The second season of the hit fantasy Dragon Ball concludes the story line involving pint-sized Emperor Pilaf and focuses on Goku's battles with the nasty officers of the Red Ribbon Army. The evil General Red wants the magic Dragon Balls to make him ruler of the world; Goku wants the Four Star Ball as a souvenir of his adoptive grandfather, who owned it. Chuckling merrily as he goes from battle to battle, the irrepressible Goku dispatches the minions of General White in Muscle Tower and befriends android Number Eight (whose appearance and kindly demeanor may remind American viewers of Milton the Monster). After a visit to Bulma, Goku tackles effete General Blue and a robot pirate on a hidden island. Season 2 ends as Goku challenges Korin, the cat who controls magical, strength-giving water atop a precipitous tower. Goku needs the water to grow stronger and defeat assassin Tao Pai Pai, who murdered his friend Oopa's father, Bora.

Although Goku's adventures will delight legions of fans, these episodes include some of the most egregious stereotypes in the Dragon Ball franchise: Oopa and Bora are clichéd American Indians in war paint and feathers, while General Blue minces and swishes (his dialogue in the subtitles is quite offensive). Parts of the episodes set at Muscle Tower were recut into the fourth Dragon Ball movie, The Path to Power (Saikyou e no Michi, 1996), also known as "The Way to Become the Strongest." Rated TV 14, but appropriate for ages 12 and up: nudity, risqué and toilet humor, cartoon violence, ethnic stereotypes, alcohol and tobacco use). --Charles Solomon
(32. The Flying Fortress: Vanished! 33. The Legend of a Dragon, 34. Cruel General Red, 35. Cold Reception, 36. Major Metallitron, 37. The Ninja Murasaki Is Coming! 38. Five Murasakis, 39. Mysterious Android No. 8, 40. Horrifying Buyon, 41. The Fall of Muscle Tower, 42. The Secret of Dr. Flappe, 43. A Trip to the City, 44. Master Thief, Hasky, 45. Danger in the Air, 46. Bulma's Bad Day, 47. Kame House--Found! 48. Deep Blue Sea, 49. Roshi Surprise, 50. The Trap Is Sprung, 51. Beware of Robot, 52. The Pirate Treasure, 53. Blue, Black and Blue, 54. Escape from Pirate Cave, 55. Penguin Village, 56. Strange Visitor, 57. Arale vs. Blue, 58. The Land of Korin, 59. The Notorious Mercenary, 60. Tao Attacks! 61. Korin Tower)