"The Shadow Dragons" (これはビックリ!神龍が敵に!? Kore wa Bikkuri! Shenron ga Teki ni!?, lit. "This is a Surprise! Shenlong Becomes an Enemy?!") is the first episode of the Shadow Dragon Saga and the forty-eighth overall episode of Dragon Ball GT. This episode first aired in Japan on June 11, 1997. Its original American airdate was September 4, 2004.
Summary[]
The group is left scratching their heads after the Dragon Balls fail to produce Shenron, but rather, the evil Black Smoke Shenron. The dark dragon mocked the idea of granting wishes as Pan demanded he do so. Calmly lighting a cigar, he took pleasure in Pan's fear, flaunting his superiority over the group. Using his power, the dragon levitates the Dragon Balls around himself before sucking them into his body and unleashing the Shadow Dragons on the world, leaving behind a beautiful aurora across the sky.
Just then, King Kai begins to telepathically communicate with the group, warning them about this dragon. Before King Kai can explain what is happening, Old Kai interrupts to lecture the group about overuse of the Dragon Balls and disruption of the natural orders of things. He goes on to explain that the dragons which were created are not only capable of destroying the planet Earth, but the entire universe as well. Annoyed by the elder's yelling, Bulma demands he be quiet and they enter into an argument about respect and who is to blame for the overuse of the Dragon Balls. Kibito Kai brings order to the group and explains that every positive wish they made created equal and opposite negative energy. Without proper time to dissipate naturally (100 years per wish), the evil reached a critical mass and was unleashed upon the universe.
As Kibito Kai finishes his explanation, Mr. Popo arrives to tell of the planet Eros. This planet also had a Shadow Dragon appear and not long after, the planet and every star in its galaxy vanished. Old Kai reiterates the dangers of overuse of the Dragon Balls and again blames Bulma, who shifts the blame to Dende for not warning the group. She then tries to get the entire group to stand behind her, but they do not. She finally reimagines the events of Dragon Ball in which she was helpless and corruptible until Goku came along and caused her to hunt for the Dragon Balls. To Bulma's surprise, Goku takes full responsibility without argument and calmly prepares to fix the mess he got everyone into. Old Kai tells Goku that time is running low, and he is all the more ready to fight. Gohan tries to join his father, but Goku insists against it, being overly confident having achieved Super Saiyan 4. The family sends Goku off with well wishes. As he flies away, Pan slips away unnoticed.
Not long after leaving, Goku notices a horrible trail of devastation stretched out below him. All of the Shadow Dragons are shown making homes in their respective environments: Nuova Shenron finds home inside of a volcano, causing it to explode and destroy a village; Eis Shenron flies through the mountains, coating his body in ice before finally stopping; Rage Shenron is seen as lightning in a thunder storm coming down into a city and causing a massive explosion; Oceanus Shenron is shown decimating a city with a ferocious tornado; Naturon Shenron is shown coming out of the ground as a glorious dragon made of dirt; and Haze Shenron is shown as a large whirlpool dragon which comes out in his more familiar form before polluting and destroying all living things over a large radius.
As he begins his search, Goku remembers that he can sense the dragons' powers, but not the Dragon Balls. As he turns around to go back, he sees that Pan has been following him the whole time. Lucky for Goku, Pan had the forethought to bring Giru (who has the Dragon Radar built in) along with her. However, Pan insists that if she does not go, neither does Giru. Against his best judgment, Goku reluctantly allows Pan to come along with him. They ask Giru where the Dragon Ball is located and out of fear, he will not give any answer more specific than "down below". Goku and Pan notice villagers running through a polluted corridor of sludge. They spot Haze Shenron terrorizing an innocent woman, and Pan becomes so angry that she goes flying towards Haze, kicking him in the face. To everyone's surprise he is sent flying. He tries to intimidate her by speaking aggressively but is made to look like a fool when rubble lands on his foot, leaving him sobbing in pain. The episode ends with the questioning of Haze Shenron's abilities.
Major Events[]
- The Seven Shadow Dragons spread out across the Earth.
- Goku and Pan journey out to put a stop to the Shadow Dragons.
Appearances[]
Characters[]
Locations[]
Objects[]
Trivia[]
- Bulla, despite being present for Black Smoke Shenron's summoning in the previous episode, is oddly absent here and makes no further appearances in the series.
- Among the flashbacks that depicts the Earth's Dragon Balls being utilized throughout the series, it shows:
- Oolong wishing for panties (or comfortable underwear in the English versions) to prevent Emperor Pilaf from having his desire for world domination in "A Wish to the Eternal Dragon". This created the six-star dragon Oceanus Shenron as revealed by Oceanus herself in "The Six-Star Dragon".
- Upa wishing for his father Bora to be brought back to life after he was killed by Mercenary Tao in "The Eternal Dragon Rises". This created the two-star dragon Haze Shenron as revealed by Haze himself in "The Two-Star Dragon".
- King Piccolo wishing for eternal youth (or for his youth's restoration in the Funimation dub) of which he lost from being sealed away by Master Mutaito centuries before in "King Piccolo's Wish". This created the four-star dragon Nuova Shenron as revealed by Nuova himself in "The Four-Star Dragon".
- Shenron resurrecting all of King Piccolo's victims after Kami restored the dragon following his death at Piccolo's hands in "Eternal Dragon Resurrected". Yamcha made this wish in the anime, though it's implied in the manga that Shenron did this of his own accord. According to the Daizenshuu, the wish created the three-star dragon Eis Shenron, though this is contradicted in Dragon Ball GT: Perfect File.
- Master Roshi wishing for Goku to be wished back to life from dying in battle with Raditz so that he could aid in the fight against Nappa and Vegeta in "Counting Down". This created the five-star dragon Rage Shenron as revealed by Rage himself in "The Five-Star Dragon".
- Mr. Popo wishing for all of Frieza and his army's victims on the Planet Namek to be revived in order to restore Grand Elder Guru and the Namekian Dragon Balls which would aid in getting everybody except Frieza and Goku off of the exploding Namek and back to Earth in "Gohan Returns". According to Dragon Ball GT: Perfect File, this created the one-star dragon Syn Shenron.
- The Z-Fighters wishing for all those killed by Cell to be resurrected and later Krillin wishing for Androids 17 and 18's bombs to be removed in "Goku's Decision" and "One More Wish". These wishes did not result in the creation of any Shadow Dragons.
- Goku wishing for everybody's memories of Majin Buu to be erased so that the latter could start life anew on Earth without worry of reproach in "Celebrations with Majin Buu". According to Dragon Ball GT: Perfect File, this wish created the three-star dragon Eis Shenron, though it is contradicted in the Daizenshuu.
- The only wish not depicted was what Yamcha made in "Revival" to bring back all of Vegeta's victims from the 25th World Martial Arts Tournament after Babidi brought forth his inner evil. Said wish resulted in the creation of the seven-star dragon Naturon Shenron as revealed by Naturon himself in "The Seven-Star Dragon".
- In the Funimation dub, Old Kai mentions that he once looked forward to a kiss from Bulma as part of a deal for him training Gohan to defeat Majin Buu, as Dragon Ball Z depicted in "Out from the Broken Sword".
- In the Japanese version, it is said by Old Kai that Earth had been split off from the physical cosmos as a result of the Shadow Dragons, hence why he and Kibito Kai don't teleport to help. The Funimation dub does not mention this.
Gallery[]
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Shadow Dragon Saga | |
← Super 17 Saga | N/A → |
Anime | |
48 • 49 • 50 • 51 • 52 • 53 • 54 • 55 • 56 • 57 • 58 • 59 • 60 • 61 • 62 • 63 • 64 | |
Manga | |
This saga is TV Original and not based on the manga. |