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by Dragon Ball Ireland » Wed Jan 19, 2022 12:37 pm
Well I fell behind a bit, but finally catching up:
Episode 11 – Lood’s Curse?! Pan Turned into a Doll
With more exploration for the cult of Lood and the God of Destruction’s self-named home world this episode is a promising addition to Goku, Trunks and Pans’ journey and to GT as the series continues to veer toward hitting its stride.
While there are some odd choices in this episode, it does a great job at elaborating on the danger that is caused by Lood and his loyalists. The Tokunaga track that plays at the beginning of the episode as Pan and Giru are being plummeted through space, while brilliant in of itself was awkwardly placed and didn’t fit the scene at hand. Pan’s frustration with Giru also continues to feel overdone and doesn’t present her in a good light. As the episode continues however, getting to see what Lood is capable of and the animosity of being on his planet was very enjoyable by comparison.
Pan’s frustration with Giru makes her an unlikeable character for the most part. In particular Pan trying to step on Giru came across as a somewhat violent act for such a young girl to aim to inflict on an innocent robot. Pan’s decision to fly off when Giru started digging was less distracting however. Conversely Pan falling into a trash shoot works as an ironic consequence of how Pan has been treating Giru thus far.
There is an eerie feeling as Lood’s world is explored. The mythical music that plays as the planet is shown, the chanting Pan hears as she approaches the door and the continued sense of worship shown by Lood’s followers all deify this being and give an appropriate sense of danger that is necessary as the episode continues to unfold.
Of course there are moments where Pans’ naivety shows, such as when she seems to be on a winning streak kicking around Lood’s loyalists only to later be zapped and turned into a doll. Giru also shows compassion for Pan after stepping on her when she had been turned into a doll not knowing it was her. This is noteworthy because Giru is a very valuable member of the crew, and at this stage it is other characters like Trunks (who was delighted to see him) that recognize this, and Pan learning to get along with the robot can only become a crucial part of her development.
As far as humour is concerned, there isn’t as much as previous episodes, but there are some laughs to be had here and there as the Para Para Brothers’ chant continues to annoy Trunks, and it is them instead of Goku that appears to be thinking of food when they hang off the ship by the skin of their teeth. The Para Para Brothers who seemed initially an unlikely threat to Goku, Trunks and Pan have ironically fallen to their mercy, having been electrocuted by Trunks as himself and Goku land on Lood’s world.
The rituals were also very interesting. Apart from the chanting for Lood the concept that dolls thrown into the cauldron to revive him was neat and makes the act of transforming both the Para Para Brothers and Pan into more than just a wacky gimmick. Incidentally Lord Moochi Moochi appears disappointed Pan didn’t have the Dragon Ball, adding some more tension as it shows these adversaries realize the importance of them.
Although when Goku and Trunks broke in Leon didn’t pose much of a threat, the loss of Pan, and the whip that morphs into the head priest Moochi are sure signs that our heroes problems on the planet Lood have only begun.
Episode 12 – The Oracle of God is Super-Annoying!! Lood Maneuvers
There is some great more exploration of the religion of Lood in this episode, and exploration of the world, as well as plenty of great action, albeit with fallbacks to the style we’ve seen since the Freeza arc as Super Saiyan transformations make a return.
Moochi’s act of whipping Goku with great speed and velocity impresses our hero, and when Moochi begins to make the ground slabs levitate and fling towards Goku and Trunks they both become petrified. The action in these sequences is very good and focused on technique, much like a lot of fights in the original Dragon Ball did. Goku and Trunks initially fleeing before kicking them shows that while they were frightened to begin with they realized that they are well adjusted to such a situation. Although I can respect the use of wits in this instance it does come across like Goku and Trunks were not taking Moochi seriously, and only realized at that moment he could potentially be a threat.
The action takes a somewhat more predictable route when Goku begins to rely less on technique and more on ki energy and transforming into Super Saiyan. Both Goku and Trunks are shown to be struggling in their base forms in the fight against Moochi and the burden of carrying a huge pile of slabs respectively. Goku gets smacked against a wall, surrounded by swords and Trunks is shown to be struggling until he later turns Super Saiyan and is able to smash it to pieces. The fact Trunks waited to transform shows that despite his technical smarts he has been neglecting combat smarts.
The scenes with Goku being hit by flames, running away, accompanied by a goofy Tokunaga track and being held by arms rising from the ground turn Goku’s situation into more of a gag, although it seems somewhat out of character for Goku to be this naïve as he tends to be quite smart when it comes to fighting, especially as he grew older in the last few arcs.
Everything with Pan and Dolltaki was extremely unsettling and one of the lowest point for this series in terms of humour. Pan being treated to a glamorous dollhouse would have been an interesting turn of events if Dolltaki hadn’t attempted to undo Pan’s shirt. Luckily none of this lasts long, and Dolltaki’s attention is turned to Lood’s resurrection, which makes up the main crux of the episode, and one that is no where near as disturbing.
All of the material about Lood is fascinating. The word about Moochi’s impending demise being part of a greater plan, Lood’s resurrection being treated as a monumentous event, the followers being mercilessly sacrificed all add to the impending sense of doom. Additionally the concept of a false prophet, which Toriyama introduced with Mr Satan is reused, but for a villain. Lood’s followers being frustrated that they had worshipped a machine all along adds to the sense of the artificial being treated as more valuable than natural life, but also the sense of betrayal Lood’s followers feel. Moreover Lood’s worshippers being zapped, turned into dolls and being blown by a gust into the cauldron only adds to the sense of punishment for all their years worshipping him.
Interestingly the fight between Goku and Moochi, which our hero had begun to turn around appears to only have been a warmup as once Lood is resurrected, shocks begin to emerge and it becomes clear that the real battle is only about to begin.
Episode 13 – This Guy’s in Charge?! Mysterious Scientist Mu
Following on from the last episode there is an organic sense of progression as the tension surrounding Lood and the even more mysterious Dr Mu begins to escalate. In the case of Lood however, Goku finds himself in yet another major battle to decide the fate of his quest to find all the black star Dragon Balls.
Lood’s status as a God of Destruction is highlighted by the lights emanating from his statue, the shockwaves that envelop the area around the shrine and the cracks that begin to show as his statue cracks. The camera shots showing different parts of Lood was also an interesting technique as it adds to the theme of superiority of the artificial over the natural in this world.
There are some moments in this episode, which aren’t as enjoyable of course. Everything with Dolltaki and Pan remains disturbing and unsettling, as he caresses her face and looks for dresses to put on her. All of Dolltaki’s acts towards Pan are nothing short of disgusting given the fact she is only a young girl. Later on Dolltaki’s refusal to let go of Pan makes his acts even more revolting, despite Dr Mu having malicious intents for her to be used to give more energy to Lood. Goku pulling down his trousers and encouraging Lood to attack him also felt unnecessary and a weak attempt at humour.
Dr Mu comes across as a demanding and inpatient boss, frustrated by the lack of Dragon Balls, and by Dolltaki allowing Lood to be resurrected without his permission and before the God of Destruction could reach his full potential. Out of frustration Dr Mu has Dolltaki turned into a doll, which ironically was better for Pan’s situation than having her kept in the arms of a man that wouldn’t want to let go of her due to his own fetishes.
Goku and Trunks vs Lood is entertaining enough. The use of Super Saiyan for Goku and Trunks to make Lood tumble as a neat act of turning the tables, and Tokunaga’s track accompanying it did a great job of highlighting the power emanating from them both. Goku and Trunks managing to smack Lood around in their base forms and the playful track Tokunaga uses as he attempts to zap them back makes the battle feel somewhat like a game, perhaps because this is intended as a wacky grand adventure in space.
Honourable mentions for the fight with Lood include the ominous track from Tokunaga that played as Goku and Trunks realized they had to outsmart him, Lood swinging his arms, causing flames to envelop the area around his shrine, and the adventurous track used when Goku and Trunks start to fight back.
As another episode comes to a close, Pan’s situation becomes even more dire as she is absorbed and a red aura covers Lood, emphasizing in typical Dragon Ball fashion that the antagonist is about to become stronger.
Episode 14 – Get the Rhythm Perfect?! The Strategy to Defeat Lood!!
With plenty more action to be had the battle with Lood and Goku, Trunks and Pan’s extended side quest on the self-named planet reaches its climactic finale with some nice payoffs to previously established concepts along the way.
The tension remains high with a damning music track from Tokunaga to accompany Lood emerging from the glowing aura, and Goku and Trunks subsequently looking with fear as the proclaimed deity stares them down.
While Pan is inside Lood she shows her smarts by devising a plan whilst meeting the Para Para Brothers and the rest of Lood’s followers, all of whom share a common goal of being set free. Dolltaki being smacked by Pan as he tries to kiss her and getting zapped again, and being turned on by Lood’s followers were all very satisfying, and necessary addendums to the disturbing acts he had teased earlier.
When Dolltaki refuses to reveal how Pan and Lood’s ex-followers could escape she uses the Para Para Brothers and their irritating dance routine to her advantage by making Dolltaki dance along, unintentionally revealing Lood’s weak spot. This was a nice subversion of the dance previously being a nuisance and shows some cleverness and growth for Pan’s character. Suffice to say the Para Para Brothers only revealing later they know telepathy shows that they can still be a hindrance, just more on an inconvenience rather than as a threat.
Pan and Goku’s efforts to time their blasts effectively so they can both hit the red cell that is Lood’s weak spot was a neat decision, and adds some substance to the idea of a lack of rhythm, which became evident when Goku fell for the Para Para Brothers dance. Funnily enough it’s when names of food is involved rather than numbers that Goku can get himself into a pattern whereby he could follow Pan’s lead and cooperate with her to destroy Lood. It was rather charming that instead of another moment where Goku was hungry his love for eating was used to his, and Pan’s advantage.
With Lood broken apart, Pan, the Para Para Brothers and all Lood’s ex-worshippers return to their previous forms, and another side quest is brought to a satisfactory conclusion accompanied by some harmonious music from Tokunaga. Nonetheless an image of Dr Mu in the sky emphasizes that the quest to save the Earth from certain doom is not over yet.
Episode 15 – I’m Running Away!! Pan’s Desertion?!
Somewhat of a refresher after several episodes on the planet Lood, and with more necessary character growth for Pan to offer, this episode was an enjoyable addition to the intergalactic quest to find the Dragon Balls.
Once again Trunks is shown to be the most mature, being tasked with reminding Goku and Pan about the need to take the new threat in Dr Mu seriously. It’s ironic considering Trunks is technically the second youngest human on the crew, but given Dragon Ball is a gag series at heart it works wonders.
The conflict between Trunks and Pan causes the young girl of the Son family to feel neglected and unappreciated to the extent that she runs off. Of course excited at the prospect of finding a new Dragon Ball as their ship approaches the next planet Pan begins to take things into her own hands to try and find it. While it was nice to see that Pan is as enthusiastic about gathering all seven balls and saving the Earth as her grandfather has always been the way she was treated makes her more of a sympathetic character than how she was portrayed before.
While there is some action to be had as Goku and Trunks have to fend of a giant scorpion the premise of this episode, aside from Pan’s departure is rather sweet and simple – finding a source of water to help get the space ship going again, and given our heroes find themselves on a desert planet this is a challenge in of itself.
There are some reminders about the looming threat of Dr Mu. Dolltaki approaches what he thinks will be Dr Mu, only to see it is actually General Lock. The use of a damning track, which quickly goes silent as Dolltaki approaches did a great job at carrying that ominous feeling while also subverting expectations because while Lock still means trouble, its not the trouble expected. Lock subsequently blasts Dolltaki.
The best part of this episode was the resolutions that begin to emerge in Pan and Giru’s relationship. As Pan becomes dehydrated in the desert, finds herself in sinking sand and sees Giru attack the insect that was about to eat her she begins to see the small robot in a different light and develops feelings of gratitude towards him. Pan’s visions of her parents, Mr Satan, Goku and Trunks also remind her of all those she loves and would have lost had it not been for Giru. Moreover, when Giru thinks Pan is going to attack her she actually gives him a hug, both for saving her and finding the Dragon Ball, which was a sweet moment.
With a joyful track playing as Goku and Trunks reunite with Pan and Giru at a location with a lake and Pan and Goku have some fun in the lake this episode reaches a satisfying conclusion and acts as a great breather for the real action which is yet to begin.
Do you have any info about international non-English broadcasts about the Dragon Ball anime or manga translations/editions? Please message me. Researching for a future book with Dragon Ball scholar Derek Padula