"Tao Attacks!" (勝負！！カメハメ波ＶＳどどん波 Shōbu!! Kamehameha Tai Dodonpa, lit. "The Match!! Kamehameha vs Dodonpa") is the third episode of the Commander Red Saga and the sixtieth episode in the Dragon Ball series. This episode first aired in Japan on April 29, 1987. Its original American airdate was October 30, 2002.
Summary[]
Goku takes a direct hit to the chest by Tao's Dodon Ray
The despicable hired hitman, Mercenary Tao, will stop at nothing to complete his mission and earn his huge paycheck. After finding Goku near Korin Tower, he made short work of Bora. Goku will not prove to be so easy. Goku's determined to avenge his friend's death and hang on to the Dragon Balls. Goku strikes Tao first, but Tao easily evades all of his attacks. The difference in their skill and power is not in Goku's favor. Frustrated, Goku uses a Kamehameha, but the attack is easily blocked by Tao and only manages to burn Tao's clothing. Tao enraged retaliates with an aimed Dodon Ray at Goku's heart, which "killed" him (it is later revealed the Four-Star Dragon Ball Goku had in his clothing protected his heart). Tao leaves Upa alive, as well as Goku, thinking he is dead.
Tao talking to Commander Red on phone
Since his clothes were destroyed by Goku's Kamehameha, Tao heads to the nearest town to have them remade by a tailor, giving him three days' time to finish his outfit. Tao contacted Commander Red at Red Ribbon Army Headquarters to inform of his planned three days delay due to "certain circumstances" and confirm his mission's success. He is informed that in fact, he got only three out of four Dragon Balls. Red, very pleased with this, assured that it is not a problem and that they will retrieve the last Dragon Ball from Goku's corpse.
Tao waiting for his new outfit
Upa is seen to have buried Bora and is in the process of burying Goku, but before he could, a soldier sent to get the ball arrives. To both Upa's and the soldier's astonishment, it appears that Goku is bruised but was not killed by Tao. After a failed attempt to finish him off with a shotgun, the soldier gets airborne and tries to contact the base, however, he is made short work by Goku's Power Pole in mid-air. Feeling sorry for Upa's grief due to Bora's death, Goku becomes hell-bent on reviving him using Shenron's power.
To do that he needs to defeat Tao and get the three Dragon Balls back. Because their skill difference is vast, Goku decides to climb Korin Tower to gain more power. Thus, he begins his long journey upwards. Meanwhile, Commander Red informs Tao of strange things happening over that place and orders him to go there at once. Tao reluctant to take any orders refuses and firmly states he will go but after three days' time.
Major Events[]
- Goku is easily defeated and seemingly killed by Mercenary Tao.
- Goku is revealed to be alive with the Dragon Ball in his Gi having saved his life.
- Goku begins climbing Korin Tower.
Battles[]
- Goku vs. Mercenary Tao
- Goku vs. Red Ribbon Army soldier
Appearances[]
Characters[]
Locations[]
Objects[]
Techniques[]
- Kamehameha - Used by Goku.
- Dodon Ray - Used by Mercenary Tao.
Differences from the Manga[]
- The fight between Goku and Mercenary Tao is extended for the anime with considerably more hand-to-hand combat prior to Goku using the Kamehameha.
- Mercenary Tao being taunted by the drunkards and their realization of who he really is isn't in the manga.
- Commander Red sending a soldier to retrieve the Dragon Ball that Tao missed and his subsequent death at Goku's hands isn't in the manga. In the manga, since Red assumes that Goku is dead, he doesn't have to worry about claiming the ball too quickly.
- Commander Red calls Mercenary Tao at his suite and tells him to check back at Korin Tower though he refuses as he is not one of his soldiers. This does not happen in the manga.
Trivia[]
Reappearing Sleeve
- The designs of the two drunkards that taunt Mercenary Tao are based on those of the two bullies of the Orin Temple.
- The shot of Goku firing the Kamehameha is clearly recycled from the Tournament Saga; the outline of the tiles of the tournament ring can be seen on the ground.
- After Mercenary Tao's clothing is burnt, a piece of his sleeve disappears and reappears throughout the scene with Goku and Upa.
Gallery[]
 Mercenary Tao kicks Goku  Goku, after getting kicked by Mercenary Tao  Goku finds it extremely difficult to battle Tao  Goku unable to land a hit on Tao  Tao picks up Goku after headbutting him  Goku fires a Kamehameha at Tao  Tao blocks the Kamehameha  Tao still standing after taking the Kamehameha head on  An angry Tao attacks Goku with a Dodon Ray  Goku being struck by Tao's Dodon Ray  Goku, after being hit by Tao's Dodon Ray  Tao after using the Dodon Ray  Upa thinks Goku has been killed by Tao  Tao finds and steals the Dragon Balls  Upa mad at Tao  Upa throws a rock at Tao  Tao blows it back with his mouth  Upa gets hit by the rock  Upa knocked down by the attack  Upa cries after being hit by Tao  Commander Red pleased with Tao's work  People in a town look shocked upon seeing Tao  Tao encounters a drunk man  The drunk man's friend   Tao not too impressed with the drunk man  Tao in front of a tailor  Tao made a sketch of his outfit for the tailor  Tao giving the tailor three days time to finish his outfit  Tao tells the tailor to get started immediately  Tao prepares to call Red  Red asks Tao if he's taken care of Goku  Upa creating a burial mound for Goku  Upa glad that Goku's alive  Upa realizes that Goku was saved by his Dragon Ball  Goku protecting Upa from the shotgun blasts  Goku with his grandpa's memento  Goku sees Bora's grave  Goku apologizes for not being able to save Bora  Goku vows to use the Dragon Balls to bring Bora back  Goku decides to climb Korin Tower in order to get stronger  Goku climbs Korin Tower  Red informs Tao that Goku survived his assault |
[]
| ← General Blue Saga |  |
Fortuneteller Baba Saga→ | |||||||
| Manga | |||||||||
| Chapters | 84 • 85 • 86 • 87 • 88 • 89 • 90 • 91 • 92 • 93 • 94 • 95 • 96 | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Volumes | 7 • 8 | ||||||||
| Anime | |||||||||
| Episodes | 58 • 59 • 60 • 61 • 62 • 63 • 64 • 65 • 66 • 67 | ||||||||