Episode 112 of Dragon Ball, first broadcast in Japan on May 18, 1988 and known in the English dub as King Piccolo's Wish, is where the demon finally gets what he wants. Chiaotzu tries to beat him to the wish and pays with his life; Shenron gives King Piccolo his youth back, and King Piccolo thanks him by killing him. With the dragon gone, so are the Dragon Balls, and with them any hope of bringing back the dead.
Summary
With Shenron hovering overhead, Tien, still groggy from the gas, reaches Chiaotzu telepathically: he must ask the dragon to rid the world of the demon before King Piccolo can speak. Chiaotzu leaves his hiding place and starts to make the wish, but King Piccolo spots him and cuts him down with a beam. In the anime the little fighter manages to call out Tien's name one last time.
King Piccolo asks for his youth to be restored. His aged body is renewed and his strength returns to its peak. Before the dragon can vanish, the demon destroys him with a blast from his mouth, so that nobody can ever use the Dragon Balls against him. The seven balls turn to stone. On the road to the Sacred Land of Korin, Goku notices that his Dragon Radar has stopped picking up any signal.
Meanwhile, at King Castle, King Furry receives two struggling farmers and gladly helps them: he is the demon's next target. Tien comes to, mourns Roshi and Chiaotzu, takes his rage out on a boulder and realizes that the Mafuba is the only weapon left. Aboard the airship, Emperor Pilaf, already daydreaming about ruling a slice of the world, tries to collect his promised reward. King Piccolo sends him onto the roof with Mai and Shu and, when Pilaf asks for a parachute, blows them away. Then he sets course for the king's castle.
Goku and Yajirobe, in the meantime, reach the Sacred Land of Korin. Upa runs to greet his friend, and with him is his father Bora, brought back to life with the Dragon Balls at the end of the Red Ribbon Army Saga.
Our take
For the first time in the series, the villain truly wins. The Dragon Balls have always been the engine of the story and the characters' safety net; by destroying Shenron, the demon removes every remedy. Krillin, Roshi and now Chiaotzu are dead, and no wish can bring them back. That choice is what makes this saga so much darker than everything before it.
Chiaotzu's death is quick and almost silent, but Tien's reaction gives it weight. The anime adds a scene for his grief and for his decision to learn the Mafuba, and a character who started as an arrogant rival becomes the last line of defense among the adults.
The rest of the episode lightens the mood. Pilaf savoring his future kingdom, only to be thrown off his own airship, is a small piece of comic justice, and the return of Upa and Bora brings back some warmth. The contrast is deliberate: on one side a world falling apart, on the other a boy heading back to the tower where he once grew stronger.
Trivia
- The episode adapts chapter 147 from page 6 and chapter 148 of Akira Toriyama's manga. It drew a 16.7% ratings share in Japan.
- The farmers visiting the king, Pilaf's fantasies, Tien's mourning, the Kame House scene with the darkening sky and Yajirobe trying to picture Korin are all anime-only.
- In the manga Chiaotzu dies instantly, and Pilaf's gang is implied to be dropped through a hatch rather than blown off the roof.
- This is the first time Chiaotzu dies in the series.
- Written by Toshiki Inoue, directed and storyboarded by Minoru Okazaki, with animation supervised by Minoru Maeda.
Characters
- King Piccolo
- Chiaotzu
- Tien Shinhan
- Shenron
- Goku
- Yajirobe
- Emperor Pilaf, Mai, Shu and Piano
- King Furry
- Upa and Bora