The Tournament of Power is perhaps one of the most divisive arcs Dragon Ball has ever produced. However, it looks like we've finally reached the main event as Universe 7 faces off against Universe 11's Pride Troopers, and in typical fashion, The Saiyan Prince has stepped up to make sure his presence is felt.
I think a lot of fans were worried about how the writers would treat Vegeta in this episode, he's always played second fiddle to Goku and any chance for him to step out of Goku's shadow is quickly snatched away. If you know Dragon Ball then you know that this is a well-established trope and its fully played out and adhered to in Vegeta's battle with Jiren. This will be disappointing to hear for fans of the character but does it make the episode any less enjoyable?
Well, no.
I went into this episode worried that Vegeta would just be an embarrassment, but thankfully this was not the case. The writers give Vegeta the respect he deserves. The Saiyan Prince gives Jiren a run for his money and even lands a couple of decent blows. This episode is full of awesome moments for Vegeta which I was more than happy with, there are even some Faulconer influences in the soundtrack when Vegeta charges up the Final Flash.
I think this episode was tailored to fans of Vegeta and while you may be disappointed with the outcome of this fight, this episode did a great job of showing why Vegeta is such a great character and it should be applauded for that. I also thought that it was a smart move to give Jiren more than four lines, I wouldn't be surprised if we start to see his personality and motivations come to the surface over the course of the next few episodes.
There are a few drawbacks that prevent this from being a truly great instalment. There could be an over-reliance of nostalgia going on here which is really a double-edged sword in some cases. Vegeta charges his Final Flash and repeats the exact same lines he said to Cell back in the day and it results in the exact same outcome with Jiren feigning damage while Vegeta relishes his "victory". It was great to see Super recreate one of the series most iconic moments, but I was left wondering why Vegeta would make the same mistake from years prior, it hinders his character growth.
The animation was also a little disappointing. This episode saw the return of Yuya Takahashi, an animation supervisor who has produced some of the show’s best material. Many fans were expecting more of the movie like quality of animation from Takahashi but I can’t help but feel a little disappointed.
The animation was inconsistent, to say the least, which in a sense is more than fitting for The Tournament of Power. This arc has produced some major highs for longtime fans of the series, but also some dismal lows which have been frustrating to watch. The animation in this episode is yet another testament to the problems that have plagued this arc. The stunning animation you’d come to expect from Takahashi is present and it looks stunning, but there were there were more than a few frames and sequences which were blatantly mediocre.
The transitioning between two wildly different qualities of animation was incredibly jarring. The content of this episode was great and the animation for Dragon Ball Super has made huge strides since the movie arcs, but it’s disappointing that they’re still having problems 100 episodes later.
Despite all this, which some could argue is nitpicking, I still had a great time with this episode. I was glad that Vegeta did get his time to shine and thankfully he’s down but not out. If that new ending and the preview for next week are anything to go by then there are still plenty of big moments for Vegeta in the coming episodes.
I also want to give a shout out to Frieza for roasting Dyspo and proving consistently that he is the master of sass throughout this arc. This episode also sets the stage for Gohan and 17’s clash against Toppo, and we know a major development has been teased for Toppo so it will be interesting to see how that progresses over the next few weeks.
What do you guys think? Were you happy with how Vegeta was portrayed, and what do you think his new power-up could be?
Sound off below!