Synopsis: Upon returning to the hospital with Mr. Popo, Bulma tells everyone about the spaceship they found, saying that it needs a little bit of work, but they'll be able to leave in five days and make it to Planet Namek in a month. Everyone is overjoyed at this news, but when Bulma tells Mr. Popo they'll leave the trip to Namek to him, he objects and says he can't leave Kami's sanctuary unattended for two months. Bulma says he has to go because he's the only one that can speak Namekian, but Popo offers to teach her the language. Kuririn also points out that Bulma's the only one who knows mechanics so she has to go in case the ship has any problems, and Bulma ultimately concedes and agrees to go while noting a bunch of luxuries she'll have to add to the ship in that case. Bulma says she doesn't want to go alone however, and when she asks for someone to come with her, Yajirobe turns her down while Roshi eagerly agrees. Bulma says that would only make the trip even more dangerous, so since Goku's in no shape, she asks Kuririn to go with her. Kuririn agrees reluctantly as he wanted to train, while Goku says he wishes he could go as he wanted to see what Planet Namek's dragon looks like. Gohan speaks up and says he wants to go, an idea that surprises everyone and causes Chi Chi to tell him not to joke around like that. Gohan says that he's serious and wants to help bring Piccolo back to life with his own hands, and while Goku praises his son for the idea, Chi Chi flips out. Chi Chi says he's a kid and needs to start acting like one, that she's already had to worry about him for a whole year and now he's being selfish by wanting to leave for another two months, and that he's only going to end up even further behind in his studies at this rate. She finally crosses the line by saying 'who cares about Piccolo', causing Gohan to scream at her to be quiet. Everyone is stunned into silence and Chi Chi laments that her son has become a true delinquent. Gohan tells his mom that everyone who died fought together to try to save the Earth, and that since he can fight too, he has to do what he can to help bring them back to life. Gyu-mao tells his daughter that she's lost this one and to let Gohan go into space with her blessing. As Goku thinks of how proud he is of how strong Gohan has become, Bulma promises Chi Chi that it'll be fine as she's sure it'll be safe enough, and says that it'll take about ten days for her to re-program the ship and for her to learn Namekian, so they'll all meet up at Kame House in ten days. As Bulma and her father work on the Namekian spaceship, Dr. Brief marvels at how advanced it is and acknowledges that there are even smarter geniuses out there than himself. Ten days pass quickly, and the ship is ready to depart from Kame House, with Kuririn looking up at it in awe. Bulma, wearing an astronaut suit, accuses Kuririn of underestimating space due to his casual attire, before asking where Gohan is. Kuririn says he wanted to go see his father in the hospital before coming, and he soon arrives, sporting a short new haircut that and wearing a suit that Chi Chi picked out for him. Bulma feels exhausted from being the only one taking this trip seriously in her view, and says they should get going. Roshi wishes Kuririn well, and Chi Chi tells Gohan to write to her every day as they all depart into the ship. Once inside, Kuririn asks Bulma where they should put their bags, and Bulma angrily tells him to hurry up and sit down, causing Kuririn to wonder why she's in such a bad mood. Bulma launches the ship into space before they have a chance to buckle up, and the trio are in space within seconds, surprising the crowd left behind at Kame House. Bulma tells them they're free to move now that they're out of the atmosphere, surprising Kuririn and disappointing Gohan who had wanted to see the Earth from space. Kuririn asks Bulma where she's going as she starts to leave the room, and she angrily retorts that she's changing, with Kuririn wondering if it's into her pajamas. Kuririn realizes he forgot his own pajamas, and asks Gohan if he brought his or if he's staying in those 'Sunday school' clothes his mother put him in. Gohan says he brought his pajamas, but for now he changes into clothing that he made in secret from his mother, and changes into an outfit that looks similar to Piccolo's gi and the one he wore while fighting the Saiyans. Kuririn says he must really respect Piccolo, and Gohan says he respects him about the same as he does his dad. As Bulma walks back out in her new clothes, Kuririn and Gohan both think they look strange for pajamas, causing Bulma to angrily retort that they're not for sleeping. She says she changed out of her space suit because she started to feel silly for being the only one preparing so seriously for space travel, causing Gohan and Kuririn to wonder if they did something wrong. As the ship flies through space, the trio head for Planet Namek, with no idea of what awaits them there. Review: With a ship that can take them to Namek in far shorter order than four thousand years, it seems like our heroes have everything they need to make this trip happen and wish everyone back in short order. Bulma gets a rude awakening though when she thinks she can just leave all the hard work to Mr. Popo, who straight up says he isn't going. Admittedly, it's a little suspect that he can't go – there's not really anything to suggest he takes care of Kami's God duties while he's dead, so he's probably just tending to the plants and such – but at this point I don't think there's a lot that would be gained narratively from him going in the first place. The time has passed for him to really be more than a background character that helped them all get stronger, and all things told, he's not really a strong enough personality for most to want to watch a storyline following him either. That raises the question then of who will go to Namek? Kuririn quickly points out to Bulma that her going feels like it'd mandatory given she's the only one who'd have any hope of fixing the ship if they ran into any problems with it – an especially fair concern given the ship has just been sitting there for hundreds of years – and while she's reluctant to agree, I'm glad she does. After all, as I said previously, Bulma hasn't really had a lot to do in the past few arcs, so surely having her come along as one of the travelers to Namek will finally give her some plot relevancy again, right? ...We'll come back to that. When Yajirobe rejects the idea of going (not that Bulma was particularly hoping for him in the first place probably) and Roshi jumps at the chance (a notion Bulma very wisely shoots down immediately...), she nominates Kuririn to come along with her. This makes a lot of sense as well, and I'm not just saying that because he's my favorite character. With Goku bedridden and most of the rest of their friends dead, he's really the only active fighter left, and Bulma already knows him at least fairly well. After rising to prominence in the last arc, it makes sense to give Kuririn more to do in the story now to boot. The real standout moment of this chapter however comes with the third member of their party speaking up. Gohan wants to bring Piccolo back to life by his own hands, and given that his teacher died to save him, it makes perfect sense that Gohan would feel this way. There's just one problem though – his mother. Chi Chi's concerns are completely valid as well. She's not wrong to worry when, as she's quick to point out, she's already had to do just that for a whole year while Gohan was away from her. This is also a potentially dangerous trip into unknown territory and he's still a child, why should the fate of people's lives continue to rest on his small shoulders after all? As right as Chi Chi is in her own way though, I can't help but side with Gohan on this one, especially once she makes the mistake of disregarding Piccolo entirely, a comment that even Goku looks furious about upon hearing it. Despite what Piccolo was like before, he DID just die to save her only son, so you'd think that would make her feelings change on him at least slightly. I can't imagine Gohan hasn't told her about that part of what happened anyway, though I suppose it's possible she just didn't listen – as much as I defend her, that would certainly fit her character, all things considered. At the end of the day though, Gohan is the one in the right on this, and his mother is forced to concede that her little boy is going to space after all. It sure uh...sure would be a shame if Bulma's comments about it being safe enough turned out to be all wrong though, wouldn't it... Once the ship is ready to go and everyone gathers at Kame House, we're treated to a few character design changes. Kuririn just gets a new casual fit, complete with a hat with a rather hilarious attempt at spelling his name in English by Toriyama. Badly spelled or not, I'd kill to get a 'Kulilin' hat. Bulma also cuts her hair, and NOOOOOOOOOOO- okay, I'm done. It's not that I don't like her new hair, but it's definitely nowhere near as great looking on her as her previous hairdo, at least in my opinion. The real loser of the new look department however has to be poor Gohan, as Chi Chi apparently put a bowl on his head, cut all the hair that showed out from under it, and then shoved him in a suit and brought him out looking like a shorter Moe from The Three Stooges, the poor kid. The real oddity in this section of the chapter though is Bulma's attitude during it. Bulma's always been a somewhat tempestuous character personality wise, but usually her angry reactions are done in one way (such as her reaction to Mr. Popo refusing to go or Roshi volunteering to go), whereas the way she acts in this chapter is offputtingly different. It seems like the idea is she's exasperated or even embarrassed by how much thought she put into her look going into space compared to the rest of them, but as a joke, that just doesn't really land. Especially when it lasts through the entire rest of the chapter and ends on her spelling it out as such to Gohan and Kuririn. It's just...weird. At least Gohan changes into an outfit more fit for fighting though, and while I'm not a big fan of his hair in this arc, his outfit at least is pretty fitting for him, and with him choosing to don it again rather than Piccolo putting him into it, it really shows how much he respects his fallen master. With everyone off into space now and due on Namek in short order, things are finally looking up for our heroes. Surely there'll be absolutely no trouble as Bulma says, and no danger like Chi Chi worried about, and this arc will be over before we know it. ...Well... Until next time! Favorite Panel: Next Time: So about that nice, safe trip to Namek...
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
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
Categories
All
|