Post
by batistabus » Tue May 22, 2018 12:00 am
In an arc full of great chapters, I was surprised that this one was one of my favorites.
Vegeta vs Toppo:
I've seen people describe this as character regression from Vegeta's "You're number 1, Kakarot!" moment. I suppose it is, but it's justifiable, and totally in line with Vegeta's role in Super. With the introduction of god ki, Vegeta was able to bridge that insurmountable gap between Goku and himself. Where before he was humbled and accepted his role, the chance to actually become the strongest in all universes is once again within his grasp. Let's not forget that Vegeta said he'd never fight again until he had an opportunity to match Goku. His determination to overpower Toppo with continuous, predictable kicks was a really cool moment.
No. 17 vs Botamo:
While nobody in-universe has explicitly said anything about it yet, it's clear that No. 17's unlimited stamina is really doing wonders for him in his tournament. As opposed to Frost who was exhausted after going all-out for a couple of minutes, No. 17 is able to fight continuously without such a concern. I wasn't much of a fan of No. 17 in the original run of Dragon Ball, and I really hated the idea of his return in GT, but he's just so cool here. Non-nonchalant, but quick and merciless. I really enjoyed how Botamo was eliminated. Having No. 17 blast the three Universe 10 fighters off at once was another smart way to conserve everyone else's stamina.
No. 18 vs Ribrianne:
I was not a fan of the Magical Girl gag from the anime to begin with, and I feel like Ribriane really overstayed here welcome in that version. Here, I thought she was a really fun character. All of the gags landed for me, and I was pretty impressed by how well Toyotaro seems to have gotten a handle on Toriyama's comedic tone. He really nails it in the expressions. I love sexy Kuririn, and Beerus thinking Ribrianne is "kind of cute" is almost as good. Every time those characters interact, I get a huge kick out of it. Something about the way No. 18 was portrayed in the anime really rubbed me the wrong way, but she feels more authentic here. Maybe it's because she's so much less preachy.
No. 18's elimination pose was a great homage to the time she broke Vegeta's arm.
Invisible Warrior and Small Warrior
The way Gamisaras comes out of nowhere and starts eliminating people left-and-right is really effective. It catches the reader off guard just as much as the fighters. Once Piccolo defeats Gamisaras, but immediately senses another warrior, it's totally reasonable that he wouldn't be able to figure out the situation in time, regardless of his enhanced hearing. I really wasn't expecting to see him out so early, and I'm really interested in seeing what happens with the Universe 6 Namekians now. No. 17's bio-modifications logically extend to his sight and hearing, so his ability to take down Damon works well. The fact that Jiren gets nervous around such a potentially powerful gimmick helps humanize him a lot.
I also really like that Toyotaro isn't afraid to change up the character designs in this tournament when appropriate for the plot. I'm talking about No. 17 brushing his hair behind his ears & or Hit taking his kilt off. These things look kind of odd, but they help ground the situation and make these characters feel like more than plastic dolls.
I really don't have any major complaints for this chapter. I'm so impressed with how well so many plot points were balanced. The comedy was great, the battles were chaotic, and things are moving along at an exciting pace. I thought it was kind of silly how No. 17 has apparently gotten so strong simply by protecting his island, but the artificial humans are such strange beings that it's easy enough to laugh it off.
