Episode 105 of Dragon Ball Super, first broadcast in Japan on August 27, 2017 and titled A Valiant Fight! Master Roshi's Blaze of Glory! in Funimation's dub, is Master Roshi's finest hour. The team's oldest member takes on three Universe 4 fighters one after another and eliminates them all with experience, cunning and one last, gigantic Kamehameha. The effort is too much for his body, though, and it takes Goku to bring him back.
Summary
The two Zenos try to count how many fighters remain and give up. Master Roshi, who has been quietly studying his opponents since the tournament began, decides it is time to get serious. Universe 4's Caway attacks him with an energy hammer, then switches to seduction: the old man wavers for a moment, but his training with Puar has paid off. He blocks her spear, swells with all the energy he used to waste, and Caway, frightened, jumps off the arena on her own.
Next comes Dercori, whose talismans conjure illusions by the dozen: flames, a fake edge of the arena, a giant version of herself. Finally she pins Roshi's shadow and traps him in a dark area, where she, born on a planet with almost no light, is invincible. Roshi reflects that his teammates are strong but too straightforward against such tricky opponents: this one is up to him. He pulls out a small jar, uses the Evil Containment Wave to seal Dercori inside and tosses it over the edge. Quitela protests that items are banned, Beerus replies that it is an accessory, and the Zenos settle it: it is allowed, because it was fun.
The third is Ganos, furious over his teammates. He transforms into a more muscular, birdlike creature, but Roshi reads his movements and tosses him around. Ganos gets back up, though, crackling with electricity and growing stronger the longer the fight lasts: now Roshi is the one taking a beating. The old master realizes that if he lets Ganos keep growing, he will trouble even Goku. He tries the hypnotic lullaby he once used against Goku at the 21st World Martial Arts Tournament, but Ganos wakes himself by striking his own body and urges Roshi to accept his limits. Roshi replies that Goku and Krillin are the ones who taught him to surpass them, reminds his students to work and rest well so they can enjoy life, and blasts Ganos out with a Max Power Kamehameha.
Then he collapses. Krillin wants to rush to him but cannot re-enter the arena. Goku breaks away from Maji Kayo in Super Saiyan Blue and revives him with a series of energy bursts to the chest. Roshi opens his eyes asking where all the cute angels went, then reminds Goku that the battle is not over. Thirty-four minutes remain.
Our take
This is one of the saga's best-loved episodes, and rightly so. After decades as comic relief, Master Roshi fights like the master he always was: he watches, studies, picks the opponents the younger fighters would struggle with and beats them using long-forgotten techniques. The scene with Ganos, in which an arrogant youngster tells him to accept old age, is the heart of the episode, and Roshi's answer is a small declaration of love for his students.
The closing collapse and Goku's rescue complete the circle: the master who taught the Saiyan everything is saved by him.
Trivia
- Written by King Ryū and directed by Masanori Satō, with Noel Añonuevo, Joey Calangian and Hirotaka Nii as animation directors. It drew a 4.6% TV rating in Japan.
- In the manga, Roshi never uses his Max Power form and Ganos never transforms: Dercori and Ganos are eliminated by Kale.
- Roshi's advice to work, learn, play, eat and rest well echoes the creed he gave Goku and Krillin when he first took them on as students in the original manga.
Did you know? The way Goku revives his master with his energy recalls the scene in Dragon Ball Z: Cooler's Revenge where the newly transformed Super Saiyan brings a little bird back to life.
Characters
- Master Roshi and Goku
- Caway, Dercori and Ganos of Universe 4
- Quitela and Kuru
- Krillin, Beerus, Whis and Supreme Kai
- Maji Kayo, Zeno and Future Zeno