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In Dragon Ball volume 9, one character plans to kill another, and they say

天国か地獄、好きなほうにいってこい

Which I take to mean something like "Heaven or hell, go to whichever you like"

I think いってこい here is the imperative of 行って来る, but as far as I know, that implies a return to the current place. Why is it used here?

Eddie Kal
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Boathouse
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2 Answers2

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I don't remember the story, but I believe this person is expected to return from Heaven or Hell after doing something there. If that is the case, (-て)こい is nearly mandatory. Just saying 「天国か地獄、好きな方に行け」 might almost sound like "Die! Don't come back here again!". Even in more realistic daily conversations, (-て)こい or (-て)きて is a very common word you usually need to add. For example, 買い物に行ってきて is much more natural than 買い物に行って, and the latter might sound like you want this person to get away.

Many subsidiary verbs including (-て)くる, (-て)いく, (-て)もらう and (-て)しまう may seem unnecessary at first because there are no direct equivalents in English. Still, they are very important words in Japanese. Failing to include them appropriately will result in a really awkward Japanese sentence.

naruto
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I believe because they're adding the nuance "come to me" which will lead them to heaven or hell

Thinking over it again, it is more likely the nuance of "come to do.." from てくる structure... it's not always a literal "coming" motion, but rather an indication of change, like in 変わってくる、なってくる, etc.

bella
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