Episode 20 of Dragon Ball, first broadcast in Japan on July 9, 1986 and known in the English dub as Elimination Round, is the moment of truth for Master Roshi's students. At the preliminaries of the 21st World Martial Arts Tournament, 137 fighters compete for eight spots, and Goku and Krillin, who in eight months never learned a single move, find out what they have become. The Japanese title asks it outright: will the power of their training show?
Summary
The public is not allowed inside the preliminaries hall, so Bulma improvises: she makes Oolong act as her stepstool so she can peek through a high window, with Puar hovering beside her. Inside, a monk explains the rules. Contestants are split into four blocks, two advancing from each; you lose by leaving the ring, passing out or giving up, killing and weapons are banned, and each match lasts no more than one minute. Goku draws number 70 and Krillin 93, both in Block 3 but far apart; Yamcha has 35, in Block 2.
Goku fights first, against a mustachioed giant who calls him an ant. He darts past him, taps the back of his leg, and the giant tumbles out of the ring on his own. The other fighters assume it was an accident; Yamcha knows exactly what he saw. Then two students from Orin Temple recognize Krillin and mock him: he ran away in tears and had no talent. The taller one discovers he is Krillin's opponent and looks forward to a rematch.
Krillin steps into the ring shaking. At the first punch he jumps in fright, but as he comes down instinct takes over: one kick sends his old tormentor flying across the next block and through the outer wall. Through the hole he made, Bulma and the others can finally watch the preliminaries without a stepstool. Meanwhile Roshi, who said he was going to the bathroom, is nowhere to be seen.
The matches fly by. Yamcha drops a giant with a kick to the head; Krillin gets careless, takes a flurry of blows, gets up pretending to be a zombie and scares his opponent into forfeiting. In the deciding bouts Yamcha beats a wolf-man to become the first finalist, Goku trips a kung fu fighter and tosses him out, and Krillin floors a bear-man who waves a white flag. All three are among the final eight, and at that exact moment Roshi reappears behind Bulma.
Our take
This is one of the most satisfying episodes of the saga, because it pays off eight months of waiting in one go. We watched the boys plow, swim and deliver milk without knowing what it was for; here we find out alongside them. The scene with the giant falling after a mere tap is beautifully built, with the other fighters preferring to believe it was a fluke.
The emotional core, though, is Krillin. The anime laid the groundwork with his memories of the Orin Temple bullies, and the kick that sends his tormentor through the wall is a small catharsis. That it happens on instinct, almost by accident, makes it ring even truer: Krillin had no idea he had become this strong.
Bulma and Oolong's window gags pad the running time, but they keep the audience outside, like the real spectators. The hole in the wall that solves the problem is a very Toriyama solution.
Trivia
- The episode adapts the second half of chapter 33 and chapter 34 of Akira Toriyama's manga and drew a 24.4% ratings share in Japan, the saga's highest up to that point.
- In the anime the monk says the tournament is held every five years; the next one, however, comes three years later.
- The kung fu fighter Goku beats in his deciding match practices the "Lion's Fang" style.
Did you know? After beating the giant, Goku advises Krillin not to go all-out against opponents who do not deserve it. Then, faced with the Orin Temple bullies, he changes his mind: those two are fair game.
Characters
- Goku
- Krillin
- Yamcha and Puar
- Bulma
- Oolong
- Master Roshi