Episode 11 of Dragon Ball, first broadcast in Japan on May 7, 1986 and known in the English dub as The Penalty Is Pinball, takes the saga past the point of no return. Locked in a cell in Pilaf's castle, Goku and his friends lose the last Dragon Ball and can only watch as the emperor summons the dragon Shenron. Along the way come one of the silliest tortures in animation history and a frantic escape.
Summary
Stuck in the dead-end room, Bulma, Goku, Oolong, Yamcha and Puar look for a way out. Goku does not even know what a trap is, and Yamcha's blows do nothing to the walls. Pilaf appears on a screen, introduces himself as the great king and demands the Four-Star Ball.
Bulma sticks her tongue out at him, and the offended Pilaf has a mechanical arm haul her over, promising something "naughty". The punishment turns out to be a blown kiss, which makes him and his henchmen blush. Bulma, who expected far worse, mocks him, and a shaken Pilaf sends her back to the cell.
Next comes sleeping gas. Everyone passes out, including Pilaf, who walks into the cell without his mask. Mai finds the ball tied to Goku's back and takes it. When the group wakes, the ball is gone, but the cell door has been left open. They run into Pilaf's gang in the hallways and give chase until the emperor springs another trap: playing an organ, he controls a giant pinball that hounds them through the corridors and herds them back into the very same cell.
Outside, Pilaf arranges the seven balls under the full moon. Yamcha urges Goku to use the Kamehameha he learned from Roshi, but the blast only opens a small hole in the wall. Puar and Oolong turn into bats and fly out to steal at least one ball, but they are too late: the sky goes dark and Shenron rises from the Dragon Balls.
Our take
Almost the whole episode takes place in one room and one castle, and the direction plays with that space. The maze-like corridors and the giant ball turn the castle into a pinball machine, a sequence that is not in the manga and stretches the story without dragging it. It is filler done right: visually fun, and it keeps the tension building toward the summoning.
The comedy revolves around Pilaf, a villain scandalized by a kiss who knocks himself out with his own gas. It is a portrait that cements him as a comic character for good. The "torture" scene also toys with audience expectations: Bulma's disappointed reaction is the real punchline.
One detail is worth noting: Goku's Kamehameha barely dents the wall. After his feat in episode 8, the show reminds us that talent alone is not enough, and Goku admits with a laugh that he has not trained enough. It is the seed of his decision to go to Roshi.
The ending is a classic cliffhanger. After ten episodes of searching, the dragon finally appears, but on the wrong side. It is the series' first summoning of Shenron, and its staging, with the darkening sky and lightning striking the balls, becomes the template for those that follow.
Trivia
- Goku confuses the Japanese word for "trap", wana, with "banana", a pun that is hard to carry over in translation.
- The Trimark release of the first English dub (1995) cut the rude gesture Bulma makes at Pilaf.
- The episode adapts manga chapter 19 alone and drew a 24.6% ratings share in Japan.