#So all I have is the end of Z where he makes Trunks participate in the tournament

[shannonsketches]

Disregard that last post, OP's definitely mad that Bulla is treated like a toddler and Trunks is treated like a teenager askljda

[redhoodieson]

As someone who has been brainrotting about a lot of stuff, I'm in a specific dragon ball hole where I keep on thinking about the Son Family, specifically Goku's thought process throughout Z and oh my goodness I want to dissect his mind so bad because most of the fandom focus on powerscaling, fights and forms so like, this is me wondering in my little chaotic wonderland why he decided to do the thing in the climax of the Cell Saga and how it impacted the rest of the plot, most especially on fighting involving his children.

The main thought that keeps creeping into my mind is: Goku is passively suicidal, and the events of the Android/Cell Saga and Bulma's comment on how he attracts trouble for everyone involved cemented his belief that he's better off dead than alive, which he uses as the main reason for staying in Other World during those seven years.

Now, of course, this is just something I headcanon, but I think about it all the time because while he doesn't make his actual deeper feelings obvious despite being usually blunt (he is a simple person after all), imagine that your family and friends died/almost died, all because of him?

Pre-Z, he was living peacefully with his family for five years. Then the Saiyans came. He learned he is one and his mission was to destroy Earth (in reality his parents sent him there so he can live), and the Saiyan who informed him of this is his brother he didn't know he had. At this moment, even though he didn't know it before, the trajectory of his and everyone close to him changed.

Gohan got kidnapped, he died protecting his son, and since then, the thought of "I need to get stronger" is permanently etched into his character. Yes, it is wired in his genetics to seek fighting and get stronger, but I can't help but think that he also thinks that he wants to train to get stronger so he can be powerful enough to beat his opponents to protect his loved ones.

But also, his enemies keep getting stronger and stronger. The Saiyans. Frieza and his forces. The Androids. All of them are linked to him one way or another. The Androids in particular were created to kill him because he defeated the Red Ribbon Army.

And then that scene in the Cell Games where he sacrificed his life and died for the second time, you can see him completely accept his impending death, as if anticipating that he would die in the aftermath of the Cell Games one way or the other, that's why he spent the remaining days before the Cell Games with his loved ones.

And unlike before, he did remain dead. For seven years, because he believes that everyone would be safer if he's dead than alive.

Was he proven right? Honestly, I don't know (actually no he's wrong because in Future Trunks' timeline, Buu Saga still happened). During the seven years of peace, there was no world threat, which for Goku, means that he was right. Nothing bad happened. Then, the one time he decided to return to Earth for one day, the Buu Saga happened, which eventually caused the end of the world (that was eventually saved).

Imagine his thought process throughout the saga. He just wanted to participate in the tournament and spend his remaining time with his family before he returns to Other World, but no, a lot of shit happens after he gets back.

I can't also help but think that he feels that he always put his family in danger, and when his sons had no choice but to fight, he apologizes, like with Gohan during Moro Arc. Goku absolutely loves his family, so imagine his turmoil when enemies keep on appearing even in Super because of him (Frieza again, Goku Black).

Does he think of himself as a burden to his own family? No, of course not. But like, what if he does, even subconsciously/he doesn't know? His family died because he wasn't there, wasn't quick enough/stuck in a hard place (in the case of Gohan and Goten, but it's either them or Dende and Mr. Satan, which makes this also a sadistic choice). I think Buu Saga in particular must have been a very bad time for him mentally.

That's also why he keeps on finding his successor as Earth's protector. From Gohan, to Goten and Trunks, to eventually Uub. He doesn't force his children when they express the lack of desire to fight (in fact, he always supports them no matter what). He feels he needs to find one so Earth would have people to protect it once he's dead for good. That's why he left at the EoZ to train Uub.

But, since this is a shonen series and Goku is the one doing most of the pep talk (particularly for Gohan, hence why he's always more confident when Goku is around than without), it's just, ahdkdkdkdj what goes inside your head man I want to know 😭😭😭

[duhragonball]

Super Dragon Ball Heroes 29

“What’s that? ‘Universe Creation Arc’?  ‘Apocrypha Liveblog’?  What are you talking about?  We’re kids competing for a video game championship.”

Last time... doesn’t really matter, because the web anime just abruptly shifts to a completely different subject matter for Episode 29.  It’s another special, but unlike Episode 20, which set up characters and backstory for the Universe Creation arc, this special just interrupts the arc for no apparent reason.

So to explain what’s going on here, I need to get into the conceit of the Dragon Ball Heroes video games.   You, the live person playing a video game, play as a character like Beat, who lives in the Dragon World some time after the events of Dragon Ball Z.  Beat, in turn, also plays a video game which is similar to the one you play, except for him Dragon Ball Heroes is some sort of Capsule Corp.-designed VR simulation, and characters like Goku and the others are historical figures.  Within the simulation, Beat can fight alongside his chosen characters, and he can do Saiyan transformations just like they do.

I’ve watched some of the cutscenes from the game before, and it turns out that Beat is actually a descendant of Goku’s, so Beat actually learns how to turn into a Super Saiyan Blue in “real” life.  It gets kind of confusing.  The web anime we’ve been covering up to now has depicted the sort of story modes featured in the games.  From our perspective, these are just side-stories invented for video game content, but from Beat’s perspective, the Universe Creation Arc is a thing that really happened, and he gets to re-enact that event in the game.

So in this special, we’re seeing Beat rushing to the shopping mall or wherever the game console is located.  They’re doing a 10th Anniversary championship tournament, and he’s one of the participants, and he’s running late. 

I think this is why I keep getting confused about how and where you can play Super Dragon Ball Heroes, because all the promotional materials show Beat going to these arcades and stepping up to some fancy-looking cabinet surrounded by onlookers.  In the real world, I think I’d just have to get a Nintendo Switch, but they never show Beat playing on one, which seems like a dumb way to promote the product. 

Anyway, that’s Note on the left.  As I understand it, Beat and Note were both recruited to aid the Time Patrol on special missions involving the game, in kind of a “Last Starfighter” situation. 

They both seem really startled when the gameplay begins, like they’re being sucked into the VR world in a way they weren’t expecting, but everything seems to be normal from here on out, so I don’t know what to make of it.

This is what they look like in the game, as they both have Saiyan avatars, and they’re both in Super Saiyan Blue form.  I’m not sure why Note’s hair doesn’t stand on end.   I’m also not sure how old these kids are supposed to be.  They looked maybe nine or ten in the arcade, but they’re a little taller here, and Note has a boob window that I really don’t like. 

Beat’s team is basic as hell.  He’s got Vegito Blue, because he’s a huge mark for Dragon Ball Super, he’s got Yamcha because he likes him ironically.  He’s got Super Saiyan God Trunks because he works for Trunks and he’s a kiss-ass.

He’s got Goku because he thinks you’re supposed to have a Goku on your team by default.  He’s got Bardock because he thinks Bardock is a cool badass.  And he’s got Jiren because the anime told him he’s the strongest guy.

By contrast, Note’s team is incredibly cheap.  She doesn’t worry about who the popular characters are, she just goes straight for the ones with the best stats.  She probably doesn’t even know this fugly version of Demigra, but he’s probably really strong, so she picked him.  The Grand Minister shouldn’t even be in the game, but he is, and he’s probably broken as all get out, so she went with it.  I don’t know who the mask guy is, but he’s probably someone special she unlocked, so you know he’s got some fancy stats.

And to round out Note’s team, we have Z-Broly for his bullshit super-armor, Masked Bardock to neutralize some Bardock glitch that Note doesn’t even know how to exploit, and Gogeta Blue because they may have nerfed Stardust Breaker in the V6.2.3 update, but it’s still got a crazy hitbox and she can use that to juggle Beat’s guys long enough to set up some other tricks. 

What I’m trying to say here is that this tournament probably forbids just picking six Gogetas, but if it was legal, Beat would do it to match the six Gogeta posters in his bedroom, and Note would do it to exploit some patch in the game code.

Finally, 29 episodes in, we get to see Gogeta vs. Vegito, which you’d think the web anime would have covered a few times by now.

Bardock fights Masked Bardock...

...And God Trunks has to fight Broly.  He’s got some trick where Chronoa pops in to freeze time, so it’s like a little Xenoverse thing going on here. 

We’re just ripping off Jojo then, I guess. 

“Uh, hi, everyone.  I think I may have gone to the wrong place.  Is this “Across the Spider-Verse?  Because I’m a Spider-Man with ki powers, but like they’re radioactive ki powers, because the spider who bit me was--”

The Grand Minister heals up Note’s group, but Yamcha heals Beats group, so there.  Good hustle, Yamcha. 

Then Beat targets Note herself and defeats her pretty easily.  I thought she was as good at this game as he is, but maybe she just left an opening for him.  Too busy trying to do precision inputs.

Then a new challenger arrives, although there are three player avatars, so I don’t understand how this works. 

Ha ha, get Beerus’ed, idiot.

Goku helps Beat up to try again, and this is presented like some heartwarming moment, except it’s just a simulation.  I don’t know.

Then they both go Ultra Instinct and start clobbering the other team. 

Big shot of Beat and his team.  They kind of screwed over Yamcha by sticking him in the back for this. 

And that’s the special.  I don’t understand what the point of this was.   The whole thing looked and felt like a commercial for the game, except... the whole show has been a commercial for the game.  This one is just more like those trailer ads they would run whenever a new feature is added. 

It’s almost like someone in charge got worried that the Universe Creation arc wasn’t selling the game properly, so they switched to this format instead, then switched right back, because Episode 30 continues the arc we were in.  I don’t get it. 

[hopelesswrites]

Hawkins 86′

Eddie Munson x OC Time Travel fic!

Part 2

Part 1

Summary: Mel finds herself being sucked back in time to the year of 1986 after researching the murders of many Hawkins High students.

Time travel fic! Gen z OC, I wrote too much of this with an OC for convenience i’m not changing it to reader perspective just picture yourself as OC.

Warnings: Language, terrible depictions of the 80s, even worse depictions of gang reacting to modern technology. No character deaths, bittersweet ending, multi chapter fic :)

                                                             -

Mel watched out the window observing all the roads she was so familiar with, yet they looked so different. Trees that were younger and buildings that were cleaner. It all made her feel so sick, her parents were just kids, somewhere living their life right now while she was with their classmates, their peers solving murders and being introduced to supernatural phenomena. What if she never goes home, how will that change the trajectory of history? Surely that means she will never truly exist. No records of her no proof she was ever a living person. What happens when she eventually lives through to the day she walked into that library basement, will she explode, cease to exist? How would life be if she was stuck to live it out from 1986.

So much dread and worry flowed through Mel’s brain as Dustin sat beside her discussing his time travel theories with seemingly no one. There was no one else participating in conversation yet he remained happily chatting.

“Yo shitface, why don’t you just ask Mel how she time travelled” Steve chimed in from the driver’s seat of the car. They were passing downtown now, and Mel could have almost shed a tear looking at what her hometown used to be. It felt so wrong to be here to witness this with eyes that had not existed until the year 2000

“Yeah Mel, how did it happen” The boy now known as Lucas asked.

“Kate Bush” Mel spoke quietly, “I was listening to Max’s tape when it happened”

“The same time she was listening!” Dustin proclaimed.

“Using her exact Walkman too, something about that must have ripped a hole in time, and I fell through”

“Once we deal with Vecna we will figure out how to get you home don’t worry” Steve said, focussing on the road he was turning into. It was a dirt road covered in trees and lead out to a clearing showing a small cabin like house overlooking a cove in lovers lake.

“This is it, home sweet home for Eddie.” Steve said getting out of the car and hauling out a number of bags that had been sitting in the trunk of the car.

Everyone started to make their way down the drive and around the cabin to the boathouse where Mel noticed a wild haired man sitting in the window waiting. She was so star struck watching him through the glass, he was meant to be dead but here he was in the flesh.

“Eddie we have a fun surprise” Dustin spoke loudly as everyone piled through the door.

“Food?” Eddie asked.

“Evidence of time travel! Isn’t that awesome?” replied Dustin.

“I really don’t have time for your crazy bullshit Henderson” Eddie said rummaging through the bags. He pulled out a box of cereal and haphazardly ripped the box open, shovelling the food into his mouth. Eddie turned around once satisfied with the food he had been given and observed the group of four that had somehow grown since he last saw them.

“Who’s this one” he said, cereal falling out of his mouth as he spoke and pointed towards Mel.

“This is our evidence of time travel” Dustin answered a wide smile on his face

Eddie stared at Mel suspiciously apparently very immune to all wild and seemingly impossible news these guys throw at him. “How so…” He asked lowly before popping a few more pieces of cereal in his mouth and chewing slowly.

“Max got caught by that scary thing that killed Chrissy right” Lucas started, earning a slight flinch from Eddie at the reminder. Mel remembered back to her notes, Chrissy Cunningham was killed in Eddies uncles’ trailer, everyone suspected it was Eddie that did it, but the look on Eddies face as the memories flowed through his mind didn’t look that of a killer.

“And we used her cassette of Kate Bush to draw her back in because obviously music stops Vecna” Dustin continued

“And then all of a sudden a big dark portal opened up out of the ground and out flies this girl the same time Max is released from her trance” finished Steve

“And!” starts Dustin, “She’s from the year 2022! She knows all our fates” he finishes off enthusiastically, not quite understanding the horror that it truly was.

There was a long pause as the group waited for Eddie to take in the new information. The silence was too much for Mel, she felt uncomfortable, pressured with the knowledge of the future of everyone in the room. She knew about Lucas going on to be team captain of the basketball team, after high school going to college on a basketball scholarship. She knew about Max moving back to California with her mum before she started senior year. She knew about Dustin and the podcast he started years and years later, she listened occasionally, all science theories and video game reviews. She read about Steve and the child he raised alone, he stayed in Hawkins but laid low, and she knew about the disappearance of Eddie Munson, the man standing right in front of her, alive and not at all disappeared yet.

Suddenly it dawned on her, she needed to be writing this all down, she needed to document the day, the next couple days even and try to figure out what happens to Eddie. Mel began to frantically feel her pockets in search for her phone, it was so important she got every detail, even a transcript of absolutely everything everyone here has said.

“My phone I need my phone” She mumbled repeatedly in a panic as she discovered it not on her at all. “It has to be here, I had it before I fell”

“Your phone?” Lucas asked

“Yes! I had my phone; I need my phone it must have fallen out of my pocket at the cemetery!” Mel cried.

“Hold on, your phone is small enough to fit in your pocket?” asked Max, completely bewildered.

“That is super cool” said Dustin, clearly impressed with the future of technology. “I bet its super sleek and space agey too huh”

“Yes, it’s really great you’re going to love it when you get to the twenty tens but right now, I need mine”

Mel started searching the floor tracing her steps, maybe it was only just outside.

“Does it make international calls?” Asked Dustin.

Mel huffed not happy about the current interrogation. “Yes, it can, it also plays music, accesses the internet and can send texts, happy?”

Dustin looked back confused, “Texts?”

“Yes, like an email?”

Again, confusion struck his face.

“A Fax machine?” Mel asked earning a nod of understanding from the boy.

“God you are so old” she mumbles to herself and continuing her search.

“Not yet!” Called Dustin as he began his own search.

“Hey guys, maybe we need to go back to the cemetery, its definitely not here” Steve said from inside the boathouse

“Yeah, Steve you and I will go back to the cemetery, I really need to see this phone from the future” said Dustin picking up his bag and readying himself to leave. “Max and Lucas, you go find Nancy and Robin and see if they have any information, I feel like we’ll need backup with this time travel stuff”

Dustin then looked at Mel, “To be safe you should probably stay here with Eddie and hide out, time travel stuff can get messy”

“Wait a minute why have we stopped trying to prove my innocence? Why are we dealing with this chicks’ problems now?” Eddie cried.

“we’ll get back to Vecna Eddie, I have a feeling this time travel business is connected” Dustin said as he walked out the door.

“Both of you lay low!” Steve yelled from up the lawn, and with that they were both alone, in the cold dusty boathouse with nothing but cereal and each other.

An uncomfortable silence filled the room once everyone had left. Mel took a seat against the door while Eddie went back to his spot perched up against the window.

Mel felt like she didn’t know how to act. A few hours ago, she was trying to solve the case of this man’s disappearance and now she is sitting in a run down boathouse with him, oh and it was 1986. She felt like anything was possible at this point, time travel, other dimensions, monsters, if this all existed imagine what else is out there.

She sat and watched the boy she was locked in the room with. He looked terrified to say the least, his eyebrows furrowed in concentration, she could practically see the cogs in his brain moving as he silently tried to make sense of everything that had happened that day. Mel couldn’t help but feel sorry for him, he didn’t deserve this, as far as she was aware he was innocent, just has unlucky involvement in all the mess and chaos. The other kids seemed to be well prepared for the craziness, leading Mel to wonder what else they’ve seen and experienced.

“Hey, can I ask you a question” Eddie suddenly spoke up, startling Mel out of her own thoughts.

“Yeah of course” she replies softly.

“if you’re really from the future, which is a concept I am struggling to wrap my head around by the way” Eddie starts, “You obviously know how this all ends, like in the paper and all? You know what happens to everyone”

There was a pause before Eddie finishes with a quieter voice, “you know what happens to me”

Mel looked at Eddie apologetically, she couldn’t say anything at all, that wasn’t fair for him. “You know I can’t tell you that”

Eddie returned Mel a defeated chuckle before returning his attention back to the window. Mel didn’t want to leave Eddie feeling like he was going to die, that wasn’t fair at all.

“Maybe we can change history! I’m working on solving those murders so we can set the story straight”

Eddies attention fell back on Mel, “What happened with those murders was a supernatural being levitated both Chrissy and the newspaper boy into the air, ripped their eyeballs out of their head and snapped all their bones” There was a sense of bitterness and pain in Eddies voice, the memory of it haunting him.

“You saw it happen?” Mel asked curiously.

Eddie nodded in reply, “She was just standing there, in a trance, I couldn’t wake her up no matter how hard I tried, and then she just lifted” Eddie paused and looked at Mel in horror, “Don’t tell me that is the last thing recorded about my whereabouts”

Mel felt sick, she didn’t want to break the news to him, but he looked so sad and helpless, like nothing in the world made sense anymore.

“I’m sorry” was all she could get out.

“I guess it’s not looking good for me then” Eddie said a sad smile resting upon his face.

“You know that even in my year there are so many people rallying to prove you innocent, you’re not a killer, or a monster or a devil worshipper and people know that, you have so much support, and your friends, Steve? He refused to give the public the impression that you were anything but a genuine person, a friend.”

Eddie chuckled, “Are you allowed to be telling me that Time Travel Girl?”

“Probably not, but you need to hear it, if we’re going to get out of whatever this is alive you need to not give up hope”

“I promise I won’t give up hope then” said Eddie before the two fell into a comfortable silence. Mel went back to collecting her thoughts and documenting everything that had happened, she really needed her phone, she was going to forget really important details if she’s relying on her memory alone.

Static rung from the walkie, Dustin’s voice following, “Hey Mel, does this phone of yours look like a really small screen with a picture of an attractive man on the back?”

Mel scrambled to grab the walkie and pressed down on the button to reply, “Yeah that will be the one, that’s my Harry Styles case”

“Who is this Harry Styles and why does he have better hair than me” Steve chimed in angrily.

“let’s just say he is the epitome of pop music in the year 2022”

Steve and Dustin then let the pair know they were on their way back and to “sit tight” while Lucas joined in saying he was bringing Nancy and Robin. Mel was super excited to meet Robin as she had become a bit of a local celebrity in town. Robin was well known for being the founder of an LGBTQ hotline and safe house for LGBTQ youth in Hawkins and the organiser of all Pride events in town. She became the first openly Lesbian woman in town, a real cornerstone of pride among Hawkins. Mel absolutely admired the woman for her courage to be so open and get people talking about and fighting for gay rights.

“Hey Mel, we may have a bit of an issue here” Eddie says panicked from the window. Mel looked up confused before hearing the sound of car doors slamming.

“Shit shit shit” Eddie curses dropping down from the window out of sight of whoever is outside.

“We have to hide” he says quietly, crawling over towards Mel and snatching the walkie.

“Code red, Jason is here” He whispers into the walkie before turning it off.

“Who is Jason?” Mel asked, starting to panic, was this meant to happen? Was this where Eddie dies? Was she going to die with him?

“Chrissy’s boyfriend, he thinks I killed her, he wants me dead” Eddie hissed before grabbing Mel’s forearm and dragging her towards the back door of the shed. They both waited until they could hear the sound of Jason and his friends break down the door to the main house before making a run for it down the back lawn and towards the waterfront.

“What are we supposed to do now!” Mel whispered looking around for a way out. She landed on a pile of blankets that once removed revealed a small wooden boat. The pair scrambled to flip the boat over and began pushing it towards the water. Suddenly they hear screaming behind them, Eddie looked back to see Jason and his friends chasing after them down the lawn. The two got the boat in the water quick enough and jumped in just before Jason could get to them on the shore.

Eddie began to frantically paddle, water splashing all over them as they tried to get away in a panic. A loud splash sounded behind them as Jason jumped in the water, his athletic build providing an advantage as he was quick on their tail.

“I’m not dying here Mel I am NOT dying!” Eddie screamed as another one of Jason’s friends joined them in the water.

Mel looked around scared, Jason was inches away from the boat, his friend following behind. The chaos was too much for Mel as she started to lose all her senses, Water splashing around, screaming from all parties. The swaying of the boat being the only thing Mel could concentrate on.

“Holy shit, holy shit, holy shit!” She came back to as Eddie screamed in her ear and as the girl looked up, she noticed Jason’s friend, floating in mid-air.

“It’s happening again oh my god!” Eddie cried, Jason’s own cries being drowned out but the sound of the water and Eddies consistent cursing.

Tears pricked at Mel’s eyes as she watched the boys body begin to contort into different shapes, bones snapping and blood dripping from his eyes. It was horrific, seeing it happen to another person, Mel was in complete shock, her stomach dropping at the sight. The boy dropped from the air and crashed into the water, the impact rocking the boat, Eddie jumped causing it to tip further and they both crashed into the lake together. Mel was still in shock, her body not working with her brain, she could barely concentrate, her body began to sink before a strong force pulled her up and into their embrace. She felt herself being dragged through the water, choking as waves washed up and covered her head.

The feeling of ground soon hit Mel as she struggled to get her footing, Eddie continuing to drag her along until they were both securely on the shore. Mel’s body still felt like it wasn’t working, her mind lost, still in shock from what she had just witnessed,

“Mel! Look at me!” Eddie said, grabbing her face in his hands and forcing her attention to him.

“We have to go, I know somewhere we will be safe for now, you need to move, come on”

Mel nodded in understanding and followed the tall man into the trees.

[dbzebra]

Surpassing the Strongest

Im back on Marten bs lol

This is something Ive wanted to do for a while now. A 28th World Tournament / End of Z retelling, which focuses on Goten’s plans to follow in his fathers footsteps like Goku originally planned back in the Buu Saga. Ignores DBS obviously.  Anyway this is just a oneshot for now but may possibly make it into a longfic.

Enjoy!!

May, Age 784.

Ten years of peace had passed since Majin Buu's defeat.

The cool spring air blew in from an open window of Orange Star High School. Son Goten was lost in thought as the lecture droned on from in front of him. He couldn't hear what the teacher was saying. Rather, he didn't really care. He wanted to be outside and enjoying the day. Flying around or out on a date.

Ya know, something that was actually fun.

Something, anything but being cooped up in a stuffy building all day on such a nice afternoon. If Goten closed his eyes, he could feel himself soaring through the clouds on the Flying Nimbus, the wind in his hair and the whole world below him. Ever since he learned to fly, it's been his absolute favorite thing to do.

"Man, I wanna go to the beach!" Goten whined to himself and continued daydreaming about the endless possibilities of summer fun when he heard two kids whispering from the back of the classroom that piqued his attention. Super sensitive hearing really came in handy sometimes!

"Did you hear? Mr. Satan won't be participating in the World Martial Arts Tournament next week. He announced his retirement yesterday."

"What, really?! Maybe I should enter then. Now I'll actually stand a chance."

"Noooo! Mr. Satan can't retire!" Another kid chimed in, slamming his fists down on his desk in despair. "He's my hero! The strongest guy in the whole universe!"

"It's true man. I saw it on TV. He's all bald now too. Mr. Buu is gonna sweep with him gone. He's unbeatable next to Mr. Satan!"

"Awww… Yeah, you're right. Buu is unstoppable! He's never even been touched in a fight once!"

Goten snickered to himself. If only they knew the truth. "Speak for yourself. Me and Trunks almost beat him when we were fused together!"

The more Goten thought about it, the more it intrigued him.

He always loved the World Tournament, ever since he was a kid. Growing up, Goten loved hearing stories from his dad, Yamcha and Krillin about their fights from the old days. He collected all tons of World Tournament merchandise over the years, most notably of which were figures of every finalist leading back to the very first Tournament. The premium edition figurine of his father as a teenager during the 23rd Tournament was his most prized possession. He had to send in like one hundred postcards to a sweepstakes to win. The day he got the letter in the mail saying that he won, he almost flipped.

The news of the upcoming Tournament re-ignited a fire in the young Saiyan.

"Maybe I should enter! I'll run it by Mar later..."

__________________________________________________________

The final bell rang as class was let out for the day.

Goten stretched his arms out wide upon walking out the front doors of Orange Star High with an extra pip in his step. It was finally the weekend!

He spotted his girlfriend leaning against one of the pillars at the front gate, sporting her signature twintails. She was waiting for him! He grinned and picked up his pace a little bit. Marron twirled a strand of blonde hair in her fingers as she absent-mindedly watched a capsule-plane go by from above. 

Being a sophomore, sixteen yer old Marron was on the cheer squad and wrote for the school newspaper. Like most girls her age, Marron loved shopping, but her true passion was writing. It all started when she used to read fantasy books and write in her diary as a little girl. She hoped to work for a big fashion designer as a writer when she got older.

"Hey there, gorgeous." Goten said while he snuck up behind her and placed his hands on her shoulders.

Marron flinched in surprise, but lit up when she heard her boyfriend's voice. She swung around and jumped into his arms, planting a kiss on her boyfriend's face. "Goten! It's great to see you!" Marron said and kissed him again, just for good measure. He definitely wasn't going to object.

“You too! So how was class?

“Boring. I’m starting to see why you and Trunks skip all the time.” Marron huffed, and then playfully poked his chest. “I guess being a delinquent like you has its perks~!”

“Told ya!” He said with a cheeky grin, eager to tell her about what happened today. “Anyway, ready to go?”

Marron smiled and grabbed his hand affectionately. A date was just what she needed right now. "Sure! Where are we going~?"

"There's an ice cream stand near the park about three blocks that way." He replied, gesturing over his shoulder with this thumb. "I'm friends with the guy who runs it!"

"Sounds great! It's such a nice day out! And I don't have to be home anytime soon anyway, so we have the whole afternoon to ourselves!" Marron chirped and playfully pulled him along.

After a bit of walking, they reached their destination . It was one of the more popular spots, so there wasn't a surprise there was a line.

"If I don't get something in my stomach soon, I might just eat my own hand!" Goten whined, his stomach growled almost as if it was agreeing.

"I'd pay to see that." Marron laughed.

Soon enough, it was their turn.

"Well well, look who it is! My number one customer!" The man at the stand said. He was an older man, about Goku's height. He had a kind face with short grayish hair. "Welcome back, Goten!"

"Hey Mr. Sherbert!"

"On a hot date?!" Mr. Sherbert said as he winked at the two teens. "You'd better treat her right, you hear?"

"Yeah! I'd never do anything bad. Right Mar?" Goten grinned. Marron blushed a bit from next to him.

"So what can I get for you two kids today?"

Goten already knew what he wanted; he had thought about it on the way over. "You first."

"Hmm..." Marron scanned the options until she found just the right one. I'll take a medium sized scoop of mint on a waffle cone, please." Marron said, eyeing the green-colored ice cream in the picture.

"Comin right up, miss! And how 'bout for you, big guy? The usual?"

"You bet!"

The older man laughed out loud. "I'd expect no less! A triple deluxe cone of vanilla, strawberry and chocolate with rainbow sprinkles, comin' right up!"

"How much do I owe ya?" Goten said, digging into his pocket for his wallet.

"This one's on the house, kid." Mr. Sherbert said, waving off Goten's attempt to hand him money.

Goten and Marron both looked shocked.

"What, really?"

"Yep. Don't worry 'bout it."

"Wow! Thanks a lot!"

"Just make sure you show this nice young lady a fun time on your date, okay?" Mr. Sherbert said with a kind smile, as he and Goten shared a laugh.

"I promise!"

After that, Goten and Marron got their food then took a seat on the grass in the park across the street and ate their snacks together.

"So, tell me. What's the big news?" Marron asked as she finished off her food, feeding off his anticipation. She could tell it was something big- whatever it was. "You've been antsy all afternoon!"

Goten fell backwards onto the grass and put his hands behind his head. "Well, I heard something interesting in class today!"

"You mean you actually paid attention?"

"Nope!" Goten declared without hesitating one bit. 

Marron rolled her eyes with a giggle. She expected that response. 

"It's about the World Martial Arts Tournament."

"Oh yeah!!” Marron exclaimed. “That’s next week, right? What happened?"

"Mr. Satan retired. And I'm considering entering. I’m sure Trunks and my dad will too.”

Marron gasped and clasped her hands together joyfully. "Oh my God, Goten, you totally should!" Marron exclaimed, putting her hands on his knee. "It would be so cool! Plus, it'll be like a little vacation for us!"

"You really think so?"

"Of course! You'll do great!" Marron declared happily. She gently took his large hand in her smaller ones and stared deep into his eyes. "You've been training so hard these past few years. I know that better than anyone. You said you wanted to surpass Goku someday, right? Well this is your biggest chance. I’ll be your cheerleader the whole way!” Marron declared that as if it were a love declaration.  But it didn’t matter what place he came in. To her, Son Goten was already number one. 

Goten liked the sound of that. He sat up and stole a quick kiss from Marron's lips when she wasn't paying attention. He pulled back and saw that the blonde was staring down at her dress, a scarlet-red hue covering her cheeks from ear-to-ear.

“You're the best, Mar. And you're right. I'm entering. And I'm going to win!"

"W-W-Warn me before you do that! I-I-I wasn't ready!" She stammered out, fixing her hair to distract herself from the sudden kiss. It was only a moment, but she felt the love and appreciation he had for her in it.

A sly grin made it's way onto the half-Saiyan's lips. "Okay then. I'm warning you now."

Marron didn't have time to react as she screamed with laughter when he pounced on her a moment later. They fell back onto the grass together and started making out, not caring who saw them.

_____________________________________________________________

It was almost dusk when Goten and Marron parted ways for the night. As the young Saiyan approached his home in the mountains from above, the sky had become a brilliant orange and red hue. It was like a wild flame slowly dying out into the calm darkness of the night. Sunsets were always soothing for him. When he was still a small child, Goten used to watch the sunset and think of his dad, wondering if he saw the same sunset from Other World. 

Goten dropped down onto the grass in front of his house; smoke coming from the chimney. Goten smiled widely. He could smell dinner from here! "Oh boy! My favorite! Nothing beats Mom's cooking!"

“I’m home!” Goten called upon walking in.

“Hey kiddo! Grab a seat, it’s chow time!” Goku waved to his son, already seated at the table.

Chi-Chi placed the last plate on the table and then sat down herself. “Welcome home, honey!”

Goten sat down and together the family of three started eating. Chi-Chi paced herself while the boys ate in typical Son fashion-- as if it were their last meal ever (and seemingly never even came up to breathe). Chi-Chi sighed with a smile. She was used to it by now. 

“Man Chi-Chi, you outdid yourself! This is really great!!” Goku exclaimed and went back for a fifth helping. “Your food is the best in the whole world!”

Chi-Chi touched her cheeks, bashfully smiling. She was even blushing a bit. “Oh, stop teasing, Goku. You're embarrassing me!”

“I’m serious!” Goku continued.

“Um, Mom…” Goten started hesitantly. He scratched the side of his cheek, thinking how to word his next question. “Sorry to ask this so suddenly, but… can I take a week off from school?” He said and then braced himself for the ‘no.’

Without flinching, Chi-Chi put down the tea she was sipping and smiled. “Planning a romantic getaway with your girlfriend~? I don’t mind, but if something happens are you prepared to take responsibility? A girl’s virginity is a special thing, Goten!” 

Goten instantly did a spit take. He hacked and coughed and Goku patted him on the back. Once the teen caught his breath, he went pure red from embarrassment. Or was it from shock? Probably both. 

“What I do with Mar is none of--- W-Wait! There’s no romantic getaway!” Goten practically shouted. 

Talking about that type of stuff with Trunks was one thing, but it was the absolute LAST topic of conversation Son Goten ever in a million years wanted to have with his mother. 

“Oh honey, stop being so dramatic. I’m no fool. I know how much you two love each other, it’s only natural!”

“Mom! Enough! I’m not talking about this with you!”

In the years since Buu, most things didn’t bother the Son matriarch anymore. Chi-Chi let things slide. She even started wearing her hair down or in a ponytail more often than not. And became brazent with her playful teasing. Too brazent for Goten’s own good. First Gohan, now him. Goku almost felt bad for them. Almost. He found it amusing. 

Goten slapped his cheeks and quickly shook off the image before his mind could wander any further to any thoughts that might make him not able to ride the Flying Nimbus anymore. 

“Besides, 18 would kill me, revive me with the Dragon Balls, and then kill me again!!” Goten said, getting a laugh from his parents. They were laughing because they knew he was right. 

“Of course, honey. Now what’s the real reason?” She knew Goten would likely skip anyway. Goten didn’t think she knew, but she did. She was smarter than she looked. But still, she appreciated that he came to them first, whatever the reason was.

“I want to enter the World Tournament.” Goten declared, surprising both of his parents. 

“I’m in too!!” Goku replied with the same confident grin his son had. Goku had a feeling Goten would. “There’s this guy I’ve been keeping an eye on lately. He’s got some insane power within him, more than he realizes. I have a hunch he’ll be entering the Tournament next week.”

Though he didn’t say this aloud, Son Goku had another reason he wanted to enter the Tournament. A lesson that his master had taught him long ago. 

“A hunch?” Chi-Chi asked, somewhat worried. She had gotten used to the peace again. They all had. The last thing she wanted was another creep with an inflated ego dragging her boys into another universal death battle. “Sounds like bad news to me.”

“No need to worry. This guy’s totally pure of heart.” Goku replied, easing his wife’s fears.

“So who is he then?” Goten said, in between heaps of food. “Do we know him?”

Goku flashed his signature wide grin. “Sorry! Not telling. You’ll have to wait and see for yourself!”

Goten slouched back in his seat and frowned. “That’s lame. You’re no fun.”

“We’ll have to train for the Tournament just to be sure! I have a feeling this is gonna be a fun one!”

“Yeah!” 

“I had a feeling this day would come sooner or later.” Chi-Chi said, sighing slightly. It was tough for her seeing her baby boy growing up into a man. He was almost done highschool, in a loving committed relationship, and now following in his father’s footsteps as a fighter. Soon he’d be out of the house and out on his own. The thought almost made her tear up, but she supported him nonetheless. The Son matriarch excused herself from the dinner table to hurry into the hall closet and pulled out a large white box with a bow on it. 

Upon returning, Chi-Chi glanced to Goku for a moment and then handed her son the box. “I know your eighteenth birthday isn’t for a while, but I… we wanted you to have this before your big day. I made it myself.”

Goten raised an eyebrow at the box, shaking it slightly. It didn’t sound like a game or anything like that was inside. Now he was really curious. He carefully lifted the lid off of the box to see a brand new gi. His current one was fine and all, but it was getting a little too small and worn out over the past months of consistent training. 

“Whoa! This is…” He gasped.

It was an orange gi, much like his father had worn for decades. But what made it different from Goku’s was instead of blue, Goten’s new gi had a black undershirt, and matching black belt, wristbands and boots. 

Goten smiled as wide as could be as he lifted the gi out of the box to get a better look at it. “This is great! Thank you so much! I’m gonna go try it on!!” He said and ran to his bedroom to change. 

Goku and Chi-Chi idled about in the meantime, cleaning up from dinner when the teenaged Saiyan returned shortly after. 

Chi-Chi’s eyes lit up like stars while Goku proudly beamed from beside her. 

“Oh, look at you! You look so handsome!” Chi-Chi gushed, fussing all over her son despite his protests. “You look just like your father did when he and I reunited at the Tournament all those years ago! Ahh, those were the days~!”

“Yup! Lookin’ just like his old man!” Goku said. “Except for the hair!”

“Hey! Don’t hate!” Goten whined. “This hairstyle is stylish!”

Goten had recently changed his hairstyle to stand out from his father. Instead of his father’s signature palm-tree hairstyle, Son Goten let his hair grow out. It still shot out in most directions, but was now much longer and shaggier, reached the back of his neck. He liked it a lot more. Even better, Marron said it made him look super cute. So he decided to stick with it!

“Training begins tomorrow!” 

Goten smirked. He couldn’t wait. 

The next day, Son Goku came into Goten’s room bright and early, ready to start. They didn’t have much time to prepare! He found the teen was curled up in a ball, clutching his pillow for dear life. 

“Rise and shine, kiddo!” Goku swung open the curtains, bringing the hot bright rays of sunlight right onto Goten’s face. 

Goten winced and half-opened one eye. “...Dad? It’s ...7 AM! On a Saturday. Come back in like three hours.” Goten grimaced and then pulled the covers over his head, hoping his father would go away. It was too early for this! He was in the middle of an awesome dream too! 

“No way. We’ve only got six days till the tournament! We’re gonna train for three days, and then rest for three days.” Goku said and yanked the covers off the bed entirely. “We’re getting breakfast out on the road, so get up or you’ll miss it!” 

Goten groaned even louder than before, finally sitting up. The teen rubbed his eyes and yawned loudly. His hair shot out in every direction even more so than normal. Under most circumstances he wouldn’t mind early morning training, but his bed was too comfy to leave it right now! If he went back to sleep now, maybe he could continue the dream he was having! “Can’t today be a rest day?”

“Nope. Now be outside in ten minutes or your mother said no dinner for you!” Goku grinned teasingly, knowing that was his son’s weakness.

“Oh come onnn! That’s--. Ugh. Fiiine!” Goten whined. “Cheater.”

After brushing his teeth (still half asleep) Goten threw on his new gi. Knowing how their sparring sessions usually went, he hoped it wouldn’t get destroyed after not even having it a full day. 

He tiredly dragged his feet out to the kitchen where his mother was waiting for him. 

“Never shoulda entered this stupid Tournament…” He mumbled to himself and yawned again. 

Chi-Chi shook her head, laughing. “Oh hush. It’s not that bad. You know how your father gets in times like this.”

“Yeah, yeah. He could’ve at least waited another hour though!” Goten said and then went outside to see his father talking with Gohan as little Pan ran around at their feet.

“Oh, hey Gohan!” Goten said happily. 

“I see Dad’s puttin’ you through the ringer, huh?” Gohan chuckled when he saw his brother drag his feet out onto the grass. “I was down that road plenty of times growing up.” 

Goku had traded his signature orange gi for a blue gi with dark bluish-green pants, black shoes and orange wristbands. He still dearly treasured the Turtle School colors, but wanted something different for a change. 

“Uncle Goten!!” Pan cried happily. The toddler wore a little red gi, a present she got from Goku and Chi-Chi for Christmas the previous winter. Pan jumped into the air and came flying at him like a football player trying to take down the quarterback. 

Goten braced himself for the hug just as Pan slammed into him, laughing. “Hey, squirt!”

“I’m not a squirt, I grew two inches!” 

Pan giggled. She loved her uncle so much. He was like a big kid, but also an adult! Pan didn’t really get how that was possible, but she just wanted to be just like him. He showed her all the funnest games, and always knew all the coolest places to go! Plus whenever he visited he always snuck her candy when Gohan wasn’t looking. 

“Guess what Uncle Goten? Daddy says I can enter the World Toonament!” 

Goten couldn’t help but laugh at her pronunciation of the word tournament. “Wait, what? You’re sure it’s okay if she enters, Gohan?”

Gohan nodded. “When she heard Mr. Satan used to be the Champ, it’s all she wanted to do. Videl and I agreed that since there’s no threats anymore, it wouldn’t be a big deal. There’s no Junior division this time, but we’ll all be there anyway. So no harm done.”

“You’re right about that! Besides, I think she can give Goten a challenge!” Goku said, winking up at Pan. 

Pan tugged on Goten’s pant leg. “Is it true you’re comin’ fishin’ with us?” 

“Sure is, Pan! Come on! You can ride on my shoulders!” Goten said and picked the little one up. She felt so tall!

“Alright, we’re heading off!” Goku said. Pan cheered while Goten smirked and pumped his fists. Now that he was fully awake, he was ready for action.

Gohan trusted his father more than anyone else in the world. He went over to affectionately pat his daughter’s head. “Bye, Panny. Be good for Grandpa and Uncle Goten!”

“Okay Daddy!” 

And with that, the three were off. Gohan watched them go and then went back inside for his morning coffee.

The three followed the dirt path to a pretty meadow nearby. Dew glistened on the blades of grass, as the sun continued making its way over the mountain horizon. A river gently flowed into a waterfall that spilled into a sprawling crystal clear lake.. It brought back a wave of nostalgia for Goku as he could remember the countless times he went here to fish with Grandpa Gohan growing up. 

Goten placed Pan down and stretched as the toddler immediately ran over to the river’s edge and stared in awe. 

"Alright before we start training, whaddya say we get some breakfast? I’m starving!" Goku said, already prepping. 

"Sure! I got it covered! I’ll get us some fish!”

"My favorite!” Goku said. No matter how many times he ate Paozu tuna, it didn’t get old.

In the meantime, Goku gathered firewood and then fired a tiny ki blast to start a fire. Pan helped by throwing sticks to make it bigger. He placed three large wooden stakes over the fire, one for each of them to roast their breakfast on. 

Goten got down to his boxers and dove into the river. It was cold, yet refreshing. If he wasn't fully awake yet, he was now. The teen swam around a bit until some huge fish caught his eye. Common for this area, the Paozu fish were at least five times his size, and normally blue and white in color (but there were other colorations as well). Four of them spotted Goten at once and rushed towards their prey, each with the intent to swallow him whole. 

Goten became motionless, waiting for the right moment. As the first approached, he swam down and kicked it in the side, killing it instantly. The teen then disposed of the other three aquatic attackers in a similar fashion.

Goten swam around and gathered his food. One for each of them and one extra! They could split the last one. 

With their breakfast caught, the three generations of Sons sat around the fire, enjoying the morning together while they ate their breakfast in typical Saiyan fashion. 

Goku burped and rubbed his stomach upon finishing. “Man, that hit the spot! Now it’s time for training!” 

“I wanna train too, Grandpa!” Pan exclaimed. 

Goku ruffled Pan’s hair, making her giggle. “You like flying, right?” He asked, knowing the answer already. 

“Mhmm!” The four-year old gleefully said, raising her little hands into fists. 

“Alright, well how about this? I want you to fly around the world as fast as you can!”

Pan’s little eyes lit up. “Really? Okay! Can Uncle Goten come with me??!”

Goten laughed and knelt down to be on eye level with the toddler. “I’d love to, Panny, but I gotta train! Next time I’ll go with you! And I’ll show you something real cool!” 

“Pinky promise?” She said, holding up her little finger.

“Of course.” Goten grinned and they shook on it.

“Alright, bye Grandpa! Bye Uncle Goten!! I’ll be back soon!!” Pan waved and took off to the east. 

Once Pan was out of sight, the Son boys could truly focus on their training.

“So, what’s on the agenda??” 

"Okay, Goten. First, I need you to power up as high as you can possibly go." Goku folded his arms and smiled confidently. "I know things have been easy in these peace times, but I wanna see the progress you've made. You've been training primarily with Trunks, right?"

Goten nodded. "Yeah. At first it was pretty casual but these past two years or so we've really gotten serious."

Goku had full faith in his son. Though Goten was suppressing his energy, Goku could feel the sheer amount of power he had within him. In his fight with Buu, even as a child, Goten showed glimpses having more potential than even Gohan. At only seven years old, he became a Super Saiyan just by sparring for fun. And when fused together, Gotenks was one of the strongest fighters in the entire universe.

"...Alright, then. Here goes!" Goten smirked. He then took a deep breath and let out a mighty roar as his power skyrocketed. "HRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

A wild golden aura erupted around the teenager's body while lighting violently sparked around him. Goten's muscles bulged somewhat while his shaggy hair stood completely upright, becoming sharp and jagged. First, Goten's eyes turned to an emerald green. Then, his dark black hair became the signature golden-yellow. The lightning increased in intensity as Goten didn't stop there and kept powering up until a burst of light shot from the teens body.

There stood Son Goten in a fully-powered Super Saiyan 2 state. The splitting image of his father. His facial features were relaxed and he was in complete control of his energy; a far cry from ten years ago when he had gotten carried away at the Tournament.

"How's this?" Goten asked, smirking slightly. “At first, it took a lot of rage to transform, like I had to picture Majin Buu hurting Mar or Mom again. But it’s easy now!”

"Amazing, Goten! Wow! I'm so proud of you!" Goku beamed with pride at how far his son has come. At only seventeen years old, Son Goten had mastered Super Saiyan 2. Goku wouldn't be surprised if he was on the edge of unlocking Super Saiyan 3!

"Me and Trunks are just about equals."

Equals?! They were equals? If that really was the case, Goku could truly put his worries about leaving the earth to the next generation to rest. "No wonder You got so strong so fast!"

"How would you compare us to Majin Buu? Like a ballpark."

"You mean the evil one? Hard to say exactly, but you're definitely stronger than Vegeta and I were at the time. If both of you attacked together at full power, you could have possibly beaten him before he split good from evil and lost most of his power. But you know more than anyone how unpredictable Buu can be. Even though he's good now, you have to be careful. If you get matched up against him, you can't afford many mistakes against a guy like that.”

Goten pumped his fists happily. "Right! Thanks, Dad! So, what now?"

"Power down to normal. Goku said and slipped into a fighting stance. "Let's have a quick spar. This time, no transforming.”

"Huh? Are you sure? But you'll kick my ass!"

"I wouldn't be so sure about that. I'm gettin' old ya know! Now come on.” 

Goten nodded and after a deep breath, his hair and eyes returned to their normal black color. He clenched his fists and then slipped into a fighting stance. “Just watch the gi, okay? It’s brand new, and I was hopin’ to surprise Mar with it.”

Goku smirked. “Sure. I’ll let you have the first move.”

“You’ll regret that!!” Goten instantly burst forward, appearing as only a blur. He swung a volley of powerful kicks directly at his father's face.

Goku smirked as dodged with ease but Goten was relentless. Kick after kick he didn't stop. That continued until Goku grabbed Goten by the leg, and prepared to counter. "Got ya."

"Not so fast!" With his other leg, Goten swung but that too was caught. Goten squirmed and fought to break loose, but Goku’s grip only tightened. Growling, Goten spread his arms wide, unleashing an Explosive Wave at point blank range. 

Goku was hit dead on and lost his grip, staggering back somewhat as Goten landed. "OWW! Good one! That actually hurt! But I'm not even getting started yet!" 

Goku vanished from sight and reappeared behind his son. Goten swerved around just in time to see his father pulling his fist back, ready to strike. 

However the blow went right through his son as if it were an illusion. 

“An afterimage...” Goku said, smirking.

Two copies of Goten reappeared to Goku’s side. Then, the real Goten appeared from above and swung a ferocious kick at Goku, but that too was nothing but an illusion. 

“W-What?!” Goten exclaimed and jumped backwards, searching around for his father’s energy.

“I invented that move! Ya gotta be better than that!!” Goku said from a few yards away, smiling mischievously with his arms crossed. 

Goten ran towards Goku again, but this time Goku vanished completely. The teen flipped backwards just as Goku came into sight, narrowly dodging the counter. Goten burst forward and immediately slammed Goku in the back of  the head, this time hitting finally it’s mark. 

Goku was sent careening down towards the ground, but he caught himself and safely landed on his own two feet. He winced, rubbing his head where Goten hit him. “He’s tougher than I remember!”

Goten continued his assault, flying down towards his father and firing multiple energy waves at Goku.

Goku deflected the blasts away from himself, sending the blasts far away from the fight to explode in the distance. Goten charged a bigger blast in his left hand, firing it directly forward. Goku stayed absolutely still, waiting for Goten's blast. At the last moment, Goten curved the blast up and it exploded into multiple blasts that shot in every direction, wildly zig-zagging around without any sense of direction or course. 

Goku watched each blast intensely, waiting for the right moment. 

“He’s distracted!” Goten blasted forwards, head first, at full force, slamming directly into Goku’s back. 

Pulling his arms back into the signature pose, Goten his hands together. “KAAAAA… MEEEEE…” The blue energy began to build as Goten’s ki spiked. “HAAAAA… MEEEEE…”

Goku recovered and came to a sliding halt on the grassy terrain. The Saiyan hadn’t felt this excited in years. Goku smirked and raised his power level to match Goten’s. Just then, Goten vanished. 

Goku’s eyes widened and crossed his arms over his face, just as Goten appeared in front of him.

“HAAAAAAAAAA!!!!”

The blast hit Goku dead on, creating a super massive explosion that could be felt all the way at the Son house from far away. 

Goten jumped backwards to gain distance. The teen hovered there, his senses on full awareness, waiting for his father to emerge from the smoke. A palm-tree hairstyle and bluish-green gi appeared through the smoke soon enough, completely unharmed. He was smiling! 

“I see you’ve finally mastered the Instant Transmission. Great work!” Goku grinned, folding his arms. 

The Instant Transmission technique. Goten had asked his father to teach him the attack about two years ago when he started his training. Right around the time he started dating Marron. Goten motives were as clear as day.

“Yeah! Thanks again!” Goten said.

“You won’t fool me twice with that move though. Come on, let’s keep going!”

“You bet.”

They rushed each other at the same time and collided. A powerful yet invisible tremor shook the area as their fists met. The father and son duo crashed blow for blow as they rose higher in the air. Their attacks grew more intense the higher they went.

Eventually they disappeared, and could only be seen by the tremors echoing throughout the grassy training grounds. 

At first, Goten traded blows evenly with his dad, countering each blow with ease. But as their struggle continued, Goku slowly raised his power and started overwhelming his father. He managed to land a crushing blow to the gut, making Goten falter. Goku went to punch him but Goten phased out of the way, reappearing some significant distance away and hid his energy singal. 

“Now’s my chance!”

Goten got into position and powered up to full. In an instant he pulled his hands back, charged two blue blasts of ki in his hands and fired. The beam exploded in a marvelous blue light, hitting its target dead on. “Gotcha.”

Goten waited for movement. But when the smoke cleared and Goku was gone! The teen growled when he saw his father simply dusting off his gi on the grass below. 

“Dammit! He’s not even hurt!” 

To Goku’s own surprise, he was just a bit out of breath.  ”If I’m not careful, he actually may get the advantage. He’s even further along in his training than I originally thought.” He smirked and then raised his hands close to the center of his face with his fingers spread out toward his eyes. “This was fun, Goten, but you’re not winning this fight.”

Goten braced himself and shut his eyes. “Oh crap!”

“SOLAR FLARE!”

A blinding white light exploded from the Saiyan father’s body as if a second sun was right there on the battlefield with them, covering everything in sight. 

Despite being temporarily blind, Goten’s other senses kicked into high gear. He felt where Goku was going to appear and attempted to counter, but missed every attack. Goku simply side-stepped or caught everything Goten threw at him. 

Goku smirked, reappearing right behind his son. "Come on! Focus! You're better than that, Goten!" He said right before flipping behind Goten and kneeing his son right in the back.

Goten was flown forward as he grunted from the impact of the hard hit, trying to regain control of his body as his sight finally began returning to him. 

Goku pursued his son, pounding him into the ground causing cracks and the ground itself to rise up from the impact. Goku then grabbed his son by the legs and threw him into the air. Goku flew straight up, stopping above Goten. He threw a punch at Goten but Goten managed to duck, countering with a jab to the gut.

Goku vanished and kicked his son upwards, and with a flare his energy unleashed a monstrous kiai that had Goten flying backwards, unable to recover. 

A boot connected with the boy’s face and he was sent shooting towards the ground yet again. 

“Try and stop this one!!” Goku cried and unleashed a volley of rapid-fire blasts. Goten’s head was still spinning from the kick, so he didn’t have time to block the dozens of golden Ki spheres that crashed into his body one after another seemingly without end. 

Finally, Goku built up one last, super-large energy ball for the final attack. 

Goten had just enough time to land on his feet and catch the ball of ki. He grunted as he felt himself being pushed back, but with a flare of his aura--almost turning Super Saiyan until he remebered the rule, managed to send it flying away. A massive explosion echoed from afar where the impact was. 

Goku floated above him with his hands on his hips, smiling proudly. 

Goten heaved and huffed, now feeling exhausted as if he sweat from his brow.  He really could have kept going, but decided against it and shook his head. “I’m done for now. You win....” He said and plopped down on the grass.

The fight was over. Goku grinned and flashed dual victory signs. “You did amazing, Goten. Really had me there!” 

“One of these days, I swear, the shoe is gonna be on the other foot!” Goten declared in between heavy breaths. At least his gi didn’t get ruined. 

“And I think that day will be sooner rather than later.” Goku smiled and sat down next to Goten on the grass as they waited for Panny to come back. 

Only six days remain until the 28th World Martial Arts Tournament begins!

[glapplebloom]

(Image came from this video)

One is one third the reason I am back to enjoy Dragon Ball after... GT... The other is the true continuation that ensured GT can never exist.

For those who don’t know, Dragon Ball Multiverse is a Fan Comic based on continuing where Dragon Ball Z left off. It is thanks to this series (as well as Kai and Abridged) that got me to re-appreciate the Dragon Ball series after GT left a bad taste in my mouth.

Soon after, Dragon Ball Super arrived. This continued where Dragon Ball Z left off before the 20 year time skip seen at the end of the series. And like Multiverse, they had their own Tournament where multiverses crossed over. I figured the fans of Multiverse would be ecstatic, but I was wrong.

I broke my own rule and read the comments, and they were not kind. Some criticized the comic for some of the actions they have taken, some even comparing it to Super, and others have defended it while taking it out on Super. So I’m going to take a look at three things to note...

1 - Tournaments

I enjoy tournament storylines. Its why I even got interested in Multiverse in the first place. But both have been criticized for having filler by having universes that were mostly fodder in comparison. So I am going to compare and contrast the two series.

Multiverse take on, well, Multiverse is the full blown Multiverse Theory: where any change in a timeline leads to a completely different Universe. So a lot of these are all What Ifs: What if the Frosts stood around, what if Babidi won, what if Bardock defeated Frieza, things like that. With all that in mind, initially your thoughts of front runners are Goku, Vegeta and Vegetto.

As the tournament continues, more front runners appear as Vegetto is taken out. On one side of the bracket, you know Goku and Vegeta are likely going to be in the Semi-Finals, even with Uub being taught by Goku and Cell’s training. On the other side, the creator's OCs known as XXI, his version of Son Bra and Gast are likely going to be heavy focus on the tournament.

The Tournament ends, according to a comment I noticed, with most of the competition sent away as Babidi has his mind controlled people attack those who remained. Kind of sad that the reason I even read the series is not going to have a proper conclusion.

Super, on the other hand, has its own take on the Multiverse. There are 12 universes, with only two being sister Universes where they share many things but diverged greatly. So things like Trunks is considered a different timeline. Also, their Tournament of Power is less a tournament and more a big team battle royal. So its not specific people who are Front Runners but the entire team itself.

Of course, you came in expecting its going to end up being Goku Vs Jiren (the “big bad” of this story line) to determine who wins. Along the way, we’ve seen some fun fights from most of the cast (if you see the Anime). While you knew it was going to come down to Universe 7 Vs Universe 12, you didn’t know exactly which members were going to make it.

The Tournament ends with a three on one battle with Goku AND Frieza, surprisingly, working together to eliminate Jiren from the match. And the surprise to everyone, Android 17 was the winner for being the last one in the ring. 

With the Super Anime likely to come back with the success of the Broly movie and the continuation of the Manga, combined with Multiverse continuing beyond its tournament story line, how does these tournament factor to the future of these two series.

With the Mulitverse, we’re seeing it already as participants and guests are fighting Babidi’s mind controlled people. With the future it is likely XXI is going to be this series big bad and Buu having something going on with an Elder Kai. But honestly, I don’t see much beyond that I want to see.

In comparison, Super continues on with Goku being excited after the tournament. So likely, we will be visiting these universes in the future. And because of how unique they are in comparison to the What-If universes there is a lot of potential. Off the bat, we still have Vegeta wanting to see the planet Cabba came from. And honestly, I do want to see the Z-Crew visit those other worlds again.

2 - Broly

Before Dragon Ball Super: Broly, I was not a fan. To me, he represented the worse of the Dragon Ball Fandom: all about power levels and screaming. While the original movie did have things going for it, the later ones definitely ruined it. 

Multiverse has three different takes on Broly: First is basically the Movie stripped down to basically screaming Kakarot and having “power continually rising”. He gets beaten by Vegitto and sent back to his dimension, never to be seen again. Second is Raichi’s ghost form, which had his power but Raichi controlled. Their final one is a Broly who became the ruler and was crazy. He got killed by Bardock’s planning, thus why Raichi can control him now. That’s pretty much all there is to their Brolys.

Super, on the other hand, had two takes on Broly. First is Kale, who is closer to Broly than the other one. Like Broly, she was a powerhouse who went Berserk when fully powered. Unlike Broly, she had something that helped her grow as a character: Caulifla. Their relationship (regardless of how you see her) gave her more depth than the original Broly and the Ability to grow. Their other take is Broly by name. He’s a guy who didn’t want to fight but his father raised to get revenge on Vegeta. It ends with him living a seemingly peaceful life back on the planet he used to call home and Goku visiting him willing to teach him.

Pretty much both Kale and Super Broly bring in a lot more than any previous Broly does, including Multiverse’s. Super Broly has an interesting story that is likely to continue and even Kale could possibly bring in more story. With the Multiverse, it just felt like fanservice.

3 - The Broken Base Character

Two characters that stand out in the wrong was are Bra in Multiverse and Jiren in Super. Both are super strong characters and in theory the strongest of the active competitors. But they do not have the fans enjoyment like other members.

Son Bra is the daughter of Vegitto and Bulma. Her biggest criticism is that she doesn’t receive any consequences. Nearly kills Vegitto. She feels bad but nothing changes. Lesson: Don’t kill this person. She failed and didn’t even get scolded. Tricked by King Frost so she can’t use her Super Form. Uses Senzu Bean and hidden trick. Surprise, Ginyu! Back to normal a few pages later. It does seem pretty bad that she hasn’t really shown any sort of character growth.

Jiren, on the other hand, is just boring. Ridiculously Super Strong despite us having deities to fight now. The design is boring. And his origin is not really that interesting, in either version. The Manga version is a little better to me, but that’s just my opinion. Also my opinion is that Jiren does get better in the end. Of course, by that point he’s running on fumes as well as everyone else. 

The thing is both series have better characters. Gast is similar to Jiren but with a better reason for being stronger and able to have more to him than “Power is everything”. Meanwhile Toppo showed so much personality, desire and a unique story of him throwing away his pride to become a God of Destruction while Vegeta keeps his pride to defeat him. While the above characters do have problem, both series showed they could create something unique.

Multiverse has one disadvantage Super does not have: it is a fan comic. As true as they try to be, they still have some of the same trappings as others: making changes to benefit their work, boosting their favorites, having their OCs or their own interpretations be a big focus. And while having every other chapter focus on a different universe sounds interesting, they are not really brought up in the main story.

Conversely, Super is focusing on making money, so they try to make a show as good as they can. They fail at times, but they do try their best to introduce new (to Dragon Ball) ideas. And with the original creator giving them ideas and concepts (Beerus I have to say is a lot more interesting than anything DBM made), its hard for a fan comic to be considered their favorite.

So while I do believe Super is superior to Multiverse, its like comparing someone’s school fair to Disney World: its just not a fair comparison. They have a story they want to tell and they made the moves they did to tell it. And you have to respect them for that.

[consummate-deviant]

The Character of Android 17

What’s up, friendos? So, Android 17 has been the toast of the town in Dragon Ball circles lately.  Don’t get me wrong, that’s awesome and definitely deserved: the dude is unquestionably the MVP of the tournament of power, and if you try to say otherwise, I’ll… shrug and carry on with my day, I guess.  You do you, I ain’t your dad.

No, but seriously, go to any discussion forum or comment section these days, and you’ll see plenty of people talking about how great and cool 17 was, and how he’s definitely shone more than any other during the current arc.  I agree with the sentiment whole-heartedly, so we’re not here to discuss that, rather, I want to bring up some of the negativity that has come along with this newfound bump in fan appreciation.

See, where there’s hype, there must be backlash, and 17 has been subjected to plenty of that.  With every more popular member of team universe 7 to be eliminated before him, the number of people bitter at his continued presence grew.  This is fine, in and of itself, for the ‘not your dad’ reason I listed above, but there are two specific complaints I occasionally hear about 17 that I just can’t co-sign for you, and I decided to write this up to address them.  

The first is: “He’s not even the same character he was!  This guy doesn’t act anything like 17/has nothing in common with his DBZ incarnation”

the second is: “He’s boring/blank/bland!  He has no personality.”

Since I’m one of the five people worldwide who listed Android 17 as his favorite character ever since the good ole days of Z, I figure the least I can do is roll up my sleeves and share some of the reasons I disagree with the above, as well as express how I see his actions and arc.  We’ll go through the timeline of events he participated in, and see if we can’t parse together the delinquent he was with the chill park ranger he would become!

PART 1: A Reminder of the Android’s Origin and the Future Timeline

So, Android 17 was originally Lapis, a teenage delinquent who would often go out and rabble-rouse with his sister and his droogs, playing their rap music too loud, wearing pants with the waistband far lower than the waistband of pants should be allowed to hang in civilized society, and other stuff like that, I assume.

Unfortunately for the duo, Dr. Gero was about, looking for a team of teenagers with attitude he could convert into an armada of godless killing machines.  One might feel prompted to ask why Gero intended to create machines so powerful that he couldn’t control them uness they wanted to listen to his orders, but sought the demographic of humans statistically least likely to ever listen to what an old man has to say to them to be the vessels of those machines, but this isn’t an essay about Gero being a silly, silly man.

Rather, the salient point to take out of the backstory we’re given is that 17 and 18 started out with a chip on their shoulder and a lack of love for people or society.  We don’t get any info on their home life or their parents, but based on their choice of hobby, and the ease with which they were spirited away, we can safely assume there were no happy beginnings here.  From the moment they became relevant to the universe of DB they were already in a position to hate society; being kidnapped by a madman and turned into cyborgs specifically to vent THAT madman’s hatred of society only exacerbated this, resulting in a mixture that basically burned the world to the ground.

Fast forward to some time later, and humans are an endangered species, Gohan has been disarmed, and Trunks has been brought to the verge of death. We don’t really learn a lot about the personalities of the future incarnation of the androids.  They behaved like a pair of psychopathic children, destroying the world less because of any deeply held hatred or bloodlust, but more because it sounded like a fun idea and what else were they gonna do with their weekend?  They share some elements of their character with the versions of themselves who would be proper cast members, which I’ll get to later, but for the purposes of the story they were more of a force of nature than anything.

It’s too late for the future… but not the entire multiverse!  So Trunks head back to the past, but hold up, Jack!  Would his warnings prove accurate?

Part 2: Android 17 in DBZ

The first thing we learn about android 17 is that he’s a troll. Seriously, not only is he quite sardonic in his disposal of his stepdad, the first interaction he has with the Z warriors, his nominal enemies, is to beckon Krillin over to him, then abruptly stand up and frighten him.  No end game, no intent to harm, he just really wanted to screw with the poor guy.  He’s a gadfly who frequently says and does things for no greater reason than to see the reaction they provoke in others.

The second thing we learn is that he shares his future incarnation’s flippant, whimsical attitude, but to a less morbid extreme.  He makes short work of the assembled heroes, but treats it like clearing the arcade mode of a fighting game, stopping at the knockout and expressing a hope they may be more fun if he encounters them again. When 18 steps up to fight Vegeta, 17 reacts to it like a child whose sister beat him to calling dibs on the front seat during a car trip.

The third thing we learn is that he is one cocky little punk.  He refers to himself as the ultimate warrior on multiple occasions, brags constantly about himself, and treats the notion of anyone being his rival, much less stronger than he is, as a notion so ridiculous that it doesn’t even deserve his contempt.

These three traits are important because they remain central to his disposition even as a grown man, albeit to a far more muted and mature degree, even though his personality does change quite a bit during the ten years we don’t see him.  It may be tempting to say that being eaten by a bug man was what served to put a sock in his constant “I’m the best in the world” talk, and that certainly did play a role in who he became, but I would say his character started to change a little bit before that: during his fight with Piccolo.

The thing about 17’s strength is that it has nothing to do with martial prowess.  As a delinquent he certainly had experience in street fights, but he never did any formal training, or did anything that would require effort or discipline.  When Gero made 17 an android he made him so strong that he could crush anyone he encountered, but it was just that, raw strength.  It had no technique or prowess behind it.  

As the fight progresses, we see 17’s attitude toward Piccolo change subtly.  At the start, he’s just a toy to be played with, another level in his game to be cleared and forgotten about, but as it progresses Piccolo does something that 17 had never encountered before: he holds his own.  With skill and grace, he matches every move 17 has, blow for blow.  In the past 17 had had many fights as a bully and a thug, but this was the first time in his life he did battle as a warrior, and he liked the feel of it.  He expresses a kind of respect for piccolo as their fight reaches its end, even though it is couched in his trademark, planet-sized, ego.  It was an encounter that took the first step toward redeeming him, and setting him down the path we would see him walking in Super.

...and then a bug ate him… Yeah, it’s hard to stay arrogant after you’ve been eaten by a bug, so that helped too.  My big sticking point is that it’s often assumed that if Cell hadn’t screwed up the flow of events, the modern androids would have eventually became their future selves, but I think there’s a chance for their redemption even without Cell, provided at some point in time 18 meets Krillin and 17 fights the fused Kami-Piccolo.

Part 3: 17 in DBS and the Tournament of Power

Ten years pass, Android 17 is, if not in his thirties, pushing up close to ‘em for certain.  His personality is now quite placid, and he’s a family man, carrying on 16’s spirit by protecting nature, and carrying on the fire that Piccolo lit in him a decade ago by training constantly to improve his technique.  Now, I maintain that his character is still consistent, but does he BEHAVE differently now?  Of course he does.  Look, I don’t know how old you are, reader person, but I promise you, when more than a few seasons separate you from your teenage years, you will look back at who you were as a teenager, and the things you did… and you will cringe. Hard.  Heck, I’m in my thirties now, and I look back at the things I said and did in my early twenties and cringe, sometimes.  Growing older is a game of constantly realizing how ridiculous you used to be and hoping you’re less ridiculous now.

So yeah, he is more mature, but the three elements that are the center of his character are intact.  He is a merciless gadfly throughout his entire run in Super.  He exchanges affectionate barbs with his sister when he meets her daughter, he teases Krillin’s nervousness around him, despite expressing to Goku that he was fond of the man, and considered him his brother, and in general never openly acting like he took anything he encountered as seriously as he really did.

He still tends to treat everything around him like a giant game, made most evident by all of his interactions with Universe 2, but most of all with  Ribrianne and her Kamikaze Fireballs, playing the role they provided him with abandon and gusto- when Ribrianne accused him of being a villain from some kind of magical girl anime… he promptly starts hamming it up and acting like a villain in some kind of magical girl anime!

He’s no longer the loud mouthed braggart he was as a teenager, sure, but his faith in himself remains strong.  It’s just that it’s no longer childish, absolute arrogance, and instead has been tempered into a realistic confidence in his own abilities.  When faced with insurmountable odds, he remains calm and studies his situation carefully, never moving recklessly, but also never losing faith in his ability to eventually find a way to overcome the situation he finds himself in.

The tournament of power DOES introduce an important arc to 17’s character, though, and it’s a surprisingly subtle one.  Sadly, I’ve already typed up 2,000 words on the subject, so I’m going to go ahead and stop here for now.  This is how I perceive the character, and why I like him so much.  If anyone wants me to, I may type up the second essay on 17 I have rattling around in my head sometime, and reveal how 17 accomplishes something impossible:  makes JIREN an interesting antagonist.

[magicalgirlartist]

All Will Be Well Part 6/?: Our Souls Ignite

It’s been 3000 years..........

Fandom: Dragon Ball Z Summary: A few revelations are had, training continues with some new participants, and Piccolo is the Salt Machine. Word Count: 5402

[AO3 link]

Trunks sat crosslegged on his bed, turning the blue ring over in his fingers. Ever since the incident with the other Gohan’s ring, it had been silent. It hadn’t spoken again--to him or his mother--it didn’t even glow. There was a faint buzz of energy about it as he ran a thumb over the symbol engraved into it, but nothing Trunks could pin down or harness.

He scowled. At first he'd thought the ring might be something that could help him against the androids. Maybe it had information on them, plans or blueprints or something. But for a week now it had just been a piece of jewelry.

His mother hadn't been able to find out much, either. According to her, it was definitely technology, but there was no way of opening it up to take a look at its machinery without destroying it beyond repair (or at least beyond her repair). She also hadn't found anything in her research about it, and it was frustrating her. “For all I know,” she'd huffed, “there was a mountain of research done on these things before the apocalypse. But if there was, it's either gone or inaccessible now.”

Trunks had considered actually wearing it properly, thinking that maybe that was the key to making it do something, anything. But Goku had said his wouldn't come off once it was on, and Trunks wasn't sure he wanted to take that chance. What if it never came off, and it somehow hindered his ability to fight? A chill ran down his spine as a thought occurred to him--what if Goku’s ring kept him from fighting at full capacity? They couldn't afford that. This whole thing would only work if Goku was in top form--if everyone was in top form. If the rings were going to cause a problem--

A soft glow suddenly shone forth from the ring’s symbol. Trunks’s breath caught and a warm wave of calm washed over him. His eyes closed and his breath evened out. Despite himself, a smile spread across his face. Do not worry, Trunks Briefs of Earth. The words rang clearly in his mind. It was the same voice that had spoken to him when his ring was next to Gohan’s, ringing just as clearly in his mind as the first time. But instead of panicking him as it had the first time, the voice soothed him, filled him with peace and hope. All will be well.

Trunks’s eyes blinked open slowly. The blue light had faded and the voice was gone, but there was something of them left behind--he could feel it in his heart. It was a strange, odd feeling, warm and calming. It was from the ring, Trunks knew that--he didn’t know how, but he did. He turned the ring over in his fingers, studying it again. So far, all it seemed to do was reassure him. Under most circumstances, that kind of superpower wasn’t much help. It certainly wouldn’t help him in a fight.

But Trunks’s circumstances weren’t most circumstances, and sometimes it was nice to just have someone tell him everything would be alright. His hands shook as he guided the ring onto his left middle finger and he squeezed his eyes shut, waiting for something miraculous to happen.

After a long moment of nothing, he cracked one eye open to squint at the ring. It sat on his finger, soft light pulsing gently, but otherwise doing nothing. Trunks sighed. He was getting all worked up over nothing, as usual. He flopped back onto his bed and stared up at the ceiling. He really should stop all this moping about with the ring and get back to training. But if he was going to be any help against the other timeline’s androids, he needed to be in top form, and that included taking breaks when he needed to. His mother insisted that he take a rest day every so often, though whether it was more for his benefit or so she wasn’t alone in the lab as often was anyone’s guess.

There was a knock at the door, and his mother’s head appeared around the doorframe. “Hi, honey,” she said, grinning. She wasn’t smoking--she’d agreed a long time ago never to smoke in his room--but he could smell that she’d just put a cigarette out before she came in. “I’ve been working on a way to improve the fuel cells for the house’s defense systems. Want to see?”

“Sure.” Trunks sat up and swung his legs over the side of the bed to stand. Maybe she’d let him putter around in the lab for a while, build a little contraption to get his mind off things.

“Think you’ll be ready to go back when the machine’s set?” she asked as she led the way down the hallway to her makeshift lab. “It should only be a few days now.”

“As ready as I’ll ever be, I guess.” Trunks found himself playing with the ring on his finger and forced his hands back to his sides. “I’m not sure you can ever really be ready for something like this.”

She laughed. “True enough.” She typed a passcode into a hidden panel, deactivating the force field blocking the lab door. “Come on, let’s build some shit.”

Chi-Chi rubbed her eyes. She had’t slept well the night before. With everything that had happened with the Star Sapphires, she was exhausted enough that she’d thought she would sleep well. But she’d tossed and turned most of the night, sleep eluding her until the early morning. She kept wondering if she’d done the right thing. Yes, she had, of course she had. But what if she hadn’t? What if she’d caused more problems by saying no than she would have by saying yes?

“Mom?”

Gohan gripped the front of her dress, looking up at her with bright, worried eyes. “Dad says we’re gonna go train now. We’ll come back in for lunch.”

She ruffled his hair. “Alright. Be safe, have fun, don’t break the house, and if it gets too much you come right on back.” She always said the same thing before Gohan went off to train. It made her feel better, if nothing else.

“Well, um.” Gohan fidgeted, his eyes flicking to her pocket. Chi-Chi tensed. She hoped he wasn’t about to ask what she thought he was. “You’ve got a ring now, too.”

“Yes.” This was going where she thought it was. She decided to head him off at the pass. “I’m not training with you, Gohan.”

“Come on, Mom,” Gohan begged, “it’ll be fun! Dad said you used to be a martial artist, and I can show you how our rings work! Please, Mom?”

“Sweetie.” Chi-Chi knelt so she was eye level with her son. “Your heart’s in the right place. But I want to forget yesterday happened, okay? If the Star Sapphires somehow got wind of the fact that I’m actually using their ring, they might come back and try to make me their queen again. If they do that, people might get hurt. I don’t want that.”

Gohan looked down, fidgeting. “By people, you mean me, don’t you.”

He was more perceptive than she’d thought. “It’s not just that,” she added. “That outfit I had yesterday? I...when I was a kid I used to wear clothes like that.” Gohan’s nose wrinkled and she sighed. “I liked them at the time! It was one of my favourite outfits, nonrestrictive, easy to clean, and I thought the cape was cute. But now…” She trailed off, shaking her head. “It’s not something I’m comfortable wearing just...around. I feel too exposed. So I’m not wearing that outfit, and I’m definitely not training in it.”

He tapped his thumbs together, thinking, and she thought that was the end of it. Chi-Chi stood up. “I appreciate the offer, honey. But I’m not--”

“I can show you.” Gohan looked up at her hopefully again. “If I can change my outfit, you should be able to too!”

“Sweetie, that’s really not--”

A pair of arms wrapped around her from behind and Goku rested his chin on her shoulder. “Come on, Chi, it’ll be like old times! Remember how we used to spar just after we got married? That was fun, right?”

Chi-Chi elbowed him off of her and turned to face both of them, arms folded. “Maybe,” she admitted. It had been fun. But it had also been nearly ten years now--she certainly couldn’t spar while she was pregnant, and after Gohan was born she hadn’t had the time. A part of her missed it, but the other part… “I’m out of practise, I’m not a fighter, and if I don’t take care of this house then no one will,” she said.

Gohan clasped his hands together. “Pleeeease?” he begged, his eyes wide and pleading.

Chi-Chi faltered. Oh, she’d always had a hard time shooting Gohan down when he pulled that face. “W-well.” She looked around at their house. The breakfast dishes were washed and put away, it was too early to start lunch, the laundry was done and Yamcha had run a vacuum for her two days ago. She’d planned on washing the windows today, but maybe that could wait. She looked at Goku, hands on his hips and grinning casually at her, and Gohan, his eyes full of hope. Chi-Chi sighed. “Just for a little while, alright? I’m coming back in early to make lunch.”

Gohan absolutely beamed at her, hands clenched in excited fists in front of him. “Awesome! Come on, Mom, come outside!” He grabbed her hand with both of his and started pulling her towards the door.

Piccolo glowered at the rest of the group from his position next to the Son house. “This is taking too long,” he growled. He was ignored, and he fought back a snarl. If he didn’t get a sparring partner in the next five minutes he was going to start throwing punches.

This was what he got for training with people who gave a shit about other things. When Gohan had told him that his mother would be joining them for practise this morning, he’d just nodded and agreed to wait while she got her uniform figured out. Piccolo remembered how fierce she’d been at the tournament where they’d first met almost ten years ago. He’d never had the chance to square off against her, and he relished the idea of a new challenge.

But it was taking so long for her to get her act in gear. Apparently, the outfit her ring gave her was unsatisfactory or something. It was just an outfit. Honestly. She’d seemed so embarrassed by it the day before, but Piccolo didn’t really see what the big deal was. Chi-Chi called it “undignified,” but he didn’t see how. It showed off her muscles. What was so undignified about a display of strength?

Gohan had been trying to show her how to use her ring powers to modify her uniform for the last half hour, and either Star Sapphire rings worked differently from Green Lantern rings or Chi-Chi was just terrible at it. She had pants on now, formfitting magenta things that also covered her feet, but her top was still the same small armor piece from the day before. Gohan thought this was great progress, apparently.

Piccolo drummed his fingers on his arm and wondered how Tenshinhan was doing. It had been a while since he’d seen him and Chiaotzu, despite what they’d said about sparring together when Goku first came back. If time wasters like these were going to become a common occurrence, he’d probably seek him out sooner rather than later.

Not that he was only going to see Tenshinhan because of how fed up he was with the Sons and Yamcha, of course. Tenshinhan wasn’t the strongest fighter of the group, but he was different, certainly. And sometimes that was what Piccolo wanted: a sparring partner that he hadn’t spent all his time studying and working to defeat for most of his life. Tenshinhan surprised him when they sparred, which wasn’t often, but hopefully that would change soon. Yes, a visit to Tenshinhan and Chiaotzu seemed like a very good idea.

Chi-Chi gasped as her cape vanished and turned into one of those dress things she liked so much. Piccolo squinted. It looked a lot like the outfit she’d worn back in the tournament he’d first seen her and Goku (and Yamcha and Tenshinhan, now that he thought about it) at. It was pink and purple instead of blue and red, but aside from colour and the fact that her pants were tight to her legs, it was basically the same. Goku grinned at her and flashed a thumbs up. “Looks good, Chi!” he declared. “You ready to start yet?”

She looked herself over, manifested a pair of pink elbow-length gloves, and nodded. “This will do nicely, yes.”

Yamcha had spent the whole ordeal with his back to the three Sons, staring pointedly at the woods. Something about “modesty.” He turned to look when Chi-Chi declared she was ready and smiled weakly. “Nice,” he said. “You look good.” Goku nodded, and Chi-Chi smiled and looked at the ground bashfully.

Yes, Piccolo was definitely going to visit Tenshinhan and Chiaotzu soon. This was just annoying now.

Chi-Chi crashed to the ground, yelping in pain. Yamcha flew at her, aiming a foot at her stomach, but she caught him by the ankle and threw him off. He stumbled back, crashing into someone and tumbling to the ground. Almost immediately, Chi-Chi was on top of him, pinning both Yamcha and whoever he’d landed on to the ground with the help of a giant pink hand she’d conjured. Yamcha squirmed, and there were hands on his shoulders trying to push him off, and he suddenly realised he was pinned between Chi-Chi and Goku and wriggling awkwardly between them. He gulped and shoved at Chi-Chi. This wasn’t a position he wanted to be in.

Glancing behind him at Goku, he remembered what had happened the day before when they fought together. He grabbed Goku’s hand, the one with the ring, and made a construct hand of his own.

It burst forth with a brilliant, almost white light, sending Chi-Chi flying and banishing her construct. Yamcha rolled off Goku and started to stand, but Goku yanked him back and tried to pull him into a hold. He grinned. Wrestling, huh? Fine, it had been a while. Shoving Goku’s shoulder, Yamcha tried to pin him down, but Goku overpowered him and slammed Yamcha back first into the ground. Suddenly he was looking up at Goku with his arms pinned by his sides and Goku’s grinning face not far from his own, and he definitely wasn’t thinking about it. His arms were pinned but his legs were free, and he hooked them around Goku’s waist to give himself enough leverage to flip their positions, throwing his whole body into it. Goku’s eyes widened as he tipped over with an undignified shriek.

Now Yamcha was on top and grinning, sitting on Goku’s legs and struggling to get Goku’s arms under control too. Suddenly something grabbed the back of his shirt and yanked him up, and Yamcha was face to face with Chi-Chi again. She had a puffy cheek that Yamcha didn’t have time to feel bad for before she grabbed him by the front of his shirt and slammed him against a tree. His head knocked back against it and he was disoriented for a moment. When he could think again, his hands were pinned over his head by pink energy and his feet dangled off the ground. Chi-Chi looked very pleased with herself as he struggled.

His chest heaved and he was dizzy. On the one hand, he was almost (sadly) used to his sparring matches ending with him on the ground or pinned to something. On the other, there was something extra embarrassing at having his defeat get handed to him by the husband and wife team. A short burst of ki freed him from his bonds and he dropped to the ground, a hand up. “Okay,” he panted, “I’m done for today. I know when I’m beat.”

Goku offered him a hand up. “Good going today, Yamcha!” He beamed at Yamcha as he pulled him to his feet. “You’ve got some really good moves!”

Yamcha gave a tight smile. “Thanks. I’m pretty beat now, though. Is it okay if I quit for now? I could go make lunch.”

“I’ll go with you,” Chi-Chi immediately offered. She powered her ring down and it melted back into the sleeveless dress and pants she’d had on before. “I think I’m done for now, too.” She had a look in her eye that Yamcha wasn’t sure he liked, a critical glint directed his way. He had a feeling she was offering to go with him for reasons other than just lunch.

Goku didn’t seem to pick up on any of it. He just grinned and gave the two of them a thumbs up. “Okay! I’m going to train with Piccolo and Gohan for a while then. Have fun!” He took off towards where Piccolo was instructing Gohan with basic drills.

Yamcha powered his own ring down and started walking towards the house. “What should we make for lunch?” he asked Chi-Chi as she fell into step alongside him.

“Something simple, I think.” Chi-Chi pushed the door open and headed for the kitchen. “I don’t have the energy to make anything too fancy right now.”

“Fair enough.” Yamcha washed his hands and started peeling carrots when he was directed to. He loved cooking and was (he thought) pretty good at it, but out of respect he always defaulted to Chi-Chi when they cooked in her kitchen. It was hers, after all, and he was just a guest. Although there had been one time where she’d asked him to show her how to make something, and there had been a few times where he did all the cooking on his own.

“Yamcha, can we talk?” Chi-Chi sat at the table beside him, turned towards him. She looked unusually serious, and he tried to keep his eyes focused on his carrots. “I’ve been, well, experimenting with the ring a little.” He glanced up at her. She was twisting it around her finger, still staring intently at him. It made him nervous, and he returned his attention to his hands. “Yamcha, something Dashiri said the other day...the ring lets me know you. That’s what she said. I don’t think she was making that up.”

“Mhm.” Yamcha put one carrot down and picked up another one, eyes focused on his task. “That’s cool.”

“Yamcha.” Her voice turned hard and he looked at her again. She was frowning. “I want to know what happened with Bulma.”

He swallowed. “I don’t want to talk about it.”

“Please.” She put her hand over his and he stopped moving, not wanting to slice her fingers by accident. “I want to help you work through it. You’ve got so much pain and sadness tied up in love that it’s impossible to tell where one stops and another starts. What did she do?” She squeezed his hand. “How did she hurt you?”

His eyes stung. “I-I--she didn’t mean to.”

“That doesn’t make it okay.” Chi-Chi took one hand in both of hers, squeezing it reassuringly. “Talk to me, Yamcha. I might be able to help.”

He laughed bitterly. “No, it’s pretty much past help. She’s seen to that.”

“I don’t mean help your relationship,” she said dismissively. “I’m not so good a person as to care about that. I care about you. I want you to be happy. I want to help you, not you and Bulma.”

“Oh.” Yamcha looked down at their hands. “Don’t you like her?”

“Whether I like Bulma or not isn’t important. She’s fine, I guess, but I like you more.” Chi-Chi shrugged. “You like her, and she’s important to you. So talk to me.”

Yamcha bit his lip as he tried to figure out what to say. “It’s...complicated,” he started. “We had another fight a little while ago. We broke up and I went off to train with Tien and Chiaotzu.” He squeezed her hands tighter. “Then when I went back to try and talk to her about it after we’d cooled down she...she and Vegeta…”

Chi-Chi’s eyes widened. “Oh.”

“And they weren’t together or anything,” he added, and now that the words were out they wouldn’t stop coming. “But they’d definitely been sleeping together, at least once, because she’s p-pregnant and--and she wants to keep it and I’m just--I’m so mad but I don’t really have any right to be mad because we weren’t even together at that point and I’m being selfish but I--”

“You still love her,” Chi-Chi said gently. She opened her arms and pulled him into a hug. “It’s okay to be upset. Being upset means you care.”

“A little too much,” Yamcha mumbled.

“None of that now.” Chi-Chi patted his back and pulled away. “You should talk to her again. Even if your romantic relationship is beyond repair, you two have known each other for too long to not be friends anymore.”

Yamcha shrugged and wiped his eyes on the heels of his hands. “It’s not that easy. Not everyone can have as easy a relationship as you and Goku.” He knew he sounded bitter, but at this point he didn’t know how not to.

“Me and Goku?” To his surprise, Chi-Chi laughed and stood up. “You’ve seen us fight. Our relationship isn’t easy.”

“Easier than mine and Bulma’s.”

She paused. “You have a point.” Hesitantly, she patted his shoulder. “Listen, if you ever want to talk about it, my ring and I are here for you.”

He picked up his carrot and paring knife. “Thanks.” He wouldn’t.

The ring did come off when Trunks pulled on it, which was a relief and a half. He didn’t bother taking it off most of the time. It wasn’t nearly as uncomfortable wearing it and gripping his sword at the same time as he’d thought it would be. Most nights he didn’t even bother taking it off before bed. It helped relax him, and with the world going to shit as much as it was, he could use all the help with that he could get.

He kept finding himself fidgeting with it when his mind started to wander. It was oddly comforting. Trunks still didn’t know anything about its purpose, but he was a little less wary of it. Maybe it was a mistake to let his guard down about anything this late in the game, but being constantly cautious about everything was exhausting. Just having this one little thing to not worry about helped. Not much, but it did.

Trunks and his mother had performed several experiments with it, but their results had all been inconclusive. The ring seemed to need something else to function at full capacity, but they didn’t know what. (His mother hypothesized that it was something to do with Gohan’s ring, but they’d have to wait until Trunks went back in time again to test the theory.) Trunks could sense immense power coming from it sometimes, but not always, and it was unlike anything he’d ever felt before. It wasn’t “organic” like ki (for lack of a better term), but it wasn’t like the androids’ energy signatures either--he couldn’t sense those at all. And the fact that it fluctuated constantly was bizarre in and of itself.

Their most recent breakthrough, such as it was, determined that it was probably a communication device of some kind. Sometimes a fuzzy sort of faint static would come out of it. His mom thought it was some kind of residual white noise from distant communications. Trunks wasn’t sure what to make of that. Most communicators went two directions, unless it was some kind of bug. Had someone on the other side of the world--or universe--been listening in on him and his mom and their struggles? On the other hand, if they had heard about their problems, why hadn’t they come to help?

He sat on his bed, legs crossed, staring intently at the ring. It sat innocently on his finger, gently pulsing with soft blue light. Usually, watching its light for long enough helped bring his anxiety under control, but today it wasn’t working. The time machine would be ready soon, and that combined with the new information about the possible communication function of his ring, he was too keyed up. In two days he’d be going back to the past again. He’d help fight the androids in any way he could, and hopefully it would be a quick ordeal with Goku fighting on their side this time. But he was still anxious, and the closer it got to being time to leave, the more anxious he became.

Trunks absently rubbed his thumb over the ring’s symbol. If the ring was some kind of communication device...maybe he could use it. He lifted it to his face, glancing around nervously. There was no one around to hear him if it didn’t work and he sounded like an idiot.

He cleared his throat. “Hello? Is anyone there?”

No response. Trunks sighed. Honestly, he wasn’t sure what he’d expected. But the ring had talked to him twice before. He’d try one more time before he gave up the idea entirely.

“This is Trunks Briefs of Earth,” he said, speaking directly into the ring. “If anyone’s listening, Earth could really use your help. Please. I need--we need all the help we can get. Our people are being systematically wiped out by a biomechanical menace and there aren’t many of us left. If you’re able to--”

Trunks Briefs of Earth. The ring’s voice echoed in his mind, soothing and calm as always. His breath caught and he stopped talking, waiting for it to speak again. All will be well. You will have the help you need, but it will have to come from within you. You are the only Blue Lantern left in this timeline.

Icy fear gripped his heart. No. No, no, not another one. He was already the last of the Saiyans, the last fighter, the last hope for the planet. He couldn’t be the last of his kind again, even if he didn’t know what he was actually the last of this time. What was a Blue Lantern?

Don’t be afraid, the ring said. You will have help. But it will not come from this timeline. Keep hope in your heart and the power will come to you.

“How?” he asked, but the voice was gone. Trunks flopped onto his back and stared at the ceiling. Well. That wasn’t helpful at all.

It was late. He should get some sleep. He had one more full day of training and then it was time to go back. Trunks tossed his jacket into a corner of the room and rolled over, trying not to think too hard about the ring for now. All it would do was keep him up at night.

He left it on, though.

“Are you leaving?”

Yamcha froze at Goku’s voice. Slowly, he turned to see his friend standing in the doorway leading from the kitchen to the living room. He offered him a weak grin. “Just for a while.”

“But you only just got here,” Goku whined. He wandered into the living room, hands in his pockets. Yamcha squirmed and went back to reorganising the contents of his backpack. “We were just getting used to having you around! And me and Gohan love training with you. You should stay.”

“I don’t want to impose,” Yamcha said. His eyes stayed resolutely glued to his task, refusing to look up at Goku.

“You’re not imposing.” Goku slung an arm around his shoulder and Yamcha swallowed. “We like having you here.”

Yamcha shrugged him off. “Th-that’s nice...I mean, thank you. I appreciate it.”

“So stay!” Goku grabbed Yamcha’s shoulders and turned him to face him. He was grinning. “I know Chi-Chi likes having you here too. She keeps talking about how it’s nice to have a guy who likes cooking and stuff around to help her out cuz I’m always off training Gohan.”

Yamcha shook his head with a wry smile. “That’s her dropping hints about you helping around the house more.”

“I help out,” Goku said defensively. “I get food and go fishing and look after Gohan and chop wood and fix stuff. Mostly.” He looked vaguely guilty and Yamcha had to suppress a grin at the memory of Goku trying to fix their leaky roof. “But we like having you here. Why do you have to go?”

He shrugged. “I just do. You guys have this big happy family thing going here and the longer I stay the more I feel like I’m intruding.”

“You’re not.” Goku gripped his shoulders tighter and stared at him intently. Yamcha’s mouth went dry. Goku didn’t often look intense about anything outside of a fight or a challenge. Although maybe he thought of getting Yamcha to stay as a challenge. Hell if he knew what went on in that head. “Yamcha, stay.”

Yamcha gently removed Goku’s hands from his shoulders. “I can’t. I won’t. Puar and I are leaving.”

“But why?” Goku whined.

He hesitated. What should he say? He couldn’t tell Goku that Chi-Chi kept trying to fix his love life, or that the longer he stayed and watched them grow the more he felt like he was falling behind, or about the annoyed looks Piccolo kept giving him. He couldn’t tell him that even with his extra Green Lantern powers he was still inadequate, still not good enough. He couldn’t tell him that maybe he just needed a little time to scream into the forest without all three of them descending on him to ask what was wrong. He needed to be with someone who wouldn’t ask questions, like Tien.

Worst of all, though, was that he couldn’t tell Goku that maybe, just maybe, he’d been spending just a little too much time with him and his wife lately and it was messing with his head. He was still upset over Bulma, he couldn’t totally forgive her yet, and he thought that was fair. What wasn’t fair was how jealous he’d started getting of Goku and Chi-Chi’s relationship. And it wasn’t the same kind of jealous as he’d been before, where he was jealous of their relationship in general. No, now he was jealous of both of them for being in a relationship with each other.

It didn’t make sense to him. Goku and Chi-Chi had been married for nearly ten years now, and he’d never been upset about it before, not like this. He didn’t just want what they had, he wanted what they had with them. It was weird, and it scared him, and the longer he was in this house with them treating him like one of the family, the worse it got. He wasn’t going to let it continue.

But he couldn’t tell Goku all of that. At best, he’d be laughed at. At worst, he’d get punched in the face.

“I need to go check on the apartment,” he lied. He’d sublet his apartment when he found out he’d be spending most of the next three years training. “And I should show my face in town a little so the tabloids stop printing articles about how I’ve died or something.” That was true. He’d found one at the supermarket the last time he helped Chi-Chi with groceries. It had been hilarious, but he didn’t want any more weird rumours like that to spread. “And nobody’s heard anything from Tien and Chiaotzu in a while. I figure someone’d better go check on them.” He tried to flash a witty grin, but it felt weird on his face. “You know how they are.”

Goku laughed. “Yeah, they like to keep to themselves.” He clapped Yamcha on the shoulder again. “Well, we’re all going to miss you. Make sure you say goodbye to everyone before you leave, okay?”

Yamcha’s awkward grin turned into a sad smile as he turned back to his backpack. “Sure. No problem.”

[dustellar]

Yamcha is a joke... it's internet fault?

First of all I want to say that I used to be a fan of Yamcha... yeah, USED! because the current version is just a joke, a character used only for humorous purposes and in a bad way if we consider that is at his expense, I used to be fan of the Old Yamcha, back when Dragon Ball was a little more about adventures than about defeating the powerful villain of the week, at that time we met Yamcha... a badass bandit and the first “Z-fighter” to fight Goku, a character with cool design, a sword, with a cat companion before cats were popular, with interesting motivations and traits (gynophobia) and with the most epic melee technique in the history of Dragon Ball... Rōgafūfūken (Wolf Fang Fist)

Then he met Bulma, overcame his fear and abandoned his old life (and weapons) to become... Bulma’s boyfriend, from that moment that was his unique contribution to the history of Dragon Ball, his role! of course he kept training but in his own way, not going to train with Master Roshi the first time he met him was a big mistake because the difference of powers between him and Goku increased a lot, Krillin became the new "rival of power” in Goku's life, during the tournament Yamcha had the bad luck to face Jackie Chun/Roshi in his first fight, something that would be repeated in following tournament so we could say that he was cannon fodder to face the most powerful (Jackie Chun/Roshi, Tenshinhan) or mysterious character (Shen/Kami) of the moment... everything changed in the fight against the Invisible Man (maybe the greatest fight triumph in the life of Yamcha) and Bandages the Mummy, this last fight was very good, seriously, Yamcha demonstrated all his skill like fighter and his ingenuity, but it wasn’t enough... it was time to train with Roshi!

Oh yeah, it's time for the next tournament... Yamcha advanced a lot, I dare to say that he was even stronger than Krillin but that is my personal opinion, his fight was very good overall, but unfortunately it was against Tenshinhan, the “villain” of the tournament aka the strongest after Goku, the outcome of the fight was humiliating for him, but had an achievement in the middle... Yamcha became the 4th character to learn and use the Kamehameha (Roshi, Grandpa Gohan, Goku), after the tournament we could have had some cool development because he thought he was the only surviving warrior and therefore the only one who could stop King Piccolo but his broken leg prevented his participation in the conflict and that definitely saved his life, we could consider as an achievement survived the attack of Tambourine but it was just a matter of luck.

Thanks to his training with Karin, he returned to the next tournament with great new techniques and a great haircut... unfortunately he faced the mysterious Shen (who was Kami in "disguise") but that didn't prevent him from showing us another great technique that unfortunately we haven't seen enough... Sōkidan (Spirit Ball), after this tournament his next big fight would be the cause of years of bullying and jokes against him and his ability to fight, in other words... a meme!

Behold... Yamcha's Death Pose! yeah, the fight that truly ruined Yamcha's fighter career but let's be honest, he wouldn’t be what he is if it not were for this fight, for this image of him! and let's be even more honest, it wasn't his inability to fight what made him lose but underestimate the enemy, another case of him being used as cannon fodder, because although Tenshinhan was the first to fight against a Saibamen... nobody knew about their ability to self-destruct, anyway! after that we didn't have moments of Yamcha fighting (except the filler episode where he defeats Recoome) but he was still Bulma’s boyfriend and therefore an important secondary character of Dragon Ball, but everything changed when the “Badman” attacked...

When Vegeta entered Bulma's life and pregnant her in few months (damn!), Yamcha was without a purpose... that happens when you're a bad boyfriend, although Vegeta wasn't a good husband and father neither if we consider that he practically left his family to go to train in space and when returned he didn't care if Dr. Gero kills them or not... but well, I already talked about this and the great development for good that Vegeta had over the years, talking about Gero, Yamcha become his first Z-Fighter victim (another case of cannon fodder lol) and then he became even more a support character than a fighter, participating in the fight against the Cell Jr only because there was no other option, another humiliating defeat but let's be honest, except Gohan the only one who fought well against them was Piccolo! during the Majin Buu Saga his participation was more than null, highlighting his fight against Olibu but as it was a filler episode with even more filler characters, well...

His next great “feat” was be the first non-saiyan to hit Beerus although he didn't participate in the fight, then he wasn't considered to fight against Frieza soldiers, but for some stupid and inconsistent reason Master Roshi was able to fight them, you know, that character that was less powerful than Yamcha, Chiaotzu and even Yajirobe... anyway! his non-participation in the Tournament of Power doesn't annoy me if we consider that techniques and strategies are almost as important as the power, in that Master Roshi is much superior to Yamcha and I dare to say to all the Z-Fighters, although to be honest, would have been a great opportunity to “Make Yamcha G̶r̶e̶a̶t̶ Average Again” I mean...

Don't tell me that wouldn't have been awesome see Yamcha with his Wolf Fang Fist alongside Tenshinhan and Krillin in the Boogie Back Ending! but well, they chose go “full joke“ with him and now he’s waiting for Goku to recruit him, maybe Yamcha finally found his role in Dragon Ball, a role he lost when he stopped being Bulma's boyfriend... I don’t know, anyway, in conclusion, Yamcha is a joke? yes! he was always a joke? no! he was a loser, but never a joke! it's internet fault? a little but it doesn't matter anymore because I doubt Yamcha can once again become an important warrior unless... you know what would be cool and crazy? that a new enemy appears on Earth during the tournament and only Yamcha can stop him because Goten and Trunks can't leave the Island of Android 17, then everyone returns and no one knows of the heroic struggle of Yamcha against the new force of evil :P not a great idea, but would be hilarious xD

[huelskamp19]

Kampy Takes a Look At: Dragon Ball Super Episode 87

Spoilers               

                        Well, this episode could have been accomplished in 10 minutes. I’ve long been a defender of the pacing this show has been using, but I feel like 87 took the cake. I love character introspective episodes -the recent Gohan, Krillin, Vegeta episodes have been great- but I feel like this one didn’t really deliver anything new about 17 that we hadn’t already seen in 86. But I’m getting ahead of myself, let’s take a look at the episode proper. 

               The episode begins where 86 left off, with 17 telling Goku he is uninterested in the tournament, despite the threat of being erased. Weird for a guy who’s whole job is protecting an island from not being erased and who has a family he’d presumably want to protect now, but whatever, drama. As 17 begins to walk away Goku informs him of the Super Dragon Balls, telling him that he’ll be able to use the wish if he’s the last man standing. 17 is surprised he would stoop to using a Dragon Ball wish to bribe him -even though 17 could just use the wish to help the animals he is protecting. 17 continues to decline the offer until Goku manages to stop him in his tracks... by asking please. 

               Then alien poachers arrive and steal all the animals. 

               What?

               Okay, weird, but I’m still on board. Show me what you got Super. Dragon Ball has gotten weird before. 

               The poachers here for the minotauros and steal a whole bunch of the animals alongside it. 17 and Goku rush off to try and stop them, but are too late. Goku, however, uses the Instant Transmission to teleport them into the ship. Why he didn’t just do that before is beyond me. I guess cause Goku was just caught up in the moment. Anywho, they end up on the ship and we are treated to a look at the animals that were abducted in their cages. For 25 seconds. It is a weird shot because it’s clearly just padding. The dialogue isn’t really all that important in the grand scheme of the episode or it’s characters and the animals they show us aren’t really notable or impressive. So if the visuals aren’t important and the dialogue isn’t important, what is the point? Padding for time. 

               Back on Earth, Krillin notes he can sense Goku’s ki going off world. 18 seems worried because she notes that 17 and Goku are similar with how immature they can be. I like this little call back to 17 immaturity in DBZ. It’s nice to see that the twins still know each other pretty well and 18 recognizes 17′s similarities in personality as being potentially troubling, like in Z. So Goku and 17 are attacked by the grunts of the Poaching boss and pretty handily knock them out. 17 chides Goku about damaging the ship and Goku confirms that he won’t. This is important for later. 17 tells Goku he going to go after the boss, to which Goku asks to play rock, paper, scissors because he wants to fight him, assuming he is strong. 17 simply jumps over some of the grunts, leaving them to a protesting Goku. This was a pretty funny little gag. I liked the call back to how our heroes have decided fighting order before and seeing 17 completely subverting it. 

               17 makes his way to the bridge in time to see the Boss doing his best villain monologue. Then the Boss makes some accusations that wildlife protectors are simply hypocrites because they want to protect animals -which is stupid and nonsensical. 17 then asks the Poacher what he wants with the minotauros -which is also stupid and nonsensical. You have chased poachers off before 17. Why are you asking what he wants? You know what he wants. You said yourself he was a poacher and last episode said that they minotauros were over hunted for their horns. This is not a hard concept. 17 then proceeds to kick the Boss into the control room window, cracking it. Didn’t you just tell Goku not to do that very thing because it could result in the animals being sucked out? Whatever?

               Anyway, Goku arrives and the Boss threatens to blow up the ship with a bomb implanted in his body. Beerus has a really distracting, unfunny, and pace breaker dream about the ship blowing up. I did, however, like Vegeta being annoyed with Beerus making Bra cry. So, we find ourselves back on the ship with 17, Goku, and the Boss. 17 tells Goku to give his regards to wife, kids, and 18. He then proceeds to tackle the Boss through the window and into space. 

               Um... Okay. So, Goku making a dent in the wall warrants 17 telling Goku to be careful not to damage the ship. But 17 is willing to depressurize the ship in order to stop the boss, therefore putting the animals in immediate danger? Huh, weird. Well, I guess it doesn’t matter because Goku goes Super Saiyan Blue and teleports into space, grabbing the Boss and 17, and then teleporting them to King Kai’s planet. Kaio-sama is understandably miffed and we have an admirably funny call back to Goku teleporting an exploding Cell there. After this bit we find ourselves back on Earth. Jaco has come to take credit for the Poacher’s capture, again. Thankfully Goku is kinda catching on that Jaco isn’t really giving them credit for continuing to do his job for him. 17 tells Goku that he now has a debt with him that must be settled and agrees to joint he tournament. He’ll just let Trunks and Goten watch the island while he is away. Like Goku recommended before. Goku clarifies after some prompting that while he cannot stand to see innocent people in harm’s way, he’s never strictly set out to save the world. It just happens that way as he fights strong guys. 17 then asks if his “brother”, Krillin, or “Mini-monk” is going to join as well which is a great line of dialogue. 17 then decides he’ll use the wish to get him and his family a giant boat. There is also a weird comment about 17 knowing about Goku’s fight with Kid Boo, even though he should technically have forgotten about it due to the wish at the end of the Boo saga. Maybe 18 told him? I dunno. It’s a brief but weird plot hole.

              So, this episode was very okay. It didn’t really need to exist honestly. 17′s conclusion didn’t really have any prompting as this episode did pretty much the same thing that 86 did; Goku helps 17 with poachers. It was just in space. Not to mention the episode really wants use to believe there is some form of tension with whether 17 is going to join the team or not. But since Toei revealed the roster a few months ago, we know he’s going to participate. So all the needlessly slow build up doesn’t really have a great pay off. And the episode didn’t have the great animation or choreography that 86 had to fall back on. I kinda wish the plot of this episode had been saved for a filler episode featuring Goten and Trunks protecting the island during the tournament.

               However, the episode did have a lot of cool character moments and nods. No real development that hadn’t already happened in the previous episode, but it was cool to see 17 asking Goku to give him family his regards, Goku confirming the fact that he doesn’t set out to be a hero, and 17 showing some form of respect and familial attachment to Krillin and 18. I can’t wait for him to call Krillin exclusively “mini monk”.

5/10 - Average. 

Let’s see how Super does diving back into Piccolo training Gohan next week. 

[breezytealy]

Do you have a headcanon for the Super Seven ages in your comics? You're an amazing artist. Love your arts.

Hey nonnie! Oh my gosh thank you for the compliments I’m glad you’re enjoying them ^^Super7/nextGen headcanon was like the BestWorst question you could ask because I have a timeline and notes hahaHAHAHAHAHAaaaaa. Here, have 3,800 words, most is under the cut. Everything I draw/write is in this “Super7″ AU :) (I wish I could write well ;A;)

–

The Earth still isn’t officially part of the federation of planets under the Galactic King’s control. They’ve had a few public alien contacts (that some are convinced are still hoaxes, Buu is just a weird-ass looking guy maybe) but no official Galactic welcome and the Z-team are selfishly keen to leave it that way to prevent what would amount to exposure. The kids would like to balance real jobs and training too thank you very much, they have enough pressure on their shoulders without the entire planet looking to them.

But come 796 it’s all getting a little dicey; there’s civil unrest at the Galactic level with the King under threat and the powers wanting to steal the throne taking a more expansionist approach, fighting amongst themselves in the the power vacuum left by Frieza. This is all putting the Earth in danger as an untapped resource full of biodiversity. The Gods go quiet, leaving it up to the Earthlings to sort themselves out, they see the problem with intervening to save just one planet. The “Super7” take on the challenge to defend alone (the older gen have their own loose team too but are taking a back seat on purpose). As skirmishes had been becoming more frequent and difficult over the years and they start to see the patterns in who’s arriving, Pan and Bra get brought in a little earlier than planned (17 and 16 respectively rather than 18) to prepare for what might end up as a battle for survival. This all coincides with someone after Bulma’s tech (the blue #15 electrofluid used in the time machine she’d recently repurposed as a general high-yield fuel) that they suspect may be an off-worlder, and someone asking extremely pointed questions of acquaintances that makes the group think their relatively anonymous existence as fighters may be coming to an abrupt end at the worst possible time.  

–

In 796 their ages are roughly: Bra 16, Pan 17, Uub 22, Marron 25, Goten 29, Trunks 30, Mai ~30/31(+).

I’ve put a crap tonne of character outlines/headcanons under the cut explaining where this all comes from, but to summarise at 796 -

- Trunks is at CC as vice president to his mother’s president/COO and his grandfather is still CEO. He is looked at as team leader too- Mai is also at CC, although moonlights making ki-based weaponry and defences without the CC logo so she can participate in battle- Goten runs a dessert café in Satan City (food and hospitality! it’s a bit random but makes sense I promise) and uses Nyoibo - both G and T keep up fusion training so Gotenks is around a lot.- Uub is full time Papayaman, taking the traditional superhero role and sense of purpose that brings, he take over from Great Saiyaman and takes credit for saving the world as Mr Satan’s protege- Marron’s way of helping is to uncover corruption as a journalist to stop the incidents Uub deals with happening in the first place, and she’s frantically working to find out who’s trying to uncover their identities- Pan is a little of a crimefighter, though keeps the extent of her abilities on the down-low, a more normal face to Papayaman’s superhero and keeps up the Satan brand, whilst she pushed against it for a while she’s settled into it.- Bra is an social media darling, and is becoming the face of CC to the youth market in particular. She’s extremely calculated in this and does not give any hint at any point she can punch you to the moon. Both her and Pan have just started to learn the fusion dance from Trunks and Goten.

General character outlines and other h/cs under the cut because it’s longgg - 

I’ve shoved a ten hour time difference between West and Satan city (it’s probably closer to 12 but ten gives more overlap in daylight) which is really fun to think about!

Due to Shenanigans in Super, God ki gets banned under pain of erasure by Beerus. Realistically this means they can only use it for universal level threats when Beerus okays it. Only Goku and Vegeta have the ability and they aren’t allowed train with it either. Whis tells the others that hybrids can’t use the technique anyway so not to bother. They suspect it’s a lie as the potential of hybrids is higher so it’s a way to prevent them from overpowering Beerus in the future, but they daren’t risk trying the ritual.

Because there’s seven in the main group they each hide a Dragonball for security, making what they hope is the start of a tradition. Four others in the group know where it’s held, no one knows all seven locations. The idea being - the balls aren’t in the same place to be stolen, they can find them without the dragon radar with two/three of the group left, and they’re nearby so the group will know if anyone’s searching for them. Further any mind-reading techniques would need at least two sets of memories to find them all (Trunks’ idea, he’s extremely careful).

Actually having the power to revert disaster but not use it (saving the wishes for the big events) weighs heavy though so they’re more domestic in helping out in Act of God events like earthquakes than their parents were. Uub takes the lead in these sorties as Papayaman as he’s the traditional hero. Gohan will sometimes tag along as Great Saiyaman, and Goten also has a GS uniform and can pass as GS, though he absolutely hates it. For everyone else (and a pining Goten) Bulma and Mai design pure black “camo” gear, impossible to get a fix on body shape and untraceable on radar, which frees them to use the full extent of their powers should they need to. Their traditional gis/armours are usually underneath, and they’ll revert to them when they need the freedom of movement in a real fight :’).  

Goten’s attitude is like his dad’s - very zen and open, although he’s massively empathetic and knows how to behave himself. He’s responsible in a fiercely protective way. He’s easy-going to the point people think he’s not smart as he won’t question ideas, but that’s because he’s able to quickly follow people’s logic and doesn’t need to question suggestions, he just gets people. He won’t do something if he can’t see the sense in it though and will dig his heels to the point even Trunks can’t change his mind. He loves people, and his openness and “big-picture” mindset mean relationships are all a big blur to him. He sees his close friendships just as deeply as any romantic relationship would be. He’s always on hookup apps to meet interesting people, but he’d just as happily “hook-up” ::cough:: as going out for dinner. Fun is fun is fun to him :). Goten loved the idea of swords but really struggled focussing his ki to an edge. Goku fetches Nyoibo for him instead, which he finds far easier and he gets proficient in staff forms, using Nyoibo’s extension abilities in battle. Like the real monkey king, Goten shrinks Nyoibo down and keeps it in his ear so he has it ready to go at all times. To everyone else though it looks like an industrial piercing and Chichi flipped out when she first saw it “first the hair, now piercings???”. (and I freaking forgot to add it in when colouring that strip, I kicked myself when I saw it missing!!!)

Goten goes to college, more on his Mum’s insistence that he get furtherly educated with that prize money they put aside for him to use than anything else. Trunks took a gap year so they could “coincidentally” room together too (taking a CC internship in his gap year where he learnt to be Responsible) so he feels pressure to go. Goten picks most of the same courses as Trunks so they can use Gotenks to study quicker freeing up their time, but he does feel a little directionless and languishes. But then, but THEN! As they have to look after themselves (“NO we’ll be INDEPENDENT SAIYANS TYVM”) he gets sick of not having sweet treats (canon his fave food is pocky and strawberry daifuku) so he spends time learning to make pastries/sweet treats/baking to get his fix. Obviously the recipes aren’t great to his amazing smell/taste (that he inherited from his Dad) so he improves them. After seeing how people match wines with savoury dishes he starts flying to remote places to buy rare coffee/teas to test with his recipes. All the while Trunks is just watching like “you’re absolutely mad”, but he keeps it up and starts pairing things and testing them out on friends. He even gets good enough to make flavour profiles for people based on their likes/dislikes to pick /exactly/ the right flavourings, he’s a savant.

People are so pleased and excited it warms his heart that he can make people so directly happy, and making things with his hands feels so natural and grounded. Eventually Trunks just pulls him aside and says “I still think you’re insane but you should do this". So Goten works up a business plan for a desserts cafe in his final year - without getting Trunks’ help - and pitches it to his parents. Chichi’s obviously a little “this is left field”, expecting him to go with the flow as usual and end up at CC, but they agree seeing how excited he is, the last part of the prize money/education pot gets put towards a run-down place in Satan City after graduation instead of a masters degree. There’s not enough money to buy /and/ do up the place, but Mr Satan agrees to put up the rest of the money as long as Goten helps cater (bodyguard at and babysit Buu at in truth) events, so it’s not a handout. At first he hates the idea of more help but reluctantly agrees when Gohan chides him. He calls it Paozu Place, (PP vs CC) and when he starts making a profit (which happens towards the end of the first year as Goten flies around himself to get products saving money, plus the flavour-profile gimmick gets him an early cult following) he sends a portion of the money back home. Chichi is so proud :’) PP and Goten’s flat above is their base in Satan City.

Trunks - is also responsible but like a Prince (“stick to the plan guys”, weight of the world etc), he meticulously plans sorties to the point Goten will actively ruin things if he thinks Trunks is over-thinking things. Public think he’s hot and suave and he has a fanbase but it’s because he freezes in front of the press and, with his severe facial structure, his deer-in-headlights look gets interpreted as “handsome brooding”. In truth he’s a giant, easily flustered dork, happier when in control and enjoys things being “just so”. All throughout college he wore a beanie hat to hide his hair and therefore his identity, but people quickly learnt to look for the kid wearing the wooly hat in summer, nothing saves him from recognition poor guy. Although, due to Trunks’ extremely guarded nature and contrasted with Goten’s social charisma, people quickly bored of him and focussed on “his friend”, which Trunks prefers. He’s not shy per-se, but is used to over-thinking everyone’s intentions and prefers to people-watch. Unlike Goten he has a serious romantic streak, (the one thing his sizeable fanbase /have/ got right) but sucks at expressing it, attaching like a limpet to close friends. He also has a dark sense of humour and is really inventive for stupid shit but he’s usually biting it back. When he’s comfortable a different side comes out and when in free flow puns are quick and his banter is razor sharp. The only time he’s ever actually “cool” or “smooth” is when he’s relaxed and trying not to be, which gets ruined when people point it out - “WOW that pose is so cool” “wait what :|?” “aaaand ya ruined it”.

Combine that in Gotenks you’ve got a guy who’s fiercely loyal with a plan to save everyone, leading from the front, but also has a sick sense of humour with no inhibition to reign it in. “Gotenks no - GOTENKS YES” kinda deal. He’s a massive flirt because he knows it’s inappropriate (also best wingman, texting people on the boys’ behalf) and King prank. He’s more focussed than when he was a kid but the dumbass techniques remain, mostly to embarrass Trunks. They communicate through journals as memories can be a little fuzzy, it all started with a little piece of paper Gotenks carries in the fight against Buu :’)

Gotenks has his own complicated angst regarding Personhood and being a fusion. The Worst Thing you can do is call him “Trunks'n'Goten” or use “they” pronouns. The guys (obvs) understand and respect what autonomy he has, even fusing so he gets some downtime so it’s not all fight-train-fight for him. At first they kept him back, but he was so desperately lonely during the college years, hating living vicariously through Trunks and Goten’s memories, that they let him start talking to Mai, Uub and Marron on texts. When that seemed to go okay they let him hang out with them every now and again. T/G/GT only let Pan and Bra in on Gotenks’ partial social life when they ask to learn fusion without any prompting, (not wanting to influence what is a huge change in life circumstance) and Gotenks is massively excited he gets to properly meet and teach his two favourite people he’d been fussing over from a distance.

Marron is not a fighter (ack sorry Swol!Marron I love you) though is trained in ki use as a form of self defense (of course!) and particularly practises flying; she was adamant to keep up with Goten and Trunks when trailing them on adventures. Good thing too as she was the sneaky little shit eavesdropping on everyone, puzzling out every mystery so the boys didn’t have to. She considers herself the common sense of the outfit, to the point she’ll reach for the alcohol when the Saiyans are being particularly off the wall (“oh my god you’re all so ridiculous and unrelatable let me get drunk and tell you more”). Despite not fighting she does want to help people just like her chief of police dad, eventually settling on investigative journalism as way to help. Her over-ambitious final-year college project led her to make enemies in a mob boss which ended up in kidnapping. She used the time to wrangle more info out of them before being “rescued” by an extremely disgruntled, recently debuted Papayaman (“well they can’t find out that /I/ have superpowers”) that led to the mob leaders’ eventual arrests, and it got her her first job. She keeps an eye out for anyone researching how deep the connections between everyone in the group go and subtly tries to scupper it, so far successfully. In the rare serious fights she work on recon and civ defence with Mai, or if she’s present as a reporter actively supports the “oh it’s totally Mr Satan’s protégée saving us” narrative.

Mai is a complicated one and I could really get into the neurodevelopment of her. Whilst some things remain as-is (skill sets like engineering and weaponry that she uses, some habits and vocabulary) her regrowth means her ability to understand her adult memories isn’t there, they slowly cloud and fall away, becoming this fussy mess of facts-of-things-that-happened rather than a complicated nuance of emotion they would be if she’d aged normally. She dreams less and less of being an adult. She’s also at the mercy of hormones and brain structure at that age, still making the same mistakes she made the first time around. As a result she’s a little maturer than you’d expect for someone her age but not massively, and gets along with Trunks, Goten and Marron fine. She works on a number of ki-based techs like integrating ki-sense onto glass for an improved ki-scouter that can cope with the numbers the gang pump out (yay for logarithms) and display the complicated flow of individual ki signatures through different colours. With enough ki behind them the shield from her barrier seeds can protect cities for a few huge hits, and she can pick off lackeys with the ki gun she developed. None of these have the CC logo however as CC “doesn’t develop weapons.”

RE: shipping - When she’s a teen she rebuffs a clingy Trunks at every turn, (poor dude) hoping to stay just friends. He’s lovely but he’s just a kid! Kiddo can’t understand why she’s being so cold though, surely they’d be great together, they were in the future! Before he goes to college she eventually tells him the truth but of course, Trunks insists he doesn’t care if she’s “old”, she’s not anymore, not really, and besides he’s the real problem. But he’s only nineteen, and she knows that’s not as mature as it feels. She has just enough wherewithal to say no, and whilst he mopes for a little they reframe their friendship around this new information. Of course, they eventually crack when he starts working full time at CC when he’s 24, they have a massive heart-to-heart about her experiences with memory and his own through fusion (because think about how ef’d up that is), they give it a tentative go, and Goten and Gotenks weep with joy they don’t have to put up with his pining anymore. Truten was a Thing at college but didn’t stick, although they are so freaking close you’d probably think they were still in a relationship of sorts anyway.

Uub is great! He is 100% the traditional hero type, taking his training so seriously when he joins the crew it winds up Trunks and Goten enough they pick up the slack again. It takes him a few years to catch up with Pan but soon becomes the complete tank for battles. He looks up to Trunks and Goten and even tried to learn weapons to be part of the cool gang but it just wasn’t his style in the end. He does his training mostly at home, though gets dragged around to Mount Paozu by Goku (Goku-totally-ITs-back-home-you-can’t-convince-me-otherwise) and Satan City, eventually working as Papayaman full-time as “Hercule’s student” to take over from Gohan’s Great Saiyaman. He supports his village, going back home as much as possible to see his little siblings, and his family is mega proud if fussing over his safety in big fights. Papayaman takes the credit for saving the Earth nowadays, and all the news articles cover the walls at home (equally with his other siblings achievements). Uub can 100% ham up the media appearances to be the dashing hero due to Mr Satan’s training, but it’s definitely something he’s only capable of with the mask on and otherwise he’s an eager, polite, caring, but ultimately shy guy.

Pan is fascinating, she’s at an intersection of being known as a publicly talented martial artist, and is well-known in Satan City for being a crimefighter (though not as into it as her Mum was as Papayaman is around now) but is privately a beast. People don’t know she has the same super-strength and flight abilities as Papayaman and she’s very keen to keep it that way. She uses the stage name “Pan Satan” for tournaments and to help maintain her Grandfather’s image. Whilst when young she got frustrated at the lack of recognition the Son side of her family got, the negative reactions a sizeable minority of the public have to the few public alien encounters the Earth’s had and to Papayaman’s “possibly real” superpowers scares her as she gets older. She has on occasion tagged along in disguise after Papayaman and used her powers freely in the background in things like hostage situations to provide barriers and prevent explosions “just to help :3”. The one time she was spotted Papayaman was asked about his friend and he despairingly referred to her as his “little shadow” and the name stuck for the gang when in camo. She has a massive number of teachers - Goku, Gohan, Picco"yo", Roshi, Chichi and Videl, Trunks and Goten (and of course Mr Satan), even advice from Vegeta. With all that her understanding of ki control, particular focuses and intents is terrifying, (maintaining barriers with very little concentration etc) and she’s eager to teach what she’s learnt to the group.

Bra took ballet as a kid, is graceful, a real effortless beauty, great with people, the model socialite … is a freaking scrapper in a fight. She spent so long working out how to guard her “perfect” nails as a kid during daily training (a frivolous challenge Vegeta set her) she can form solid and fast ki fists with an almost impossible momentum behind them given her size. She’s very physical in her attack forms, and takes a “point me in the right direction and I’ll smash them” approach. Like her Dad she can take a hit, acting as off-tank for the group (Trunks had to be convinced to let her participate, so close to danger is her attack style). She’s also calculating as hell, crafting a perfect social media profile to push the capsule corp brand amongst teens and young adults and is a media darling, every photo and hashtag considered and poured over to further her image. She is very, /very/ invested in keeping that intact. Trunks on the other hand just can’t work social media, so doesn’t do media other than official interviews if he has to as COO. Bra keeps pushing him to engage, so he has two posts - “This is my official account, all others are a fraud” and “Hey.” “Hey.” has the third highest number of engagements on the site, which both perplexes and amuses Trunks and really irritates Bra. She has a horrid temper in private and in honour of that, Trunks calls her Giggles. She and Pan are two peas in a pod though, getting into their own brand of trouble at all times and Pan is probably the only person she’ll listen to to get her out of a mood.

I could literally go on forever but I’m going to stop now aaaaaaaaa

[duhragonball]

Dragon Ball Z Movie 12: Fusion Reborn (4/6)

The problem: An accident at King Yemma’s has mutated one of his ogres into Janemba, a creature with incomprehensible power.   Janemba has sealed Yemma’s domain within a spiritual barrier, which has disrupted the boundary between the living and the dead.  On Earth, Gohan tried using the Dragon Balls to fix things, but not even Shenron has the power to undo Janemba’s mischief. 

Neither can Pikkon, since the barrier seems to resist even his most powerful attacks.

Goku has lured Janemba away so that Pikkon could rescue Yemma without distraction, but so far that hasn’t done any good.  Frustrated, Pikkon shouts at the obstacle.   

And a bit of it breaks away.

This is never explained, but I’m not sure an explanation is really needed here.  Scolding the barrier and calling it names seems to damage it.    Maybe that says something about the nature of Janemba and his power.  Big J is basically rebelling against the most fundamental rules of creation, like an impudent child.  The spiritual waste that made Janemba represents all the bad things done by a bunch of bad people who got sent to hell by Yemma.   My working theory is that Janemba represents their collective outrage at being held accountable for their bad behavior.   So maybe when Pikkon yells at the barrier, it reminds that evil ki that it really is bad and all this Janemba business doesn’t change that fact.

All that matters to Pikkon is that it works, so he tries screaming more verbal abuse at the barrier.

The trouble is that he’s only chipping away about a quarter-inch off the surface each time.   He’s gonna be at this for a while.

Down in hell, Goku is trying to fight Janemba, but he’s having some trouble figuring the guy out.   Earlier, he sent an army of mini-clones to dogpile Goku, and he managed to get rid of them fairly easily.  This time, Janemba waves his hand, and causes a bunch of these jellybean looking things to fall down on Goku’s head.

Then he charges into the pile like a bowling ball hitting a bunch of pins.

You’d think Janemba would have a hard time hitting Goku, since he’s such a small and quick target, but Janemba’s quicker than he looks.

He also has this ability, where he can make portals.  He sticks his fist through and it comes out on the other side, right next to wherever Goku is.

Also, he can kick really high.  I guess when your body is roughly spherical your center of gravity makes things like this pretty easy to do.   

I almost wonder if the portal thing was devised as a way to cope with Janemba’s design.  Someone looked at this absolute unit and asked how he’s supposed to reach Goku with those stubby arms.  

Worse, Janemba seems to know exactly what Goku is going to do before he does it.   I’m not sure why this is presented like some sort of mysterious ability.  If Janemba can sense ki like most of the characters in this franchise, then he can track Goku’s movements and offensives pretty well.   But it would make a lot of sense if Janemba had some sort of precognitive power on top of all his other weird abilities. 

But it’s a two way street.   After Janemba uses the portal trick enough times, Goku has it scouted, and managess to fire a ki blast at Janemba’s fist, and sending it back through the portal to hit the rest of him.

Then he goes for a Kamehameha while Janemba’s guard is down...

... and then Janemba does whatever this is.   Is that an illusion of Goku, or some sort of time warp of Goku’s actions from a second earlier?

All Goku knows is that it’s weird, wild stuff.  

Janemba doesn’t seem to know what he just did either, and he finds this very amusing.

So Goku decides that he’s going to have to settle this quickly.   He turns Super Saiyan 2, probably thinking that would be enough, but then Janemba fires big ki blasts out of the four holes in his belly, like some sort of anti-aircraft gun.

And here Goku wanted to wrap this up quickly.  Turns out he’s still on the defensive.  Even at Super Saiyan 2, it’s all he can do to stay ahead of the blasts.

And Janemba can fire at any angle, because he can just roll around to point his, uh... holes any which way.

From above, Pikkon can sense Goku’s struggle, and he probably wishes he could join in.

Or maybe he doesn’t, because Janemba’s a lot stronger than he and Goku realized.   So Goku’s decided to pull out all the stops.

Hell yeah!   See, this is the sort of stuff that Movies 9, 10, and 11 were sorely missing.  Those films all had to contend with the fact that Goku was dead and unable to participate in the story directly, and none of them really found a good solution to that problem.  Movies 9 and 10 just gave up and had Goku show up to help at the end, which is incredibly dumb, because if you’re going to do that anyway then why not have him be there from the start?    Movie 11 teased the idea that Goku would be off having another, much cooler adventure off-screen.

What makes Movie 12 so great is that they finally figured out the Gordian Knot of Goku staying dead.  If we can’t bring Goku to the fight, let’s just bring the fight to Goku.   They should have just done that from the beginning.   Just have Bojack attack Goku on the Grand Kai Planet.    Have Broly cause trouble in hell, just like Movie 11 suggested.  They went to a lot of trouble to have Broly miraculously survive his death scene in Movie 8, just so he could appear in Movie 10, and it wasn’t even worth it.   They could have just kept him dead and let Goku fight him for two movies in a row. 

But we all know Broly ‘93 would be no match for Goku ‘95.  That’s why you send in Janemba, because he’s the big gun we need.

Look at how bad ass this is.   Goku to everybody: Come get this work.

Grimly, Goku praises Janemba for being only the second person to push him this far.   So I guess that proves the Buu Saga happened in this movie, even though Goku’s still dead afterward. 

Then he just looks at Janemba, and in the fansub from when I first saw this movie, he says “It’s a fight from here on.”   That’s my favorite line, right there.

Then it’s go time.   No more tricks, no more games, Janemba’s in Goku Town now, and he’s about to get taken to the city dump.

Janemba can’t do shit against Super Saiyan 3 Goku.  He just starts clubberin’ him and Janemba has to take it.

Then he flies really high up and Janemba wonders what he’s going to do....

... and Goku just dives fist-first into Janemba, just driving his ki right into the dude.    Brutal!

It’s not really clear what all of this is doing to the guy, but all of these explosions can’t be good.

Goku flies clear of him, and it sure looks like he’s won.   Janemba convulses a few times, but he seems to be getting weaker...

But then his flesh begins to reassemble itself somehow...

Goku isn’t sure what that means, but he can sense that something is terribly wrong.

Uh-oh...

Uh-oh....!

Uh-ohhhhhh!  Yeah, that’s not good.

So Janemba’s alive, and he’s taken on a new form.  This never goes well for the other guy when this happens, so Goku’s probably in trouble now.

Back on Earth, we don’t really see what Gohan and Videl are up to, but we do follow Goten and Trunks, who have gone back to confront Hitler’s tanks.  

For some reason, Goten seems discouraged by these odds, even though they can punch tanks into other tanks very easily.  The boys haven’t even turned Super Saiyan yet...

Oh, well now they have.    What was Goten so worried about?

I mean, I guess the soldiers can’t really be beaten, since they can just come back to life indefinitely, but you’d think that if Trunks breaks a tank, it stays broken.   Where did Hitler get all these tanks anyway?  

Never mind that shit, because now Janemba’s gonna fight Super Saiyan 3 Goku.   Team Four Star did a countdown of the best fights in 2018, and this was the only fight from the classic movies to make the cut.  Funny how Goku vs. Wheelo didn’t make the list, even though they ranked Movie 2 ahead of this one on their 2015 movie countdown.  Don’t mind me, I’m still bitter.

I can’t do this fight justice with screencaps, and it’s tough to gif a lot of these shots, too.  Both guys are moving around so much and the action is so fluid and skillfully choreographed.   One of my favoirte bits is when Goku rolls away and plants his hand on the ground, then pushes off....

... to kick Janemba right in the mush.  Cool!

But this new red Jameba is tougher than the previous version, and he still has all the powers he used before, like the portals thing.   Goku tries to shoot a ki blast at him...

And he has to dodge his own attack as it’s directed back at him.

Goku seems to be able to hurt Janemba, though, so it’s not a total mismatch...

... Until Janemba starts disassembling his entire body to avoid Goku’s attacks. 

I’m not sure why this is more effective than simply moving at super-speed, but it seems to really have Goku stymied.

Also, he can shoot enormous ki blasts out of his mouth.  So maybe this is a mismatch after all.

Back at Yemma’s Pikkon’s made some respectable progress on the barrier, but he’s not even close to finished, and he’s got Yemma griping him out the whole time, and Goku’s having all the fun.   At least he can take out his frustrations on the barrier.

Here’s one of my favorite shots from the movie.  Goku looks trashed here, but he’s not beaten yet.   Remember, when he used Super Saiyan 3 before, in the Majin Buu Saga, he explained that it used up a lot of his stamina in the living world.  The implication being that it was much more effective in Otherworld, where he couldn’t tire out as easily.   So in theory, we’re seeing SSJ3 applied to its fullest potential, and Goku’s still losing.   Well, uh, he can still use Super Saiyan 4, right?    No, this is Movie 12, we don’t serve that GT crap here.

As Janemba stalks towards Goku he notices an ogre club on the ground and scoops it up.  I don’t know why it’s so small, but I assume it belonged to one of the ogres who run things in Hell, like Goz and Mez.

But Janemba can transform the club into an awesome sword.   I get the sense that Janemba can do way, way more with his powers than what we actually see, but he just hasn’t figured out what he’s capable of yet.    He just figured out the sword thing on impulse.  

Goku keeps trying to hang in there, but he’s outgunned now.  Every time Janemba slashes the sword, it shoots out a thin wave of ki along the arc of the swing, which cuts anything in its path.  So Goku has to dodge the blade as if it’s got an infinite length.

And his best shots aren’t hurting Janemba at all.

Goku tries taking cover behind those jellybean things, but Janemba can just cut through those as well.   

The attack is just relentless, and it’s all Goku can do to run away now. 

And this leads him in the direction of the blood pond, which is one of the key features in DBZ hell.  Somehow, all the blood is now floating in midair in a cone shape.    I have to assume that’s another side-effect of Janemba’s powers. 

But it’s still fluid, as Goku demonstrates when he falls in.

As he does, he reverts back to his base form, and he doesn’t seem to be able to move or escape.   I can’t find any information on the mythology surrounding the bloody pond, but I kind of got the sense that in DBZ, it might act as some sort of means to incapacitate unruly spirits.   When the Ginyu Force tries to escape Hell in the Frieza saga, they fall into the pond, and that’s pretty much the end of that.   When Cell leads a revolt in Episode 195, Pikkon tosses them all in the pond, then uses Hyper Tornado to pull them back out so he can fling them into the needle mountain.   So I got the impression that falling into the pond saps your strength.   Of course, Goku could just as easily be worn out from fighting Janemba, so this may be a coincidence.    But I sort of wonder if Janemba didn’t herd Goku into this spot just so he could take advantage of the pond.

With Goku apparently helpless, Janemba starts slicing off bits of the cone, which then splash away as normal liquid.  I really did this scene, because we can’t see where Goku is inside the pond, so it’s impossible to tell if Janemba has hit him on each stroke.

Finally, Janemba has whittled the cone of blood down to a Goku-sized piece, so the next swing of his sword will surely cut him in two.

I’m not sure whyu Janemba is dragging it out like this, but he is comprised of evil spirit waste, so it’s not like he’s above this sort of sadism.

But then, as Janemba’s ki slice approaches Goku, a ki blast comes from out of nowhere and disrupts the whole thing!

And Goku tumbles out of the blood somehow, which is a lucky break.

But who saved him just now?   Who could have saved him?

Who indeed?

[antibunny]

Just going to muse on Dragonball for a bit.  I somehow manage to love this franchise while it simultaneously frustrates me. Specifically I want to talk about Dragonball GT.  Personally I enjoyed the series.  It dialed back feats a bit to keep fights interesting, brought in more gimmick fights that made battles more than just very samey characters in contests of raw strength, and introduced a real sense of consequence that had been lacking for a while.

So for fun I just thought up 2 scenarios on GT and Super.  You can yell “non-canon” all day long, but GT clearly follows Z, so GT still needs to have its own canon regardless of what direction super takes.  We’re just talking about GT its self here.

Scenario 1:  The simplest explanation is that GT has to follow a split timeline.  What causes the split?  Beerus himself of course.  In the Super timeline of course Beerus awakens, fights Goku, and Goku attains Super Saiyan God, then trains with Whis and Beerus starting off on other adventures, battles Freeza again, and participates in tournaments, while also causing the whole Zamasu problem. 

In the GT timeline Beerus never awakens, never comes to earth, and as a result things remain relatively peaceful.  Goku trains solo as time elapses waiting for Uub to come of age so he can become a teacher, leading to the end of DBZ timeskip.  During this time Freeza is not resurrected, perhaps due to not having the aid of Pilaf and gang in finding the Dragonballs.  Goku never provokes Zamasu, never gets the attention of Zeno, never causes there to be a second Zeno.  Things go relatively OK for future Trunks due to Goku Black never appearing.

What about Pilaf and his gang?  They probably made their “make us young” wish somewhere back before the Cell saga when no one was using the dragonballs.  This would mean in the timeline split caused by Goku’s death leading to the Trunks timeline they’re still young, leading to Trunks meeting a then once again adult Mai.

Now in the GT timeline during the 10 years of peacetime Super would have filled, Pilaf has had time to find the dragonballs again.  Unfortunately he screws up the wish again and shouts “make us old.”

Now we’re where we need to be for GT to be underway.  We’re going to assume that without Goku meeting Zeno, he simply doesn’t cause the universe survival arc to happen.  Simply, Goku has no dealings with the gods, and will go on to deal with aliens and the consequences of his own actions instead, ultimately leading to paying for it with his life and leaving to become the guardian of the dragonballs.  The far end of the timeline coming with the GT movie in which an older and wiser Goku meets his decedent, and encourages him to solve his own problems rather than relying on the dragonballs.  Personally I like this ending.  It comes full circle with a new Goku finding the value of courage in his own adventure, while the old Goku at least embraces the hefty responsibility that comes with his awesome power.

Noooooow that out of the way.

Scenario 2:  Dragonball Super perfectly sets up for GT.  Yes this one is far fetched, and I’m throwing it out there for fun.  Goku becomes unworthy of divine ki, and loses his Super Saiyan blue transformation.  Perhaps because Zeno, or maybe even someone above Zeno decides that too much trouble comes from the gods meddling in mortal affairs.  Beerus says his goodbyes and returns to sleep.

Pilaf again screws up a wish and shouts “make us old.”  He somehow blames Goku for this and conspires to steal the black star dragonballs.  Goku settles down and switches from his orange gi of a student (no longer being trained by Whis) to his blue gi of a master, and becomes Pan’s teacher, and later Uub’s.  Shortly after his new adventure begins.

Yes this one’s pretty out there, but it seems to really piss people off, and you know what?  I love pissing people off.

Anyway there you have it.  My thoughts on Dragonball GT’s relation to Dragonball Super, that ultimately have nothing to do with anything.

[remotecontrolchuck]

Last minute Toonami Night Review: Explosive End to February, and the March of Beginnings.

Well last week was the last run of Toonami in February 2017, and did it end on an excellent note. As the month ended, so too did one of the big story arcs in One Piece, Thriller Bark. A story arc full of plot, character development, feels, and ominous foreshadowing.

Indeed, I have a feeling what the Straw Hat crew experienced on Thriller Bark is only a taste of what’s to come. But with the defeat of Moriah, the return of their shadows, and Brook joining their crew, they leave the ship/island full of high hopes on the road ahead. While Thriller Bark ends with last month, a few great events will begin this month.

In March, the World Tournament finally commences on DBZ Kai, with some awesome and maybe funny fights to be sure. In One Piece, the next filler arc will begin, called Spa Island. And while I won’t get into spoilers, I will say that this arc will be short but quite enjoyable. And lastly, but most importantly, this month begins the last season of Samurai Jack! Can’t wait, it’s gonna be great!

As for the other things that happened last week, we had some game promo for Horizon Dawn by TOM and SARA, as well as another great trippy music video per usual. But another thing that could be said about last week is the amount of explosions in last night’s shows, which I will go through now in the recap!

Dragon Ball Super: After a Super Saiyan Vegeta fails to defeat Beerus, the god of destruction decides to settle the fate of Earth through a game of Rock-Paper-Scissors, and chooses Oolong to be his challenger. At first the pig man manages to tie against the deity twice in a row, but ultimately screws up in the end by going with scissors again, which is defeated by Beerus’s rock.

With Oolong dropping the ball and dooming humanity, Beerus prepares a massive ball of energy to blow the planet to smithereens. But before he can, Goku suddenly shows up to stop him. Asking for more time to find a Super Saiyan God with a Super Saiyan Please, Beerus eventually agrees to Goku’s request.

Now given a little more time to spare, Goku and the Z-Warriors decide to use the Dragon Balls to summon Shenron, in hopes that he will summon the Super Saiyan God before Lord Beerus. Unfortunately if the promos for the next episode is any indication, apparently Shenron is just as terrified of Beerus. So to quote Piccolo here, we’re screwed.

DBZ Kai: With Goku reunited with the gang, the tournament is about to commence! However, before it can begin all participants must qualify by hitting the punch machine to show their strength level. The Z-Warriors effortlessly punch machine to qualify, enough to surpass Mr. Satan’s score. Unfortunately, Vegeta isn’t one for hiding his true strength, and thus blows up the punch machine with... well... one punch.

So while the other participants have to wait until a new punch machine is brought in, Goku and the gang go off to watch Goten and Trunks fight in the Junior Tournament. But before even that starts, the crowd is treated to a ridiculous reenactment film about Mr. Satan defeating Cell at his... well... Cell games. A film so terrible and poorly made that even Mr. Satan think its embarrassing.

Anyway, in the locker room, A blonde bully with a horrible mullet tries to intimidate Goten and Trunks, only to be humiliated by them.

JJBA: As JoJo heads off to find Lisa Lisa, Erisidisi’s brain jumps off of him, and onto Lisa’s servant named Suzi Q. Possessing her, Erisidisi manages to get the Red Stone of Aja and have it transported off the island, where it is soon shipped by train to Switzerland.

After sending the stone off, he then makes it into Lisa’s bathroom chamber, and was about to attack while she was having a bath when JoJo breaks in to stop him. Caesar soon arrives as well, and the two soon confront Pillar Man, while also trying to come with a way to free Suzi Q.

Eventually JoJo and Caesar free Suzi Q by using a powerful blast of positive and negative Hamon, which vaporizes most of Erisidisi before the sun takes care of the rest. With Suzi Q fine and able to remember where the stone was headed, JoJo and the gang take off to catch it.

After a long car ride, they finally make it, but soon find that the Germans have gotten their hands on it. But their commander seems to know JoJo, and tells him to meet him at a cabin up ahead. That evening Kars attacks and kills the officer’s soldiers, except the officer himself as he couldn’t sense him. It’s then revealed that the officer is Major Von Stroheim, having somehow survived and become a cyborg.

Gundam Unicorn: After returning to the Nahel Argama, Banagher wakes up to Mihiro arguing with the ships doctor, telling to put Merida into a straitjacket due to being a cyber newtype. The boy tries to speak up for Merida, saying that she is a POW and should treated fairly, but Mihiro wouldn’t listen. The communications officer believed Merida to be more of a terrorist than that of an enemy officer, and was still sore about how the latter had killed 7 of her fellow soldiers earlier.

After Mihiro leaves, Banagher has a brief chat with the doctor about the philosophy of newtypes, and then checks on Merida. The two newtypes discuss about their battle earlier, as well as the effects of the Unicorn’s NT-D. After Merida tells Banagher to be strong and not to lose himself by the device before then convulsing, causing the doctor to restrain her and keep her stable.

Banagher leaves the room and soon catches up with his friends. Meanwhile, Riddhe and Mineva arrive on Earth, Full Frontal continues plotting, and Alberto has to deal with a bitch of aunt named Martha Vist Carbine, who has plans of her own to acquire Laplace’s Box. Back on the Argama, Banagher and Daguza have another conversation about responsibility as the ship arrives at the remains of the Laplace space station. Later on, Banagher takes off in the Gundam again, unaware that the Sleeves are nearby and ready to ambush him.

Hunter X Hunter: Kurapika and the other hunters make it out of the mansion alive after having taken care of the two moles in their group, and head off to complete their assignments. Meanwhile, Gon and Killua receive the URL they need for the hunter-only website from Milluki’s eagle, which was just in time as they are about to arrive in Yorknew City.

Naruto Shippuden: After a brief skirmish between Team 7 and the ANBU from the Hidden Mist Village, the captains of both teams to a stop to it and begin resolving the matter. The two soon make a deal regarding Utakata, and Tsurugi leaves with his ANBU team after talking to Utakata. As Team 7 heads back to the mountain fortress, Naruto and Hotaru are talking when suddenly the latter collapses.

Realizing she’s hurt, Naruto takes off to get medicinal herbs, while Utakata attends to Hotaru’s wounds. After getting the herbs, Naruto returns but is shocked by the kunoichi’s bare back, specifically the scarred seal on it. Utakata reveals that it is the Tsuchigumo clan’s forbidden jutsu, and begins raging about those who would use others as vessels or tools without any regard for their welfare.

One Piece: Brooks joins the Straw Hats, a grave is made for the Rumbar Pirates, and Nami gets a special paper that will help guide them to their next destination. We are also given an ominous foreshadow in regards to Ace’s fate, but Luffy believes Ace will be just fine on his own. The Straw Hats soon take off and leave the Floridian Triangle, which may or may not be still haunted.

GitS: SAC: Togusa investigates the murder of a fellow colleague, and uncovers evidence of illegal surveillance done by the police on those investigating the Laughing Man Case via interceptors. Later on, the Police Commissioner holds a press conference to discuss the scandal, but it’s soon crashed when the Laughing Man hacks into one of his colleague’s cyberbrain. Disgusted by the Police trying to cover up the truth, the Laughing Man vows to challenge them again, and delivers a death threat to the comissioner before leaving.

That’s it for last weeks recap, and just in time too for tonight’s Toonami run. This is going to be good!

[recentanimenews]

The 19 Most Hype Moments from EVERY Dragon Ball Movie

Dragon Ball is that special kind of thing that transcends anime fandom itself--there are folks who don't even like anime or manga by and large, and yet they love Dragon Ball. You can sing "Cha-La Head Cha-La" at karaoke and people sing along, you can start shouting "KA... ME..." into a crowd and let them finish the rest--Dragon Ball's popularity is on a whole 'nother level.

  Of course, with that level of popularity you're going to get anime-original content, and in Dragon Ball's case we didn't get too many in the way of filler episodes... we got movies. Dragon Ball Super: Broly, which released last month in Japan to ludicrous box office numbers, is arriving in the US tomorrow, and is the twentieth theatrical Dragon Ball release.

  Twentieth.

  Kinda crazy, huh? Personally, I've always had more of an attachment to Dragon Ball's movies compared to the TV anime (I'm a "read the manga" kinda guy), so I wanted to go back and look through each and every one of the past nineteen Dragon Ball movies and pick out my single most hype, most "HOLY CRAP" moment or scene in each one... and who got the most robbed, for good measure.

SPOILERS FOR 33 YEARS' WORTH OF DRAGON BALL MOVIES FOLLOW

  1. Curse of the Blood Rubies

  Most Hype Moment: Goku vs Bongo

The first few Dragon Ball movies are sorta-retellings of the main story, so in Curse of the Blood Rubies we get Goku meeting Bulma, Yamcha trying to rob them, Master Roshi and Oolong being... themselves... and new villain King Gurumes and his goons in place of Pilaf, Mai, and Shu. The movie had been building up Gurumes' right-hand man, Bongo, so Goku legit having a flying staff fight with him while Bulma tries to evade an entire air force is pretty great stuff. Still, shoutout to Yamcha's not-showdown with Pasta.

  Who Got Robbed? Technically, Goku did, right at the beginning of the movie! Honestly, I don't think anybody got robbed in this--early Dragon Ball was really good at making sure everybody got to do something even if it wasn't related to the action, and Curse of the Blood Rubies lets the whole cast shine.

  2. Sleeping Princess in Devil's Castle

  Most Hype Moment: Goku and Krillin, the perfect tag team

With the goal of "training under Master Roshi" driving them, Goku and Krillin team up to take on all of main villain Lucifer's henchmen at once, and it's pretty damn cool. It turns into a running fight and they get overwhelmed later, but then they get to team up again to fight Lucifer himself (and Yamcha gets to take on Lucifer's top guy!), just solidifying what a great team these two are.

  Who Got Robbed? Again--nobody!

Everybody gets to do something, and nobody feels like they're there just to take up space. It's kinda nice, while it lasts. Honestly, if there's one character the movie doesn't have enough of, it's Lunch, since everything she does is awesome and more of her wouldn't hurt.

  3. Mystical Adventure

  Most Hype Moment: Akira Toriyama's two most popular creations team up to murder a man

Tao Pai Pai's kind of an evil jerk, and in this quasi-retelling of another stretch of Dragon Ball proper, he publicly and brutally murders Bora before beating up Goku and blasting him out over the horizon. Tracking Goku and a Dragon Ball, their fight ends up in Dr. Slump's Penguin Village, where Goku gets an assist from little robot girl Arale and they literally blow Tao up with his own missiles. Solid runner-up moment: Tenshinhan being a hero and using a beautifully-animated Kikoho on the Crane Hermit.

  Who Got Robbed? Nobody, really?

Although the argument could be made for Yamcha--he was doing well in the tournament! It seemed like he was getting a push! He did pretty awesome things in the last two movies--but really, much like Krillin later on, his job is to job.

  4. Dead Zone

Most Hype Moment: Goku vs Ginger and Nicky

Time for that first timeskip! There's just a whole lot of cool action in Dead Zone--Piccolo winding up a punch in slow motion for what feels like a full minute before totally murdering Sansho, Kami's laser eyes, and the final 2v1 where Goku and Piccolo team up against Garlic Jr. But the real star of this movie is Goku taking on two of Garlic's henchmen--Ginger and Nicky--with some slick weapons choreography wrapped up with a great Kamehameha.

  Who Got Robbed? Chi-Chi

Yeah, I guess I could say Krillin since, y'know, he gets peed on and then gets half a building dropped on him, but let's keep this interesting. When Garlic Jr's minions show up to kidnap Gohan, Chi-Chi squares up and reminds us that yes, she is in fact a world-class martial artist who just happens to hang with freaks and aliens, and gets one-shotted by Ginger's forcefield. It's okay, we all still know who commands the strongest, fight-hungriest being in the universe.

  5. The World's Strongest

  Most Hype Moment: OH SHIT THE WHOLE GANG'S HERE LET'S DO THIS

This is a Z movie where Master Roshi--MASTER ROSHI--gets two awesome fights, Piccolo is a good guy who becomes a mind-controlled bad guy and goes back to being a good guy, and while Goku definitely gets the last hit, everybody has to work together to keep Dr. Wheelo off him! But this right here, this one shot where everybody lines up to charge Dr. Wheelo... this is the good stuff.

  Who Got Robbed? Krillin literally adds nothing

In his past three movie appearances, Krillin has guts--he charges into fights, stands his ground to protect people, and even gets a few cool moments of his own. But in The World's Strongest, he's diving for cover, regularly getting slapped around, and the only actually-helpful thing he does is prevent Bulma from getting blown away at the end. Oh well, he'll redeem himself--no really, he totally does.

  6. The Tree of Might

  Most Hype Moment: Goku wipes out Turles' henchmen

On the one hand, it's a little annoying when you bring most of the good guys to a fight, and Goku's the only one to actually do anything. On the other, it's so freaking cool to watch, and Goku styles on all these fools in the most dynamic, satisfying way possible.

  Who Got Robbed? The whole gang shows up, fails to make a dent in Turles' henchmen

Y'know how "wait for Goku" is the all-too-accurate joke of this series? It's in full force here--the Z Fighters come out in force, everybody has a unique opponent to fight, and everybody gets absolutely demolished by Turles' goons. Piccolo's smart enough to show up later--all he needs to do is show up, fight Turles himself to buy Goku some time, get blown up, and collect his paycheck.

  7. Lord Slug

  Most Hype Moment: Piccolo offers a helping hand... to Hell

Hoo boy, do villains die bad in this movie, or what? Goku blows Medamatcha to pieces, and then bounces Angila's mouth-beam back where it came from, decapitating him, but I think the worst one goes to poor Wings here. Wings tries to fight Piccolo, but gets thrown around, beaten up, kicked while he's down, and then he offers a hand (and a job) to Piccolo. Piccolo reaches down, then opens his hand up and executes him. It's awesome enough to get everybody watching to go "OHHHHHHHHHHHHHH" but also kind of a war crime, so you're feeling uncomfortable about it afterward. Still, really awesome.

  Who Got Robbed? The audience

I think I've talked about this before, and it only partially has to do with Gohan's stupid whistling song. See, the Japanese title for this movie is 超サイヤ人だ孫悟空--Son Goku, the Super Saiyan, but Goku doesn't really go Super Saiyan in this movie. And, y'see, him kinda-sorta-not-really "going Super Saiyan" doesn't actually do anything against titular bad guy Lord Slug other than shift the momentum in his favor--there's a weird Piccolo/Goku not-quite-fusion and Goku blows Slug away with a Spirit Bomb. So yeah. I... might have some repressed childhood issues due to this movie lying to me.

  8. Cooler's Revenge

  Most Hype Moment: Salza and Piccolo reenact the ending of Die Hard

Goku finally became a Super Saiyan in a movie, for real! Cooler is defeated, blasted into the sun! The world is safe again, right? Not exactly--Cooler's top henchman Salza is still alive, and even though he's pretty beat up, he has more than enough left in the tank for OH NEVER MIND Piccolo just killed him from off-screen. Thanks, dude!

  Who Got Robbed? Honestly? Nobody

Krillin puts up a decent-enough fight even if he doesn't take out any of the henchmen--he basically heads up the plan to locate and heal the wounded Goku. Same goes for Gohan--nobody really does nothing in this movie and they all contribute to the final victory, so good job, team!

  9. The Return of Cooler

  Most Hype Moment: Vegeta's constant, awesome assists

Flying in with a huge head kick? Helping to take down Metal Cooler? That final, desperate ki blast that gives Goku the second he needs to land the final blow? Vegeta's a huge help in this movie!

  Who Got Robbed? Vegeta constantly, awesomely getting shut down

Well, for about half the time. That huge head kick? Metal Cooler gave just as good as he got. Big Bang Attack? Vegeta got kicked in the junk, then got his face grabbed and almost blown off. For every cool thing Vegeta does, he immediately gets knocked back down a peg. This won't become a routine or anything, right?

  10. Super Android 13!

  Most Hype Moment: Trunks vs Android 14

The Japanese title of this movie is 極限バトル!!三大超サイヤ人--Extreme Battle!! The Three Great Super Saiyans and HO DAMN does it live up to that. Goku, Vegeta, and Future Trunks (in his first movie appearance!) are each given an Android to fight, and Trunks takes his opponent out in the coolest fashion possible--charging toward him, slashing with his sword, staying in this pose until the dude flies in half and explodes, and only sheathing his sword afterward. So cool.

  Who Got Robbed? Piccolo

After getting beaten up real bad in Tree of Might, Piccolo went on a huge upswing for the next three movies, constantly taking out henchmen, saving the rest of the Z Fighters, and participating in one of the final battles! So we've built up some expectations for Piccolo at this point, meaning it's disappointing when he shows up late (after Vegeta!), barely scratches the final boss, and really only helps by momentarily serving as a punching bag.

  Yes, I realize the easy joke is to talk about how Android 13 full-force punches Son Goku in the Son Gonads, but I'm a professional.

  11. Broly - The Legendary Super Saiyan

  Most Hype Moment: Broly no-sells a point-blank Kamehameha

An unspoken rule of Dragon Ball is that the slower you say "Ka... me... ha... me... HA," the stronger the attack is. After getting thrown through multiple buildings and surviving the explanation of Broly's super dumb backstory, Goku decides to finish things with his signature move. He spends a while charging it up, too, while Broly slowly walks towards him... and then Goku lets loose, firing a Turtle Destruction Wave point-blank into Broly's Dwayne Johnson-esque pecs. Even after the massive explosion, Broly is unperturbed and grabs the dumbstruck Goku by the face. The movie's nice enough to not show us what happens next.

  Who Got Robbed? Vegeta doesn't even last 30 seconds

I could change this to "Vegeta literally does everything wrong in this movie," but this stands out the most--after preening, posturing, bitching, moaning, and finally freaking the f**k out, Vegeta finally decides to join in the melee after Piccolo yells at him. How long does the Prince of Saiyans last against Broly, the Legendary Super Saiyan?

  29 seconds. Next time you rewatch this movie, count 'em. Also, after that, he spends like five minutes complaining about how he's not going to lend his energy to Goku so they can just beat Broly and go home. That was pretty annoying, too.

  12. Bojack Unbound

  Most Hype Moment: Gohan snaps

There's always a point in a Dragon Ball movie where the hero(es) figure out some clever-yet-simple method of beating the exhibition-match bad guy, and it usually involves borrowing energy from friends (or Goku's only-really-effective-in-movies Spirit Bomb, so... same thing). But this time, Gohan goes Super Saiyan 2, like he did against Cell, and it's chilling. Most of Dragon Ball's cast have a body count thanks to the movies, but Gohan tears Bojack's minions apart with his bare hands, and it falls into that "horrific, but awesome" bucket that Dragon Ball sometimes dips into.

  Who Got Robbed? Piccolo

Did you know that this is the last time Piccolo shows up in a Dragon Ball movie until Battle of Gods? Maybe they were running out of things to do with him, but basically he shows up, saves Gohan, and promptly gets blown away by Bojack. He saw which way the wind was blowing and decided to take a break.

  13. Broly - Second Coming

  Most Hype Moment: The Son Family Kamehameha

Oh hey, we're finally into Dragon Ball's other timeskip! Goku's very dead at this point, but he shows up to join Gohan and Goten for that great father-sons activity called "it's not murder if it's self-defense and it comes at the end of a really cool martial arts battle." No really, it's really cool--the somehow-still-alive Broly leaps up onto a spire of rock and throws a huge energy ball down at Gohan, intending to finish him off. Gohan fires off a Kamehameha, and is joined by his little brother Goten. The two of them are just barely hanging on, and their pleas for help become a wish to the Dragon Balls (collected earlier in the movie!) and Goku shows up to help. With a brief distraction from Trunks, the Son family shoots Broly into the sun and his heart explodes! DID YOU KNOW THAT THIS IS A CHILDREN'S MOVIE

  Who Got Robbed? Piccolo again

Looks like I was wrong in the Bojack writeup! Gohan's in trouble--he's unconscious and about to sink into lava! Suddenly, silently, Piccolo shows up, swoops down, saves Gohan--his awesome flute theme plays, and Gohan is safe. But it turns out that Piccolo couldn't be bothered to show up in the first of several Broly sequels--it's actually just Krillin, dressing up like Piccolo for laughs and getting unceremoniously dumpstered by Broly, also for laughs!

  14. Bio-Broly

  Most Hype Moment: HE JUST WON'T GO DOWN

On a rewatch, Bio-Broly ended up being awesome mostly for how insane the odds are stacked against our heroes. Nobody's a top-tier fighter (we have Trunks, Goten, 18, and Krillin), but everybody keeps taking gnarly hits, getting up, giving it another go, getting knocked back down, and then getting up for another round. They only really get a break when Trunks pours toxic goop all over Broly, giving them a chance to save people from, uh... the overflowing toxic goop.

  Who Got Robbed? Everybody who avoided this because people (like me) said it was the worst Dragon Ball movie

That's Return of Cooler. Give this one a shot--it legit feels more like original Dragon Ball despite being, y'know... a Broly movie. It's nice to be proven wrong sometimes.

  15. Fusion Reborn

  Most Hype Moment: Super Saiyan 3 isn't enough?!

Okay so, Goku's stuck fighting big, adorable first-form Janemba while Pikkon's off trying to free Hell's bureaucracy. Goku turns Super Saiyan 3 and absolutely pummels Janemba... to the point that it transforms into a sleek, mean-looking red-and-purple badass. A sleek, mean-looking red-and-purple badass who can evenly fight with a Super Saiyan 3! Backed by some beautiful animation, the new and scary Janemba lays into Goku and puts him on the run.

  Who Got Robbed? Sorry Gohan, guess you're not the protagonist any more

On any other day, "Gohan fighting Frieza" sounds like a cool thing, right? Well, with Hell frozen over, a whole bunch of former DB villains show up, and Gohan, along with Videl, Goten, and Trunks, get to play cleanup on Earth while Goku and Vegeta do the real work. At least Gotenks re-kills a bunch of Nazis.

  16. Wrath of the Dragon

  Most Hype Moment: When the dust settles

Wrath of the Dragon is a constantly-escalating ride where you think there's a straightforward solution--Tapion sealing the monstrous Hildegarn in his magic flute--but when that falls through, the gang's gotta do what they do best and use some good old-fashioned action violence on the giant monster. This all culminates in Goku going Super Saiyan 3 and using this crazy-ass golden Dragon Fist attack that we never see anywhere else (maybe GT?), and as the dust settles, the clouds part, and you see a victorious Goku standing amidst the rubble with his fist held high... it's almost a spiritual experience.

  Who Got Robbed? Gohan definitely isn't the protagonist any more

So Wrath of the Dragon is supposed to take place shortly after Kid Buu is defeated, meaning this is Ultimate Gohan/Mystic Gohan/whatever he's still in high school so he's not "Adult" Gohan, meaning that you think he'd at least help out against Hildegarn. He does not, barely participating in the fight and getting knocked out almost immediately.

  17. The Path to Power

  Most Hype Moment: Goku wipes out the Red Ribbon Army

Released to celebrate the series' 10th anniversary, The Path to Power is a super-gorgeous loose retelling of the early part of Dragon Ball, going from Goku meeting Bulma to the assault on Red Ribbon HQ, connecting it all with meeting Master Roshi for the first time. Everybody gets kidnapped, so Goku rushes to save them... and takes on an entire army in the process. From an aerial chase to a rough fight against tanks and foot soldiers, to the final, emotional showdown with Commander Black, the entire movie builds up to this and doesn't disappoint.

  Who Got Robbed? Nobody, it's an original Dragon Ball movie

Although there is an argument to be made that we got robbed, because I would have loved more Dragon Ball movies like this, but instead, we took a long break from DB...

  SEVENTEEN YEARS PASS. WHAT, YOU THINK I WAS JOKING?

  18. Battle of Gods

  Most Hype Moment: Goku rushes Beerus only in regular Super Saiyan form

Even the mighty Super Saiyan God form isn't enough to stop the God of Destruction, but Goku's riding this high until the very end. "Only" turning Super Saiyan 1, Goku goes toe-to-toe with Beerus, dragging the fight out into the upper atmosphere and getting whooped--but it's awesome the entire time, especially with FLOW's "Hero" playing in the background.

  Who Got Robbed? Videl

Remember how cool Videl was? How she was Gohan's fiery other half, loved to train, wanted nothing more than to learn how to do all the cool superhuman shit? Remember how she charged Broly head-on, then came back for more? Yeah, all that's in the past now.

  19. Resurrection F

  Most Hype Moment: EVERYBODY GETS TO BE AWESOME

"Krillin, Tenshinhan, and Master Roshi all get awesome moments in a Dragon Ball movie." Yes, Mystical Adventure came out in 1988, but what if I told you that I was describing a Dragon Ball movie from 2015?! While the headline fights definitely go to Goku and Vegeta, Resurrection F remembers that Dragon Ball has a whole supporting cast, and puts them to good use fighting Frieza's army.

  Who Got Robbed? Vegeta, but it's okay this time

This is the one time that Vegeta gets robbed in a Dragon Ball movie and it doesn't feel wrong--it's legitimately part of the story because Vegeta plays with his food and doesn't immediately finish Frieza off. Getting a re-do thanks to Whis' literal deus ex machina button, Goku flies in and killsteals Frieza from right under Vegeta's nose, saving everyone from the real enemy of Dragon Ball: Vegeta's ego.

  And that's all of 'em! Dragon Ball Super: Broly hits US theaters tomorrow, so let's all go see what the most hype moment is... and who gets robbed (my money's on Vegeta)!

  What about you--what are your most hype moments from the Dragon Ball movies? Who do you think got robbed? Sound off in the comments and share your takes!

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Nate Ming is the Features Editor for Crunchyroll News and creator of the long-running Fanart Friday column. You can follow him on Twitter at @NateMing. Check out his comic, Shaw City Strikers!

By: news+feed@crunchyroll.com

[itsworn]

Totally Custom, Top-Notch Pro Touring 1968 Camaro

It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to build a phenomenal car. After meeting Jim Gloe, we think it takes a nuclear engineer.

Yes, that’s right; Jim’s a real nuclear engineer. And that’s his real name. But what’s important here is that he built a 1968 Camaro to basically reactor specs. Like 316-series stainless—it’s all over the car in the form of brackets and tabs. Ever seen welds in a car done to ASME XI specs? Well now you have.

The affair began in 1972 with another ’68 that he bought at the ripe ol’ age of 14. “It had an LS6,” he says. “Which, frankly, stands for Long Straight 6, which in my situation, was a 230ci straight-six.” But he traded that one for a Vega, which he at least built to Pro Street specs. But the first-gen Camaro that got away was always in the back of his mind.

“In the year 2000, my wife and I decided to build a ground-up 1968 Camaro,” Jim begins. And this time he swore to do it the way we always promise ourselves. As in, “This time, it shall be without the limits and financial constraints I endured as a young kid.” Only unlike most of us, he actually did it.

That Jim fabricated his own rotisserie then commenced a program of bagging and tagging everything that came off the car, documenting the disassembly with more than 600 photos, should set the stage for how this build went.

After he disassembled the car, he delivered the major components to Detroit Speed Inc. There, the car got all N.O.S. beltline sheetmetal. Then it underwent modifications dictated more by function than simply form. For example, a cowl-induction hood would’ve accommodated the tall-deck big-block but at the expense of a higher center of gravity. So the DSE crew sectioned the crossmember for pan clearance and relieved it for header and pulley space to mount the engine lower.

A trip to DSE is usually what defines a car’s nature. And make no mistake; this car’s all the better for it. But it was the work by Jim and Tony Goodrich from Tony’s Rod and Custom that really sets the car apart.

For example, the 316-series stainless mentioned before has most of the tensile strength of 4130 and the corrosion resistance of stainless. They’re properties that make the material abundant in the reactor world (and expensive everywhere).

And that’s only the tip of the iceberg. Reactors have redundancies, so Jim built it into various components. Like the car has a key switch in the event that the pushbutton starter fails. To hedge his bets, he even used gold-plated terminals. This kind of caution inspired him to do something kind of unheard of in the weight- (and style) conscious world of street machines: he carries a spare tire. The dude even created the fuel filler in the likeness of an ASME Class I flange, a design used in leak-sensitive assemblies. You know, like nuclear reactors.

Speaking of leaking, the headers won’t. Ever. Dissatisfied with production header gaskets, Jim contracted Percy’s High Performance to build six-layer gaskets from dead-soft aluminum. Of which, you and I can now buy at Summit Racing (PN PHP-66089, if you’re curious).

The engine is even one-offed for function sake. Jim runs a Ram Jet manifold, which fits only short-deck engines. He had Wilson Manifolds’ shop foreman Tony modify it to fit the engine and shorten it to fit under the hood. He also shaved the redundant bosses, webs, and center fuel rail.

Ever pragmatic, Jim participated in a kind of apprenticeship with his own car under the tutelage of Tony Goodrich at Tony’s Rod and Custom. They employed custom techniques to refine the car mechanically. For example, they cut and modified the sheetmetal to eliminate the body shims that the factory used for expediency. Rather than being a bolt-on, the rear spoiler is now an integral part of the trunk thanks to Tony. Though the lid is admittedly heavier than stock, Jim took it as an opportunity to fabricate stronger springs in the form of stainless gas struts that he had made in Germany. He kept the stock hood hinges, replacing the coils with similar struts that attach directly to the hood. The philosophy being that it’s the load path rather than the hinges themselves that cause panel-alignment issues.

And rather than spending a bunch of money to hide things like plumbing, Jim spent a bunch of money on Swagelok components. Components he encounters daily in reactors. Components that will never fail in the course of this car’s activities.

Naturally, he used top-shelf fasteners, even making a few from ARP components where production ones didn’t exist. Oh, and get this: where torque specs didn’t exist, he created them.

And it wasn’t just mechanical stuff that he went overboard on. For example, rather than invest a ton of time perfecting pot-metal faux hood vents, he worked with Dean Rodgers and Baumgartner Race Cars to design and whittle functional ones from billet aluminum.

Even the 572 emblems were designed with a custom typeface then cut from brass stock and hand-shaped before being chrome-plated.

This car is made special by things one just can’t buy. Like rather than send the car for upholstery, Jim and wife, Geralyn, invited Scott and Gary Long to stay at their house, erecting an impromptu sewing room in their living room and a workshop in their basement.

And it’s not just their work that makes the cockpit stand out. Jim used a Hurst shifter to fabricate his own shift housing. It’s actually a Powertrain Control Solutions Simple Shift that selects gears.

Is Jim Gloe’s Camaro overkill? Of course it is. But so are a lot of cars that we feature.

The subtle difference here is that this car’s overkill testifies to its creator’s interests and skills. This is a build that follows the design axiom: form follows function, where the look of something is dictated by its components. Also following high-design principles is the honesty; Jim didn’t hide anything. “We wanted the guts to show,” he observes. What makes it extra interesting is that Jim kept various components that most people replace with fancier ones (hood hinges, for one), investing the savings in places where they mattered more to him (the Swagelok stuff, for another).

The rest of us won’t build a car to reactor specs. Nay, we shouldn’t. Because that wouldn’t be true to us. And honestly, it’s probably not true to us to do things to a car just because other people do them.

But we can all take away something from Jim Gloe’s build. Primarily, that we should do things that reflect our own interests and skills. Because it really doesn’t take a nuclear engineer to build a car that stands out; it just takes someone who’s willing to put a little bit of themselves into whatever they do.

Tech Check

 Owner: Jim and Geralyn Gloe, Fulton, Missouri

Vehicle: 1968 Camaro

Engine

Type: Chevrolet Performance big-block

Displacement: 572 ci

Compression Ratio: 9.6:1

Bore: 4.560 inches

Stroke: 4.375 inches

Cylinder Heads: Edelbrock rectangular port

Camshaft: Lunati grind RRB1-234-244 (0.575-inch lift, 234/244-deg. duration at 0.050-inch)

Induction: Ram Jet 502 modified by Wilson Manifolds, Arizona Speed & Marine throttle body, FAST XFI ECU, 60-lb/hr high-Z EV1 injectors in full-sequential mode with 10-degree opening retard

Ignition: FAST dual-sync distributor, MSD 6A digital ignition

Exhaust: Custom-built 2-inch primary headers with 3.5-inch collectors with stainless 0.065-wall 3-inch pipes and Borla mufflers

Output: 638 hp

Drivetrain

Transmission: 4L80E built by Gordon Stoney, supervising engineer of Hydramatic Division

Rear Axle: GM 14-bolt with Torino-style axle ends, Truetrac limited-slip, 3.55:1 gears, Moser 33-spline axleshafts

Chassis

Steering: DSE 600-series Saginaw

Front Suspension: DSE with stock drum spindles and Addco 1 1/8-inch antiroll bar custom bent to clear Milodon oil pan

Rear Suspension: DSE QUADRALink

Brakes: Baer/Alcon drilled/slotted 13.5-inch rotors with six-piston, staggered-bore monoblock calipers, front; Baer SS4+ 13-inch drilled/slotted rotors with polished hats, four-piston calipers, rear

Wheels & Tires

Wheels: Budnik Tiller 5 (custom cut for caliper clearance) 17×8 (4.875-inch backspace) front, 18×12.5 (7.25-inch backspace) rear

Tires: BFGoodrich G-Force Rival S, 245/40 front, 335/30 rear

Interior

Upholstery: Luxor II Ultraleather

Seats: Fourth-gen Camaro, custom trimmed

Door panels: Fesler, modified with speaker bosses

Steering Wheel: Budnik

Instrumentation: AutoMeter Pro-Comp Ultra-Lite II with warning lights

Shifter: Custom-fabricated assembly by owner, Powertrain Control

Audio: Alpine head unit with JL signal processors and amplifiers, Focal Slimline front speakers and 165KF rears. Installed by owner, tuned by Eric “The Entertainer” Pyle (Jefferson City, MO)

Built By: Scott and Gary Long, SEANAE Interiors (Grovespring, MO)

Exterior

Body Prep & Paint: Tony Goodrich, Tony’s Rod & Custom

Modifications: Rockers extended 2 inches with ground effects added to backs of rear fenders and leading edges of fronts

Hood: Stock SS with billet aluminum vents designed by Dean Rodgers, machined by Baumgartner Race Cars. Milled for vent function

The post Totally Custom, Top-Notch Pro Touring 1968 Camaro appeared first on Hot Rod Network.

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