Episode 126 of Dragon Ball, first broadcast in Japan on September 14, 1988 and known in the English dub as Eternal Dragon Resurrected, settles the score with the King Piccolo arc. Kami keeps his word, the dragon lives again and everyone who fell in the war against the demon gets back up, from Master Roshi down to complete strangers. The celebration is short-lived, though, because Kami tells Goku the threat is far from over: a new showdown awaits at the 23rd World Martial Arts Tournament.
Summary
At dawn, a sailor spots a figure standing on the water. It is Piccolo Jr., who catches a fish with an energy beam and then, noticing the ship, sinks it with a single shot.
On Kami's Lookout, Mr. Popo brings out Shenron's stone figure, smashed to pieces, and glues it back together with a tube of adhesive while Goku looks on in disbelief. Kami admits he had considered leaving the dragon that way. He created the Dragon Balls to give people hope, but whoever found them always used them out of greed. Goku was the first to use them for others. Then Kami points a finger at the statue, pours energy into it, and Shenron comes alive, vanishing in a beam of light bound for the Earth below.
Kami tells Goku he will see his friends again in three years, at the next tournament, where King Piccolo's reincarnation, born from the egg he spat out before dying, will also appear. Until then, Goku will stay and train at the Lookout. Once they are alone, Popo voices his worry: if Piccolo dies, so will his master.
At Kame House, Yamcha is turning one of the stones over in his hand when it suddenly becomes a Dragon Ball again. Bulma gathers everyone outside, releases the bodies of Krillin, Master Roshi and Chiaotzu from their cold-storage capsules and summons Shenron. The dragon explains that he is back thanks to Goku. Bulma asks him to revive their three friends, but Yamcha widens the wish to every victim of Piccolo and his demons. All over the world the dead rise, and Krillin and Roshi breathe again. Learning that Goku is training with Kami, Tien, Yamcha and Krillin vow to push themselves for the tournament. Up above, Goku begins tempering his spirit.
Our take
This is the episode of healing, and the anime gives it the solemnity it deserves. Shenron's appearance in front of Kame House is more theatrical than usual, and the montage of resurrections around the world conveys the scale of the tragedy that just ended.
The heart of the episode, though, lies in Kami's words. That the creator of the Dragon Balls considered giving up on them, disillusioned by human selfishness, says a lot about him, and the fact that a young boy's selflessness changed his mind is a perfect portrait of Goku. There is also a touch of humor in Popo fixing a divine creature with glue.
Finally, the detail with the biggest consequences: Kami's life is tied to Piccolo Jr.'s. For the coming tournament, that means defeating the enemy can never simply mean killing him.
Trivia
- The episode adapts chapter 165 of Akira Toriyama's manga. It drew a 16.3% ratings share in Japan.
- The opening with Piccolo Jr. on the water, Korin catching Yajirobe hiding Senzu Beans and the resurrections shown one by one are anime-only. In the manga Shenron already knows the wish before anyone makes it.
- Those who died in the demon's first rampage three hundred years earlier, Master Roshi's teacher Mutaito among them, stay dead. The rule behind that is only explained in Dragon Ball Z.
Did you know? Fuji TV aired no new episode between August 31 and September 14, 1988, so two weeks separated Goku's meeting with Kami from the dragon's resurrection.
Characters
- Goku
- Kami
- Mr. Popo
- Shenron
- Piccolo Jr.
- Bulma
- Yamcha
- Tien Shinhan
- Krillin
- Master Roshi