"The Legend of Goku" (悟空の大変身 Gokū no Daihenshin, lit. "Goku's Great Transformation") is the thirteenth episode of Dragon Ball, as well as the final episode of the Emperor Pilaf Saga. This episode first aired in Japan on May 21, 1986. Its original American airdate was December 2, 1995.
Summary
Great Ape Goku destroys Emperor Pilaf's castle
Goku, who had turned into a Great Ape after he looked at the full moon, breaks out of Emperor Pilaf's cell and starts to destroy Pilaf's Castle. Pilaf, Shu, and Mai, who are all sleeping at the time, wake up and realize that something is destroying Pilaf's Castle. Pilaf gets angry and tells Shu and Mai to do something about it. Shu and Mai are only in their pajamas and have no choice but to throw objects that are in the bedroom at the giant ape, such as pillows and slippers; obviously, this had no effect on the monster. The ape then continues to destroy the castle and chase the trio. They head to an airplane where they escape from the castle.
Pilaf and his minions running from Great Ape Goku
Yamcha, Oolong, Puar, and Bulma are all trying to run from the castle, but Bulma ends up tripping and spraining her ankle. With Oolong and Puar not being strong enough to help her up, Yamcha has to get over his fear of women and helps Bulma get away to safety; she is very thankful for this. Meanwhile, angry over the destruction of his castle, Pilaf tells Mai to turn around. Their plane starts shooting Goku but seems to have no effect on him. The plane then brings out a heat-seeking missile and knocks the Great Ape Goku out.
Emperor Pilaf assuming Goku is dead and jumping up and down on his tail
Everyone then believes that Goku is really dead and Pilaf begins jumping up and down on his tail. Shu and Mai then recognize that the ape's hands are starting to twitch and cower in fear. Great Ape Goku wakes up and chases Emperor Pilaf and his two henchmen who then run off back to their plane and try to escape. They fly off but Goku throws a tower at the plane causing it to crash. Yamcha finds Bulma stuck under another tower of Pilaf's castle. Yamcha lifts up the tower to let Bulma out but then they are chased again by Goku. The Ape picks Bulma up and she screams until she passes out then Goku starts to lick her, seemingly intent on eating her.
Yamcha and Oolong grabbing onto Goku's tail while Puar cuts it
Puar then mentions that Goku's weak point is his tail, so Yamcha uses his power of the Wolf Fang Fist to break the castle and makes a sword out of stone, and he tries to cut off Goku's tail. This has no effect, however, and the sword shatters to pieces because it was not sharp enough to cut the tail off. Yamcha then grabs on to Goku's tail helped by Oolong, while Puar turns into a pair of scissors and cuts it off. Goku drops Bulma and shrinks down back to his normal form, where he ends up naked and unconscious. Pilaf is sad about his castle, and he orders Mai and Shu to shoot them all. Pilaf then runs in the other direction and, when Shu and Mai see this, they decide to run away with Pilaf as well.
Goku on his way to Master Roshi's island
The next morning, Goku does not remember a thing about his transformation the night before, so the rest of the group agrees not to tell him about it and the fact that he is probably the monster that killed his Grandpa Gohan. Goku then finds out that his tail is gone and assumes it ran away and is given Oolong's pants to cover up. Afterward, Goku goes back to the ruins of Pilaf's castle to get his Power Pole. Bulma is now mad that she was not able to get a boyfriend and Yamcha is mad because he is going to still be shy around girls for another year, but they then look at each other and gleefully decide to be boyfriend and girlfriend. When Goku returns, Bulma gives him her Dragon Radar so that he will be able to go get his grandpa's Dragon Ball in a year when they come back to normal. They decide to part ways, Bulma and Yamcha plan to go back to the city with Puar and Oolong tagging along. Yamcha then takes out a Jet capsule and takes off with everyone else. Goku then gets on his Flying Nimbus and starts to head to Master Roshi's island for training, waving goodbye to Bulma, Yamcha, Oolong, and Puar.
Major Events
- Goku as a Great Ape destroys Pilaf's Castle.
- Goku's Tail is cut off to return him to normal.
- Bulma and Yamcha decide to become a couple and head to West City.
- Goku decides to train with Master Roshi and heads to Kame House.
Battles
- Pilaf, Shu, and Mai vs. Goku (Great Ape)
- Yamcha, Puar, and Oolong vs. Goku (Great Ape)
Appearances
Characters
Locations
Objects
Transformations
Differences from the Manga
Filler
- Pilaf commanding Mai to drive the plane back where they fire ammunition at the Great Ape and he falls.
- Pilaf getting out of the plane and jumping on the Great Ape's tail.
- Yamcha attempting to cut Goku's tail using a sword he made out of stone.
- After the plane is destroyed, Pilaf gives Shu and Mai two guns and tells them to go fight Bulma and the others off and runs away but Shu and Mai do not listen to him and run off as well.
- Great Ape Goku's rampage was extended.
Edits
Visual edits
A flower covers Goku's crotch in the Ocean Dub
- When Goku turns back into his normal form there is a badly drawn flower covering his private area as an edit in the Ocean Group Dub.
Dialogue changes
- In the Japanese version, the narrator's speech at the ending says something along the lines of Goku and friends' adventures finally being at an end. He then gives a "just kidding" conclusion to this speech and informs the viewers that the adventures will continue next week.
Trivia
- This was the final episode of the early Ocean Group dubbed version of the show.
- The scene where Emperor Pilaf is shooting Great Ape Goku with his plane is reminiscent of King Kong.
- When Yamcha clenches his teeth before he saves Bulma, he has all of his teeth, including the one he lost during the fight with Goku.
- Oolong asks if Goku is an alien, a question that is answered much later, in Dragon Ball Z.
- Bulma and the others decide not to tell Goku that he was responsible for killing his grandfather when he turned into a Great Ape. However, Goku finds out that he was the one that killed his grandfather in the Dragon Ball Z episode "Spirit Bomb Away!", apologizes for what he did, and handles the truth.
- Goku's tail is cut off for the first time, but it is later grown back in "Monster Beast Giran".
- Goku would later reunite with Bulma, Oolong, and Yamcha in "The Tournament Begins".
- Bulma is shown for the first time without her vest. She is shown to be wearing a strapless jumpsuit.
Gallery
 Yamcha  The Pilaf Gang in a panic over the Great Ape  The Pilaf Gang barely start the plane in time to escape  Yamcha gets everyone to safety  Yamcha got everyone to safety  Yamcha can not believe he did it  Bulma blushes  Pilaf's plane fires at Goku  A missile is aimed at Goku  Pilaf's missile hits Goku  Pilaf looks on  The gang watches in shock as the missile hits  Pilaf Gang and Great Ape Goku  Emperor Pilaf  Great Ape Goku comes to  Mai and Shu realize Goku is awake  Ape Goku throws a tower at Pilaf's plane  The villains plane is hit  Great Ape Goku holds Bulma  Goku about to eat Bulma  Goku about to eat Bulma  Yamcha grabs the tail  This pains the Ape  Puar transforms  Puar turns into a pair of scissors  The tail is cut off  Pilaf finds guns lying on the ground  Pilaf gives the order to attack  The Pilaf Gang retreats  Oolong and Goku  Goku with Oolong's pants  Puar sleeping by a tree  A dejected Yamcha wakes up Puar to go home        Puar prevents Oolong from revealing Goku's transformation  Goku parts ways with everyone  Capsule Plane 115  Goku saying goodbye to his friends |
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