Episode 113 of Dragon Ball, first broadcast in Japan on May 25, 1988 and known in the English dub as Siege on Chow Castle, weaves together three stories. Goku has Yajirobe carry him up Korin Tower to train again, Tien sets off alone to learn the Mafuba, and King Piccolo descends on King Castle in the middle of a celebration and takes King Furry hostage.
Summary
At the castle, a parade marks the king's anniversary. Among the girls who will present him with flowers is Suno (Snow), the friend who once rescued Goku in Jingle Village, accompanied by Android 8. On the airship, Piano shows the demon a map of the world's powers, but King Piccolo loses patience and destroys it.
At the Sacred Land of Korin, Upa, who has been training with his father, even tries to throw Goku to the ground. Goku explains that he must return to Korin for more training: it is the only way to beat the demon. Yajirobe, finding there is nothing to eat, squabbles with Upa and wants to leave, until Goku mentions the Senzu Beans, which can fill anyone up. Bora hurls the two of them skyward for a head start, and Yajirobe begins the climb with Goku on his back, grumbling with every handhold.
Bulma, Yamcha and the others reach the spot where the Dragon Balls had been gathered and find Tien beside the bodies of Roshi and Chiaotzu. Tien announces that he will defeat the demon with the same Mafuba he saw his master perform, and leaves on his own to master it.
Back at the castle, as the girls hand their flowers to the king, King Piccolo drops into the city, walks up to the gates and slaughters the guards; not even the tanks sent by the commander can slow him down. In the chaos Suno's flowers are trampled and she cries out for Goku. It is Piano who points out the king, whom the soldiers are flying to safety, and King Piccolo swoops down on his aircraft. Meanwhile Goku, clinging to Yajirobe's shoulders, is almost at the top.
Our take
The episode thrives on cross-cutting: hope, grief and terror trade places without a pause. Each thread has its own tone, from Yajirobe's comedy to Tien walking away without looking back, to the violence of the assault: a dense episode moving the plot on three fronts.
The attack on the castle is far bigger than in the manga, and the additions work. The festival, the parade and the girls with their flowers put faces on the ordinary people the demon is about to crush, and Suno's presence ties the threat to Goku's past: when she calls his name, his mission becomes personal for the viewer as well.
There is a nice reversal, too. In the Red Ribbon Army Saga Goku climbed the tower alone, hand over hand; now, with no strength left, he has to rely on a lazy, grumbling companion. Tien, by contrast, chooses solitude. His departure feels like a farewell, a reminder that the Mafuba has already killed both Mutaito and Roshi.
Trivia
- The episode adapts chapter 149 of Akira Toriyama's manga. It drew a 15.2% ratings share in Japan.
- The king's anniversary celebration and parade, Suno among the flower girls with Android 8, Piano's map and the squabbles between Upa and Yajirobe are anime-only. In the manga Suno only appears later, with her parents.
- In the manga Yamcha and the others learn of the deaths only later, once Tien has already mastered the Mafuba, and it is a guard, not Piano, who reveals where the king is.
- Written by Michiru Shimada, directed and storyboarded by Kazuhisa Takenouchi, with animation supervised by Yukio Ebisawa.
Did you know? In the Funimation dub a terrified guard screams that he is only paid by the hour; in the Japanese original the man simply shrieks in fear.
Characters
- Goku
- Yajirobe
- Upa and Bora
- Tien Shinhan
- Bulma, Yamcha and the others
- King Piccolo
- Piano
- King Furry
- Suno and Android 8