'Dragon Ball Super' episode 72: 'Will There Be a Counterattack!? The Invisible Killing Strike!'

This episode is a proverbial mixed bag.  There's a lot to like here.  Goten's concern for his father is still all kinds of heartwarming, there's a healthy dose of solid humor peppered throughout, and the fight between Hit and Goku is not too shabby.  Of course, compared to their first outing, it's an anti-climactic step down, but it was still fun to watch.  I did like how Hit's enjoyment once again came to the forefront.  You'd think he'd be frustrated that his techniques aren't as effective against Goku, but he's happy to see that the saiyan is giving him a better fight.

It seems Goku is more or less becoming the borg.  An attack will work on him once, twice if you're lucky, but after that he can more or less counter anything.  There are times where this works and shows Goku as highly competent, and other times where it seems like his counters are pulled out of thin air.

Similarly, for all the episode does well, it also pulls quite a lot from its own butt.  First and foremost, let's talk about Goku's revival.  As the recap showed us, the last episode ended on a grim note with Goku dead and Goten crying in grief (again, there's serious mood whiplash when the jaunty theme song plays over the title card right after.)

So, remember that ki blast that Goku fired off as he collapsed, the one he was planning on using to hit...Hit?  Well, it circles around and hits him.  That's what brings him back.  I guess you could argue that it was his own energy, so that's why it worked, but I still call BS.  Honestly, I would have had an easier time buying Piccolo's....what would we call that? Ki-P-R? Being what brought Goku back.  As Goku notes, he was only dead for a few seconds, so it wouldn't be that much of a stretch.

I was surprised to see Hit try to employ loophole abuse, saying that he technically killed his target.  For his universe's greatest assassin, he is quick to drop the professionalism.  Even Goku calls him on it.

The episode also gives us an explanation as to how Hit's new ability works.  Vados (who we see watching the fight with Champa) explains that he doesn't skip time, but stores it and is able to use that time to create a pocket dimension where he can escape.  I didn't care for it.  I don't think time works that way.  If they had said that he can put himself out of sync with time (thus being intangible) I probably could have rolled with it, but I didn't think this made any sense.  Besides, I was more than happy to assume this was a new ability that had nothing to do with time-skip.  Not everything Hit does has to tie back to that ability.

While we're on the subject of Vados.  This episode reveals that she was the one who hired Hit to kill Goku.  Champa surmises that she did it to eliminate a heavy competitor from the upcoming multiversal tournament, but Vados says that she was merely a go-between, somebody else is ultimately responsible.

You'd think that the episode would let that build and create a sense of mystery, but we also learn who contacted Vados not too long after.  It was Goku.

I understand Goku's logic (he wanted a rematch against Hit at his best) and it does allow things to end on a lighter note, but I'm surprised they went this route.  It seemingly wraps everything up in a nice little bow in a surprisingly short amount of time.  I guess I was expecting a longer arc, but I suppose "Hit gets hired to kill Goku" is a pretty basic premise.  I think the Potaufeu water arc had more episodes, but oh well.

There is a sub-plot that involves Vegeta trying to bribe his way out of training.  It seems out of character, but you could argue that Whis' training is so intense that even the saiyan is pooped.  Vegeta offers steak, but Whis declines, saying they've had that a few times already.

...

It's steak.  It doesn't matter how many times you have it; it's still delicious.  This isn't a gripe as serious as Goku's revival, but I didn't really understand Whis' logic here.  Of course, he is an angel and their thought processes works on a completely different wave length than mere mortals.

Vegeta sweetens the deal by offering to put "Granny's secret sauce" on it.  They accept, only for us to learn that the whole thing was a bluff.  It was a pretty funny way to wrap up the episode.  It's left unresolved, but I think it's safe to say that he either pulls the bluff off, or they just don't care.

This episode isn't a total disaster, but it does make some frustrating decisions.  Still, it's a fun watch and it does have its highlights.

Overall, though, this arc wasn't quite what I was expecting it to be.  It was much more...abrupt.  Even with the simple plot hook, some ideas could have benefited from having some time to simmer: Goku's death and the ultimate mastermind especially.

Lately, I've taken to watching the next episode previews, but this week, I regressed and closed the browser window when the credits started to roll.  As such, I have no idea what we're in for next week.  In some ways, that could be to my benefit as I have no idea what's coming.

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