Post
by Morbidden » Sun Mar 18, 2018 12:41 am
Man, I don't really know what to say.
Dragon Ball fans really do not know how to put themselves in the shoes of the characters that are portrayed on the screen. Let's speak a little bit about Jiren from this episode. In defence of Jiren:
They humanized Jiren so much in this episode, and in my opinion, it was the best thing to happen to his character. I mean let's look at Jiren and how he has been portrayed:
In short: Jiren is strong and conflicted.
So...
Ever since we learned his cookie-cutter backstory (I am not going to include my own headcanon where Jiren has a dissociative personality disorder and was the one who killed everyone in his own backstory, without knowing) Jiren has been shown to have a sore spot when topics of trust and friendship come out.
Jiren, in essence, is a self-made man. Due to him losing his parents, his master and his friends, and the subsequent betrayal of his surviving friends left him jaded. Jiren from that point on lived with a conviction: ''Strength above everything, strength will never betray you.''
Jiren as a character is a bit of a paradox in a sense that he seems to yearn for bonds with people (thus becoming Pride Trooper) but is so afraid of losing said bonds so he goes as far as pushing them away himself. He seems a bit damaged on the inside having both trust and abandonment issues. Jiren knows he has ''friends'' now with the Pride Troopers but almost certainly thinks they would all abandon him if he lost. He also probably thinks that this is NORMAL and would happen to others as well.
In 130 Jiren just cannot comprehend this bond that Goku has with others. And goes as far as trying to make a point by attacking them. But here is the kicker, is Jiren an asshole for doing this? I mean he has to be right? What reason would there possibly be for him doing this? But yeah, he is totally an asshole, right?
No...
But is Jiren irrational? I would say so, but then again: Jiren is under a lot of PRESSURE. And he is getting his reverse scale poked at, his whole ideology in life is being challenged by a guy who doesn't know ANYTHING about him, not to mention he is getting hurt and he is feeling pain. Since when has Jiren felt physical pain? How many years has it been for him? If you cannot see all of this from JIren's POV I don't even know what to say. Jiren is like a kid who loses his parents and has other kids (Goku and the peanut gallery) come to him and telling how great time they are having with their parents.
But then again. If Jiren's attack landed on the bleachers, then what? If Jiren won, Goku's friends and family would die anyway. So Jiren ain't technically doing anything wrong here. It has never been said in the rules the audience cannot be attacked, it is just that the audience cannot intervene. In the end, after Goku was about to finish him off Jiren begrudgingly accepted his fate and what Goku was saying to him, even turning his head away.
Jiren knows that his views are wrong and he knows that Goku is getting the strength to protect those who he cares about due to the bonds he has formed with them. But Jiren doesn't have any of that and he cannot relate to anything Goku is saying.
In conclusion: Jiren's character is practically a mirror of Goku's. Goku had Dragon Balls, Jiren didn't. To Jiren death is real and final. To Goku, it is a regular day. Both of them love fighting, but one of them has been shafted enough for him to become jaded. But even so, at the end when Jiren is about to finish Goku off he doesn't sound malicious towards him at all.
In short: Jiren is fine.
Edit: Shit, my first post, defending Jiren...
Last edited by
Morbidden on Sun Mar 18, 2018 12:46 am, edited 1 time in total.
