Why don't people like Whis' ability to travel back in time to undo stuff?

[Lord Frieza]

Well in regards to why Whis and Beerus dont go back well I guess they are simply not allowed two.

Beerus for all his power and seeming freedom is kept on a very tight leash in the grander scheme of things, with not time ring, his connection to the kaioshin and Whis always hanging around, not to mention his reliance on Whis for things that the other weaker gods get for free. It seems there's a lot of bias against the gods of destruction but I don't blame anyone for not letting them time travel, one temper tantrum from Beerus or Champa could cause massive damage to the time stream.

Whis likewise is tied to Beerus and, by proxy, the same rules although he clearly has less limitations then Beerus placed on him.

[nite_jay]

I think that Whis using this ability in ep 59 will hurt our crew in the near future. He said that he can't use it again after quite a while, and I doubt this arc will take monthes in DB time. This basically means that he probably won't be able to use this ability again in the arc.

[Lord Beerus]

I personally don't have an issue with it. But in a series where the cast already have three sets of wish granting MacGuffins that can bail them out of practically any situation, it doesn't help for the sake of creating tension that one of their allies also basically a glorified reset button at their disposal to use when they please.

[ChronoTwigger]

I was just thinking of what will happen if Whis use the ability a little before Vados use the same ability.
Does this create an infinite loop?

[Xeztin]

I don't have a problem with it because it only goes back 5 minutes and that's it and I don't think he can use it again for a while after that. What I have a problem with is having Super Dragon Balls and not getting rid of the ones on Earth. Dragon Balls and wishes everywhere you look!

[Beerus-sama]

Because theres already a lot of dragon balls that can undo whatever goes wrong and Whis time reverse is the most effective and instantaneous hability that can resolve all that could go wrong (even if they're just 3 minutes). There won't be a time where Whis time reverse won't work or the heroes screwing up two times. (oh wait... we have Super's Goku )

[PMD]

When I first saw that ability in RoF I thought it was super cheap and, like some already said, it's one hell of a Deus ex machina, ergo, cheap.

But in episode 59 had a good purpose and it didn't felt that terrible, even though we all saw it coming light-years away.

[Jinzoningen MULE]

When I first saw that ability in RoF I thought it was super cheap and, like some already said, it's one hell of a Deus ex machina, ergo, cheap.

But in episode 59 had a good purpose and it didn't felt that terrible, even though we all saw it coming light-years away.

I think the ability should come with some kind of handicap.

[Commander_Red]

It's fine. I think the writers aren't that dumb. Depending on how long Super goes for, what they would do is establish all the safeguards the Gods give our heroes, and then for one big finale, take it all away and see what happens.

[sailorspazz]

As long as it's not over-used, I'm okay with it. We know it has an unspecified cool-down period, so at least they can't keep redoing things over and over in a short amount of time. If it's limited to once per arc, it's not too over powered. I just hope that we don't get instances of the ultimate tension-killing one-two punch of Whis resetting things followed by Gokuu using the magic Omni-King summoning button to take care of everything. I know the Saiyans wouldn't want to do that, since they just wanna fight strong guys, but I could see someone like Bulma suggesting it for every threat that comes up (ugh, why do non-fighters have to ruin everyone's fun with their damn logic? )

[Baggie_Saiyan]

When I first saw that ability in RoF I thought it was super cheap and, like some already said, it's one hell of a Deus ex machina, ergo, cheap.

But in episode 59 had a good purpose and it didn't felt that terrible, even though we all saw it coming light-years away.

As HeroR said that isn't a Deus Ex Machina at all we knew about it well before it was used.

[ChaosLordBrandon]

The ability is great. Whis is far beyond the level of Gods Of Destruction and should have abilities to come with that.

And why are people so desperate to find tension in a show made and directed for little kids? And where they have three things that can bring people back to life and where the most poweful character of the said series is best friends with the main character now.

[dbgtFO]

I was just thinking of what will happen if Whis use the ability a little before Vados use the same ability.
Does this create an infinite loop?

The manga has a line, that implies that the ability can't be used for a good while, because the time axis had to correct itself or something.. Based on that I don't think it's possible for even different users to use it straight after eachother.

[PMD]

When I first saw that ability in RoF I thought it was super cheap and, like some already said, it's one hell of a Deus ex machina, ergo, cheap.

But in episode 59 had a good purpose and it didn't felt that terrible, even though we all saw it coming light-years away.

As HeroR said that isn't a Deus Ex Machina at all we knew about it well before it was used.

I get HeroR's point, but it doesn't matter if Whis mentioned it. He did that almost randomly. It's the way you execute that narrative device what makes it a Deus Ex Machina, but one could argue that and I would understand the point.
From the script perspective, you use deus ex machina as an imposition to solve the plot in order to have a happy ending. Sometimes it doesn't matter if is part or not part of the internal logic of the story. For example, Hitchcock's North by Northwest ends with a deus ex machina (police arrive at the last minute in Mt. Rushmore to save Roger O. Thornhill and Eve Kendall), and we already saw the police a lot of times, but that doesn't make you expect "oh, wait, maybe police will arrive and we all be cool, let's wait for someone off-screen to make that call).

I'd go further, saying that the fact Whiss mentions his time travel ability makes the climax even weaker and cheaper, because they couldn't go with something better and just said "Let's make Whiss say this here, so in the end he can use it to save the day". If you ask me, that's really poor writing.

By the way, funny story: I knew about the Super Dragon Balls before watching RoF, and I was really surprised by Earth destruction at the end... and when Whiss saved the group (except Vegeta, of course) and they start talking in the space I thought: "OMG, wait, is THIS how they will introduce the Super Dragon Balls? Whiss suggesting they can go to search them and restore Earth? Will this movie have an open ending so they can introduce the new anime?" My head was flying, and then... plof, time reversal, motherfuckers, and that's it. My expectations play games with my head sometimes. Anyway, really cheap writting, no matter how you want to call it.

[TheMikado]

The criticisms of Supers writing and overall plot devices are definitely have legitimacy from a literary perspective. I don think anyone is asking it to be Shakespeare, but within the context of its peers and it's own franchise, Super certainly stands out as a lower grade of overall plot, plot devices, and character development and not something we are accustomed to seeing from the Dragonball franchise. I'm not a fan of the use of Whis time abilities in ROF, however I do not hate it in the context of that arc. What I do despise is that this ability now requires consideration for every scenario moving forward and an explanation for why it's not being used should the situation become dire. It's the same reason I dislike KKx10xSSB. Should the situation become dire to the point where they are on the brink of death, we will internally ask ourselves why these abilities cannot be used.

These scenarios have long term lasting effects on the plot and levels of tension. That's my gripe, and poor writing will simply ignore these scenarios as if the audience has no memory of the prior transpired in universe events.

[King Jacku]

It just seems so unfair for the villains. I wanted Freeza to get something satisfying after going through so much, I really do feel sorry for the guy. Everything was against him.

Also I wanted that little group of Z fighters that survived to go on an adventure and restore earth, instead of BS'ing their way out. Big waste of potential IMO, and it would've been pretty unique to end the movie on a sad note.

[UpFromTheSkies]

I don't think it diminishes the sense of danger in the story, it's a very limited ability. Whis has to be present the moment the event happens, he can only rewind a few minutes, and he's limited to how often he can do it (I think it was once a year?)

[Jinzoningen MULE]

I don't think it diminishes the sense of danger in the story, it's a very limited ability. Whis has to be present the moment the event happens, he can only rewind a few minutes, and he's limited to how often he can do it (I think it was once a year?)

It's never stated how long it takes.

[NitroEX]

Because it's lazy writing.

Stories are supposed to be about characters resolving conflicts and growing in the process. That's not going to happen when you give your heroes a glorified reset button like Whis. It basically destroys any reason we have to care about what's going on and totally undermines any serious threat the villain brings to the story. On top of all that it's just a very boring way to solve a conflict.

The Dragonballs were used to reverse damage too but they weren't nearly as easy to exploit as Whis' ability, they had clear limitations and needed to be collected first.

[UpFromTheSkies]

Because it's lazy writing.

Stories are supposed to be about characters resolving conflicts and growing in the process. That's not going to happen when you give your heroes a glorified reset button like Whis. It basically destroys any reason we have to care about what's going on and totally undermines any serious threat the villain brings to the story. On top of all that it's just a very boring way to solve a conflict.

The Dragonballs were used to reverse damage too but they weren't nearly as easy to exploit as Whis' ability, they had clear limitations and needed to be collected first.

It doesn't undermine anything. Whis has to be present when the event happens, he can only rewind a few minutes, and he can't use the ability over and over again. He might be able to undo one attack, but that's not going to save the day unless the villain is Golden Freeza who Goku and Vegeta could have defeated at anytime if they were being serious.