It's been a few years, but from what I recall of Dragon Ball Xenoverse, Captain Ginyu was selectively a jerk. Like he mostly shows distain for his opponents but he's very fond of the other Ginyu Force members, and if you have him for a Mentor he thinks you're the bee's knees. If you do very well on a mission he promises to make a new dance for you, and one time he said he'd get me a parfait. Xenoverse is a disaster in so many ways but it's also a shameless fanfic-y delight.
Ch 275 i have been researching move terminology so maybe i'll be a little bit better at describing attacks (but i also might get shit super wrong and if so i'm sorry) (Vegeta vs. Recoome) It's that time again... time for a chapter devoted to a single fight between two characters. I feel like there hasn't been a "vs" chapter for a while. * limbers up for a lot of describing how they hit each other * Recoome is also calling Vegeta "Vegeta-chan", which just sets my teeth on edge every time. He also invites Krillin and Gohan to step in if they want to (because of course they're absolutely no threat to him). Jace and whoever the other one is who's still hanging around and hasn't been killed get a bit miffed because they want to fight them. Recoome does a number of poses and Vegeta gets super fired up, but not in a "oh nice moves" kind of way, more in a "this is going to be fucking rough" kind of way. His battle aura kicks up quite a dust cloud, and Jace comments to the other one that his PL is over 30,000. Without much warning, he up and punches Recoome in the face then zips behind him for a double axe handle, sending him to the ground. Vegeta lands on his chest, breaking his armor, and then grabs him by the leg and hurls him into one of the many convenient rock formations in the area, breaking it to pieces. an incomplete list of parts of the body you can shoot beams from: a) palms b) mouth c) eyes d) feet (rarely) Vegeta's beam attack causes a huge explosion and leaves him a little bit winded. i won't say it i won't say it everyone knows by now what my feelings are on this gohan how is your foot working in this panel (also: of course he's alive) WHAT A LOOK Along with looks, Recoome is serving up some serious pain with a knee strike right to Vegeta's face. the size differences in this series are just stupendous. recoome's head is as big as vegeta's entire torso Ch 276 (Vegeta vs. Recoome, Part 2) Vegeta recovers and does the bounce-off-the-ground-using-hands thing that's very popular with DB characters who get kicked through the air parallel to the ground. He gets right back into the thick of things and we are subjected to the sight of half of Recoome's ass because he's managed to get a perfect tear just... right there. Unpleasant! They exchange a variety of blows before Recoome lands a particularly agressive-looking elbow drop. Vegeta disengages and tries to get some distance in the air, but Recoome is too fast and ends up behind him, dropping him with a kick into the ocean. * peaceful underwater video game music plays * Vegeta rockets up and nails Recoome right in the gut, which looks bad at first, but Recoome grabs hold of Vegeta around the middlish area and just fucking slams him halfway into the ground from god-knows how high up. He pulls him out by the ankle, but Vegeta does another dual-palm blast right to his face, which gives him a tiny bit of breathing room. pretty worse for wear why tho vegeta if you can hold out for another twoish minutes or so maybe goku will give you a senzu
Every time you do the "peaceful underwater music" thing my brain plays the fucking Sonic drowning music and I'm just. That's not peaceful, dumbass. It does fit very well with that Vegeta though.
I always hear the SM64 water music, which is incredibly unfitting 99% of the time, and that's why it makes me laugh fake edit I just listened to the drowning music and now it's what I'll be hearing too
Personally I've been going with Jellyfish Sea from Chrono Cross but I agree that Sonic Drowning Music is a much better match.
Ch 277 fucking nail on the title art page got my hopes up for a hot second there (Freeza Victorious?!!) Vegeta's standing, but that might be about all he can do at the moment. Recoome prepares for a major attack by screaming its name ("Recoome Eraser Gun"). me, crying: how do you do that with your jaws Krillin and Gohan spring into action: Gohan grabs Vegeta and gets him out of the direct path of the blast, while Krillin does a perfectly-executed knee drop right to the top of Recoome's head, shutting his mouth and making him shoot beam-energy out of his nose instead. just like laughing with a mouthful of liquid. ooooh man is that going to sting. as much as i doubt that this is the end of Recoome, it's still incredible. krillin you're amazing sometimes. JESUS CHRIST VEGETA i'd ask what's got your knickers in a twist but i'm like 63% sure you aren't wearing any under that getup (or maybe they're just built in to those suits). especially with the more skintight ones, stuff would show. ... Anyway enough about Vegeta's potential undergarments. PLEASE god I would rather not by all means Recoome makes a request of Burter and Jace: he wants to deal with Krillin and Gohan as well as Vegeta. the ginyu force are definitely some of the more enjoyable enemy combatants One kick and Krillin seems to be down for the count. Gohan, looking incredibly small, says he'll do as much as he can, but oof. He looks so tiny. We get teased with the potential arrival of Nail to the Gohan/Krillin/Vegeta vs. various Ginyu Force members fight, but then are told he's turned around and is headed right back to the Grand Elder. Thanks Nail! You were a real big help, yep yep. Gohan, meanwhile, is squaring off against Recoome. He tries a beam attack, but Recoome deflects it with a puff of air and sends it right back from whence it came, following it with a chop right to the neck (augh). And back at Freeza's ship, all of the dragon balls have been gathered and are in his possession. NO I WANTED TO SEE IT DAMNIT The chapter ends with a fucking heartbreaking shot of Gohan saying "Dad...." and looking just so beat up and defeated. :( :( :( Ch 278 (Son Gohan's Last Stand) why couldn't this have been the story of gohan having a nice time on namek looking at lizards and weird crabs and stuff (as an aside: gohan, future great scholar, may i interest you in the study of the wondrous field of Biology, the best science?) Freeza wishes for eternal life and youth. Absolutely nothing happens and Freeza and Ginyu end up looking like total idiots. Freeza decides that this is because there must be some other factor that they don't have or don't have right: words or arrangement or something. He needs a Namekian here 5 minutes ago, and using one of the new fancy scouters (oh yeah, the Ginyu Force brought some new fancy scouters that maybe won't explode at the slightest provocation) he locates what he believes to be a cluster of three Namekians. He departs in his pod to pay them a visit and leaves Ginyu in charge of the dragon balls. Recoome is still beating up on Gohan (would all y'all fuckers just leave my sweet boy alone) who collapses, only to force himself to his feet again. * has a lot of emotions about gohan * Recoome evades Gohan's attack and kicks him. Why does Gohan have to be specifically kicked so much? Is it because he is small and therefore perfect for punting? Whatever the case I hate it. NO could not you have arrived just a tiny bit earlier???? but at the same time: at last at last at last
Ch 279 pretty nice serious Goku on the title page art. god i love the penwork in this series so much (Son Goku Has Landed!) How many times must I witness any proportion of Recoome's butt. I have not kept count but I feel like we must be in or near double digits by now. Once is Quite Enough Goku gets a full-page spread for when his ship's door finally opens and reveals him. He spends a little bit of time feeling out all of the ki running around on the planet and realizes that both Gohan and Krillin are close to death. How many beans does he have? Three or four at most, if I remember right, at least from the last count. That's not very many at all. He takes off. it's very strange to me sometimes how i can interpret this image as "oh, super fast flight!!" with hardly a pause, and that for some reason this particular set of lines suggests faster flight than other sets of lines I've previously seen. Goku arrives on the scene and startles the Ginyu Force members there. He completely ignores them to take care of Gohan (and has to force-feed him a senzu, because broken neck and all). so tiny ;.; Next up is Krillin, who tells Goku he's not sure Goku's up to the challenge -- even Vegeta was powerless to do much. Goku wonders why they'd attack Vegeta and Krillin starts to explain, but Goku just puts his hand on Krillin's forehead and tells him he doesn't need to explain. toriyama (i guess it's better than krillin infodumping, but still. "iunno just thought it'd work lol cool i can read minds now i trained in 100g so that also made me psychic") um that's an extremely impressive toss for a SINGLE BEAN. just imagine taking a fava bean and hurling at least the length of a football field. Goku tells Vegeta to eat it, and he does (you're pretty credulous sometimes, huh, Vegeta). That's all three remaining senzus used up before anything has even been gotten into with Freeza. God you guys really need a priest, huh. Or maybe an alc to do some potion-brewing and tossing. Anyway, with everyone healed up, Goku sets off to fight the three Ginyu Force members by himself. (I started this on Thursday, I think, and haven't had time to get back to it until now t.t, and all my caps got deleted so I have to go back and cap them all again. also if there's any weirdness with cap placement or repetition or anything it's probably because of that as well.) There's more scouter reliance and low power level mockery from the three Ginuy Force members, despite the fact that they witnessed deliberate changes in power levels in Vegeta, Gohan, and Krillin already. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ do people never learn Vegeta, Krillin, and Gohan are all marveling at Goku for being so calm when facing down against these monsters. Vegeta has a sudden suspicion. yes. i'm sorry, vegeta, he's become a vegan Ch 280 (Super Saiyan?) we've been watching Super and uuuuhh now I can't read "super saiyan" without thinking "supaa saiyajin" But that's neither here nor there because right now it's time for Goku to fight the Ginyu Force (minus Ginyu himself and the one that got killed). While Goku's having a prematch convo with Recoome, Vegeta's having a lot of feelings about social castes, folklore, his own eliteness, and legendary warriors. Most of them are in the Angry family (but then again, most Vegeta emotions belong to that clade). Recoome attacks and Goku seemingly disappears, popping up again behind Jace and the other one whose name I can't remember. Apparently he just went over there to ask them if they're in league with Freeza, and to tell them to leave if they'd like to not get hurt. Goku, you probably shouldn't give them a chance, man. Piccolo and Vegeta are one thing, but you can't expect everyone to not go out and kill a bunch of people later on. At this point, somehow Recoome's ass has become even more exposed than before and I hope that he meets his end soon because I can't deal. Recoome sets up for some huge devastating attack and never gets to the end of it because Goku sinks an elbow just so deep into the center of his chest. sick burns (cropped to spare viewers) Recoome collapses, must to everyone's shock (except Vegeta's). there's just a lot to unpack here
Ch 281 in some cases senzus seem to clean up blood but in other cases they don't. what's up with that (Jeice and Burter) Jace and Burter haven't got the hint and decide that Goku's just a punk and that Recoome just got unlucky and let his guard down stupidly. a good vegeta. his hair gets less puffy over time and that makes me a little bit sad Jace and Burter attack; Goku pops Jace right in the face and gives him a bloody nose. Both of them attack Goku simultaneously and Goku blocks them easily with his forearms. He knocks them away and does a kind of AOE attack centered on himself just by holding out his arms and shouting. Krillin and Gohan are confused; how is Goku making it look so easily when his ki is so much lower than theirs? As usual, Vegeta Has The Answer Prof. Vegeta Jace does his first (?) special attack, which is an energy-type ball attack that he serves like a volleyball at Goku, who slaps it away (right towards Burter, who does manage to avoid it). Goku "disappears" again and ends up ominously hovering behind Burter. Ch 282 (With Allies Like These...) We learn that Burter is/was the fastest in the universe (which, once again, I'm skeptical, but whatever). saiyans don't have great AGI growth as they level up, apparently Both Jace and Burter get all up in arms about someone making light of the Ginyu Force and attack Goku, with predictably little result. Goku takes care of Burter first, with a kick-elbow drop combo, and finally ends up underneath him as he falls. damn son Goku tells the shocked and seemingly scared Jace that the two (Recoome and Burter) are still alive, and to take them and get out if he doesn't want to die. Vegeta vehemently disagrees with this potential course of action, but Goku says they're already beaten and there's no need to finish them off. Jace thinks about things for a second and then takes off without either of the downed two. i like the idea that there could possibly be more than about ~3 people with that hairstyle in the entire universe and that one of the other ones (especially one wearing an orange gi with a "Go" kanji on the front and back) would show up here of all places (i think that's the first kanji in his name anyway) (so i went to check and make sure i wasn't misremembering things and apparently that kanji means enlightenment) Vegeta takes this moment to break Burter's neck with his legs. you don't know him very well right now but this is like a Peak Vegeta move Vegeta also takes care of Recoome with a blast. No more butt shots. Goku's now pretty upset with Vegeta for finishing them off needlessly, while Vegeta is counter-upset that Goku let Jace get away. He gets pretty smirky and says that Goku hasn't quite become a super saiyan, and that there's no point to how strong Goku's become because it still means nothing when compared with Freeza. Ch 283 (Ginyu Steps In) There's a bit of discussion about Freeza and whether or not he's gotten his wish yet. (It's a bit strange that everyone 's just kind of okay with Vegeta.) I totally forgot that at this point, Vegeta has never seen dragon balls actually in use before and doesn't know about the sky going dark and whatnot. krillin, goku, gohan: * ignore vegeta * Jace has made his way back to Ginyu and broken the bad news to him about Burter, Guldo, and Recoome. Ginyu says he'll show Jace how it's done and has him hide the dragon balls by burying them. i dunno man i think you make it work Ginyu gets very angry about the lack of impact in their posing and promises to make whoever's responsible pay. Cut back to the newly-expanded Team Earth, where they're trying to figure out what to do. Goku thinks they might try to avoid Freeza, because he wants to rez the people on earth and to follow Kaiou's orders, if possible. Vegeta's like "you might not want to get involved with him, but if he wants to get involved with you (and your planet), you're SOL, so let me become eternal instead", then notices that there are two big ki traveling in their direction. Also, worryingly, Freeza isn't where he was before -- Goku notices a big ki far off in the distance, in the direction of the Grand Elder, which is bad because a) if the Grand Elder dies, no more functional dragon balls and b) Freeza doesn't know that and may kill him. To make matters worse, Ginyu and the returned Jace show up at that exact moment. oh i'm glad you're not an absolute idiot like your comrades were
(continued) goku's a genetic sport??? Instead of going out after the Grand Elder, which was my initial (dumb) thought, Goku sends Krillin and Gohan to Freeza's ship to search for the dragon balls there and ropes Vegeta into helping him deal with Jace and Ginyu. (Vegeta's gotten a power boost because he almost died but got healed, which makes me wonder how that works in nature -- would it be a slow process that followed healing in the normal course of things, or does the power just spike when near death and then is accessible when the person is recovered?) the beginning of a long and fruitful career of vegeta being a dick
Ch 284 highly recommended cover page of goku mimicking ginyu's pose (A Matter of Pride) While Goku's distracted by Vegeta, Ginyu attacks. He and Goku seem to be fairly even. They step back to take a short breather and have some back-and-forth about power levels. Vegeta, meanwhile, is in high spirits because Goku and Ginyu might just take each other out and he can go and do whatever he wants. Goku thinks that he has to take care of this shortly so that Vegeta doesn't get his way, and Ginyu reveals that he can also control his power level, which is a new twist. Ginyu powers up and attacks with a blast, which Goku avoids. Goku ends up behind Ginyu and kicks at his head, but Ginyu ducks with a smirk. There's a series of further attacks/evasions/blocks, then they take to the air. Goku outstrips Ginyu, but Jace butts in and uses a blast to make Goku come to a screeching halt. Ginyu takes advantage and grabs Goku from behind. too bad it's not color, i like the pinky kaio-ken color but ginyu realizes he's up to something and lets him go WAIT THAT WAS THE REASON????????? can't at least you guys not be That Way??????? can't you just be nice comrades who help each other out and accept people doing stuff that benefits you? uuuurgh i'm so exhausted with all you "HOW DARE YOU INTRUDE ON MY FIGHT" people oh okay so it wasn't JUST that Jace was butting in, it was also that he's suspicious of Goku Goku uses the kaio-ken, not sure what multiplier, and Ginyu tracks the power level growth, which is prodigious and breaks 100,000, which is a good 40,000+ the previous 60,000 reading. Aaaaand that's a wrap on Volume 19! On to 20! Ch 285 (The Last Three Namekians) WELL OKAY THEN. LAST THREE? ALRIGHT ALRIGHT ALRIGHT. COOL. ONLY THREE LEFT. :( my snail people Goku ends up roughly around 180,000, which astounds both Ginyu and Jace. (Ginyu apparently can get up to 120,000, so things are not looking too great for Ginyu). "M-masaka... omee wa supaa saiyajin na no ka...!?" oh my god the sheer level of drama here is just fantastic Goku tells Ginyu that he doesn't want to bother with him, and so he should just leave. Ginyu seems personally affronted that Goku doesn't want to rip him limb from limb and comes to the conclusion that despite Goku's incredible power level, he hasn't become a fully-fledged Super Saiyan yet. perplexed gokus are some of my favorite gokus Cut to Freeza, who's nearly reached the Grand Elder's spire, which now that I look at it, doesn't seem to have any way to ascend to the top. I guess some (?)... or most (?)... Namekians can fly, though, so maybe that's not an issue. Or maybe Nail just flies people to the top if need be. heck yeah give my beloved son a power boost! After being boosted, Dende gets sent off to help the people from Earth. He and Freeza pass by each other and exchange glances; Freeza lets him go because he's nothing more than a "dust mite". how dare you speak that way about my precious child Freeza lands and Nail steps out of the Grand Elder's abode. so polite even in the face of danger and evil Nail and Freeza have a civil interaction where Freeza requests the knowledge of how to use the dragon balls, Nail refuses because Freeza is just too evil, and Freeza threatens him with death, as there's another Namekian available to ask.. Nail tells him to go ahead, but that the Grand Elder, as the creator of the dragon balls, is the source of their power, and if he dies, the dragon balls will cease to function. Freeza glances over at the dwelling. MOTHER. FUCKING. EYELASERS!!! *.* (there's a page missing here, so... something happens. The Grand Elder and Freeza seem to talk a bit?)
(continued) maybe you should have made just one or two more (okay, i know they're generally peaceful and that they might be in a pretty quiet part of the universe and that maybe people don't really know about them but only one just seems irresponsible to me, especially when you have magic wish balls that can make truly incredible desires a reality) The Grand Elder tells Nail to buy as much time as possible. So I suppose that to Freeza, if neither Nail nor the Grand Elder will tell him how to use the dragon balls, the balls themselves are next to worthless to him, so I guess I understand where he's coming from when he says he's going to "show [them] how [he], the greatest warrior in the universe, can be!" So, recap: Gohan and Krillin are on the way to get the dragon balls while the surviving Ginyu Force and Freeza are away; Vegeta's probably right on their heels, intending to use the dragon balls for himself; Goku is facing off against Ginyu and Jace, although Jace has been ordered to keep his nose out of it; Dende's somewhere in transit; and Freeza is squaring off against Nail. Lots of shit happening all over the place. Sheesh. Wonder if the dead gang are getting updates from Kaiou as stuff happens.
This dude must hate feet nearly as much as Liefeld, he only ever draws them as suggestions. I noticed it on Burter where the detailed hand is next to the "eh, its a triangle?" foot.
Ch 286 i'm so tired. i'm so fuckin' tired. i wanna read db but i don't have enough brainpower to be even remotely interesting while doing so (Nail, Champion of Namek) Square-off between Freeza and Nail outside the Grand Elder's ruined house. looks like a face Nail doesn't want to endanger the Grand Elder, and so suggests taking the fight someplace else. Freeza is weirdly amenable to a lot of things (like being polite and moving the fight), probably because he feels so secure in his power as to not need to worry about being intimidating or anything. Although he then does get a bit pissy when Nail flies a bit too far. dramatic coat flinging runs in the... family? would piccolo and nail be cousins? second cousins? some other weird relation? depends on how piccolo/kami's progenitor (sorry forgot his name) and the grand elder are related Nail charges up. He's super broad-shouldered, even more so than Piccolo, which makes me wonder about castes again and about what it means that Kami was able to make dragon balls. Freeza compliments him and says that he'd make a fine addition to the Freeza Squad. it's maybe the first freeza face i haven't hated good fucking lord (but at the same time: only 530,000???) Freeza offers to fight with only one arm and Nail snaps. He attacks with a chop straight to the neck that Freeza takes without blinking. Freeza grabs the arm without seeming to be holding it very tightly at all, and Nail's forearm gets ripped off. Nail does a lot of screaming while Freeza tries to get him to tell the secret of the dragon balls. In a polite manner, which is kind of infuriating. Nail pops out a new forearm and hand and Freeza has a little surprised reaction to it. Unfortunately, making a whole new part of a limb causes a drop in power level (not too startling, considering how much effort it seems to take; Nail doesn't seem to have any easier a time than Piccolo). Switching gears, Ginyu is laughing and it seems to irk Goku a little bit. Sidenote -- there are always such picturesque clouds in DB skies. Nice cumulonimbus deals with tails from being blown by the wind. Anyway, Ginyu's happy he's found someone much stronger than himself, which, HELLO LET ME INTRODUCE YOU TO THIS NICE YOUNG MAN OVER HERE WITH THE TAIL AND THE HORNS BY THE NAME OF FREEZA. Maybe Freeza's a bit too much stronger. Jace goes "!!" and says "...so that's it, Captain Ginyu's gonna...!!" no shit he's gonna something just tell us what he's gonna DO. Another sidenote: Jace has the most terrible legs in the series so far, I hate them. Ginyu laughs and then punches himself right in the chest, straight through the armor, and says he's taken a liking to Goku's body. He then says "change!!" and they switch... souls...? Essences? Spirits? I'd be interested to know if, say, Gohan would sense Goku's ki from Ginyu's body, because now they are all switcherooed up. (Wonder if this is Ginyu's original body or not.) This explains the weird self-attack; wrecking the old body for the new inhabitant. Ginyu's pretty slick.
I´m getting the idea Toriyama isn´t so good at keeping his worldbuilding straight. Or even gay in an organized fashion.
