I know we’re far from the ending of this arc, but I’d still kind of hoped that this fight could have turned out a little differently. As much as I’ve enjoyed the build and development into this fight; now it’s actually happening I’m finding it falling a little flat for me personally.
Basically, the entirety of this chapter covers the fight between Goku and the increasingly overpowered Granolah. Which I guess is a statement that gives away the specifics of my issues somewhat. I guess, in the buildup to this faceoff, I thought there’d be some kind of loophole to how how strong Granolah had become.
Like, he wished to be the strongest in the universe, but Beerus’s planet was technically outside of the given universe the Cerealian Dragon Ball has covered in Granolah’s Wish. Or that he has become the strongest by a small amount and the training Goku and Vegeta had done in the time since the wish has put them back on more even terms with him.
That doesn’t seem to be the case though, as the resolution of this chapter seems to imply that Granolah is currently the strongest, and by a fair bit as well. I suppose, my issues with this outcome of events really come from two different places.
First off; the continuing undermining of Ultra Instinct. When this form/technique was introduced, it seemed like it was the pinicle of martial arts realised. The ability for one’s own body to avoid any incoming attack perfectly and counterattack in turn.
Given, the first chapters in this arc have established that Goku is on the bottom of a whole new ladder when it comes to learning and better utilising the new angel form. But the more Goku seems to use this form, the less impact it seems to be making. I mean, I get it, the story wouldn’t be interesting if Goku just destroyed everyone the second his hair turned silver. But seeing as how Granolah just bodies Goku even after going UI makes the form just seem so much less special than it was when we first saw it.
The other annoyance that couples up with this one is exactly just how strong Granolah has become. Here’s the thing: when we first got the wish of Granolah wanting to be the strongest in the universe, I didn’t have an issue with it. He sacrificed hundreds of years of his own life to gain power to take revenge against Freeza. It seemed like a steep cost, but the more this story unfolds, the more I feel like it wasn’t enough of a cost.
Three years might not seem like a lot of time left at all, but in terms of this story and what we already know about the future timeline in Dragon Ball’s story: it’s actually way, way more time than we’ll ever need for this arc to wrap up and for us to move onto whatever comes next. There being a condition for Granolah’s massive increase in power is a great idea, only right now, the condition doesn’t seem anywhere near pressing enough.
The reduced lifespan doesn’t feel like it’s actually an issue in terms of Granolah’s goals. Had he only had a month left to live, then there would have been this element of desperation to get his revenge before his time is up. But as things stand it just feels like Granolah has become absurdly strong with no real consequence. At least not one that is going to impact this story in any way.
Plus, there’s how he god the power. The idea that literally anyone could have made this wish at any point in the story of Dragon Ball before this point makes it feel like it was too easily gained, especially considering it was made on the least powerful set of Dragon Balls we’ve ever seen in the franchise till now.
And through these weak Dragon Balls Granolah is able to use what appears to be Destruction Energy, Moro’s planetary energy manipulation, the Kaioshin’s Instant Movement and now some ability to split himself in two and still be stronger than Goku at even half power. I mean, that dragon really went above and beyond when he asked to be the strongest.
*sigh*, I’ve been annoyed a Dragon Ball Super for these kinds of things in the past and they’ve ended up explaining things away in a way that makes me realise my complaints were a little premature. That very well might be the case here. Seeing Goku combine Ultra Instinct with his other forms was cool, but the idea that he ultimately never stood a chance in this fight irks me. Maybe because it’s such a predictable outcome.
Granolah coming out on top of this fight is the most wrote outcome there could have been, exactly like the first fight with Moro. and Jiren before that and Zamasu before that. We’ve still got Vegeta’s turn next, but I really don’t see how this could come out with a different result when it comes to a pure fight.
I don’t know. This chapter just kind of annoyed me. Even the ending with the setup for Vegeta’s turn seemed a little off.
In the previous two posts I’ve made about the Super Manga, I’ve spoken about Vegeta’s training in destruction energy from Beerus and how he needs to let go of all his regrets and hesitation. How he needs to think of nothing else but destruction itself. Given his attitude towards the Namekians in the previous story arc and how this arc directly deals with the horrible acts the Saiyans perpetrated in their history, you’d have thought this inner conflict would have been Vegeta’s big arc throughout this story.
But given the relish with which he seems willing to finish off the entire Cerealian race, he seems to have made that transition from the road to personal redemption to “there is only destruction” startlingly quickly. I had hoped there would have been a little more turmoil within him over this transition… Maybe there is, maybe Vegeta is just putting on a front. Y’know, as is one of his defining character traits.
I guess that ending was just the cherry shaped lemon that topped this sour cake for me.
On the bright side, this was a cool looking chapter. The fight between Goku and Granolah looked super cool and Toyotario continues to do a great job of representing the difference in how fights play out when Ultra Instinct is in play. This is probably just a bump in the road and we’ll get into something a bit meater next time. For Vegeta and hopefully for Granolah.
There has to be some kind of drawback to this power that we’re just no seeing yet.
A Richard Wood Text Adventure 