Super Episode 109-110 (8 October 2017)

[GodKaio-Ken]

The Spirit Bomb itself was terrible and made no sense.

However everything else was pretty awesome.

[Super Saiyan Swagger]

Music was so on point. Sumitomo has been knocking it out of the park with the music in this arc.

[Tombstone1988]

As this special was technically two episodes, I'll break my review into two parts, one for 109 and one for 110.

Episode 109

Things I Liked:

-The fighting was top-notch, as I suppose was to be expected.
-Belmod has become quite an interesting character. It feels like he got all of Jiren's characterization, actually.
-The fight had serious Goku vs. Freeza vibes, but it was different enough that it didn't just feel like a rip-off, so it worked for me.
-Goku actually taking on an opponent stronger than him, so there's actual *gasp* tension!? Amazing, Super! You're learning!
-Not gonna lie, I laughed out loud when Goku went Blue and one-shot Ribrianne. It was just so satisfying to me.
-Fight animation and choreography was stellar.

Things I'm Mixed On:

-The Spirit Bomb was really cool, but it felt so impractical. Like Grand Priest said, the tournament isn't even halfway finished and Goku's taking energy from all of his comrades? And that energy somehow makes a Spirit Bomb stronger than any previous Spirit Bomb (theoretically, not actually sure if this is true or not)?
-Jiren from a fighting perspective is okay, but man is he one of the least interesting characters ever. I've seen volleyballs with more personality than him.
-As I said, the animation and choreography was amazing, but some of the actual visuals were hit-or-miss. Some details also seemed to get lost from scene-to-scene. For example, after Jiren hits Goku faster than even Vegeta can see, it zooms in and shows Goku having suffered visible damage, but then every subsequent shot the damage was gone. This is really just a nitpick, but I figured I'd mention it anyway.

Things I Disliked:

-Oh, now Gohan is suddenly with Piccolo again. Super, at this point I'm pretty sure you're just actively mocking me.
-Sorry CJStriker, but I feel like your girl Ribrianne looked like trash this episode. She seemed to be fighting pretty much on par with base Goku up until she "powered up" with glowsticks ( ) , a scene I didn't get at all but from what I read was I guess a PreCure reference? Even then, Goku just went Blue and one-shot her, knocking her wings off and everything. I'm pretty sure she's just the Yajirobe of this arc, complete with watching an intense fight from behind a rock. Anyway, the fight wasn't all that entertaining to me.
-The "fight" between Goku and Jiren this episode felt really short, by Dragon Ball standards. Goku just sort of zips through most of his transformations, gets ragdolled, goes Kaioken x20, gets ragdolled, and then goes into the Spirit Bomb. The fight didn't feel well paced, in my opinion.

Overall, I didn't actually care much for this part of the special. It wasn't bad by any means, but it felt like there was a ton of padding rather than actual substance (Goku vs. Jiren). Perhaps if we had dropped the whole Goku vs. Ribrianne thing and just started this episode with Goku facing Jiren, it would have worked better for me. I'd say episode 109 was middle of the pack, not as bad as the bad episodes but not quite as amazing as the truly good episodes this arc.

[Li'l Lemmy]

The animation was possibly the very best I have seen on this series.

The events themselves make no sense to me. I require further context.

[Ranmaru Rei]

Do people hate Ribrianne because they're embarrassed to admit they're watching a show with Ribrianne in it?

Because Ribrianne wouldn't even crack the top five for me in terms of embarrassing things in Dragon Ball, and her fight and comedy beats this episode were solid.

Some fragile sense of masculinity here.

I cannot understand all that hatred toward her. Yeah, she looks weird. She definitely does not look like pretty magical girl. She looks fat and clunky. But, if she was pretty magical girl, she would be too cliché. At least, it gives her some personalty.

Actually, I will feel devastated after all this hype this week. This episode plus news on DBFZ and Blazblue X Tag Battle…

[Onibaku]

This is really the best episode of the DB franchise in my opinion. Everything felt so epic and the directing was out of ordinary. Thought for a moment I was watching a movie.

Ultra Instinct sounds lit. Goku close to becoming a legit god lol

[Kchlu]

Really not much that can be added here. Like everyone else has stated, it's a very good special. Not anything perfect but it was really enjoyable.

I especially like the bit where Goku transitions between forms, it easily showcased how powerful Jiren is, even if his personality isn't anything to write home about

Goku starting off by firing a Kamehameha blast but was easily blocked by Jiren's ki shield.

Super Saiyan Goku able to bypass that very same shield and actually hit Jiren, but to no effect.

Super Saiyan 2 Goku actually able to move Jiren's head, albeit slightly.

Super Saiyan God forcing Jiren to move, using one finger in order to block Goku's punches.

Finally, an actual fight when Goku turned Super Saiyan Blue though it was very much in Jiren's favour.

It was one of the few times that I can feel a genuine escalation in power throughout the series and I didn't need to be told that so props are in order Super!

[GodKaio-Ken]

Btw Beerus is just like every one of us Goku fans.

We know hes a little doofy and makes mistakes, but when he gets vaporized....

Beerus was legit about to pour some liquor on the curb for his fallen homie

[Artorias]

Disappointed as usual in the writing, from Toshio Yoshitaka having Goku use a Genki Dama on someone he knows is a good guy, to the explanation for the form. At least the animation was pretty cool and the music at first was nice to listen to. Shouldn't really be surprised that Super fucked up this badly on a special they had been hyping for a month, but for w/e reason it still astounds me on how bad they are.

Your expectations are out of whack if this seriously disappointed you that much. Wasn't even close to a "fuck up". They nailed pretty much everything except the writing in CERTAIN parts. That's not enough to warrant that severe of a reaction.

[DHM211]

The insert song used when Goku fought Jiren sounds like the music they used in the trailer for both the Super and one piece specials.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OZI7s8HW6jY

[CJStriker_CBR]

Do people hate Ribrianne because they're embarrassed to admit they're watching a show with Ribrianne in it?

Because Ribrianne wouldn't even crack the top five for me in terms of embarrassing things in Dragon Ball, and her fight and comedy beats this episode were solid.

Some fragile sense of masculinity here.

I cannot understand all that hatred toward her. Yeah, she looks weird. She definitely does not look like pretty magical girl. She looks fat and clunky. But, if she was pretty magical girl, she would be too cliché. At least, it gives her some personalty.

Actually, I will feel devastated after all this hype this week. This episode plus news on DBFZ and Blazblue X Tag Battle…

Typing this from my IPhone.

Honest most of the so called hate is juvenile IMO. The main so called problems are her size and theme, that really is playpen level of nothing problems. I spent years debating REAL hate for characters and stories in Marvel Comics, you want to see true, deep and detailed hate that has substance to it, get back to me when you have been on a comic forum for a Month!:lol:

Honestly it is not really a problem I see much around here, more on YouTube but that is YouTube they hate everything!

I keep saying if you can't get into the character, why make a spectacle of yourself about it, whats the point really?! Their is plenty of others characters to like, move on and like them leave Ribrianne for us, her fans to enjoy!

Also if by ANY Measure you like Ribrianne or the U2 competitions, express them!

Don't feel fear or fear of being bullied anywhere cause you like them, you have a right to like who you choose too and you have fans that have your back!

[Saturnine]

He was also super pissed that Goku attained Ultra Instinct, since this means that Goku actually surpassed him

He wasn't "pissed", just shocked and surprised for obvious reason. And Goku did not surpass Beerus yet, anyway.

To be fair, in this form he probably has. Jiren > Belmod > Beerus. And Goku can go toe to toe with Jiren, who isn't even at full power. This Goku is most def stronger than Beerus.

[Gafonso6]

The insert song used when Goku fought Jiren sounds like the music they used in the trailer for both the Super and one piece specials.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OZI7s8HW6jY

It is that music. And OMG IT'S AWESOME!!!!

[Nickolaidas]

I cannot understand all that hatred toward her. Yeah, she looks weird. She definitely does not look like pretty magical girl. She looks fat and clunky. But, if she was pretty magical girl, she would be too cliché. At least, it gives her some personalty.

I don't have a problem with her looks. I actually like that they're trying something different other than the 'hot-femme-fatale' stereotype that pop culture has been shoving in our throats for the past 20 years. I kinda dig her design, pre-transform and post-transform.

It was the whole dialogue and constant love love love that irks me. Hella is also insufferable when she's blowing kisses right and left. Basically they're doing their best to remind me I'm watching something intended for ten-year olds.

Her scene with Jiren was far better imo.

[Artorias]

Do people hate Ribrianne because they're embarrassed to admit they're watching a show with Ribrianne in it?

Because Ribrianne wouldn't even crack the top five for me in terms of embarrassing things in Dragon Ball, and her fight and comedy beats this episode were solid.

Some fragile sense of masculinity here.

Most people, including myself, don't like Ribrianne simply because she exists solely to be a joke that wasn't even that funny for 10 seconds, that has now been stretched out for several episodes. Her shtick is just old now. She has just one gimmick that the writers seem to think is the funniest and most clever thing ever, when it's just kinda annoying and played out.

Obviously there's also those insecure dickheads you alluded to who just hate her because she's too girly and not "epic" enough, but I think that's actually a small fraction of the people that hate her.

[CJStriker_CBR]

-Sorry CJStriker, but I feel like your girl Ribrianne looked like trash this episode. She seemed to be fighting pretty much on par with base Goku up until she "powered up" with glowsticks ( ) , a scene I didn't get at all but from what I read was I guess a PreCure reference? Even then, Goku just went Blue and one-shot her, knocking her wings off and everything. I'm pretty sure she's just the Yajirobe of this arc, complete with watching an intense fight from behind a rock. Anyway, the fight wasn't all that entertaining to me.

Typing this from my IPhone.

Honestly I am 1st off impressed I was the 1st it seems to come to mind when talking about Ribrianne, that in interesting and impressive!

But Honestly it is your view and you are entitled to it as a fan, but know I am the entire opposite of that opinion!

It took blue to take her down and still she was not even damaged. If Jiren was not their the fight I am certain the fight would have continued. See was no way out or low level!

I will say more win at my computer

[Tombstone1988]

Episode 110

Things I Liked:

-Goku vs. Jiren this episode was actually pretty fantastic.
-Goku having the Spirit Bomb turned on him was visually amazing.
-Beerus has had such amazing character growth this arc, and it continued into this episode. Well done Super.
-Goku's "new form" (is it even a form?) is pretty good. The fact that it actually scared several GoDs was nice.
-The action had a certain weight to it this episode that I felt was lacking from many previous fights in Super. It had much more scale and presence. I dug it.
-Goku tried and failed, in classic Dragon Ball Z fashion. I actually like when that happens, and this was no exception.
-Hit inadvertently saving Goku by attacking Jiren as he went for the finishing blow was great.

Things I'm Mixed On:

-The concept of knocking out Goku to demoralize the other fighters was fairly interesting. The fact that everyone's first thought upon Goku "dying" was to immediately attack Jiren was less interesting. Like, really? Did you not see what this guy just did? You sure you don't want to at least come up with a plan of attack first before attacking the overly hyped cardboard construct (also known as Jiren)?
-Animation was beautiful and fluid, but man were the characters... off-model? Is that the phrase I'm looking for? I'm not an animation guru, obviously. Basically, characters looked weird to me, particularly Jiren. I'm pretty sure his eyes warped into like 5 different shapes over the course of the special. Someone more informed on this subject can probably tell me what the phrase I'm looking for actually is.

Things I Disliked:

-Might be a minority opinion, but man do I dislike the Omni Kings. I get that they're basically avatars for the main demographic (kids), but constantly cutting to them going "OOH!" or "Amazing!" was starting to grind on me. I like some of the sideline commentary, but they are quite obnoxious to me.
-I felt the "Goku is dead" part of the episode was dragged out for just a bit too long. This might just be because we knew this wasn't the end of the arc, but it felt forced and unnecessary.
-Why does it seem like Belmod and Universe 11 are the only ones taking this tournament seriously? Everyone's fate is being determined by who wins this tournament, yet 18 is just casually chilling on a rock like she doesn't have a care in the world. This might only be annoying to me, but it's really bothersome that this is a tournament to decide the fates of 8 entire universes and a good 80% or so of the participants are treating it like it's just some casual affair. Jiren is literally strong enough to wipe out most everyone present yet none of the other universes seem to show any fear when facing him. It's frankly unbelievable.


Overall, this part of the special was great. It promised to be a spectacle and it was. Unlike with episode 109, I was thoroughly entertained by this episode. Personally speaking, I'd still say that episodes 104 and 107 were better than this one, but this is probably my third-favorite episode of the arc. I had some grievances, particularly the Omni Kings, but none of that really ruined the episode. It just brought it down a little. So yeah, it was a solid conclusion for a special. Kudos, Super. Now we just need the streaming services to get their acts together.

[PsionicWarrior]

wowza that was awesome, I might comment more later lol

[Super Saiyan Swagger]

Just realised that when Goku was yelling while charing at Jiren, you can hear the Oozaru roar in the background. God damn, when was the last time that happened? Gave me chills. I love this new transformation.

[sintzu]

They couldn't have started worse if they tried, wasting 8 full minutes on that fat thing from U2. It was great seeing Jerin and Vegeta put her in her place. You got everyone watching except her acting out.

I don't like how the energy of the Genkidama was collected, against Buu the help of his friends wasn't enough yet here it is against someone who makes Buu look like an ant ?

The fight in the 1st part was amazing but there was barely anything going on choreography wise in the 2nd part.

I was hoping Jerin wouldn't be the mortal stronger than a destroyer but form what we've seen it makes sense to be him. It wouldn't hurt to give him some kind of personality.

The promo has Goku without his shirt so he's most likely going to use it again.

Overall I think both were really good episodes (best of the arc so far), just not worth the hype they got.

Do people hate Ribrianne because they're embarrassed to admit they're watching a show with Ribrianne in it?

Yes. She's easily the worst thing to come out of the franchise.