DRAGON BALL SUPER: Introducing... The Man Named Jiren!!!

[deh_tommy]

While certainly not without flaws, I’ve been rather enjoying Dragon Ball Super* so far. I think part of that generally is the cosmic scope of things. From parallel timelines and other Universes to squaring off with and against literal deities, there’s been lots of cool new stories, characters and designs to see and grow attached to. In preparation for the hiatus/end of Super (as well as to cope with Dragon Ball Z Abridged possibly finishing up, too), I’d like to spotlight some moments from the series I particularly liked - in this case, the introduction of some of the contenders for the recent Universal Survival arc.

Full pages are posted as the series (barring Chapters 2-15) is available for free on viz.com . Remember to read from right to left. If you enjoy what you see, please support the official release.

LAST TIME ON DRAGON BALL Z...


The King(s) of Everything, believing there are too many universes around to keep track of (of which there are twelve in total), has decided to off a few to make things easier on himself. While he was initially just going to get rid of them outright, Goku accidentally gives him the idea to throw a grand battle royale instead: the losers will be wiped from existence, while the winner, in addition to being left alone, will also be rewarded with a full set of Super Dragon Balls.

Belmod, the God of Destruction for Universe 11, is pondering on what to do alongside his attendant, his apprentice (a superhero named Toppo), and the Lord of Lords (Supreme Kai) of Universe 11.



















































Who else will join in the Tournament? Will Goku and friends survive? Find out next time on DRAGON BALL SUPER!


*I have not seen the anime

Comments

[lordultimus]

It is interesting to compare and contrast the Superman expy manga!Jiren with the much more apathetic anime!Jiren.

I do think the anime mishandled how it ultimately told Jiren's backstory, but I do think it's a good one, it just needed a full episode to help us get connected instead of it being told by a third party in less than five minutes.

[coldfury]

It makes me wonder how planned the impending cancellation was. Did they have to rush some things at the last minute?

Overall, I like the ToP arc, but I think they mishandled establishing Jiren, and stuff like this would've helped a lot.

[locuatico]

Considering how little characterization Jiren had in the anime, I think it was the staff just dropping the ball. Is something I have noticed about the anime and manga. In the manga, the characters seem to be more sympathetic and are given more characterization.

I mean, Jiren still believing in protecting people and really being a good guy, if very harsh, is a FAR more interesting final battle than having him be an asshole.

[deh_tommy]

“In the manga, the characters seem to be more sympathetic and are given more characterization.”

To be honest, I’m a bit iffy on Goku’s character, mainly in regards to his relationship with his family. The line about never kissing Chichi and missing Gohan and Goten’s births seemed (to me) more like something Abridged Goku would say then main series Goku, though that’s probably just me.

[locuatico]

Well, He DID miss Goten's birth... but yeah, Gohan is beyond absurd. He is immature in a lot of things, but he LOVES being a father. I can't imagine Goku as anything but jumping out of excitment when chichi was pregnant with Gohan.

them not kissing, I can kinda get around. he is simply not someone i can imagine being romantic in the traditional way (similarly to Vegeta, altough he is much better at it than Goku). Still, he IS very much a jerk in Super. Like, him not going to Bulma's birthday? really? he is not THAT dense. she is literally his oldest friend since childhood and someone who has helped him countless times.
Hell, a version of her LITERALLY invented time travel and sent her only son to the past in order to save his life.

“Bulma, sex makes babies!” “...I’m well aware.”

[deh_tommy]

I forgot about him being dead for Goten. I agree with you about Gohan, though.

My problem isn’t them not kissing, but rather that Goku had no idea what kissing was despite being married with two children. Chichi had grand, romanticised views on love and marriage, surely she would have tried something?

Wasn’t Goku not going to the party a case of him being Goku and simply forgetting, rather than deliberately choosing not to go? He seemed really annoyed at himself when he realised he forgot. At least, I think that was the case in the Battle of Gods movie, I don’t know how that was handled in the anime arc. In any case, while I’m not entirely comfortable with his characterisation in some scenes, I hesitate to call him a jerk since he seems to be the living embodiment of Hanlon’s Razor.

[q99]

I mean, two notes on the 'cancellation'- It's with a movie planned, and they're apparently planning on resuming Super after that as well. So it seems pretty planned, especially as it's a natural ending point for the tournament anyway, it's not like counting on having more episodes makes sense because the arc would be out of episodes anyway.

[jaxjyls]

I really personally don't see how Jiren as that much of a Superman expy

[neverwherehere]

Agreed. Jiren in the anime just isn't a compelling character. He's nigh invincible and has the personality of a brick. It's to the point where he's a physical obstacle the characters have to overcome.

Contrast Kid Buu who had no personality, but was still was a fascinating villain because he started out highly intelligent, but then devolved into a rampaging monster of instinctual destruction, which made him more dangerous because his intelligence was what held his worst impulses in check That's a unique character arc, something that Jiren sorely lacks.

[roxas832]

I honestly preferred Toppo over Jiren. More interesting and he lead to a great Vegeta moment. As for Super, I wish they would explore more of Universe 6. I really liked the initial characterization of Universe 6 Frieza (Frost) as a nice guy.

[beeyo]

All this Toriyama is making me want to play Chrono Trigger