Episode 15, "Third Eye"
*****SPOILERS*****
Synopsis: King Gomah orders a full-out attack on Goku and his group, using their specialized laser cannons that can even (temporarily) disable the Saiyans and Piccolo. However, they group is able to run off Gomah's forces and invade Gomah's fortress. There, they're met with more resistance from the soldiers. Gomah spots the legendary Third Eye on Hybis' belt and orders Degesu to retrieve it for him. In the midst of the fighting, Hybis trades away his belt for a hat. When tanks roll out to deal with Goku and the gang, they're saved by King Kadan and his men, who join in the fight with special armor. The two groups easily defeat Gomah's men.
Comments:
While it wasn't quite the high-octane action episode I was waiting for last week, there was quite a bit of fighting and a few decent character bits here and there to make this a fairly good outing.
First of all, I don't want to hear any complaining about Vegeta taking a Recovery Bug. The man(let) just fought (and beat) a Tamagami at Super Saiyan 3 level and he's just been zapped a bunch of times. Of course he's going to need a Recovery Bug. I want to know what Goku and Piccolo's excuses are.
Which brings us to a somewhat more legitimate beef with the episode. What the hell is with the lasers hurting Goku and the gang? I mean, sure, something has to, otherwise this is a pretty one-sided fight, but I don't feel like those generic-looking blaster sticks are really anything more than mere laser weapons and Goku and Vegeta are Super Saiyans (which brings me to another problem). Even at base level, they should be shrugging them off pretty easily.
And what's with Goku transforming into a Super Saiyan only towards the end of the episode? Dude, you could have been done with this fight by going Super Saiyan, or Super Saiyan 2 (even better) from the start. You wouldn't have even had to team up with Kadan and his group. The writerrs should have at least come up with a reason why Goku couldn't transform, like trapping him in some kind of device that disables his transformations.
Hybis is becoming one of my favorite Daima characters. He's a quirky guy and you're never quite sure what he's about to say or do next. Here, he turns down a kiss from a buxom beauty (who might be Degesu in disguise or one of his operatives) in favor of trading her hat for the Third Eye belt he has. It's a dumb trade from the fan's perspective because we know what it is, but you have to remember that to Hybis the Third Eye is merely a decoration on his belt and he has no idea it's true power. .
But let's face it, all that would happen if Hybis did know it's power is that he'd ask for more than a hat, but still make the trade.
I have to wonder at Degesu's motivations now. He seems to be getting a little exasperated by Gomah's tantrums. If Degesu has the Third Eye now, there's no reason for him to actually pass it onto his boss instead of using it for himself. After all, he's a majin, too, and a shady one at that. If the next episode preview is anything to go on, he'll be making some kind of move for himself.
I did enjoy seeing Kadan and his subordinates again. Watching them fight Gomah's forces with Goku and the gang was kind of fun. And learning about some Majin lore (the Third Eye, Abra, Dabura, etc) really helped fill out the background and atmosphere of the series.
