Dragon Ball 38

Brilliant!  This stuff is brilliant!  It’s like everything I could’ve possibly wanted in a volume of Dragon Ball!  There’s a new opponent, but he’s not more powerful than the allies, for a change.  In fact, Goku, Vegeta, and Gohan rock-paper-scissors for the chance to beat the usual minions, and they all three do it without being injured.  The big boss and the head minion just watch these fights in a state of dismay.  These defeats are done right, too.  The fighter is hyped up first, and then transported to a place where they will have the advantage.  Then they lose in about three seconds.  It’s just beautiful.

Meanwhile, back at the Budokai, after everyone leaves, the tournament is down to five contestants.  Hercule, No. 18, Goten/Trunks, and two other people.  No. 18 and Goten/Trunks take out the two random people before turning on Hercule, and instead of fighting Hercule, they go right for each other.  No. 18 doesn’t really want to fight the pair, and figures out pretty quick what the deal is with the mystery mask character, so she takes them out in the easiest way possible.  Then… she takes on Hercule.  I was just dying at the parts with the Budokai.  It was very funny.

Then, when all else fails for the bad guys, they turn Vegeta.  You kind of see this coming when the Lord of Lords mentions that Bobbidi can only control people with wicked hearts, and I was actually expecting a serious scenario where he gets ahold of Piccolo and Vegeta.  But it’s just Vegeta.  And really… he didn’t need to “try” to get ahold of Vegeta, nor does he really… “control” him.  But there’s a Goku v. Vegeta fight in Super-Super Saiyan transformation, which I imagine was pretty high up on the editorial staff’s to-do list for Toriyama.  The fight itself is pretty cool, but you only see a few pages of it, and it’s about what you expected.  The fight isn’t really what makes it cool, it’s just the idea.

I should also mention that having the first lines of the volume be something like “…so basically, we have to stop them from resurrecting this Boo?” “Yes, but it will be difficult since Bobbidi uses magic and will be tough like his father Bibbidi” is the right way to start things.  I still can’t get over the novelty of the villain’s names being Bibbidi, Bobbidi, and Boo.  Plus, the fact that they use magic in a world where magic didn’t exist until just now is a bonus.  Later, having Goten and Trunks take the news of “Warlocks and Genies” very seriously and run off excitedly as Super Saiyans was also a nice touch.

I’ve really been into things the past couple volumes.  The Boo story has not disappointed yet.  This was like an entire volume written as a love letter to anyone who thought the long, serious arcs we just got through were too boring.  Plus, in the next volume teaser, they mention something about people being turned into candy.  Sign me up!