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creepercraftguy · 4 years

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If Danganronpa: Another Despair Academy had an English cast

So I recently made a post very similar to this where I talked about who a hypothetical English voice cast for Our World Is Ended would be. I kind of enjoyed making that post, so I decided to do something similar with the cast of a Danganronpa fan game that has been featured prominently on my chanel and that’s the Danganronpa: Another series. Being a Korean fan game, the original dub of Danganronpa Another has barely any dialogue to speak of. In fact, the only two characters in the series who speak often are Yuki and Sora, the protagonists of the two games, but that’s when they’re in trials. As of right now, a group of people is working on an English dub for the second game. This is why I’m specifically going to talk about the first game in the series, and bare in mind 2 things.

1) There will be some pretty heavy spoilers that I talk about in this post, so if you’re going to read it, please play the game, watch a playthrough or read up on it first.

2) If by any chance the first game gets a dub and the following people I do mention end up voicing the characters, I assure you it is purely coincidental. I wouldn’t even call this a hypothetical scenario so much as I’d call it a basic thought process of my weird weird mind.

Without further ado, let’s begin.

Yuki Maeda: Yuri Lowenthal

In the current dub for the second game, Yuki is being voiced by a user by the name of Soluri, who is pretty talented in their right, but my thought process for an alternative voice actor would be this. Yuki as a protagonist takes a very similar standing as Makoto Naegi and Hajime Hinata, whom are voiced by Bryce Papenbrook and Johnny Yong Bosch respectively, so if I was given a choice to choose who could voice act him, then I think Yuri Lowenthal would be a fitting choice, since he’s also often voiced protagonists. Being someone who often does work in famous franchises, his voice work includes Marth from Fire Emblem, Yosuke Hanamura in Persona, Ben Tennyson in many Ben 10 works, Klavier Gavin in Ace Attorney, Simon in Gurren Lagann and Suzaku from Code Geass. However, he’d also be a fitting choice since I believe he’d be able to do a good job as both the somwhat cowardly and submissive Yuki as well as the mysterious and somewhat stoically dangerous Utsuro, as he is also the main VA for Sasuke in Naruto and Alucard in Castlevania.

Akane Taira: Monica Rial

Akane’s basic character throughout the majority of the game is that she’s lighthearted and even though the killing game is getting to her just as much as everyone else, she still finds a way to lighten the atmosphere, and is a usually cheery and kind person, if a little scary when angry. However, her true nature is something much more freakish, being, in actuality, the mastermind behind the aforementioned killing game that she spends a lot of the game seemingly fighting against. For an English VA, I think the best bet is Monica Rial, who has previously voiced in Danganronpa as Sayaka Maizono in the Danganronpa anime. The reason for my choice is she has previously voiced usually nice, if a little stern, characters like Bulma from Dragon Ball, Tsuyu Asui from My Hero Academia, May Chang from Full Metal Alchemist, Tsubaki from Soul Eater, Kayano from Assassination Classroom, Mirajane Strauss from Fairy Tale and Sakura from CardCaptor Sakura. However, she’s not one to shy away from maniacal villains, or generally creepy characters either, also voicing Tanya from Saga of Tanya the Evil, Krul Tepes from Seraph of the End or Stocking from Panty and Stocking. Also doing the voice of Misaki Ayuzawa from Maid Sama and Mey-rin in Black Butler, she’s not new to voicing maid characters.

Tsurugi Kinjo: Crispin Freeman

Having already done voice work in a main Danganronpa game, albeit for a very unlikable character, I ruled out Matthew Mercer for this one. I can only really describe Tsurugi as the Nagito Komaeda of this series. He has good intentions, but a really messed up way of thinking, even at times quite self-deprecating and reflecting on his own incapabilities to stop the killing game and catch the mastermind. Like I already said, he seems like he’d be voiced by a deep voiced character like Matt Mercer, but when it comes to characters like that, Crispin Freeman is a safe bet. Some of the rightous and/or badass characters that he’s lent his voice to include Winston from Overwatch, Kyon in the Haruhi Suzumiya series, Tsume in Wolf’s Rain and more, but can also do a pretty good crazy character every once in a while, like Alucard from Hellsing, Itachi Uchiha from Naruto and Firefly in the Batman Arkham Series.

Rei Mekaru: Laura Post

Admittedly, I was considering Monica Rial for this crude and shrewd character too. Mature and professional to a fault, barely showing any sort of real emotion and often insulting the other killing game participants for seemingly no reason, Rei is basically Another 2′s Byakuya Togami, intelligent, but rude. Having previously voiced condescending characters, Laura Post is a pretty good choice. I’m referring mostly to characters like Kill La Kill’s Ragyo Kiryuin and Fubuki/Blizzard from Hell from One Punch Man, as well as Diana Cavendish from Little Witch Academia and one of her first ever performances, Queen Nehelenia from Sailor Moon. However, Laura Post has also voiced rather gentle and friendly characters before, which would be a good way to highlight Rei’s secret soft side. Characters like Nozomi Tojo from Love Live and her most recent role, Kasumi Yoshizawa from Persona 5 Royal.

Haruhiko “Haru” Kobashikawa: Sam Riegal

The minute I was introduced to him, I immediately thought, “Ok, he’s going to be the Kazuichi of this game isn’t he?” And to be honest, I don’t think I was that far off. However, even so, he seems more like Kaito if Kaito wasn’t necessarily a central character. Haru’s important, but he’s on the same level of importance as a character like say...Game 1 Toko. A sociable person who’s only goal is to get along well with everyone, he’s cheerful, laid back and more often than not pretty amusing to watch. Someone I believe to be fit for the role, having previously voiced a repertoire of pretty dorky and likeable characters, is Sam Riegal. By that, I mean he’s done the voice work of Teddy from Persona, Phoenix Wright in Ace Attorney, Emperor Awesome in Wander of Yonder, Kanata from Trinity Universe, Shirou Emiya from Fate/Stay Night and Donatello in a large number of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles works.

Teruya Otori: Kyle McCarly

Teruya is a character that returns for the second game, and his voice actor in that is NuzikVA. I was really stuck on this one, since Yuri Lowenthal, whom I picked for Yuki, was my main option for Teruya too, but my second option for him would be just as viable. One of Teruya’s most important aspects to his character is that he has a pretty unique western accent despite being Japanese, since his Ultimate Merchant talent means he’s travelled the world and picked up on a few things. On top of that, he’s pretty adorkable and a little childish. I’ve heard Yuri Lowenthal do accents before, which is why I considered it, but I figured anything Yuri Lowenthal can do, Kyle McCarly can do just as well, if not better. He’s a voice actor who’s lines are packed full of expression and some of his previous work includes 9S from Neir: Automata, Hyde in Cross Tag Battle, Hal in Astral Chain, Gatekeeper in Fire Emblem Three Houses and Narancia in JoJo Part 5.

Satsuki Iranami: Deva Marie Gregory

While she was a character that I found initially very irritating and she was definitely the one I had to warm to the most, I won’t deny that Satsuki Iranami is like 70% of the humour and happiness in this game. Similarly to Ibuki, she tends to act childish and make jokes in very tense situations and as described by Yuki as “a person that makes you tired just by talking with her” or something along those lines. Now, this might seem like a pretty obscure and strange choice for a VA, but my choice for a voice is Deva Marie Gregory. It’s obscure, since she is relatively new to the voice acting industry, only voicing one character in one franchise so far. However, that character is Flayn from Fire Emblem Three Houses, arguably one of the characters with the more comedic dialogue. I can totally picture her playing an “In-your-face” practical joker character like Satsuki, making common wisecracks, and it’s something I’d really like to bear witness to.

Mitsuhiro “Mitch” Higa: Joe Brogie

Possibly my least favourite character in this game, he’s essentially a worse version of Leon Kuwata from the first game. He’s genuinely kind of a chill guy, but his status as the Ultimate Soccer Player and his world fame makes him more than a little arrogant and cocky and often ignores people who he doesn’t care for. Joe Brogie is my choice for him, despite being a relatively new voice actor. His previous work includes the player character from God Eater 3, Linus from Fire Emblem Heroes, Donatello from Injustice 2 and Sylvain Jose Gautier from Fire Emblem Three Houses. However, despite his few roles and lacking history of voices, he’s talented and capable nonetheless.

Kizuna Tomori: Tia Ballard

Kizuna can be described in the following words: Cutesy, flirtatious and distrustful. I know those phrases sound mutually exclusive to each other, but trust me, it’s true. Obviously, her nature just changes depending on the situation, since she’s lighthearted and merry more often than not, but in a tense situation becomes suspicious, snappy and even physically violent. I picture her having a high voice, and when taking her character into account, I think the best bet is Tia Ballard. The main reason for my choice is that Tia’s most common voices belong to generally “moe” anime girls, but she voices them in a way that doesn’t sound annoyingly high pitched like how Stephanie Sheh does with Mikan in Danganronpa 2. If Ballard voiced Kizuna, she could pretty much perfectly land the “cutesy at first, but angry when provoked” attitude that Kizuna has. Some of her previous work includes Marron from Dragon Ball, Happy from Fairy Tail, Chiho Sasaki from The Devil is a Part Timer, Takao from D-Frag, Zero Two from Darling in the Franxx and has actually voiced in Danganronpa previously as Daisaku Bandai in Danganronpa 3.

Mikako Kurokawa: Brittany Cox

Extremely similarly to my choice for Satsuki, my choice for Mikako has also only ever been in one game, and it’s the same game as my choice for Satsuki actually. Mikako is a quiet person and she isn’t much of a talker, and when she does she sticks to short replies after long periods of silence, often causing people to forget she's around or becoming surprised when she eventually speaks up. She is unresponsive in a conversation and avoids making eye contact with anyone she talks to which seems rude, but her past explains why. The character Brittany Cox plays in Three Houses is Ingrid Galatea, who is generally a pretty merry, if a little serious and motherly, character, who’s personality isn’t a quiet one. However, while her voice acting is really good, Brittany Cox has a bit of a stoic, monotone and quiet voice, that I believe would fit Mikako perfectly.

Kinji Uehara: Robbie Daymond

There were a few reasons why I chose this person for this characters voice, but I’ll talk about those in a moment. Kinji is the good type of priest, one who is serious and quiet, but is a good listener, and respectful of people to a point where he doesn’t force his religious ideals onto others. However, when put under immense amounts of pressure, he can break down and turn somewhat psychotic. Hence my choice for his voice actor. Robbie Daymond is a personal favourite of mine, since he has a special talent of playing characters such as Goro Akechi and Hubert Vestra, from Persona and Three Houses respectively; characters who for the most part are calm, reserved, quiet and in Akechi’s case, somewhat kind. However, after certain points in the games stories, the two characters turn inexplicably evil and crazy, and the voice work and the shift in tone has such an amazing range that it’s hard to believe it’s the same guy. Seriously, look up Daymond’s work as Akechi, it’s honestly amazing and is the type of voice I’d honestly expect for Kinji when he breaks down. Alongside those two roles, Daymond also voices Prompto in Final Fantasy 15, Reinhard in RE:Zero, Professor Willow in Pokemon, Gilthunder in Nanatsu No Taizai and Mumen Rider in One Punch Man.

Kiyoka Maki: Colleen Clinkenbeard

A girl with a personality that doesn’t match her talent, Kiyoka Maki is outgoing and carefree and doesn’t have an awful lot of care for her talent, being way more interested in more effeminate things than guns. When I first saw Kiyoka and was introduced to her character, for some reason I thought “This is the type of character Colleen Clinkenbeard would voice.” Originally I was going to cast Clinkenbeard as Teruya before I realised Teruya wouldn’t necessarily have a child-like voice. Clinkenbeard however, does have experience of voicing male anime characters, and a lot of characters that scream a lot, Monkey D. Luffy from One Piece and Young Gohan being the prime examples. Alongside that, she’s also voiced another gunslinger in Full Metal Alchemist as Riza Hawkeye, as well as Momo Yaoyorozu in My Hero Academia, Rachel Moore in Case Closed, Erza Scarlet in Fairy Tail and previously in Danganronpa 3 as the loveable Chisa Yukizome.

Ayame Hatano: Karen Strassman

Ayame is a stoic and strong-willed person. Although she appears to be perfectly calm in most situations, she admits that she can be awkward especially during conversations, and as a result, she has a tendency to ramble and wander off in her own, or not talk much at all. To me, she seems like a character that someone like Karen Strassman would lend her voice to, since she’s played several characters with those personality traits before. To name a few, there’s Aigis and Nanako from Persona and she’s also voiced Anna in several Fire Emblem games. She’s also played Kallen Stadtfeld in Code Geass, Miyuki Takara in Lucky Star and Rouge the Bat in several Sonic the Hedghog games.

Kanata Inori: Felicia Angelle

I was also considering casting Tia Ballard for this character too, but unlike Kizuna, Kanata genuinely seems like a moe character that would have a high voice. Kanata is a sweet girl who wishes nothing more than the comfort of her patients and everyone else around her. Exceedingly formal and polite, she addresses her classmates as Mr or Ms, like how Hifumi Yamada does in the first game. My choice for her is Felicia Angelle, who’s repertoire consists of both cute and geeky anime girls, as well a little bit of the scary stuff too. This includes Tohru Hagakure from My Hero Academia, Perona from One Piece, The Supreme Kai of Time from Dragon Ball Xenoverse, Shinoa Hiragi from Seraph of the end, Shaltear from Overlord, Georgie from Maid Dragon and has previously been in the Danganronpa anime, playing Aoi Asahina.

Kakeru Yamaguchi: J Michael Tatum

I have a pretty good reason for this cast. Becoming a legal prodigy when he was quite young, Kakeru is a character who seems to have a split personality, but on a level way less extreme than that of Toko Fukawa. Essentially, he’s usually quite a timid and shy person, that finds it hard to hold a conversation, but when he’s in the courtroom or a class trial, he becomes quite loud and brash in a way similar to that of Nekomaru in the second game. His personality reminds me that of characters like Tenya Iida from My Hero Academia and Rei Ryugazaki from Free! both of whom are voiced by J Michal Tatum, whom is my choice for Kakeru. Tatum has also voiced Zarbon from Dragon Ball, Commander Erwin from Attack on Titan, Rintaro Okabe from Steins:Gate, Scar from Full Metal Alchemist, France from Hetalia and Sebastian from Black Butler.

Yamato Kisaragi: Max Mittleman

Yamato is almost as crazy an inventor as Miu, sans the whole sexual and perverted invention parts. Being a character who’s introduced a little later into the story, Yamato is pretty quirky, energetic and honestly friendly, but that leads people to be a little doubtful of him, Tsurugi in particular. His energetic character and his genuine feel make me think that someone who could voice him is Max Mittleman. Mittleman’s previous voices include Plag from Miraculous Ladybug, Ryuji Sakamoto from Persona, Saitama from One Punch Man, King from Natatsu No Taizai, Meruem in HunterXHunter and more

So that’s what I got. If you liked this, then leave me a heart and repost if you want. If you have any other recommendations for Japanese exclusive projects I should assign voice actors to, then let me know.

#danganronpa #danganronpa another despair academy #dra #yuki maeda #akane taira #tsurugi kinjo #rei mekaru #haruhiko kobashikawa #teruya otori #satsuki iranami #mitsuhiro higa #kizuna tomori #mikako kurokawa #kinji uehara #kiyoka maki #ayame hatano #kanata inori #kakeru yamaguchi #yamato kisaragi

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duhragonball · 5 years

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Dragon Ball Z Movie 13: Wrath of the Dragon

Kind of wild that I made it to Movie 13. I want to call it the last movie, but it’s not. “Path to Power” was released several months later, and while Movie 13 used to be the final film under the Dragon Ball Z branding, it was eventually followed by “Battle of Gods” and “Resurrection F” in the 2010′s. Kind of wild how the 2010′s are nearly over. I was just getting used to it being the 2010′s.

I’m tempted to think of this movie as a finale in some sense, because it’s set after the Kid Buu fight, but DBZ doesn’t end there. There’s a three-episode epilogue set ten years after Kid Buu. Really, this movie is just the first in what became a long list of Dragon Ball projects set during that ten-year period.

This was, I think, the last DBZ material released by Funimation before they started re-dubbing things for the Orange Brick Sets and Dragon Ball Kai. I remember attending a Funimation panel at a 2006 comic convention where they talked about this movie, and some of the voice actors were kind of sad that this would be the last time they would portray these characters. At the time, it certainly seemed that way.

So this movie premiered in Japanese theaters on July 15, 1995, after Episode 270 of the anime, and before 271. So if you were a fan in Japan, you could watch Vegito and Super Buu in hot vore action, then go see this movie a few days later, and then watch Super Buu turn Vegito into candy, which strangely isn’t hot vore action.

The release chronology kind of surprises me, because I just got so used to thinking of this movie as an epilogue to Dragon Ball Z. It kind of is, in a way, because the Dragon Ball manga had already finished up in May 1995, which is probably why this movie lines up so well with post-Buu continuity. Everyone who’s supposed to be dead is dead, and everyone who’s supposed to be alive is alive.

This one is my second favorite movie after Fusion Reborn, so I kind of wanted to consider what makes it the second best. I mean, it’s a matter of taste, really, but I think it’s a question worth asking.

So let’s get down to business. This one opens with a kid holding a sword. He had an ocarina, but he dropped it, and he looks like he’s in some trouble.

Then a giant monster steps on him, and he’s dead. A mysterious voice declares that Earth is next. Ominous!

Unlike every other DBZ movie, this one doesn’t feature the opening theme music, just a title card, which looks bad-ass by the way.

And here’s the title of the movie, which in Japanese was “Dragon Fist Explosion!! If Goku Can't Do It, Who Will?”

In lieu of a theme song, the credits roll over the next couple minutes of the movie, which I’ve always found to be a really nice touch. All along, I’ve been admiring the looming sense of finality in DBZ, and this is a good example of what I’m talking about. It’s July 1995. The manga is over, which means the anime will be over soon, and as far as anyone knew, this would be the last movie, and it just sort of quietly proceeds with its business. Z stands for the end.

This scene is mostly just to establish the Gohan and Videl are fighting crime as a team now, with Gohan as Great Saiyaman and Videl as Great Saiyaman Mark 2. Not sure why Gohan stopped wearing a cape, or why he still has that bandana and sunglasses. He only switched to that because his Saiyaman helmet was illegal in the Tenkaichi Budokai, but that’s long over. Videl got a helmet, so why can’t he wear one to match?

The weird thing is that Videl’s costumed identity is public knowledge, but Gohan’s isn’t? They go back to class, and everyone just seems to know that Videl is still fighting crime like always, but as Great Saiyaman 2, or Great Saiyawoman, or whatever. But Gohan pretends he just went to the restroom, like he used to do in the Great Saiyaman Saga.

Weirder still, everyone knows Gohan is the Great Saiyaman. He unmasked at the tournament, after all. I thought this movie might have forgotten about that, except Sharpner even points it out when Gohan returns to class.

Incidentally, I’m not sure it makes sense for Gohan and Videl to still be in high school in this movie. It’s set after the Kid Buu fight, but they use the Dragon Balls in this movie, which means it must take place one year after they wish for Shenron to erase everyone’s knowledge of Majin Buu. So wouldn’t Gohan and Videl have graduated by this point? They’d both be about 18, wouldn’t they?

Then Videl gets another call on her radio watch, and the cops want the Saiyaman duo to deal with a strange old man who climbed Raenzel Tower. Videl seems to think that sort of job is beneath the Saiyamen, but they hang up on her, so she’s stuck.

So Gohan has to ask to use the restroom again, after he just got back. He says he ate bad frog meat, like that does anything but raise further questions. Erasa seems really confused, like she doesn’t know what’s going on. Also, it kind of looks like Sharpner, Erasa, Gohan, and Videl are all sitting apart from each other in this movie. Maybe there was some falling out?

So here’s Raenzel Tower. I don’t know that the scenery in this movie necessarily resembles any particular real world city, but this all feels a lot more like Japan than the world of DBZ. That’s been kind of a gradual trend since DBZ began. You’d see fewer and fewer animal-people in crowd shots, and by the Majin Buu arc you almost see none at all. Now that I think of it, Satan City looks and feels a lot more like a “real” city than West City ever used to. That car at the start of the movie had wheels, for example.

Anyway, this red dude has climbed up the tower and he’s threatening to jump, because he’s so despondent. Gohan tries to talk him down, but he won’t cooperate, and Videl gets fed up and dares him to jump.

So he does, much to Videl’s surprise, and then the guy complains that they almost didn’t save him in time.

For some reason, Videl is just irritated with this whole segment of the movie. I guess she really didn’t like getting called out for this mission, and she probably doesn’t appreciate this guy pretending to be a suicide jumper just to get their attention. Also, she really wants to get back to school for some reason. Maybe she just really digs whatever book they’re reading in English Lit.

Aw, look at that dog!

So this red dude is named Hoi, or Hoy, I forget which spelling Funimation went with, but the subs call him Hoi. Climbing the tower was just a ruse to get Gohan’s attention so that he could enlist his aid in freeing Tapion, the great hero who saved Planet Conuts in the South Galaxy 1000 years ago.

Gohan wants to meet the guy, but he’s stuck inside a music box and can’t get out. Hoi wants to release Tapion, because he claims that there’s going to be a terrible crisis on Earth. That’s why he’s spent the past thirty years searching for this music box, because he thinks it’s the only way to save the Earth.

To open the box, you just have to turn the handle to play its song, but the handle won’t turn, no matter how hard Gohan tries to force it. Tapion then explains that he wants to make a wish to Shenron to open the music box, and that’s why he came to Gohan, because he found out that Gohan’s circle has had dealings with the Dragon.

So Gohan takes the box to Bulma’s house, where she scans it with her... whatever all this stuff is. This kind of looks like the bridge of the Enterprise, now that I think about it. Anyway, she can’t make heads or tails of it, and Goku can’t force the handle either, so they decide to gather the Dragon Balls.

As they head out to search for the Balls, Hoi expresses gratitude for finding this kind of help on Earth, which prompts Goku to ask him if he’s not from this planet, and he kind of backpedals and acts like he lived here his whole life. Seems to me that if he already knows about the Planet Counuts in the South Galaxy, then he must not be from Earth at all. And even if he is an alien, why would he feel the need to hide that from Goku? He’s an alien too, after all, so I don’t think that would make him suspicious.

For some reason, Videl is now really excited to see Tapion now, becase she’s “so interested in heroes.” Did she decide Hoi’s story is on the level, or is she just warming up to the idea?

Krillin searches for a Dragon Ball in a carnival haunted house. This is his only real contribution to the film.

So in no, time, the gang finds a bunch of Dragon Balls. I’m not sure how they could split up like this, though, unless Bulma made multiple Dragon Radars.

The seventh ball is in a lion cage at the zoo, so Goku just jumps in and takes it, because Goku does whatever he wants. That lion’s lucky Bulma promised him shish kebabs later, or otherwise Goku would have just eaten this guy raw right in front of everyone.

I can’t figure out Videl’s outfit in this movie. From the back, it looks like shorts, but from the front it looks like a skirt.

Anyway, Shenron grants the wish and zaps the music box so hard that it shocks Hoi.

At first, it doesn’t seem to have had any effect, but then the handle starts to turn and it plays its song.

Okay, so this is a weird place to bring up continuity, but isn’t it odd how Shenron only granted the one wish? Dende upgraded him to grant two or three, depending on the wishes, so he should have at least asked if the gang wanted something else before he split.

Anyway, there’s a big light and sound spectacular while the box opens, but Hoi’s eyes glow red and he has this extra-sinister look on his face. Hmmmm...

Then Tapion comes out, and he’s kind of pissed that they released him. He draws his sword and demands to be put back in the box, but the box fell apart when it opened, so it’s impossible.

What I don’t understand is that, later in the movie, Tapion acts like he knows Hoi, which implies that he recognizes him on sight. If so, why doesn’t he just kill him here, while he has the chance? Or would killing him not accomplish anything?

Then he leaves in a huff. Trunks thinks Tapion is awesome, but everyone else is kind of puzzled, because he didn’t even thank them for getting him out of the box.

Later, Trunks and Goten track Tapion down to... a junkyard I guess? Goten isn’t sure this is a great idea, but Trunks wants to meet this guy and hear all his hero stories.

You know, this is really a beautiful shot. Watching this again, I guess the main difference between this and Fusion Reborn is that this movie is much more grounded. There were colorful shots like this in Movie 12, but they were mostly fantasy scenes of heaven or hell, or those extra-cartoony shots of the city. Movie 13 achieves similar beauty in the mundane. Instead of a mountain of needles surrounded by crystal jellybeans, we have a crane looming over a rusty storage tank.

Inside, Tapion’s just sort of brooding and freaking out. When Trunks peeks in on him, he’s kind of taken aback by what he sees. Maybe this isn’t a tank. I’m not sure what this place is. Maybe a derelict factory?

Hey, it’s a barbecue! Goku was a good boy for not eating those lions, so he gets shish kebab. Or whatever this is called. There’s like a cocktail weenie and a shrimp and a pickle on the thing.

Everyone wonders where Hoi went off to, and Master Roshi starts drunkenly blathering about how he’s harassing women, just like he’s about to start doing. Why are Roshi and Oolong even in this scene?

Gohan knows which way the wind is blowing, so he heroically puts himself in front of Videl so Roshi has to go through him to molest her. It looks like Roshi’s poking Gohan in the dick, though. Master Roshi belongs in jail.

He gets fresh with Bulma, so she smacks the shit out of him. Why does she keep inviting him to these things?

There’s a cute moment here where Goku notices the boys trying to swipe food off the grill, so he scoots some closer so they can reach it. Again, this is down-to-earth stuff you can’t get in Movie 12.

Okay, maybe this is a junkyard, what with all the wrecked cars here. In any case, Goten and Trunks are taking food to Tapion’s lair.

Tapion keeps telling everyone to get away from him, so Trunks leaves the food behind and promises to come back tomorrow with more.

So then there’s a monster attack, and wow, these are some great scenes. Again, very real-life-y, compared to early Dragon Ball material. The only distinct Dragon Ball imagery here are the Royal Military uniforms on the soliders. Otherwise, it would be very easy to mistake these for some other anime.

That’s not a bad thing, by any means, because I’d say all these realistic city scenes help make the characters stand out more.

So it’s not actually a monster, but half of a monster. The lower half, to be specific. Gohan wonders if this was the terrible crisis Hoi warned about earlier in the movie. I guess when you’ve lived Gohan’s life, you really can’t be sure if a creature like this is related to Hoi’s warning or not. It could be some completely different crisis starting up.

Videl wants to do their usual routine on the creature, but it attacks them during their pose. For some reason, Videl is super into the poses in this movie. Other than one episode of the TV series, this is the only time we see Great Saiyaman 2 in action, but I guess it makes sense she’d dive into the role. If she was eager to wear the costume, she must be up for the whole nine yards.

So Gohan fights this thing for a bit, and he discovers that it’s intangible most of the time, and it’s only solid during the moment when it’s attacking something else. I don’t think I ever noticed before that Gohan figures this out so early in the film.

So Gohan seems to do pretty well against the creature...

And Videl thinks he’s won, but Gohan’s not convinced.

The monster has a knack for vanishing and reappearing, kind of like Janemba, but without the pixelation effect. It’s more of a fog kind of thing. But then it seems to disappear for good, and when Gohan and Videl search for it, they find Tapion playing his ocarina.

They also spot Hoi lurking nearby, but I doubt they’d recognize him in his ninja getup.

Later, Trunks brings more food to Tapion’s hideout, but he hasn’t eaten the last meal he left, and Tapion still won’t talk to him. Later that night, Tapion falls asleep and drops his ocarina, and then he’s attacked by the top half of a monster...

It nearly kills him, but he manages to pick up his ocarina and play it, and this makes the monster fade away.

The next morning, Trunks finds the place shredded from the monster attack, but he’s relieved to see Tapion is still okay, so he leaves breakfast for him.

Then we get this scene where Videl and Bulma are washing dishes together, and she tells Videl how Trunks is sneaking food to Tapion, because he looks up to the guy like a big brother figure. Trunks is an only child, you see, and he envies Goten’s relationship with Gohan. Videl’s an only child herself, so she can relate.

What I don’t get here is when Bulma replies “But you’ve been so keyed up lately”, and Videl seems unnerved by this and says “It’s Trunks’ power that is keyed up!” I have no idea what this is supposed to mean. Videl’s reaction almost resembles how she acted when Chi-Chi asked her if she had thought about marriage in Movie 12. Was Bulma trying to imply that Videl has a thing for Tapion, and it got mistranslated? I dunno.

On Trunks’ next visit to Tapion’s place, Hoi intrudes and tries to steal Tapion’s ocarina, but Trunks manages to get it instead. Hoi unmasks and asks Trunks to give him the flute, because Tapion is the danger he had been warning about earlier on. He claims that Tapion is connected to the monster that Gohan fought the other night.

You know, one thing that never really gets clarified in this movie is where all of this is happening. I would assume Tapion’s lair is in West City, since that’s where he escaped the music box, and why would he go to another town to find a junkyard? But Gohan and Videl always did their superhero stuff in Satan City, so I assume that’s where they fought the monster.

Anyway, I never understood why Hoi expected Trunks to trust him in this scene. Initially he told them all that Tapion was supposed to save them from a crisis, and now he’s accusing Tapion of being part of the problem.

Then again, I guess Trunks might be somewhat conflicted, since Tapion’s been acting very mysterious and moody this whole time. But Tapion asks Trunks to trust him, and after a tense moment, Trunks does. He gives Tapion the flute and Hoi leaves empty-handed. I guess you could say that Trunks went with his gut. From the beginning, Trunks saw something he liked about Tapion, and he decided to trust that first impression over Hoi’s exaggerated warnings.

Trunks prepares to leave before Tapion chews him out again, but instead Tapion invites him to stick around and join him for dinner. Awwww.

Later, Bulma informs Videl that Trunks has invited Tapion to spend the night at their home. Speaking of which, doesn’t Videl have her own home? Why is she spending all her time at Capsule Corp. these days?

So Trunks shows Tapion all of his toys, but a toy robot catches Tapion’s attention. It separates into two halves, sort of like that monster. Hmmmm...

Later, Tapion tells Trunks about his little brother, Minotia, but Trunks falls asleep during his story.

As he watches Trunks sleep, he can’t help but be reminded of Minotia, and just so there’s no misunderstanding, that was the kid we saw die in the opening scene of the movie.

So Tapion leaves Trunks to sleep, only to run into Bulma in the hallway. She’s wearing this shawl, or maybe it’s a blanket or something. It looks cute, is my point. It also looks very different from what we usually see Bulma wear.

She just looks a lot more like a regular person instead of some genius billionaire inventor. She kind of reminds me of the older Chi-Chi from the History of Trunks special. Anyway, she invites Tapion to stay at Capsule Corp. all the time, but he’s afraid of what might happen if he does.

She wants to know what he’s talking about, but it’s a long story, so she puts on a pot of coffee. I always thought it was tea, but that looks like a coffee pot to me. Also, there’s an entire fruit basket just in case anyone gets hungry in the middle of the night. Speaking of Vegeta, imagine if he’s in this room, just out of the frame, sullenly chewing on an orange while Tapion tells his gloomy origin story. Vegeta eats oranges with the peel because no one ever told him not to. Bulma can’t tell him now because it would be awkward after all this time.

All right, so here’s the deal. One thousand years ago, on the planet Conuts, they had this totem that absorbed all the evil will on the planet. I don’t know if that’s legit, or some kind of superstition, but the totem was this big stone sculpture. One day, this “sect of warlocks” from some other place showed up and turned the totem into “phantasm” named Hildegarn, or Hirudegarn. Then they turned it loose on Conuts’ population. Hoi was one of the warlocks.

Man, I love this shot of Bulma. This is really the difference between Movies 12 and 13. 13 has it’s share of fantasy stuff going on, but there’s a certain distance to it. In Movie 12, the characters are right in the thick of it all, but here, it’s an ancient tale being told to a regular lady over coffee. There’s a certain weight to all of this that none of the other movies really achieve. For one thing, Bulma now realizes that she was deceived by Hoi, and their fun afternoon of summoning Shenron to meet a hero was actually part of Hoi’s plot to destroy their world. So if things go badly from here, she’s at least partly responsible for whatever happens next. You don’t get that complexity in the earlier movies.

Conuts was able to defeat Hirudegarn eventually, thanks to a pair of swords and flutes that were empowered by “God” to control the totem. I think the idea is that the Kami of Planet Conuts was in charge of this, sort of like how Dende, the Kami of Earth, oversees the Dragon Balls. But they might actually mean a higher power besides a DBZ-style Kami.

Anyway, Tapion and Miotia played the ocarinas, which had the ability to immboilize Hirudegarn, and while they did that, a priest cut the monster in half with one of the swords. The subs suggest that there’s only one special sword involved here, but Tapion and Minotia are both equipped with them, so I think that means there are two. Maybe Minotia’s is just a regular sword.

Here’s the priest, by the way. I kind of like his design better than Tapions? Anyway.

So that put an end to Hirudegarn, right? Well, not quite. I guess they couldn’t just kill the thing, so they did the next best thing and sealed each half of the phantasm in Tapion and Minotia. Tapion got the top half, and Minotia got the legs. But even that wasn’t good enough, because the warlocks kept trying to attack the brothers to take back Hirudegarn.

So they ended up getting sealed inside music boxes. I think that may be the Kami of Conuts there in the background. The one with the multicolored halo. As we’ve seen, these must be special music boxes, since Goku couldn’t even turn the handle on one.

Then they shot the music boxes into space, just to make sure they would be as far apart from one another as possible. And that’s how Tapion ended up on Earth, and why Hoi came to Earth. He told Dragon Team that he wanted to free Tapion to save the universe, but he actually wanted to get Tapion out of the box so that he could get the top half of Hirudegarn out of Tapion.

Aw, man this shot from the aquarium is awesome. This really is a great movie. I think it’s a matter of taste. Critics would probably complain that the battle at the end is kind of short and disconnected from the rest of the story, but this movie is telling a quieter, more emotional story. I think Movie 12 is better, because I prefer the louder, goofier tone it has, but it really is a matter of personal taste.

Anyway, it’s a safe bet what happened to Minotia. At some point, Hoi tracked him down, managed to release the lower half of Hirudegarn, and used that to kill Minotia, as we saw in the beginning.

So it’s up to Tapion now to make certain Hoi can’t gain control of both halves, or else Hirudegarn will destroy everything. And as we’ve seen, he can’t go to sleep, or the monster will emerge from his body. That worries Bulma a great deal, so she offers to build him a chamber to serve as a replacement for the music box. At least, she thinks she can do it, since she still has the pieces from before, and she believes if she analyzes them that she can whip up a substitute.

I like that about this movie. Bulma hears out this poor kid’s story, and she’s like “Well, I’ll build you a box that’ll let you sleep!” and it won’t even take her very long. Tapion’s supposed to be this magical hero, but Bulma has a bit of that same aura herself.

All she asks in return is that he spend some quality time with her son, and he’s happy to do that. Also, Majin Buu’s dog is here for some reason. At least, I think that’s Bee.

Then she steps outside to tell them it’s ready, and she’s still in her pajamas, so I think this means she was up all night working on this thing. Bulma’s awesome.

So this thing looks ridiculous, and I have no idea how it’s supposed to work, but I guess the idea is that she reverse engineered whatever mojo the original music box had, minus the part where a grown man could fit inside it. Why did she bother adding the gold trim to the sides? Because Bulma, that’s why.

Meanwhile, the lower half of Hirudegarn is attacking somewhere else, and I guess his tail can open up to reveal dozens of tentacles.

I guess this is how Hirudegarn feeds? It’s pretty gross. It suddenly occurred to me to search for Hirudegarn fics on AO3, but I’m pretty sure I don’t wanna know.

Then Tapion gets some sort of psychic feedback, maybe? I’m not clear on what’s going on, exactly, but it blows up the bedroom Bulma built for him. So did it just never work to begin with, or is Hirudegarn becoming powerful enough to overload it somehow?

So Bulma calls in Goku, Gohan, and Goten. Goku acts like he’s searching for clues, but let’s be real here, he doesn’t know what he’s doing. He only picked up that gear because he thought it was made of chocolate.

Then Tapion stumbles back into the house, and he explains that the upper half got loose again, and he’s having more trouble controlling it. He somehow got it back inside his body, but he asks the others to kill him before it gets out again. Bulma offers to build a sturdier room for him, but he seems to think we’re past that.

Then Hoi shows up with the lower half of Hirudegarn, and they attack. Trunks gives Tapion the ocarina, but it doesn’t work this time.

I don’t think this ever really gets explained properly. Is Hirudgarn getting too strong to contain, or is Tapion’s power over him weakening? Or is this because Hoi is doing something to help get Hirudegarn loose? Or is it because Minotia is dead?

Anyway, now Hirudegarn is finally reunited, and Hoi is convinced that he’s now become invincible. In the dub, Hoi explains that he’s the sole survivor of a species called the Kashvar, who believe themselves superior to all other forms of life. The subs never get into this, but it’s a bit of lore that I enjoy.

Hoi’s a pretty cool bad guy. I like how he suckered all the good guys. I like how he resembles Babidi but not too closely. And I like his naughty red color.

So there’s not much Tapion can do from here, so Trunks moves him to a safe distance an tells him to let them handle things from here. Magic ocarinas and music boxes worked pretty well for a while, but now it’s time to do this the DBZ way, which means throwing down, mang.

There’s a trailer for Movie 13 that was included in the video file I downloaded when I first watched the fansub of this movie. In it, Masako Nozawa as Goku explains the premise of the movie, and how there’s this monster who’s going to wreck the world, and then she screams “I WON’T LET ANYONE DESTROY THE EARTH!” It’s awesome.

So there’s a couple of issues with this fight. First, the elephant in the room is that Gohan’s the strongest guy in the movie, but Goku��s the one who makes the big save at the end. The movie does a decent job working around this, but that leads into the second problem....

Which is that nobody can actually touch Hirudegarn now that he’s reunited. I guess he’s stronger and faster than he was when Gohan fought the legs, so even though Gohan knows he can only hit him while Hirudegarn is attacking, it’s a lot harder to pull that off this time. But what you end up with is a lot of footage of the Saiyans punching trails of mist, then getting clobbered. It’s good for building suspense, but it’s not very inspired compared to some other movie fights. Movie 8 was pretty one-sided, but at least the gang could hit Broly. It just never hurt him, which indicated how tough he is.

At one point, Hirudegarn turns solid so he can grab Gohan, but this sets him up for an attack by Vegeta, who finally shows up in this scene to bawl out Hirudegarn for attacking his house.

But he gets the same treatment as everyone else. Hirudegarn flings him into a nearby office building, and Vegeta expends the rest of his power just shielding himself and the bystanders from Hirudegarn’s fiery breath.

Goku tries to help him, and he just gets clobbered for his trouble.

So Goten and Trunks try to turn the tide with fusion, and for a hot minute, Super Saiyan 3 Gotenks seems to have an edge.

After a volley of ki blasts, it looks like Hirudegarn just keels over and dies. Oh, hey, that’s the same tower Hoi was climbing on when he first showed up. So I guess this whole movie takes place in West City? Only we saw Gohan and Videl in Orange Star High. Ah well.

So it looks like Hirudegarn is dead or dying, but...

It turns out he was just molting. Did Tapion have any idea that he could do this? I wonder.

So Gotenks is the first to fall. One swat from Big H knocks him down to the ground so hard that he de-fuses on the first bounce.

Gohan and Videl are next. I’m not sure why this thing keeps trying to crush Gohan, unless it’s because he’s the strongest one in the group. Maybe that was their way of acknowledging this.

So that leaves Goku to hold the line on his own, but he doesn’t last much longer. Just when it looks like there’s no one to defend West City...

Tapion returns with his ocarina. He hasn’t exactly had a winning track record with this lately, but it’s the only card he has to play, so he’s giving it all he’s got.

With a herculean effort, Tapion manages to seal all of Hirudegarn into his own body. Trunks runs over to congratulate him...

... but this was only a temporary measure. Tapion hasn’t beaten Hirudegarn. He’s just holding him for a moment, long enough for someone to kill him before Hirudegarn can escape again. And since Trunks is the only one on his feet, its up to him.

It’s an impossible choice. Trunks is just a boy. This is too much for a kid like him, but there’s no other way. If he doesn’t act now, Hirudegarn will escape, and there’ll be no way to stop him. That’d be hard enough, but he loves Tapion like the older brother he never had. It’s too cruel that he should have to do this. And yet, what else can he do?

But before Trunks can decide, Hirudegarn busts loose, and the ocarina breaks. So Tapion won’t be able to try that stunt again. I’m not sure he’d be able to stand the strain even if he could try again. Hirudegarn is just too powerful like this.

So yeah, it looks like a total shut-out for Hoi. Yessir, looking pretty rosy for the last Kashvar...

OH SHI--

HAHAHAHAHA HOI’S DEAD! I love this part! Did Hoi ever really have any control over Hirudegarn? I mean, he wasn’t exactly telling him to do anything he wouldn’t have been doing anyway. Nice knowin’ ya, you sorry bastard.

But everyone else is still screed. Hoi couldn’t conrol Hirudegarn and Tapion can’t contain him and the Z-Fighters can’t beat him, so what does that leave. Yeah, Trunks didn’t have to kill Tapion, but it looks like he’s going to die here no matter what. Z stands for the end.

But not yet.

Yeah, now I see why I had so much trouble telling what city this was. It’s not West City or Satan City. Hirudegarn needs to update his GPS, because he somehow ended up taking I-65 straight into Goku Town, population: get wrecked, son.

Hirudegarn goes to attack Goku, but before he can do that, Trunks jumps in and chops off his tail with Tapion’s sword. Yeah!

That got him good, but Goku wants Trunks to stay out of this one. Gohan tries to tell Goku that Hirudegarn has a weakness, but Goku’s already figured it out. He needs to goad Hirudegarn into attacking, and then use that moment to hit him with everything he’s got.

Fortunately, Hirudegarn is happy to oblige, and he starts punching Goku, while Goku doesn’t do much about it. He just no-sells each blow, taunting Hirudegarn to try again.

Maybe this fight’s better than I gave it credit for. The mistake the Z-Fighters made earlier was that they kept trying to strike Hirudegarn, which only left them wide open to his counterattacks. The key here is to stay on the defensive, and lull Hirudegarn into remaining solid.

Of course, you’ve still got to be sturdy enough to weather this kind of storm, but that’s why Goku’s using Super Saiyan 3. Gohan could have done this himself, but he got beaten up before he could come up with this strategy. Goku can make it work, but he can’t stay in this form for very long, so he probably only has one shot at this.

But if he doesn’t do it, who will?!

Hirudegarn goes for one more punch...

But this time Goku jumps over his fist and...

DRAGON FIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIST!

AAAAAAAGH! His punch exploded!

And it turned into Shenron this is nuts!

Hirudegarn knows he’s done fucked up now!

Yeah, say goodbye to your kidneys, asshole! You thought you could just step on Capsule Corp.! That’s where Goku gets his shish kebab, idiot! There’s gonna be hell to pay now.

OH YOU THOUGHT WE WERE DONE? Guess what, now the ki dragon that shot through you is gonna wrap around you and strangle you to death!

Also, it explodes again, so yeah, that’s the end of Hirudegarn.

Victory for Goku! And the moral of the story is, don’t send a flute to do an exploding punch dragon fist’s job.

Later, the good guys reassure Tapion that they’ll wish all of Hirudegarn’s victims back with the Dragon Balls. Well yeah, but it’ll be months before they can make another wish, so that’s kind of awkward.

As for Tapion, Bulma has apparently built her own version of the time machine used by Future Trunks in the Androids Saga. Either that, or she refurbished the duplicate time machine Cell used to arrive in this timeline. This movie doesn’t play too well with Dragon Ball Super continuity, but fuck the Zamasu arc, it was stupid and this movie rules.

So I guess Tapion’s going to go back in time to when everyone he knew and loved was still alive on Conuts. I think the dub indicated that he was going to prevent Minotia’s death somehow, but I’m not sure how that would work. Anyway, Trunks is sorry to see him go, but Bulma says they can just use the time machine to visit him. Wait, so does she mean she has a second time machine? Becase I don’t think they’re getting this one back.

Before he departs, Tapion gives Trunks his sword, saying he won’t be needing it anymore. So that’s pretty cool.

And as the time machine fades away, Trunks watches it go with his new sword on his back, and the credits roll...

... with scenes of Future Trunks in action. Clearly, Toei wanted to connect these two versions of Trunks. I think a lot of fans have mistakenly assumed that this movie is trying to suggest that this is the origin story for Future Trunks’ sword. Maybe Future Trunks met some alternate version of Tapion, but I think this story was just making the point that Kid Trunks would admire a hero who resembled Future Trunks in a lot of ways, including the sword and the stoic, selfless personality.

But yeah, that’s Movie 13. It’s not as flashy as Movie 12, but it never comes close to being dull, and the Super Dragon Fist at the end is the cherry on top.

youtube

Plus, you’ve got the excellent ending theme, “Ore Ga Yaranakya Dare Ga Yaru” by Hironobu Kageyama.

#dragon ball #2019dbliveblog #dbmovieliveblog #wrath of the dragon #movie 13 #goku #gohan #trunks #goten #vegeta #bulma #tapion #hoi #hirudegarn #videl #master roshi #oolong #krillin

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the-ash0 · 5 years

Text

surviving paradise 21 -want

She's down in her den; a lab in the lower catacombs of Capsule Corp. Hiding, I suppose.Though she should know I can sniff her out by her ki —puny though it is. The door is open, and I can hear her tinkering away. Slow wafts of smoke claw their way out from the entrance and into the hallway like some hungry beast.

I’ve never been down here before and given a choice, I think I’ll never return again. The place is dark, oppressive, and in severe need of a better ventilation system. What possesses a woman of means to seclude herself in such a deprived little hell? Small wonder she’s so weird.

Before I can come up with a decent plan of attack, the vixen beats me to the punch. Something hits the tabletop with a clunk; and I hear her sigh as she announces, "come on in, Vegeta. I know you are out there."

Well damn. Guess she's not hiding. With a grunt I enter her lair, and regret it instantly; the air inside is as thick and solid as a curtain. A brown, filthy one. Although the chamber itself is spacious enough, the hallway has more room to manoeuvre. Bookshelves line all the walls, filled with a large assortment of items; everything except for actual books, which are placed in large stacks on the floor. It’s a labyrinth of contraptions, running in every direction. The only clear path is to her desk, half-way in. The desk itself has only enough space cleared for her hands and her current project.

I quickly realise how she found me out. Monitors are suspended over the desk and while one shows a zoom-in of her work, the two others are clearly surveillance cameras. The left shows an obvious and familiar place: the Gravity Room. I tell myself I should not be surprised, shouldn't bother worrying about such things like being watched. Raditz told me I’d drive myself mad worrying about shit like this, and he was the expert. No; it’s actually a good thing she likes to spy. It’s exactly what I need her for. "I thought I told you I had a job for you?"

Bulma turns in her revolving chair to face me, and lights up another cigarette to take a deep drag, then breathes out the stench like she’s Shenron’s spawn. Once again, she’s all smiles and familiarity when she was screaming at me less than an hour ago. "Oh, Vegeta. How nice to see you’ve finally heeded my warning and dragged yourself away from my invention. Amazing though it is, I really think it’s time for a break, don't you? So ask away. What is it that you require of the world's greatest genius?"

I just broke several bones, not to mention five ribs, why would I need any more breaks? The woman seems in a good enough mood, reclining in her chair, so perhaps I am better off leaving her with her silly misconceptions.

"Right." I turn and run my hand along a contraption that reminds me of a mechanical winged beast. Its head is at my eye level, and my finger leaves a near-white streak on the brown surface. Ugh. I wipe the grime off on my shorts quickly, suddenly missing my gloves. "Well there is one little thing you could help me with. Just a little thing." I clear my throat again. It must be the smoke.

This gets her attention. She leans forward and brings the long cigarette to her mouth halfway before thinking better of it, then extinguishes the little smokestick in an ashtray by her side. There is a soft smile on her lips as she states, "well, I'm always happy to help out, Vegeta." She blinks and that weird look crosses her face. "Is your room comfortable? Are you getting enough to eat?"

I nearly bark out a laugh, but quickly disguise it as a cough. Yes, she is always happy to help... too happy. What is this game? Is she rubbing my nose in the help I’ve already received? "Oh yeah. It's... fine. Enough food. Everything's been... adequate?" Yes, I'm playing it down, but as far as I’m concerned the negotiations have already started. I look back at her, crossing my arms as I lean back against the doorframe.

"Good! I was worried about you for a bit there, Vegeta." The woman puts her elbows on her knees, hands twitchy with vacancy. "So, you said you wanted help with a project. Would you like another upgrade to the GR? Or perhaps something else for your training? If you just take a few days off, I bet I can whip you up something special."

A weird laugh bubbles out of my gut at that, and I disguise it as another cough. Is she going to make me state the obvious? Fine. “That would be pointless.”

She freezes and sits back. Her face goes through a myriad of expressions from surprise to confusion to an odd frown, like I just said something very scary. Kami, but I hope she’s faking it. Yet if she is, she is the best actor in the universe and that might be worse. Her voice is sad when she responds. "Pointless? I'm surprised to hear you of all people say that."

This isn’t getting us anywhere. I shake my head, angry that I have to explain. "I’m as powerful as Kakarot was when he challenged Frieza, maybe even more so. But it's not working. There has to be some sort of... trick to it. Some kind of..." I gesture wildly, unwilling to say it out loud. It's not about skill. It’s not. "Technique? I don't know how, woman. I need to know how Kakarot did it."

Bulma taps a finger to her chin as she thinks for a moment. "Why, that shouldn’t be a problem. Would you like me to give Goku a call? I'm sure he'd be happy to help too. I bet he’d come right over."

I almost tell her that nobody would be stupid enough to reveal his greatest secret to an enemy... but who am I kidding. Kakarot is definitely that stupid. Regardless, there are some levels I don’t want to sink to if I have even one other option left. "You think I have no pride left? You would have me run to that third-class simpleton and be taught like I’m— that idiot’s disciple?"

Oh, I think I'm going to be ill.

"Okay, sorry." She holds up her hands. "I wish you’d give Goku some credit; I know he can be a bit airheaded. I wasn't trying to offend you. So, what do you expect me to do? Unless you believe that basking in my scintillating company will make you magically turn Super Saiyan.” Bulma stops then smoothes her hair with one hand as she flutters her eyelashes. “Which, honestly, does seem like a viable theory."

I refuse to by side tracked by whatever that's supposed to mean. "Well he's your..." What’s the word, "friend, right? I mean, he'd tell you." Hell, the woman could even say she was doing research. For science. Not that it matters. Kakarot would never suspect his ahh... odd-found knowledge ... would be used for evil. Oh, the idea calms me down well. I nearly smile.

"So you’d like me to talk to Kakarot for you about how to become a Super Saiyan?" She gives me a look like that’s the oddest thing she’s ever heard. Though, really, what gives her the right to judge me? She’s the one on a weird planet with this entire fantasy freak-parade. "Oh Vegeta, I wouldn't even know what to ask about..." She trails off and gets that far away look in her eyes. I think she gets it now. Yes, she is a scientist. A clever one at that. And apparently she enjoys spying, so this is right up her alley. Oh, I knew she would not acquiesce easily. That is fine.

"Okay." Good. Finally I’ll have her demands clear; she’ll tell me what she wants of me, and we can trade. No more surprises. No more guessing at her motives. "Yeah, ok. I get it. You want something in return to compensate you for your time." Hell, the thing that worried me most was she’d leave it open. Put me in debt to her. Little minx, not this time. "So what would you want?" I just hope it’s either someone dead or stress testing an invention.

I seem to have broken her trail of thought, and she fixes me with that sad look again. "What do I want," Bulma repeats, like it’s a weird thing to ask. Foot tapping, she takes way too long to answer, frowning worriedly. Finally she reaches for her coat pocket, then catches herself, a slow smile spreads across her face. "Well, for starters, I'd like to make sure that my people are safe. Those androids are coming in a few years, but to be honest right now I’m more worried about you. And if I help you become a Super Saiyan, then I want you to use those skills to defeat them. Fair enough?" I shouldn't care about her acknowledgement, but it’s so nice to be seen as a threat once again. Because it’s been too long, and it's rightly my due. That’s right! I’m the real danger. Me! Feheheh. Also, it seems the job she wants me to do is... not doing any work? It’s a good deal, but there's one little hitch. "I still want to fight Kakarot. But I suppose I could hold out till after the androids are dead."

She smiles in earnest now; I realise the previous grin was more of a stage move, and this is real, carefree happiness on her face. “Right, I don't think I could stop you two. Besides, Goku would be so disappointed if he didn't get to fight you as well! So, here's the deal. I'll start doing some research— I'll talk with Goku, Krillin, Tien... and I’ll see if I can find a common thread. In the meantime, don't kill anyone. Just relax and maybe get to know people. When was the last time you took a vacation?" Vacate what? She’s talking in riddles. I tisk at her in annoyance. Worse still, so much for me being seen as a threat. She is not even one bit afraid of what will happen after I’ve defeated Kakarot. I guess when Earth’s hero comes into play, the woman’s faith is absolute. But she talks over any objections. “I bet if you got to know our crew, you’d find you have more in common with them than you realise. Yamcha used to be a desert bandit, oh, and Tien. Not to mention Piccolo...” She trails off again and gets a dreamy look in her eyes.

This woman really is weird. I have absolutely no interest in getting to know any of these creatures, yet I can see the advantage of gathering some intel. Besides, I know just where to start, so I bare my teeth at her. "Deal."

#surviving paradise #not sure i posted #also on ao3 #and ff.net #vegeta #vegebul #pastfic #just read it it

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