Dragon Ball Rewatch, Week 8 - DB Episodes 36-40

[Robo4900]

Hello, ladies, gentlemen, and everyone between and beyond, and welcome to week 8 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 (more on that later, when we actually get there).
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.

We're just two weeks out from the first movie!
We won't be watching any episodes that week, just the movie. I think that's a way to sort of get semi-break weeks so people who are behind can catch up. Plus it gives those of us watching all of them a slight break.
If anyone hates this idea, feel free to say so.

Previous thread: Week 7 (DB 31-35)
Next thread: Week 9 (DB 41-45)

Anyway, without further ado...

Episode 36 - The Terror of Muscle Tower
Dub title: Major Metallitron / The Battle With Sergeant Metallic
Originally aired 29th of October 1986
Episode director: Minoru Okazaki
Animation supervisor: Minoru Maeda

General White’s voice resounds throughout Muscle Tower. He provokes Goku as he ascends to the uppermost floor, where the mayor is. Goku defeats the soldiers on the second floor, and advances on to the third. The third floor was protected by the immortal giant, Sergeant Metallic! Goku has a hard battle against Metallic, who rises up again no matter how many times Goku knocks him down. He won’t stop, even after having his head blown off with a Kamehameha! It turns out he is a robot!! However, Metallic stops just as Goku is in a pinch. His battery had run out.

Anime-only/filler content: Suno waiting for Goku at the door of her house, general expansion of the Sgt. Metallic fight, including an early reveal that he's a robot.

Episode 37 - Enter Ninja Murasaki
Dub title: Ninja Murasaki is Coming!
Originally aired 5th of November 1986
Episode director: Kazuhisa Takenouchi
Animation supervisor: Mitsuo Shindo

After infiltrating the pitch black fourth floor, Goku is hit by Master Sergeant Murasaki’s ninja attacks. He has a difficult battle against these relentless attacks! But Goku reads Murasaki’s movement, and his attacks turn the situation around. Goku breaks through Murasaki’s ninjutsu, one after the other. Finally, Murasaki’s sword breaks! Murasaki challenges Goku to an unarmed match, and Goku puts away the Nyoi-Bō. Murasaki takes advantage of this opening to throw a boomerang shuriken. Goku is caught off guard, and is hit directly in the back of the head!! Goku is in grave danger!!

Anime-only/filler content: White sending off Murasaki (is a redo of a manga-accurate scene that closed out the last episode), White recalling Murasaki's reputation, Suno praying for Goku before bed, Goku finding Murasaki's location and hitting him with a rock, Murasaki's photo of a pair of women in their underwear, Goku finding Murasaki's raunchy magazines under the floorboards.

Episode 38 - Be Afraid!! The Art of Division
Dub title: Five Murasakis / Multi-Murasakis VS Goku!
Originally aired 12th of November 1986
Episode director: Yuji Endo
Animation supervisor: Masayuki Uchiyama

Unable to finish Goku off with the boomerang shuriken, Murasaki uses his final ninjutsu, Bunshin no Jutsu (Art of Division). Having somehow increased to five people, the Murasakis each take out their different weapons! Unable to tell which of them is the real one, Goku has no choice but to run! However, it turns out the Mursakis are merely a set of quintuplets. Now aware that they are all real, Goku uses Zanzōken to defeat four of them in the blink of an eye. With no other card to play, Mursaki calls forth Artificial Human No. 8!!

Anime-only/filler content: The village elder being served food in his cell, Goku being unable to hear Murasaki across the lake, Murasaki demonstrating the piranha's ferocious appetite, Suno's father telling the story of the monster in Muscle Tower.

Episode 39 - The Mysterious Artificial Human No. 8
Dub title: Mysterious Android No. 8 / Android No. 8
Originally aired 19th of November 1986
Episode director: Kazuhisa Takenouchi
Animation supervisor: Yukio Ebisawa

Artificial Human No. 8, who Murasaki summoned, turns out to have a gentle personality, and doesn’t like conflict. As Murasaki is about to destroy No. 8, who won’t listen to his orders, Goku blows Murasaki away with a single blow! Now Goku’s friend, #8 (Ha-chan) leads him to the uppermost level, floor six. Ha-chan tries to persuade White to stop doing bad things. But Goku and Hacchan fall through a trap door to the fifth floor. Down there is the lair of the monster Buyon!!

Anime-only/filler content: General White ordering all his guards after Goku, Suno worrying about Goku, a SECOND scene of Suno worrying about Goku, Goku defeating General White's guards in the maze, the moving wall controlled by General White, White guilting Ha-chan over who created him and trying to get him to kill Goku.

Episode 40 - Now What, Goku!! The Hair-Raising Buyon
Dub title: Horrifying Buyon / The Horrifying Buyon
Originally aired 26th of November 1986
Episode director: Yoshihiro Ueda
Animation supervisor: Tomekichi Takeuchi

Imprisoned on the fifth floor, Buyon is a monster who is completely unaffected by Goku’s techniques! His body can absorb any attack. Goku is in an absolutely desperate pinch!! But Goku destroys the wall, having remembered the time when he was frozen!! Buyon is frozen solid by the frigidly cold air!! After enduring the frigid air by huddling close to Hacchan, who is immune to the cold, Goku manages to shatter Buyon with a single blow!! Returning to the sixth floor, Goku attacks White.

Anime-only/filler content: Suno worrying about Goku and helping a Japanese Gobbo return to its family.

-

Interesting trivia:

• As you might guess, despite the many proportional changes made to Muscle Tower, there's none that can actually fit Murasaki's forest inside, possibly the maze as well.
• Like many things, Muscle Tower was given a very radical re-design for the 10th anniversary movie in 1996, being instead a tall metal tower with many triangle-shaped airship landing platforms that's 50x taller. The original wasn't lost however! It's visible in one of the shots where the new tower is rising up out of the suno.
• The anime adds a POV shot of Sgt. Metallic in the style of The Terminator before the reveal he's a robot.
• The above shot has a second sci-fi reference: the text on the side is taken from Alien's MU/TH/UR, when Ripley first requests information about Special Order 937 before using an emergency override. It was likely it was put in under the assumption that Dragon Ball's target audience (Japanese boys) would be unable to read it.
• In Funimation's dub of the scene where Goku comes out of hiding from Sgt. Metallic, just after General White says "How could he dodge that!", you can hear the ADR director saying "very good".
• Goku encountering Buyon happens to be the point in time the manga was at when the anime first debuted on Japanese TV. The occasion was marked with Goku, Bulma, Oolong, Puar and Yamucha (sporting his 21st TB haircut) watching Episode 3 on a TV.
• Remember, Frankenstein was the SCIENTIST, not the monster!
• Ha-chan is a reference to Frankenstein's monster in more ways than one: both are peaceful in nature and don't understand the point in fighting.
• In the manga (Chapter 63), Toriyama accidentally refers to General White as "General Silver" in two instances; he'd apologize for the error on the title page of Chapter 65. This error was corrected for the collected volumes such as the Tankobon.
• Buyon could be seen as a reference to the Rancor from Return of the Jedi: both are hidden in a dark dungeon which the protagonist is dropped into via a trapdoor, and take several unsuccessful attempts by the hero to defeat.
• Buyon is also surprisingly similar to Majin Boo, being pink and having a body that absorbs any physical attack Goku is capable of.
• In the manga, the flashback to Suno on how to defeat Buyon wasn't totally accurate to the original scene: in the original scene, Suno is leaning on the armrest of the rocking chair in excitement. The anime doesn't exhibit this problem, as Toei simply recycled the original shot rather than recreating the flashback panel from the manga.
• In its original Japanese broadcast, episode 40's next-episode preview was half-length, with the other half being a promo for the then-upcoming first movie. (Can't find a clip of this, sadly)

Episode summaries, airdates, and titles courtesy of Kanzenshuu's episode guide. Filler breakdowns and Dragon Ball logo courtesy of KBABZ.

[SuperSaiyaManZ94]

Also of note is that Ninja Murasaki is the first role that Takeshi Aono played in the series i know of, before appearing in his more well known roles later on as Piccolo Daimao and God/Kami.

[Dbzfan94]

The ADR tidbit is really interesting. Got a clip for that? If not thats fine, I can pop in my DVD real quick.

[ABED]

The Ninja Murasaki episodes are comedy gold. Few things have made me laugh harder than this part of DB.

[Robo4900]

Episodes 36-38

A fun start to the Muscle Tower storyline.
Great to see Goku using the afterimage technique again.

Sgt. Metallic was a bit drawn-out, but a fun fight. And the conclusion with him just running out of batteries is a great laugh.

Fun little thing about Mandelin's subs vs Simmons'; Suno prays to god to keep Goku safe, and Mandelin rendered this use of "Kami-sama" as "God". He would similarly render all uses of "Kami-sama" as "God" until the very first episode where the character of God/Kami shows up, at which point, I imagine some kind of style guide thing kicked in and he had to follow Simmons' previosuly-established name of "God".
On a somewhat similar note, Mandelin also uses "Cyborg" as his translation of "Jinzoningen" when we eventually meet #8, whereas Simmons consistently used "Artificial Human", and Funimation consistently used "Android".

On a personal note, I always loved the Murasaki episodes as a kid. Some really funny shit here.
The way this is all set up in such an epic, serious way, but just continuously devolves into some of the most ridiculous shit we'll see in the entire run is just fantastic, especially with how fed up General White gets. Though as I recall, Murasaki does end up just slightly outstaying his welcome. We'll see how that shakes out here.

I'll say this much -- the USA flag joke in regards to Murasaki's disguise is possibly my favourite joke in the entire run.
I'll also say this: I love how Goku just unquestioningly plays along with Murasaki's ridiculous antics.
And the silly nonsense Goku does to screw with Murasaki, such as pouring the hot water down the snorkel pipe, or the pole up his butt, is all great.

I really enjoy the split-form technique. Certainly changes things up a bit. And the reveal that they're actually just identical quintuplets is delightfully ridiculous.

Ah, and now #8. I'm gonna take a little break, but I'll watch the next two soon.

This run of episodes has been fun so far, though. Murasaki didn't wear as thin as I remembered, but he was just as funny as I remembered.

The ADR tidbit is really interesting. Got a clip for that? If not thats fine, I can pop in my DVD real quick.

I'm going to be honest; I pulled that off of the DB Wikia. It seemed clear to me that it's not the kind of thing that Wiki tends to screw up (when it comes to Funi dub-exclusive trivia, that site tends to be pretty on the ball. It's plot, world, character, and Japanese details that they screw up), but I didn't get the time to check it over to be sure.

I'll try to get ahold of the clip a little later this evening. I should be able to find it.

The Ninja Murasaki episodes are comedy gold. Few things have made me laugh harder than this part of DB.

Hell yeah!

I vividly remember laughing my ass off at this stuff as a kid, and watching it as an adult, it doesn't disappoint.

[Robo4900]

The ADR tidbit is really interesting. Got a clip for that? If not thats fine, I can pop in my DVD real quick.

Here ya go. Boosted the volume a good bit so it's more audible, but if you turn your volume way up, it's there on the original. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lp_IgzVsCNU

It is possible they fixed it for the "Season" DVD 5.1 mix, and either way, you'd never hear it on the original stereo mix in normal viewing unless you watch very loud, but it's definitely there.

[Planetnamek]

The ADR tidbit is really interesting. Got a clip for that? If not thats fine, I can pop in my DVD real quick.

Here ya go. Boosted the volume a good bit so it's more audible, but if you turn your volume way up, it's there on the original. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lp_IgzVsCNU

It is possible they fixed it for the "Season" DVD 5.1 mix, and either way, you'd never hear it on the original stereo mix in normal viewing unless you watch very loud, but it's definitely there.

In general I rarely ever notice goofs like that in animated or live-action media, i'm always surprised when I see people bring up goofs like animation errors or boom-mic shots in media i've seen, i'm like "damn i totally missed that"(one of the few times I can think of that I did notice was in Sleepaway Camp 2 when one of the "victims" blinks during one scene and in that case I thought it was just part of the film and not a goof on the part of the actor until I looked it up on IMDB).

[Robo4900]

Episodes 39-40

I love #8. He's great. Possibly my favourite minor character in the Red Ribbon arc.

It really annoys me that in Dragon Ball, the footsteps are NEVER in sync. NEVER. Sometimes they're pretty close to in-sync when you can see the character's feet centrally in shot, but even then, it's iffy. And even though the characters' bodies bob believably when you can't see their feet, the footstep noises pay no attention to this bobbing AT ALL. It drives me nuts.

The computer beeping that jingle that I forget the name of over the "GAME OVER" screen is an excellent gag.

The dialogue between White and #8 states that #8 used to be someone before he was a Cyborg, that he died, and was revived as a Cyborg. That's really interesting.

Also, Goku sheltering inside #8's coat is adorable.

Honestly, I was never hugely enamoured with the Buyon fight. Always thought it dragged a little, and kinda felt like a diversion from the main storyline we were seeing unfold.
Having said that, I don't mind it too much for the rewatch. I think as a kid, things seemed to last longer, so it grated on me harder, I guess.

Still, this is a fun group of five episodes.
Looking forward to the next five, then the movie after that.

The ADR tidbit is really interesting. Got a clip for that? If not thats fine, I can pop in my DVD real quick.

Here ya go. Boosted the volume a good bit so it's more audible, but if you turn your volume way up, it's there on the original. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lp_IgzVsCNU

It is possible they fixed it for the "Season" DVD 5.1 mix, and either way, you'd never hear it on the original stereo mix in normal viewing unless you watch very loud, but it's definitely there.

In general I rarely ever notice goofs like that in animated or live-action media, i'm always surprised when I see people bring up goofs like animation errors or boom-mic shots in media i've seen, i'm like "damn i totally missed that"(one of the few times I can think of that I did notice was in Sleepaway Camp 2 when one of the "victims" blinks during one scene and in that case I thought it was just part of the film and not a goof on the part of the actor until I looked it up on IMDB).

Heh. Indeed. I'm often the same. I'd have never spotted this one in particular; I'm kinda amazed that someone managed to notice it! Someone out there has incredible hearing!

[Dbzfan94]

The ADR tidbit is really interesting. Got a clip for that? If not thats fine, I can pop in my DVD real quick.

Here ya go. Boosted the volume a good bit so it's more audible, but if you turn your volume way up, it's there on the original. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lp_IgzVsCNU

It is possible they fixed it for the "Season" DVD 5.1 mix, and either way, you'd never hear it on the original stereo mix in normal viewing unless you watch very loud, but it's definitely there.

Thats really cool! Thanks! I wonder why that didn't get noticed and cut out. Likely laziness.

[Dragon Ball Ireland]

Murasaki's attempts to hide from Goku are hilariously awful. The part where Goku pours boiling water down his throat while he's underwater is just fantastic.

[Robo4900]

Yeah.

I believe it was during the 21st Tenkaichi that someone compared the episodes we were watching to Looney Tunes?
Honestly, the stuff with Murasaki feels like it could've been directed by Bob Clampett or Chuck Jones.

(Week 9 thread will be up shortly; writing it up now)

[Dragon Ball Ireland]

Episode 36 - The Terror of Muscle Tower

Great action-packed episode. We see the development of Goku's love for combat and how he quickly becomes a feared child warrior. Conversely we also see the impact he has on more innocent characters like Suno who waits for him fearing for his safety. Nonetheless, from Goku's walloping of several soldiers on muscle tower to the constant back and forth knocking out between himself and Metallic there's a lot of fun to be had in the action sequences this episode has to offer.

Episode 37 - Enter Ninja Murasaki

As with the previous episode we get a glimpse of Suno's concern as she prays for Goku, showing he has earned loyalty amongst not only his close friends. There's also lots more great action, although a different approach is taken in this episode, as with Ninja Murasaki we see more comedic action. From Goku being tricked by illusions to Murasaki's poor attempts at hiding, particularly the backfiring of his snorkeling technique we go from fearing Goku's awareness to seeing Murasaki as a joke character with a porn addiction he is mortified over being found. However towards the end Murasaki seems to have turned the tables, although with Goku's knack of getting back on his feet that remains to be seen.

Episode 38 - Be Afraid!! The Art of Division

After a swift comeback knocking out Goku we see your typical villain cockiness from Murasaki praising his victory, only for Goku to get back up. There are still moments Murasaki comes off as a gag character with Goku hitting him in the forehead easily, although once Murasaki multiplies himself Goku is faced with the challenge of finding the real one. We also once more see the perspective of the villagers, particularly Suno and her family, which adds some weight to Goku's courageous journey with these new allies fearing his survival.

Episode 39 - The Mysterious Artificial Human No. 8

Less of an action-based episode, and more an obstacle-based one as we see Goku and #8 bond, get caught in the maze and being under the watchful eye of White who treats it like a game. Great suspense throughout, and it's nice to see the contrast between two good characters' different degrees of morality. For instance Goku fights for survival, but #8 is opposed to it, even fearful. Despite this #8 still develops a respect for Goku after he protects him from Murasaki, and offers to help him out of the maze. Towards the end of the episode both characters fall into a pit, which leaves us anticipated for the next episode.

Episode 40 - Now What, Goku!! The Hair-Raising Buyon

In this episode we see further expansion of the contrast between Goku's thirst for battle and #8's fear. Goku is prepared to guard #8 again, this time from Buyon as #8 remains too scared to even consider combat, especially after seeing bones. The fight with Buyon is another gag fight, although not to the same extent as Murasaki. All Goku's attacks are rendered useless until he thinks through the box knocking a wall open to let the cold in, literally stopping Buyon in his tracks until he cracks.