Dragon Ball Super 2 — Goku's Defeat
...Blunt title is blunt as hell. I mean, we know Goku is gonna lose but this chapter is laughing in our face about it. From the looks of it, this is gonna be a monthly series...that's as long as weekly JUMP. At first, I had an issue with that. Then I remembered, I used to do weekly reviews for Naruto, Bleach, and Fairy Tail and suffice to say, I got fed up with it after awhile. Monthly reviews? I think even my lazy self can handle that. So let's get right into it: in the manga, the Oracle Fish quite bluntly states that Beerus is going to come face to face with the Super Saiyan God. Comically, Beerus realizes this may not be so when Whis reminds him that he ordered Freeza to destroy Planet Vegeta, where, you know...Saiyans kind of lived.
True to the film, Whis tells Beerus that there are some Saiyans remaining, and they're currently on 'Earth'. What's more notable to Whis is that another Saiyan is currently training on North Kaiō's planet...and this particular Saiyan defeated Freeza. Beerus' reaction is something I particularly like; I know some people were upset that Freeza was the villain revived for the latest movie, but you all tend to forget, as far as natural, mortal beings go, Freeza was the strongest in the universe for a reason. Discounting Beerus, a bloody deity, Majin Bū, a bloody eldritch abomination, and Whis, a bloody...fragment of the author's soul...Freeza was the strongest person in the universe, the strongest mortal alive, someone Beerus used to do his work from time to time, and he just found out a Saiyan beat him. To me, this hammers it home just how much of a threat Freeza used to be.
We cut to Goku, training on North Kaiō's planet. Following the anime, he used the money he gave Chi-Chi to bail on his family and head to the afterlife...because, you know, the seven years he spent there, away from his family, obviously wasn't enough. However, in the middle of Goku ignoring his fa—I mean, training, North Kaiō starts pissing himself. (No, actual wording). Why? Why else? Lord Beerus, the God of Destruction, he's making his way towards the incompetent Kai's planet and he doesn't wanna make friends.
I think now is as good a time as any to address a problem I have with the manga adaptation of Super. I don't see it in the anime as much, perhaps because it's Toriyama's hand at work there, but certainly in the manga, Beerus appears to be quite more...vicious and villain-like than in the anime and movies. I'm probably in the small minority that isn't a fan of this new behaviour — and it certainly isn't such a problem that I dislike the manga — but Beerus, while certainly tempermental, was to me, a lot like Goku. Loves a good battle, loves to eat, he just lacks a lot of Goku's morality and self control (seemingly preferring to remain neutral while Goku is staunchly a 'good guy' with a high body count). Hell, even his expressions are vicious. But, that's just me, maybe I'm wrong. Anyway, he arrives, and, in quite a quick turn of events, demands a fight with Goku. No introductions, none of that, just "Hey, you, in the yellow gi, en garde." And they quite literally jump right into the fight. In fact, GOKU JUMP RUSHES BEERUS LIKE AN IDIOT.
A pleasant change from the movie is that Goku steadily raises his power level to fight Beerus. Heck, now that I think about it, besides the fight with Vegeta and during an anime only portion of the battle against the pure evil Majin Bū, this is the only time we've seen Goku fighting as a Super Saiyan 2. Beerus, however, is having utterly none of this, dodging everything that Goku can bring at him; eventually, it forces Goku to ascend to the legendary Super Saiyan 3. Kibitoshin and the Elder Kaiōshin, notably, can sense Beerus' presence, and are pissing themselves at Goku actually trying to fight him. But what's even more interesting is....
Fem!Whis and Champa have apparently arrived in the Seventh Universe, and they're quite aware that Beerus is tangling with Goku and...well, as they say, while the cat's away...the other cat and his hot female assistant will play. ...Okay, that came out wrong. Moving on! Goku is naturally frustrated that Beerus is taking him as seriously as the rest of us take Yamcha, and asks Beerus to take the fight seriously. Beerus complies, and flicks Goku across the planet with his finger. Beerus, unamused, tells Goku to hurry and transform into the Super Saiyan God. Goku, however, has no idea what that is, and tells Beerus he doesn't have a greater form beyond what he's shown off now. Beerus is disappointed, and easily defeats Goku (roll credits).
After handing Goku his Saiyan tail, Beerus and Whis fly off towards Earth, to pay the Saiyans a visit. Meanwhile, Champa and his assistant are flying in another direction, pursuing their own, unknown goals.
Score[]
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Category | Rating |
| Art | ✓+ |
| Story | ✓ |
| Fight | ✓ |
| Overall Chapter | ✓ |
As I said before, I really do like Toyable's style. I may not like how evil Beerus is seeming, but he captures his expressions so well, I can't dislike it too much, and despite the static medium, I was able to enjoy this fight immensely. Art gains a ✓+. Storywise, I would have actually given it a ✓-, if the chapter had focused solely on Goku and Beerus, because that wouldn't have been anything new. However, it appears, despite the very fast pacing of the manga (or perhaps, because of), Champa and his hot female assistant have arrived! So, it skates by with a ✓; I look forward to seeing their plans, by which point we'll have seen them in the anime already. The fight also gains a ✓; it's nothing we haven't seen from the movie, but the subtle changes make it worth the average score. Overall, the chapter totals out at a ✓.
Dragon Ball Super is all done for today. When it comes back, I'll be here to bring you guys another review. Let's hope this is the start of something great; until then, stay gold.