Akira Toriyama’s Dragon Ball has pushed its heroes into true peril as the anime’s first story arc begins to wrap itself up. The momentous opportunity for a wish to Shenron has been teased since Dragon Ball’s very start and the possible rewards that the Dragon Balls can yield have been the reason for the series’ cast to come together in the first place. One would think that this long-awaited milestone would be a cause for celebration and a fruitful reward for everyone’s hard work. However, Dragon Ball has transformed Shenron’s summoning into a potentially apocalyptic event instead of a well-earned prize for the heroes.
“A Wish to the Eternal Dragon” is true to its name and brings Goku, Bulma, Yamcha, Oolong, and Puar’s Dragon Ball hunt to its conclusion. That being said, an unpredictable fallout somehow turns Shenron’s appearance into one of the episode’s most benign elements. “A Wish to the Eternal Dragon” features an effective mix of suspense, action, comedy, and even transformative body horror that keeps Dragon Ball fans on the edge of their seats and pushes the characters out of their comfort zones.
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Dragon Ball creates genuine gravitas over Shenron’s summoning. Goku experiences sheer awe when he witnesses the Eternal Dragon for the first time. Dragon Ball can’t help but subvert expectations and turn this special event into something extremely silly, though. Oolong sneaks in and steals Pilaf’s wish, which is for a pair of underwear, no less. This all happens so quickly that it’s hard to believe Dragon Ball’s first dozen episodes were building toward such a ridiculous visual gag that weaponizes Oolong’s puerile impulses. This turn of events may frustrate some, but it also essentially confirms that Dragon Ball was never about the wish itself, but rather, the journey behind it.
Furthermore, it’s not as if the Dragon Balls are permanently out of commission. A future wish is still possible so this approach is a smart way to establish modest expectations and cleverly write itself out of a larger problem when it comes to more grandiose, game-changing Dragon Ball wishes. It’s a very comical conclusion to this story arc for those who had no idea what’s coming, especially as Oolong’s childish request echoes like a triumphant battlecry. It’s even funnier that Pilaf has no idea what’s going on at this moment. He’s oblivious of what’s even happened to ruin his world domination plans.
One of the most surprising elements of “A Wish to the Eternal Dragon” is the slow pacing throughout the episode’s introduction. The episode’s first-quarter is basically just a flashier retread of the previous entry’s final moments. This becomes even more problematic once Shenron is out of the picture and Oolong’s Dragon Ball wish is made only a few minutes later. It’s barely a third of the way into the episode before Shenron is already in Dragon Ball’s rearview mirror. This results in chaotic pacing that’s simultaneously lethargic and rushed with a focus on all the wrong things. This isn’t to say that Dragon Ball should have drawn out its use of Shenron, but there are definitely ways in which he could have been around for longer before he makes his abrupt departure.
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“A Wish to the Eternal Dragon” has an excellent introduction and conclusion, but the episode’s middle section shows signs of struggle. Shu relies upon the resilient efforts of his Police Dog squad, which are apparently a seemingly infinite number of canines who storm Pilaf’s castle until they take out their target. This threat leads to constant combat, even if it is slightly unnerving to watch Dragon Ball’s heroes just beat up some dogs for several minutes. This general idea may make audiences uncomfortable, but the action sequences against Shu’s Dog Police contain some of the episode’s most playful and inventive animation. Yamcha and Goku go to town on these canines as Dragon Ball delivers lush splash panel-esque visuals.
Dragon Ball wisely cranks up the absurdity so this obstacle doesn’t feel like it’s just a bunch of animals getting abused. It’s truly wild that Yamcha literally hurls Goku at these dogs and that the exhausted boy’s inspiration to fight comes out of a latent desire to eat these creatures. It’s the type of chaotic visuals and storytelling that have become emblematic of Dragon Ball at this point. There’s also especially pristine animation during Goku’s barrage of Kamehamehas in the prison and Pilaf’s deranged world domination fantasy sequence. “A Wish to the Eternal Dragon” continues to showcase some inspired art direction in muted moments, like several shots that are framed through the prison’s Kamehameha-shaped hole. Even the rainbow shimmer created by the Dragon Balls during Pilaf’s Shenron summoning goes much harder than it needs to and the episode is better off for it.
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“A Wish to the Eternal Dragon” gets a lot of mileage out of the fact that it delivers some very big moments audiences have been waiting for all season. This helps cover for some of the weaker elements, but it’s hard to get past the episode’s relatively sloppy pacing and story structure. “A Wish to the Eternal Dragon” isn’t as egregious in this department as “The Penalty is Pinball,” but there’s still plenty of busy work going on, which is seemingly just to give the characters slightly more conflict and help run out the clock. For instance, the attack by Shu’s Dog Police is entertaining, but repetitive. It’s a lot of effort that essentially just puts the heroes back where they started at the beginning of the episode as Pilaf’s prisoners.
Goku’s exhaustion from firing off too many Kamehamehas also feels like a convenient solution to pacify the heroes. Pilaf couldn’t have anticipated or accounted for Goku’s Kamehameha or Oolong and Puar’s shapeshifting skills that helped them escape from the first prison, but this whole debacle could have been avoided if Pilaf just put the gang in this reinforced steel prison for the start instead of presenting it as a secondary punishment. It’s a development that feels like lazy padding, yet it also makes sense that someone like Pilaf would underestimate his enemies and make such an unfortunate blunder when he was capable of a better solution all along. It’s also rather comical that Pilaf insists that he’s not one for “savagery,” while this new prison features tempered glass designed to fry them to death with the sun’s rays. Pilaf has been full of uniquely disturbing means of torture, but this is one of the more extreme examples of how he handles his problems.
The final minutes of “A Wish to the Eternal Dragon” prove that Shenron isn’t the only giant monster in this Dragon Ball episode. The architecture of Pilaf’s new prison puts the heroes in perfect view of the full moon. Dragon Ball expertly navigates this surprise danger and concludes the episode on an incredible note. There’s a casual nature in which the full moon’s magic and beauty is discussed – right down to Shunsuke Kikuchi’s elegiac score that compliments the conversation – all before it shifts into abject terror. There’s genuine tension during the episode’s last scene when Goku’s friends become petrified that he may shift into a murderous monster at a moment’s notice.
“A Wish to the Eternal Dragon” keeps the audience guessing through all this and effectively undercuts the imminent chaos before it then pulls the trigger on it all. In an installment that’s rich in well-animated sequences, Goku’s Great Ape transformation is easily the episode’s most powerful and striking moment. This brutal body horror is also juxtaposed with some tragic details that provide further context on the circumstances behind Grandpa Gohan’s death. This is helpful in terms of backstory, but it also sets the stage for the dark fate that might befall Yamcha, Bulma, Oolong, and Puar.
“A Wish to the Eternal Dragon” goes out on another exceptional cliffhanger – something that Dragon Ball has grown increasingly confident in – by turning the series’ protagonist into its greatest problem. Not every moment in this exciting installment connects or makes the most of its time, but there are still major plot developments here that tease a fascinating future – that is if the heroes manage to survive. Many series wouldn’t be able to survive the fallout and growing pains of following through on their core concept. However, “A Wish to the Eternal Dragon” masterfully moves forward with extreme conviction and proves that a Dragon Ball wish is just the beginning of greater adventures.
