Episode 7, "Collar"
*****SPOILERS*****
Synopsis: Hybis arrives on Earth at Kami's temple. He brings Vegeta, Piccolo, and Bulma to the Third Demon World. Gomah's men stop Goku and the others. The group manages to hide Goku, but when the soldiers try to arrest Panzy, are forced to fight. With their ship damaged in the fight, the group is forced to take a Gendarmerie plane. Before taking off, Panzy laments that her collar means Gomah's men can follow easily. Kaioshin uses a spell to destroy the collar, freeing Panzy. Goku's group arrives at a town where a Tamagami stands. Goku challenges the robot-looking Dragon Ball defender, Tamagami Number 3.
Comments:
Hooray for Nahare! Er, I mean Kaioshin. Er, I mean Supreme Kai. Whatever. Kaioshin being useful for once is pretty neat. Not only does he fight Gomah's men, but he frees Panzy of her tracking collar. I mean, he says that the spell can be done by anyone, but somehow I doubt that many people actually know it, outside of Glinds. Kaioshin was notoriously unhelpful in... well, in everything. He played exposition fairy for a while in the Buu arc, but soon became completely useless. I mean, I guess you can give him some credit for having Gohan brought to the Kaioshin world (which led to Old Kaioshin being freed from the Z Sword, which led to Gohan's power up and Goku's new life), but he hasn't done much since. And later in continuity, in Super, he doesn't do much except cower before Zeno. Here, not only does he do useful things, but we also learn his real name. To preserve continuity, though, Goku decides to keep calling him Kaioshin.
Hybis makes his comeback in this episode, taking Vegeta's group to the Demon Realm on his ship. His compass device looks and works an awful lot like Bulma's Dragon Radar, so it's no wonder why Bulma has an interest in it. I think it should be interesting to see him interact with Vegeta, Piccolo, and Bulma as they travel the Third Demon World. I hope they catch up to Goku and the others soon. I have a feeling at least one of the Tamagamis will require Vegetto or Gogeta to beat, if not the one Goku is already about to fight. (Though I'm also hoping Goku can at least take out Number 3 himself.) Maybe they'll have their own side adventures, too, though.
There's plenty of humorous moments in this episode. Goku eating the emergency rations that count as two meals, Goku admitting he didn't have much to do with parenting, King Kadan calling out Hybis for lying about having a girlfriend, Tamagami Number 3's loud response to being challenged. All of these things have a certain Toriyama-ish charm that makes it really feel like a natural extension of the Dragon Ball story.
Glorio Watch: Glorio seems to be behaving himself in this episode, but he's probably just going along with Dr. Arinsu's plans calmly. I wonder if she just wants the Dragon Balls for herself or is up to something else. What Glorio wants is still a mystery.
I'm looking forward to seeing Goku finally take on a Tamagami in the next episode. It was about time this JRPG show got to a boss fight.
