Dragon Ball Rewatch, Week 108 - GT 31-35

[Robo4900]

Hello, ladies, gentlemen, and everyone between and beyond, and welcome to week 108 of the first Dragon Ball rewatch of the decade.
We're doing five episodes a week, and we'll be watching every single episode of Dragon Ball, Dragon Ball Z, and Dragon Ball GT. All 508 episodes. Plus the TV specials and the movies.
I encourage you all to watch in Japanese with subtitles, especially if you have never done so before, but watch along in whichever way brings you the most joy.

More "solo" trivia from me, except KBABZ once again had several contributions, including doing proofreading and various other adjustments to all my entries. In a way, our status quo from Z has been reversed!
Anyway, this is the penultimate week of the Baby arc. Enjoy it while it lasts.

Apologies for the late posting. It was sorta ready last night, but KBABZ and I haven't had a lot of time to liaise and get the trivia into shape. But we're pretty proud with what we've ended up with this week, I think.

Previous thread: Week 107 (GT 26-30)
Next thread: Week 109 (GT 36-40)

Anyway, without further ado...

Episode 475 - What a Surprise?! Sugoroku Space’s Big Collapse (GT episode 31)
Ocean dub title: What a Surprise?! The Sugoroku Space Undergoes a Major Collapse!
Funimation dub title: Collapse From Within
Originally aired 11th of December 1996
Written by: Atsushi Maekawa
Episode director: Yoshihiro Ueda
Animation supervisor: Tadayoshi Yamamuro

Goku grinds some coffee.

Trivia:

Spoiler:

• Sugoro and his son are the first shapeshifters we've met since Pu-erh, back in DB episode 5.
• For the first time since the Saban dub of DBZ, "The next dimension" is mentioned in this episode's Ocean dub. Unlike the last time such terminology was used in the English dubs, it's actually pretty accurate here, as the mysterious voices are threatening to banish Goku and Sugoro to somewhere else, though Simmons had the voices say they would be wandering "between dimensions" rather than being sent to a specific one.
• Goku brute forcing out of Sugoroku Space is similar to what Super Boo did to escape the Room of Spirit and Time. One wonders if it's possible to escape all dimensions with a similarly incredible show of brute force.
• This episode begins to show the strange way Baby's mind control manifests; they appear to keep their personalities and individuality, but their perspective and loyalty is aligned with Baby go along with what Baby wants, although they become immensely mean when they encounter someone Baby considers hostile. A similar form of mind control was deployed in the 2012 movie The Avengers (or Marvel's Avengers: Assemble, in the UK) with Loki's Scepter and the Mind Stone.
• Boo's disguise somewhat closely resembles his Barry Khan disguise from the Boo arc of Z.
• This is the first time we've seen Kuririn, 18, and Marron since the last episode of Z. They're sporting new designs, but the one Toriyama drew for Kuririn in his initial character designs for GT is partially discarded, with him wearing different clothes, though his face is about the same.
  • 18 and Marron weren't drawn by Toriyama in his initial designs, so Nakatsuru was always going to design them from scratch if they showed up.
• Taking a page from Roshi's playbook, the special training by a new grand master is as simple as grinding coffee.
  • Mind you, godly coffee ground by a superpowered alien sounds pretty good to me.
  • Elder Kaioshin chides Goku for grinding the beans too fast, claiming it will ruin the flavour. This is sheer nonsense, you can grind coffee beans using an electric grinder that goes at crazy speeds and they will come out fine. The quality of the beans and the method of preparing the coffee itself is the main thing.
  • It's also not a great idea to grind up that much coffee if you're only going to drink it yourself; if you're going through the trouble of manually grinding your beans, you should grind them only shortly before making the coffee.
  • Elder Kaioshin tells Goku to keep grinding coffee, saying "the more you grind the beans, the better the coffee will taste" in the Ocean dub, or "The more you grind, the richer the flavour will be at drip time, after all." in the Simmons subs. Finer grinding will give a stronger flavour of coffee, but typically the ideal grind amount will depend on how you prefer to prepare your coffee.
• This is the first time we've seen Oob since GT episode 1. In that episode's Ocean dub he was voiced by Scott Roberts; from this point on, he's voiced by Brendan Hunter, who would go on to play Tenshinhan in Ocean's Calgary dub of DB and later in their unreleased Calgary/Vancouver collaborative dub of Kai.

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Episode 476 - Return Goku!! The Angry Warrior, Oob (GT episode 32)
Ocean dub title: Oob, the Warrior Full of Anger
Funimation dub title: The Return of Uub
Originally aired 8th of January 1997
Written by: Junki Takegami
Episode director: Hidehiko Kadota
Animation supervisor: Yūji Hakamada

Boo eats a ball.

Trivia:

Spoiler:

• Despite keeping many proper noun quirks inherited from Funimation's scripting, Ocean chose to spell Oob using two Os in this episode's title. This is interesting because in the Westwood dub of Z, Boo's name is spelt as "Buu".
• The flashback to GT Episode 1 was re-voiced by Ocean, rather than recycling the actors' voice lines from then.
• This episode adds a newly-animated shot to the flashback to GT Episode 1, where Goku says he'll meet Oob at the Lookout again a year later to resume training.
• Baby's cruelty to Gohan, Goten, and Trunks for going against his will shows that he's not necessarily mind controlling them directly, and instead uses something more like brainwashing.
• Elder Kaioshin's theory that Goku will be stronger with his tail is arguably a callback to the 21st Tournament, where Goku makes note of how much stronger he feels when he has his tail; it ends up making the difference between struggling to fight Giran, and Giran giving up (it also got him out of Tien's four-armed technique).
  • KBABZ stealth note: I also figured that removing it gives a very slight decrease in strength. Considering how glaring a weakness it is, it'd explain why Saiyans wrap them around their waists for safety, and why no Saiyan has ever felt much remorse for losing them anyway.
• There are two flashbacks total in this episode.
• Boo eating the Revenge Death Ball is one of only three times he's been involved in a fight in a new Dragon Ball story since the Boo Arc (only two, if you consider the Super manga instead of the anime), even though nearly 200 new episodes of Dragon Ball and 4 movies have released since then.
  • KBABZ: I thought this entry was gonna be about how this is the only time Boo has eaten something other than candy, which is also true!
  • Robo: I originally wrote this entry as the only time he's had a fight since Pure Boo was defeated, but I'd forgotten the fact he did have that one gag bout with Beers and the anime-only filler bout in the lead-up to the Tournament of Power.
• Boo and Oob's connection and the way it's paid off in GT is comparable to Piccolo and God's connection and its payoff, right down to the increase in power only having a fleeting effect on the story...
• Oob's new outfit after merging with Boo may be heavily based on Boo's outfit, but it actually ends up looking a lot like the outfit that appears on people who do a fusion dance.
• Remember kids, the Kaioshins trying to pull Goku's tail out of his body is an advanced technique being carried out by experienced adults. Do NOT try this at home.

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Episode 477 - Take This, Baby! The Reborn Oob’s Finishing Beam!! (GT episode 33)
Ocean dub title: The Resurrected Oob! Hurry, Goku!
Funimation dub title: The Tail's Tale
Originally aired 15th of January 1997
Written by: Junki Takegami
Episode director: Kazuhito Kikuchi
Animation supervisor: Kazuya Hisada

Oob gets swole.

Trivia:

Spoiler:

• Funimation's title for this episode, "The Tail's Tale", is almost identical to their title for DB Episode 96, "Tail's Tale", which had aired less than two years prior. They would make a similar choice by naming two DB episodes "Preliminary Peril".
• This is the only time someone other than Boo has used the candy beam.
• One wonders whether Oob would gain Baby's power if he turned him into chocolate and ate him.
• This is the first time Goku has been depicted with a tail outside of flashbacks since DB Episode 132, just over 8 years prior to this episode's airdate.
• Oob is merged with Boo for less than 10 minutes before he gets eaten.
  • This is far from the last we've seen of him, though!
• One neat detail we've had the opportunity to see for the first time this episode is that the fur on Goku's tail goes gold to match his hair when he goes Super Saiyan.
  • KBABZ: This lends credence to the idea of Nappa's mustache doing the same (Vegeta's too).
• It's worth noting that at this point Baby is still in Vegeta's body. This fight with Baby and Goku could have very easily been framed as a Goku vs Vegeta rematch, but Toei didn't do this.
• Goku refers to Earth as the place where he was born. You could make a philosophical argument that Kakarot was born on planet Vegeta, while Goku was born when that baby hit his head on Earth, but realistically this is probably just a dialogue mistake.
• This is the first time we've seen an Oozaru since Gohan turned back from the form in Z Episode 35, 7 years prior to this episode airing. It's the first time Goku's turned into one since the 21st Tournament, in DB Episode 27, nearly 11 years before this episode.
  • KBABZ: With this, Goku has finally overtaken Gohan with three Oozaru transformations. Gohan had managed to tie his father with two just within the Saiyan Arc (Baby transforming Vegeta would tie with Gohan). However if you count the movies, then Goku has four, Gohan three, Vegeta two, and Bardock & Friends one.
  • Also, it takes Gohan 32 Chapters to reach two transformations, two Chapters faster than his dad!
• Ocean's dialogue refers to the Oozaru using exactly that name instead of "Great Ape" as Funimation's dialogue had always referred to them.

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Episode 478 - The Transformation Fails?! Goku’s Ōzaru Rampage!! (GT episode 34)
Ocean dub title: Did the Transformation Fail?! Oozaru Goku Goes On a Rampage!!
Funimation dub title: Back in the Game
Originally aired 22nd of January 1997
Written by: Junki Takegami
Episode director: Osamu Kasai
Animation supervisor: Masayuki Uchiyama

Goku gets swole.

Trivia:

Spoiler:

• Elder Kaioshin thinks Goku can't control himself simply because they didn't do proper training and pulled the tail out by force; in fact, Goku could never control himself as an Oozaru in the past, and is the more likely reason. This is essentially confirmed later on when Vegeta doesn't face the same issue as Goku, as he did in the Saiyan Arc.
• The reveal of Pan keeping her End of Z gi in her backpack means that, aside from her pajamas, it was the only thing she packed before sneaking onto the Octopus Ship in Episode 2.
• KBABZ: Pan's flashback to her match against Mo Kekko is completely re-animated for its appearance in GT. However it has several major continuity errors: Pan is standing on the entrance side of the ring, she defeats him by throwing him out via his hand (much like Kuririn did at the 21st TB) rather than with a slap and a kick, and Goku is standing outside the ring in his GT colours where Mo Kekko lands and gives Pan the peace symbol, instead of giving her a pat on the head while inside the green room building. For clarity, the match's depiction in Z is 100% accurate to the manga; about the only thing GT's version gets right is that it's a ring-out!
  • Robo: My theory is the scene was reanimated to allow the whole sequence to play out as one continuous scene, whereas flashbacks to Z footage would require cutting around a bit to get all the equivalent shots.
• In both Pan's dialogue and a paint edit of a sign in her flashback to the tournament, Ocean calls the tournament the "Number One Under The Sun Martial Arts Competition" instead of Funimation's "World Martial Arts Tournament", yet another departure from Funimation's name schemes! In their dub of Kai, Ocean would refer to it as the "Tenkaichi Budoukai", according to a paint edit of a sign in Kai Episode 1 (screenshot taken from the Funimation TV edit of Kai, which used Ocean's edited video master).
• The flashback when Goku sees the picture confirms Goku did spend time with his family and friends after flying off with Oob at the end of the Boo Arc, confirming he visited at least once like he promised to Pan.
  • It's also the first time we've seen Yamucha since the last episode of Z.
• You could say this episode is the debut of Super Saiyan 4, but arguably the official debut (as well as the iconically weird transformation sequence) is the next episode.

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Episode 479 - The Mightiest!! Goku Becomes Super Saiyan 4!! (GT episode 35)
Ocean dub title: Goku Becomes Super-Saiyan 4
Funimation dub title: Goku's Ascension
Originally aired 29th of January 1997
Written by: Atsushi Maekawa
Episode director: Mitsuo Hashimoto
Animation supervisor: Akira Inagami

Baby gets jealous so Bulma gets him swole too.

Trivia:

Spoiler:

• This is the first time a new Super Saiyan form has debuted since Z Episode 245, just over two years before this one.
• KBABZ entry: Coincidentally, both GT and Super introduce a new form of Super Saiyan above SS3 with red as their primary colour.
• Super Saiyan 4 proved so popular it continues to show up in video games, merchandise and even the Dragon Ball Heroes anime.
  • KBABZ: It's been suggested in the Dragon Ball fandom that Toei avoids declaring anything "non-canon" (like GT and Heroes) because it would "invalidate" merchandise from those series.
• Goku notes that he doesn't know if he can turn back into his original self. It's possible at this point the writers were uncertain if they wanted Goku to be permanently an adult in this form, or they were just making the introduction of the form deliberately mysterious.
• It's been suggested that Super Saiyan 4 was a way to resolve the situation of Goku being a child since the Baby arc could have been the end of GT, but there's nothing to really suggest GT was seen as being in any danger of ending with, say, episode 40, even though they most likely knew it would be ending at 64 episodes when they were divising the next two arcs.
• Both Ocean and Funimation call the waves that transform a Saiyan into an Oozaru "Blutz waves", but the Simmons subs call them Bruits Waves. The intention here is likely to allude to the English word "Brutes", which is fitting given both Saiyan and Oozaru behaviour.

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____

Trivia written by Robo and KBABZ. Episode summaries, airdates, and titles courtesy of Kanzenshuu's episode guide.

[MasenkoHA]

It still seems like Oob was a wasted character.

Don’t get me wrong I didn’t expect Oob to become the new protagonist just because the manga ended with Goku handpicking him to be his successor but still you would think Oob could have been Krillin in Dragon Ball Z level of importance or something instead of entirely superfluous.

[Koitsukai]

The Sugoro episodes are the worst thing I've ever seen in my life, not just on TV, I'm including the time I snuck into a morgue as a kid.
The arc works just fine but then that nosedive. I don't like that shapeshifter family either.

Coming up with the tail as the thing that was going to save the universe was sweet, I was surprised when I watched it for the first time, going back to the saiyan roots worked, specially against an enemy of the saiyans.
I liked Goku having a golden tail as SS3, but I think as a SS vs Super 17 the tailhair is brown, though.

I loved how Pan makes Goku remember, I hate the art, of course, fucking Uchiyama. The golden ohzaru looked so awful, I mean, compare the Ohzaru from that episode to the Ohzaru from the beginning of the SS4 transformation, which was amazing. Similar to SS3's transformation, only better.
I do not like how much emphasis is put on Goku loving the Earth so much, longing for it so badly. Sure, we all love Earth, most of us, at least, but it just sounds so odd for Goku to show so much love for a planet. It's the Saviour and Planet defender Goku Toei likes to push so much.

I wish SS4 introduction was when adult Goku made a comeback for good, I wouldn't even be against Goku staying in SS4 forever, like an ultimate form...

Uub, yeah, I expected more from him, his fight with Baby was way too short for my taste. And his final input was reduced to an anti-digestive pill.

[MyVisionity]

I liked Pan getting knocked out of the air by her mom! It's nice to see Videl in action even if it's only through brainwashing.

Pan and Oob is an instant ship for me (post-timeskip or whatever). They had some good chemistry going.

Majoob... whatever. It was enough to fill some time until Goku arrived. The pacing of these episodes is still really fast.

Baby barely cared that Goku was alive lol. He just pops in, goes SSJ3 and then they fight.

I really don't like Nozawa's voice on top of the Oozaru screams. It's awful. But it does make the whole thing feel that much sillier, especially during the SSJ4 transformation which is already silly enough, despite being heartfelt.

Goku tasting Pan's tears was a bit much I thought. I did like the beach flashback, and how Goku described the salty taste of the ocean as the result of people peeing in it lol.

I like how dark and twisted things get after Goku is SSJ4. I also like Bulma as Baby's evil queen and loyal servant.

Baby turning Oozaru is a dumb plot choice I think.

...the time I snuck into a morgue as a kid.

Fuck yeah bro. You're a true G for that. I'm jealous, damn lol.

[Dragon Ball Ireland]

It still seems like Oob was a wasted character.

Don’t get me wrong I didn’t expect Oob to become the new protagonist just because the manga ended with Goku handpicking him to be his successor but still you would think Oob could have been Krillin in Dragon Ball Z level of importance or something instead of entirely superfluous.

Worst part is that both Oob and Boo were wasted. I really liked the buddy cop relationship between Boo and Mr Satan, which was all discarded for Oob to get a brief power up and never be relevant again. I understand the two characters were merged as a sort of redemption for Majin Boo because he had reunited with his former dark half (who was of course reincarnated as Oob) and become whole again, but overall it just felt Mr Satan losing his best friend was all for nothing other than stalling for time.

[Koitsukai]

I remember I had a guide that said 'Incredible Battle: Golden Ohzaru vs Golden Ohzaru', like both Goku and Vegeta Baby turned into great apes at the same time and fought as such... and then that never happened, lol. I'm telling you, guides make no sense whatsoever. I would've loved to see a golden ape fight... I was so excited when I read that guide, lol.

Ep.35 has to be one of my favourites, if not my favourite GT episode. Goku looks so bad ass, finally getting to see adult Goku again. And it's like he doesn't even know what he is.

For the original run of DB, my headcanon was that SS4 was the legendary SS. Fuck Broly who couldn't even kill a depleted Goku, or two children later on.

Golden Ohzaru V-Baby was in tune with the typical DB trope of something bad happening to the transformed heroe who seemed to have the fight in his pocket, and then the bad guy gets a break, never a clean win. But not out of hubris like in most Z fights, this time it just happened even though Goku was wasting no time. I just wish we had more out them and not so many KOs and boring Kibito-shin stuff.

Evil Bulma is scary.

...the time I snuck into a morgue as a kid.

Fuck yeah bro. You're a true G for that. I'm jealous, damn lol.

Sorry to burst your bubble lol, I was just being funny, Peter Griffin-style. Hopefully, I'll never be in a morgue and live forever.

[Saiya6Cit]

It still seems like Oob was a wasted character.

Don’t get me wrong I didn’t expect Oob to become the new protagonist just because the manga ended with Goku handpicking him to be his successor but still you would think Oob could have been Krillin in Dragon Ball Z level of importance or something instead of entirely superfluous.

I agree with you. I believe they just did not have enough Series as to completely involve him in some interesting plot. The ratings were not nice for GT so the show just died.

It's nice to see Videl in action even if it's only through brainwashing.

You bet!

[Grimlock]

Pan and Oob is an instant ship for me (post-timeskip or whatever).

What timeskip? Between Dragon Ball Z and Dragon Ball GT or the one during Dragon Ball GT? Either way it's weird. Uub is five years older than Pan.

Uub is fifteen and Pan is ten (Uub is sixteen and Pan is eleven by the later half of GT). I don't think it's appropriate for one who's leaving teenager years to be with someone who is still entering it. A relationship between Uub and Pan would only be appropriate once Pan reaches eighteen (which won't happen until AGE 797).

They had some good chemistry going.

Did they? I don't even remember Pan and Uub being in the same location or saying "hi" to one another, for that matter.

[MyVisionity]

Pan and Oob is an instant ship for me (post-timeskip or whatever).

What timeskip? Between Dragon Ball Z and Dragon Ball GT or the one during Dragon Ball GT? Either way it's weird. Uub is five years older than Pan.

Uub is fifteen and Pan is ten (Uub is sixteen and Pan is eleven by the later half of GT). I don't think it's appropriate for one who's leaving teenager years to be with someone who is still entering it. A relationship between Uub and Pan would only be appropriate once Pan reaches eighteen (which won't happen until AGE 797).

They had some good chemistry going.

Did they? I don't even remember Pan and Uub being in the same location or saying "hi" to one another, for that matter.

I meant if there had been a timeskip during GT had the show continued.

In another three to five years? Yeah, I could totally see them together. Who cares about whether she's eighteen or not?

Oob is the one who saved Pan from Baby's infected servants. In that moment, I felt some strong energy between them. And the way Pan was worried for Oob? All of it seemed like they had some kind of connection there, potentially something romantic to be explored in the future.

[Grimlock]

Who cares about whether she's eighteen or not?

Law, common sense and sane people. Otherwise Uub would be dating a minor.

[MyVisionity]

Who cares about whether she's eighteen or not?

Law, common sense and sane people. Otherwise Uub would be dating a minor.

I don't think there's anything "sane" about it, quite frankly. Not to mention the law doesn't even apply to the Dragon World.

So Oob's dating a minor? As long as it's an age appropriate relationship, good for him. The law can get fucked.

[Cure Dragon 255]

That's it. You are officially beyond awful.

[MyVisionity]

To be clear, age-appropriate relationship. Nothing indecent. The law can still get fucked tho.

[KBABZ]

That's it. You are officially beyond awful.

Echoing this statement. Jesus Christ.

[ABED]

While I like the overall structure of the Baby vs. Goku fight with each episode having it's own kind of arc, it's execution leaves a LOT to be desired.

[Cure Dragon 255]

I love you ABED. Never change.

[WittyUsername]

Oob is the one who saved Pan from Baby's infected servants. In that moment, I felt some strong energy between them. And the way Pan was worried for Oob? All of it seemed like they had some kind of connection there, potentially something romantic to be explored in the future.

You are definitely reading too far into it.

[Jord]

I've looked it up. Pan and Oob are 5 years apart.

[Dragon Ball Ireland]

I've looked it up. Pan and Oob are 5 years apart.

Which would be fine if they were consenting adults, but neither of them are. So even if we could justify any headcanons for why Pan and Oob would take a romantic interest in one another theres no way they could have the equal power dynamic relationships need.

The age of consent exists to protect children, because at Pan's age they are only beginning to understand the physical and emotional hormonal changes people go through in late childhood. Oob has had more growing up, and as such it wouldn't be fair for him to be romantically involved with someone liable to being vulnerable mentally and emotionally, and could potentially be hurt physically even if it's not intended.

So no, it would in no way, shape or form be right or healthy for Pan to have a boyfriend that is either a teen or adult. She's a kid at her most innocent time, and depriving her of that is simply abuse.

[Robo4900]

That's it. You are officially beyond awful.

Echoing this statement. Jesus Christ.

Agreed. Holy fucking shit.

I'd rather we don't relegate yet another thread to MyVisionity being a serious creep and everyone reacting in horror, though. Looks like his post has been reported and we've all voiced our disapproval, so let's try to move on, if we can. I'm really tired of this coming up so constantly.
To be clear, not angry with anyone for taking issue with MyVisionity; calling this shit out is the right move IMO and it's only MyVisionity I have any negative feelings towards, but now that we've all called him out for the sixth or seventh thread in this rewatch, I'd like the rest of this thread to be something I can actually enjoy reading...

--

It is a little disappointing that we never got an Oozaru vs Oozaru battle, but I dig the idea of Vegeta's Saiyan body being taken advantage of to get an Oozaru so the match-up with Goku is more even, and of course it sets us up for Super Saiyan 4 Vegeta later down the line. It's a neat wrinkle to put in the plan, and gives Super Saiyan 4 Goku a more worthy opponent for his first outing.