#benching goku in dbz is a very good way to accomplish this

[jacquelinemerritt]

Dragon Ball Z: Abridged Episode 37 Review

Originally posted January 24th, 2016

Without Goku, Team Four Star focuses on their interesting characters.

Last week I spent a paragraph (justifiably) complaining about Toriyama’s decision to take Goku out of the fight with a bullshit plot contrivance, yet I praised Team Four Star for doing their best to tie the contrivance to character driven humor. I still stand by what I said, of course, but “Catch Me If You Can-droid” has shown me that my complaints may only need to be applied to the plot of the source material, as even without Goku, Team Four Star1 is more comfortable telling their story than ever.

Now, perhaps you could chalk this up to “Can-droid” finally providing the payoff for the androids being ridiculously underpowered, and while that’s certainly a part of it, as all of the tension in the episode comes from whether or not Gero can get away from our protagonists or not, with it immediately fizzling when he is discovered by Gohan, I’d argue that it’s also the result of Team Four Star being relieved at not having to deal with their most uninteresting character and all his associated plot contrivances.

That’s an odd thing to say in an episode that intentionally destroys all of its tension for its other characters, but that lack of tension is earned, as it’s been slowly established over the past few episodes that the androids they’ve been fighting haven’t been nearly the threat Trunks made them out to be.

Goku’s presence, on the other hand, automatically removes any semblance of tension, as the show has now proven twice that he’s guaranteed victory, even in circumstances where by all account he should be dead (see: Muffin Button).2 Not having Goku around means that they’re free to focus on the characters who have to work to achieve the power they do; they’re free to focus on humans instead of a demigod.

And since they’re focusing on humans, Trunks’ arrival and declaration that they’ve been fighting the wrong androids is a gut punch, as the last two episodes have let our protagonists (and us by extension) feel deservedly overpowered only to discover that they didn’t “over train for this,” as they’ve yet to encounter the enemies that are an actual threat. The stakes are immediately reestablished, and it’s at this perfect moment that Gero shows his power is due to his cleverness, as he takes this perfect opportunity to escape and potentially kill Bulma, Yajirobe, and Baby Trunks. Now that Goku is out of the way, shit can finally get real.

Rating: 4.5/5

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Stray Observations

1It’s feels odd to call Team Four Star a singular entity, especially as we get further into the series, as I know that Scott “KaiserNeko” Frerichs is responsible for more of the writing, recording, and editing workload than anyone else (I feel decently comfortable saying he’s their equivalent to a showrunner from season 3 onward), but there aren’t any particular credits listed on the episodes, so I can’t really give credit where it’s specifically due.

2Again, not criticizing Team Four Star here, especially since as I mentioned before, they managed to actually imbue tension in Goku’s fight with Freeza. I’m criticizing Toriyama for writing a completely unbeatable character whose victories come by ancient prophecy and plot contrivance, rather than actual developed effort. I am also aware of the end of the Cell Saga, and yes, Toriyama deserves credit for ending it the way he did.

Vegeta: “When a goddamn Super Saiyan asks you for a Senzu you say ‘How many?’”

Vegeta: “Energy sensing is bullshit.”

Vegeta: “Get out here and fight me blindly like a man!”

Piccolo: “Call me the can opener, because I’m about to bust open your metal ass.” Vegeta: “Yeah, how about we leave the one liners to me?”

Domo Arigato is the song playing over the radio in Bulma’s car. I am pleased.

Bulma: “Did you know I never even saw Freeza? Not even once?” Yajirobe: “I’m pretty sure no one ever complained about not meeting Hitler.”

Yajirobe: “Have you ever seen what an all Senzu bean diet does to a man?” Bulma: “What?” Yajirobe: “Korin likes it.”

Piccolo: “That’s the android.” Trunks: “No, it’s not.” Gero: “Yes, I am.”