Episode 106, "Videl, Worn Ragged! Gohan's Anger at its Limits!!"
*****SPOILERS*****
Synopsis: Spopovich's unrelenting assault on Videl continues, with her powerless to resist. Gohan seethes with anger over the merciless onslaught, transforming into a Super Saiyan. However, before he can interfere with the match, Spopovich's companion to the tournament, Yamu, instructs him to finish the fight. Spopovich kicks Videl out of the ring and she loses. Goku retrieves some Senzu beans from Karin while Gohan takes Videl to the infirmary. Mr. Satan is dismayed that Videl is "dating" a "weak-looking boy" and doesn't want her eating the offered Senzu. Videl eats the Senzu and recovers immediately. Gohan's match with Kibito is next. Gohan's classmates spot him without most of his disguise and figure Gohan simply entered the contest with Great Saiyaman's name as a front. Kibito requests that Gohan transform again into a Super Saiyan. Kaioshin asks if Goku and the rest will allow them to use Gohan for something, with Piccolo revealing who he is. Gohan decides to go into his Super Saiyan 2 form, which astonishes the crowd, including Videl. Suddenly, Yamu and Spopovich fly into the ring and take hold of Gohan, who is doubly paralyzed by Kaioshin's power, and steal energy from him. The pair then flee the arena and Kaioshin follows them, suggesting that Goku and his group do likewise. Goku finds the happenings interesting.
Comments:
Yikes, the fight between Videl and Spopovich can be hard to watch at times. And by "fight", I mean one-sided unyielding slaughter of Videl by Spopovich, who just devastates her with blow after blow. I mean, sure, she did kind of break his neck at one point, but wow, what a brutal douche. Say no to steroids, kids. Well, steroids and evil alien magicians looking to awaken Ralphie May with the help of a demon lord with a dracula cape. Say no to those kinds of guys, too. That's not candy in their vans. Fortunately for Videl, Spopovich's heterosexual life mate, Yamu, stopped him before he could kill the poor girl.
So, apparently what I said about Mr. Satan being craftier than he seems a few episodes back might have flaws. Here he can't put two and two together when Gohan rushes into the infirmary with Videl and later offers her a senzu bean and figure out that this guy was clearly one of the people who fought Cell years earlier. You would think having seen Goten and Trunks' fight would have started jogging his memory and having him look around to see if there were any other freaks he might recognize, but it completely slips his mind. But, I guess with the pain of Trunks' hit and the shock of seeing his daughter in such a rough shape after that beating she took, I guess he can be forgiven a little for being a little thick. Still, dude, that magical bean shit, that was going on as you were watching it seven years ago. You forgot about the magic beans? The fucking magic cure-all beans?
By the way, why doesn't somebody fucking market those things? I guess, you know, because they come from a holy source, Karin, who grows them... somehow, selling them to the public might be blasphemous, but give me a break, folks, these are magical cure-all beans. Well, I mean I guess not "cure all" since they apparently have no effect on actual diseases, but what about horrible wounds and such? Yamucha had a hand shoved through him, for Kami's sake! One magic bean, hole healed up just fine. I mean, yeah, he was still Yamucha afterwards, but nothing can cure that. Imagine all the good the senzu could do for the world. Sure, there would be a lot of conflict caused by regions of the world fighting over control of the supply, but I think more good than bad would come of it, don't you? At least until some smartasses start making senzu on their 3D printers and the medical industry plummets to its doom.
Sumitomo's musical score is still a mixed bag, but you can see some quality trying its best to push through the blandness. The tense piece used when Spopovich and Yamu steal Gohan's energy works really well, for instance. However, there are also tracks like the one used when Gohan gives Videl the senzu that seem a little like rejected SNES music and kind of Faulconer-ish. I find myself still missing the Kikuchi score.
Anyway, Babidi and Dabura make their debut next episode!
Overall Score:
4 out of 5