Ch 389 man suddenly i wish vegeta still had his tail because the poofy anger tail was great, a+ visuals (Message of Terror) Cell picks a spot to have his tournament, and destroys a little farm/homestead that's in his way. He levitates a big ol' chunk of rock out of the ground and slices it into a perfect cube. ARE YOU A GEOLOGIST? With some very fancy hand movements, he dices up his rock cube into lovely even tiles and lays them out to create his quadrilateral "ring". It's not quite fancy enough for his tastes, but it's a good start and he has his television debut to get to. i think killing someone on the live news should probably mean that you're banned from television But no one can ban Cell from TV, because no one can stand up to Cell, so he gets to have his broadcast. Rejoice, earthlings, for Cell will bring you excitement and relief from the everyday (and full-frontal nudity on the 11 am news broadcast)! He introduces himself as the monster that killed so many people, but don't worry, that's over for the moment! you really had to reach for that name huh nice multimedia rig up at kami's place, check it out. look at that tv with a handle. whose tv is that? who bought it? who flew it up to kami's place?? who hooked up the satellite dish and the receiver or whatever that thing is?? Rules are similar to the prevous Tenkaichi Budoukais, but there's no penalty for killing (although Cell's gonna try real hard to not kill anyone). You can't touch ground outside the ring, but sure as shit there'll be a lot of flying around to deal with. If someone's able to best Cell, then I guess he'll just... I actually have no idea what he'll do if he loses, because he doesn't say. What he does say is that he's gonna kill everyone, not by blowing up the planet or starting a nuclear winter or anything like that; he's going to personally hunt down every. single. person. to see the fear on their faces when he kills them. Jesus. a nice family gathering in the lab (vegeta has stolen the only chair) Cell says he hopes that they can find someone to oppose him. He blows a hole in the studio wall and takes off again. With his (vestigial?) wing-cases, from a distance, he kind of reminds me of some of those fancy jet planes. literally why can't you wait a fucking second to take off your shirt He wants to go back to the HTC, and Trunks wants to come too, but first he gets a haircut from mom. Which is nice because I like medium-length hair on him. Unfortunately it'll just get long in the HTC again because Trunks probably won't cut it and Vegeta certainly won't. Not that I'd trust him to. It would definitely turn out worse than Gohan's style. There's a lot of stuff about how the world has forgotten Son Goku, which I'm a little ??? at, because did the world ever even know? I don't know if there was news coverage when Goku took out Piccolo Sr., everyone but Mr. Announcer and the usual gang ran off when Piccolo Jr. got out of hand at the end of vanilla DB, and (as Jeff and Dan would say) Nappa destroyed the news before Goku got anywhere near Vegeta when they first arrived on Earth. So I really feel like people probably just don't fucking know. Ch 390 (The Emergence) People are freaking out about the Cell announcement, and Goku and Gohan still have three hours left in the HTC. Vegeta is very impatient, and skeptical that they'll exit in a punctual fashion. There's a little bit of a kerfuffle between him and Piccolo over who's going to get the room first, and Piccolo has a prime opportunity to needle Vegeta a bit. that's a weird time limit! plus if you stay too long, the exit disappears and you get trapped in their forever. how does that work for other people? does it spawn a whole new pocket dimension that they use, or does it just bork it forever for everyone? because i could see vegeta considering it (not going through with it) just to potentially fuck with goku Speaking of fucking with people, Goku and Gohan fuck with everyone who's waiting by getting out right then, way before their remaining three hours are up. ;.; your son's gotten so big. he might even be double digits by now (i cannot remember the timeline to save my life)? you missed his birthday!... sort of. Time for some background infodumping, which is elided over. Vegeta wonders why he can't feel the typical super saiyan energy, despite the telltale signs. Goku gets his old gi back (and apparently just disrobes in front of everyone to put it on. I suppose that shouldn't really come as a surprise, but...) and Gohan makes me fucking tear up! aaaaaaah Vegeta's had enough of the clothes discussion and wants to get down to business: can Goku defeat Cell or not? Goku doesn't know; last time he saw Cell, Cell was... semi-perfect, I think? And he's been away for a year while Cell was out here getting perfected. He instant transmissions to Cell to check him out. Cell's finishing up some decorations for his ring, giving it a bit more of an official, polished feel. They observe each other and Goku says he'll fight Cell in however many days it is now if Cell doesn't kill anyone between now and then. Popping back up to Kami's place (I really gotta find a new thing to call it, because Kami is very much gone), Goku admits he didn't think Cell would get quite so much stronger, and that he's not sure he can win as he is now. Piccolo takes the opportunity to solidify the HTC usage rotation order and says that he's going, then Vegeta, then Trunks (I guess going in alone this time?), then they can use it again. However... oh yeah????
Ch 391 piccolo should have a cat (The Calm Before the Storm) oh vegeta, you try so hard but you can't measure up to what goku does without the slightest effort GOOD LORD HE'S ALREADY DEAD JUST LET HIM BE (and look at that tien face) Vegeta's ready to kill something, but Goku wishes everyone good luck and then leaps off the side with Gohan. On their way down, they stop by Karin's place to say hi (and try to get some senzus, if possible). Yajirobe gets all het up and tells Goku not to try to persuade him to fight in the tournament. No worries, Yajirobe, Goku's not here for you! (Although... considering the Yajirobe Enigma.... maybe you should come along just to be safe because you might end up saving the day. Somehow.) They discuss what a threat Cell is, how incredibly powerful, how unlike anyone they've ever faced, etc., and Karin comments that Goku seems awfully calm for someone in such a state; he must have come to some sort of realization while training in the HTC. you certainly know how to instill confidence in a person, goku (but you make a cute face sometimes) Goku asks Karin to size up his power compared to Cell's, which he should be familiar with from observation. Up above, Tien, Piccolo, Trunks, and Vegeta have a rousing conversation about the nature of super saiyan-hood and what it means that Goku and Gohan are able to sustain it without effort. Goku powers up (to aboult half, according to him) and Karin begs him to stop, because he's going to destroy the tower that Karin's place somehow manages to perch on. Those up top get a shock too. Karin is very complimentary of his incredible power, but... ultimately, although it's just a guess, he'd have to say that Cell is still stronger. Goku thanks him, seemingly happy that he guessed right, and teleports away with Gohan. * gets out microphone * he wasn't human to begin wiiiiiiith Vegeta's pissed because he's been outclassed so quickly. you can do something else while you're waiting, vegeta, you don't have to hang out up here. you can go home and get some baking done Goku takes Gohan to Roshi's place to pick up Chichi and go home to rest, train, rest, and then battle Cell. Chichi pitches a fit when she sees Gohan's hair. Ch 392 (Cell vs. The Army) Ooof. This isn't going to end well. But first, a picnic! alt fashion alt fashion!!! But on the way back, there's a special bulletin on the car radio about the armed forces being deployed against Cell. I guess it'd be pretty hard for people to believe that one creature can resist, y'know, an army, and they haven't really seen him do much but fly around, kill a news anchor, and blow a hole in a building. The army does a lot of shooting, but when they pause to observe the damage they've wrought, they find out that the answer is absolutely none. And then Cell turns around and basically destroys them all in one sweep of his hand. Goku steps out of the car and says he has to go see Piccolo. dude! they just got back together, you can't go asking them to break up now! Piccolo and Kami can't break up now; it's a one-and-done kind of deal, I guess. Too bad! But Goku has a better idea. that's a fucking shit deal, man, cell is about to destroy the population of earth in like a week, and you want to get someone to be a guardian??? i hope you tell them EXACTLY what's going on so they can make an informed decision
Does Bulma hoard the Dragon Balls in between story arcs? Like during those three years of training for the Androids were other random schmucks allowed to make wishes, or are they all in a Capsule Corp vault somewhere. On one hand I understand that she made the Dragon radar which kind of give her dibs, on the other hand she's a genius heiress multibillionaire and her entire friend group could bench press the moon. Maybe Bulma can let someone else see the Dragon once in a while.
I don't know! Then, on the other hand, you have to worry about people like Pilaf & co. wandering around wanting to do dumb shit like help Piccolo Sr., so maybe it's for the best if she keeps a hold of them.
See I thought it was called that but then I doubted myself so much that I thought I had made it up (and got too anxious to look it up because that's a reasonable way to react to potentially being wrong about something). thanks anxiety
Ch 393 special midday report * haunted doll watch beeping * (The New Kami-sama) This chapter may get like two whole posts dedicated to it because I can feel it's gonna be a good one Goku's gonna find him some Namekians and kidnap one to be the new kami persuade one of them to come back and take over Kami's old job! oh what you mean piccolo isn't the best company you could ask for? mr. dour himself? mr i'd-rather-be-brooding? naw i'm just kidding piccolo's the life of the party Piccolo wonders how the hell Goku plans to do that when they have basically no idea where they went (and no handy Shenlong to ask for directions). Stupid Piccolo, Goku can teleport! Time is of no object!... providing he can actually find them to teleport to. He's gonna "scout around" for some ki that's similar to Piccolo's, which once again brings up (for me) the whole thing about ki potentially being at least partially genetic or not. He doesn't know if he'll be able to sense it from so far away, but there's no point in not trying. srs goku face. it's impressive that you can change the shape of your chin just by concentrating thank you for this gift of expressive piccolo (trunks and mr. popo aren't too bad either) It's not time to give up yet, though, because Goku remembers that Kaiou exists and has some very useful antennae. Much more so than Piccolo's, I must say. Sorry Piccolo, yours are very nice and decorative and one time you did actually use them to channel an attack, but Kaiou definitely takes the cake in terms of usefulness. He's like a living (??...???????) satellite dish, cell phone, and mentor all in one! Goku is somehow. Able to... teleport to the afterlife? How does that shit even work? Is Kaiou's planet a part of this plane of existence or not??? Whatever. He does it. Pop! Off he goes. awww c'mon you guys it'll work out somehow The furry president... king?... is making a speech about the complete defeat of the army, saying that he felt it was the only option available and how he wishes that there had been some other way. If only someone would appear as a savior, much like that kid who took care of Piccolo Sr. all those years ago! But for now, all they can do is pray. Goku pops into existence on Kaiou's planet. Kaiou is snoozing. god i wish that were me Goku's a little bit incensed that Kaiou's just having a leisurely nap when the Earth's about to be destroyed. (Or at least the people on it.) OH i just got why he has a "59" on his jacket. go-ku. five and nine. i'm dumb Goku explains the situation and Kaiou agrees to help out by at least trying to point Goku in the right direction. oh my god you're fucking cute sometimes speaking of!! Kaiou finds them! And points out their location to Goku. Or at least the genera direction to look in. Somehow. I don't pretend to know how this shit works. there's a Lot going on here and i love it all SUCCESS! thanks kaiou! (tbc)
(continued!! after way more time than I originally planned!) pop! ... oh that's right, you actually haven't ever (?) seen any of the non-Kami, non-Piccolo namekians. not even my good boy dende who did so much to help out your friends/son A Namekian who I believe to be Muri (the new Grand Elder!) approaches him and asks who he is, and becomes much less hostile when it's revealed that he's Goku. Despite the unfortunate loss of the planet itself, it looks like Goku might be a bit of a hero to the Namekians, because he took on Frieza. well, that's probably as good a confirmation as any of "here's the sitch on earth right now" MY BOY!!!!! awwwwwww... dende ;.; but you're so tiny, i hope you understand what you'll be getting into Goku's a bit skeptical, because they need their new Kami to be able to make dragon balls. is this a... normal thing? do namekians often go off and do this? you had better kaiou: satellite, cell phone, mentor, and now convenient waystation for teleportation! Piccolo is surprised to see Dende, and Goku leaves to pick up Gohan and Krillin to welcome Dende to Earth. Krillin is watching TV and we get our first look at the one, the only, the martial arts champion of the entire world... Mr. Satan! (Also called Hercule, which I'm unclear on; is it actually his first name or just something someone chose? Anyway, he'll forever be Mr. Satan to me.) * claps * Mr. Satan explains that Cell defeated the military with the use of previously-placed explosives, and vows to win and protect the planet's citizens. People go just fucking nuts about him. Krillin sighs and says something to the effect of "well, he's a goner" and then Goku grabs him to drag him off to see Dende. :D :D :D While the three are having their reunion, Trunks asks Goku if the reason he's so cool and calm is that he's discovered some weakness of Cell's that means he can win. Goku wonders if Cell even has a weakness, and Trunks looks... nonplussed, to say the least.
His real name is Mark, but it's unclear if Satan is his last name, or a stage name. Hercule is a fabrication for the English versions. Censorship in early DBZ is mostly comically ridiculous (a shonen anime where folks can't die, HFIL, I could go on... ) but even I can see that crowds of adoring fans yelling 'Hail Satan Hail Satan' might be a hard sell.
Ch 394 * will smith pose @ dende * (The Cell Games Begin!) As happy as I am to see my one and only son again, I can't help but think that this is... one of the most dangerous things he could have done, considering the trouble that the Earth gets into on the reg. I know he's not expected to go down and fight people or anything, but still! There's no guarantee that the fight won't necessarily come to him. Also he's probably gonna miss being around other Namekians. Piccolo's there, but culturally he's hardly Namekian at all, right? Plus he doesn't seem like he'd be good at smalltalk. * frets about dende's future * Piccolo's a little bit dubious about Dende's capabilities in regards to Dragon Ball creation. 5/5 stars, 100% positive ratings, very good reviews, high praise from everyone (please don't tell me otherwise) Dende can certainly make some dragon balls! It'll take 100 days. Shit! sweet piccolo asking the real questions here Dende says sure, he can make them that way (!!!), but if he does they'll only get two wishes, not three like with Porunga. Sounds pretty good! Can't help but feel like there's something that's being forgotten, though. Oh well, bring on the dragon statue! Mr. Popo brings it out and Dende calls it "interesting". Well, I guess Shenlong's not all that much like Porunga, except for the coloration. Dende mumbles over it for a bit, and light fountains out of the top and disperses to go reinstate the dragon balls that are scattered around the Earth. Bam, it's done. Dragon balls: active, functional, and upgraded! Goku's gonna go collect them, and he tells Gohan to stay and play with Dende until it's time to fight with Cell. Gohan's kind of hesitant, but Goku just teleports away with an "It's fine!" Trunks asks Gohan if he knows why Goku's in such high spirits when things are looking so grim, but Gohan doesn't know either; he's just been told to look forward to it. Krillin guesses that Goku must have some kind of plan if that's the case, but Piccolo's more pessimistic and thinks he might just be resigned to his fate. Sixteen's still getting repairs done when Goku stops in to borrow the radar. I hope he'll be ready in time, although I don't know how much help he'll be. read a goddamn book Goku manages to get all the dragon balls together before the day of the fight. No indication of him making a wish on them at the moment, which makes sense; should probably save the wishes for after Cell is defeated, or for if something goes drastically awry during the fight to try to turn the tables. Goku gets ready and is wearing a completely kanji-less gi. Chichi tells him not to get killed ("Yeah, yeah!") and then to swear to her that Gohan won't be fighting, to which Goku says "gottagetgoingBYE!" and disappears. There's a somber mood up at the Lookout, and surprisingly, it's not nerves about Cell. dragon ball lore. please tell me more about the various wish limitations and what can/can't happen Goku's unconcerned about that; they'll just have to not die. Well, some of them can die, I guess; Gohan and Trunks still have an extra life, I think. Unless Trunks was wished back sometime in the future before he came back to the past, which seems unlikely, but it's possible. Anyway, c'mon, hurry it up, they have to get going if they're going to get to the tournament grounds before noon! There are two newscasters there and unfortunately one of them is not Mr. Announcer, but I imagine he'll serve a similar purpose. No one else is around because they are reasonable people who don't want to be killed, either by Cell or just in the general fighting melee. Cell's just standing around in the middle of his ring, daydreaming about fighting Goku. Mr. Satan arrives in a car with "Mr. Satan" (replaced by Hercule for this particular release) written on the top and on the sides. He points at Cell and gives the thumbs-down sign. mr. satan you interrupted his daydreaming!! Ch 395 (Heroes Assemble!) (╯•﹏•╰) Mr. Satan beckons the reporter and the cameraman down from their perch on a nearby cliff, and after some deliberating, the reporter decides to come down and they get right up next to the ring. Mr. Satan accuses Cell of using bombs to destroy the military and city/ies, and that this whole thing is somehow some sort of trick. Cell ignores him and so Mr. Satan and the reporter start making faces and the like at Cell. Vegeta comes flying in and startling the ordinary humans in the area. rude!! but understandable After questioning whether or not Vegeta was actually flying, the reporter ventures over to get Vegeta's views on the current events. rude!!! but expected So far, it's just Vegeta and Mr. Satan who've shown up to be challengers, and there's only five minutes left. Goku was right, you guys, you are gonna be late! Sixteen is the next to arrive, fully repaired. Finally, the rest arrive in a huge bunch (and prompt Mr. Satan to say that this trick to make them seem like they're flying is a very popular one). There's a pretty good two-page spread of all the usual fighters (minus Vegeta) looking cool. I'd recommend DBZ volume 17, page 146/7 if you wanna take a gander at it. Sixteen greets Krillin and thanks him. Krillin says it's no big deal, and Goku tries to make friends with Sixteen, only to be cruelly shot down. Apparently Sixteen isn't quite over his desire to kill Goku. This makes Goku a little crestfallen, and Mr. Satan is slightly annoyed that all these guys have showed up and are taking the attention away from him. The sadness is pretty brief for Goku, however, and he wants to be the first to challenge Cell. That seems like a bad idea, but Goku's fairly insistent. because that's really who you need to get permission from! Vegeta grants it, if rather ungracefully; it doesn't matter anyway, because he's still gonna be the one to ultimately defeat Cell. Mr. Satan and the reporter are incredulous: do these people even know what they're getting into if they enter this tournament? This isn't a game, you know! Despite it literally being called one. Mr. Satan implies that they're all imbeciles for not knowing who he is, and wants to take his turn first. Krillin tells Goku just to let him. And with that, it's Time. Time for the tournament to begin!
suppose i should probably watching dbza at some point because these keep making me laugh almost as much as the clip of vegeta saying "mondo cool"
I kind of forgot how unsettling I found Goku in this section. With his good cheer and sneakrets and those blank super eyes.
DBZA is some premium Good Shit. The first season is a little shaky but by the time they hit Namek the production values + jokes get crazy good. Also all of the comedy clearly comes from a place of slightly obsessive love.
I think I figured out how namekians might do the genetic diversity thing. Merging! Merge two and then have the fusion make eggs and you get some fresh new gene mixes. So... hows the egg makins Piccolo?
Ch 396 first chapter i've read in a state that's not denial illinois (Hercule, Champion of the World) (original japanese title: The Cell Game's Dead Weight?!) I should probably just include both huh, especially when there's such an incredible difference Cell doesn't care who goes first, he just wants to fight someone. Mr. Satan, the obvious choice, wants to step up to the plate and show this joker what's what. Goku says he might want to go home and not get killed. when some rube tries to tell you that you shouldn't face someone who literally destroyed an entire military force and killed hundreds of thousands of people goku's on tv!! People get all upset at Goku for giving Mr. Satan a friendly warning and trying to make sure he doesn't just get slaughtered. King Furry is watching and says that Goku reminds him of the kid who defeated Piccolo Sr., which I guess did happen at the king's castle, but the hair and eyes are just all wrong. well this is probably why piccolo doesn't get out much. do you think it would help if you changed your look, piccolo? maybe to something a bit less imposing and ostentatious? maybe a wig. would a wig help? Krillin reminds Goku that they can just bring him back along with all the other people who got killed by Cell, so let him throw himself in there. Which is a bit of a cavalier attitude towards life, but that's what happens when you have magic wish orbs that can do everything from spawn panties to rez an entire party. And hey, if anyone dies more than once, you can probably just go out and borrow more wishes from the Namekians on their new planet! Death is a lie and means nothing. unless you go to hell, maybe? Anyway, Mr. Satan steals a page from Piccolo's book and throws his cape off dramatically. He doesn't have a hat to accompany it, but he does have a large and gaudy belt that he removes. oh he folded them up nicely. piccolo never does that Mr. Satan takes out a capsule that just has a big ol' bag inside, from which he removes 15 tiles that he stacks up neatly. He gathers strength and then attacks! And breaks 14 of them. People watching on the TV go nuts. cell is unimpressed Mr. Satan attacks! Mr. Satan is defeated! piccolo no you're out of bounds! you don't get another chance! (and thanks for letting vegeta say something toriyama)
