Episode 50 of Dragon Ball GT, first broadcast in Japan on June 25, 1997 and titled The Five-Star Dragon in Funimation's dub, puts Goku and Pan in front of the arc's second opponent: Rage Shenron, the five-star dragon (Ū Shinron in Japanese), who feeds on electricity. He is the first dragon Goku fights as a Super Saiyan 4, and even that is not enough: the battle is decided by a simple downpour.
Summary
Looking for something to drink, Goku, Pan and Giru land in a deserted city. A couple who stayed behind warns them that everyone fled because of a strange slime that absorbs electricity. The two Saiyans decide to stay and soon find the culprit, Rage Shenron, barely taller than a soda can. His size does not stop him from bragging. The dragon shows off his electric slime, which shocks anything it touches, and by absorbing it he grows into a giant.
Then he reveals his origin. He was born from the wish that brought Goku back to life after his death against Raditz, so that he could face Nappa and Vegeta. Goku answers by turning Super Saiyan 4, and the dragon's shocks do not even tickle him. When he tries to end things with a 10x Kamehameha, however, the slime absorbs the blast and fires it back. Goku shields Pan, takes his own attack head-on and drops back to his normal, childlike form.
Rage Shenron takes advantage by draining every last bit of electricity in the city: the slime spreads out of control, traps grandfather and granddaughter and starts electrocuting them. The sky comes to their rescue. Rain begins to fall, the water short-circuits the dragon's entire gelatinous body, and Rage, spread too wide to take cover, explodes. Goku and Pan find him in the rubble, shrunk back to his original size and badly hurt. Rage Shenron admits defeat and invites Pan to take the Dragon Ball, but as soon as she reaches for it he tries to strike her from behind. Goku disintegrates him with a point-blank Kamehameha, and the five-star ball is restored.
Meanwhile, at Capsule Corporation, Bulma, Chi-Chi, Videl, Android 18 and little Marron wait for news of the two travelers.
Our take
With this episode the arc finds its formula: one dragon per episode, each tied to an element and to an old wish, beaten by wits or luck more than brute force. It is the road-trip structure of the original series, with Goku and a girl traveling from stop to stop, and it gives the show some breathing room after the Super 17 arc, which was focused on a single enemy.
The most interesting idea is to undercut Super Saiyan 4 the very moment it appears: Goku's strongest attack turns against him, and victory comes from nature, with water putting out electricity. The Japanese title says it bluntly, speaking of Saiyan power "crushed". The cheap shot at the end has a purpose too: after the crybaby dragon of the previous episode, it makes clear these enemies have no sense of honor. The middle section drags a little, but the fake surrender at the end is tense in all the right ways.
Trivia
- Written by Atsushi Maekawa and directed by Hidehiko Kadota, with Masayuki Uchiyama as animation director.
- The wish is the one from Dragon Ball Z Episode 21. In the flashback of the Saiyans' landing, Nappa wears a red scouter, while in Z it was blue.
- This is the last appearance of Android 18 and Marron in the series.
- It is also the last episode with Aya Matsui as series composer: she stepped down on maternity leave and the role was never filled again.
- A "PANYO" sign in the city parodies the Sanyo brand.
- In Japanese, Rage Shenron is voiced by Hirotaka Suzuoki, the same actor who voiced Tien Shinhan in Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball Z.
Characters
- Goku, Pan and Giru
- Rage Shenron
- A couple of local residents
- Bulma, Chi-Chi, Videl, Android 18 and Marron
- Nappa and Vegeta (in flashback)