Synopsis: Kuririn pleads for the Genki Dama to hit Vegeta, but due to Yajirobe's yell, Vegeta is able to jump out of the way. Goku, Yajirobe, Kuririn, and a far away Kaio-sama all watch with horror as the energy sphere bypasses Vegeta entirely and heads for Gohan instead. Goku telepathically contacts Gohan and tells him that he should be able to bounce it back as he doesn't have evil ki, and Gohan reacts quickly, throwing up his arms and successfully bouncing the Genki Dama away from him and back towards Vegeta. Completely unprepared, Vegeta is hit by the attack, and everyone watches as the energy completely envelopes Vegeta's body, rocketing him off into the sky. The tired warriors and Kaio-sama all celebrate their hard-fought victory over Vegeta, and Kuririn and Gohan rush back over to Goku's side. Goku jokingly says they both look pretty awful after the fights, and Kuririn points out that he's no better off. The warriors attention is drawn away by something falling from the sky, just before it's revealed to be Vegeta's body as it crashes to the ground. Gohan is worried, but Kuririn is certain that the Saiyan is dead for sure this time. Walking over to Vegeta's body, Kuririn says he was a nasty guy but praises how strong he was, and thinks he'll at least dig a grave for him. To Kuririn's horror, Vegeta awakens and asks him if the grave he's digging is for all of them. Everyone is horrified as Vegeta struggles back to his feet. Vegeta says they've given him quite the beating, to the point that even he thought he was dead after that last attack. Kaio-sama can't understand how Vegeta could possibly be so strong. Vegeta says he should have just enough strength left to kill them all and viciously slaps Kuririn away, causing the Earthling to cough up blood. Vegeta swears that he's going to kill them all and then, after he's taken some time to heal and rest, he'll finally destroy the Earth itself. Review: If it sounds like this chapter description is fairly short, that's because this chapter itself is rather light on content – a whole four pages is spent just on Vegeta being hit by the Genki Dama. This definitely feels like one of those chapters that Toriyama decided needed to end on a particular note to be shocking, but he got through too much material in the last chapter, leaving this one just a bit lacking in terms of material to work with. That said, there's at least a few curiosities worth talking about even if only briefly. The idea that Gohan can bounce back the Genki Dama because he doesn't have evil energy is an interesting one. Along with the idea that Gohan wouldn't have been able to handle wielding the attack due to his lack of training, it's a small step towards keeping some elements of fighting in play that don't boil down to 'stronger guy hits harder, thus he wins' – and I'm all about anything that adds more nuance to the combat. That said, it's something that I really wish was delved into a little more or even hinted at prior to this moment, because as things stand it feels like it comes out of nowhere just to get a cheap and easy moment of drama from us thinking the attack had missed and wasn't going to take Vegeta down. Which uh...brings us to the other main element of this chapter: the fact that the fight isn't over yet. No, despite Kuririn being ready and willing to dig Vegeta a grave – something that shows his level of empathy even towards their foes – Vegeta's not ready to roll over and die just yet. The Genki Dama, the final lesson Goku learned from Kaio-sama and the one thing that seemed certain to save them all, and has already been through the usual ping-pong match of 'is it going to work or not' has landed on not. While this really drives home just how much of a threat Vegeta is and just how tough these Saiyans really are, one can't help but feel that this feels like too much at this point. Toriyama's really going to have to pull out all the stops to make things past this point in the arc feel worth this completely ignored ending point. Will he? Well... Until next time! Favorite Panel: Next Time: Heroes and villains, both running on fumes.
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September 2022
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