Episode 2 – The Emperor’s Quest
I’m starting to become concerned that “Dragon Balls” are a thinly veiled euphemism for Goku’s little boy parts. We are once again “treated” to extended shots of the monkey boy’s genitals before and after he gets a bath from Bulma.
Later in the episode, Goku puts his head on the sleeping girl’s crotch. As if that weren’t disconcerting enough, Goku spanks her there and realizes she is anatomically different than he is. He screams, and freaks out because Bulma’s “balls are missing.”
Let’s recap that. Goku expects that Bulma has testicles, puts his head on her crotch anyway, and then smacks her there (still thinking that she has a funsack). Kid, you’re an ass.
I’m starting to become concerned about the teenage girl. For other reasons. I understand the human body, thank you very much. At the start of the episode, her name is on her jacket in three places. Not pictured: the note her mother pinned to her shirt in case she is found wandering.
As if that’s not weird enough, we are further introduced to a couple of characters briefly shown in the first episode. The first is a squat blue thing who farts and blames it on the dog dressed as a ninja. The blue guy wants all the Dragon Balls, presumably so he, too, can wish for a boyfriend. Or maybe it’s to wish for Bean-O.
There’s also a human woman helping the blue guy. I don’t normally notice this stuff, but it seems like she’s wearing two different colors of eyeshadow. That’s what this show has done to me. I’m noticing animated makeup issues.
The episode concludes with a talking turtle far from home. If not for the sudden appearance of dinosaurs (yeah, I forgot to mention a mean pteranodon in the first episode), Bulma and Goku would have parted ways. Thankfully (?) a T-Rex stomping by prompts her to rejoin her companions.
Essentially, nothing happens in this episode except weird nudity and sexual innuendo. And farts.
In this episode, Goku eats: Bread, salad, a centipede, and an entire wolf (cooked). He also drinks coffee, which he says “tastes bad and makes me feel funny.”
Notable differences from the manga: The scene with Goku realizing Bulma is anatomically different is far more problematic in the manga. He fully removes her underwear after spanking her crotch. Again, the blue farting king guy, his dog ninja, and his human female lieutenant are absent from the manga at this point.
Michael Futter 