Man, oh man. I’ll tell you what, I was coming into this chapter fully expecting to be underwhelmed by it. As much as I’ve enjoyed reading this arc, I’ve felt it never quite wanted to overstep its bounds and do anything really new with the series. But after reading this chapter, I was super impressed with the direction this battle went in, and also with Vegeta’s much hyped new power, that could have easily been a disappointment. Although, I get the impression I’m the exception in feeling this way.
Chapter 61 starts with a bang as the very first panel shows Vegeta punching Moro right in the gut. A move that apparently does little to no damage, in spite of Vegeta’s significant power-up that came from his spirit training on Yardrat. Despite this, Vegeta keeps taking Moro’s counter hits and coming at him over and over.
The onlookers seem to think Vegeta has lost his marbles, that is until Vegeta slowly starts to gain the upper hand. Goku clocks on to what’s going on before anyone else, presumably because he saw the technique used on Yardrat during his time there. Thus Vegeta proudly announces the new of his new technique: Forced Spirit Fission.
Almost akin to Moro’s own power in reverse, with each blow he lands, Vegeta forces the stolen energy Moro has devoured and sends it back to where it came, powering down the planet powered pe… goat little by little. Now, at first I was kind of bummed out by the revelation, it seemed like a move specifically designed to take down Moro. Hence something Vegeta would most likely never use again.
Like most of his signature moves then I guess.
However, once Goku explains the move, it seems far more useful. Not just that though, the move is absolutely perfect for Vegeta and how he goes about things. Y’see, the move forcibly separates being that were crated through techniques such as fusion and absorption.
Vegeta could even forcibly separate Piccolo from both Nail and Kami if he had a mind to. But what really sold me on it was Vegeta’s speech after this; he’s never liked fusion, it never sat right with him. He always felt it was a cheat that never really reflected one’s true power. He say’s it best: all he ever wanted was a fair fight. And his new move; it guarantees now for him every time. That being said, I still fully expect this technique to never play a major part in the series again.
His beatdown of Moro is so cathartic, both in terms of seeing Moro taking down a peg, but also seeing Vegeta on top, full swagger included. He’s been the doormat for so long, it’s feels so good to see him really come out on top for once. Not just that though, we get a speech from Piccolo stating how much Vegeta has grown as a person.
One that could potentially fall flat considering Vegeta’s change in nature is no new revelation. But it worked for me. Now he’s not only fighting to protect Earth, but fighting to atone for his sins on Namek. I’m not sure if he even realises it or not, but the energy he beat out of Moro went back to its source and revived all the Namekians who died from having their life energy drained by Moro.
Piccolo goes and gives Goku credit, which I suppose is true. A shonen hero’s strong desire to fight strong guys is always enough to turn the most evil villain into an ally.
As Vegeta is about to end Moro, the goatman asks if the Saiyan prince thinks he’ll avoid hell. At which point Vegeta flatly admits that he’s still a villain and is is inevitably bound for hell. I wonder about that though.
Before Moro can get smoked though, the final part of my prediction all those months ago begins to take form. Using his magic as a smokescreen, Moro blasts up to his ship. Blasting Shimorekka and consuming Seven-Three whole before Vegeta can stop him.
Thus Moro has undergone his final transformation to attain his most anime form yet. Apparently, he stored an entire backup of himself inside the android, just in case, restoring him to the peak of his strength, and also giving him access to Seven-Three absorption technique. So if he manages to grab a hold of Vegeta, even fusion won’t be enough to defeat him. Thus the chapter ends.
As a side note, I don’t like Moro’s new design that much. It’s made him more generic looking. I hope that whenever he makes it into FighterZ and games beyond they use his goat form.
Wow. This was a hell of a chapter. I loved all the stuff they’ve done with Vegeta this arc. He is, by a wide margin, the most interesting character in Dragon Ball. Even if they’re mostly repeating themselves when it comes to his redemption story over and over.
In time since writing this review, I’ve seen a lot of backlash online from the fan community. Mostly surrounding the fact that once again, Vegeta has been screwed out of the win, akin to what happened in Resurrection F. I can certainly understand the frustration at this turn of events, but I’ll be honest, I never expected Vegeta to get the win alone whatsoever. Maybe that’s why I’m more okay with what happened, because I saw it coming a mile off.
Let’s be real, Dragon Ball never, ever, has the hero show up and just pound the villain and defeat them with no extra little wrinkle at the end. There’s always one more twist to the tail, this is no different. Would I have liked Vegeta to finish Moro off? Yes. Do I think he’ll be the one to get the final blow after Meerus does whatever Meerus does? Probably not, it’ll be a team blast if not just Goku doing it alone.
On top of this, his new power will most likely never be a factor again. As cool as it potentially could be. That being said, I still enjoy it conceptually because it feels so perfectly tailored to Vegeta, his mentality and his approach to combat. Imagine if Goku had learned Forced Spirit Fission while he was on Yardrat. Both Cell and Majin Buu would have been toast they knew what was going on.
And now the stage is set for the final part of the arc to come into effect; where Meerus will make his triumphant return and sacrifice his very existence to give Goku and Vegeta the final opportunity they need to put this evil goat warlock out of his misery once and for all.
A Richard Wood Text Adventure 