Episode 49 of Dragon Ball, first broadcast in Japan on February 4, 1987 and known in the English dub as Roshi Surprise, splits the action in two. A Red Ribbon Army squad lands on Master Roshi's island expecting a helpless old man, while on the ocean floor Goku, Bulma and Krillin dodge General Blue's submarines and slip into a cave with a secret. The Japanese title, "Launch in Danger", promises a crisis that lasts exactly one sneeze.
Summary
At headquarters, Commander Red is in a foul mood: for all the brilliant minds he has recruited, his army is still chasing a child for Dragon Balls that should have been his months ago. Staff Officer Black takes the scolding without a word.
At Kame House, meanwhile, it is a quiet day. Roshi fusses over dark-haired Launch, offering everything from a bath to a home-cooked dinner, always hoping for a peek. The peace ends when Company B of Blue's corps arrives, led by a whip-wielding Captain Dark. The soldiers are sure the old man knows something about the Dragon Ball and surround the house. Roshi teases them, plays dumb, then drops them one after another with a flurry of lightning-fast blows, humiliating the captain too.
When the cornered intruders take Launch hostage at gunpoint, things look grim. Roshi's turtle has the answer: it tickles her nose with a leaf, Launch sneezes, turns blonde, and the Red Ribbon men discover they have taken the wrong hostage. The squad retreats in pieces.
Under the sea, the sub Krillin is piloting squeezes into an ever narrower tunnel with Blue right behind. After one more ramming, the trio surfaces in a dry cavern, leaves the sub behind and continues on foot. Goku finds a switch and the tunnel lights up: someone built this place, and the skeleton in pirate clothes they come across soon after makes it clear who. This is the pirates' lair from the legend, and Bulma and Krillin celebrate at the thought of treasure. Goku would happily go back and deal with the soldiers, but Krillin reminds him that they have guns. Behind them, Blue comes ashore with his men and smells an opportunity.
Our take
It is a transitional episode, but a well-made one. The Kame House half reminds us of something the series often takes for granted: under the dirty-old-man act, Master Roshi is still one of the strongest fighters in the world. Watching him dispatch an armed platoon with barely any effort is a small treat, and it sets up what will happen when the army gets serious.
Launch, on the other hand, is used like a landmine: you just have to hit the right trigger. The turtle provoking her sneeze on purpose is one of the funniest gags in her repertoire.
The cave section switches tone completely and goes full Indiana Jones: lights flickering on, skeletons, the promise of hidden gold. This is where the General Blue arc finds its identity, an underground treasure hunt with a villain who never lets go.
Trivia
- The episode adapts the last page of chapter 72, chapter 73 and the first five pages of chapter 74 of Akira Toriyama's manga. It drew a 27.6% ratings share in Japan.
- The conversation between Red and Black, Roshi pampering Launch and Captain Dark's whip are all anime additions.
- In the Japanese version, Red orders Black to have the people who designed their inaccurate radar executed; Funimation's dub rewrote the line entirely.
- In the original, Goku wants to go back and beat up the soldiers; the dub has him suggest talking things out instead.
Did you know? When the episode aired on Toonami, the shot of Launch held at gunpoint was re-edited with blown-up close-ups to hide the gun against her head, at a visible cost in picture quality.
Characters
- Goku
- Bulma
- Krillin
- Master Roshi
- Launch
- General Blue
- Captain Dark
- Commander Red and Staff Officer Black