The Destruction of Kinto-un.

[cheddarsword]

Yeah... reading through the manga and I think I found a plot hole?

Kintoun (flying nimbus) was blown up by a missile in the Red Ribbon Army Saga but not destroyed.

However, Tambourine DID manage to destroy it.

The hell?

[Jinzoningen MULE]

Yeah, it's definitely a plot hole. The first time, it's even said that Kinto-un's can't be killed, if I remember correctly. However, the implications are so insignificant that no one really addresses it.

[TheDevilsCorpse]

Daizenshuu #7's Item Dictionary is good enough for me.

Kinto-un
First Appearance: chapter 4
Category: vehicle
Explanation: A mystical cloud which Goku received from Kame-sennin. It was originally a part of the giant Kinto-un owned by Karin-sama, and long ago Kame-sennin broke a piece off and took it with him. It the past it was wiped out by Tambourine, and the current Kinto-un is the second generation. Goku went through many adventures with it, and it was passed on to his son Gohan.
Special Characteristics: An extremely mysterious riding cloud. It freely flies through the air in accordance with its rider’s will, going from stationary to its maximum speed of mach 1.5. Though it’s very convenient, only those with pure hearts can ride it. If those with wicked thoughts get one the cloud, they will simply plunge through it. Also, it will soon reconstruct itself even when hit by attacks from bombs or missiles, and will only be wiped out when attacked by a Demon Clansman’s ki.

[nickzambuto]

I think Goku DID try calling out to the cloud after Tambourine destroyed it. It just didn't work.

So Toriyama at least acknowledged the past plot point. He just didn't give an explanation for why it no longer applied.

That's the benefit of having a protagonist like Goku. He doesn't ask any questions, he just said "oh well I guess it isn't coming back this time." lol

[LuckyCat]

It makes sense within the narrative of early Dragon Ball. There's lots of holy and spiritual feats machines aren't originally capable of like flying to Kami's lookout. Daizenshuu's lines up with this, the Kinto-un can't be killed by mere physical weapons but it can be destroyed by demonic powers. We already know demonic powers work differently too; for example, a person killed by a demon doesn't have its soul go to the afterlife but floats around in torment.

[TobyS]

It makes sense within the narrative of early Dragon Ball. There's lots of holy and spiritual feats machines aren't originally capable of like flying to Kami's lookout. Daizenshuu's lines up with this, the Kinto-un can't be killed by mere physical weapons but it can be destroyed by demonic powers. We already know demonic powers work differently too; for example, a person killed by a demon doesn't have its soul go to the afterlife but floats around in torment.

Yeah I always assumed the rocket just blew it apart and it reformed.

I assumed the ki disintegrated it completely. I thought that when they said it was undestroyable they meant by "conventional" means

[floofychan333]

All I can imagine is that stronger blasts can blow up Kinto-Un and the old guy in Jingle Village had never seen anything as powerful as Tambourine before so he wouldn't have known Kinto-Un could have been destroyed.