Episode 43 of Dragon Ball, first broadcast in Japan on December 17, 1986 and known in the English dub as A Trip to the City, changes the setting completely. From the northern snows we move to West City, a noisy, crowded metropolis that Goku, raised in the mountains, sees for the first time. He has one goal: find Bulma and get his radar fixed. The problem is he has no idea where she lives.
Summary
After one last night at Suno's house, Goku gets ready to leave on foot. He tells an old villager that his cloud was destroyed, but the man shakes his head: a Flying Nimbus cannot be destroyed. Goku tries calling it and, to his delight, the cloud shows up. He says goodbye to Suno, Hatchan and the village and flies west. At Red Ribbon headquarters, meanwhile, the commander watches in fury as the Dragon Balls move away on the radar.
The city leaves Goku open-mouthed: skyscrapers, traffic, giant screens. He asks everyone where Bulma lives, but nobody knows her, and the taxi driver he approaches wants to be paid. Penniless, Goku spots a street fighter challenging passers-by: whoever beats him wins 100,000 zeni. Goku floors him effortlessly, and the man gives up before the bout is even over.
With the prize money in hand, Goku becomes a target for two crooks, who lure him into an alley to rob him and hit the ground in seconds. In the end a passer-by points him to a police officer; Goku, grateful, gives her all the money. The officer looks Bulma up on his computer, finds her and gives Goku a ride to her house on his motorbike.
There a surprise awaits. Bulma's house is a huge dome-shaped building: it is the headquarters of Capsule Corporation, the company that invented capsules. Bulma is the president's daughter.
Our take
It is a transitional episode, but a charming one. For the first time the series shows a modern city of its world in detail, through the eyes of Goku, who reacts to traffic lights and skyscrapers like a jungle boy. It is the same spirit as his first meeting with Bulma: the wild child in civilization, with all the gags that follow.
The final reveal matters. Since the first episode Bulma had been the rich, spoiled girl with capsules in her pocket; here we learn where all that wealth comes from. Capsule Corporation will become one of the key locations of the franchise, through Dragon Ball Z and beyond, and this is its first appearance.
The pace is relaxed, with plenty of anime-only scenes, like the street fighter or the Red Ribbon commander in front of the radar. But the episode has a festive air, almost a holiday after the tension of the tower.
Trivia
- The episode adapts the second half of chapter 67 and chapter 68 of Akira Toriyama's manga and drew a 24.9% ratings share in Japan.
- From this episode on, the eyecatches show Goku with Master Roshi: they will stay until the end of the series.
- One of the city's screens shows a woman holding down a white skirt lifted by the wind, a nod to Marilyn Monroe's famous scene in The Seven Year Itch.
Did you know? In the manga it is Hatchan who tries, and fails, to fix the radar; the anime gives that attempt to Dr. Flappe in the previous episode.
Characters
- Goku
- Suno, Hatchan and the people of Jingle Village
- The West City police officer
- The street fighter and two crooks
- Commander Red