Dragon Ball Rewatch, Week 6 - DB Episodes 26-30

[Robo4900]

Hello, ladies, gentlemen, and everyone between and beyond, and welcome to week 6 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.

Our first recycled manga logo above. While Toriyama often changed the logos up, a lot of logos were used in multiple chapters, so I feel it's appropriate to reuse a logo now and then. Especially in an occasion as momentous as this, the end of the 21st Tenkaichi arc (my personal favourite), our first full-on insert song, and the beginning of the Red Ribbon arc, arguably the biggest turning point in the evolution of Dragon Ball over the course of its run! So, I elected to reuse the first logo, which became the anime's main logo.
Which reminds me... Remember to start your rankings, folks! We're two story arcs in, so now we can begin ranking them.

Previous thread: Week 5 (DB 21-25)
Next thread: Week 7 (DB 31-35)

Anyway, without further ado...

Episode 26 - The Final Round!! Kamehameha
Dub title: The Grand Finals
Originally aired 20th of August 1986

The finals for the 21st Tenka’ichi Budōkai have been decided! Goku is knocked out of bounds by Jackie. But he spins his tail like a propeller and comes back! Goku and Jackie at last put forth their best. The two fire a Kamehameha at the same time!! Goku’s Kamehameha evenly matches Jackie’s, and knocks it back!! Demonstrating a back-and-forth display of such attacks as the Zanzōken, the Suiken, and the Saruken, their red-hot battle continues!

Anime-only/filler content: Pre-match interviews with Goku and Jackie, both times Jackie has to explain that he isn't Roshi, Goku's Crazy Monkey Technique

Episode 27 - Goku’s Greatest Pinch
Dub title: Number One Under the Moon? / The Match Continues
Originally aired 27th of August 1986

Becoming serious against Goku, Jackie uses the Yoiko Min-Min Ken! Goku enters a deep sleep. He somehow manages to escape this pinch, but he is assaulted by Jackie’s special attack, the Bankoku-Bikkuri-Shō! With a shockwave like an electric current running up his entire body, Goku is robbed of the ability to move. But just as he’s about to surrender, his eyes catch sight of the full moon! Against Goku, who has transformed into an Ōzaru once again, Jackie fires an extra-large Kamehameha!! What is Goku’s fate…?!

No significant anime-only/filler content.

Episode 28 - Clash!! Power vs Power
Dub title: The Final Blow
Originally aired 3rd of September 1986

Jackie blew away the moon, guarding against Goku ever becoming an Ōzaru again!! At the same time, Goku returns to his normal form, and the match is restarted. With their energy rapidly falling from exhaustion and hunger, the two muster the last of their power, and their clash unfolds. Having received slightly less damage, Jackie declares that he has won the championship, and he achieves victory. Having learned that there are many strong people in the world, Goku and Kuririn vow to train even harder!

Anime-only/filler content: Jackie verbally goads Goku into one final charging kick, which he does not do in the manga; Roshi's raunchy fantasy sequence with what he'll do with the money.

Episode 29 - Another Adventure – The Roaming Lake
Dub title: The Roaming Lake
Originally aired 10th of September 1986

Searching for the Dragon Balls, Goku comes to a desert region where he hears the legend of the moving lake. There, Goku rescues Namu as he is attacked by monsters. Namu has gone upstream to investigate why the river has dried up! After discovering that Giran and his tribe had damned up the river, Goku breaks the dam with a Kamehameha, but this time a sandstorm buries the river!! The villagers despair, but after the sandstorm leaves, it leaves behind the legendary lake.

Anime-only/filler content: With the excpetion of the scene where Goku departs from the gang, this episode is entirely filler.

Episode 30 - Pilaf and the Mysterious Army
Dub title: Pilaf and the Mystery Force
Originally aired 17th of September 1986

After the Dragon Radar is stolen by a thief, Goku spots it in a secondhand goods store. A Dragon Ball signal shows up there! However, the Dragon Ball that Pilaf and co. buy from the store owner is a complete fake! The store owner also tries to sell a fake to a mysterious army who are searching for the Dragon Balls, but they see through this and shoot him. The real Dragon Ball turns out to be in a bird’s nest on the roof of the shop!! Startled by the sound of gunfire, the bird flies off with the Dragon Ball.

Anime-only/filler content: All of it.

-

Interesting trivia:

• Not only do we get our first fully-fledged filler episode, but we get two here, in a row!... While there are many ways in which one could say the Red Ribbon arc is a turning point in Dragon Ball, sadly it is also a turning point for filler, as filler content would be amped up a lot from here on out.
• This block of episodes also contains our first fully-fledged insert song, Mezase Tenkaichi, and in the episode right after, contains another, Fushigi Wonderland, and the episode after has Dragon Ball Densetsu too!... If you're watching the Japanese version. Both English dubs muted these, though Blue Water's did at least replace Mezase Tenkaichi with a piece of stock music (likely reused from Mega Man).
• The third package of Shunsuke Kikuchi's music was put into use starting at episode 29.
• The English dub outright states in episode 30 that Dragon Balls are unbreakable. While this is never stated in the Japanese version, it's clear they're more durable than the glass fakes the pawn shop owner was selling.
• Colonel Silver isn't entirely a filler character, though he only appeared in one chapter of the manga, so suffice it to say, the anime vastly expanded on his role, though the wisdom of this decision is called into question by the choice to still adapt his confrontation with Goku accurately; he goes down like a chump, despite being built up as a big deal for a few episodes.
• Goku using his tail to hover in the air is very similar to Tails' method of flying in Sonic the Hedgehog. Yuki Naka has said that the seven Chaos Emeralds and Super Sonic are inspired by Dragon Ball, so this is likely another reference.

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

[SuperSaiyaManZ94]

As to the thing with the FUNi dub (and some other countries' dubs as well) not having insert songs like Mezase Tenkaichi and others i believe that the reason for this is due to the masters that were licensed to them by Toei or in FUNi's case the digebeta tape masters they got in the early 2000's which simply did not have particular insert songs included with the episodes unlike the Japanese version although a few got left in like the Burning Heart one.

Interesting how Col. Silver goes down with such ease by Goku's hand despite how he was played up until that point, whereas some of the other Red Ribbon members/affiliates during the arc like Ninja Murasaki, General Blue (despite his over the top sissy, clean freak personality) and especially Tao Pai Pai proved to be much more of a challenge for him in terms of their unique abilities and other things.

[MasenkoHA]

The Goku vs Jackie Chun trilogy was probably the highlight of this era. A nice mix of entertaining martial arts feats with the gags Toriyama was still known for.
Also disappointing that Bankoku-Bikkuri-Shō! attack Roshi uses against Goku is never used again iirc.

Episode 30 is noteworthy because we get out first indisputable on screen death with the Antique shop owner.

While the Red Ribbon arc isn’t exactly a joyless drab this is the point where the series shifts more into a straight faced adventure/martial arts series with a sense of humor instead of a gag series. Sure the Red Ribbon army has silliness with Ninja Murasaki, Blue’s campiness, and the punchline of what Red wants to really use the dragon balls for but otherwise they’re played a lot more seriously than Pilaf’s gang, or Boss Rabbit, or Yamucha when he was a villain

The antique shop owner is reading a newspaper that says Mexico 1986 and his antique shop is called Cuadro Joya (Jewel Box in Spanish) make of that what you will.

Some interesting things about the dub actually
*All the insert songs are missing in these episodes. In fact the dub won’t include an insert song until episode 65 (and we’ll get to that but oh man do I hate what Funimation did there) this didn’t really effect episode 28 and 29 (other than the loss of the most epic use of Mensaze Tenkaichi of its 3 uses in the series) but since the beginning of episode 30 had Dragon Ball Densetsu playing for a good minute or two with no talking the dub opted to have the narrator prattled on and on upon Goku to fill the silence.

*The Funi dub title for episode 27 “Number One under the Moon?” is a nice reference to the Budokai Tenkaichi. I feel like it would have landed better if Funimation had actually called the tournament “Number One under the heavens/sun/sky tournament”’but its still nice.

*Apparently the edited dub replaced Roshi’s use of drunken boxing with Mad Cow fighting or something. With clip arts of cows added in to replace liquor bottles in the background. This is stupid to me because he’s imitating being drunk he’s not actually drunk. This isn’t unique to Funimation or Toonami but it’s just odd how kid shows have to pretend alcohol doesn’t exist even though it’s doubtful most of these kids have never heard of alcohol and need to be protected from it’s existence. There’s also the fact that drunken boxing is is an actual style of martial arts. Mad Cow fighting or whatever the edited dub used is not .

[ABED]

Ugh, I'm only now putting two and two together than Muten Roshi calls himself Jackie Chun and he uses a drunk style of fighting. Facepalm. The part where Muten Roshi has a convenient relation chart that "proves" he's not Muten Roshi is a great gag practically out of Loony Toons.

[SuperSaiyaManZ94]

Ugh, I'm only now putting two and two together than Muten Roshi calls himself Jackie Chun and he uses a drunk style of fighting. Facepalm. The part where Muten Roshi has a convenient relation chart that "proves" he's not Muten Roshi is a great gag practically out of Loony Toons.

That bit is so funny, and it's obvious he made the chart up just for the occasion that someone questioned him of his identity when he was disguised as Jackie. Though of course, the only ones AFAIK who are able to suss out that he's actually Roshi under the wig is Yamcha and later on Tsuru-Sennin/Crane Hermit in the next Budokai as nobody else puts two and two together.

[MyVisionity]

Speaking of Looney Tunes, I like how the dynamic between Jackie and Goku is just like out of one of those old Warner shorts. Every time Jackie thinks he's got Goku beat, Goku pulls off a surprise and turns the tables on him. I like how increasingly frustrated Jackie gets as the fight continues while Goku's just having fun. I guess that aspect of Goku's character makes sense, with Sun Wukong having been a trickster god, and characters like Bugs Bunny being molded from the trickster archetype.

[Robo4900]

Here we go! Goku vs Roshi!!

Episode 26 - The Final Round!! Kamehame-Ha

I like Goku's very simple "All I can do is do my best" type attitude going into this match.

The hell is up with the panning over multiple drawings of Roshi all talking? That's such a weird shot! I love it.

As I recall, Funi's dub added tons of dialogue as Roshi was demonstrating the Jackie Chun Kamehameha...

Just before the eyecatch:

Am I watching Dragon Ball or Animaniacs?
I love this joke. The previously-stated comparisons between this fight and Looney Tunes are certainly apt.

I do love the escalation of attacks in this fight, with Goku learning the afterimage attack/Zanzouken and its double/triple varieties during the battle. It's great.

Also, the family tree gag is excellent.

Episode 27 - Goku's Greatest Pinch

Another Golden Harvest title card!

I wonder how many times Roshi has used the hypnosis technique before this moment.

When Goku goes ape, doesn't he step outside the ring?... Surely that should be a disqualification.

Episode 28 - Clash!! Power vs. Power

I like that the crowd has magically gathered again.

I love the simple "ok, guess i'll blow up the fucking moon lmao" logic.
Also, the announcer's reaction is entirely appropriate.
I always found Blue Water's nonsensical dialogue here rather funny; he says something to the tune of "Oh the humanity! How will this affect the man on the moon? And how about the plans to colonise it!!" I can't remember what Funi said there, though.
In the Japanese, he at one point says "Werewolves won't be able to transform anymore!" Epic foreshadowing right there.

And here we go, Mezase Tenkaichi!!
Such an awesome sequence, with an equally awesome song backing it up.

So, the tiebreak is to stand up and say "I won, man!"... I love that.

I really love Roshi's sheer admiration for Goku. It's great.

Goku: "Say, once I train more and get stronger, will you fight me again?"
Roshi: "Mm-hmm. Sure I will!"
Goku: "That's a promise!"
Roshi: [nod]
This right here. Perfection. I like to think Roshi planned on not only facing Goku again in the 22nd Tenkaichi, but he fully expected to lose. Perhaps even unveil his true identity. By then, Goku would have dedicated himself to the martial arts to an extent where it would be fine for Goku to see his incredible progress. But of course, this didn't come to pass. Still, I like to headcanon that one day, years later, when reminiscing about the old days, Roshi told Goku and Kuririn the truth about Jackie Chun. Perhaps sometime in the years after the defeat of Kid Boo.

Roshi's speech to Goku and Kuririn is great. And interestingly, he reuses some phrases and such from when he's previously thought to himself, and possibly when he explained it to Namu too?... Anyway, it's kinda neat, he's been thinking about this moment, preparing for it for ages. It really ties the whole arc together; ultimately, this entire storyline has been Roshi cleverly pushing Goku and Kuririn to work to get better themselves. He never forces them to do anything, not once! Instead, he always demonstrates and pushes them along to help them find what they need to do to be better, within themselves. And here, he kind of sums it all up to them verbally, in short, and sort of hypes them up for the long journey ahead of them, the journey they've only just begun.
Funi somewhat undercut this moment by having Roshi monologue to himself "I should really write these speeches down and sell them." Which is a real shame. I think watching this arc in Japanese with subs really does help one understand the weaknesses of Funi's dubbing; it's not just getting some dialogue wrong, and changing some characterisations a little, they completely ruined all the spiritual, philosophical, and mystical ideas at work in Dragon Ball, often for the sake of adding a dumb joke or two and making it feel more American or something.
Apologies to any dub fans; I'm not intending to trash your favourite version. My point isn't that Funi's dubs are bad, more that they're different from the Japanese version, and if you still haven't, it's well worth trying the show out in Japanese, to get a sense of the things Funi ended up not adapting properly. And beyond that, I'm saying that I just really love this storyline, I love Roshi's role here, I love how it all neatly ties together in the end... There's a reason this is my favourite arc of Dragon Ball. Many reasons, in fact.

Ah yes, then we get the intended joke to follow the more serious philosophical stuff, with the whole sequence at the restaurant. Great way to humourously cap off this storyline.

Oh yeah, and that's my ranking so far btw:
1. 21st Tenkaichi arc
2. Pilaf arc

Man, I love this arc. Is nostalgia a fator? Most certainly. Is that all that's at play here? Most certainly not! This arc is the moment Dragon Ball finds itself. Of course, the next arc is what would end up hammering out a lot of the tropes and overall style it would have for the rest of its run, but this one is still my favourite.

[Robo4900]

The fact the rewatch weeks begin on a Wednesday continues to mildly annoy me, so...
Current plan is next week is episodes 31-35, after that is 36-40, then 41-45, then the week after that is movie 1 and episodes 46-48.
I'm now thinking of changing this up, and cutting that last one down to just movie 1, but ending that week on the Monday instead. Then the rewatch weeks actually start at the beginning of the week, on Mondays. What do you folks think? Should I do that, or just stick with the old plan and keep the start on Wednesdays? Am I overthinking this?

Anyway, I had a free half-hour, so...

Episode 29 - Another Adventure-- The Wandering Lake

Y'know, it would've been nice if Goku had taken Kuririn up on his offer to join him in his hunt for the four-star ball. I can see why he didn't, but it would've been nice.
Plus, Kuririn could've pointed out to him that his maths are wrong, and they're actually only 8 months out from the last wish, so they can't find the balls yet.

Namu is being very wasteful with that water.
I know it's plentiful where he got it, but now that he's returned, it'd be smart to somewhat ration what he has. Unless he has a ton of capsules stashed away in his robe?

Is Toei's standard strategy for getting rid of Yamucha, Bulma, Oolong, and Pu'er to just trap them in the desert?
Well, at least this one is kinda resolved. With them in Metro South, one could imagine them taking that opportunity to purchase more capsules (or a flight?).

Oh yeah! Fushigi Wonderland!!

Why is Namu begging for water if he's got that whole supply? Like, they could certainly use it, but they're not super desperate right now.

It tracks that Giran would be so overconfident to think Goku couldn't break the dam. Though after what happened at the tournament, he should really know better.

Not bad for the first all-filler episode. It's clearly not a part of the main story, but it's a fun standalone, not unlike many of those from the first arc. Feels a bit unfulfilling in the end, but it's a fun time.

[Vijay]

I particularly like Ep 29 & 30

Cuz it really feels fresh adventurous detour after tourney format.

Plus, realizing how RRA's influence plays vital role later in Z's really feels...deep

[Robo4900]

Episode 30 - Pilaf And The Mysterious Army

Our first glimpse of Red here!
Forgot we see him so early. Striaght up says "Kill!" and we're off.
And Dragon Ball Densetsu plaing! Damn. This arc's wasting no time in getting us straight into fully-fledged Dragon Ball!

Y'know, this episode would probably be a great introduction to the show. It'd be a shame to skip over the last 29 episodes, but if you had to start here, it'd be a great beginning.

Pilaf says it's been "1 year and 15 since [we summoned the dragon in the first arc]..."
Guess that answers that plot hole.

I love that he has a window in his floating fortress. Because of course Pilaf would be so stupid as to have windows put in his flying fortress.

The method Goku uses to find his stuff, of having the Nyoibou extend, is pretty great.

This is a really great introduction for the Red Ribbon Army. Bit of a slow episode in places, but it's cool to see the Red Ribbon army being cruel at an on-the-ground level. Really helps you understand how monstrous they are right here, at the very beginning of the story. And we're introduced to our first proper Dragon Ball villain, Colonel(?) Silver. But, there's still a lot of whimsy; Dragon Ball Densetsu is quite a joyous, light song, and it immediately follows the ominous opening to the episode.

[MasenkoHA]

Y'know, this episode would probably be a great introduction to the show. It'd be a shame to skip over the last 29 episodes, but if you had to start here, it'd be a great beginning.

It’s a decision Funimation should have done if they wanted a more action oriented show. That would require them to have looked ahead instead of whatever episode they were immediately adapting.

As far as viewers that don’t like the more gag beginnings of the series I feel like watching the first two movies in place of the first 18 episodes and starting at the tournament would be a sufficient alternative. Obviously not perfect but doable.

Pilaf says it's been "1 year and 15 since [we summoned the dragon in the first arc]..."
Guess that answers that plot hole.

Goku is somehow still 12 though. I assumed he was suppose to be 11 in the first arc back when I only had seen the dub until it was established he thought he was 14 in episode 2 because he thought 14 came after 11.

Dragon Ball Densetsu is quite a joyous, light song, and it immediately follows the ominous opening to the episode.

It’s a good thing you like Dragon Ball Densetsu. They play it. A lot.

[Dragon Ball Ireland]

Going to binge this week and next as I'll be on vacation for about a week from next Friday.

[KBABZ]

I hold firm that the Red Ribbon Army arc is both quintessential Dragon Ball and yet wholly unique in the series' history. It's much longer than the opening arc, it's mostly Goku on his own with a rotating cast of partner characters rather than a set cast, it's when the story casts aside the story-for-comedy roots and becomes a story-with-comedy, it's the only arc to do worldbuilding of multiple places for an extended period of time, AND it introduces several Z tropes without actually tonally becoming Z like with the Daimao arc.

Most importantly though, this is, as far as I'm aware, the ONLY arc in all of Dragon Ball to have a collection of album and insert songs written JUST FOR IT, to the point that they could form their own "Red Ribbon Arc Album". We've got Hunt for Mr. Dream, Mystery Wonderland, The Teachings of Kame Sen'nin, Feel the Wind, Tell Me Your Dreams, Red Ribbon Army, Riding on a Cloud is My First Love, Goku's Happy Journey, Dragon Ball Densetsu, The Son Goku Song, With a Burning Heart: Defeat the Red Ribbon Army and The Blue Travelers!

All of these songs just capture this period of Dragon Ball's history, even though I wouldn't hear any of them until I perused through my Dragon Box. Later arcs would get songs for specific characters, but no arc would get basically an entire CDs worth of tracks that so perfectly evoke the mood of that period in time, both in-universe and out.

---

tl:dr I LOOOOOOOVE this arc and the album/insert music is a BIG reason why.

[Dragon Ball Ireland]

Episode 26 - The Final Round!! Kamehameha

Solid start to the series very first tornament finale. We get some good Toriyama wackiness as well as some quirky action from both Goku and Chun. Goku's pushps show his dedication to the craft. A great sense of suspence is created by Goku's seemingly easy audience, even temporarily convincing the audience. Seeing Goku use his tail as a helicopter was also quite a humorous moment that lightened the moment. The two Kame Hame Ha waves was a powerful moment, and the first of its kind in the series, which although a cliche now was a huge deal up to this point. Chun's efforts to prove he's not Goku and toying with Goku was quite amusing. Goku also messed around with some goofy techniques.

Episode 27 - Goku’s Greatest Pinch

Great progression in this fight. We have tense moments like Goku being mortified by Chun's sudden hand movements, the match feeling lost when Goku is hypnotized. Funnily enough we get more food jokes, Oolong blushing over being held close by Bulma and Goku tricking Chun in a rock paper scissors game. Interestingly enough the fear of Oozaru persists among Goku's friends, which they see as Goku's main weakness and ironically enough their greatest danger. Yamcha's efforts to save Goku also show he has learned to care for him, showing how far they came as people in their adventures. Goku's inspiration also seemingly spread to all his friends as they each express their concern for him, and even Chun not feeling proud.

Episode 28 - Clash!! Power vs Power

A fitting conclusion for this climactic battle. Compassion for Goku persists with his friends cowering in fear and despair. Chun however seemed to have learned what to expect as he remains calm and knowing how to show Goku is still alive. This hope is subverted by Chun destroying the moon. Kuririn's comraddery also shines with him letting Goku wear his clothes. We get some endearing goofiness from Goku being cluelessness about why being naked is a big deal and the state of the ring. Chun's exhaustion also shows with him being unable to do Kame Hame Ha while Goku could. The fight ends with some entertaining subversions with Chun nearly falling out of ring but saving himself with his tricks. Finally a bit of classic martial arts tactics between both, even them jumping and kicking one another in the faces.

Episode 29 - Another Adventure – The Roaming Lake

Nice little bridging episode between the tournament finale and the first serious arc in this series. We get to spend time with our heroes seeing them go their separate ways and where their mindsets are at. Roshi gets some disappointment when he hopes for alone time with Lunch as Kuririn wants to stay with him. Goku continues to show his loyalty to Gohan by going alone in the search for the 4-star Dragon Ball. The moment with Namu returning to his village with the capsule full of water was also sweet. Ironically enough it was Bulma, Yamcha, Oolong and Puar, our heroes friends who were longing for an oasis in the desert. Goku managed to help Namu and his village even further by breaking open a waterfall, which ultimately gives Namu and company their happy ending.

Episode 30 - Pilaf and the Mysterious Army

Very fun-filled episode with lots of character moments, although it flirts with more serious storytelling when it needs to. One moment we see wackiness between Pilaf and Shu with the former complaining about having to sleep on the floor. Next moment with Pilaf and gang they are searching for a Dragon Ball in a village and we see the first glimpse of the Red Ribbon Army as they enter the pawn shop. All in all, another great bridging episode for the next arc and keeps you excited for what is to come.

[Planetnamek]

The Goku vs Jackie Chun trilogy was probably the highlight of this era. A nice mix of entertaining martial arts feats with the gags Toriyama was still known for.
Also disappointing that Bankoku-Bikkuri-Shō! attack Roshi uses against Goku is never used again iirc.

Episode 30 is noteworthy because we get out first indisputable on screen death with the Antique shop owner.

While the Red Ribbon arc isn’t exactly a joyless drab this is the point where the series shifts more into a straight faced adventure/martial arts series with a sense of humor instead of a gag series. Sure the Red Ribbon army has silliness with Ninja Murasaki, Blue’s campiness, and the punchline of what Red wants to really use the dragon balls for but otherwise they’re played a lot more seriously than Pilaf’s gang, or Boss Rabbit, or Yamucha when he was a villain

The antique shop owner is reading a newspaper that says Mexico 1986 and his antique shop is called Cuadro Joya (Jewel Box in Spanish) make of that what you will.

Some interesting things about the dub actually
*All the insert songs are missing in these episodes. In fact the dub won’t include an insert song until episode 65 (and we’ll get to that but oh man do I hate what Funimation did there) this didn’t really effect episode 28 and 29 (other than the loss of the most epic use of Mensaze Tenkaichi of its 3 uses in the series) but since the beginning of episode 30 had Dragon Ball Densetsu playing for a good minute or two with no talking the dub opted to have the narrator prattled on and on upon Goku to fill the silence.

*The Funi dub title for episode 27 “Number One under the Moon?” is a nice reference to the Budokai Tenkaichi. I feel like it would have landed better if Funimation had actually called the tournament “Number One under the heavens/sun/sky tournament”’but its still nice.

*Apparently the edited dub replaced Roshi’s use of drunken boxing with Mad Cow fighting or something. With clip arts of cows added in to replace liquor bottles in the background. This is stupid to me because he’s imitating being drunk he’s not actually drunk. This isn’t unique to Funimation or Toonami but it’s just odd how kid shows have to pretend alcohol doesn’t exist even though it’s doubtful most of these kids have never heard of alcohol and need to be protected from it’s existence. There’s also the fact that drunken boxing is is an actual style of martial arts. Mad Cow fighting or whatever the edited dub used is not .

The whole "no alcohol" thing is mostly because of the FCC, they want no depiction of alcohol in anything remotely aimed at kids whatsoever(Batman TAS might've depicted alcohol, but it's been ages since i've seen that show last, so don't quote me on that)I remember when Tiny Toons had that episode "One Beer" that made fun of moral messaging in kids cartoons and it got banned after only airing once on TV. So i'm not one bit surprised Funimation wanted to play it safe with this one.

This also comes down to the USA's overly puritanical stance on drinking since they keep the age at a very strict 21(and yes all of you outside the USA, it is ridiculous that we can drive and go to war before we're allowed to drink)and groups like MADD(Mothers Against Drunk Driving) have a LOT of power, they'd raise holy hell if they caught even a whiff of a non-adult cartoon depicting alcohol regardless of whether it's being consumed or not. So I don't blame Funimation for wanting to stay far away from that.