Episode 108 of Dragon Ball, first broadcast in Japan on April 13, 1988 and known in the English dub as Goku's Revenge, is the one where Goku avenges Krillin. Against Tambourine, who beat him with ease a few episodes earlier, there is no contest this time: Goku overwhelms him and erases him with a Kamehameha. But victory comes at a cost, because King Piccolo loses a second son and decides to step onto the battlefield himself.
Summary
Flying toward the next Dragon Ball, Master Roshi thinks back to the day he met Goku and Bulma, who had helped his turtle get home, and to the day Krillin showed up at Kame House asking to become his student. The Dragon Radar snaps him out of it: a dot is moving fast, and the group hopes it will lead them to Goku.
Tambourine taunts Goku, sure he is facing the opponent he already beat. But Goku moves at a speed the demon cannot even follow and pummels him. Yajirobe assumes the monster is dead and starts thinking about dinner, but Tambourine gets back up and fires a beam from his mouth that seems to vaporize Goku. In fact, the boy dodged it easily. Terrified, the demon tries to fly back to his father; Goku launches himself skyward by extending his Power Pole and obliterates him with a Kamehameha.
Aboard the airship, King Piccolo feels Tambourine die and is visibly in pain. Mai wonders who could be strong enough to kill his sons; Pilaf notices that someone else is gathering Dragon Balls, but the demon king has a different priority and orders the ship toward Goku. On the ground, Yajirobe is furious that his meal has gone up in smoke, and Goku reminds him that as long as he keeps his ball, more monsters will come.
Roshi, Tien and Chiaotzu reach a cave where the radar shows a ball moving erratically. Chiaotzu drives off a flock of crows with telekinesis, and inside the group finds the ball: the birds had carried it there, which explains its odd movements. Meanwhile, Goku and Yajirobe watch the airship appear in the sky and descend right on top of them.
Our take
This is the catharsis episode, and the direction treats it that way. The contrast with episode 103 is deliberate: back then Goku was drained from the tournament and Tambourine toyed with him; now he has eaten and slept, and the gap is enormous. It is a very Toriyama idea that Goku's strength depends partly on a full stomach. The airborne Kamehameha, with the Power Pole used as a springboard, is a nice bit of invention, and it is one of the rare times Goku kills an enemy on purpose.
Roshi's anime-original flashback looks like filler, but it does a job: it takes viewers back to the start of the series and to a young Krillin in the very episode where his killer pays. There is also a detail that makes the villain more interesting: King Piccolo genuinely grieves for his lost children. He is a demon, but he is also a father, and his decision to descend comes from mourning as much as pride.
Trivia
- The episode adapts chapter 141 from page 3 to the end and the first seven pages of chapter 142 of Akira Toriyama's manga. It drew a 17.2% ratings share in Japan.
- Roshi's flashback, Yajirobe building a fire to cook Tambourine and the whole search in the crow cave, where the group recovers the Six-Star Ball, are anime-only.
- In the manga Goku reveals he is unhurt right after Tambourine's beam; the anime adds a few seconds of suspense, with Yajirobe getting ready to defend himself.
- It was written by Shun'ichi Yukimuro and directed by Yoshihiro Ueda.
Did you know? In the Japanese version, while guessing who could be killing King Piccolo's sons, Mai brings up none other than Godzilla.
Characters
- Goku
- Yajirobe
- Tambourine
- King Piccolo, Emperor Pilaf, Mai, Shu, Piano
- Master Roshi, Tien Shinhan, Chiaotzu
- Krillin, Bulma (in flashback)