Dragon Ball Rewatch, Week 23 - DB episode 101-105

[Robo4900]

Another rather interesting dub change I just became aware of, in episode 104...

In Japanese, when giving birth to Cymbal, Piccolo chants basically a nursery rhyme from a Japanese childrens' game, which goes "Pokopen Pokopen... Dare Ga Tsutsuita? Pokopen Pokopen... Dare Ga Tsutsuita?"
It's from a game that involves poking a player designated as the demon (analogous to "It" in Tag or Hide And Seek) in the back and the demon figuring out who poked them last; apparently it's kinda like Tag or Seven Up, with a dash of Hide And Seek, but it involves the people who aren't the demon saying this chant. The chant itself actually has a racially insensitive origin, though; "Pokopen" is apparently a Japanese slur for people from China. I'm no expert, but I think this is somewhat comparable to the original version of "Eenie meenie miney mo"; it's considered fairly innocent, but it uses some unacceptable language (though in that case, it's only said once, and is easily substituted, whereas here, you'd have to invent an entirely new chant, pretty much).

In Funimation's dub, Piccolo repeatedly chants the generic "Rise and form to serve your master!" increasingly angrily.

In Blue Water's dub, they wrote a rhyme for Piccolo to say:
"I summon the dark magic from the world below, to seep into my being and begin to grow!
Creating a warrior strong like me, to complete a task most vital indeed!
Produce a demon with the wherewithal, to bring Lord Piccolo the Dragon Balls!
Produce a demon with the wherewithal, to bring Lord Piccolo the Dragon Balls!"
After he's recited this, he spits out Cymbal's egg.

[Robo4900]

In episode 105, Yajirobe says (in the subtitles, and in the Viz manga) that he picked up his Dragon Ball "Three years ago". This is impossible.

The tournament moves to happening every three years after the 21st, so assuming the balls were stone for a year, because Goku make his wish at the end of the Red Ribbon/Baba storyline, which was at least a week or so after the 21st Tenkaichi, they would've then become active roughly two years before the 22nd tournament, which was only a day or two ago at this time.

So, Yajirobe can't have picked up his Dragon Ball any earlier than two years ago.

[Dragon Ball Ireland]

Just catching up on these episodes:

Episode 101 - The Martial Arts Tournament Concludes! And Then…!!

After a long intense fight and the last episode being quite fast paced this episode is rather slow paced and has more of an aftermath feel with both Goku and Tien making their last moves. Roshi shows some of his lived experience being the one that both Goku and Tien will be able to make comebacks. Goku's comeback was more impressive after the arena being obliterated, although Goku using the Kamehame Ha to propel himself and knocking Tien out of the sky was still a punishing blow at this point in the match when Tien was warn out. The fight in the sky is quite tense as Tien knows how to fly and Goku doesn't, so Goku's techniques at this point in the match really matter. Once Goku tries to launch a failed Kamehame Ha at Tien while the two are falling out of the sky it is clear our hero has finally exhausted all his energy. Tien's narrow victory goes to show that despite Goku's extensive training throughout the world there is always someone stronger than you and always more to learn, which is a great subversion for what was seemingly been leading up to a well earned championship title for our hero. Moreover Tien shows different side to himself as the audience begin to recognize him as a hero and he tries to offer Goku half the prize money as a sign of honour and respect. The ending turns all of this on its head with the gloomy revelation that Kuririn was killed while they were out for a meal.

Episode 102 - Kuririn’s Death – A Terrible Conspiracy!!

A very ominous episode as everything is centred around the mysterious death of Kuririn - Goku's quest to avenge his fallen friend, the tale of Demon King Piccolo's reign and the mystery surrounding how he escaped his inprisonment. The opening with Goku's friends arriving to the Tenkaichi Budokai grounds is a dark and grim beginning to the story unlike any of the previous arcs. Goku's loyalty to Kuririn shows as he escapes with the Dragon Radar in a hurry, even defying Roshi's orders in doing so. The flashbacks to all Goku and Kuririn's times together training and fighting highlights how much Goku cared for Kuririn and is very admirable and gratifying, even moreso because he nearly fell off a cliff trying to avenge his friend. This sense of humanity in Goku was great in the midst of all the terror being set up. The terror is compunded by Muten Roshi's tale about Piccolo Daimao's reign of terror with cities being demolished, and life being wiped out by his minions. Master Mutaito's creation of the Mafuba was the best part of this tale as the temporary sealing away of Piccolo Daimao added a sense of mysticism to this story, and the fact he was freed makes his reveal even more ominous and terrifying. During Daimao's introduction the fact he has different ideas for a wish than the Pilaf gang was an interesting narrative choice. It creates a juxtaposition between the gag villainy of Pilaf, Mai and Shou and the serious, malicious nature of Piccolo Daimao, the latter wanting nothing but to savour his tyranny. The ending with Goku flying toward Tambourine was a great cliffhanger to lead into the next episode.

Episode 103 - The Terror of Demon King Piccolo!!

Much like the last episode there is a very dark and unsettling tone throughout, with a very gradual escalation of the violence. Goku's frustration with Tambourine for killing Kuririn continues to show, especially when he sees the 4 star Dragon Ball in his hand. The flashback to Kuririn's fight and how he died so suddenly and unxpectedly adds a great amount of weight to the tension caused by his death. Tambourine exemplifies the theme of there always being someone better than you and always more to learn seen very recently with Goku's loss to Tien. The fact not even the Nyoibo could save Goku added to the sense of desperation as Tambourine beats him around in the forest leaving his life in question. Going into the second half of the episode the sense of despair is no less prevalent. The shot of Kuririn's dead body wrapped up as seen by his friends and held by Lunch is one of the most depressing visuals in the series thus far as it adds some realism to his death. Roshi's tale of Daimao unleashing a legion of minions sets in motion the air of dread for the remainder of the episode with Tambourine attacking the temple and its martial artists as well as Pamput. There is also more juxtaposition between the comedic and serious villains with the Pilaf gang getting terrified by Tambourine claiming he killed Goku.

Episode 104 - Come Back to Life, Son Goku!!

Throughout this episode Tambourine emerges as a formidable disciple of Piccolo Daimao. The slow pace leads itself well to this terror and tension felt by the communities attacked by Tambourine. We see Tambourine electrocuting Bacterian symbolically leaving him to die by trash cans in an alley way. In addition we see Piccolo Daimao's display of abilities, and how he can asexally birth a new minion, which makes him a greater threat than any villains we've seen thus far. There are some funny moments in the forest, which parody Goku's hunger, especially after a fight. The scenes where he gets bitten and punched by a Kangaroo in particular were neat twists. For the second half of the episode we get more necessary downtime between Goku's friends at Kame House. While Bulma and the rest discuss gathering the Dragon Balls at Kame House and reviving Kuririn the report on TV about Tambourine's murders and the symbol left behind slowly allows the tension to escalate. Towards the end of this episode we see another hunger gag turn serious with the Fish roasting that Goku tries to eat, nearly getting himself roasted from the fire. What was even funnier that soon became a serious plot point was that Goku didn't know someone else was cooking the Fish, that is when Yajirobe is introduced. A great end and leave enough questions for this unforeseen confrontation to the next episode.

Episode 105 - The Strange Guy – Enter Yajirobe!!

A rather quick, yet important episode for establishing Goku and Yajirobe's relationship. We see Yajirobe is a competent martial artist himself, and can contend with Daimao's minions like Cymbal himself. Cymbal briefly provides a challenge for Yajirobe through his use of lightning shots, although once Yajirobe's sword, as we see gives him the upper hand. There are also good breakaways to what is happening with other characters - Bulma and the gang still mourning Kuririn's death shows comradery between as they plan to protect his body until he can be revived. There was also more juxtaposition between Pilaf's goofiness and Daimao's stern style of villainy, particularly as the latter is showing he can sleep with his eyes open, showing he can reserve energy while still looking imposing and intimidating. Tambourine flying around deciding who he would kill next was a useful scene for emphasizing his role and as a reminder of what is at stake. As this arc continues to unfold there is a constant sense that Daimao will be a villain like Goku has never fought before, and every episode makes this an even more exciting turn of events.