Part 2 (Chapters 81 and 82)
Greetings, Dear Reader. Welcome back to The Super Re-Read! This instalment covers Volume 19 of the Super manga, as Goku steps up to take on the might of the Heeters, comes to terms with what's been holding him back so far, and encounters the final events that took place involving his father, 40 years ago...
Thanks and credit go to Kanzenshuu and its contributors for collating and publishing a lot of information that goes into the Re-Read, particularly the Translations Archive; fellow re-readers should also check out the info on the Dragon Ball Official Site, which gives important insights into the Granolah arc.
Alright then; let's get re-reading!:
Chapter 81 – Goku’s Conflict/Goku’s Conflict
21 February 2022
Spoiler:
- The Chapter title, “Goku’s Conflict”, uses the word Kattō (葛藤), which is compounded from the Kanji for “Arrowroot” (葛) and “Wisteria” (藤). Both plants are climbing vines reliant on other trees to grow, intertwined and entangled with them (Arrowroot in particular is highly invasive and competitive). This is nicely expressive of a couple of things for Goku: firstly, it’s an image of relentless, voracious growth that is dependent on others (which will swiftly become highly relevant for Goku in this arc, and is foreshadowed here when Gas comments that not knowing his father or the Saiyans mean that he doesn’t know what sort of person he really is: we’ll be going back to his roots); and secondly, it’s an image of complication (hence “conflict”), a knotty problem that Goku won’t free himself from easily, particularly since his Nature is tangled up in the problem: in this Chapter, he naturally struggles with keeping his emotions in check because this impedes proper use of Ultra Instinct, but, as we’ve seen, this requires Goku to play false to his own Natural Convictions in the midst of battle, which is what limits him. Since we’re about to embark on the climactic phase of the arc, which stresses a key example of growth through conflict by a character who always acts in line with his True Nature (and is Goku’s natural father, obviously), its employment here seems peculiarly apt.
- Gas uses paralysis arts. The last character to rely on this sort of special power was General Blue of the Red Ribbon army, causing the heroes some trouble (DB #78, 79, 83); Blue’s power also works telekinetically on inanimate objects such as ropes (DB #80). In Blue’s case, immobilising his opponent required looking into his eyes, but for Gas, it seems he can impose the technique without preconditions. This isn’t the only familiar technique Gas shows he can execute with unique tweaks built in: he uses Shunkan Idou on Elec shortly after this by simply pointing at him, teleporting him away from Granolah’s attack. From what we know of Shunkan Idou thanks to the explanation of Spirit Control in 超 #52, this effectively means that Gas can shift other people’s ki to different locations at will, not just his own. Unaccountably, Goku and Vegeta don’t twig that Gas can do this until 超 #85, when he beats Vegeta around with it.
- I like the panel that shows Elec distantly floating above Gas, just before he orders him to “End them”. It really sells the sense of Elec being a puppeteer over his brother, pulling his strings and being the guiding intelligence behind his actions. Elec seems to be at his most expansive in this Chapter, suitably swaggering in his dialogue with Granolah, able to presume upon Gas’s actions even as he speaks, seemingly knowing that Gas will act as he wishes (e.g., the “We could’ve killed you at any time…Even now” beat, leading into Gas attacking Granolah on cue). Elec is never more apparently powerful than he is at this specific point in the arc, as despite also having the eternal gratitude of his little brother along with his power, tensions almost immediately resurface (as we’ll discuss in a moment). Having reached his own personal zenith, things actually start to ebb away from Elec at this point.
To intrude on things with another Daoist talking point, this isn’t surprising. Elec is the definition of a character whose actions are all purposive: in Daoist discourse, this is denoted by the word wei. Wei is action purposefully aimed at achieving some Human end; to the Daoists, Humans indulge in this activity dismayingly often, and it is commonly inadvertently damaging or self-defeating. This is because Human ideation isn’t the same thing as following what is in their True Nature (De), and striving for things like power, order, or wealth (or whatever else Humans consciously value and strive for) meets with failure because it limits things to our preconceptions, rather than seeing and supporting these things in what they truly are; it interferes with Nature, both within and without, and magnifies complexity and instability: the Dao is self-transformation in Nature and cannot be completed or improved by limited purposive action; to tamper with that Nature instead of leaving it to itself creates chaos and ruin. In so doing, this activity generates its own resistance, since the Dao manifests in dual opposites, which are in “constant circum-motion” (Dao De Jing §37): that which waxes must wane, and to act excessively, purposively (wei) undoes itself because it is unnatural: “How long can you stand up on your toes? How far walk with stretching stride?” (as opposed to acting naturally: Dao De Jing §24); rather “The gentle will outdo the strong, and the nonmaterial (Wu, ‘nothing’) are able to enter the impregnable. Thus I know for sure the gains that wuwei yields.” (Dao De Jing §43): wuwei, “actionless action”, is non-purposive, reflexive activity that adheres to and acts in harmony with the De of a person or thing, even the true nature of things in toto (Zhen: in Daoist writings such as Zhuangzi/Chuang Tzu, this refers to a true, unspoiled natural state, harmonious, uncomplicated, unadorned). Zhen opposes falsity and hypocrisy, because, being the truth about Nature, within and without, it is genuine and pure, appropriate to all situations, and succeeds in its endeavours because it moves with the grain of that nature. Elec waxes now, but immediately his position begins to wane as he tries to keep a leash on his brother and to stamp out opposition at one remove – the man of plots, schemes, and insincerity, willing to upend the natural order to dominate it, is opposed by the sincerity, spontaneity and naturalness of the one whose activity aligns as far as possible with wuwei, and whose progress will depend on the successful revelation of his True Nature: Son Goku.
- Granolah has one last go at vengeance, this time at the guy who deserves it. Unfortunately, Monaito’s warnings from 超 #69 and 70 come back to haunt him, as that pursuit has, at last, simply provoked an enemy Granolah can’t beat, and leads to his own ruin. The injuries Gas inflicts seem pointed, striking at those areas that Granolah has relied on most and which mark him out as special:
- First, Gas breaks Granolah’s arms at the wrists, rendering his hands and fingers useless. Granolah’s finger-gun schtick has been his signature since the beginning of the arc, in keeping with his fighting character as a sniper. Gas kicks him, of course, just as he’s preparing to charge up the massive attack he was also intending to use in 超 #76 (and which Flayk used to destroy the Moon 40 years prior, in 超 #77).
- Second, Gas decides to put out Granolah’s eyes, which are the distinctive trait of a Cerealian; Granolah in particular has progressed further than any other in terms of acuity of vision, thanks to his left eye evolving to be like his enhanced right eye (as of 超 #75). Apart from robbing Granolah of his principal natural advantage at a stroke, it also speaks to the motif of sight that has accompanied Granolah throughout the arc: he has repeatedly blinded himself to the truth thanks to his obsession with pursuing vengeance, and now, at the end of the quest, the figurative becomes literal.
- Elec pulls out his gun again. We last saw it in 超 #77, as he shoots Muezli, but we get a better look at it now (and we’ll see it again in 超 #83). In keeping with Elec’s modified Space 18th Century Gentleman Dandy aesthetic, we get what looks like a lightly sci-fied pocket flintlock pistol (here’s a Late 18th Century French pistol picked at random; I’m sure there are better examples but this should do). And of course, the pistol is golden (because if you’re going to be violent, why not also be tacky?). The pistol appears to have a striking hammer, though Elec never seems to cock it, and although the muzzle smokes when the gun is fired, it doesn’t seem to fire projectiles, since the firing chamber seems to just be a vial of some chemical. The firing effect doesn’t seem to be quite like a Freeza Force Beam Gun, particularly in 超 #81, where the damage is more explosive.
- Colour Watch: The full-page panel where Elec shoots Granolah is extremely arresting in the original black and white, for its totally white background that deliberately gives us nothing but the characters and the sound effect, making the moment as stark and shocking as possible. Unfortunately, the colourist decided not to convey this very clear intention, instead slapping a logical but entirely uninspired sky-blue gradient up as the background, which has an anodyne effect on the image. The odd goof or missed reference aside, I’ve generally really appreciated the skill and eye for detail and balance the colourist has demonstrated across this arc, but this is a rare instance of an important ‘miss’ in their fundamental artistic choices, for me.
- Vegeta gives Goku his energy. Again.
Since we’ve been here before in 超 #66, it’s worth noting that Dragon Ball Super likes to revisit the previous arc’s solutions so it can portray them as obsolete and not fitting the current situation:
- In 超 #24, Son Goku reveals the completion of SSjB by sealing the power within himself so that it remains with him throughout the fight, allowing him to stand up to Zamas2; Vegeta catches up in 超 #27 and demonstrates what a leap in capacity this is, by his improvement in fighting Beerus. But then by the time the Tournament of Power rolls around in 超 #35, Jiren treats the form as nothing, and bluntly tells Goku “You should’ve picked an opponent down at your own level.” Ultimately, Teamwork ends up being the solution to the situation (超 #41-42), rather than completing transformations, which is a solution that falls short at every turn, whether we’re looking at Blue (超 #35), Evolved Blue (超 #40), or Ultra Instinct (超 #41).
- When Moro and his goons come along and attack Earth in 超 #56-58, we get extended teamworking action from Earth’s Heroes: each of them technically work as part of the extended team that is the Galactic Patrol, of course, but particularly Gohan and Piccolo work out a way to combine their moves to overcome OG73-I’s Copy Ability, and #17 and #18 also show up to beat down OG73-I and Shimorekka, as part of a fully worked out stratagem. But when Moro steps onto the scene and empowers his main goon Saganbo with a “smidgen of energy”, he immediately wrecks shop. Tight teamwork from both of Dragon Ball’s closest fighting pairs achieves absolutely nothing (超 #58), nor does it get any better when the heroes try to combine as a team against Moro: they all get merked for their trouble (超 #62). In this case, Earning and Giving become the solutions: Merus gives up his life to help Goku achieve the power of Ultra Instinct that he’s worked hard to earn (超 #63-64), and Goku later receives a gift of Divine power from Uub to awaken Ultra Instinct again in the critical moment (超 #66).
- Goku and Vegeta train hard again to progress in their own power (超 #71), but they don’t manage to defeat either of those who hold the title of the Universe’s #1 Warrior; with Gas Empowered and Awakened now, Vegeta tries giving Goku his own power so that he can “do something about that scumbag” – predictably, it achieves nothing but frustration, as Gas plays with a Goku who is using Ultra Instinct, and gifted power, but still isn’t (as it were) showing everything he’s got. It’s only once Goku uses Ultra Instinct in such a way that fully unites his Nature and Convictions, and fights with complete resolve, that he is finally able to surpass Gas himself.
- We get the issue at the heart of Goku’s “Conflict”: he’s naturally angry to see Granolah ‘die’, but he can’t use Ultra Instinct properly when emotions like rage get in the way. 超 #41 introduced the idea of the incompatibility of Ultra Instinct with heightened emotional states when Goku was first able to sustain Omen: “All I’ve done is get rid of unnecessary emotions […] Right now, my heart’s as calm as the gentle streams of Mount Paozu.” But, as we’ve seen, maintaining this is extremely difficult: “I gotta empty my heart and mind for that move to work, but when I’m fighting, my emotions are all over the place” (超 #52). Merus gives the strongest statement of antithesis, in the same Chapter: “Rage, grief, joy…these strong emotions can translate to prodigious power […] but the technique you’re after is the opposite. It will activate when you achieve self-control…in the face of a jarring shock to your emotions. Such is Ultra Instinct.” As of 超 #71, Goku has trained specifically to integrate Ultra Instinct with his “lower” forms, but Whis has also specified that the technique working in these forms will occur “When your heart is calm”; the tranquility of Ultra Instinct has been its hallmark, particularly Full Ultra Instinct, which requires Goku to be abnormally tranquil (and yields huge dividends as a result, for the relatively brief span of time that it lasts). But while Ultra Instinct may be like that in theory, Goku isn’t naturally like that in fact, which means that to align himself with the apparent requirements of the technique, he’s required to take himself out of the situation: to be something other than his Natural, True Self. Unsurprisingly, this is causing problems, as Goku, man of Conviction, has to act in a way that opposes his Nature.
- Gas hoists an 8-car train telekinetically to whack Goku with for some clean art and fun beats, particularly when they crisscross to hit him the second time: Delays Owing to a Super Saiyan God Super Saiyan Being Hit By A Train in the Cereal Area; Tickets are Being Accepted Via Any Reasonable Route. Using the Japanese Kawasaki-built M8 railcar, used on some American train lines, as a basis for calculation (because ‘why not?’) we get the rough weight estimate of approximately 400 metric tonnes for an 8-car train. Of course, Gas does this twice over simultaneously, and keeps the pair of them at or above running speed consistently.
- The combat between Goku and Gas is good fun with some highly entertaining bits and pieces, though it’s quite inconsequential. Then again, that seems to be the point. Though he got aged up a few Chapters ago, Gas is still the kid brother of the Heeters, and like a kid, it’s clear he’s playing here (albeit modified by the fact that he’s an ultra-powered kid in an interstellar crime family): he tells Goku he’s using his “toys and tools” and playing with him, he plays with trains as just about every little boy does, and he goes for a splash about in the lake, as a kid might. He’s at the centre of attention, and having tremendous fun with it. The only thing taking the shine off it, perhaps, is that his playmate isn’t really into it, and that’s kind of boring. When Goku’s more into things at the end of the Chapter, goading Gas into a game of Chase, Gas seems pretty pleased to get another chance to play and show everyone that he’s the best (until Goku makes fun of him, in 超 #82: no kid likes that). But this expansive use of pages on inconsequential stuff also serves the purpose of beginning to hint that there’s something wrong with Gas doing this: Elec says at the beginning of all this that “We can’t afford to waste any more time, so just kill them already”, and by the time we get to the big splash, we get a tiny panel where Elec is very much Not Pleased by what he sees; Gas isn’t following The Plan and eliminating their enemies; he’s just wasting time. This will advance through a series of increasingly frustrated beats (超 #82: “That idiot…”, followed by an angry panel when Goku returns alone; another angry beat in 超 #85 when Goku surpasses Gas, followed by a heated exchange where Elec grabs him by the neck and forces the resolve to die on him; backhanded compliments in 超 #86, followed by frustration welling up into rage and blind panic by the end of the Chapter and the start of 超 #87), until by the end he’s screaming at his little brother to “Stop screwing around” and calling him “worthless scum” as the last moments tick away. It all starts here, with Gas messing around with trains, like a carefree kid.
- Gas makes some pointed observations around Goku’s basic issue, even though he doesn’t understand the ‘mechanics’ of the problem discussed earlier. Not only do we have a contrast between Goku, who remembers nothing and has no connection to or understanding of a fundamental part of his Nature, against the all too situated Gas, who seems to draw his self-image and power from within his family unit, but we also get a dense tumble of thematic components and connections in the dialogue: Gas is puzzled why he doesn’t get any “fighting spirit” from Goku (闘志, Tōshi; compare Vegeta’s burning 闘争心, Tōsō shin), and he directly and immediately makes a contrast of Convictions between Goku and his father, on the basis of Bardock’s “resolve” (覚悟, kakugo; note the shared character with a concept we’ve already encountered in the story and which is close to Gas’s heart in particular: 覚醒 – kakusei, “Awakening”), and promptly turns the question around to become one of Nature: “Are you truly his son?” (Note the appearance of another familiar character: 本当, hontō, “truth”, shares its first character with 本能, hon’nō, “Instinct”, and likewise with 本質, honshitsu, “True Nature”, “Essence”, which will appear prominently in 超 #84 as part of The Lesson Bardock hands down); Vegeta has quipped on Goku’s heredity from Bardock, averring he received his “softheartedness” from him; now Gas questions whether Goku has inherited anything from Bardock at all. Goku replies that he has lost his “memories” (記憶, kioku; we might note that the kanji for this term shares a radical, for ‘speech’, with 信じ/信念, shinji/shin’nen: “Belief”, “Conviction” and also, incidentally, fukushū, “revenge”, 復讐; and also a different radical, that of ‘heart’, with our good friend kakugo, “resolve”: 覚悟, and, as it happens, with “emotion”: jo/kanjō, 情/感情, and also with 闘志, Tōshi, “fighting spirit”, so it’s possible the very terms being used do something to point up a dense tangle of thematic interrelation here (but, you know, Caveats, since radicals don’t necessarily convey connected meanings). Gas replies that this means that Goku therefore doesn’t understand what sort of person he is; these issues tie together in a knotty problem encompassing Goku’s memories, emotions, conviction, resolve, and extending to his very Nature, his True Self (perhaps also worth noting, kakugo bears the first kanji of Goku’s own name: 悟). It is only once each element gets restored to Goku in turn, and he is able to use it all at once, that he surpasses Gas in combat.
- Gas goes paddling with his new playmate. In the Dragon Ball Z Anime (#85), Freeza pulls a similar move in creating a vortex of water to reveal dry ground when beating around Vegeta; as a key difference here, Goku is being telekinetically held in place to drown. This sequence probably gets my nod for Favourite Art (particularly in colour, as opposed to the Granolah shooting panel, which is probably the strongest contender in black and white only) – the water effects are lots of fun (particularly the massive explosion from two angles; a new way of doing what we’ve seen a lot of in this arc, even at this stage), the way Gas catches and dynamically pitches Goku’s blast back at him makes for some really nice figure art (I particularly appreciate Gas’s leading hand in the pitch panel), and as an impromptu Colour Watch, Part Deux, it’s pretty neat to see Goku’s blast get its colour changed from blue to Gas’s signature neon pink as he catches it and uses it for himself. Neat all round. The art around the fight when it moves to the next planet is really neat, too, with its combination of teleport effects, shockwaves and good old-fashioned impact panels. This Chapter’s actually really pretty, arguably one notch up from the last couple, even though the quality of those was good; there’s arguably more variety and creativity in the general scene-setting and choreographic choices in this Chapter. That said, I am sorely tempted to cheat again in my nomination and give it to the Volume inside cover illustration of Son Goku; not only does it work well as a great standalone drawing, but it seems perhaps to be a companion piece to the cover art for Volume 18, given the complementarity of the poses and gazes: Goku and Bardock end up staring at each other across the divide.
- We get two more important flashes of strong Conviction in this Chapter, from both Monaito and Son Goku: they end up being the more effective for it. Whereas we saw Monaito throw his hands up in 超 #77 and give up on Muezli’s life, sadly concluding “It’s no use…My power ain’t enough to save her”, here he’s confronted with arguably even more grievous injuries, but now he acts with a desperate resolve to ensure his adopted ‘son’ survives: “I won’t allow…another soul to die! Not on my watch!!” This in turn sparks a joyful reaction in Goku, and then another Protective action. Goku doesn’t even use Shunkan Idou, he’s just immediately in Gas’s face despite the more powerful warrior having a head start; Gas asks what Goku’s trying to achieve, but this is really just an instance of Goku doing rather than purposively planning out anything: his Natural Conviction to protect others simply for its own sake has landed him his first successful act of the Chapter. “Why do we Fight?” The answer, “to protect others”, still seems prominent.
- We get a light-hearted shift to Jaco buying his groceries on another planet. This is the same planet where he apprehended former Freeza soldier Cranberry for theft (or else Jaco called backup) in the Volume 10 “Special Edition” Bonus Comic. Until Goku and Gas show up, he’s having a quieter day (and there’s a “How many Super Elites does it take to screw in a lightbulb?” joke in there, somewhere). Once again, Jaco decides to pretend he didn’t see anything after they’ve blown through and left chaos in their wake, to avoid trouble for himself (see also 超 #12, where he and his boss do similarly).
19 March 2022
Spoiler:
- Goku leads Gas on a merry chase across the cosmos, moving between people whose ki signatures are familiar, as Shunkan Idou requires (DB #336). Most of the places are totally unfamiliar to us, but the people have all appeared before, in a nice set of cameos. The list of places and people is as follows, with the issues in which we’ve seen them:
- Unnamed Shopping Planet – Patrolman Jaco (Jaco The Galactic Patrolman, passim; Revival of F; 超 # 6, 7, 10, 13, 14, 42-54, 56-67)
- Listening Post Planet – Patrolman Calamis (超 # 46, 50, 51I, 56, 63, 64, 67, 69) and Patrolman Mezashi (超 #42, 43, 46, 50, 51I, 56, 63, 64, 67, 69)
- Alien Ring World – Universe 6 Tournament Referee (超 #8-13) and Universe Anthem Singer (超 #8)
- Desert Planet – Patrolman Bodara (Jaco #3; 超 # 43, 56, 67) and Patrolman Sakaytoba (超 # 42, 43, 56, 67), or perhaps some similar Galactic Patrolman
- Planet Wagashi (named in 超 #7) – Monaka (超 #7-13), or perhaps another member of his species (Cf. DB #393)
- Galactic Patrol HQ – The Galactic King (Jaco #3, DBMinus; 超 # 7, 10, 12, 13, 43, 50, 51, 52, 67)
- The Galactic Prison – Prison Warden Katsubushi (超 # 50, 59I), Prison Warden Niboshi (超 # 50, 59I, 67), Zauyogi (超 # 50, 51, 54-58, 67), Yunba (超 # 50, 51, 53, 54, 56, 57, 63, 67), Bikkura Quoitur (超 # 50, 51, 54, 56, 57, 67)
- Rock Pedestal Planet – Unseen Galactic Patrolmen
- Asteroid in Space – Squid Aliens (超 #56)
- Irico’s Galactic Patrol Ship – Irico (超 #43, 44, 46-52, 55, 60, 61, 67), The Patrolman With No Name (超 # 56, 67?)
- Dinosaur Planet – Whis and Oracle Fish (Nope, not doing it)
- It’s only on Re-Read that it became apparent to me just how much of Gas’s behaviour can be put down simply to him being a kid. It’s easy to forget, considering his eager complicity in general Heeter scumbaggery, his articulateness (when he actually chooses to speak), and the fact that his ‘childhood’ has by this point lasted several decades, along with his inhabiting a visibly adult body now. But that he’s hit up a Cosmic Zoltar Machine doesn’t change what he’s truly like inside, as a kid; that’s whether considering his petty childish jealousy of Granolah, his attention-seeking neediness for his brother, or his self-centred indulgence in childish pursuits – having played around with Goku in 超 #81 with toys and tools, trains and a stint paddling in the lake, Gas is goaded into playing Chase across the Cosmos so he can win at another game and prove he’s the best (before killing his playmate). Unfortunately, this part doesn’t go so well, as the childish dislikes of getting dirty during play, the inevitable consequence of bath time, and being subjected to the public mockery of peers for wetting himself (that twin dread of children everywhere), and insults directed at his big brother all feature, before he’s left with a responsible adult that he “has to behave himself” around as his playmate runs off and leaves him. I feel like a lot of the levity in the Chapter comes from this root, and from the contrast between the carefree, childlike adult Goku and the dour, self-important child Gas, whose key “pose” is that of trying to pass himself off as a true ‘grown-up’ in spite of himself – the pose of all children, trying to act Big and Important and Serious (and a Stoic Toriyama Badass Ultimate Being, to boot), only to be exposed very uncomfortably as the Chapter goes on. Not only is it the occasion for good fun as a reading experience, but it also makes Gas strangely relatable. And it dovetails surprisingly naturally into the more serious latter part of the Chapter, where we return to the record of Gas’s first fateful attempt to puff himself up and wear the Big Boy pants in front of his brother (as in 超 #77) – the day he never grew past.
- It’s a cute touch that the first couple of planets Goku and Gas visit have diametrically opposed functions: the first planet they appear on is festooned with dishes and seems to be a listening post (particularly given Calamis’ ear receivers being plugged in to one of them: compare with Jaco doing this when receiving a call from Bulma, 超 #46). The second planet they appear on, by contrast, has a gigantic megaphone strapped to a skyscraper, which may make some sense of the Universe Anthem singer carrying his microphone in this specific scene (unless it’s literally stuck to his hand no matter where he is or what he’s doing).
- On which note, at this point, it is important that we are all reminded that the Universe is so huge.
- Colour Watch: Continuing on from the previous Chapter, the colourist expands the contrast of colours between Goku and Gas, in giving them both coloured Shunkan Idou effects in the opening sequence for ease of reference by the reader, instead of leaving us only with bare hatched lines for them both: Goku gets blue effects, and Gas stays with his crimson (with some orange and red clothing smudges for the pair of them, when hatching alone figures). This is probably a logical development of the portal-esque effects that Toyotarou occasionally uses (particularly when he wants to convey directional momentum, as in 超 #81 when the pair tumble out of Goku’s last-ditch teleport). Once again, unfortunately, the colourist goofs a bit by depicting part of Goku’s arm as a combination of empty space and Goku’s gi in the early panel where he blocks Gas’s massive kick, which makes that part of the panel look totally incoherent.
- Gas gets buried under a truckful of manure. It may be Monaka driving the truck, in which case he accidentally asserts his dominance over the Strongest in the Universe once again (超 #13) – or, given the visible non-magnificence of his ponta, this may be some other Wagashian (since Goku can search out ki that is similar to that of known individuals). The muckiness of Gas and Goku’s play leads to bath time with the Galactic King: such is the history of Goku’s inappropriateness towards “His Royalness”, that this is not even the first bathroom faux pas experienced between the two (超 #50-51).
- Given the litany of Galactic Patrol cameos, it’s a nice touch that Vegeta is shown using the Spirit Control powers developed on Yardrat in the last arc. He’s able to sense directly that Goku is leading Gas away from Planet Cereal. In 超 #55, Vegeta can tell that Moro has not reached Earth, and Elder Pybara notes: “Honing your Spirit allows you to sense other Spirits – even ones faaar, far away.” Vegeta is thereby able to keep tabs on the progress of the battle between Goku and Moro even from Yardrat, 10 days’ travel from Earth. Since Vegeta is on Cereal (18 days’ travel from Earth) and Goku pops up in places like the Galactic Patrol HQ (50 minutes’ travel from Earth: 超 #6), Vegeta’s acquired abilities are serving him very well here, considering he seems to be trembling with the effort of even continuing to stand (the next time we see him, he’ll be laid out in Oatmeel’s hover car).
- Things move on to the Galactic Prison, where we get the clearest sense of Gas as a child (and as a poseur); he may in fact be the Strongest in the Universe, but he’s still just a kid playing at being a grown-up, with all the affected self-importance that this entails, puffing himself up as though he’s too cool to acknowledge old associates – and the Saganbo Brigade hit back with the cruellest barb disgruntled children can fling, to cut him off at the knees: it all comes straight from the playground, as they bring up memories of imperfect bladder control (with a side of ‘scaredy-cat’); by hitting back with embarrassing detail about something they think of as belonging to the past, the Saganbo Brigade actually expose Gas’s pose of a composed and superior coming of age and reveal him as the child he still is. It becomes something that should be familiar to all of us from our young childhoods, as it’s all a perfect encapsulation of how children act when crippling embarrassment is at play: denial; insistence; mockery that turns the screw; angry repetition of denial; cringeworthy details that give it the ring of truth; piling on by peers; admission, but making out like it’s not the way they’re telling it and it somehow doesn’t count. Not only does the exchange arguably make Zauyogi and Yunba more characterful than they ever were in their own arc, but in exposing Gas’s “pose” the story manages to hint again at the unnaturalness of Gas’s false ‘growth’ from the wish on the Dragon Balls (a thematic point) by showing he hasn’t really changed despite appearances, while also giving some welcome extra characterisation for Gas (through both the details of his past self and his own reactions), and a serviceable comedy beat into the bargain (one that Toyotarou is so keen to land, he apparently forgets that the cells behind Goku ought to have people in them…).
- The conversation moves on to another sore spot of children: family. We already know that Gas’s main reference point is Elec: we’ve seen them paired conceptually and actually throughout the arc (e.g., 超 #72). Goku gains enough insight off Gas’s interactions with Elec in 超 #81 to challenge a key part of Gas’s self-understanding more earnestly than Yunba’s earlier mockery, but in a way that is arguably more damaging for that, as he questions the meaning of the familial embeddedness Gas was touting in the previous Chapter. He explores Gas’ dependency on his brother, and uses it to badmouth Elec; entirely correctly, as it turns out, since we learn for sure in 超 #87 (but already had plenty of reason to suspect by this point anyway) that Elec has traded away Gas’s life for the sake of pursuing his plot. Goku mentions his brother “Almost killed me awhile back”; obviously this refers to the battle with Raditz, who says he won’t hesitate to kill him and then starts to break his ribs (DB #202). Elec has been similarly unhesitating, but given the little brother-big brother dynamic between them being in many ways quite typical, it’s not surprising Gas seems just as angry at the idea that the scumbag brother he idolises isn’t to be trusted, as he was at mockery of his own self. It’s interesting to see Goku put his finger on this tender spot, just like he did with Zamas in 超 #22; making a basic, obvious point that strikes at the heart of how his opponent sees themselves and their aspirations (Zamas can’t accomplish anything without Black, he’s misled him and is using him; Gas chooses not to accomplish anything without Elec, but he’s misleading him and is using him) is a nice consistency in the depiction of Goku’s direct, forthright sort of insight which is good to see here, tossed out casually as it is.
Given that Freeza reveals Elec is the weakest Heeter, one could call into question Gas’s statement that he was once the weakest until Elec worked on raising him up “to this level”; it’s possible this could’ve been another of Elec’s poses, but I don’t think that’s necessarily so: it’s clear that Gas is easily the strongest Heeter when he is introduced (超 #68), so this is probably referring to the far, unseen past when Elec must have chosen to make Gas into the “muscle” of the Heeter unit, and as such I see no reason not to take it as the simple truth. I perceive there’s another glance at the thematic ideas of Nature and Conviction, as Gas indicates that Elec’s interference with him in shaping him according to his will (which is, apparently, “absolute”) has not been part of just recent events, or even for the last four decades, but rather has been lifelong – Gas’s innate potential is extraordinary (“You’re the only member of this family who can surpass Freeza himself”: 超 #71), but it seems that developing this natural talent would not have been the natural inclination of that scared little boy from way back when. And as is often the case, Gas seems to have been caught in a conflict: while not naturally disposed to be the fighter he is, he nevertheless finds pride and validation in his accomplishments here (or, if you prefer, shame and frustration in his lack of accomplishment – either way, it goes back to how he relates to “Elec’s Will”; how his brother sees him, and what he entrusts to him). Gas may be strong enough to make his own choices, but this was never on the cards.
- Goku’s move that leaves Gas stranded is both a clever payoff for the goading “Can you really follow me wherever I go?” originally seeded at the end of 超 #81, and a great beat in itself, panelled with rapid-fire verve. In being followed by Gas’s futile attempts to locate Goku and the amusing and dynamic panel of him blasting off the Dino-planet on his way back to Cereal (because that’s his only way back), the cleverness of Goku’s defensive play is only enhanced by reflecting on the fact that Goku is employing a strength that Gas just doesn’t have: the Influence of Others. Not only is this a clever way of employing Shunkan Idou in a plotline, it’s also a very ‘Tournament of Power’-style beat, for me, in a way; Gas may be unequalled in power, the Mightiest of Warriors – but he only really knows his own family (with a couple of exceptions he can recognise and follow, like Granolah or Goku). Goku, by contrast, has drawn people from all across the Universe into contact with, and direct recognition of, him: Galactic Patrol members, Singers, One-time Alien Teammates, Convicts, Angels; they’re all entries on Goku’s rolodex and he can use the very strength of knowing them in his play against Gas here, so however much power Gas has, he really can’t follow Goku wherever he goes, because he doesn’t know the people Goku knows – Goku stands as a critical centre that draws disparate threads together, with unguessable power resulting from the association. We’re even seeing that in the plot thread of 40 years ago, where Goku’s influence draws together Bardock and the last Cerealians against the Heeters.
- After the extremely heavy build-up of Granolah and Gas as the “#1 Warrior in the Universe”, teased from 超 #68 with Oracle Fish’s prediction, it still feels extremely bold to get a tiny throwaway panel upending all that. In fact, much of what appeals in this Chapter is its fresh boldness when compared with the (action-packed, but) rather rote offerings of the last few Chapters: the much-touted “Strongest in the Universe” is mocked as a pants-wetting kid (who may not even be the Strongest anyway); we step right up and start slaying the sacred cow of Not Talking About Or Meaningfully Engaging With Goku’s Saiyan Nature/Past (after how many decades of dancing around whether it’s really relevant or not?); even the presence of unusual artistic touches like deciding to place the Title Page two-thirds of the way through the Chapter (other manga may well have employed this touch, but I think this is a first for Dragon Ball, whether Super or otherwise) – the whole thing is packed with unusual, arresting touches that offset the pace and levity to raise the Chapter’s quality and make for a real stand-out offering in the late arc, for me.
- Oatmeel shows up as a full-on robot, driving a hovercar. Oatmeel’s robotic form, and his implicit folding mechanics, somewhat resemble the DUM-Series Pit Droids from Star Wars: The Phantom Menace, albeit with more sophisticated, tidier methods: 超 #79 shows that the inside of Oatmeel’s ‘head’ section is lined with cushioned fabric for Granolah’s ear, so either the body is an extra modular attachment, or the body tucks up compactly enough to fit under this layer. It seems that features like Oatmeel’s forearms are designed to fold over or slide up around his upper arms, as an example of compact collapsible design that may be replicated elsewhere in the body section, but we also see that Oatmeel has processor equipment in his main dome, meaning this section isn’t entirely hollow for storing his robot body, so it’d be a squeeze. As for the hovercar, we’ve seen vehicles in this arc before, but both the Cerealian vehicles of yesteryear (超 #77) and the more modern Sugarian cars of the present day (超 #74) are ground vehicles with wheels; Namekians have never yet been depicted with distinctive terrestrial vehicles of their own – only spacecraft (DB #244). This, then, is probably something Granolah acquired in the wider Universe while bounty hunting. Antigrav technology isn’t particularly novel in Dragon World, which is why Jaco and the Galactic Patrol allow Dr. Brief to reverse-engineer it for use on Earth (Jaco +1).
- Whis sticking a communicator on Goku without him noticing is a cute callback to Revival of F, where Whis blocks and dodges Goku and Vegeta’s furious assault and “had ample time to autograph both your shirts” without either of them noticing. That scene introduced the idea of the body acting on its own that would become Ultra Instinct, so it’s fitting that Whis’s legerdemain leads back to discussion on Goku’s progress here, in the set-up to a climax where Goku manages to step beyond his current facility with the technique, however briefly.
- Another great transition comes on the line of Bardock insisting that Monaito and Granolah “have to stay alive”, with Bardock’s final words to Goku and his farewell scene from DBMinus in Goku’s “mind’s-eye” (a Toyotarou re-draw rather than a duplication of the original Toriyama panel, and arguably technically better-drawn than the original), then fading back to the events of 40 years ago using the same techniques as used in 超 #77: it all has the effect of once again bringing things back to the links forged by Bardock’s Convictions between the Past and the Present, as his memory of young Kakarot (and his instinctive association of his own child with Granolah) leads him to fight for their survival, and the events unfolding in this combat where Bardock has fought to protect this child will in turn give Bardock an opening to secure the growth of his own child Kakarot, which he will follow up on and ensure in DBMinus/Dragon Ball Super: Broly; this is now the key thing Goku remembers about him – it’s his own peculiar “survival”, and the record of it will continue to spur Goku’s growth now. I do enjoy the interconnectedness of the Past and Present here; rather than merely being there for prologue and pretext, as in Broly, the scenes of the Past remain continually relevant to the way the arc progresses in a thematically coherent ‘feedback loop’ around the motivations of some of its core characters.
- The shift to 40 years ago leaves out the initial encounter between Gas and Bardock: clearly Gas has not only intercepted the trio of survivors, but some unseen combat has taken place. Bardock is pretty scuffed all over when reintroduced, and his other shoulder pad is now broken (Muezli having broken the first one in 超 #77).
- Favourite Art: Toyotarou really can’t help himself again, as he dips into Bardock’s extensive gaming move list for a charged punch on Gas – the second panel in particular does a really good job of ‘stretching’ Bardock between the focal points of his charged fist and his target (Gas) to sell the sense of motion and power he’s attacking with. Those familiar with Bardock in the game Dragon Ball FighterZ will recognise the charging pose on this move as the start-up to “Saiyan Spirit”, Bardock’s Level 1 Super Move – the move also appears with some variations in the earlier Heroes, Xenoverse and Budokai series of games. I’m not sure what the Japanese name for the move is (fan information suggests the totally spurious-sounding “Supiritto obu Saiyan”), but if there’s even a related name originally, then this seems like a fitting move for Bardock to use in a fight where both his Nature and Convictions are on show as a perfect unity. It also seems that towards the climax of the battle in 超 #83, Bardock will use another sequence of moves closely resembling “Saiyan Spirit”; in both cases he is energised by an aura that he doesn’t seem to usually exhibit. In addition to the initial punch, it’s a neat touch that the aura flickers to life again around Bardock’s other arm when he bats away Gas’s energy ball attack, exceeding his apparent power (no doubt why Gas thinks he’s not just an average lower-class grunt) in a neat little piece of foreshadowing on Bardock growing into the battle. Given the focus the last Chapter gave us on Bardock’s Resolve (覚悟, kakugo), it’s also perhaps worth noting that in FighterZ, the word is found in his mouth in one of the possible lines accompanying his Level 3 Super Move: “覚悟はいいな⁈” (“kakugo wa ii na?!”, “Are you ready?!”).
- I think the consensus (at Kanzenshuu, anyway) is that these 4 Chapters are the nadir of this arc. This seems unfair. Yes, there’s a big pacing issue at the heart of it all, which freezes a lot of it in place, and that’s not a small craft defect: 超 #79 and the first half of 超 #80 in particular get caught in extensive action choreography and little else, as Granolah gets a ‘turn’ as the chief fighting protagonist. And as noted, the turn-taking makes things drag and seem emptier; that’s undeniable. But for all that, the choreography is actually very enjoyable, before the whole thing moves back to advancing the plot a bit. It’s slow, and could feel much ‘fuller’ than it ultimately does, but it’s not as much of a drag as I feared it might have been from memory.
超 #81, I have to say, is a highly underrated Chapter: I think on first read, most of us were expecting the story to go in a different direction, leaving this as a slightly anonymous puzzle, plus trains. But actually, it’s not just full of fun choreography and great art (and it has that in spades), but it also contains the thematic nub of the arc, revealing Goku’s problem and deploying some thematically pointed exchanges with the main villain to work through it (and the villains have some of their best ‘presence’ in the arc in this Chapter); meanwhile Granolah pushes his pursuit of vengeance to its foreseeable conclusion, which brings this section of his character arc to a conclusion with strong impact. The Chapter is highly enjoyable and deserves re-evaluation.
超 #82, in turn, is a great Chapter: it’s full of fun hijinks, pacy scene-setting, and lots of fresh and arresting choices that make it probably the most interesting and enjoyable Chapter since 超 #76 – Goku’s great in it particularly, making smart choices and giving us enjoyable action to show us the specific strengths he can bring to bear even when he’s not firing on all cylinders, while the formidable Heeters start to get exposed and their fault lines start to appear, and the transition into the Bardock segment makes a lot of sense and works well as a set-up for the impending climax of the arc.
In short, I think that for all its slowness in getting us through this section of the arc, this was actually a lot more enjoyable than I was expecting overall. Particularly 超 #81-82; I’d happily re-read them again and again.
The contributions of y'all are greatly appreciated to that end, even when we come to drastically different conclusions; it's nice to think the thread is still being enjoyed (I hope that's the case, anyhow). And in this specific instance, playing Solid State Scouter on a several-hour loop really helped keep me in the mood 
); Vegeta’s 我儘の極意, Wagamama no Goku’i, becomes 気まぐれの秘訣, Kimagure no Hiketsu, “Secret of Caprice”.
