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This article is about the second part of the Goku Saga. For the whole saga, see Goku Saga.

Tournament Saga is the second saga from the anime Dragon Ball. The manga volumes that it is made up of are "The Training of Kame-Sen'nin" and "Strongest Under The Heavens". It covers the training of Goku and Krillin by Master Roshi and their participation in the 21st World Martial Arts Tournament.

Daizenshuu 2 divides this saga into two: the Turtle School Training Saga (亀仙人修行編 Kamesen'nin Shugyō Hen, lit. Turtle Hermit Training Arc) and the 21st World Martial Arts Tournament Saga (第21回天下一武道会編 Dai-Nijūichi Tenka-Ichi Budōkai Hen, lit. The 21st Number One Under Heaven Martial Arts Gathering Arc).

Plot[]

Spoiler details may follow.

Turtle School Training[]

Milktraining

Milk delivering is one of the strange tasks Goku and Krillin must do in Roshi's training

This saga starts when Goku goes to Kame House, and asks Master Roshi to train him in Martial Arts. Master Roshi refused, saying it was many years since he had students. After a while, Master Roshi says he can train with him if he gets him a girl. He brings Master Roshi a fat woman and a mermaid. Then, Goku sees a boat in the horizon. It was a small boy named Krillin, who also wanted to train with Master Roshi. (Krillin even gave Master Roshi a porn magazine in order to bribe him.) Finally, Master Roshi says they can train with him if they get him a girl. Goku and Krillin ride on the Flying Nimbus looking for one. (Krillin can not ride on the cloud, so he travels on Goku's back). Finally, they find a blonde bank robber named Launch, that mysteriously transforms into a kind, blue-haired girl when she sneezes.

After the prize is given, Master Roshi starts training the two fighters. They wake up every day at 4 AM for milk deliveries (they even have to climb hundreds of stairs in order to get to the monk's house). They also have to swim in a shark-infested lake, and plow a farmer's field with only their bare hands. On the first day of training, Master Roshi threw a stone into a huge forest, and charged Goku and Krillin with finding it. At the end of each day of training comes dinner made by Launch.

After eight long months of training, Goku, Krillin, Master Roshi, Bulma, Yamcha, Puar and Oolong go to the twenty-first World Martial Arts Tournament. After the preliminaries, which includes Krillin getting revenge on his old bullies, the quarter-finals come.

Quarter-Finals[]

Match 1: Krillin vs. Bacterian
021SmellsLikeTrouble53

Krillin fighting Bacterian

Krillin’s opponent is Bacterian, the smelliest fighter in the world. He had never bathed since the day he was born. Bacterian uses his vile stench to disgust his opponent. Krillin starts to put up his defense, but Bacterian hits him with an attack that involves him to blow his foul breath. He then rubs his hand on his crotch and uses it on Krillin. Bacterian has Krillin cornered, but Krillin finds an opening under Bacterian's feet, but Bacterian, literally, sits on Krillin. Bacterian begins to jump up and smash Krillin. After a while, Krillin manages to catch him. As Bacterian's weight is getting to Krillin, Bacterian lays a strong, powerful, and extremely foul smelling fart all over Krillin's body, paralyzing him. The smell is so powerful that the World Tournament Announcer and everyone around the ring have to stop covering their noses and put on gas masks, and Krillin completely lets go of Bacterian. Sighing in relief, Bacterian sits with full force on Krillin. Bacterian then proceeds to rub his very large butt on the much smaller Krillin. It seems as if Krillin is beat, but when Goku helps Krillin realize that he has no nose, he easily defeats Bacterian by giving him a whiff of his own medicine by releasing flatulence in his face. Krillin then goes on to the semifinals.

Match 2: Jackie Chun vs. Yamcha
YamchaVsMasterRoshiJackie

Yamcha fighting Jackie Chun

Yamcha, anxious for victory, launches a powerful offense against Jackie Chun. He is quickly surprised by Jackie Chun’s incredible speed, as he is unable to land a single blow, including his trademark attack Wolf Fang Fist. Jackie Chun then counterattacks by sweeping his hand toward Yamcha creating a massive gust of wind. The force of the wind knocks Yamcha out of bounds, though Jackie Chun did not actually strike him. Yamcha is surprised by being easily defeated by the old man. He then suspects Jackie Chun to be Master Roshi in disguise. The mysterious Jackie Chun goes to the semifinals.

Match 3: Nam vs. Ranfan
RanfanvsNam

Nam vs. Ranfan

Prior to the fight, Jackie Chun uses telepathy to read through Nam's mind to see why he is taking the tournament so seriously. It turns out that Nam is from a desert village that has had a poor harvest recently because of an apparent drought, and will not make it without water until the rainy season begins in the next two months. Nam offers to enter the World Martial Arts Tournament so that he can use the prize money to buy enough water to last his village until the rainy season. Jackie Chun notes that his plans may have to change after viewing such a tragic scene.

Ranfan's main strategy is to use female attributes to her advantage. Whenever Nam is about to land a serious blow, she acts scared, and cries. When Nam stops to see if she is OK, she attacks him while he is defenseless. Realizing this, Nam says that he will picture Ranfan as a man, so that he can actually fight her. Realizing that her previous strategy will not work, Ranfan pulls out her ace in the hole she strips to her underwear. Nam loses his concentration, and is too flustered to even fight back. Ranfan slowly walks toward him, and Nam backs away till he is at the edge of the ring. Thinking back to his friends and family in the village who are in desperate need for water, Nam regains his focus. Ranfan launches an attack, but, with eyes closed, Nam dodges and counterattacks, knocking Ranfan out cold.

Match 4: Goku vs. Giran
Giran fires the merry go round

Goku vs. Giran

The fight begins with hand-to-hand combat: the two are mainly even until Goku attempts to throw Giran out of the ring, however being capable of flight, Giran is able to return to the ring. Giran uses his Merry-Go-Round Gum to bind Goku then punches him and tries to finish the fight by throwing him out of bounds. Goku is able to use his Flying Nimbus to avoid a ring out to which the referee rules in his favor for a first time offense, but warned him that he will be disqualified if he does it again. Goku is then saved by the appearance of his regrown tail (which was cut off at the end of the Emperor Pilaf Saga) that grabs onto Giran's arm at the moment of impact. Goku manages to break free of the gum thanks to his new-found strength, then tests it out on one of the arena walls, destroying it outright. Seeing this terrifying feat, Giran raises a white flag, conceding to Goku.

Semi-Finals[]

Match 5: Krillin vs. Jackie Chun
KrillinAndJackieChun

Krillin vs. Jackie Chun

The fight starts with Krillin going on the offense. He launches a series of attacks that Jackie Chun says that he actually had to try to avoid. Jackie Chun then went offensive, striking Krillin with a punch so fast that the younger fighter never even saw it. Krillin watches more carefully the next time, and is able to counterattack. The two launch into a flurry of blows that no one, except Goku, is able to follow. At the announcer's request, the two repeat their confrontation in slow motion.

At this point, Krillin realizes that he will not be able to defeat Jackie Chun in a fair fight. Recalling Jackie Chun's earlier ogling of Ranfan, Krillin tries a desperate ploy. He throws a pair of panties into the ring. Jackie Chun loses control of himself, and makes a leap for the underwear. Krillin attacks Jackie Chun, sending him flying into the air and out of the ring. The announcer declares a victory for Krillin, but Jackie Chun is not finished. Using a Kamehameha, Jackie Chun propels himself back into the ring to the amazement of all, except Yamcha who is now certain that Jackie Chun is really Master Roshi. Jackie Chun boldly claims that he will now end the fight, angering Krillin in the process. Krillin charges at Jackie Chun, but Jackie Chun dodges the attack so quickly that he leaves an after image. Krillin unknowingly attacked the after image. Jackie Chun appears behind Krillin, who is quite bewildered, and lands a heavy blow on the young fighter's back for the win.

Match 6: Goku vs. Nam
025DangerFromAbove14

Goku vs. Nam

The two fighters seem fairly evenly matched, with Nam's discipline helping him keep up with Goku's strength. But when Goku winds up too dizzy to stand after spinning using his Tornado! attack, Nam sees an opening. He takes to the sky, and uses the full force of his body to land a deadly Cross Arm Dive right on Goku's neck. Goku is knocked out by the move and the announcer exclaims "Good heavens! What a blow. Goku's out." Nam then asks the announcer to start the count. Goku meanwhile is still on the ground unconscious. The ref doesn't start the count for another good twelve seconds. Though Nam claims that no man can awake sooner than ten days after that strike, Goku just barely makes it up before the late 10 count. Nam takes to the sky to attempt the attack again, but this time Goku follows him. Neither can effectively fight up in the air, however, but Goku has an idea. He hits the ground before Nam, letting Nam think he might be able to use his Cross Arm Dive again. But as Nam nears the ground, Goku jumps up and kicks Nam, who cannot maneuver in the air, and sends Nam out of bounds.

After the fight, Nam congratulates Goku and leaves with a heavy heart. Jackie Chun confronts him before he leaves, giving Nam a capsule and telling him that water is so plentiful in the city, Nam does not even have to pay for it. When Nam asks Jackie Chun how he knows so much, Jackie Chun reveals that he is in fact Master Roshi. He tells Nam that when he realized that one of his students could win the tournament, he entered in a disguise. He did not want either of them to win, fearing that they would stop training if they did so. He wanted to beat them both and to show them that there would always be a better fighter. Nam repaid Master Roshi back by pretending to be him in order to make sure his students and Yamcha don't find out the truth.

Final match: Goku vs. Jackie Chun[]

Final Match: Goku vs. Jackie Chun
JackieChunHypnosis.Ep

Goku vs. Jackie Chun

The combat starts with a couple of taunts and finally a Kamehameha Wave battle. The ring nearly explodes. Jackie Chun then uses a double afterimage, and Goku always hits the image. The true Jackie Chun gets behind Goku and kicks him onto a wall. Goku gets up and uses a triple afterimage, and because Jackie Chun only used a double, he can’t see Goku coming from the air up to him and crushes him. Jackie Chun then uses the Mad Cow Attack (Drunken Fist in the Japanese version) in which he looks to be drunk. Goku fails in dodging his moves. Goku then acts like a monkey and seriously hurts old Jackie Chun with his tail. Jackie Chun then seems to prepare a Kamehameha wave, but actually it was a hypnotizing move that puts Goku to sleep. Goku soon wakes up and uses his grandfather's move "Rock, Paper, Scissors" (or Janken Punch). However, when he yelled "Paper", he was using "Rock", and was able to hurt Jackie Chun in his eyes. Jackie Chun then begins to get quite mad and uses his deadly electric attack that strikes Goku. It seemed that only Goku’s grandfather, Grandpa Gohan ever escaped the attack. When Goku was about to give up, he looks at the full moon and turns into a Great Ape. Everyone is shocked and runs away (except for Goku's friends and the World Tournament Announcer). Puar transforms into a pair of scissors and tries to cut Goku's tail off. But Jackie Chun uses the classic Kamehameha Wave, and seems to have killed Goku, but actually he destroyed the Moon in order to prevent further transformations. Because Goku is naked, he borrows Krillin's clothes. To Jackie Chun's surprise, Goku has enough energy to perform another Kamehameha wave, which Jackie Chun can only avoid by jumping. Goku uses this opportunity to kick Jackie Chun out of bounds, and it appears that he has landed just outside the ring. Goku's victory is declared but Jackie Chun draws the attention to how he managed to land. As he was falling, he was able to insert his left foot into the side of the ring, only barely managing to stay off the ground. Jackie Chun climbs back into the ring, and then says to use only physical movements since they used up a lot of energy attacks and both are now depleted. After a lot of punching and kicking, they both charge at each other and both are hit by the others strong jump kick. The Referee starts a count for each one of them. When neither get up by the end of the count, he declares the first to stand and say "I am the world champion!" would be the winner. First, Goku seems to stand up, but falls before he can finish the sentence. Jackie Chun then lifts himself up slowly and remains that way a bit before he finally spouts the phrase, thus he is declared world champion.

Master Roshi then takes everyone to dinner and plans on paying with his prize money (because he is "Jackie Chun") but because Goku eats so much, the money is spent nearly completely.

Anime and Manga Differences[]

  • In the anime only, the plane that Bulma is piloting crashes on its way back to West City in a jungle. The group then begin their arduous trek back to civilisation, hearing the sounds of Krillin's travel to Kame House in the distance.
  • All the scenes involving Launch at the Saloon in Brown Country and her robbing the train are exclusive to the anime.
  • Yamcha fighting students and the master of a Dojo in preparation for the upcoming World Martial Arts Tournament as Bulma cheers him on is exclusive to the anime.
  • In the anime, after training Goku and Krillin along with Master Roshi head back to Kame House to eat a meal made by Launch until she sneezes and transforms into her evil self causing them to instead go out for a meal at a local restaurant. In the manga, the scene only shows them at that restaurant.
  • The anime shows a flashback of Krillin being bullied at Orin Temple. This was not shown in the manga but was mentioned at a later date.
  • Yamcha's training in the wilderness for the upcoming Tournament and his subsequent return to West City where he reunites with Bulma is exclusive to the anime.
  • Goku reunites with Yamcha much earlier in the anime than in the manga. In the anime, he meets up with him while Master Roshi is signing the boys up for the Tournament. In the manga, they meet up late into the preliminaries.
    • Likewise the same is true with Bulma, Oolong and Puar too. In the anime, Goku meets up with them shortly after meeting Yamcha. In the manga, they don't meet up until after the preliminaries have ended.
  • In the manga, none of Yamcha's preliminary fights are shown. In the anime he is shown winning a few of his fights in order to reach the finals.
  • In the anime there are additional scenes that show Giran as being more thug like when compared to the manga, threatening to kill and beating several students from Orin Temple.
  • In the manga, after Goku "knocks" Jackie Chun out of the arena, they proceed to launch into their final aerial kick. In the anime, between these two events, Goku and Jackie Chun partake in a lengthy hand to hand battle.

Characters[]

Major characters[]

Supporting characters[]

Battles Featured[]

  • Launch (Evil) vs. Tall Man, Tubs, Chibi, a Bartender and Brown Country Cowboys (Anime Only)
  • Launch (Evil) vs. The Police
  • Goku vs. The Police
  • Krillin vs. Tiger
  • Goku vs. Krillin
  • Goku vs. Launch
  • Yamcha vs. Dojo Students (Anime Only)
  • Yamcha vs. Dojo Master (Anime Only)
  • Goku vs. Fighter 69
  • Krillin vs. Orin Temple Bully #1 (Fighter 94)
  • Yamcha vs. Big Karate Guy (Anime Only)
  • Goku vs. Black boxer (Anime Only)
  • Krillin vs. Bruce Lee Impersonator
  • Yamcha vs. Orin Temple Bully #2 (Anime Only)
  • Yamcha vs. Bald Kung Fu Guy (Anime Only)
  • Yamcha vs. Fighter 40 (Anime Only)
  • Goku vs. Fighter 83
  • Krillin vs. Fighter 97
  • Krillin vs. Bacterian
  • Yamcha vs. Master Roshi (Jackie Chun)
  • Nam vs. Ranfan
  • Giran vs. Orin Temple Bullies (Anime Only)
  • Giran vs. Yamcha (Anime Only)
  • Goku vs. Giran
  • Krillin vs. Master Roshi (Jackie Chun)
  • Goku vs. Nam
  • Goku (Base/Great Ape) vs. Master Roshi (Jackie Chun/Base/Max Power)

Releases[]

Funimation VHS Volumes[]

Funimation Saga Sets[]

  • Tournament Saga (14-28)

Funimation Remastered DVD Sets[]

Manga Chapters[]

Chapter # Title
24 "The High Price of Education"
25 "A Rival Arrives!!"
26 "Who's That Girl?"
27 "Nothing to Sneeze At"
28 "Let the Training Begin!"
29 "Bad Day at Turtle Rock"
30 "Milk Run"
31 "It Only Gets Harder"
32 "Let the Contest Begin!!"
33 "Hard Work Pays!!"
34 "Strongest Under the Heavens!"
35 "The Battle is Set!!"
36 "Match No. 1"
37 "Match No. 2"
38 "Water and Cheesecake"
39 "Monster Smash"
40 "The Tail of Goku"
41 "Kuririn vs. Jackie Chun"
42 "The Big Fight"
43 "The Mysterious Jackie Chun"
44 "The Name of the Game is Namu"
45 "Taking the Air"
46 "The Final Match"
47 "The Kamehameha"
48 "One Lucky Monkey"
49 "The Big Sleep"
50 "Jackie's Shocking Secret"
51 "And the Crowd Goes Wild!!!"
52 "The Climax Approaches!"
53 "The Final Blow"
54 "On the Road Again"

Episode List[]

Ep# Title
14 "Goku's Rival"
Goku arrives at Kame House for his training as promised, but in return for his services, Master Roshi asks for something in return, a beautiful young lady! However, Goku does not seem to know what he is looking for and is about to be turned down when a mysterious young boy, Krillin, shows up.
15 "Look Out for Launch"
Krillin seems to know what to look for, so the two students set out on the Flying Nimbus once more. They save a young woman named Launch from two police officers who meets Master Roshi's standards. But something strange seems to happen when she sneezes...
16 "Find That Stone!"
Krillin and Goku start Master Roshi's training, but their first test seems impossible! They must find a marked stone which is lost in acres of land surrounding the house on the new island they have moved to.
17 "Milk Delivery"
It is the first day of real training for young Goku and Krillin and the first thing to be done in their daily routine is... delivering milk? Despite what it looks like, this is no easy task, which Goku and Krillin begin to see when they have to climb a mountain, and that is only the first stop!
18 "The Turtle Hermit Way"
The Turtle Hermit Way Master Roshi shows the boys the rest of their daily routine, which includes farming, studying, napping, construction working, swimming in a lake filled with sharks, and finally, dodging swarms of bees! The day was finally over but Master Roshi had one more thing to tell them, from then on they had to do this with 50 lb. turtle shells on their backs.
19 "The Tournament Begins"
Goku and Krillin have completed their training and arrive at the World's Martial Arts Tournament. There, they meet up with Puar, Yamcha, Bulma, and Oolong, with Yamcha participating in the tournament.
20 "Elimination Round"
The World Martial Arts Tournament Elimination Round has started, and it seems that the three fighters have gotten lucky enough to be in different brackets. However, the bullies from Krillin's old temple are there, and one of them has his first match against Krillin!
21 "Smells Like Trouble"
Yamcha, Goku, and Krillin have all made it through the elimination round, and are being matched up with the others. Krillin's first match is with a smelly monster named Bacterian.
22 "Quarterfinals Continue"
Yamcha is up against the mysterious Jackie Chun in the second quarterfinals match. While Jackie Chun may be old, Yamcha seems to have the disadvantage. Then, in the next match, Nam and Ranfan fight. Can Nam win the match for his village?
23 "Monster Beast Giran"
The fourth and final match is Goku vs. Giran, but it is postponed due to torrential rains. During the break, Goku and his friends head to a nearby restaurant where they see Giran. But when some fighters from Orin Temple start making trouble with Giran, Giran's ruthless side comes out.
24 "Krillin's Frantic Attack!"
The semi-finals have begun, and Krillin is fighting Jackie Chun in the first match. After Jackie's effortless defeat of Yamcha, the odds for Krillin are not looking good.
25 "Danger From Above"
The second semi-finals match is Nam vs. Goku, with Nam still striving for money for the water for his village. However, Goku is putting up quite a fight for Nam, so Nam is pushed to use a deadly move which he did not want to use, the Aerial Attack.
26 "The Grand Finals"
After Goku's defeat of Nam, he has advanced to the finals with Jackie Chun. However, Goku and Jackie seem to be evenly matched. After a series of techniques by both fighters, the match is still going.
27 "Number One Under the Moon?"
The 21st World Martial Arts Tournament finals is still going down, with Goku fighting Jackie Chun. The two seem to be evenly matched, until Jackie uses the Thunder Shock Surprise. Then, Goku looks at the moon, and turns into a Great Ape.
28 "The Final Blow"
After Jackie Chun blasts Goku with a Kamehameha Wave to save the earth from the Great Ape. Goku's friends are extremely mad, until Jackie points to a pile of rubble and Goku comes out. Jackie explains that he was not aiming for Goku, but the moon. The fight continues, with fist-to-fist combat due to loss of energy. Then, the two agree to put their all into one final blow. The two hit each other at the same time, resulting in a double knockout. Whoever gets up first, wins!

Dragon Ball SD[]

In Dragon Ball SD there are several differences to the original story:

Always someone stronger SD

Roshi thinks to how there is always someone stronger

Red Ribbon debut SD

Red Ribbon prepare

Roshi has a Freezer brand fridge. When asked to bring a woman back by Roshi, Goku brings Otokosuki. Seeing Launch gets stronger by transforming and becoming blonde, Krillin asks if she is the legendary Super Earthling. Goku's tail grows back at the start of the preliminaries. The announcer mistakes Nam first for "Prince Curry" and then for King Chappa. Goku remains naked during the last stages of his fight with Roshi in the tournament. The Rabbit Mob comment on Roshi destroying the moon. When Roshi refers to how there will always be someone stronger, Vegeta, Frieza, Cell and Mr. Satan are shown. Commander Red, Staff Officer Black and Colonel Silver are briefly shown their HQ as a lead in to the next saga.

In a bonus strip Goku attacks V-Jump promotional character Sai Jack by mistake. Another bonus strip was for the "Gourmet Battle Royale" and had Goku cooking Cymbal - whom Krillin notes resembles Goku's opponent Giran.

Video Game Appearances[]

This saga was adapted in

Trivia[]

  • This saga was introduced to increase the series' popularity following the Emperor Pilaf Saga.[1] At the time, Martial Arts Tournaments were a very popular trend in stories in Japan.
  • Starting with episode 23, a parody of the Golden Harvest production logo appears before each episode title during the Tournament Saga. The Golden Harvest symbol is replaced with the "" (bu) kanji.
  • This is the only saga where Krillin is shown to have an appetite to rival Goku's.
  • The fight between Goku and Jackie is the first fight in Dragon Ball to last more than one episode.
  • The ending of the Goku/Jackie fight is similar to the final fight in Rocky II, between Rocky Balboa and Apollo Creed. In both cases, the fighters massacre each other so badly that they both fall to the ground and it becomes a matter of the first fighter getting up to become the winner.
  • The style of training Goku and Krillin receive from Master Roshi is similar to the training Daniel Larusso gets from Mr. Miyagi in the 1984 film The Karate Kid. Both masters give their students training that, apparently, has nothing to do with karate, but the basics of the sport are integrated into the manual labor they are forced to undertake. Additionally, the tournament structure used in the saga (and most subsequent World Tournaments) is similar to that featured at the end of The Karate Kid.
  • This is the first saga in the franchise in which the Dragon Balls themselves are not part of the plot.
  • This is the first and one of the few sagas without a main antagoninst.

References[]

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