I was going to comment on how fitting it is that the tournament arc starts on the same day as the Super Bowl, but alas, the titular tournament doesn't become a factor until well into the second half of the episode.
We do see that the pair of Zen-Oh's are getting bored of the game they're playing. It's not clear what said game is, but it involves knocking planets into one another. You can't help but wish that they would go back just to holding hands and spinning around in circles. Fittingly, the two seem to be constantly tied in terms of win to loss ratio. It really makes you wonder why gods of destruction are needed, especially considering what happens when they get distracted and screw up, but it does give you an idea as to why Beerus is opposed to Goku going to Zen-Oh to get the ball rolling on the universal tournament.
Before that, though, we have a nice "slice of life" episode, as Goku gets paid for his farm work and gets into various shenanigans.
That robbery attempt was right out of a "Dungeons and Dragons" campaign, but you can't fault Goku for wanting to help somebody seemingly in need of aid. It wasn't remotely close to an even fight, but it was really satisfying (not to mention a load of fun) seeing Goku turn the tables and utterly dominate the thugs.
Much like Krillin, Goku gets grazed by a bullet, indicating that he needs to start training again. Unlike Krillin, I'm not sure I buy this. Based on what we've seen, Goku's been training plenty. In any event, he convinces Whis to take him under his wing again.... in exchange for food of course.
It was nice to see Goten and Trunks eager to train as well. I know that they aren't partaking in this arc, but it should lay the groundwork for future badassery in later story arcs. I also liked how quickly Goku agreed to take Goten along to train. Goku gets a lot of flack for being a negligent father, but he does still enjoy his family and jumps at the chance to bond. Chichi, isn't too keen on it, but the two kids compromise by training on Earth instead. You do have to wonder if Whis would have even agreed to it anyway.
Once again, Vegeta turns down a training opportunity, though we do get a more concrete reason as to why. It turns out that Bulma's pregnant, presumably with Bra/Bulla. She's apparently pretty far along too. She's riding around in a motor cart for mobility and it's said that she's due any time now. Was there a time skip or something? Maybe Vegeta's saiyan genetics speeds things along, I don't know. Even Goku seems caught off guard by this revelation and mistakes it for Bulma putting on weight.
Despite both Goku and Whis pointing out that Vegeta isn't the pregnant one, thus there should be no problem with him going to train, he declines. It really does show you how far Vegeta's come over the years. I don't think he was this dedicated when Trunks was coming, though that was skipped over, so I could be wrong. It does show that, while Goku is more chummy, Vegeta does have a greater sense of loyalty and honor. MasakoX discussed this topic in a video a while back and this episode really cements his points.
To wit, Goku's insensitive nature gets played up to a great degree here. Not only does he laugh at Bulma's baby bump, but he is confused when Bulma suggests that he went to Capsule Corp. to see her. He does offer her Whis' food bribe as a gift, but had to be reminded that those treats were already spoken for by Goten. At least with the latter faux pas, you can acknowledge that his heart was in the right place.
It's when Goku is training with Whis, that he remembers Zen-Oh's idea for another multiverse tournament. As noted before, Beerus isn't too keen on this and tells Goku to drop it. Zen-Oh may be innocent, but that persona still presents a grave threat to any given universe. Goku acknowledges this, as he's seen it first hand, but the saiyan still says that the Omni-king is good people.
The god of destruction goes so far as to threaten Goku and notes that maybe he's getting too lenient. While Beerus is usually played for comic relief, it's nice to see that he can still be menacing when he needs to be. Of course, it doesn't work, as Goku has a button that instantly teleports him to Zen-oh's realm, but it was still a valiant effort on Beerus' part.
Interestingly enough, present day Zen-Oh admits that he completely forgot about the tournament idea. Both Omni-kings seem eager to get the ball rolling, though, and it is announced soon after that the tournament will begin in short order and that each universe is to round up their 10 greatest fighters to participate.
For those eager to see the next big story arc kick off, this might not be the episode you were expecting. That being said, there's still a lot to like here. There's a healthy dose of humor and a lot of great character moments. The animation was a bit wonky at times; Beerus took the brunt of this. I don't know if new animators were brought in, but he looked stiffer and his skin is a different shade of purple.
Still, I was never bored and the time flew by. I think the next episode will be more in line with what you may have expected here, though, as the fighters gather and the stakes for the tournament are laid out.
Click here to join our Patreon campaign
No comments:
Post a Comment