing in the story ever gives us that answer however, so even though it makes sense logically? It's still an assumption on our part. Secondly, Goku states that the house and everything around it was destroyed by the monster's rampage. For the assumed first transformation, we can also assume Gohan was there to help clean up the area and fix up the house. For the incident that killed Gohan however? Goku would have been left all alone, and it's a little hard to imagine him at this point in the story being capable of rebuilding even a house as small as Gohan's was. That's really the only answer that makes any sort of sense though, so... *shrugs* Goku's transformation is itself done very well. We see just enough of the steps in it's process to really be able to picture how it takes place, and the ape manages to look terrifying in it's own way to boot. As a final note once again, I love that no matter how evil the Pilaf gang is, they're still goofy enough to just be playing cards and then going to a shared bedroom – with separate beds, you heathens – before their next day of villainy. They're what Team Rocket would later aspire to be, really. Until next time! Favorite Panel: Next Time: GOKU ANGRY! GOKU SMASH! GOKU STRONGEST THERE IS!
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