It never really hit me until I saw him and Krillin wearing these ill-fitting gangster suits, but Goku might as well be Eric Cartman at this point. Sure, to get specific, the personalities aren’t too alike, but DRAGON BALL feels a hell out of lot like a SOUTH PARK parody of KARATE FANATIC at this point. And Goku very much fits into that lineage of pint-sized trouble-makers that includes Cartman, Bart Simpson, Dennis the Menace, et al.
Seeing the show continue to be like this during its early days makes me a lot more confident in my observation that ONE PIECE is more-or-less what you’d get if SPONGEBOB ran for 800 episodes (and progressively developed its own superhero mythology along the way). The difference is that Toriyama seemingly stumbled into that model, while Oda clearly planned it from the beginning with his SHONEN JUMP editors…
== TEASER ==
Anyway, I never found Master Roshi all that amusing in DBZ, but now that I’ve gotten to spend some proper time with him, I’m getting a lot of amusement out of his sitcom set-up. You know, he has the appearance of being this sage karate master, but he’s actually a bit of a fraud, isn't he? Watching him scramble to think up some new arbitrary goals for Goku to hit after the tyke immediately obliterates his original test of strength was a hoot. It actually skewers the entire notion of martial arts mysticism, doesn't it? Why should anybody listen to this guy? Even if he knows how to smash a rock, or throw a fireball, does that inherently make him wise?
These episodes are the first to finally introduce the Z-Fighters' signature orange gis, but I think they're actually more notable for the Turtle Shell back packs, since that 'weight clothes' get harped on a whole hell of a lot by the time we get to DBZ. Of course, the funny part is that giant shells actually make a bit more sense than Gis that are somehow impossibly lined with weight piping that somehow never seems to show up.
Eesh... watching thee episodes makes me want to run to the gym, right now. I should be training...
Watch "the Turtle Hermit Way" and "the Tournament Begins" and decide for yourself, then read my write-ups on the previous episode here.
from Anime Vice Site Mashup http://ift.tt/1wwVPe2
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