Synopsis: After being caught up in the storm on the ocean, Gohan washes up on a different beach, where he's found by a young boy and girl who think he might be dead. The boy starts to look for anything worth money that Gohan might have, eventually finding his sword just as Gohan wakes up briefly before fainting. The kids take Gohan back to their 'home', introducing themselves as Rom and Chiko. Gohan asks them where they are, looking around the dilapidated house, and Rom says that Gohan is welcome to stay with them as long as he likes, with Chiko explaining that without any parents around, it's up to all of the kids to take care of themselves. On a nearby road, a van full of adults drives towards the cottage, as Rom explains that two years prior, a gigantic tsunami ravaged this area, swallowing up the city. As a result, the abandoned city is full of kids who don't have homes or families anymore. Gohan tries to explain that he does have a family, but a whistle alerts Rom and Chiko to the arrival of the van, and they grab Gohan and run. The adults get out and start to enter another building that the three kids have run into, with Rom using a rope swing to escape with Chiko from the roof to a nearby tree stand. When he turns around, Gohan is almost captured by two adults, but Gohan escapes and leaps over to the tree stand by his own power, surprising the siblings as well as the adults. Rom explains to Gohan that these adults come by at least once a day trying to capture them, to put them in 'jail'. Gohan wonders if it's really as bad as all that, but the conversation is interrupted by a slightly older girl almost being captured by the adults before being rescued by a newly arrived teenager named Piegoro. Piegoro tells the adults to leave, and when three of the adult men try to rush him, Piegoro easily takes them down with his attacks. As Piegoro and the girl escape, all of the children start throwing rocks at a woman that came with the men, though she pleads with them to stop and to come with her, where they'll get new clothes, a clean room, and a hot meal. Chiko thinks that sounds good, but Rom tells her it's a trick, and Piegoro tells the adults that they don't need their help and are just fine on their own. All the children shout in agreement, and the adults are left with no choice but to leave. Rom introduces Gohan to Piegoro, and Gohan quickly seems to get along with all of the orphans, happily playing with them and getting to know them. A short time later, Gohan is taken to a nearby town and asked to cry as a distraction while the children steal lots of food from a nearby vendor. The ruse is quickly figured out, and Gohan flees along with the orphans, back to their cottage. The kids talk about how they're growing up just fine without parents, although Gohan can't help but think about and miss his. That night, Gohan steps out with the intention to leave, while Piegoro keeps watch from a tree and is plagued by memories of the tsunami. Gohan explains to Piegoro that he's not actually an orphan and was on his way back home when he ran into Rom and Chiko, and his explanation is overheard by the orphans who wake up. Gohan apologizes, but the kids aren't mad – in fact, they want to hear about Gohan's home. Piegoro knows where Mt. Paozu is and promises to show Gohan the way to get there in the morning, and hearing about Gohan's home life makes all of the kids talk about the things they miss and don't miss, like school. Piegoro says that if they go to the institution that they can go to school if they'd like, but none of them like the sound of that. In the end, all of the kids agree to go with Piegoro to take Gohan home. The next morning, everyone is keeping watch for the adults arrival, but they seem to be running late. They finally see the van coming however and prepare for another fight, with the kids immediately pelting the men with rocks. Piegoro hijacks the van, intending to use it to escape with all of the kids, but they're quickly surrounded by multiple cop cars. The kids try to fight off the adults, but eventually they're all captured save for Gohan and Piegoro. Looking back at the kids, Piegoro begins to wonder if living on the run isn't right for them after all, and grabs Gohan's hand, escaping with only him by stealing one of the adult's cars. Gohan wants to know why Piegoro abandoned everyone, and Piegoro angrily and sadly explains that he finally realized he wasn't actually helping them by turning them all into delinquents like himself – they all had dreams and things they wanted to do. He also recognizes that Gohan is incredibly strong, and tells Gohan to take care of his mother, before driving off into the distance. Now a short distance from his home, Gohan quickly rushes towards Mt. Paozu, eventually coming within a short distance of his house. As Gohan thinks about what he has that those other kids don't however, he finds that he can't just return home like this. Running away from the house, Gohan is eventually spotted by Piccolo from the air. Piccolo asks Gohan what his mission is, and Gohan says he has to get stronger and help save the Earth. With that, Piccolo takes Gohan back to begin his training properly at last. Review: After a handful of episodes focusing on Goku's adventures in the afterlife, the anime staff apparently decided it was time to get back to Gohan again, which resulted in the last episode that unfortunately only seemed to exist to eat up time and get things in motion for this episode. Now that we've actually gotten here though, was that setup worth it? The answer is actually an emphatic yes. Don't get me wrong, the previous episode was still a big waste of time overall, and they could have done something much more interesting for it's runtime and ended with a shorter variation of events to get Gohan where he was – I mean, he ends up stranded on a beach only to end up stranded on a DIFFERENT beach at the start of this episode, c'mon – but this episode is enjoyable enough that I'm glad we have it at least. Basically, each of the Gohan episodes has endeavored to teach the sheltered young boy a lesson. His encounter with the robot taught him that he was going to have to toughen up if he wanted to survive, and he did so. His brief time with the dinosaur taught him that even being strong isn't always enough and that sometimes bad things happen, so you have to toughen your heart at least a little bit to be able to withstand them, and he seemingly did just that – we certainly haven't seen him crying every five seconds in a long, long time now. And this latest adventure with the orphans came with a lesson as well. Before I touch on that lesson though, let's look at the kids and their story itself. There's not a whole lot given on the situation, but enough is done to make their characters understandable. After their town was ransacked by a tsunami, it caused all of those children to end up orphaned, seemingly including the eldest of them, Piegoro. Piegoro is rough around the edges, and chafes under the watchful eye of adults, and takes it upon himself to 'rescue' all of the other orphaned children, taking care of them himself as best he can rather than letting the adults take care of them. He does so because he thinks it's what's best for them, because it's certainly what was best for him. Gohan's arrival eventually causes uncertainty about that notion however, as Piegoro can see the kids talking about what it was like back when they had families and went to school. In one kid's case, they didn't even GO to school, because the tsunami hit before they were of age. It's not delved into too deeply, and honestly his change of heart is a little bit rushed, but it seems clear that Piegoro himself quickly learned a lesson here as well – what's best for him isn't necessarily what's best for everyone. And so, he ends up abandoning the kids to be taken into foster care, where they'll be raised to become proper adults instead of delinquents like himself. It's more than a bit harsh, and again, the episode definitely could've benefited from some more time spent with Piegoro and his changing thought process first, but ultimately what they're trying to express here is him doing something for the kid's own good that the kid's themselves don't like and don't understand – basically, he's acting just like a parent. This is also why he makes sure to escape with at least Gohan, because Gohan does have a family to get back to. It's a bittersweet end, and seeing Piegoro leave on his own, you can't help but wonder what becomes of him in the future. This is jumping way ahead, but honestly, I always wished we'd seen Piegoro one more time in a future run of filler episodes, in the Saiyaman portion of the story. Him having ended up in a rather rough situation and encountering Gohan again, possibly without either of them really recognizing the other at first, would have made for an interesting episode for sure. But alas, this is another filler episode that never comes up again in any shape or form. And as for the lesson Gohan himself learns this time? Gohan finally gets what he's wanted all along, he's almost back in his mother's arms at his comfy home, but now he knows that there's a lot of kids that don't have what he has. He realizes that Piegoro's last bit of advice to protect his mother is something he's going to have to do, and fast, as the Saiyans are a problem that's not going away. In fact, they're getting ever closer, and if Gohan is going to protect his mom, then he's going to have to protect the planet itself. And for that, he needs Piccolo and the training he offers. There's still quite a bit of maturing Gohan is going to have to do in his life, but at last, he's hit that first step that really makes him the character that he is and the character that so many fans love. Until next time! Favorite Scene: The antics with the orphans is probably the most fun of the episode, in particular them escaping from the town with food in tow. Next Time: The Saiyans are here! Well, okay, not THOSE Saiyans. Other Saiyans.
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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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