Episode 22 of Dragon Ball, first broadcast in Japan on July 23, 1986, features two quarterfinal matches. In the first, Yamcha takes on Jackie Chun, a cheerful, mysterious old man who beats him without laying a finger on him. In the second, the serious Nam, who is fighting to bring water to his village, has to withstand Ranfan's tricks. And Yamcha starts to suspect who is really hiding behind that disguise.
Summary
Krillin celebrates his win over Bacterian, but there is no sign of Master Roshi. Goku, however, can smell him somewhere near the finalists' hall. There, old Jackie Chun is buzzing around Ranfan before approaching Nam, who is deep in meditation. A flashback shows Nam's drought-stricken village: the wells are dry, the crops have withered, and the rainy season is two months away. The villagers pooled their savings to pay for his trip, and he promised to win the prize money to buy water. In the waiting room, meanwhile, Goku and Giran race to see who can eat faster, and Nam turns down the food Goku offers him despite his hunger.
The second match begins. Jackie Chun greets the crowd with peace signs, and a disappointed Bulma writes him off as an ordinary old man. Yamcha, on the other hand, is uneasy: he cannot sense his opponent's power. He attacks with lightning-fast punches and kicks, but Jackie dodges them all with flawless footwork and points out his wasted movements. Not even the Wolf Fang Fist, Yamcha's strongest technique, connects. Finally Jackie brings his hands together, thrusts them forward and blows Yamcha out of the ring with a gust of air, offering him "a refreshing breeze". Yamcha accepts defeat and tries to ask whether he might be Roshi, but is interrupted.
In the third match Ranfan winks at Nam, hits him while he is flustered, fakes tears after a light tap and strikes again when he moves in to help her. When Nam decides to treat her like any other opponent, she strips down to her underwear. Jackie Chun cheers, gets a nosebleed and begs her to take it all off, and Yamcha has no more doubts: it is the master. Pushed to the edge of the ring, Nam thinks of his village, closes his eyes, dodges her final attack and knocks her out with a chop to the neck.
Our take
The fight with Yamcha is staged like a lesson: Jackie never attacks, he only dodges and corrects, exactly as a teacher would. Anyone who has followed the early episodes knows full well who he is, and the fun lies in watching the characters catch on one by one. For Yamcha, who trained for months, it is a humiliating loss, and the series has the good taste not to make a fool of him.
Nam's storyline gives the saga its only truly dramatic character. The episode shows his village in a flashback, and Jackie Chun, peering into his mind, remarks that someone so serious seems out of place in a comedy series: a very meta wink. Ranfan, by contrast, is a caricature, and her match is the part that has aged worst.
Trivia
- The episode adapts chapters 37 and 38 of Akira Toriyama's manga and drew a 22% ratings share in Japan.
- The name Jackie Chun nods to Jackie Chan, the Hong Kong star of Drunken Master, whose fighting style will resurface in the final.
- The Funimation dub turned this into a generic quarterfinals episode title, dropping Jackie Chun's name.
Did you know? Jackie Chun beats Yamcha without ever touching him: the gust of air from his hands alone pushes him out. The announcer compares it to a daydream.
Characters
- Master Roshi / Jackie Chun
- Yamcha and Puar
- Nam
- Ranfan
- Goku and Krillin
- Giran
- Bulma and Oolong