The fearsome Saiyan warriors, Vegeta and Nappa, have unleashed their monstrous minions, the Saibaimen. Piccolo, Kuririn, and Gohan look on as the Saibaimen strike.
Piccolo and Kuririn strike back!
Despite his 11 months of training for this day, Gohan is too overcome by fear to enter the fray. He's attacked, and nearly mauled by a Saibaiman, until Piccolo comes to his rescue. Kuririn tries to encourage him, but Gohan is clearly overwhelmed. (Because he's 5.)
Tenshinhan, Chaozu, and Yamcha arrive.
(The B-Team complete at last.)
With six Earthling fighters, and six Saibaimen, Vegeta decides to turn it into a game. Each fighter will pair off with a Saibaiman, taking it in turn to see who is the strongest. Piccolo is insulted by the idea, wishing to get the fighting done and over quickly and without "games" -- but Kuririn reminds him that Goku hasn't shown up yet, so the more time they stall, the better. Tenshinhan decides to go first...
Meanwhile, Yajirobe holds a press conference, in which he consumes a lot of food and assures the people of Earth that they'll be safe from the Saiyan threat. After all, Tenka-ichi Budokai champions Son Goku and Tenshinhan are on the front lines, along with former tyrant of the world, Piccolo Daimao.
(And no one seems a bit unsettled that Piccolo is mentioned.)
("They've forgotten about me already?!")
(Don't worry, bro, it's filler.)
("Good.")
At Kame House, Chichi and Gyumao have arrived to watch the unfolding TV coverage with Muten Roshi, Bulma, Oolong, Puar, and Umigame. Lunch is no where to be found. Chichi faints from seeing Gohan on TV with the Saibaimen.
In a flash, Tenshinhan utterly beats the first Saibaiman. (Though in the process, Gohan is nearly melted by acid, were it not for Piccolo pulling him away at the last second.) Nappa can hardly believe it. "They're on par with Raditz, as far as power goes!" (I'm assuming he threw in the line about 'as far as power goes', because Raditz is way sexier than a Saibaiman.) Vegeta isn't concerned, casually stating, "His battle power must be higher than that" in regards to Tenshinhan. (It makes you wonder why Tenshinhan didn't seek training under Kami-sama six years ago, after the last Budokai. He might have been able to kill Raditz with no problems. But then this wouldn't be Dragon Ball if Ten got to defeat a major villain so what am I saying?)
"V-Vegeta, how could you do that?"
Furious that the Saibaiman didn't go all-out on Tenshinhan from the beginning as he had ordered, Vegeta blows him up in cold blood. Nappa's voice cracks as he asks Vegeta why he did it, and Vegeta coldly reminds the other Saibaimen not to take them so lightly. Our heroes watch the exchange in horror. Nappa shouts for his Saibaimen troops to go all-out, and Kuririn decides to step in for the next fight.
"All right, I'll face them..."
"Wait, Kuririn. Let me do this. I want to show them we've had enough of their games."
Yamcha reminds Kuririn that he has already been brought back once by Shen Long, something that cannot happen a second time. As such, Yamcha plans to step in and take out the five remaining Saibaimen by himself.
Nappa chuckles, "What a beautiful friendship you must have." Then sends a Saibaiman out to face Yamcha.
The news crew recognizes Yamcha as frequent participant at the Tenka-ichi Budokai, and his friends and master eagerly wait to see how much stronger he has become. Muten Roshi can tell his training has taken him far.
Both Yamcha and the Saibaiman appear to vanish as they approach each other. Piccolo tells Gohan they haven't vanished, they're merely moving at an extreme speed. Using ki, Piccolo instructs Gohan how to use how whole body to see and hear the battle.
Yamcha unleashes a mighty Kamehameha to finish the job, after a long and rapid exchange of blows with the ferocious Saibaiman! He smirks at Vegeta and Nappa, remarking how their monsters aren't as strong as they think they are. But Vegeta merely smirks in return, saying how it is they who have underestimated their opponent this time...
The Saibaiman latches itself to Yamcha...
...and explodes!
"H-He's dead..."
"Y-Yamcha-san must have had a bad feeling about this. T-that's why he went in my place. Damn it all! DAMN IT ALL! What do I tell Puar and Bulma-san?!"
"Oi, clean that filth up. He's polluting the place." Says Vegeta.
"You dirty bastard...!!"
"Get back, everyone! Yamcha-san, I will avenge you, no matter what!"
"Let me show you the results of my training...!!"
(Addendum: Many of my long time readers were no doubt expecting a joke at Yamcha's expense comparable to this episode. Or at least an aside gag as I tend to do any time Yamcha is shown or mentioned in the series. But why, why oh why, would I ruin one of Kuririn's most emotional scenes by talking about Yamcha?)
I was actually disappointed there was no joke, and then BAM- right at the end, completely unexpected. Brilliant.
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ReplyDeleteBut really, this episode always hit me hard (even through the filter of Saban, as I first saw it). Everyone's grief really touched me, probably more than any of the subsequent deaths (with one very large, green exception). The people who write him off as useless because of episode need to put down the DBZ Abridged and watch the real thing for a change.