Episode 109 of Dragon Ball, first broadcast in Japan on April 20, 1988 and known in the English dub as Goku vs. King Piccolo, finally puts Goku face to face with the demon king. The title promises an even fight, but the episode delivers the opposite: after an encouraging start, Goku learns that King Piccolo plays in a different league, and that not even his best technique can stop him.
Summary
Flying toward the fifth Dragon Ball, Tien muses again on the Mafuba, the technique that sealed the demon away long ago. Meanwhile the airship lands next to Goku and Yajirobe. As soon as he hears King Piccolo's name, Yajirobe, who knows the legend, hands Goku the One-Star Ball and runs off to hide behind a tree.
The demon king drops to the ground while Piano sings his master's praises. Goku blames him for Krillin's death and strikes first: his speed catches Piccolo off guard and knocks him down, so much so that Pilaf, perched on a crate to watch, falls off in shock. But King Piccolo gets back up, removes his cape and unleashes an aura that leaves Goku stunned. Elsewhere, Master Roshi finds the Three-Star Ball, only for a boulder to roll over him and send the ball tumbling into a ravine.
From there the fight turns. Piccolo grabs Goku, who only breaks free by biting his hand, then slams him into a rock and knocks him out with a kick. When the boy comes to, Piccolo peppers him with explosive beams fired from his fingertips. Goku looks for cover among the rocks, but his enemy is too fast, and in close combat Goku can no longer keep up.
At his limit, Goku takes the Kamehameha stance. For a moment King Piccolo flinches, convinced he is about to use the Mafuba, then realizes his mistake and relaxes. The Kamehameha hits him square on, but when the smoke clears the demon is still standing, practically unharmed. With Goku on the ground, he prepares to finish him off.
Our take
After the catharsis against Tambourine, this episode immediately puts things back in perspective. The anger that made Goku unstoppable is not enough here: his first blow lands only because the demon underestimates him, and once King Piccolo gets serious the gap is brutal. The anime stretches the fight well beyond the manga, with the aura, the beams and extra close-range exchanges, and the result is a slow slide that makes the dread tangible.
The best moment is the demon's flinch at the sight of the Kamehameha stance. It is the only crack in his confidence, and it reminds viewers that King Piccolo's real weakness is not Goku's strength but the Mafuba, the technique that already beat him once. The bite on the hand, on the other hand, is pure Goku: a boy raised in the wild fighting with everything he has. Yajirobe hiding behind a tree is a coward, but he does leave his ball to Goku, which counts for something.
Trivia
- The episode adapts chapter 142 from page 8 to the end and all of chapter 143 of Akira Toriyama's manga. It drew an 18.8% ratings share in Japan.
- Tien's thoughts on the Mafuba, Piano's boasting, King Piccolo's aura and the ball Roshi finds and loses are anime-only. In the manga Pilaf watches from the roof of the ship like the others, with no crate.
- In the manga Goku bites the demon's thumb and is shaken off at once; the anime lengthens the struggle and adds the chase with finger beams among the rocks.
- The cliffhanger lasted two weeks: no episode aired on April 27, 1988, and the follow-up arrived on May 4.
Characters
- Goku
- King Piccolo
- Yajirobe
- Emperor Pilaf, Mai, Shu, Piano
- Master Roshi, Tien Shinhan, Chiaotzu