Did you like Goku Black versus SSJ/2 Goku and the latter against Zamasu?

[Desassina]

It was a red herring passing for a time paradox before I knew that it didn't make sense, but it was handled consistently in error until I found myself believing, and you can because the circumstances were different. The manga showed another take on what led Zamasu to meet/know Goku after all. Time distortion was a means to say that Goku Black could not stay in the past from which he departed before the changes that he caused in the future leading to his own history changing. The ring targeted Trunks' due to its link ever since the Cell arc so that he could be followed into the past as well. The mystery was more interesting than the battles in the future, but for some reason, the fights were not bad in the present. Good moments!

[Torturephile]

I did like SSJ2 Goku vs. Goku Black. It was a fun little fight that further made Black seem mysterious. I didn't like SSJ2 Goku vs. Zamasu, though, but that was due to Goku's childish personality the whole episode.

[dbgtFO]

I don't like what I perceive as illogical, so I did not like that the Zamasu vs Goku fight was what caused Zamasu to become Goku-Black.
The fights were good(in particular Goku vs Goku-Black) though and I definitely think they were necessary parts of the story. Like Torturephile I did find Goku incredibly annoying in U10's Kaioshin Realm and that dragged it a bit down. Furthermore the choreography was not that good apart from the first scuffle.

[Desassina]

I don't remember how the anime worded it exactly, but I have a vague memory of Gowasu addressing Goku Black as the Zamasu that died, as if their circumstances were the same. Who knows? Perhaps the Cell Games took place without Trunks in Goku Black's history and the former didn't return because he was dead. Gowasu would still have witnessed the Universe 6 Tournament after Battle of Gods and the Majin Boo arc through Godtube and Zamasu would still have wished to fight Goku in his own body.

[Lord Beerus]

I enjoyed both fights a lot. The SSJ2 Goku/Goku Black skirmish helped shed more light on Goku Black's character, as well as his methodology for getting stronger through combat. And while the sparring match between SSJ2 Goku and (Present) Zamasu was less aesthetically appealing, I found it aid in providing that much needed extra layer of substance to the narrative to make Zamasu's overall characterization much more deeper -- in the fact that is provided him more legitimacy to his core argument against the nature of mortal, and made the relationship between Goku and Goku Black/Zamasu all the more palatable. Which in effect, created a much greater catharsis factor for when Goku specifically would get one up on Goku Black and/or (Future) Zamasu in combat.

I really think without those fights, that quite a bit of the dramatic irony that made the later battles of the Future Trunks arc so great would be lost.

[SupremeKai25]

Both these fights played a key role in the main storyline of the arc. The Goku vs. Present Zamasu fight was pivotal. It was the catalyst for the Project Zero Mortals. While Zamasu had witnessed many examples of blasphemous mortals acting foolishly, it was not until he was defeated and humiliated in combat by the Saiyan Goku that he would come to fear mortals as a grave threat to the world of Gods. As Fused Zamasu states later on, the Gods, in their pride and arrogance, created mortals that became too powerful to control. And those who cannot control their own creations are not worthy to be called "Gods".

To put this in perspective, the manga cut off this fight and simply had Zamasu battle with the useless Kibito. Zamasu learned about Goku's astonishing power through Godtube. I personally did not find convincing the route that the manga took. In the anime, Zamasu was personally stomped and almost killed by Goku himself in battle, and so his hatred for Goku came off as more natural and understandable. Zamasu had believed for his entire life that Gods were vastly superior to mortals and that lowly mortals would not dare to threaten Gods, and the naive Goku just shattered Zamasu's entire belief in a few moments. A lot of meaningful stuff went down in this fight.

In the end, these two battles were necessary to advance the arc's plot. If Black had never invaded the Present timeline, the heroes would not have been able to sense his Ki, and notice that it was very similiar to that of Zamasu, the young Supreme Kai in training of Universe 10. And so, the two fights were closely related. Indeed, Goku remarked during his battle with Zamasu that his Ki, while not being exactly the same, was strangely similiar to that of Black.

[Vegeta_Sama]

Zamasu was personally stomped and almost killed by Goku himself in battle

That's a bit of an exaggeration

[SupremeKai25]

Zamasu was personally stomped and almost killed by Goku himself in battle

That's a bit of an exaggeration

When Zamasu was knocked into the ground and Goku almost hit his face with a punch, Zamasu's face clearly showed shock and terror. Most likely because Goku could have crushed his skull had he not contained his fist. This was a fresh Super Saiyan 2 against an exhausted Zamasu who stood no chance against a Super Saiyan 2 in the first place. That wasn't even a battle. That was a stomp. Zamasu had no chance against Goku and was constantly on the defensive.

Ironic, That later on Zamasu would stomp Goku twice, forcing him to retreat back to the Present timeline. Justice does exist, after all.

[Vegeta_Sama]

Zamasu was personally stomped and almost killed by Goku himself in battle

That's a bit of an exaggeration

When Zamasu was knocked into the ground and Goku almost hit his face with a punch, Zamasu's face clearly showed shock and terror. Most likely because Goku could have crushed his skull had he not contained his fist. This was a fresh Super Saiyan 2 against an exhausted Zamasu who stood no chance against a Super Saiyan 2 in the first place. That wasn't even a battle. That was a stomp. Zamasu had no chance against Goku and was constantly on the defensive.

Ironic, That later on Zamasu would stomp Goku twice, forcing him to retreat back to the Present timeline. Justice does exist, after all.

That's a valid interpretation of the scene I suppose. I personally didn't think that the punch was going to be lethal, but maybe it was.

[PerhapsTheOtherOne]

That's a bit of an exaggeration

When Zamasu was knocked into the ground and Goku almost hit his face with a punch, Zamasu's face clearly showed shock and terror. Most likely because Goku could have crushed his skull had he not contained his fist. This was a fresh Super Saiyan 2 against an exhausted Zamasu who stood no chance against a Super Saiyan 2 in the first place. That wasn't even a battle. That was a stomp. Zamasu had no chance against Goku and was constantly on the defensive.

Ironic, That later on Zamasu would stomp Goku twice, forcing him to retreat back to the Present timeline. Justice does exist, after all.

That's a valid interpretation of the scene I suppose. I personally didn't think that the punch was going to be lethal, but maybe it was.

Either way, the fact that this mortal, this disrespectful and overly carefree mortal that Zamasu viewed as beneath him, was able to overtake and defeat him?

It completely turned his worldview upside down. He's clearly very shaken by this revelation, and this is why I think this fight is so great. Not on a technical level, but on a narrative level that helps solidify the characters of Goku Black and Zamasu and gives them an extreme but justified hatred of mortals.

It's the start of a descent into darkness, something that often isn't seen with characters who encounter Goku. They're usually either already quite dickish and continue to be so, or end up as better people than before; this fight subverted expectations by having a character become worse because of Goku interacting with them.

[SupremeKai25]

When Zamasu was knocked into the ground and Goku almost hit his face with a punch, Zamasu's face clearly showed shock and terror. Most likely because Goku could have crushed his skull had he not contained his fist. This was a fresh Super Saiyan 2 against an exhausted Zamasu who stood no chance against a Super Saiyan 2 in the first place. That wasn't even a battle. That was a stomp. Zamasu had no chance against Goku and was constantly on the defensive.

Ironic, That later on Zamasu would stomp Goku twice, forcing him to retreat back to the Present timeline. Justice does exist, after all.

That's a valid interpretation of the scene I suppose. I personally didn't think that the punch was going to be lethal, but maybe it was.

Either way, the fact that this mortal, this disrespectful and overly carefree mortal that Zamasu viewed as beneath him, was able to overtake and defeat him?

It completely turned his worldview upside down. He's clearly very shaken by this revelation, and this is why I think this fight is so great. Not on a technical level, but on a narrative level that helps solidify the characters of Goku Black and Zamasu and gives them an extreme but justified hatred of mortals.

It's the start of a descent into darkness, something that often isn't seen with characters who encounter Goku. They're usually either already quite dickish and continue to be so, or end up as better people than before; this fight subverted expectations by having a character become worse because of Goku interacting with them.

Exactly. Zamasu was prideful and arrogant, of course he was, He was a God. But before he met Son Goku, he was willing to discover more about mortals, in a positive way, and listened carefully to Gowasu's lessons regarding the role of the Gods of Creation and Destruction, and how mortals must be given time to develop and grow (despite the fact that Zamasu witnessed countless examples of sinful mortals acting in a foolish way and never learning from their mistakes). All of that changed when he met Goku. His distrust for mortals became hatred, but it was not just hatred, it was also fear. Fear that mortals would take up arms against the Gods, as the blasphemous Goku had done against him on a sacred ground, and as the Babari trash would do later on against the two Kais.

As a result, Zamasu realized that mortals had grown too much in power, they had surpassed the expectations of their divine makers, and as such they had to be put down. For how could they call themselves Gods, if they couldn't even control their worlds? And seeing as Goku, and later on the Babari, used violence against a God (and the foolish Goku even did that on the Sacred World of the Kais!), he realized that, so long as mortals, with their petty squabbles, exist, the Multiverse will never have peace. And so he understood that, without mortal kind and its violence, the world of Gods would finally find peace and serenity and its splendid beauty would be restored.

Actually, It is true that Goku most of the time manages to change the people around him for the better with his dorky and annoying personality, like we saw with Piccolo, Vegeta, Frieza, the Androids, etc. But this was not the case with Zamasu. Goku did not understand that Zamasu was not like these aforementioned former villain. Zamasu was a God. And Gods are to be treated with respect, and must be praised and revered. Not damaged and humiliated in combat.

In short, We are not dealing with a one-dimensional villain.

This fight was also one of the most unique, creative and original in this show filled with flahsy and over-the-top battles.

[Desassina]

Personally, I would like to see more fights where the moves are slower, yet elaborate and well coreographed. Zamasu vs SSJ/2 Goku was one of them.