This was one for the ages folks.
Goku has finally achieved mastery over Ultra Instinct and finally gets the edge over Jiren, and oh my God, it was so satisfying. Jiren has been an absolute monster throughout the tournament of power, effortlessly crushing any who stepped up to face him.
Watching Jiren struggle for once and show his fractured psyche actually added new depth to this character beyond just being an obstacle for goku. Jiren has consistently been cool, calm and collected throughout the tournament, but when faced with someone who rivals him, if not superior to him, we see him lose all composure.
This time it's Goku who has the confident and calm demeanour throughout the fight, and it really feels like Goku has been on a journey throughout this arc.
A lot of people weren't happy about Goku's characterisation throughout this arc. It's been well established that Goku is a very selfish hero, he even says as much himself, but placing the entire universe on the line for his own enjoyment seemed like a bit much.
I feel like Goku now realises what's truly important to him which is family and friends. It makes him a lot easier to root for and while this tournament may not have been the best way to develop Goku, there's still a satisfying pay off.
There was also a great moment which showed how Goku has impacted his friends and even his enemies lives going as far back to the early Dragon Ball days. It also highlights some of the themes of the tournament, which highlights the importance of family and friendship.
This episode also revealed that Jiren isn't nearly as noble as he's made out to be. It was a truly shocking moment when he tries to kill Goku's family and friends. While this was a heinous act from a so called warrior of justice, I think it actually shows Jiren as a deeply damaged individual. Jiren is reliving the trauma of losing his family and he wants Goku to understand him. Jiren is Goku if things had gone wrong.
On a technical level, this episode of Dragon Ball Super is the best of the best. The animation is fluid and at times downright beautiful. Colours burst from the screen and fully captures and even transcends the fast paced,over the top action of classic Dragon Ball fights. Toei really went all out on this one and you have to give credit where credit is due.
The only criticism I have of this episode is the usual cop out of Goku's new form running out of energy at the crucial moment. This is something that has been played out in all the iterations of Dragon Ball and for me it was a slightly disappointing outcome for the fight. However, Goku is not done yet as he's saved at the last second by Frieza.
It really is surreal to see Frieza save Goku and fight for the survival of the universe but I love it. It's also revealed that Android 17 survived his self destuction. You can argue that this was a bit of a cop out but I don't think that it lessens the impact of 17's big sacrifice too much.
Overall, this is by far one of the best episodes of Dragon Ball Super and was an absolute thrill from beginning to end.
What did you guys think? Is this one of the best fights in Dragon Ball Super? Were you happy to see Android 17 survived?
Sound off below!