Synopsis: From his own Red Ribbon outpost base, Muscle Tower, General White angrily asks his men why it's taking so long to find a single brat. He orders them to find him at any cost, saying he doesn't care if they kill him or not, they just need the Dragon Ball and the radar that he's carrying. Two soldiers search through the snowy area and wonder if the kid was really on board the crashed plane at all.
Meanwhile, a young girl has managed to drag Goku all the way back to her home, where she and her mother allow Goku to warm back up in a chair by the fire. Seeing that Goku is waking up at last, the girl calls her mother over and give him some hot chocolate and welcome him to Jingle Village. The girl's mother tells Goku that he's lucky her daughter found him or else he would have frozen to death out there, and the girl asks Goku what he was doing out there anyway. Goku explains that he was looking for a Dragon Ball when his plane fell out of the sky, and the girl and her mother both flinch in fear at the mention of a Dragon Ball. They fearfully ask him if he's with the Red Ribbon, and Goku asks what that is, as the last guy he dealt with was talking about it too. Back out in the snow, the pair of searching soldiers have spotted the trail the girl left behind while dragging Goku. Having been caught up on what's going on by the mother and daughter, Goku can't believe someone else is searching for the Dragon Balls just like he is. He wonders what they could want them for, and the mother says that nobody knows. The girl asks Goku why he wants them, and Goku says he's only looking for a particular one. He brings out the one he has as an example, and explains the one he's looking for has four-stars in it, but when all seven of them are gathered together, a giant dragon appears and grants you one wish. The mother says it must be the wish that the Red Ribbon wants, and whatever they'd wish for can't be anything good. Goku says there's supposed to be another Dragon Ball somewhere nearby, and the girl says they already knew that – when the soldiers weren't having any luck looking for the ball, they'd recruited the men of the village, including the girl's father, to search for it as well. Goku asks why they didn't just kick them out, but the girl insists they're too strong for that, and even if they wanted to, the Army has already taken their mayor hostage in their base. Goku says that he'll go beat them up as thanks for them saving him, but the girl insists that he'd be no match for them. Just then, the pair of searching soldiers arrives, having followed the trail back to the house. They demand Goku give them the Dragon Ball, while Goku asks if either of the men are the girl's father. The girl says they're with the Red Ribbon, so Goku quickly takes them out with a series of punches and kicks that can't even be seen. He then rushes off into the snow, but quickly returns due to how cold it is. The girl loans him her snow clothes and the girl's mother tells Goku to please be careful. Goku finally notices the cold, white stuff all over the ground and asks the girl what it is, and she's surprised he's never seen snow before. Goku then runs off towards the Red Ribbon base, as the girl and her mother worry if the weird little boy they've just met is going to get killed. Goku charges head first towards Muscle Tower and is spotted by some of the guards out front. One of them radios General White and says they think they've found the kid, and White orders them to shoot to kill. They comply, but Goku deflects all of their bullets with the nyoibo, before extending it to take them out and then launch himself onto the first floor of the tower. Seeing this, White is impressed, but laughs and says that the kid will never be able to reach the top of the tower. Review: After covering some anime-original material for a while, it's so nice to be back to the manga again, I won't lie. While the anime is my preferred viewing experience for Dragon Ball as a whole, there's something far easier about the manga when it comes to reviewing. At any rate, after the disappointing start with Colonel Silver, the Red Ribbon Army storyline is finally getting going for real with the introduction of General White and Muscle Tower. This is the first mini-arc in the Red Ribbon storyline, and it's probably one of my favorite parts of the arc other than the very last one. There's something very video-game like to the proceedings within this tower, which makes it both easy to follow and enjoyable to watch. It's filled with colorful characters galore too, a good handful of them proving a challenge for Goku in some way or another, which is good since White himself is...well, not one. However the Red Ribbon Army determines it's rankings, it can't be entirely based on strength, because nothing about White seems to suggest he's a fighter. He certainly looks like even Silver, a mere Colonel, probably could have taken him out. Yet somehow, this guy has managed to rise to the rank of General. It sort of makes you wonder what the inner workings of this army was really like, doesn't it? Other new characters introduced in this chapter include the unnamed girl and her mother that save Goku from freezing to death. The little girl is only unnamed in the manga however, as the anime gives her the name of Suno – either that or it comes up later in the manga and I've forgotten. Either way, there's not a whole lot to say about the characters other than it's sort of nice to see Goku interact with normal people every once in a while. Also, Suno is adorable, and in another author's hands, I could easily have seen her being another contender for 'who will Goku end up with' instead of just Chi Chi. But romance not being Toriyama's forte, perhaps it's best that idea never got toyed with at all, actually. This chapter marks the first time that the idea of just what it is the Red Ribbon really wants is floated in the manga, though really it's not that hard to figure out what their wish would be (at least, on the surface...). Of course a giant military organization that's already trying to take over would be interested in just wishing for the world instead of keeping fighting for it. It does sort of make you wonder what the world government is up to during this arc though. Are there other unseen factions of the Red Ribbon fighting with them offscreen somewhere? Does this arc actually take place in the middle of a war we never get to see? Questions abound, really. On a final note, Goku not knowing what snow is and being interested in it is pretty adorable too. Guess it stayed pretty warm all the time where Gohan lived. 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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