'Dragon Ball Super' Episode 114: 'Intimidating Passion! The Birth of a New Super Warrior!!'

The last episode ended with Kale losing control of her power and once again going into her berserker form.  This picks up a bit earlier, giving us a more drawn out transformation sequence.  It's cool to look at, no doubt, but it does eat up a lot of time.  Interestingly, where Goku was eager before, he remembers how insanely powerful that form is and seems more apprehensive about facing off against her again.  Even other fighters stop to marvel at the display, even though they've seen it before and have seen more powerful fighters (namely Jiren).

Sadly, we don't really get a rematch.  It was rather notable seeing Kale turn on her beloved "sis".  It shows how out of control the form really is.  Luckily, the strength of their bond surpasses it, and Kale is able to regain control again.  It seems like a rehash, especially with everyone marveling at how Kale has managed to control the awesome power of the berserker, but it was so well done and heartwarming that I had no problem letting it slide. 

The sequence wasn't a total bust, as Tien notes that Kale did receive a massive power up from the ordeal.  It allows her and Caulifla to put up a rather good fight against Goku.  The teamwork between the two is well displayed here and you really do buy that Goku is on the ropes.  It doesn't feel like forced tension.

Even when Goku goes into his super saiyan god form, the pair are able to hold their own for the most part.  Not surprisingly, it's here where he really starts to get the advantage back, but all things considered, they fared pretty well.  Goku himself says this and hopes that they'll be able to have a rematch after the tournament is over.  Considering one of their universes is going to be erased, I'm not sure how that's going to work.  I guess he's thinking that he'll just wish them back too?  I'm not sure, it's too soon to tell. 

Fortunately for universe 6, the girls have a trump card: a pair of Potara earrings given to them earlier by Champa. 

The two fuse, giving birth to a new warrior named Kefla.  Not surprisingly, she's shown to be very powerful.  Goku's unnerved and Vegeta gets distracted long enough for Toppo to land a serious hit.  Even Jiren seems like he's intrigued.  He is still in his meditative state, but you can tell that he's sensing the surge in power. 

Sadly, the Vegeta/Toppo match is only glimpsed briefly.  A part of me gets it as the 2 on 1 fight is the main draw, but time was used on other things that could have easily given us more Vegeta/Toppo fighting time.

Even the showdown between Frieza and a fighter named Katopesla from universe 3 is sidelined.  Granted, between Frieza's dismissive attitude and the goofy way that the universe 3 hero is portrayed, I sense a curbstomp battle coming, but it would have been interesting to see in any event.

If nothing else, it was nice to see one fight interrupt another, with Goku getting shoved into Katopesla.  The tournament hasn't really taken advantage of the "multi-person brawl" as much as one would have thought, but oh well. 

All in all, though, this was a strong episode.  The main fight was exciting, we got more great character stuff between Kale and Caulifla, the animation was solid, and we got a nice status quo change as Goku is now up against an even more formidable adversary.  We only got a glimpse of her power, but she's already looking to be a heavyweight.  The "voice of the legion" effect also adds a somewhat creepy element that makes her fun to watch.  I'm looking forward to seeing her get more screen time.

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