'Dragon Ball Super' episode 56: 'Goku Black Rematch! The Appearance of Super Saiyan Rose'

After a series of breather episodes, this one gets back to business as the trio of saiyans return to the future to confront Black.

As seen last episode, the resistance mistook Goku for their enemy and open fire.  I'm not sure why Trunks needed to step in to deflect the shots, but he does immediately tell them to stand down.  To the soldiers' credit, they immediately do so and even apologize for the mistake, understandable as it was.

At long last, we follow up on the tease that Mai survived Black's attack.  It turns out that not only did she survive, but that she's been leading the resistance in Trunks' absence as a way to hold the line until their return.  The reunion between the two really is nothing short of heartwarming.  While Trunks makes it perfectly clear that the two don't have a romantic relationship, you can tell that they mean a lot to each other and it pulls on the heartstrings very effectively.

Really, that whole scene in the bunker was a crowning moment of d'awww.  You have Trunks cheering up frightened little kids and the reveal that Yajirobe survived.  The normally stoic Vegeta cracks a smile at the whole thing and even opens up some capsules that Bulma provided containing a feast to feed the hungry survivors.  They've only been in the future a short while and already they've infused a surprising amount of hope and joy into these people who have had none for so long.  It's amazing.

While the feels are certainly a major strong point for this episode, the main draw is the long awaited return of Black.  Yes, Black is back and god, I've missed the creepy SOB.

It seems the wait was worth it, as his confrontation with Vegeta was a blast to watch.  The saiyan prince does land several hits, but Black being the way he is, he doesn't seem to mind it too much.  The fact that Black doesn't seem too fazed by the latest form is foreboding enough, but then he goes and reveals a form of his own, the Super Saiyan Rose.

The transformation is accompanied by the same sort of chanting that went along with Goku's transformation into the original Super Saiyan God form, giving a sort of dark reprise that I thought worked really well.

Sadly, the form doesn't get much of a chance to shine (for lack of a better term) as it doesn't seem to be the game changer that most form transformations are.  The only real table turner is when Black impales Vegeta with a Psylocke-esque ki-blade very similar to the one that Zamasu used to slay the Babari.

I was kind of hoping to see Vegeta be the one to take home the win here.  He had the personal enmity towards Black for killing Bulma and it would help address the criticism that Vegeta is just the jobber who repeatedly suffers from the Worf effect to show how tough the bad guy is before Goku steps in and wins the day.  Granted, that formula goes back even to the days of DBZ, but it still seems like a missed opportunity.

While Vegeta is still alive, I'm not sure how he's going to survive.  It is pretty much stated that the future is devoid of senzu beans, unless they brought some, but I don't think that was ever made clear.  Maybe the resistance medics can patch him up, but that seems like a long shot.  I guess we'll see how that plays out later.  Then again, Mai survived getting a ki blast to the face, so it seems that anything is possible

Of course, there are more pressing matters, like the arrival of Zamasu.  Yes, the aspiring supreme kai from another universe makes his grand entrance.  His opening line about putting a stop to the fight made me think that it was Gowasu pulling a deus ex machina and reigning in his fallen protege, but that doesn't turn out to be the case.

Amusingly, all the characters seem more surprised that Zamasu wasn't Black.  Clearly, though, the two are in league, so they were still in the ball park.  Whether it's a partnership or Black is just Zamasu's dragon is a detail that has yet to be determined.  Given Black's earlier dialogue, the latter seems more likely, but we'll see.

All in all, this was a great episode.  It had a nice balance of action, tension, and heart.  Black continues to shine and we have a great revelation at the end to cap it all off.  Unlike the episode with the phrase "Reveal Black's true identity" in the title, I have a feeling that next week's entry will finally deliver.  I mean, Zamasu's right there.  If story structure is any indicator, this is where he would start monologuing and giving viewers a big exposition dump.   Granted, we already know the why, but the how and the what are still up in the air.

I'm torn.  On the one hand, I'm looking forward to next week's episode.  At the same time, it seems we're reaching the end of the story line.  It's going to be sad to see Black gone, but there could be ramifications and after effects that impact future story lines, we don't know.

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'Attack on Titan' episode 3': 'A Dim Light in the Darkness of Despair: Humanity Rises Again part 1'

It's been a while, but I think it's time to finally get back to the attack...on Titan.  When last we left, our heroes had just joined the force dedicated to vanquishing the titans once and for all.  It comes complete with a verbally abrasive drill sergeant who doesn't suffer fools.

True to his status as underdog, Eren finds that he has trouble performing even rudimentary tasks with the tools that they employ in their war.  He certainly has the drive, but the question comes up as to whether he's cut out to be a soldier.

You'd think that this is where the show cues the montage, but alas, the episode goes entirely without one.  I was legitimately surprised.  I mean, this sort of scenario just calls for it.

In lieu of that, we're introduced to a bunch of new characters who, sadly, aren't given enough time to really make any serious impression one way or the other.  Sasha Braus was the exception, but that's mostly because her later scenes veer into mind-screw territory, as she's driven into delirium from exhaustion and hunger.

It was kind of surprising how little the others knew about the titans.  Given the state of the world, you'd think that most people would have a story similar to Eren's.  Or, barring that, maybe they heard about what was happening and wanted to stop the monsters out of a sense of nobility and heroism.  Instead, most of them are pressured into it for one reason or another.  I guess having a ragtag group of reluctant heroes is more dramatic, but it still surprised me.

Actually, the crew here seem to take a more cynical approach to things.  A few characters are in it solely for themselves and one character is mocked for attempting to help another person.  You could use the "humanity's on the brink of extinction" argument, but we've already seen that most of these people have been tucked away behind several walls and have little idea about any of that.

Really, though, I think the episode's biggest flaw is the resolution.  The reveal that Eren's belt was defective was a bit too abrupt.  I think having him master it on his own might have worked a bit better.  That would have rewarded his persistence and determination as opposed to having a fluke circumstance be what turns things around for him.  Oh well.

Sadly, this episode was weaker than its predecessors.  There's some character development, but not a whole lot.   It's especially glaring as this seemed to be the priority for this entry, but the only characters you're connected to are the already established ones.  Hopefully the second part of this chapter will be able to remedy that to a given extent.










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'Dragon Ball Super' episode 55: 'I Want to Meet Son Goku - A Call From Zeno-Sama'

It should come as no surprise that the focus of this episode is on the omni-king's bizarre request to talk to Goku.  I assumed that it had to do with the upcoming multiverse tournament that was teased in the last story arc, but that does not prove to be the case.

No, it turns out that the god of everything wants to be Goku's friend.  He is right in saying that Goku is nice, though the other characters don't seem to think so.  While he's not the most formal guy, Goku is rarely anything less than pleasant.  It makes the early scenes seem strange when everyone worries about how Goku might drive the omni-king into a mad rage.  It does yield some results on the comedic front, but it still comes off as bizarre.

The omni-king, however, gives the saiyan the benefit of the doubt and even chides the others when they try to lecture Goku on his behavior.

It all culminates in a request to play.  Alas, Goku has to decline as he has other pressing matters (ie Black.)  He does agree to play afterwards and even promises to bring another friend for the Dragon Ball God, though he later admits that he has no one in mind.

The show stealer for the episode, however, is Zamasu, as he continues his descent down the path of darkness.  This is the sort of journey you've seen a thousand times, but this show is pulling it off really well.  Not only does that leitmotif add an extra layer of creepiness to the proceedings, but Zamasu himself is a fascinating character.

His distaste for mortals is well documented and the ordeal with the Babarin has done little to change that.  It gets to the point where he actually murders one, much to the dismay of Gowasu.

I want to argue self defense as the Babari was clearly on the attack, but Zamasu is a god, so I doubt a club would pose much of a threat.  Still, the thing was feral.  It makes Gowasu's claim that this could be the one who changed the course of their race's history feel a little hollow.  Under normal circumstances, that sort of argument for the preservation of life would be sound, but here...not so much.

Still, the elder kai does try to appeal to Zamasu in an attempt to avert the descent.  It doesn't seem to be working, though.  On the contrary, Zamasu only appears to be getting more frustrated.  Not just with mortals, but with the limitations on the influence that they have as gods.  It not only makes his motivations more layered, but it further justifies his eventual Face-Heel turn.

Speaking of, the idea that Zamasu and Black are linked is starting to become more possible.  TvTropes raises a good point in reminding us that Black exists in the future, meaning that Zamasu not knowing Goku now doesn't necessarily mean that he wouldn't be aware later on down the line.  In fact, considering Goku's meeting with Zamasu had a pretty big impact on the deity's views and helped send him down his current path, it's quite possible that this was a sort of self-fulfilling prophecy.  Credit to the writers, that was a pretty clever way to throw viewers off the track.

Another highlight, for me anyway, is the ending.  At long last, the time machine's repairs are complete, meaning that Trunks can return to the future, with Goku and Vegeta in tow, in order to confront Black.

I'm a little torn on the cliffhanger.  Having the humans fire on Goku, thinking he's Black, makes a lot more sense than it did with Future Trunks a few episodes back.  That being said, I don't get why Goku is worried.  It isn't like bullets were ever a problem with his species.  Heck, even Raditz was able to catch them effortlessly, and he was Raditz.

It's odd to see an episode where the peripheral content outshines the main arc, but there were some nice character moments here and there.  The humor worked and we learn of a pretty glaring Achilles' heel for Beerus.  On the one hand, that's handy to know should Beerus ever decide to embrace his role as god of destruction again, but he was right to chide Whis for stating it in the first place.

I am looking forward to the next episode, though.  It'll be good to get back to Black.  The fact that the face off will take place in the dark future only makes it that much more compelling, as it is a drastically different setting than what we're used to.  On top of that, with such a vast wasteland, the fighters can presumably cut loose.

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Stephen King bibliography: 'The Green Mile' part 6: 'Coffey on the Mile'

The serial concludes with the longest entry, packing in another fifty pages worth of story.  The work had more than a few loose ends to tie up, so it certainly works to the book's benefit.

Never the less, with a little over 100 pages, everything has to move quickly.  After the build up in the last volume about getting Coffey back in the cell, they do have a fairly easy time of it.  Even the aftermath of Percy's ordeal is resolved somewhat abruptly, though that was mostly Coffey's doing.

It seems he had an ulterior motive in keeping in the "sickness" that he usually coughs up.  The idea that he was doing it to die on his own terms was an interesting one, but that doesn't prove to be the case.  What actually happens is actually surprisingly cunning on Coffey's part.  It doesn't hit Light Yagami levels, but considering the guy can't tie his own shoe laces, it showed a surprising amount of forethought.

We do discover who actually raped and murdered the two girls way back at the beginning of the story.  The reveal that it was "Wild Bill" is arguably a bit too plot convenient, but the story explains it well enough.  It also gives Coffey the chance to punish two bad men in one foul swoop as we see that his powers go even beyond what we had seen previously.

Back on April Fool's Day, I wrote an article positing that Stephen King was going to pull an "Avengers" and have a bunch of his "metahuman" protagonists (such as Carrie, Charlie, John Smith, as well as a few others) team up to take on some big bad.  I don't remember if Coffey was in the list.  I think he was, but it's possible that I might have forgotten him, in all honesty.  Suffice it to say, should such a team up come about, he should certainly be recruited.  Having a healer is certainly an asset to any group of heroes.

On a more relevant note, this section actually improves on one of the fault's of its predecessor.  That edition tried to make race a factor and given the circumstances, the accusation felt nebulous at best.  Here, we have a much more concrete and definitive instance where Coffey's race plays a factor.  Given what Edgecomb has found out, one would think that the case would be reopened or appealed.  Alas, no luck as the higher ups have no problem letting him go down for a crime he didn't commit.  They're kind of dicks like that.

Suffice it to say, the decision doesn't sit well with the guards.  Coffey's passing is appropriately poignant and makes for one of the emotional highlights, not just of this section, but of the work as a whole.

The section also brings what King calls the "front story" detailing the elderly Paul's life to the forefront.  Not only do we get resolution on the subplot regarding his romance and his conflict with one of the orderlies, but this section also shows us why the story even bothered with it to begin with.  We get to see the long term effects of Coffey's choices as well as get some information that might not otherwise have been able to be conveyed had the book been structured more linearly.

Overall, this was a rather strong read.  The first section was the weakest link, but from there it really picks up.  In the afterword, King says that he likely won't try doing another serial.  It's a shame as I thought it worked rather well.  I wouldn't mind seeing another work done in this fashion.  Who knows? Maybe other writers will take a crack at it.









                      






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Stephen King bibliography: 'The Green Mile' part 5: 'Night Journey'

Thus, we reach the penultimate volume in this collection.  In it, the group embarks on a high risk mission.  While their lives may not be in danger, their careers are.  It may seem like small potatoes, but when you have families to support, said potatoes suddenly don't seem so tiny.

While the guards have the best of intentions in allowing Coffey to use his powers to heal a terminally ill woman, it's still a tall order justifying allowing a convicted felon (a child rapist and murderer no less) to roam free, even for a little while.  Fortunately, it's discovered that he is, in fact, innocent.

You probably saw it coming, but the reveal plays out well enough.  It's very reminiscent of the resolution to a Sherlock Holmes story, where a tiny, easily overlooked detail begins a chain reaction that unravels the once apparently open and shut case.  Even the story itself seems to hang a lampshade on this, as a character compares Edgecomb to the detective, though he brushes it off.

Strangely enough, I thought that this story did handled that better than the actual Sherlock Holmes story that King wrote.  The detail itself worked much more effectively.  It was less noticeable, but still carried enough weight to justify the eventual overhaul in people's assessment of the situation.

The idea that racism played a role is also brought into the equation.  While it's true that 1932 was hardly an enlightened age in that regard, the way the story plays out you still find yourself calling BS.  If Coffey were white and found under those circumstances, I'm fairly certain that he would still be found guilty.  I highly doubt that the authorities would look into something like shoelaces to prove innocence.  Given the heinous nature of the crime, they'd still be eager to lock someone up.  With that much circumstantial evidence and lacking the modern technology that could disprove the narrative, it's easy to see an acquittal as nothing more than a pipe dream.

Edgecomb's assertion that the real perpetrator is white is also facepalm inducing as he has literally no evidence to support this.  Ruling out Coffey is one thing, but barring that, the criminal could be anyone of any ethnicity.

In any event, the crew embarks on their endeavor.  With only so much page time, I figured that things might go too easily, but they face enough obstacles that it's believable but doesn't bog the story down.

Chief among the obstacles is Percy, who they have to force into a straight jacket and lock in a closet.  It's odd how you almost find yourself feeling bad for the guy given what he's done in previous sections.

I do wonder why they didn't just drug him the way they did Wharton, the other inmate.  Not only would it help avoid any repercussions from Percy (which seem inevitable at this point,) but they could use that against him later on, saying that he fell asleep on the job or something to that effect to damage his professional reputation.

This section probably comes closest to falling under the "horror" category.  Not only does Coffey's ordeal in healing the warden's wife play similar to something you'd see in "The Exorcist", but he also makes mention of lingering presences in the execution room.

Nothing is really made of it, and rightly so.  Having the story turn into a haunted house tale at this point seems ridiculous.  Still, given Coffey's spiritual affinity, his words do carry more weight and lend some credence to the notion.  On top of that, the idea that those who died there are still present and aware is unnerving on several levels, especially in light of what happened to Delacroix.  For such a small moment, it does a really good job of sending a quick chill up your spine.

It is a little strange how Coffey is, only now, moving to center stage.  He was almost an after-thought for most of the work and now he's a central component.  I'm guessing it was to help maintain the idea that he did it, but it's odd.

It does allow him to finally shine, though.  Saving the day was nice and all, but really, it's his pleasant disposition and cooperative attitude that really sells the innate goodness of the character.  Almost everybody seems to take a liking to him as the story progresses and it's easy to see why.

This section doesn't end on a cliffhanger, per se, but things aren't exactly wrapped up either.  True, the guards are back at the prison, but they still have to get Coffey back in his cell.  One of the other guards is even about to voice the opinion that they did it, but Edgecomb, surprisingly genre savvy for this era, tells him to shut up and not to say anything until the cell door shuts.

I'm not sure what other obstacles they could face, but Edgecomb does imply that the night was far from over.  I figured that the conclusion would focus on Coffey himself and dealing with the moral ramifications of putting an innocent man to death, but with the final section being the longest of the bunch, it's possible that there's plenty of room for all of that.







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'Dragon Ball Super' episode 54: 'He Who Carries Saiyan Blood - Trunks' Determination'

As the time machine's repairs near completion, the big confrontation with Black draws ever closer.  Despite having sizable reinforcements, Trunks is wary, as he knows that he still isn't powerful enough to defeat Black.  It's to the point where he can't even imagine a scenario where he wins in a one on one fight.

Lucky for him, Goku has gotten to the point where he can contend with the gods, which leaves Trunks rather shocked.  He begins to wonder if he even needs to fight.  This declaration really doesn't make a whole lot of sense, as bringing them back as reinforcements always seemed like it was the plan.  It does get under Vegeta's skin, however, as he insists that they train.

Trunks gets to show off his SS2 form, but it isn't long before Vegeta upstages him by going Blue.  Technically, Trunks just asked his father to go to SS3, but that request seems to be ignored.  Granted, going to 3 would have still been enough to best his son, and people have been wanting to see Vegeta hit that stage for a while now (though I think it's safe to say that he can at this point,) but this shows Trunks what saiyans are really capable of.

Considering the copy Vegeta pummeled SS3 Gotenks without even needing to transform, it's not surprising to find out that Trunks gets his clock cleaned in this match up.  He does attempt a clever ploy, transforming to the bulkier form that failed against Cell in order to get Vegeta to drop his guard and charge in just as Trunks shrinks back down to his SS2 form so that he can land a surprise hit.  It doesn't work, but it was still not a bad tactic.

While that made for a decent action beat, the real meat of the episode comes from the more divine characters.  The scene where Whis relays to Trunks what they discovered about Zamasu was a decent exposition dump.  It relayed information that the viewer had already surmised, but considering Trunks isn't aware of any of this, it still feels natural.

Zamasu himself has a bit of an arc as he falls closer to the dark side.  He and his mentor discover a new "human-like" race of alien lizards that have evolved.  They're still fairly primitive (read: violent), which disgusts Zamasu, but Gowasu insists that they can grow.

Using the ring of time, they travel 1,000 years to the future, only to see that the species hasn't evolved much, lending more credence to Zamasu's stance that mortals are beyond saving.

Speaking of said ring, the nature of time travel does get elaborated on a bit.  Gowasu explains that any venture to the past creates a new green ring and signifies the creation of another timeline.  His dialogue suggests that Trunks' previous venture created one.  I was under the impression that the two timelines ran parallel, but it seems that his journey back is what caused the timeline to diverge and branch off into what we see.  It does actually come in handy given what we've learned about the multiverse in previous story arcs.  I, as well as many others I suspect, wondered just where Future Trunks fit in the 12 universes.  This gives us a fairly clear answer.

It's heavily implied that even if Zamasu isn't the villain now, he may go down that path and become one later on.  Given what we see here, it seems very likely.  That being said, I don't really see the threat.  He's a potential Supreme Kai, but it's already clear that he's no match for the likes of Goku or Vegeta.  Even Beerus notes the fact.  The only way I can see him presenting a viable threat is if he used the earrings to fuse with someone else.  They do get brought up here, so it is certainly a possibility.

Sadly, we don't cut back to the future.  As the time machine is basically done, I assume we're getting there soon, but it would have been nice to see what Black has been up to since we last saw him.  At the very least, you'd think the show would pick up on Future Mai still being alive, that particular thread has been left hanging for some time now.

Instead, this episode's cliffhanger seems focused on something entirely different as the Omni-King contacts Beerus and Whis, asking to speak to Goku.  They're stunned, but I don't see why.  He said before that he wanted to arrange a multiversal tournament, odds are he wants to consult Goku about it.  He had met Goku before and the saiyan was clearly excited at the prospect, so it's likely that he'd go to Goku to help put it together.

It's a tad underwhelming in all honesty.  If he was also trying to figure out the nature of Black, that would be something.  I suppose that's a possibility, but I'm fairly certain that the palaver will be tournament related.  I guess we'll find out next week.

Overall, this episode was OK.  It seems like things are starting to pick up a bit in terms of pacing.  I think that the time machine's repairs were a long time coming, but we got some interesting developments peppered in here and there.  Even Pilaf gets a chance to shine as he is able to write more effective computer code to help expedite the process of getting the time machine to work.  Bulma herself notes that he did a great job on it.  Considering he's frequently played for inept comic relief, it was nice to see him  get that moment in the spotlight.

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'Sharknado: The 4th Awakens' movie review

You can read my review here.

Pros


- This movie is silly...very silly.

- Formula is changed up by different kinds of "nados", adding some variety to the film.

- Gets right to the point, with the sharknado striking within minutes of the movie's start.


Cons


- A little too heavy on movie quotes and pop culture references

- Little to no consistency in even basic aspects of the movie's already ridiculous narrative.

- Gets perhaps a bit too silly



Overall

This is probably the most over the top entry in the series, which is a strength and a weakness.  It's quite ridiculous, and you'll have some laughs, but it doesn't quite reach the success of the first or third entries.






                                      












                                       








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Stephen King bibliography: 'The Green Mile' part 4: 'The Bad Death of Eduard Delacroix'

I'll say this much, this section certainly lives up to the title.  I wondered before why the blurb on the back of these editions tried to hype this as a ghastly tale of horror.  This gives us something of an answer.  While what happens to Delacroix isn't "scary", it is ghastly and rather horrifying in its gruesomeness.

The chapter that chronicles this debacle is the longest in the section, maybe even in the book as a whole.  As such, it has plenty of room to describe what happens when you screw up an execution by electrocution.  You can't blame the guards or the onlookers for being mortified at what they witnessed.  It's not a pretty ordeal.

Hard as it may be to believe, this showcases Percy's penchant for cruelty much more than stomping on Mr. Jingles did.

Speaking of, Mr. Jingles is revived courtesy of John Coffey.  Given his ability, you knew it was going to happen.  While it does undercut the potency of the last section's closing scene, I was happy to see the little guy back up and running, even if he does make a quick departure from the narrative soon after.

Not only does this scene play a pivotal role in setting up what Paul is going to attempt in the next section, but it also shows that there are limits on Coffey's power.  While it's unclear if it is the result of the extent of the mouse's injuries or a delay in the attempt (the text lends credence to the latter as Coffey himself tells them to hurry up before it's too late,) Mr. Jingles' recovery isn't complete.  The fact that he's still alive is miraculous enough, no doubt, but it is explicitly stated that he has a pronounced limp, showing that perfect success isn't guaranteed.

Once again, the early portion shows us Paul's life in the retirement home.  Considering that these booklets are only 80 or so pages, a part of me wants to argue that the 10 pages would be better spent telling the main story.  It doesn't seem like much, but given the limited space, every page matters.

Credit where it's due, this section justifies the pretense much better, drawing a thematic parallel between life in the home and the jail.  It can get a little on the nose, as an orderly reminds Paul of Percy, but there was still effort made on that front, which was appreciated.

We're coming up on the penultimate volume in this serial.  Said volume will show us the crew attempting to break Coffey out of prison so that he can save the life of a sick woman.  I do like the fact that the characters bring up the seemingly more sensible idea of just bringing her to him.  It still seems like the easier route, but at least it shows that the characters are thinking.

The first section was a little weak, but this has been a very smooth read so far.  I'm actually liking having it broken up into smaller pieces.  Sure, there's still about 150 pages left, but the way it's been going so far, it should be a fairly brisk read.




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'Dragon Ball Super' episode 53: 'Reveal Black's True Identity! Off to the Kai Realm of Universe 10'

Contrary to what the title of the episode may suggest, we don't actually learn the identity of Black just yet.  On the one hand, I was expecting a powerhouse episode with a huge reveal.  This does, at the very least however, keep the pattern going; where a few new tidbits of information are revealed that bring us closer to putting the puzzle together.

As shown at the end of the last episode, Goku, Beerus, and Whis have ventured to universe 10.  There they meet Zamasu and Gowasu: the universe 10 equivalents of Supreme Kai and Elder Kai respectively.

We see that Zamasu doesn't care much for humans, as they repeatedly make the same mistakes over and over.  It lends credence to the idea that he has a hand in Black's existence.  His talk of putting an end to them does fit in with Black's declaration that he is carrying out the mission of the gods in obliterating humans entirely.  Given the rules that forbid the Kais from interfering in the affairs of mortals, it seems like he's using Black as a way to implement his agenda indirectly.

It's clear that it isn't that cut and dry, however, as pieces still don't fit.  Zamasu seems to have no idea who Goku is and is surprised when he is bested by the saiyan warrior in a brief sparring match.  At first, it may seem odd that Goku was able to do it at super saiyan 2, but it is consistent with the power level of Supreme Kai of universe 7.  Even Goku notes that his Supreme Kai would have gotten clobbered had he tried to fight Goku at this level.

On top of that, all of the time rings that this universe's Kai possesses are all accounted for.  Admittedly, this isn't the guarantee of innocence that they make it out to be.  If Zamasu is responsible, he likely put in a fake duplicate or maybe he puts it back when he's done so that no one's the wiser.

Despite this, suspicion abounds.  Both Goku and Beerus note that Zamasu's energy is very similar to Black's.  Goku does elaborate by clarifying that it's not quite the same, but things still seem fishy.

Interestingly enough, while the sparring match was meant to show Zamasu that mortals aren't all bad.  He walks away from the experience fearful of what they are capable of.  Despite his claims to the contrary, it seems like he's even more determined to put an end to them.

The episode isn't all Black-driven, however.  We do get a brief interlude on the main Earth, where Future Trunks discovers that Krillin married 18.  It's played for laughs, of course, but it does illustrate how out of the loop he is.  I'm not sure why he's fearful of her, though.  He's much stronger than she is at this point, so even if she did try to challenge him, it's not like she poses a threat.  She does mess with him a bit, saying that he should pay her for killing her future self, but it's clear that she's not the menace that she used to be.

Future Trunks also partakes in another brief scene where Pilaf tries help Mai by playing matchmaker, orchestrating a scenario where she can display her compassionate side and win him over.  While I don't particularly care for Pilaf, or his presence in this show, this was handled well.  It was silly and cute.

Having present day Trunks appear out of nowhere to make things even more ridiculous and awkward was also a nice touch.  While the older Trunks remains oblivious to what's happening, the younger version gets hooked in.  This isn't so much a complication, as Pilaf and Shu note that they're the same person, so it doesn't really matter.  Mai doesn't seem to hold this opinion, but she may move closer in that direction later on down the line.

Despite the week off, the animation this episode isn't really anything to write home about.  There are several shots where Goku looks off.  For some reason, transforming seems to prove a challenge to this animation team as his SS2 form seems to distort his features in bizarre ways.  It doesn't quite hit the nadir that episode 5 did, but this wasn't a strong showing on that front.

Overall, this may not have been what fans were expecting, but it works OK for what it is.  It's a shame that Black sits out yet another episode, but we do get a lot more in terms of information about him, so it isn't a total bust.











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