Episode 12 of Dragon Ball, first broadcast in Japan on May 14, 1986 and known in the English dub as A Wish to the Eternal Dragon, contains two of the best-known scenes of the original series. First, Oolong saves the world from Pilaf's rule with the dumbest wish imaginable. Then, under the full moon, Goku reveals the secret of his tail by turning into a Great Ape.
Summary
Shenron rises into the sky before an ecstatic Pilaf, while Yamcha and Bulma watch in despair through the hole in the wall. Goku, too short to see, keeps jumping to get a look. The dragon asks who summoned him and what the wish will be, but the overexcited Pilaf gets tongue-tied. Goku tries another Kamehameha, but he is too hungry and the blast fizzles.
Oolong has an idea: all he has to do is speak before Pilaf. He races toward the dragon and, as the emperor stammers "I wish for world…", shouts his own request: a pair of girls' panties. Shenron grants it, bids farewell and vanishes. The seven balls scatter across the sky, and Bulma explains to Goku that this always happens after a wish. Meanwhile, one last blast from Goku has broken open the cell.
A furious Pilaf unleashes Mai, Shu and a pack of guard dogs. Goku has no energy left because of his hunger, so Yamcha tosses him into the middle of the dogs: at the sight of what he sees as food, the boy goes wild. The group nearly reaches the exit, but Mai and Shu take Bulma hostage, and everyone ends up in a new cell.
This one has steel walls and a tempered glass ceiling. Pilaf announces his sentence: when the sun rises, the room will become an oven and cook them alive. Punches and Kamehameha are useless. Bulma reminds them that the balls have turned to stone and cannot be found again for a year.
That night Puar gazes at the full moon, and Goku remembers a huge monster that appears on full-moon nights: the one that killed his grandfather Gohan by stomping on him. He adds that his grandpa always told him never to look at the full moon, and that on the night of the tragedy he looked at it by accident. The others grasp the truth before he does and try to keep him from looking up, but Bulma, pointing at the moon, makes him turn around. For a moment nothing happens; then Goku's eyes go blank, his heart races, and his body grows until it smashes through the glass ceiling.
Our take
The episode pairs the saga's biggest laugh with its darkest reveal. Oolong's wish is a perfect comic solution: the most cowardly, pervy member of the group becomes an accidental hero while staying entirely true to himself. The direction nails the timing, with Pilaf unable to finish his sentence and everyone's stunned reaction when the panties drop from the sky.
The second half changes tone. The conversation in the moonlit cell is written so that viewers figure things out alongside Goku's friends while he stays oblivious. It is the first big hint about the hero's origins, which only get a full explanation in Dragon Ball Z. The final transformation is animated patiently, detail by detail, and makes for an excellent cliffhanger.
Yamcha's role is worth noting too: he now fights side by side with Goku. The desert rival has become an ally in all but name.
Trivia
- It was directed by Yoshihiro Ueda and storyboarded by Toshihiko Arisako, the same pairing behind episode 8 and the debut of the Kamehameha.
- Pilaf boasts that the cell's walls are 300 millimeters thick.
- The episode adapts manga chapters 20 and 21 and drew a 24% ratings share in Japan.