Episode 63 of Dragon Ball, first broadcast in Japan on May 20, 1987 and known in the English dub as The Return of Goku, is Goku's rematch against Mercenary Tao. Three days earlier the assassin left him for dead; the boy who comes down from Korin Tower is a completely different opponent. The Japanese title, "Son Goku's Counterattack", says it all.
Summary
At headquarters, Commander Red follows Tao's return to the Sacred Land and snaps at Staff Officer Black, who never knows when to hand him his cigar. The assassin has come back for the Four-Star Ball he missed. Upa, still shattered by his father's death, attacks him, but Tao sidesteps, grabs him by the throat and demands to know where the ball is. The boy will not talk, so Tao hurls him at the tower. At the last second Goku arrives on the Flying Nimbus and catches him.
Tao boasts that three seconds will be enough to kill him, but his first punch is blocked with a knee. From then on Goku calls the shots. The assassin cannot understand how, after only three days; Goku explains that his grandpa's Dragon Ball saved him from the Dodon Ray and that he trained at the top of Korin Tower. Tao knows the legend of the Sacred Water but always took it for a fairy tale. The exchange goes on: Goku slams into a tree and hurts his head, then rallies, launches his opponent into the air and kicks him into the ground. When he climbs out, Tao complains that his second outfit is ruined too, and who knows where he will find another decent tailor. Goku tells him to worry about fighting, not his clothes.
At Kame House, meanwhile, Krillin keeps training and Bulma builds a small camera drone to track Goku down. She has also taken back the device Master Roshi was using to spy on her and Launch.
Back in the Sacred Land, the assassin fires the Dodon Ray again, but this time Goku blocks it with his hands, which are barely singed. Tao pulls a sword out of a capsule; Upa brings Goku his Power Pole, and the blade snaps in two. Realizing the secret is the tower, Tao kicks a rock at Upa to distract Goku and starts climbing, determined to drink the Sacred Water himself. Goku does not follow: he and Upa will wait for him on the ground.
Our take
After three episodes of buildup, viewers savor every second of the rematch. The direction lingers on Tao's disbelief, and the line about his tailor is a perfect touch: unable to accept defeat, the assassin clings to the one thing he still controls, his own elegance.
The anime does take a different road from the manga, though. On the page Tao never climbs the tower: he keeps fighting and only later realizes he is outclassed. Here the assassin's climb stretches the story by an episode and sets up his meeting with Korin, which will prove very entertaining. It is an addition that holds up, because it plays on the character's arrogance.
Upa bringing the Power Pole is a lovely moment too: the boy, until now only a victim, takes part in avenging his father for the first time.
Trivia
- The episode adapts chapter 90 from page 4, chapter 91 and the first page of chapter 92 of Akira Toriyama's manga. It drew a 25.3% ratings share in Japan.
- Red's cigar scene, Bulma's work at Kame House and Tao's decision to climb the tower are all anime-only.
- Black's irritation at Red's insults over the cigar is a small hint of what will happen at the end of the saga.
Did you know? During the duel Tao's sword cuts off a tuft of Goku's hair, which has already grown back by the end of the episode. In Dragon Ball Z, Vegeta will claim that a full-blooded Saiyan's hair never grows.
Characters
- Goku
- Mercenary Tao
- Upa
- Bulma and Krillin
- Master Roshi
- Commander Red and Staff Officer Black