Monday, August 22, 2016

'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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