#volume 12

Stared at this page for a bit trying to think of who King Piccolo reminds me of outside of Dragon Ball.

It's Nene from Blue Dragon.

Which given that I think Toriyama designed characters and/or art for the game, makes a lot of sense.

First seeing them in a technologically advanced airship, their general appearance as a very old alien-looking person, pointed ears, etc.

Plus, I think they had the same goal. Piccolo wanted his youth back, and I think Nene was developing an illness that he was trying to cure?

Never really gave it too much thought, but I kind of love that they put the evil demon in a rice cooker.

Also, I feel like when that happened, the least Kami could have done is jump down and grab it so he could guard it and make sure his evil half didn't try to destroy the world again.

I feel like this is the first time a villain is really set up as a serious threat in Dragon Ball.

It starts off with Krillin's murder, something that doesn't even get any focus until after he's dead, followed up with Roshi screaming at Goku to stop and looking pretty scared at the sight of Piccolo's symbol.

To this day, the suddenness of Krillin's death still shocks me a bit.

Especially because this is an arc that really shows off Krillin's skills by having him fight against Goku instead of being taken care of earlier in the tournament.

IS MY COACH, LIKE, A MONSTER…?

Am rereading the manga because I wanted to talk about Inori’s situation with the latest arc. But then I suddenly remembered these panels and good lord, Jun could have been harsh, but he’s only telling the truth. Over and over again.

I like that we see Goku use his ingenuity to do all he can to ensure he'll hit the ground after Tien, and then he just happens to get the worst luck, losing the match.

Because, you'd think he'd win this time, he already had his defeat at the first tournament, so you'd think this would be the one where he finally becomes the champion of the tournament.

But, no, he loses to just a bit of dumb luck, and I actually like that.

Whenever I see Goku do stuff like this, I find it wild that people say he doesn't create moves of his own.

Blasting towards his opponent at blinding speed to shooting his Ki behind him and dealing a devastating blow is something that feels very different from the basic Kamehameha that Roshi taught him.

And I like that a lot of this stuff is stuff he comes up with in the heat of battle.