Episode 66 of Dragon Ball, first broadcast in Japan on June 17, 1987 and known in the English dub as A Real Bind, is the assault itself. Goku reaches the Red Ribbon Army's headquarters and attacks it alone, head-on, against missiles, fighter jets and hundreds of soldiers. The Japanese title speaks of the army's desperate struggle, and it is spot on: this time the villains are the ones under siege.
Summary
At headquarters Commander Red is still waiting for Mercenary Tao, convinced the signal from the four Dragon Balls is his. Meanwhile the plane piloted by Yamcha, carrying Bulma, Master Roshi, Launch, Oolong and Puar, makes a detour to pick up Krillin, who is swimming back from his grocery run. When they reach him he runs away before realizing they have come to collect him; once aboard, hearing Goku's plan, he calls it madness. Oolong seizes the moment to tease Bulma and Yamcha about getting married, but she reminds Yamcha she is still angry with him. The two agree to set their quarrel aside for now: everyone knows they might not come back.
Arriving at the base, Goku downs a scout aircraft that tries to shoot him, and his cover is blown. Red realizes it is not Tao coming home and unleashes every defense he has: anti-aircraft fire, heat-seeking missiles, fighter planes. Goku dodges it all on the Flying Nimbus, breaches the perimeter and throws himself at the soldiers, taking out more than half of them in the blink of an eye.
Yamcha's plane, meanwhile, crosses a range of snowy mountains and finds a heat-seeking missile on its tail. It escapes thanks to Bulma's quick thinking, and Roshi cannot resist asking for a kiss as a reward, to general laughter. At the base, Colonel Violet senses which way the wind is blowing and starts stashing all the money she can grab, watched by a soldier. Goku reaches Wing 8, where Red keeps his Dragon Balls, and climbs through the building by smashing through the ceilings, while the commander retreats to his office with Staff Officer Black.
Our take
After so many episodes of chases, traps and hired killers, the saga finally delivers the head-on clash it had been promising for so long: one boy against an entire army. The anime stretches the assault beyond the manga with flak, missiles and jets, and the result is almost a miniature action movie, with Goku weaving between explosions on his cloud.
The contrast with the friends' plane is the best part. They set off braced for the worst, bicker, joke and pull together like a family heading into danger; Goku, meanwhile, is already winning on his own. That irony carries the final stretch of the saga, and it will pay off in the finale.
Violet lining her pockets while the ship sinks is a small but well-judged addition. It says everything about what kind of organization the Red Ribbon Army is: a force held together by fear and money, which falls apart the moment someone truly stands up to it.
Trivia
- The episode adapts the last page of chapter 93 and chapter 94 of Akira Toriyama's manga, with some original material, and drew a 22.4% ratings share in Japan.
- In the manga Krillin is picked up off-panel; the missile chasing Yamcha's plane and Violet's scenes with the money are anime additions.
- In the manga the scout pilot Goku brings down does not even have time to react; in the anime he tries to shoot Goku first.
Did you know? In the manga Yamcha asks Puar how long it will take to reach the base; in the anime the question goes to Bulma.
Characters
- Goku
- Yamcha
- Bulma
- Krillin
- Master Roshi
- Launch, Oolong and Puar
- Commander Red, Staff Officer Black and Colonel Violet