On to the first Episode of GT "Mysterious Dragon Balls Appear! Goku turns into a Child?!"
First of, before covering the episode itself, I wanted to comment on GT's opening, Dan Dan Kokoro Hikareteku. The opening is pretty cool, though I don't quite get why it's so popular in the fandom. It's definitely a good song, but Cha La Head Cha La and We Gotta Power have much more fitting openings - probably doesn't help that Dan Dan is a love song with no connection to the show. At the same time, it's definitely a catchy and feel-good song. I appreciate the variety and the visuals of this opening are quite nice.
The animation is solid, and there's a really nice sequence where Goku, Trunks and Pan attack a giant robot with each doing a hit that brings it toppling down.
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| TOO BAD PAN'S CONTRIBUTIONS COULDN'T BE AS EQUAL IN THE ACTUAL SHOW HUH |
Anyway, the first episode starts with the Pilaf Gang approaching God's lookout as Goku and Oob fight inside. I don't know if I misremembered this or the dub just wasn't as clear, but the sub makes it clear that this is THE rematch that Goku wanted when he trained Oob. What is shown of it is pretty good, but the conclusion to the fight is off-screen as Goku and Oob return to the top of the lookout and both collapse.
Interesting thing to note is that even though Goku is only shown fighting in base form, he indicates after the fight that he fought all-out. I'd previously thought that GT just made base Goku that strong, which is supported by him going on to fight Rildo who is "even stronger than Majin Boo". But this would imply that Goku went all-out in the off-screen section of the fight and the two are evenly matched, which would make much more sense with Goku's strength in Z (yay for Oob).
Not showing Goku transform on-screen may seem odd if he really did go all-out, but I think it'd be really weird if the first episode had him whip out Super Saiyan 3 so I can understand why it was left implied rather than shown. I also think Goku not using any form of Super Saiyan in the original epilogue is done for the same reason, to keep things simpler for a short fight.
Anyway, I like the detail of Dende and Popo creating a special room to contain Goku and Oob's fight and those two destroying it anyway (along with most of the lookout). That's pretty funny, although I'm not 100% sure I buy Dende's line of 'the Earth can't handle that fight' when stronger characters fought on Earth in the Boo arc. Maybe Goku/Oob are actually stronger than that by now, but that kind of deflates the significance of the original rematch if they both far surpassed that point. It could instead be that they don't want them damaging the Earth in an unnecessary battle - even Goku vs Fat Boo was pretty destructive, so I can believe that.
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| The kind that will gamble the remaining 90% of the world on a good fight! |
Also the dub had a stupid line here about Dende getting a first aid kit for Goku/Oob which always bugged me. Didn't realize it was dub only, that's much better.
While this is happening, the Pilaf Gang find the Black Star Dragon Balls and Pilaf explains a bit about their background - they are the ultimate Dragon Balls, created before God and Piccolo Daimao split into two. As such, they're much more powerful than the regular Dragon Balls.
I don't mind the idea of the 'Ultimate Dragon Balls' and having Piccolo's fusion with God re-activating them is a pretty clever way to bring them back into the plot - but it could do with a better explanation of how Pilaf found them. He just says it took lots of hardwork and research, but where would he even find out such details? It'd work much easier if it had just been something that Piccolo Daimao had told him, and tie in nicely with continuity with Pilaf having previously worked for Daimao.
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| I love how Pilaf just loudly shouts this without anyone on the lookout hearing him. |
Oob thanks Goku for everything and flies home, really hammering in that the original purpose of Goku training him has been completed. I'm of two minds about this. I'm glad that they do address that with Oob and gave that resolution (as I originally believed that they just ignored it) but for something important enough to end the previous series on, I feel it warranted more emphasis and build up to the conclusion. On the other hand, GT clearly wants to establish the status quo for the rest of the series by having Goku turn into a kid and the ultimate Dragon Balls used in the first episode, so it definitely makes sense to focus on that.
Ultimately, Oob's subplot isn't as important to the series as the new elements being introduced, so I can understand why it was dealt with quickly. And, frankly, Oob wasn't really that important to the previous series as he mostly represented a new (but explicitly temporary) goal for Goku and a way to close out the series.
Another direction GT could have taken would be for Oob to start off still not having realized his full potential, and to tag along on the hunt for the ultimate Dragon Balls. I'm sure that's what a lot of fans would have wanted to see, but I'm not so sure I'd agree with that. That premise would definitely give the writers a lot to work with, but it would only work if they were able to commit to building up to Oob as the protagonist and sticking to it, lest he end up a repeat of the problems surrounding Gohan. And frankly, I don't really want Oob as the protagonist, because I don't think he has the same build up and connections of other characters coupled with his late appearance in the cast.
Resolving this in the first episode is a good way to say 'this won't be the focus of the series' so that people's expectations aren't falsely raised (even if the epilogue has understanding already raised them). For me the most important thing is how Oob is handled as a supporting character going forward.
This episode also establishes that Goku has not been home in years, due to training Oob. That's an implication I really disliked about the manga's ending. The weirdest part is that Toei actually added a line in the anime that Goku would visit his family while training Oob, which makes sense now that he has the ability to teleport. But for whatever reason GT ignores that, and I am really not a fan of that. For what it's worth, Toriyama's spin-off manga Nekomajin shows Goku still living with his family while training Oob, an interpretation I much prefer.
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| It also has a super-strong Cat man long before these newfangled 'Gods of Destruction' |
Goku getting turned into a kid isn't an idea I liked or thought they should've done, but I think I would've been fine with it as a temporary change to be resolved with the Black Star subplot. It just feels way too on the nose for "hey look guys we're returning to our roots, remember the good ol' days?".
Kaio contacts Goku after this from Heaven (I know GT wasn't released long after Z, but it's nice to see the continuity kept with his planet destroyed) and informs Goku that the ultimate DBs are the only thing that can return him back to normal. Popo also comments that the ultimate DBs scatter throughout the Galaxy, instead of on Earth, making them more difficult to gather. I like that they've addressed the idea of just using the regular DBs to wish Goku back to normal.
Goku doesn't really care either way so he decides to fly home. He's then seen eating a restaurant into bankruptcy while some armed robbers hold up a nearby bank. Pan then appears on-screen for the first time, as she comes across the bank robbery while on a date. Roshi's also in the area, unfortunately being the creep he usually is. Pan decides that she needs to deal with the robbery so that it doesn't interfere with her date, and springs into action. Goku also arrives at the same time, and attempts to do the same - but Pan mistakes him for a literal child and removes him from the action.
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| I wonder if Toei's writers knew that kid Goku was 3 years older than Pan when Pilaf first met him. |
Roshi arrives, and helps Goku and Pan recognize each other. It's somewhat cute seeing Roshi lift around Goku like he's actually a young child.
Back at Goku's house, Goku and Gohan discuss the situation Goku is in. Once again, the characters reiterate that only the ultimate DBs can restore Goku to normal. Still doesn't address my favourite solution of 'use the Earth dragon balls to wish the ultimate dragon balls back to earth' which would be nice to see ruled out as a possibility.
Kaio then contacts them again to inform them that he's discovered that the Ultimate DBs need to be gathered within one year of making a wish on them, lest the planet they were used on be destroyed. Like with Pilaf I really want to know how exactly he found that out - he just says that he 'looked into it'. Who is recording this stuff? I know it was just done to save that revelation to use as the cliffhanger, but it's still pretty weird.
With that cliffhanger, the episode ends. So we've had Oob's training be resolved, Goku turned into a kid, Pan introduced and the goal/stakes of the current arc. That's a pretty good set up for episode 1, all things considered.
The next episode will see the cast blast off into space, finishing the set up for the first arc of GT.
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