| Original Run: | 05 July 2015 – 11 October 2015 (15 weeks; spent 1 week on break) |
| Corresponding: | Dragon Ball Super Episodes 001 – 014 (14 episodes) |
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| Rating Shares: | Average: 5.9% Highest: 7.9% (Episode 001) Lowest: 4.7% (Episode 012) |
Following the battle with Majin Boo, our heroes settle into more normal lives, with Goku occupying his days farming, Gohan enjoying his recent marriage to Videl, and Vegeta spending quality time with his family at a resort getaway. All seems peaceful, until numerous planets begin disappearing and the Kaiōshin soon realize that Beerus, the God of Destruction, has awoken from his slumber!
In search of “Super Saiyan God”, a being he foresaw in a prophetic dream, Beerus and his assistant Whis travel to North Kaiō’s planet in search of Son Goku, the Saiyan that defeated Freeza. Realizing Beerus is headed their way, Kaiō tries to hide Goku, who recently arrived on his planet to train, but it is to no avail. Goku formally introduces himself to the god, but Beerus is disappointed to find that he knows nothing about a “Super Saiyan God”. However, as Beerus prepares to leave for Earth to question the other surviving Saiyans, Goku excitedly challenges Beerus to a match. Despite Kaiō’s protests, the two face off and it quickly becomes apparent that it is a one-sided match, with Beerus by far Goku’s superior. Leaving Goku for dead, Beerus and Whis depart for Earth.
As everyone celebrates Bulma’s birthday on a luxurious cruise liner, Kaiō telepathically warns Vegeta of Beerus’ impending arrival. As he panics, the God of Destruction suddenly appears behind him, and Vegeta recalls Beerus coming to Planet Vegeta when he was young and tormenting his father, King Vegeta, for not being sufficiently respectful. After questioning Vegeta about “Super Saiyan God”, and toying with him a bit, the duo accept Bulma’s invitation to join the birthday party. While enjoying the party’s delicious food selection, Beerus becomes enraged when Majin Boo eats all of the pudding. After easily dispatching Boo and the others, Beerus vows to destroy the Earth for such disrespect.
As Beerus charges an attack to destroy them all, Bulma walks up and slaps Beerus in the face for ruining her birthday party. While Vegeta looks on powerlessly, Beerus slaps her back, knocking her to the ground. Vegeta snaps and brazenly attacks Beerus, but after landing a few blows, he is ultimately no match. As Beerus prepares to destroy the planet, he hesitates, thinking it would be a shame to destroy a planet with such delicious food. Deciding to give them another chance, Beerus challenges Oolong to a game of rock-paper-scissors. If Oolong wins, Beerus promises to peacefully leave the planet, but Beerus wins, and has no choice but to destroy the planet. However, Goku arrives just in time and asks Beerus to wait a little longer, as he has an idea about finding “Super Saiyan God” — the Dragon Balls!
After learning the summoning ritual from Shenlong, the five remaining Saiyans attempt to awaken the power of “Super Saiyan God” in Goku, but find they one Saiyan short. With this, Beerus prepares to destroy Earth once again, but Videl interrupts, revealing that she is pregnant with Gohan’s child. With the addition of the unborn Saiyan in the ritual, Goku begins glowing red and soon transforms into a younger-looking, thinner form with bright red hair. With Goku now Super Saiyan God, he and Beerus finally begin their rematch high above the cruise liner. As Goku becomes more acquainted with his newfound power, Beerus begins taking the match seriously, and soon finds Goku to be formidable opponent.
The universe is soon on the brink of crumbling as the tremendous shock waves of the two’s growing power emanate from their godly battle. With Goku now in full control of his powers, the two nullify the shock waves and a serious full-throttle battle unfolds. After a while though, Beerus notices a change in Goku, who suddenly reverts back to being a regular Super Saiyan. Both are shocked at this turn of events, but Beerus points out that Goku has “fully merged” with his Super Saiyan God power and made it his own. The battle continues, but Goku’s power quickly begins to decrease, and as Beerus delivers a finishing blow, Goku falls back to Earth in his normal state.
Beerus follows him back down and Whis congratulates Beerus on his victory. He suggests they go home, but Beerus notes that he promised to destroy the Earth if he won. Goku begs him to stop, but Beerus charges up an attack, fires… and misses. It turns out, Beerus has fallen asleep standing up! Whis thanks Goku for “playing” with Beerus and the two depart. As Whis carries Beerus home through space, he asks him how long he intends to pretend to be asleep. Meanwhile, as Kaiō comments about Goku’s circle of friends expanding yet again, Goku chows down on a well-deserved meal while Gohan formally announces to him that he and Videl are having a child.
While the overall “Battle of Gods” story arc is based on the 2013 theatrical film of the same name, the TV adaptation is not a verbatim retelling, but is instead an altered version of similar events. The following is a breakdown of the main differences between the original theatrical film version and its TV adaptation:
