Synopsis: Colonel Silver, shown working out with and ultimately breaking some really heavy weights before also taking out some strong boxing opponents, seems like a tough opponent for anyone to face. A watching soldier tells Silver that Red wants to see him, while Goku, who was barely saved by kinto'un, finally awakens after being thrown away from Pilaf's ship exploding. He wonders who the heck those guys were anyway. Silver pays a visit to Red, and is commended for his work in getting the six-star Dragon Ball for the Army. Red warns him not to get cocky however, as he requires all seven of the Balls if he is to wish for world domination. He brings up the radar map and shows that there are still four more Dragon Balls out there that they need, and orders Silver to get them at all cost, even his own life. Red and his men then move back out to search for the next Dragon Ball. Meanwhile, Goku uses his own radar to find a Dragon Ball as well, but stops first to catch something to eat in a nearby forest. This endeavor results in him having an encounter with a monkey mother and child and saving them from a hungry panther, with a whole group of monkeys providing him with food as thanks. The Red Ribbon's radar also indicates a Dragon Ball is somewhere in the forest, so they go on the move as Goku finishes up his meal and takes a nap. Sensing something strange, the monkeys check out a strange ball in a tree – the five-star Dragon Ball! When the orb glows, it freaks out the monkeys, causing the ball to fall to the ground before them. Goku awakens a short time later to find the monkeys all gone, and that the Dragon Ball appears to be moving according to the radar. The monkeys, having taken a liking to the strange ball, have taken it with them and are playing with it. Back on Roshi's island, Roshi is helping Kuririn get in some training when Lunch calls them inside for snack time. While they all enjoy some shaved ice, Roshi chastises Kuririn for being tired from such a low level of training, and the discussion turns towards Goku. Kuririn wonders if he's still searching for the Dragon Balls, and Roshi remarks that he never would have guessed that the orb he had back then was actually one of the legendary orbs. He tells Kuririn and Lunch an old legend about the Dragon Balls that he knows. The legend states that long ago, there was but one larger Dragon Ball, bestowed upon humankind by the Gods. The people built a holy temple around the Dragon Ball and worshiped it, and times were peaceful. One day however, evil sprouted within the hearts of humans, and some attempted to use the Dragon Ball for selfish gains. A war broke out, angering the Gods who then divided the Dragon Ball into seven separate Dragon Balls, scattering them around the world, so that nobody could use the Dragon Balls recklessly anymore. However, greedy people continued to search for the Dragon Balls, and over the years there had even been some who obtained great power by gathering them together, making them incredibly in demand artifacts for those who know of them, even today. Lunch wonders what sort of wish she'd make given the chance, and Kuririn remarks he'd wish to get even stronger. When they ask what Roshi would wish for, he drools in anticipation of such a thing, but tries to claim that he doesn't have anything at all he'd wish for even while he thinks of Lunch's panties. Back in the forest, the monkeys continue to play with the five-star ball, while the Red Ribbon Army begins to ransack the forest to search for it. Two soldiers talk about getting a big reward from Commander Red if they find it, when one of the monkeys accidentally drops the ball, allowing the soldiers to spot it. Before the soldiers can grab it however, the baby monkey grabs the ball again and the monkeys retreat back into the forest as the soldiers open fire. The soldiers radio back in to Silver, who curses them for not grabbing the ball before they got away. The men begin to burn the forest with flamethrowers to force the monkeys out of hiding, while Goku continues to look for the ball as well. Coming across the soldiers, Goku tells them to stop destroying the forest, and takes out a trio of soldiers with ease. Silver is enraged that none of the monkeys they've caught so far had the ball, when one of the soldiers comes back to warn him of a monstrous child who has appeared and is attacking them. Goku and Silver meet at last and are about to fight, when the monkey mother and child swing by overhead with the Dragon Ball. Silver calls for a gun from one of his men and fires at a branch, causing the pair of monkeys to almost fall into a cliff. As Goku catches the monkey mother by her tail, the baby drops the Dragon Ball into a river below, carrying it who knows where. Review: While the previous episodes flourished in expanding upon a lackluster portion of material in the original manga, this one ironically languishes from the task of having to pull things back in a direction to line up with the manga. And it certainly shows as well, to the point that an entire sub-plot – or exposition drop, more like, and one that hasn't aged well with further material – had to be created as well just to drag things out a bit longer. Everything in this episode in regards to Goku and Silver's hunt for the next Dragon Ball feels incredibly stale for some reason, lacking entirely in the fun that pervaded throughout the last few episodes. I'm not sure if it's the lack of another established character like Pilaf, or the fact that the Dragon Ball is in the hands of unspeaking animals, but some piece of the puzzle is definitely missing this time around. What's worse is, I'm pretty sure the Dragon Ball count at this point is off by one, based on my memory of the other Dragon Balls we're going to see gathered. I could be wrong on that front though, given that I incorrectly remembered that it was the previous Dragon Ball (the one Pilaf had) that ended up in the wilderness where it would be found like in the manga, when it was in fact this Dragon Ball. Oops. One useful nugget of information to come out of all of this is how cruel Red really is. Even for the soldier who just successfully brought him a Dragon Ball, he shows just as much impatience and willingness to kill him as he does praise. All he cares about is getting the rest of the Dragon Balls and his wish, nothing more. Of course, the way they're playing him up as a bigger threat himself is pretty funny given what we'll learn about him in short order. The main thing in this episode that I wanted to talk about however is also the only reason I even covered this episode here – Roshi's story about the origin of the Dragon Balls. As any fan of Dragon Ball can tell you, not a bit of the legend he tells Kuririn and Lunch about is accurate to what we later learn (though the part about a Dragon Ball being split to make other Dragon Balls does ironically come up again later, but that's Super-era material – we'll talk about that MUCH later). This highlights the inherent risk of making filler, anime-original material for an ongoing series like Dragon Ball was at the time. While some filler can expand upon material that was barely present in the manga, other filler can create entirely unique situations or stories that later become impossible to work within the larger narrative. This is a much smaller case of the latter, as even Roshi states that this is just a legend, suggesting that nobody knows whether it's true or not – but still, there's no getting around that this is the first instance in the series of anime original material just not working within the manga's narrative. Really though, it's hard to entirely hate any scene that plays Dragon Ball Densetsu. Kami, I love that song. Until next time! Favorite Scene: Roshi telling the legend of the Dragon Ball's origin. Hey, it might be inaccurate, but it plays Dragon Ball Densetsu as an insert song, and I'm all about that. Next Time: Alright, enough of that side-quest. Let's storm Muscle Tower!
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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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