Well, in case the title was too subtle for you, this is the episode where Goku arrives. And, you know, this episode really deserves that title, because this has been what the Saiyan saga has been building up to since Goku took his last breath all those episodes ago. I don’t remember exactly how many it’s been, but I know it’s more than 20. This is where the saga officially starts being about the weird, exotic Saiyan threat and instead becomes about one Saiyan raised on Earth fighting a crew of Saiyans who never had the chance to be anything else but monsters.
But, first, there’s
the little issue of dealing with Piccolo’s actual death. See, you may or may
not recall, but at the end of the last episode, the man who has to stay alive
so the dragon balls still work was brutally energy-beamed by Nappa. He now
stands in front of Gohan, his arms out as if ready for a hug, and he smugly
says “It’s okay, kid, no sweat…” before he falls to the ground, his death now
all but a formality. He had his redemption, now it’s time for him to pass on to
the next dimension. It’s a crazy and sad speech Piccolo gives Gohan as he’s
dying. I’m not sure how much of it was actually in the Japanese version, but
here, Piccolo basically tells Gohan he’s like the son he never had. Which means
Piccolo back-handed a child he viewed as a son. I’d hate to see what he does to
a kid he doesn’t feel any particular attachment to.
But, jokes aside, this
is an iconic moment in the series, at least as I see it, and one of the most
important character beats for Piccolo. I mentioned this before, but this is
Piccolo’s first truly selfless action in the entire show, a sacrifice with no
strings attached. Sure, the dragon balls are gone, but that doesn’t mean
Piccolo’s just going to stand by and let Gohan be incinerated by Nappa’s
attack, even though he very well could have, and justified it by saying they
could wish him back. Piccolo isn’t thought of as Gohan’s big green uncle for
nothing, is what I’m getting at here.
Gohan is none too
happy about Piccolo’s death, but the Masenko blast he fires at Nappa is punched
away with only slight numbing in the Saiyan’s arm as a result. After that, Gohan’s
power goes right back down. This is one of the rare occasions I can think of in
the entire series where Gohan’s rage-fueled attack is actually repelled by the
opponent. Normally, Gohan, who at times is hundreds of times weaker than his opponent,
is somehow able to break through their defenses anyway. I guess that’s why he’s
called GO-han, because he goes hard. I mean, his name isn’t Stayhan.
That was the worst
joke I’ve ever told. Moving on.
When Goku finally
shows up to the battlefield, he doesn’t even interact with the other Saiyans at
first, in spite of Vegeta’s mocking attempts to provoke him. Goku gives Krillin
a senzu bean and tells him and Gohan to stay back—he’s going to handle the rest
of this. Oooh shit. A little primer for you newbies out there: most of the
time, if a character says they can handle it by themselves, they can. This isn’t
ALWAYS necessarily the case, but most of the time, yeah, they’re that good. And
if it’s Goku, you can pretty much put your money on him having attained some
obscene power-up.
This is the episode
that contains the infamous “over 9000” scene. A few things about it. First of
all, being that this is the Funimation dub, Vegeta—rather, Chris Sabat—doesn’t
put the same stank in it as Brian Drummond does. Brian Drummond’s Vegeta voice
was honestly one of the better parts of the Ocean Dub. Yeah, the dialogue and censorship
were shit-awful, but Brian Drummond’s Vegeta had a sinisterness to him that
Sabat’s best efforts can’t match. He just sounds like a weaselly little bastard
in the Ocean dub, which is spot-on for his character in the Saiyan saga and
especially in the Namek saga, where he sneaks around for most of the season,
sniping Frieza’s men wherever he can find them. But that’s a story for, what,
20 episodes from now? Back to the matter at hand.
Another thing about
the 9000 scene is that, of course, it’s a mistranslation. It’s supposed to be 8000.
I’m not sure if 8000 would have rang better as a meme than what we got, but it
probably would have. Nappa’s power level of only 4,000, which is considered
enormous for this point in the saga, is dwarfed easily by Goku’s. Yet, of
course, Nappa refuses to believe it. The sole purpose of a scouter, ostensibly,
is to give you an idea of what you’re up against. And yet every time one of
these idiot villains from early DBZ gets a reading on their scouter that’s higher
than their own power level, they just refuse to believe it, assuming their
scouter is broken. The only exception that comes to mind is Ginyu, but that’s probably
because he had an ability to address exactly that problem.
So, the battle
between Goku and Nappa starts near the end of the episode, and we can already tell
that Goku is in a class of his own. It’s very cathartic, after so many episodes
where Nappa is untouchable, to see somebody totally making a fool of him. Does
it feel cheap? Yeah, a little, especially since we saw all the other fighters
working so hard during the training filler episodes, only for their contributions
to mean jack-fuck in the grand scheme of things. Then again, I suppose if they
hadn’t trained the Saiyans would have just blown through them instead of toying
with them, then everyone but Goku would be dead when he makes it to Vegeta.
That’s an argument to be made, but it still leaves a sour taste in the mouth, a
sense that the only person who can ever matter in this show is a Saiyan-blooded
person.
What else do we got
going on in this episode? Well, the people at the Kame House are starting to go
a bit stir-crazy. Fortuneteller Baba shows up with her magical crystal ball,
which everyone needs since the TV has long since become useless. Getting entire
battalions of reporters and cameraman blown up will do that to you, folks.
Chi-Chi is still trying to use Launch’s militia-esque arsenal of heavy weapons
to go out and rescue her son, even though it should be plainly obvious to her
that bullets are going to be about as useful against Nappa as a poopy-flavored
lollipop. Actually, the lollipop would be more effective. He’d lick it and be
all like “gross, this is shit flavored,” and while he’s either vomiting or
trying to get the taste out of his mouth, you can do a pretty good sneak
attack, or at least get some distance between you and him.
…That might be the new worst joke I’ve ever told. Oh, well.
They can’t all be zingers, can they?
(4/5)
A Few Final Thoughts:
--Goku: “You want me? You got me!”
--Nappa: “I’m the second strongest Saiyan in the universe!”
Goku: “Well, if your friend over there is stronger than you, that makes you the
third strongest!”
--Stealth Earthbound reference?
--Also, I love how proud Nappa is of the fact that he’s
essentially the middle child in strength.
--“I’ve never heard of anyone increasing their power level
that much in one year!” Oh Vegeta…
-- Krillin: “Yeah, I was doing great until the fighting
started!” Holy shit.
--Nappa: “And the whole time I was pounding them, they were
waiting on YOU to show up!” Again, holy shit.
--Nappa: “Well, except for that little guy—he decided to
blow HIMSELF up!” Say it with me, folks: holy shit.
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