Synopsis: As Goku and Chi Chi head to Roshi's for more clues about the Basho Fan, the Pilaf crew spies on a man investigating an active volcano. Meanwhile, the villagers continue trying desperately to put out the fire engulfing Gyumao's castle, but nothing they try seems to have any effect on the blaze. Finally arriving at Kame House, Goku has to reintroduce himself and Chi Chi to the turtle who doesn't quite seem to recognize them now that they've grown up. The couple soon finds that everyone else still hasn't made it back from the Tenkaichi Budokai yet, but the turtle is more than willing to help the pair look for the book said to show how to make a new Basho Fan. Digging through piles of old dirty magazines in Roshi's closet, the Turtle eventually finds an old hermit manual that indeed describes how to make a Basho Fan, revealing it to be made from the feathers of a magical Fire-Eating Bird that lives at Mt. Kiwi. With a new destination in mind, Goku and Chi Chi fly off on kinto'un once more, with Chi Chi enjoying spending time with her husband-to-be. Eventually the pair comes to the volcanic Mt. Kiwi, and upon entering it, run into a large lizard. The creature at first appears to want to eat them, but Goku is able to calm it down, with the whole scene being witnessed by Shu and Mai who surmise that the pair of strangers must be looking for the bird as well. As they try to leave to go inform Pilaf of their company, Shu tries to calm the creature in the same manner as Goku, but fails and almost gets eaten. Goku and Chi Chi continue further into the volcano, all the while being tailed by Shu and Mai, and eventually Chi Chi stumbles and falls into another area, where they discover a large egg surrounded by a bunch of computers. Chi Chi guesses that it might be the Fire-Eating Bird's egg, and the pair are soon approached by the man that Shu and Mai spotted before, who tells them not to mess with the egg. The man confirms their guess as to the egg's nature, and when they ask where the mother is, the man tells them that it died forty years prior during an eruption, and that he's been taking care of the egg in the hopes that it will one day hatch, but he can't be sure when or if that day will ever come. Seeming to be at a dead end once more, Goku and Chi Chi prepare to go back to Baba for more help, but their departure is interrupted by the arrival of a large drill-bearing vehicle. Shu and Mai step out of it and demand the egg be handed over to them, and as Goku starts to think that they look familiar, they soon introduce their leader, Emperor Pilaf. Pilaf talks about his plan to sell the egg for great wealth due to it being the only one in existence, and when the scientist tells him to leave it alone, Pilaf turns to his cronies and whispers a plan to them. They ask Chi Chi to come over for a moment, and though she hesitates at first, she ultimately does and gets 'taken hostage' by Mai. Pilaf tells them to hand over the egg if they want her back alive, but as Shu and Mai get a better look at Goku, they finally start to think he looks familiar. They ask Chi Chi for his name, and when she tells them 'Son Goku', they finally recognize him and start to freak out. Chi Chi uses this opportunity to knock them both aside, and as Pilaf tries to rush back to the drill ship, Goku cuts him off and punches the ship hard into the side of the volcano. This is enough for Pilaf to finally recognize him as well, and the trio immediately flees in fear, now knowing that they're in far over their heads. The scientist thanks Goku and Chi Chi for their help, and the pair starts to leave once again, when the volcano starts to erupt. To their surprise however, an adult Fire-Eating Bird steps forth from the flames and lava, and flies over to the egg. It soon begins to peck at the egg, cracking it and ultimately freeing the baby inside. With the baby safe at last, Goku quickly gets everyone out of the volcano before they can get hurt, and they watch the new parent and child leave, leaving some feathers behind that fall towards them. As they try to catch the feathers however, they discover that they burn away into ash as soon as they're touched. When they ask the scientist about it, he says that story they heard was a load of rubbish, as the Fire-Eating Bird would starve to death if it's feathers put out it's own source of food – back at Kame House, Roshi likewise chastises the turtle, saying that he was drunk when he wrote that book. All seems lost, but the scientist tells Goku and Chi Chi about a place far to the north called Ice Mountain that he's heard there supposedly being a Basho Fan at. As Goku and Chi Chi fly towards another place to investigate, Chi Chi is revealed to have taken a piece of the Fire-Eating Bird's eggshell as a souvenir, and the Pilaf gang is shown overhearing where they're heading next. Review: Man, if I had a dime for every time a volcano was a threat in Dragon Ball filler...I'd have two dimes, but it is strange that it happened twice, right? To be fair, the volcano's never really much of a threat in this episode, certainly not as much as it was in the previous filler installment. Neither are the Pilaf gang for that matter, but that's okay – at the point that we've gotten to with Goku, it was going to be exceedingly hard for the writers at the time to come up with a credible threat for him to face, given that it's something Toriyama was having to reinvent the series a bit with in the next manga arc as well. That arc would have already been running at the time these episodes aired, and probably when they were produced as well, but they wouldn't have wanted to step on his toes probably either. In effect, this episode shows even more so how this arc is returning Dragon Ball to it's comedy adventure roots more than it's been in some time. A lot of the antics that are happening here are very much the kind of antics you'd expect from the series earlier in it's run, and coming back to them now definitely feels a little nostalgic. The story's elements aid a lot in that feeling too, especially with so much of it focusing around the Basho Fan, an item we had referred to back in the first arc but never got to see in action. As things stand now, we still haven't either. Goku and Chi Chi's efforts towards finding the fan keeps leading them in circles, and every step forward basically sends them on another rat race. We're only two episodes into this adventure, and they've already changed directions three times and are on their way to a fourth – it's certainly a hectic pace, but it does keep you on your toes and prevents you from getting bored, even as things kind of slow and things don't happen for a while. It might sound like I'm calling this episode boring, and really there isn't a lot that sticks out as things that make this episode 'great', but it really does manage to be entertaining enough. One thing I really love about it – beyond the Pilaf gangs antics I mean, I always love that – is how it keeps the DB tradition of things not turning out to look like what you might imagine them to. All throughout the episode, we keep getting discussions about the Fire-Eating Bird, and between it's name and where it lives, you'd naturally start imagining some sort of phoenix-looking creature. What we actually get in the end is more along the lines of a giant ostrich that just walks across the sky rather than flying. It's completely derpy and I kind of love it. As mentioned before, this episode doesn't really get Goku and Chi Chi any closer to saving Gyumao and putting out the fire, but with another lead to chase down and the Pilaf gang seeming like they might still be involved somehow, things are greatly set up to get even more hectic. Until next time! Favorite Scene: It's short-lived, but I absolutely love the return of the Pilaf gang – especially once they realize who Goku is and decide they want absolutely no part of any of this. Next Time: So THIS lady's who we can blame for modern Chi Chi, good to know.
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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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