Episode 24 of Dragon Ball, first broadcast in Japan on August 6, 1986 and known in the English dub as Krillin's Frantic Attack!, stages the tournament's first semifinal: Krillin vs. Jackie Chun. The Japanese title literally calls it Krillin's desperate battle of attack and defense. It is so fast that the announcer has to ask the two fighters to replay it in slow motion, and it is packed with ideas. Krillin comes within a whisker of winning, but the old man saves himself with a technique that, in theory, only Master Roshi knows.
Summary
Before the semifinals, the announcer interviews the two boys in turtle uniforms. Goku has no idea what a microphone is, then counts on his fingers and says he is twelve: before Roshi taught him arithmetic, he thought fourteen came after eleven. Krillin, who is thirteen, discovers he is older. Bulma, who heard "fourteen" when they first met, finally understands why Goku seemed so small. Meanwhile she, Oolong and Puar anxiously wonder what will happen at the next full moon, now that the tail is back.
The match begins. Jackie Chun hits Krillin with a punch so fast the boy does not even see it. Goku, who did see it, tells him to watch more carefully, and in the next exchange Krillin manages to follow his opponent. After a flurry too quick for the crowd, the announcer asks them to explain what happened, and they act it out in slow motion: a dodged kick, some spit, a counter, a round of rock-paper-scissors, a "look over there!" that distracts Krillin and the kick to the back of the head that put him down.
When the fight resumes, Krillin pulls out his secret weapon: he tosses a pair of girls' panties into the ring. Jackie dives for them and Krillin sends him flying with a kick. Victory seems certain, but the old man, airborne outside the ring, fires a Kamehameha backwards and propels himself back onto the stage. The crowd gasps: the announcer recalls that only Roshi is said to know that technique. Krillin charges head-on, Jackie vanishes, leaving an afterimage, and strikes him from behind. Krillin goes down and stays down. Backstage, Yamcha tries to yank off Jackie's "wig", but the hair will not come off.
Our take
This is the episode where Krillin stops being just Goku's comic sidekick and becomes a real fighter. He can see his master's blows, reconstructs them in front of everyone and even finds a way to beat him through cunning, the one weapon in which he outclasses Goku. The panties trick is crude, but it is also the smartest possible move against that particular opponent.
The slow-motion sequence is one of the saga's most original ideas. Toriyama pokes fun at the convention of fights too fast to be seen while actually showing us the fight, move by move. It is comedy and direction at once.
The final Kamehameha is a revelation for the characters and a confirmation for the audience. By now only Goku still suspects nothing, and the series milks that detail right to the end.
Trivia
- The episode adapts three chapters of Akira Toriyama's manga, 41 through 43, and drew a 19% ratings share in Japan.
- The afterimage Jackie uses is the Zanzōken: Goku will copy it in his very next match.
- The English title shortens the Japanese one, which literally reads "Krillin's Desperate Battle of Attack and Defense".
Did you know? In the Japanese version Goku hears maiku, microphone, and understands baiku, motorbike. Krillin has to explain that it is a gadget that makes your voice louder.
Characters
- Krillin
- Master Roshi / Jackie Chun
- Goku
- Yamcha and Puar
- Bulma and Oolong