Synopsis: As the Saibamen that Tenshinhan took down struggles to get back to it's feet, Nappa is in disbelief that one of their creatures could get beaten – after all, these Saibamen are all supposed to have a power level of 1,200, equal to Raditz himself. Vegeta thinks this simply means that the man before them has a higher power than that, something Nappa can't believe is possible based on their scouter readings from before. The Saibamen finally stands back up and Chaozu shouts to warn him, but Vegeta simply points two fingers at the creature and blows it up mercilessly. Nappa asks Vegeta why he killed it, and Vegeta says that it had already been beaten, and warns the other Saibamen not to underestimate their opponent and end up the same way. The Earthlings are horrified at the brutal nature of their opponent, while Piccolo is astonished at how strong he seems to be. Vegeta tells whoever's next to step up, and Kuririn starts to move forward but is stopped by Yamcha. Kuririn tries to argue, but Yamcha points out that Kuririn has already been brought back to life once before, meaning he doesn't get another chance, so he asks Kuririn to leave it to him. Another Saibamen steps forward as well, and the two clash, instantly moving quicker than the eye can see. When Gohan mentions that he can't see them, Piccolo chastises him and tells him to follow their movements by feeling their ki, not by using his eyes. Yamcha and the Saibamen continue to exchange blows, with the creature eventually moving in to grab Yamcha. Seeing this, Yamcha smirks and moves quickly behind the creature, and firing a quick Kamehameha that blasts his opponent into the ground. Nappa can't believe another of their Saibamen has been beaten, and as Yamcha lands on the ground, he says that these Saibamen aren't as tough as they seem and that he can probably clean up the other four by himself. As the downed Saibamen's hand is shown twitching however, Vegeta smirks and says that it's the Earthlings' turn to underestimate their opponent this time. Before Yamcha can react, the Saibamen leaps up and grabs him, pinning his arms against his body, and blows itself up, resulting in a large explosion. As the dust clears, everyone is horrified at the sight before them – pieces of Saibamen falling to the ground, and Yamcha's corpse lying in a crater. Vegeta laughs, and Kuririn rushes forward to check on his friend, but it's already too late. Kuririn says that Yamcha must have known that something like this would happen and that's why he wouldn't let Kuririn fight next, and begins to break down, trying to figure out how he's going to tell Bulma and Puar about this. Nappa scoffs at their Saibamen for having to settle for a draw, and Vegeta tells Kuririn to get the 'trash' off the battle field. An outraged Kuririn tells Vegeta to shut his mouth and warns everyone else to stay back. Saying that this is what he's been training for, Kuririn gathers energy in both of his hands before firing an energy beam at their opponents. Review: And we've hit it at last... There are certain moments in Dragon Ball that, for various reasons, have transcended the fandom to the level that people outside of it will somewhat recognize if shown, or will at least have heard of if they see a meme or something referencing it. Sometimes, these scenes are well known because they're big, iconic moments for a character. Scenes that make the character memorable in a grand way, and remain popular years after the scenes were first depicted. And then there are moments that aren't a character's finest moment, and never-the-less become an unfortunately memorable part of a character's history, to the point that they will never, EVER live those moments down. And in this chapter, Yamcha's downfall all but fully hits it's zenith. Before I talk more about that moment however, there's at least a few other noteworthy scenes I'd like to talk about first. The first of these is the reveal that each of these Saibamen have a power level that's supposed to equal Raditz's perfectly. Just in case you thought only Yamcha was getting smacked down further in this chapter, nope, his Saiyan counterpart of fan derision also had to get some disrespect as well. The other Saiyans have been referring to him as nothing but a weakling for some time now, but given how strong they are, you could just take that as a sign of their own strength in comparison. Now however, we find out that they can just GROW more Raditz-level creatures in a matter of seconds. That's just disrespectful to the dead, no wonder the poor guy doesn't get referenced much further than this point. And then there's Vegeta's cold and brutal nature. We've already seen how cruel these Saiyans are via Raditz, and it's been even further reinforced by some filler moments in the anime as well. That said, they've all had...I don't want to say forgivable qualities, but they've had certain nuances to them to make them less like cold killing machines and nothing else. Raditz didn't seem to actually care about his brother or nephew per say, but he did offer Goku multiple chances to join him and didn't seem all that inclined to kill his nephew either – well, not at first anyway. Nappa likewise is already being portrayed as somewhat of a dolt, and he also had that moment where his idea for a wish was bringing Raditz back. He doesn't seem to have particularly liked Raditz or anything, but he did seem to think that they'd be bringing him back to life – that at least shows SOME level of care for his fellow Saiyans, which makes sense given how few of them left there are. He also seems almost as shocked by Vegeta's actions as the heroes do at times. Vegeta however is just plain cold. He doesn't want to bring Raditz back, and never says anything resembling a kind word in his memory. He also blows up a Saibamen the moment it fails to kill Tenshinhan as he ordered it too, and threatens to do the same to the rest. If we're taking the filler into account, he also blew up a whole planet just because it was worthless to him. If the Saiyans are like demons, Vegeta is almost like the devil incarnate – a villain that even the other villains are scared of. It certainly helps make him seem even more imposing, and I can't help but think that Toriyama must have thought so too, because that element finds it's way into another villain in the future of the series as well, though with a bit of a twist. Which brings us to Yamcha's sad demise in this chapter. After Tenshinhan managed to win one his fight against the Saibamen, you'd have reason to believe that any of our heroes are probably capable of beating the Saibamen now (though let's not forget that prior to this arc, Tenshinhan was seemingly the third strongest of Earth's front line fighters). And in truth, Yamcha DOES win his fight, as the Saibamen only manages to beat him by getting a cheap shot in that also takes it's own life – even Nappa acknowledges this as a draw rather than a loss. Unfortunately however, the Saibamen are not only the bad guys, they're characters that have only just appeared and don't even talk. Yamcha is a character we've had since the very beginning of the series. This is his first time really being on the front line in a battle against an evil force, and it doesn't go that well. What I think ultimately hurts Yamcha however and makes this moment so darkly memorable for a lot of people though is once again the fact that a lot of people in the US started with Dragon Ball Z. As a result, they didn't get any of the original Yamcha material, and were introduced to him as a 'showboating womanizer (at least according to his ex) who talks big only to die immediately'. Basically it makes it look like Yamcha's even less effective than he is, because they've never seen what he's actually capable of as a fighter. It's a little ironic to think about – by only knowing the character from 'Z', you'd think he was nothing; knowing the character's back history however, you know he can fight, but you also know that this is basically par for the course. Toriyama just really can't give the poor guy a break. I mentioned after Yamcha's fight with Tenshinhan that he only really had a few more memorable moments in the series and that none of them were good – well, this is moment number one, and it's definitely the most talked about one. Honestly though, I think the next moment in line is going to be even worse for him as a character. That said, I do have to note that Kuririn might be giving Yamcha just a little too much credit as well – I don't know that I buy that Yamcha knew something bad like this was going to happen. He did say that Kuririn had already been wished back, which is true, but Yamcha IS a cocky guy (even people that like the character would agree with that assessment), and I think that may have been more his way of arguing to fight next. It's not like he tells Kuririn to leave, or expresses that kind of concern for Chaozu or anything. No, I think this is more Kuririn trying to cope with and rationalize the death of a close friend before his very eyes, a friend that he had JUST been talking to moments before. It's definitely clear that they've bonded quite a bit since their time training together before the 22nd Tenkaichi Budokai, because Kuririn is just NOT having Vegeta's talking down towards Yamcha's death. My favorite little chestnut is ANGY, guys. Until next time! Favorite Panel: Next Time: KURIRIN. IS. PISSED!
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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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