Dragon Ball Rewatch, Week 2 - DB Episodes 6-10

[KBABZ]

I'd also find it tedious to try and think up a number for EVERY single episode, especially when they're parts of a larger series of episodes as often happens. I think "this was a great episode" somewhere is sufficient.

(not that I'm actually following along; while I'm not participating in the watchalong, this is a great opportunity to talk about specific episodes without going "hey what did we all think of Z 162?")

[Vijay]

Couldn't wait till you get to Ep 13-14

Those are my absolute favs anyday.

I kinda missed Chinese-myth, traditional anime vibe which DragonBall carried with it. It's classic 80's anime that's so entertaining. And DBS/Heroes today is clinging to "super-power" cliche troope alone

I remember how I used to dislike every single character that ain't Goku as a kid (cuz he's the central figure & strongest) & pretty sure that's due to my Malaysia dub....esp weird designed such as Gyuumau, Chichi etc... But watchin it now, I'm impressed just how adequate screen-time Toriyama has given every characters from Bulma, Yamcha, Oolong, Pure, Pilaf & Co. I'm a lot more fond of Gyuumaou & Chichi as I liked how their eventual inclusion into Goku's life came out to be.

[Danfun64]

Malaysia dub? The NTV7 one (as opposed to the Cartoon Network one that only did Kai ep 1-98... not to mention the infamous English language Speedy Video dub) I know this is off topic, but what is the quality of the dub like? How accurate are the scripts compared to the Japanese? Is the acting good? When NTV7 got to Kai, would you say it's Malay dub was better or the Cartoon Network one?

I'm sorry. I don't speak Malay at all (got the information from that Foreign DB spreadsheet mentioned at viewtopic.php?t=34946 ). I just have a strong curiosity for foreign dubs, especially the ones in Asia since I got most of the western dubs figured out (despite again English being the only language I'm fluent in)

[Robo4900]

Christ, it's already Monday night. At this rate I'll be behind on a rewatch I organised.

Anyway, I took a 20-minute study break to watch episode 7 - Mt. Frypan's Gyuumao

This is the last episode with broadcast audio available until episode 12.

I do love Mai and Shu's conversation just after the title card. I guess this is their job or something... Makes them feel sorta sympathetic.
Plus, it makes for an excellent setup for a pretty funny joke right after.
And hey, those mechanical grab arms are back.
Weaponised lightning, eh? Very... Surprising... Bet we'll never see that again...

Love the look of Mt. Frypan.
So, it caught fire about ten years ago? While he was on a picnic with Chichi? She'd've been, what, 2? Wonder if his wife was still in the castle. Would explain why he's so angry, and so protective of his daughter as to give her a crazy boomerang-axe-launcher + laser beam on her head.

... And Yamucha just straight up punched Chichi out? That's cold.
I do like the fridge logic that he wouldn't be anxious around kids, only grown women and those around his age who he might find attractive that really freak him out. It's somewhat true to my own experiences with social anxiety, when it used to be really bad in my teen years.

I love the confrontation with Gyuumao, with the hindsight that, in retrospect, we all know he's a real sweetheart. He's presumably just angry because of his flaming castle (and the loss of his wife?).

Hah. Goku sort of pole vaulting back is fun. Don't think we've seen him use the stick quite like that before.
Does raise the question of why Gyuumao didn't see that and realise he was Son Gohan's grandson sooner. I guess he's just not very observant. And/or those stupid goggles hinder his vision.

It's honestly so endearing to hear Gyuumao getting so excited about potentially returning home, and meeting Gohan's grandson, etc.

I wonder if Chichi can still ride the Kinto Un in her adulthood.
... I imagine the answer to that will largely depend on whether you watched the Funi dub or not.
No offense to Cynthia Cranz, but I always thought her take came off far too mean and selfish. Not her fault, it'll just be the direction and casting at Funimation in 1999.

Bloody hell. I forgot about the talking dolphin giving them directions to Kame House. What the hell even was that?
(oh also, note that the piece of music playing in this section is the initial next-episode preview theme used in episodes 1-7)

Fun episode, though I'm kinda annoyed I watched it on its own. I prefer these multi-episode stories to go all together. Oh well. I'll see if I can see episodes 8-10 tomorrow.

[KBABZ]

So, it caught fire about ten years ago? While he was on a picnic with Chichi?

New information to me! Likely another detail rubbed out by Funimation for the dub, ugh.

[ABED]

... And Yamucha just straight up punched Chichi out? That's cold.
I do like the fridge logic that he wouldn't be anxious around kids, only grown women and those around his age who he might find attractive that really freak him out. It's somewhat true to my own experiences with social anxiety, when it used to be really bad in my teen years.

How is that fridge logic?

[Dragon Ball Ireland]

I'll post my thoughts on these episodes in due time, but what I will say for now is the more I go back to these episodes the more I love the character development and how each one gets appropriate screen time for their role in the story.

So many great character moments from everyone involved, and a real sense of adventure bonding them together.

[Robo4900]

... And Yamucha just straight up punched Chichi out? That's cold.
I do like the fridge logic that he wouldn't be anxious around kids, only grown women and those around his age who he might find attractive that really freak him out. It's somewhat true to my own experiences with social anxiety, when it used to be really bad in my teen years.

How is that fridge logic?

I guess that's not exactly the right term? My point is this revelation comes a while after Yamucha's issues around women are brought up, and it's sort of like a little tacked-on bit of explanation after he's punched Chichi out. It's addressed on-screen, but... IDK.

... Is this terminology nitpick really all you have to say in regards to my post?

I'll post my thoughts on these episodes in due time, but what I will say for now is the more I go back to these episodes the more I love the character development and how each one gets appropriate screen time for their role in the story.

So many great character moments from everyone involved, and a real sense of adventure bonding them together.

[ABED]

I don't have anything to add because I like that episode a lot. Okay, I don't like Chichi, even younger Chichi. She should've been a one off character regardless of my fondness for Gyumao.

I guess that's not exactly the right term? My point is this revelation comes a while after Yamucha's issues around women are brought up, and it's sort of like a little tacked-on bit of explanation after he's punched Chichi out. It's addressed on-screen, but... IDK.

It all felt organic. Why would he go on some long explanation about the nature of his anxiety? This is how you deal with a reveal like this - show he's anxious around women, and when a young girl shows up and he doesn't react, explain he's not into young girls (and thank god for that). Why explain it ALL up front?

In the Viz translation, the way it's phrased is "I don't have a Lolita complex".

[Robo4900]

Episode 8 - Kame-Sen'nin's Kamehameha

"It's a fantastic cloud given to me by God himself!"
Wait, so Roshi's met God already? What? Did he meet him while he was training on Karin's tower?

"She's not a father, but still called 'Chichi' [chichi: 'father']... I see. And her breasts could be called 'Chichi's chichis' [chichi: 'breasts']. Chichi's 'chichi' is the Gyuumao, and her 'chichis' are her breasts... So then Chichi's chichi's chichis are the Gyuumao's."
What the fuck?
I wonder how a faithful dub would translate this. Probably they'd have to figure out some other pun. Hopefully one that doesn't have the rather uncomfortable subject matter this one half-leans on...

"The Basho Fan? One swing will bring about a heavy wind, two swings will summon the clouds, and a third will bring down a tremedous torrent of rain!"
As I recall, they honour this description when the Basho Fan is brought back later on, though I don't think they actually ever use the second or third functions?

"[close to] Departing? What are you talking about?! You drank a potion that gives eternal life!"
You'd think Toriyama would forget a little aside joke like this, but this does get referred back to later on, multiple times as I recall. Mainly in the Piccolo arc, which I guess we'll get to sometime in the summer.

Him throwing out the magic fan because he spilled soup on it is so delightfully Toriyama.

I wonder if the Baby Gamera is how Roshi tends to get around most of the time when he gets somewhere via offscreen means.

Not sure what to say to Gyuumao apologising after being chastised for... Murdering tons of people?...


Maybe Bulma should've learned Teller's needle trick and reneged on her promise.

I'll never not find the first kamehameha in the series utterly excellent; it's a perfect combination of bizarrely hilarious and incredibly epic.
"I may have gone too far in a few places." -Muten Roshi, the Turtle Hermit, after blowing up the first pre-screening of The Phantom Menace.

Goku picking up the Kamehameha so fast is great.

Heh. Sub error. Mandelin has Pu'er say "But Goku blew up the hovercraft we gave them!" even though they plainly gave them a normal, wheeled car. The hovercraft is the one Gyuumao gives them after that.

I like that Oolong gets it wrong again when he turns into Bulma, and ends up the same as he did a couple of episodes ago when he met Pu'er disguised as Goku.

Goku's agreeing to marry Chichi despite not understanding what that means in the slightest? Bet we won't see that happen again.

One ball to go? Oh damn. Makes me kinda sad how close to the end of the first storyline we already are. But then again, the 21st Tenkaichi is right around the corner, and that's my favourite of them all, so... That'll be nice.

I think the consensus in this thread so far has been that doing episode ratings is a stupid idea, but how about, when we reach the end of each arc, we put it in a ranking against all the others?
Might be fun.

I don't have anything to add because I like that episode a lot. Okay, I don't like Chichi, even younger Chichi. She should've been a one off character regardless of my fondness for Gyumao.

lol. Fair. Honestly, I'm not a big Chichi fan either, though I remember finding her presence in the 23rd Tenkaichi quite funny. And she was the impetus for the best episode of the entire franchise, when she instructs Goku and Piccolo to learn to drive.

It all felt organic. Why would he go on some long explanation about the nature of his anxiety? This is how you deal with a reveal like this - show he's anxious around women, and when a young girl shows up and he doesn't react, explain he's not into young girls (and thank god for that). Why explain it ALL up front?

In the Viz translation, the way it's phrased is "I don't have a Lolita complex".

That wasn't what I was asking for, man. Was just making an observation. Overexplanation in media is honestly a real pet peeve of mine; an amateurish mistake, and a surefire way to kill off my interest in something (see: Fantastic Beasts 2).

Yeah. I get the sense Viz's dialogue is generally quite good. I'll have to see if I can get around to actually reading the Viz manga and experiencing it all fully someday.

[KBABZ]

I guess that's not exactly the right term? My point is this revelation comes a while after Yamucha's issues around women are brought up, and it's sort of like a little tacked-on bit of explanation after he's punched Chichi out. It's addressed on-screen, but... IDK.

I think it's meant to also get Yamcha off the hook on the whole lolita thing given that he just proposed to Chi-Chi. Which is kinda strange when you think about it given that Roshi spends a good 30 seconds of screen time fantasizing about Chi-Chi's chichi's-to-be...

Yeah this is why Dragon Ball can be difficult to watch, especially if you want to introduce a younger audience to it.

"It's a fantastic cloud given to me by God himself!"
Wait, so Roshi's met God already? What? Did he meet him while he was training on Karin's tower?

Personally I always kinda figured that was the implication due to the Nyoi-bo history added later. Or Roshi's exaggerating for effect, haha.

Speaking of which, may as well bring this up now: What are our theories is to why Roshi didn't recognize that Goku had the Nyoi-bo which previously belonged to a former student of his? (this would be added in the next arc) Personally I think the fact that it's basically a plain red cylinder helps a lot because that'd be REALLY easy to make a fake of, and Goku is never seen using it in front of Roshi at any point.

I wonder if the Baby Gamera is how Roshi tends to get around most of the time when he gets somewhere via offscreen means.

We'll see early in the next arc that Roshi does in fact have a Capsule hovercraft/boat (I can't remember which). As for WHY he doesn't use the boat to get there given it's lack of making you dizzy, it's worth pointing out that it's Launch who drives it in the next arc, which could imply that Roshi doesn't know how to drive. He DOES fly the Capsule transport in the aftermath of the Saiyan arc however, so either he learnt in the big time gap, or has a Pilot's License but not a Driver's License.

Orrrrrr maybe Toriyama was making this all up as he went and didn't think about it at all. Probably.

One ball to go? Oh damn. Makes me kinda sad how close to the end of the first storyline we already are.

Yeah, the opening arc has a slow start (you don't meet everyone until halfway in) but after Fire Mountain it feels like it rockets towards the end. This is probably because they started the adventure with three Dragon Balls in hand already. Handy for writing a quick arc on an unproven new manga, but it means that in retrospect it finishes sooner than expected!

It also probably doesn't help that this is the only non-filler part of the series that's episodic in nature. The three Training filler arcs (World, Heavenly and Gohan's) are episodic as well so we'll get to that stuff again eventually.

I think the consensus in this thread so far has been that doing episode ratings is a stupid idea, but how about, when we reach the end of each arc, we put it in a ranking against all the others?
Might be fun.

I think so too! We should do it like how Kinda Funny does their In Reviews: we vote on where on the chart and arc lands, and the stopping point is the "halfway" mark where less than half of the people voting say it's better than a particular arc. Might be a bit tricky to calculate though, haha.

Honestly, I'm not a big Chichi fan either, though I remember finding her presence in the 23rd Tenkaichi quite funny. And she was the impetus for the best episode of the entire franchise, when she instructs Goku and Piccolo to learn to drive.

For me Chi-Chi is fine as a child, but her character is at its most compelling in the 23rd TB where she has a clear goal in mind and EARNS her way to it. Her brattiness later betrays this and really makes you question what she and Goku see in each other. It took until Super's manga decades later to bother explaining WHY Goku loves Chi-Chi.

Yeah. I get the sense Viz's dialogue is generally quite good. I'll have to see if I can get around to actually reading the Viz manga and experiencing it all fully someday.

ViZ's dialogue is pretty good from what I can tell, in the sense that it matches the subtitles more closely than Funi's dialogue. I can't read Japanese however and don't own those versions anyway so I can't speak about that with 100% authority.

This is of course excepting Shakespearean Piccolo.

[Robo4900]

Yeah this is why Dragon Ball can be difficult to watch, especially if you want to introduce a younger audience to it.

Gonna disagree with you there.
As adults, we find certain connotations here uncomfortable, but it completely passes kids by, and they just laugh at the dumb "Chichi's chichi's chichis" joke... Or, if you're watching dubbed (which is more likely for a kid, realistically), IIRC Roshi rambling on about some inane story from his past...?

Anyway, my point is: The raunchy humour can feel a bit juvenile and in-poor-taste to an adult, but kids eat it right up.

Personally I always kinda figured that was the implication due to the Nyoi-bo history added later. Or Roshi's exaggerating for effect, haha.

Speaking of which, may as well bring this up now: What are our theories is to why Roshi didn't recognize that Goku had the Nyoi-bo which previously belonged to a former student of his? (this would be added in the next arc) Personally I think the fact that it's basically a plain red cylinder helps a lot because that'd be REALLY easy to make a fake of, and Goku is never seen using it in front of Roshi at any point.

Fair.

I think for the Nyoi Bo, it's as you say, Roshi didn't see it used, so he didn't think about it.

We'll see early in the next arc that Roshi does in fact have a Capsule hovercraft/boat (I can't remember which). As for WHY he doesn't use the boat to get there given it's lack of making you dizzy, it's worth pointing out that it's Launch who drives it in the next arc, which could imply that Roshi doesn't know how to drive. He DOES fly the Capsule transport in the aftermath of the Saiyan arc however, so either he learnt in the big time gap, or has a Pilot's License but not a Driver's License.

Orrrrrr maybe Toriyama was making this all up as he went and didn't think about it at all. Probably.

The boat, I don't have much of an explanation for, though we know the Kinto Un is VERY fast, and Baby Gamera seems to keep up with the cloud pretty well, so maybe he went with Baby Gamera for speedy arrival. Especially since the boat would only get him to the land mass; Gyuumao's castle is well in-land.

The capsule transport was Bulma's; it's the one she arrives at Kame House on.

Yeah, the opening arc has a slow start (you don't meet everyone until halfway in) but after Fire Mountain it feels like it rockets towards the end. This is probably because they started the adventure with three Dragon Balls in hand already. Handy for writing a quick arc on an unproven new manga, but it means that in retrospect it finishes sooner than expected!

It also probably doesn't help that this is the only non-filler part of the series that's episodic in nature. The three Training filler arcs (World, Heavenly and Gohan's) are episodic as well so we'll get to that stuff again eventually.

Yeah.

Personally, I really dig the slow build at the beginning, though I understand it's not for everyone. Either way, Dragon Ball's always been something that evolved over its run (at least, during the original 1984-1997 era), so much like any other period in the franchise, if you're not into it, you'll find it evolves into something else quite soon. Personally, I find it a little sad that any given era does end, but it keeps things fresh.

I think what you say there about the episodic filler stuff is part of why I've always been more forgiving of filler than a lot of people (and probably a good bit of why I love the Sleeping Princess movie so much); it's fun to get back to the fun little standalone stories, and the little ways it builds on the characters and expands the world are really fun.

I think so too! We should do it like how Kinda Funny does their In Reviews: we vote on where on the chart and arc lands, and the stopping point is the "halfway" mark where less than half of the people voting say it's better than a particular arc. Might be a bit tricky to calculate though, haha.

Heh. Personally, I was just imagining we'd all have our own personal rankings, and it'd provide additional things to discuss for end-of-arc/beginning-of-arc weeks.

ViZ's dialogue is pretty good from what I can tell, in the sense that it matches the subtitles more closely than Funi's dialogue. I can't read Japanese however and don't own those versions anyway so I can't speak about that with 100% authority.

This is of course excepting Shakespearean Piccolo.

lol.

According to Herms, they are somewhat liberal with their translations as far as adapting the literal contents of what was originally said, but generally it's quite a faithful translation, and it does seem to take a decent swing at adapting a lot of the laconic whimsy I've heard Toriyama was fond of using, which made Doctor Slump's translation have to be particularly non-literal. Viz's flaws come from their censorship, Piccolo's Shakespeare, and some adaptational choices that many would argue go a bit too far. Some would also argue their names can be weird (Zeta Sword, Hercule-opolis, Djinn-Boo, Vegerot), but mostly that's just "This is different from what I'm used to, so I hate it."

I like to think that Piccolo's Shakespeare in the early "Z" chapters of Viz's translation are because Piccolo hung out alone, away from civilisation for a while, and spent a lot of time trying to figure out how to seem badass, so he tried on the Shakespeare thing because he thought it sounded cool, but sometime while training Gohan, he realises it just sounds lame, so he drops it.
Just to add a completely nonsensical but humourous explanation for this dumb decision.

[ABED]

I think we need to distinguish between a stand alone episode and episodes that tell a complete story but still push forward the overarching narrative. There should or even might be a term for it, but they are distinct things. A stand alone story does exactly that. It stands alone in the larger context and doesn't play into the overall plot in a meaningful way. For instance, my favorite Buffy episode is a standalone, The Zeppo. It doesn't have anything to do with the Mayor. It's just a character piece that has a complete arc that begins and ends within a single episode. That's different from an episode like when Goku and Bulma save the town from Oolong. It has a complete arc, but it also plays a meaningful role in the overall arc. They collect one of the seven DB's. I say this because I just want us to be clear what we're talking about. I wish more shows would do more of the latter. It allows each episode to feel meaningful and not just an advertisement for the next.

If I ever reread the manga, I'm going to pay greater attention to how each chapter ends. Does it end on a random cliffhanger or does each episode contribute one particularly memorable function in the overall story. I know it's not clear exactly what that means, but it's the best I've got right now.

[Robo4900]

I think we need to distinguish between a stand alone episode and episodes that tell a complete story but still push forward the overarching narrative. There should or even might be a term for it, but they are distinct things. A stand alone story does exactly that. It stands alone in the larger context and doesn't play into the overall plot in a meaningful way. For instance, my favorite Buffy episode is a standalone, The Zeppo. It doesn't have anything to do with the Mayor. It's just a character piece that has a complete arc that begins and ends within a single episode. That's different from an episode like when Goku and Bulma save the town from Oolong. It has a complete arc, but it also plays a meaningful role in the overall arc. They collect one of the seven DB's. I say this because I just want us to be clear what we're talking about. I wish more shows would do more of the latter. It allows each episode to feel meaningful and not just an advertisement for the next.

If I ever reread the manga, I'm going to pay greater attention to how each chapter ends. Does it end on a random cliffhanger or does each episode contribute one particularly memorable function in the overall story. I know it's not clear exactly what that means, but it's the best I've got right now.

Hm. Yeah, I get what you mean.

You like episodic stuff. The thing that's frustrating you is serialised stuff that you feel comes off like it's just trying to keep you hooked in week-to-week rather than telling a satisfying story that contributes to an overall story each week.

Personally, I like both approaches, if done well. Either way, it is nice to have standalones mixed in (DB episode 9, the driving episode in Z, Doctor Who's "Blink", and as you note, Buffy's "The Zeppo"; some of my favourite episodes of the respective shows).

[ABED]

I think we need to distinguish between a stand alone episode and episodes that tell a complete story but still push forward the overarching narrative. There should or even might be a term for it, but they are distinct things. A stand alone story does exactly that. It stands alone in the larger context and doesn't play into the overall plot in a meaningful way. For instance, my favorite Buffy episode is a standalone, The Zeppo. It doesn't have anything to do with the Mayor. It's just a character piece that has a complete arc that begins and ends within a single episode. That's different from an episode like when Goku and Bulma save the town from Oolong. It has a complete arc, but it also plays a meaningful role in the overall arc. They collect one of the seven DB's. I say this because I just want us to be clear what we're talking about. I wish more shows would do more of the latter. It allows each episode to feel meaningful and not just an advertisement for the next.

If I ever reread the manga, I'm going to pay greater attention to how each chapter ends. Does it end on a random cliffhanger or does each episode contribute one particularly memorable function in the overall story. I know it's not clear exactly what that means, but it's the best I've got right now.

Hm. Yeah, I get what you mean.

You like episodic stuff. The thing that's frustrating you is serialised stuff that you feel comes off like it's just trying to keep you hooked in week-to-week rather than telling a satisfying story that contributes to an overall story each week.

Personally, I like both approaches, if done well. Either way, it is nice to have standalones mixed in.

VERY, very close. Like you, I like all sorts of storytelling, but if you are going to make a TV show where the seasons feel more like extended movies, it's best to keep the seasons short, like 6-8 episodes. Otherwise, yes, you're spot on. Like you, I enjoy any structure as long as it's done well. In this case, super serialized seasons like ones we see on Netflix often feel like butter scraped over too much bread because they have to fulfill an episode order that's far too long.

While I'm getting a little ahead, the TB lends itself to the structure I'm talking about, where each episode can be one or two matches. And if memory serves, even the matches that go several episodes long go in phases with the first episode typically being the opponents feeling each other out.

[Dragon Ball Ireland]

Episode 6 - The Midnight Visitors

Good banter between heroes and down time for the viewer to familiarize themselves with them. In particular the bickering between Bulma and Oolong and more of Yamcha's foolishness is wonderful character building. Very entertaining and funny episode from start to finish.

Episode 7 - Gyūmaō of Mount Frypan

Mount Frypan is a great concept as it gives Goku his first real challenge in his efforts to get the Dragon Balls. We see more connections explored, such as Gyūmaō and Muten Roshi, which ties the world together and helps build intrigue about each character's backstory as a whole. Great to see the roots of Goku and Chi-Chi's wacky relationship too.

Episode 8 - Kame-Sen’nin’s Kamehameha

Another highly entertaining episode in which we get to see Roshi's vulnerable side more as well as his potential. Goku's willingness to learn from example is admirable, but we see that he also needs to learn to not be rash. Great to see nuances like this in our heroes adventures and personal development.

Episode 9 - The Boss Rabbit’s Special Skill

More solid world building and action sequences. It's also great to see more characters introduced and their reactions to Goku and crew, particularly Bulma who gets this episode into motion. Monster Carrot is very Toriyama in both aesthetic and in his tactics, so while filler, this episode still fits with this first arc of the series like a glove and flows perfectly with the search for the Dragon Balls.

Episode 10 - The Dragon Balls Are Stolen!!

Picks up where earlier episodes left off on Goku, Bulma and Oolong's dynamic as well as Pilaf gang's antics. Yamcha's reactions to Bulma are hilarious as always, and it's great to see further developments on this when he approached her and had to stutter over his words. Great to see the invasion of Pilaf's base as it moves the plot along and keeps the viewer on the edge of their seat as to what will happen next.

[KBABZ]

Monster Carrot is very Toriyama in both aesthetic and in his tactics, so while filler, this episode still fits with this first arc of the series like a glove and flows perfectly with the search for the Dragon Balls.

I feel the episode is important in the context of early Dragon Ball because it's another little chunk of world-building. By this point we've seen a generic town, Chinese mountains, the beach and an abstract desert along with Fire Mountain, so an arabian town does help expand what the audience can expect from the locations our heroes might run into (we won't see many new locations until the Red Ribbon arc). It also has Yamcha working co-operatively with our heroes so that his switch at the end of the arc feels more natural, which is nice!

[Dragon Ball Ireland]

Monster Carrot is very Toriyama in both aesthetic and in his tactics, so while filler, this episode still fits with this first arc of the series like a glove and flows perfectly with the search for the Dragon Balls.

I feel the episode is important in the context of early Dragon Ball because it's another little chunk of world-building. By this point we've seen a generic town, Chinese mountains, the beach and an abstract desert along with Fire Mountain, so an arabian town does help expand what the audience can expect from the locations our heroes might run into (we won't see many new locations until the Red Ribbon arc). It also has Yamcha working co-operatively with our heroes so that his switch at the end of the arc feels more natural, which is nice!

Most definitely. I mentioned in my episode 1-5 rewatch that I love the world building in this arc. It's probably the most rewarding part of the package as you really get to see Toriyama's imagination brought to life and that combined with the character growth just makes the search for the Dragon Balls start to feel like an experience, not merely just a show your watching.

[Robo4900]

Episode 9 - The Rabbit Boss's Special Technique

I love Bulma and Oolong's arguing at the start of this episode.

Interesting that the Capsule numbering is just written on when they're sold (though don't we later see those numbers written large on the things within too? I wonder if writing on the capsule transfers to the thing inside?). I guess it makes sense that the cases explain what they do, though surely it'd be more useful to have what's in the capsule, written/printed on the capsule.
Also, apparently a Capsule House costs half a million zeni. One zeni has been stated to be about equivalent to one yen, right? That's about $5,000 in today's money, using current exchange rates.

I've been on a whole Aladdin thing in the lead-up to the remake last year (the 2019 film was pretty fun for what it was, but didn't hold a candle to the original movie. Plus, the new movie didn't have a surprisingly-actually-really-good spinoff TV show), so I'm half expecting to see a magic carpet fly past with a young guy, a girl, a poorly-disguised Genie, a monkey, and a bird on it.

Toriyama really loved his weird goggles on his light antagonists at this time. Gyuumao, and now the two rabbit goons.

Damn, I forgot about the rabbit car.
I dunno if I've said this before, but I fucking love this episode.
I'll never forget when I first saw this and I saw the boss was a goddamn full-size rabbit man.

Honestly, I think it's episodes like this that suffer the most from the poor scripting and casting of the OG Funi dubs; Funi's scripts softened a lot of the jokes, and their actors didn't have the delivery for a lot of the jokes they left in. To the BLT dub's credit, the performances are good, and it maintains the atmosphere well, but... Well, anyway, I won't dwell on this. What I'm saying is the Japanese version is an absolute treasure, and you neglect it at your peril.

I wonder what would happen if there really were two Boss Rabbits, and they did touch each-other... Would they both turn into carrots?

I never knew the cultural thing about the rabbit on the moon before KBABZ told me when he and I were brainstorming ideas for that trivia section. As a kid, I just thought it was deliberately bizarre/surreal randomness.

Y'know what, I've got time, I'm gonna watch episode 10 too, then I'll post the thread for week 3 after I've eaten lunch, I think.

Episode 10 - The Dragon Balls Are Stolen

I do like Oolong's entirely appropriate reaction to Bulma's stupid wish.
I also love that, as weird as Oolong is, he's the straightman of the three.

I love the stuff at Pilaf HQ. Everything in this storyline so far comes to a head here, and it's done brilliantly. Toriyama must have had an idea of what he was going to do with this in advance. It's just too perfect to be as improvised as he's often stated his moment-to-moment writing process to be. Either way, I personally think Toei enhanced this feeling greatly by integrating the Pilaf gang throughout this arc. Their presence was never essential to the story up 'till now, but they were always fun, and it really helps tie it all together.

Ah, the ball Pilaf found in episode 1 is the One-Star Ball. Was never totally clear on that. (Go back and watch that sequence again; you never actually see how many stars are on that ball back then)

Bulma getting so dramatic about the stolen balls is so great. Her ambitions are stupid, but she's so determined and confident, it's hilarious. I love the use of the... Other pieces whose names I forget to signify her epic grief.

This should probably be in the trivia section (maybe I'll be lazy and put it in the one for week 3 ), but note that when Pilaf is counting the balls, he counts in Chinese -- to transcribe it phonetically, he says "Ee Shin Chuu", "Arr Shin Chuu", "San Shin Chuu", "Su Shin Chuu", etc. The Dragon Balls sort of have proper names (sort of), which are simply what you'd describe them as -- "One-Star Ball", "Two-Star Ball", "Three-Star Ball" -- but said in Chinese. The Evil Dragons in GT would follow the same naming scheme, the only difference between their names and the ball names are the last word ("Long" instead of "Qiu", to change "Ball" into "Dragon"), and the fact the Two-Star Dragon uses a different word for "Two", which apparently some would argue is a more correct word to use.
Speaking of stuff I should've put in the OP of this thread; I just noticed I forgot to put the filler content of this episode there, so I've rectified that. To be honest, I only have filler roundups from KBABZ, which he put together while making his T1C fanedit, so I doubt I'll be able to keep the filler roundup going into Z, and naturally it wouldn't go in GT at all, so... I'm planning on keeping that going for the OG DB series at least, but probably I'll stop it either at the end of DB, or if it becomes bothersome, sometime before that.


This image. Perfection. I love it. Someone should meme this somehow.

I know it's filler/anime-only, but the pillars section has some great freeze frame action shots of Goku. I'd love to own a cel of one of those.
I love this Kikuchi piece when they're following the arrows on the floor.

Pilaf: "I can't believe they fell for such an idiotic trap." - I agree.

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And that's episodes 6-10. I'll post the thread for week 3/episodes 11-15 in a couple of hours, I think.

Monster Carrot is very Toriyama in both aesthetic and in his tactics, so while filler, this episode still fits with this first arc of the series like a glove and flows perfectly with the search for the Dragon Balls.

This story was in the original manga, so it's not filler in the usual anime sense.

But yeah, it is a standalone that doesn't really move the overall search for the Dragon Balls plot forward. But I do think it is a worthwhile part of the story, and it's a great argument for why other, similar standalones of similar value to the story but that weren't in the manga, are worthwhile.

[KBABZ]

Interesting that the Capsule numbering is just written on when they're sold (though don't we later see those numbers written large on the things within too? I wonder if writing on the capsule transfers to the thing inside?). I guess it makes sense that the cases explain what they do, though surely it'd be more useful to have what's in the capsule, written/printed on the capsule.

While we never get a good direct answer (or even a vague excuse), I personally think it's linked to what's inside, like a fast food place "Yeah I'll have a Number 1 and a 4" sort of thing. Which wouldn't make TOO much sense considering the sheer amount of products Capsule Corp must sell in their line; we never get to numbers like 30, let alone triple digits. AND, in Bulma's capsule box from the start, the numbers are on the inside of the lid rather than the Capsules themselves! So it's all rather loosey goosey.