Episode 28 of Dragon Ball, first broadcast in Japan on September 3, 1986 and known in the English dub as The Final Blow, closes the final and the 21st World Martial Arts Tournament Saga. It turns out that Jackie Chun's Kamehameha did not hit Goku but the moon, which is now gone. Then the fight resumes between two exhausted opponents and is settled with the last drop of energy either has left.
Summary
While everyone mourns Goku, Jackie points to a pile of rubble: the boy is there, back to normal and sleeping naked. The real target of the Kamehameha was the moon, and the sky is now empty. Jackie asks for the count to begin, but Goku wakes up, has no idea why he is naked and is sent to the locker room to get dressed: Krillin lends him his uniform and puts on his old Orin Temple outfit.
The fight resumes, but both are spent. Goku is hungry and feels weaker; Jackie has used almost all his energy to bring down the moon. He tries to fire another Kamehameha, but nothing comes out. Goku realizes the old man can no longer use it to fly and fires his own; Jackie dodges by a hair, and Goku hits him with a flying kick that sends him out of the ring. It looks over, but Jackie has saved himself by jamming a foot into the side of the platform, hanging a few inches above the ground.
Jackie proposes settling it hand to hand: the stronger one wins. They rush at each other, leap and kick each other in the face at the same moment. Both fall and stay down past the ten count. The referee rules that the first to get up and declare victory will win. Goku pulls himself up first and starts to say the words, but collapses before he can finish. Jackie struggles to his feet and proclaims himself tournament champion.
Shortly afterwards Master Roshi reappears without his disguise, as if nothing had happened. Krillin thinks Goku would have won if he had not been so hungry, but Goku admits that old man was simply very strong. Roshi agrees: there are plenty of strong people in the world. To celebrate he takes everyone out to dinner, and Goku eats so much that he wipes out almost the entire prize.
Our take
The end of the first tournament is a lesson in storytelling. Toriyama could have let Goku, the hero, win, or had the master crush him. Instead he chooses a defeat by a whisker, decided by an almost ridiculous detail, and has Goku lose on his feet. Roshi's message needs no speech: there is always someone stronger, and the journey is not over.
Destroying the moon is a huge act handled with comic lightness, almost as an afterthought. It is also an elegant fix for the Great Ape problem: without a moon, Goku's tail stops being a threat.
And the final dinner, with the prize money disappearing into Goku's stomach, is the perfect ending: after all that effort, the winner goes home almost empty-handed.
Trivia
- The episode adapts chapters 52 and 53 and the opening pages of chapter 54 of Akira Toriyama's manga, and drew a 21.1% ratings share in Japan.
- In the manga Jackie reckons he won because his legs are longer, so his kick landed with more force.
- The moon will be missing for years; in Dragon Ball Z it is back in the sky, and Piccolo destroys it all over again.
Did you know? The original Japanese title, "Clash!! Power vs. Power", sums up the match's final rule: no more techniques, just strength against strength.
Characters
- Goku
- Master Roshi / Jackie Chun
- Krillin
- Bulma
- Yamcha and Puar
- Oolong