The third episode of Dragon Ball, first aired in Japan on March 12, 1986, introduces the most irresistible character of the original series: Master Roshi, the Turtle Hermit. The Japanese title, "The Turtle Hermit's Kinto-Un", names the saga's most famous gift. Funimation's dub called it "The Nimbus Cloud of Roshi".
Recap
On the way to the sea, Goku and Bulma are stopped by a bear bandit with a scimitar who wants to eat the turtle. Goku dodges him easily and knocks him out in seconds. At the beach the boy sets his passenger back in the water, and the turtle asks them to wait: he wants to repay the favor. When he resurfaces, an old man with dark glasses, a white beard and a turtle shell on his back is riding him. It is the Turtle Hermit.
To thank Goku, the old man tries to call a first gift that never shows up, then settles on a flying yellow cloud: the Flying Nimbus. There is one catch, he explains: only the pure of heart can ride it. He hops on to demonstrate and falls straight through, while Goku jumps aboard and flies with no trouble at all.
Meanwhile Emperor Pilaf gets a phone call: the old man on an island southeast of his castle owns a Dragon Ball. For once Pilaf goes in person with Mai and Shu, and while he fights with the front door lock, his henchmen climb in through an open window.
Back on the beach, Bulma demands a gift too, and notices the Three-Star Ball hanging around the old man's neck. He would trade it for a peek at her panties. After some protest Bulma agrees and lifts her nightgown, unaware that Goku took her panties off that morning. The old man gets a nosebleed, hands over the ball without knowing what it is and leaves very satisfied. When Bulma works out what happened, she takes it out on Goku with a machine gun. She tries to ride the cloud as well, and lands flat on her face.
Back home, the Turtle Hermit finds that Pilaf, Mai and Shu have turned his house upside down. He calmly explains that he gave the ball to a pretty girl, and when the trio asks him to push their boat out to sea, he obliges after punching a hole in it. Down they go.
Our review
Roshi enters like a figure from a fairy tale and leaves as a dirty old man. That double nature is what makes him unforgettable. His arrival on a turtle's back echoes the Japanese legend of Urashima Tarō, the fisherman rewarded for rescuing a turtle, and he even hums the folk song about that story as he approaches. Minutes later the wise hermit turns out to be a pervert willing to trade a treasure for a glimpse of underwear.
The Nimbus brings in a simple, brilliant moral rule: only the pure of heart can ride it. It tells viewers instantly who Goku is, and it mocks everyone else, starting with Roshi himself. The rule will come back again and again as a kind of goodness test for the cast.
Director Kazuhisa Takenouchi juggles the two storylines at a good clip. The Pilaf scenes are anime additions, but between the useless key and the sinking boat they are some of the funniest in the saga. There is also a neat difference from the manga: Roshi's house appears here in the anime, while in the comic it is only shown when Goku and Chi-Chi travel to the island to find him.
Trivia
- The episode drew a 24.1% share in Japan, down from just over 27% for the first two.
- Robotoriyama, the robot stand-in for the author in Akira Toriyama's Dr. Slump, makes a cameo on the beach.
- This is the only episode of the saga in which Pilaf goes on a mission in person alongside his henchmen.
Did you know? In Japanese, Turtle is voiced by Daisuke Gōri, the same actor who would soon voice the giant Ox-King.
Characters
- Goku
- Bulma
- Master Roshi (debut)
- Turtle
- Emperor Pilaf, Mai and Shu
- The bear bandit