Episode 52 of Dragon Ball, first broadcast in Japan on February 25, 1987 and known in the English dub as The Pirate Treasure, delivers on its Japanese title and then immediately takes it back. Bulma and Krillin get their hands on the pirates' gold, but General Blue rises out of the water behind them and reveals a weapon nobody expected: a stare that paralyzes. Goku, meanwhile, is busy having lunch with a giant octopus.
Summary
Fooled by the arrow Blue altered, Goku hits a dead end, drops through a trapdoor and lands in the tentacles of a huge octopus that wants to eat him. Convinced it is a squid, the boy hunts for the creature's mouth, takes a few hits and finally roasts it with a Kamehameha. Having been hungry for hours, he eats it.
Bulma and Krillin, out of the well, find themselves in a room with three chests and a many-armed statue. As soon as they approach, the statue comes alive and hurls swords in every direction; Krillin picks one up and parries until it runs out. The gold chest hides another trap, a pirate dummy that fires away. Another chest holds a key instead: slotted into the statue, it makes the treasure pour out.
This is the moment Blue was waiting for. He climbs out of the water and claims the gold for the Red Ribbon Army. Bulma, taken with the handsome officer, clings to his arm without the slightest shame, but he shoves her off in obvious disgust. Krillin decides to fight him. Blue throws him into the walls with ease, until Krillin uses the Afterimage Technique and lands a kick to the face. The general's nose starts bleeding and his reaction borders on hysteria: he stuffs plugs up his nose and swears revenge.
From then on it is no contest. Blue's eyes glow and Krillin cannot move a muscle: the general has psychic powers. He beats him senseless and lifts a rock to finish him. Bulma tries seducing him again, then scaring him, and finally offers the Dragon Balls in exchange for her friend's life, but Blue prefers to take what he wants. Just as he is about to strike, Goku enters the room, having heard the commotion and swum over. The cave shakes: the duel is about to begin.
Our take
An uneven but important episode. The octopus segment is pure filler, fun and nothing more. The heart is Krillin versus Blue, which shows a brave, grown-up Krillin, able to wound a Red Ribbon general before succumbing to a power beyond his reach.
Blue is built as a vain, cruel villain, and his psychic powers make him more than just a strong soldier. His portrayal, though, shows its age: in the original version his presumed homosexuality is played as a gag, with jokes that feel dated today. Funimation's dub removed nearly all of them, replacing them with other insults, such as calling Krillin "diaper man".
The final tension still works. We know Goku will show up, but the slowness with which Blue sets up the killing blow makes the wait genuinely uncomfortable, in the best way.
Trivia
- The episode adapts chapter 76 from page 4 and the first eleven pages of chapter 77 of Akira Toriyama's manga. It drew a 26.5% ratings share in Japan.
- In the manga there is a single chest with the treasure inside; the sword-throwing statue, the three chests and the key are anime inventions, as is the octopus fight.
- In the Japanese version Blue is not upset about his looks: the nosebleed is a stain on his pride as a general.
- Goku mistakes the octopus for a squid in Japanese; the dub turns it into a spider.
Did you know? Bulma offering the Dragon Balls to save Krillin only happens in the anime: in the manga she never gets the chance to mention them.