Super Episode 121 (23 December 2017)

Individual discussions for each episode of Dragon Ball Super.

Moderators: General Help, Kanzenshuu Staff

Post Reply
jplaya2023
Beyond-the-Beyond Newbie
Posts: 486
Joined: Fri Apr 01, 2016 10:49 am

Super Episode 121 (23 December 2017)

Post by jplaya2023 » Sat Dec 23, 2017 10:55 pm

NOTE:
Please watch the episode with any necessary subtitles before discussing: Crunchyroll / Daisuki / FUNimation
Also, please make sure to follow the Kanzenshuu Forum Rules. You may wish to review examples of unwelcome posts, as well.

-------------------------------

General Discussion for Dragon Ball Super Episode 121, aired 24 December 2017

Image

総力戦!究極の4体合体VS第7宇宙総攻撃!!
Sōryoku-sen! Kyūkyoku no Yontai Gattai Bāsasu Dai-Nana Uchū Sō Kōgeki!!
All-Out War! The Ultimate 4-Way Combo vs Universe 7's Total Offensive!!


Summary:
Vowing to defeat the U7 team even at the cost of his own life, Paparoni unleashes U3’s final tactic and merges with Kochiarator to become the gigantic Anilaza. The Omni-Kings are impressed with the size of this four-way fusion, while the U3 God of Destruction Mosco (still speaking through his angel interpreter) is confident they can now win. Anilaza fires blasts off at every remaining warrior in the arena, forcing 17, 18, and Freeza to dodge, while Jiren simply counters with a blast of his own.

Super Saiyan Vegeta tests Anilaza out with a Big Bang Attack, but Anilaza easily swats it aside and charges at the U7 team, making it clear that his power and speed have both greatly increased. After managing to evade Anilaza’s assault, 17 and 18 join up with Goku, Gohan, and Vegeta, while Goku declares that their only option is to attack Anilaza together. Following Gohan’s advice, the group moves quickly to confuse their giant opponent (with Goku powering up into Super Saiyan God), and each go after a different limb. However, Anilaza not only manages to track all five of them, but proves fast enough to knock them each away before they can attack.

Goku wonders if Anilaza is quickly tracking their ki, but 17 points out that he and 18 don’t have ki like the others. Instead, 17 speculates that Anilaza is emitting sonar from his tentacle-like ears to instantly locate them. Anilaza next begins using his immense power to warp space, punching his fist through wormholes to directly attack distant opponents (much as Janenba did in DBZ Movie 12). One of these warp punches sends Goku flying, but Freeza kicks him back into the arena before he can fall out of bounds (“my leg moved on its own”).

Goku thanks Freeza for saving him, and asks for his help against Anilaza, who soon launches another attack against the entire U7 team. This time Anilaza starts grabbing at warriors, eventually getting hold of 18, who he tries to swallow (apparently because the U7 team members can simply rescue each other when one is about to fall out of bounds). Thankfully though Goku manages to save 18 at the last moment, and Anilaza begins firing off a barrage of homing blasts. 17 blocks these with one of his energy shields, but the continued assault manages to push him off the edge of the arena.

As 17 falls, 18 jumps down and kicks him back up into the arena, effectively sacrificing herself in his place. The Great Priest announces 18’s elimination, and as she materializes in the bleachers she tells 17 not to lose. For his next trick, Anilaza grows wings and begins to fly, then forms an enormous energy ball to take out the U7 team together with the arena. The five remaining U7 members power up to counter this attack, with Goku and Vegeta going Super Saiyan Blue and Freeza charging up into his Golden form.

All five fire blasts to hold off Anilaza’s energy ball, but are gradually pushed back. Changing tactics, 17 surrounds himself in an energy shield and jumps straight through the energy ball to attack the crystal sphere in Anilaza’s forehead. Though 17 is knocked back by Anilaza’s energy, he has achieved his goal: the crystal sphere (actually Anilaza’s energy reactor) shatters, throwing him off-balance enough for Goku and co.’s blasts to overtake him with one final push.

Defeated, Anilaza breaks up into his four component warriors (Paparoni, Koitsukai, Panchia, and Bollarator), who materialize in the bleachers. Though Paparoni apologizes for their loss, the U3 Kaioshin Ea says he did a great job. The Great Priest formally announces the total defeat of the U3 team, and the Omni-Kings charge up their blast to destroy the defeated universe. As the U3 gods and warriors start to vanish, a red devil-like creature named Mule pops out of a hatch in Mosco’s mechanical stomach, and thanks the U3 angel for all his support.

With U3 destroyed, Goku thanks 17, who explains that it was his instincts as an android that led him to guess the location of Anilaza’s energy reactor. Goku also thanks Freeza for lending a hand, and Freeza insists Goku still owes him one. The group is interrupted by their sole remaining opponents, the U11 team, and Jiren assures them that this victory against U3 will be their last.

9 minutes remain in the Tournament of Power.

User avatar
Kuwabara
Regular
Posts: 689
Joined: Thu Jun 23, 2011 10:36 am

Re: Super Episode 121 (23 December 2017)

Post by Kuwabara » Sat Dec 23, 2017 11:36 pm

The main highlight of this episode has got to be Aniraza; I like how it canonizes many elements from past Dragon Ball Z movies.

The initial transformation sequence is reminiscent of Cooler achieving his fifth form, but the final result bears more than a passing resemblance to several other movie villains. Hildegarn is worth mentioning as an influence, but more importantly, Aniraza continues the triple fusion aspect of Koichiarator, this time being a spiritual fusion of Android 13, Hatchiyack, and Dr. Wheelo, all artificial villains. Aniraza even comes with a Gero/Lychee/Kochin analogue in the form of Dr. Paparoni! Then you have it phasing through portals for attacks like Janemba, with the final beam struggle toward the end of the episode resembling the one against Broly from Movie 10.

A lot of familiar elements are combined in an organic way that doesn't feel too obvious or forced. As another cheeky nod to many of the movie villains, Aniraza greatly overpowers our heroes at first, only to be pretty quickly dispensed with in the end. The only thing I didn't like about it was the fact that, like Hildegarn, it just roars and tears shit up! Some foreboding post-mortems for our heroes, a la Broly, might have been the perfect icing.

Good episode overall, definitely looking forward to how Universe 7 plans to take on Universe 11!
Last edited by Kuwabara on Sun Dec 24, 2017 12:38 am, edited 1 time in total.
This is the episode of when Gokuh enrages himself after Freezer talk shit about Kuririn

User avatar
Galan007
Regular
Posts: 666
Joined: Sat Oct 11, 2014 9:34 pm

Re: Super Episode 121 (23 December 2017)

Post by Galan007 » Sat Dec 23, 2017 11:45 pm

I enjoyed episode 121 quite a bit...

-I maintain that #17 has been the MVP of U7 throughout the entire ToP -- if you didn't like him before, you can't help but like him now. Not only did his force-field weather Anilaza's blast(which was completely overpowering the COMBINED blasts of SSB Goku + SSB Vegeta + Ultimate Gohan + Golden Freeza + #17 himself), but a strike from #17 weakened/compromised Anilaza's reactor enough that the other heroes were finally able to defeat him. Had it not been for #17, U7 would have lost then and there... I also didn't know that #17 could power up in the conventional sense(ie. with a visible aura and such), so that was interesting as well.

-As mentioned above: Anilaza(U3's secret weapon) was wickedly powerful... And I loved his design/look; it was quite reminiscent of Hatchiyak(who is one of my all-time favorite villains in the franchise.)

-As expected, #18 was eliminated.

-U3's GoD/Mosco actually wears a robotic suit, and has been sitting inside it this entire time -- he revealed his true form at the end of this episode... Certainly wasn't expecting that, lol.

-U3 has been 'squished'.

-Only U7 and U11 are left: Goku/Vegeta/Gohan/Freeza/#17 vs. Jiren/Toppo/Dyspo... Sadly, I expect #17 to be eliminated next episode.

-9mins remain in the ToP.

User avatar
Zagacious
Beyond-the-Beyond Newbie
Posts: 376
Joined: Fri May 05, 2017 9:04 pm

Re: Super Episode 121 (23 December 2017)

Post by Zagacious » Sun Dec 24, 2017 1:31 am

This has to be by far one of the best episodes of the entire tournament, finally someone who's actually a damn challenge. His weakness was a bit rushed though and ended the battle too quickly, my only complaint is that this epic of a fighter should have lasted two episodes, to have android 17 just shatter his energy generator (forgot what it was called exactly) and he's instantly defeated was kind of disappointing. You could have easily erased or combined two of the Caulifla/Kale episodes and made this guy last longer. I'd say this does a lot things better than even the hour special did, lots of teamwork and you could feel how much of a threat Anilaza was. I was almost expecting Goku or Vegeta to have to pull off Ultra Instinct to finish him off (because IMO he was powerful enough to justify it). He's stronger than Kefla and he has amazing attacks. The funny thing is how he looks kind of like a Majin Buu and Frieza fusion.

Nice moments showing Moscow is actually a god in a robot suit, 18 saving 17, and Frieza saving Goku.

User avatar
Turambar
Beyond Newbie
Posts: 186
Joined: Mon Jul 13, 2015 3:22 pm
Location: Forest of Brethil

Re: Super Episode 121 (23 December 2017)

Post by Turambar » Sun Dec 24, 2017 2:09 am

That cut of 17 bursting through Aniraza's energy ball is one of the best cuts in Super. Wow. Such a cool moment, well animated.

levnekaethian
Newbie
Posts: 9
Joined: Wed Nov 08, 2017 12:55 am

Re: Super Episode 121 (23 December 2017)

Post by levnekaethian » Sun Dec 24, 2017 2:38 am

Is it just me or did anyone notice that at the end of the episode, during the preview for 122, those animations looked so sharp and crisp. I wonder how many more episodes the arc will last and if the animations will be that incredible (not that they aren't great, just they looked so... good).

User avatar
Torturephile
Regular
Posts: 576
Joined: Thu Apr 07, 2016 10:13 pm

Re: Super Episode 121 (23 December 2017)

Post by Torturephile » Sun Dec 24, 2017 2:44 am

-Aniraza's come into being was not what I expected. I wanted to see the components of Koichiarator and Paparoni morph together into Aniraza, but it was more of a standard fusion sequence in that he just appears. Anyways, I loved his warping technique, which is the same one Fused Zamasu used in the manga. Aniraza is probably the closest we get to having a canon Janemba and Hatchiyack. Shame he wasn't given two episodes instead of just one.

-Android 17 remains one of my favorites of U7 along with Freeza and his "my X moved/slipped on its own" quotes. 18 has also won my heart over the course of the ToP despite I never cared about her or 17 prior to it. U7's teamwork in this episode was fantastic, and so was the fact that all of them together got pushed into a corner for once. 17 weakening Aniraza was done in a similar fashion to how 18 defeated Ribrianne.

-Couldn't have Mosco installed a microphone to his robot given his universe is the embodiment of a technologically advanced realm?

-Supreme Kai mocked the "big/buff warrior is weaker than in looks" schtick Dragon Ball runs with.

-Vegeta goes back to his "Vegeta-sama" B.S. once again, but this is more of a nitpick of mine.

-I think the ToP stage from afar looks better in this episode than on previous ones.

I wonder what's happening to Freeza in the next episode preview. I know he's going after Dyspo, but looks like he may be in trouble. I rather avoid a discussion about it since it's only a preview.
jplaya2023 wrote:Did not see a thread for this i assume mods are spending time with family so i made it. Hopefully no one is mad. The episode tonight was greatness.
Hopefully they merge this thread into a real one in case they are.
levnekaethian wrote:Is it just me or did anyone notice that at the end of the episode, during the preview for 122, those animations looked so sharp and crisp. I wonder how many more episodes the arc will last and if the animations will be that incredible (not that they aren't great, just they looked so... good).
It's due to the animation supervisor Yuya Takahashi, who also supervised the gorgeous episode 114.
Last edited by Torturephile on Sun Dec 24, 2017 3:22 am, edited 1 time in total.

User avatar
Kingdom Heartless
I Live Here
Posts: 3393
Joined: Sun Jul 20, 2008 12:21 am
Location: QLD, Australia
Contact:

Re: Super Episode 121 (23 December 2017)

Post by Kingdom Heartless » Sun Dec 24, 2017 2:49 am

I'm enjoying the improved teamwork being shown by Goku and Vegeta. Goku has made a few saves these past few episodes, and it gives him a nice chance to interact with other characters. With Super often sort of leaning on his faults as a character, it's been refreshing to see him having his team's back and showing admiration for them all.

I loved #18's self sacrifice... one of the better outs of the tournament.

I love the atmosphere at the moment. No more fodder... no more random explosions in the background... just two teams remaining on an almost eerily quiet stage.
Yo! Cal's the name. Nice to meet you!
Lover of all that is pure and fun in the worlds of Dragon Ball, Jim Henson and so forth!
3DS Friend Code 1418-7854-8786. I'm always playing Pokemon, so PM me yours for Friend Safari and battling! :D

User avatar
Polyphase Avatron
Born 'n Bred Here
Posts: 6643
Joined: Wed Mar 27, 2013 10:48 am

Re: Super Episode 121 (23 December 2017)

Post by Polyphase Avatron » Sun Dec 24, 2017 2:51 am

I'm hesitant to watch the episode and give my thoughts on it before the mods make an official thread...
Cool stuff that I upload here because Youtube will copyright claim it: https://vimeo.com/user60967147

User avatar
Slaythe
Beyond Newbie
Posts: 143
Joined: Sun Nov 29, 2015 2:05 am

Re: Super Episode 121 (23 December 2017)

Post by Slaythe » Sun Dec 24, 2017 3:05 am

Absolutely loved the episode.

Finally got teamwork.

Aniraza was impressive and scary for once. Everyone was in danger.

17 paid the price, but 18 saved him in a very touching moment.

The end with 17 was amazing.

Image

julianix
Beyond-the-Beyond Newbie
Posts: 422
Joined: Thu Aug 06, 2015 10:37 pm

Re: Super Episode 121 (23 December 2017)

Post by julianix » Sun Dec 24, 2017 3:07 am

A much needed episode of fresh air. Good animation, good flow and good events of team work.

I'm glad this episode delivered because the previous 3 were absolute trash.

User avatar
Hawk9211
OMG CRAZY REGEN
Posts: 812
Joined: Wed Aug 09, 2017 11:23 am

Re: Super Episode 121 (23 December 2017)

Post by Hawk9211 » Sun Dec 24, 2017 3:33 am

Much better than the previous two.However,powerlevels were way off and I did not like anyone's characterization aside from 17,freeza and whis.The fight was good.Jiren continues to be generic along with rest of universes.
Why power levels are important?
The genre and roots of dragon ball

Nickolaidas
Advanced Regular
Posts: 1102
Joined: Tue Aug 19, 2014 12:56 pm

Re: Super Episode 121 (23 December 2017)

Post by Nickolaidas » Sun Dec 24, 2017 3:41 am

Slaythe, Lapislettuce and every #17 fan got an episode they needed for a long while. Seriously, #17 acted like a team leader and a real boss - alerting the others to Aniraza's abilities and weaknesses, taking the thing head on in order to provide the (in a way) killing blow ... everything about the guy was spot-on and AMAZING. If I was a newcomer to the series I could've sworn the guy was the protagonist or at least one of the main main characters. I really like #17 when he acts human, angry and drops this 'I'm bored as fuck' crap.

18 sacrifing herself to save her brother was amazing, as also Frieza saving Goku. It's only when you stop and think about Goku's IT (which was actually displayed in this ep) how these saves become quite arbitrary indeed.

Frieza actually got to do some stuff, which was a huge plus for me.

And now, it's on. U7 vs U11, and it looks like the next episode will hit a high note in ALL. THE RIGHT. PLACES. The animation and art seem amazing - the shading is perfect and the action looks intense. Vegeta manages at least one or two hits on Jiren WITHOUT UI, which gives me hope that the guy can also be (and will be) hit by Gohan, #17 and Frieza.

Speaking of Frieza, he seems to be in trouble by Dyspo, which is surprising. Can't wait for the next ep!

All in all, #17 dominated in this battle, the tournament is in full swing, this and the next episode seem to be pure awesomesauce and it really sucks that we have to wait 2 weeks for it. If only I had FighterZ to keep me company until then ...
Last edited by Nickolaidas on Sun Dec 24, 2017 3:44 am, edited 1 time in total.

User avatar
nitemare
Not-So-Newbie
Posts: 52
Joined: Mon Sep 17, 2007 7:03 pm

Re: Super Episode 121 (23 December 2017)

Post by nitemare » Sun Dec 24, 2017 3:43 am

Very good episode definetely an improvement over the last 2 weeks even though it sort of felt like watching an Evangelion series a bit :)

BWri
I'm, pretty, cozy, here...
Posts: 1712
Joined: Mon May 02, 2016 1:56 pm
Contact:

Re: Super Episode 121 (23 December 2017)

Post by BWri » Sun Dec 24, 2017 3:50 am

This one was pretty good, but I can't help but want more. Aniraza turned out to be very strong and I'd have liked to see more of it due to have effective it was as a fighter. I'd also like more insight into just about everything related to the final universe 3 fighters. We still basically know nothing about them. We're also forced to accept a lot of concepts that weren't at all explained, thusly forcing "headcanon" to make sense of any of it. How can Papparoni, a biological male merge with mechanical robots? I can accept it, but I NEED an explanation to buy into it. It's always stuff like that that brings Super down, but once more they did deliver the hype and epic moments like always.

edit:
Kuwabara wrote:The main highlight of this episode has got to be Aniraza; I like how it canonizes many elements from past Dragon Ball Z movies.

The initial transformation sequence is reminiscent of Cooler achieving his fifth form, but the final result bears more than a passing resemblance to several other movie villains. Hildegarn is worth mentioning as an influence, but more importantly, Aniraza continues the triple fusion aspect of Koichiarator, this time being a spiritual fusion of Android 13, Hatchiyack, and Dr. Wheelo, all artificial villains. Aniraza even comes with a Gero/Lychee/Kochin analogue in the form of Dr. Paparoni! Then you have it phasing through portals for attacks like Janemba, with the final beam struggle toward the end of the episode resembling the one against Broly from Movie 10.

A lot of familiar elements are combined in an organic way that doesn't feel too obvious or forced. As another cheeky nod to many of the movie villains, Aniraza greatly overpowers our heroes at first, only to be pretty quickly dispensed with in the end. The only thing I didn't like about it was the fact that, like Hildegarn, it just roars and tears shit up! Some foreboding post-mortems for our heroes, a la Broly, might have been the perfect icing.

Good episode overall, definitely looking forward to how Universe 7 plans to take on Universe 11!
This is probably the greatest observation from this episode. I only noticed the Hatchiyak references, because I was looking for those specifically but I believe you hit this one on the nose. Seems like the Toei staff are some sly devils.
Big fan of the characters of Dragon Ball, all of them, especially formerly prominent sub-characters. -__-

Nickolaidas
Advanced Regular
Posts: 1102
Joined: Tue Aug 19, 2014 12:56 pm

Re: Super Episode 121 (23 December 2017)

Post by Nickolaidas » Sun Dec 24, 2017 4:08 am

Also, I think it's safe to assume that XenoVerse 3 is getting a new giant boss.

puar
Beyond Newbie
Posts: 153
Joined: Tue Nov 28, 2017 2:01 am

Re: Super Episode 121 (23 December 2017)

Post by puar » Sun Dec 24, 2017 5:50 am

so yeah it was a good episode but in the end anyraza was another weakling and universe 3 are dissapointing. ho well. at least we got to the real action. no more weaklings only interesting match ups from now on

Ilikepictures-meh
Beyond Newbie
Posts: 231
Joined: Mon Jul 17, 2017 6:11 pm

Re: Super Episode 121 (23 December 2017)

Post by Ilikepictures-meh » Sun Dec 24, 2017 6:06 am

Great episode, Mosco really being an Imp named Mole inside of a robot was unexpected and hilarious. U7 finally faced an opponent that seemed generally dangerous besides U11. They had to team up together to take out U3's quadruple fusion, Goku would have been gone without Frieza's kick, 17 would have been gone without 18's self sacrifice. 17 getting his big moment by destroying the reactor, which allowed U7 to get the elimination. Which they may not have been able to do otherwise, and both the Artificial Human siblings ended up being a part of the final ten fighters. Amazing all around

User avatar
SHINOBI-03
I Live Here
Posts: 2606
Joined: Fri Oct 10, 2008 7:47 am
Location: United Arab Emirates, Dubai
Contact:

Re: Super Episode 121 (23 December 2017)

Post by SHINOBI-03 » Sun Dec 24, 2017 6:20 am

Freeza did something productive :thumbup: .
My Dragon Ball Story (500th post)
My Anime List
My Manga List
Big Momma wrote:This is Daizex. There's gonna be complaints and groaning no matter what. ;)
Anime Insider magazine wrote:If police officers in the future dress like prostitutes, then what do prostitutes in the future wear?

User avatar
Cetra
I Live Here
Posts: 3855
Joined: Sun Mar 09, 2014 3:01 pm

Re: Super Episode 121 (23 December 2017)

Post by Cetra » Sun Dec 24, 2017 6:52 am

- 18 saving 17
- Freeza saving Goku
- Freeza actually doing something
- One of the actually interesting battles
- Hah, aura showing 17 - take that, GT haters
- The God of Destruction is not a robot
- Universe 3 definitely had a good last fight with Hatchigarnemba.
"Citation needed."
"too lazy

feel free to take it with grain of salt or discredit me altogether, I'm not losing any sleep"

Post Reply