Dragon Ball Kai - Episode 56 Review

Episode 56, "I'll Defeat Freeza! Another Super Saiyan" *****SPOILERS***** Synopsis: A young, purple-haired boy appears before Freeza he will kill him. Freeza laughs this off and orders a subordinate to attack the boy. The boy kills all of the soldiers with his sword. The two banter about each other's abilities, and then the young man declares that like Goku, he too is a Super Saiyan. He transforms into a Super Saiyan, astonishing Freeza. Freeza fires a beam at him, but he deflects it. Gohan, Kuririn, and the others hurry towards the location on foot, sensing the ki of the young man. Freeza decides to destroy the entire planet with one huge ball of kill, aiming it right at the boy, but the boy lifts it up. Freeza explodes the ball, but the boy survives, using his sword to cut Freeza in half, and then into several pieces. The boy blasts the pieces, ridding the universe of Freeza. King Cold thinks the power is in the boy's sword, and tries to use it against him, but the boy easily dispatches him, too. The boy then welcomes Goku's friends and tells them that Goku will arrive soon and to come welcome him with him. Comments: Remember how awesome Trunks was when he was introduced? I mean, you have the biggest baddie in the universe and his father coming to Earth, threatening all, without our hero in sight, and then suddenly this kid arrives and says, "Psh, Freeza, you ain't shit, motherfucker." Except much more politely. Sort of like Freeza might. This kid comes in with this determined look on his face, sporting a sword, tears into Freeza's henchmen, easily deflects Freeza's attacks, becomes a Super Saiyan, cuts Freeza in half, and kills his father, and doesn't break a sweat doing it. He's even a bit Mary Sue-ish. Every fucking action this guy makes is so badass, he blew many people's minds. There's a reason why "Temple O Trunks" exists, folks. This guy knows how to make sliding a sword into its holder seem badass. Meanwhile, Freeza is just pathetic. King Cold must really hate his son, because they reconstructed him with all these weird brown pads on him that look like alien athletic cups. He looks really sad and busted. Though it's much like when Tao Pai Pai was "killed" and then later returned during the 23rd Tenkaichi Budoukai as a cyborg, looking really silly. I guess Toriyama likes to bring back old foes as really pathetic cyborgs that accomplish nothing, as sort of a measuring stick to show how the levels of the fighters in the story have advanced. Trunks takes out Freeza like he was nothing and we later discover that he too is nothing compared to the next group of enemies. Which brings me to the point of Freeza coming back. This wasn't to have Freeza come back and have a rematch with Goku, it was to show that the next opponents would be so strong, Freeza is nothing compared to them. In fact, he's nothing compared to the guy who's himself nothing compared to them. I'm guessing this was the reasoning behind Toriyama bringing Freeza back. If you're a fan of Freeza, it might be frustrating to see him return, only to be immediately killed, but I think its rather clever. The only problem I have is King Cold. We get introduced to this new character and we don't really get a sense of how powerful he is or what kind of villain he is. We just get him for a couple of episodes, and then he's dead. Couldn't Freeza's men find him on their own and he come to Earth with them like that? King Cold just seems like a waste of a character. I should comment on the music in this episode. I distinctly remember "Battle Power Infinity" from Dragon Ball Z, which was actually a Kenji Yamamoto composition, used during Trunks' Super Saiyan transformation and his killing of Freeza. It was a great tune. It was so perfect for those moments, having just a little bit of a techno beat, but with a sort of new age feel to it. Very 80s, but it suited the scene. In Kai, the music for Trunks' transformation has a suspenseful, almost "horror movie music"-like quality to it. It works in its own way, because it reflects Freeza's terror that another Super Saiyan exists and has declared he will kill him. And the music used for Trunks slicing him in half also is very suspenseful, but has a heroic, almost triumphant edge to it. Again, it services the scene just fine. However, neither piece is quite as memorable as "Battle Power Infinity". Why didn't they just use that? It was by Yamamoto. It would probably even fit in the score just as well as what they used. It would be better, too. I think that Yamamoto could have done a lot better here, and "Battle Power Infinity" is proof of that. Anyway, our plucky manchild hero returns in the next episode! Overall Score: 4 out of 5