The Universe Survival Saga takes up the second half of Dragon Ball Super, pitting the Universe 7 crew against a ton of new rivals.
Highlights
- Dragon Ball Super’s Universe Survival Saga brought a massive improvement in animation quality and storytelling, making the series feel vast and significant.
- The lengthy Universe Survival Saga introduced a high-stakes tournament, with Goku assembling a team to compete in a battle for survival and wishes.
- The climax of the Tournament of Power showcased intense battles, nostalgic moments, and a satisfying finish that pleased fans with its storytelling.
Manga Debut | Chapter 27, “Life, Training and More” |
Anime Debut | Dragon Ball Super Episode 77, “Let’s Do It, Grand Zeno! The Universes’ Best Tournament!!” |
While Dragon Ball Super had some struggles with the quality of animation and lackluster storytelling in its first half, it sure made up for it in the Universe Survival Saga. Not only was the animation crisper, with darker outlines and detailed backgrounds, but the introduction to a wide array of different universes made everything up until that point feel small and insignificant. Manga chapters 27 to 42 and Episodes 77 to 131 tell fans of the franchise a wonderful story of strong bonds, deep roots, and plenty of nostalgia to guide old and new fans alike down a tournament of true power.
Beginning in February 2017 with Episode 77, titled, “Let’s Do It, Zen’o-sama! The Greatest Martial Arts Tournament in the Universe!!“, the arc would reach its conclusion over one year later, in March 2018, with Episode 131, titled, “The Miraculous Conclusion! Farewell, Goku! Until We Meet Again!“. Ranking as the longest arc of all Dragon Ball Super with 55 episodes, more than the previous three arcs combined, the Universe Survival Saga brought all the action and plenty of emotional moments.
Related
Dragon Ball Super’s Next Arc Promises To Be A Gamechanger
With the Super Hero arc finally wrapping up and the Black Frieza arc being hinted as the next step, let’s see how it can be the best one so far!
The Universe Survival Saga: Prelude
Fighting tournaments have been synonymous with the Dragon Ball franchise since 1989, starting with the first World Martial Arts Tournament that came five years before the 20th edition. Dragon Ball Super‘s final arc begins with Goku’s realization that he has become rusty due to inactivity. During a sparring session with Whis, Beerus points this out, berating the Saiyan for allowing himself to reach such a weakened state. Goku’s plan to bring forth a new World Tournament with the help of Zeno draws the ire of Beerus, who attempts to destroy Goku, only to be tricked when Goku reaches for a remote control that transports him directly to Zeno’s location.
Convincing the Grand Master Zeno to allow a tournament to happen, the Zeno Exhibition is created; pitting Universe 7’s best fighters up against Universe 9. Each team is allowed three fighters in three individual one-on-one battles, with the winner being decided in a best-of-three format. Naturally, Goku leads his team of three, bringing with him his son, Gohan, and Buu. The trio agree to take on the Trio of Danger — three wolf-like creatures named Bergamo, Basil, and Lavender. The match-ups included Buu opening against Basil with a victory, Gohan fighting Lavender to a draw, despite losing his vision mid-fight, and Goku closing against Bergamo, the leader of the group, with another win.
Due to the mini-tournament being more of a showcase, the winner didn’t receive a prize. However, both Universes were greeted with two special announcements: The Tournament of Power, and Toppo’s declaration to destroy Goku, who he deemed to be evil. The ironic twist to this sentiment is that Goku, a Saiyan, comes from a race of warriors who were indeed evil during their time, but Goku is pure-hearted and kind, the polar opposite of his race. With the Tournament of Power set, Goku must assemble a team of ten fighters in order to take on the contending universes.
The Universe Survival Saga: Gathering
While the stakes of each losing planet being erased from existence, Goku opts not to let anyone know, instead insisting that everyone who participates will receive monetary gain. The decision is made to only include members of adequate strength to the level of Goku, which means the fighters will be recruited from Earth, excluding all other 27 planets in their universe. While the episodes leading up to the team’s construction come off as comical, there are some excellent nodes of nostalgia planted. Goku recruits Vegeta and his son, Gohan, as the three Saiyans on the team. Krillin, Tien, and Master Roshi serve as the three humans, while Piccolo, and Android 17 and 18 shape up the non-Earth members.
Related
Dragon Ball Super: How Strong is Zeno?
Zeno may be the king of the multiverse, but how strong is he compared to everyone else?
Originally, Buu was slotted as the tenth and final member, and got into tremendous shape no less, but his inability to wake up after falling into a slumber led to his disqualification from contending. With Goku’s hands tied, he had few options left. Yamcha offered his help, which was hilariously turned down. Instead, Goku turned to the one individual thought to never be trusted; Frieza. After a debate between the two bitter enemies, Frieza agrees to join Goku’s team, under the stipulation that his revival from Hell will only last for 24 hours, enough to participate in the Tournament of Power. Goku concludes their conversation with a warning that if Frieza should attempt anything nefarious, he and Vegeta will best him.
Though the remainder of Universe 7’s team remains apprehensive of the addition of Frieza, including Vegeta giving him the nastiest side eye in Dragon Ball history, the team is transported to the Tournament of Power. Eight teams in total will embrace the battlefield, and a universe is considered defeated once all members of their party have been knocked off the stage. Once a team is eliminated, the universe is wiped from existence, and the winner earns one wish from the Super Dragon Balls at the conclusion of the tournament.
Tournament of Power Saga
With a time limit of 100 takks, or 48 minutes on Earth, the eight universes spread out and prepare for battle with only a few rules: No weapons, no flight (unless the fighter has wings), and no killing. Gohan serves as the leader of Universe 7, but in a bizarre twist, both Vegeta and Frieza are in agreement that the plan to stick together is the wrong approach. As both head out in different directions to seek out fights, Universe 7 splits up into several smaller groups. Master Roshi makes his plans known that he only plans to fight female opponents, Gohan teams with Piccolo, the Androids and Gohan unite, and Goku stares down Toppo in an anticipated collision of powerful warriors.
Related
Dragon Ball Super: Angels, Explained
Angels are some of Dragon Ball’s strongest characters, and it’s not even close.
Unfortunately, Krillin is the first to face elimination after letting his guard down, which he is berated for by both Android 18 and Beerus. Plenty of battles continue to roll out, with Vegeta going head-to-head with Universe 2’s Brianne, Goku fending off against both Kale and Caulifla, and the team of Gohan and Piccolo squaring off against two Namekians from Universe 6. It becomes clear that the animation quality takes a monumental step-up, as the battles look more intense with shading and darker lines, giving a more complete look to each character. Backed by a beautiful soundtrack composed by Norihito Sumitomo, the grand stage of each fight feels more important than anything witnessed in the first half of Dragon Ball Super.
Reaching the midway point of the fight, the audience is given one of the best examples of nostalgia, with Frieza cornering an exhausted Goku. Frieza shares some insight with Goku that they are in a blind spot, hidden from anyone seeing any action between the two. A sinister grin reveals Frieza’s intentions, as he points his finger towards Goku with a ki blast charged up. Fortunately, for the main protagonist of Dragon Ball Super, the blast was a transfer of ki, lending Goku some energy to re-gain his footing. This is a wonderful throwback to Goku giving Frieza some of his ki on Namek, offering him one last chance to turn things around.
Tournament of Power Saga: Climax
With the climax quickly approaching, Dragon Ball Super wastes no time pulling at the heart strings of the audience. Goku breaks out his Ultra Instinct to counter Kale’s new berserker form, Vegeta uses his sacrificial explosion move on Toppo, surviving this time due to his increased strength, and a new final boss in Jiren sets the stage for the ultimate showdown. The remaining members of Universe 7 — Goku, Android 17, and Frieza — are the show’s final hope against Jiren, bringing forth a plan to unite three characters that once went to war with one another and now are side-by-side, doing everything in their power to survive.
As Android 17 is knocked back, Goku and Frieza prepare for one final attack, launching themselves towards Jiren and using team strategy to strengthen up a final team, and knocking Jiren off the stage, along with themselves. As all three fighters are transported back to their respective benches, only Android 17 remains on the battlefield, thus declaring Universe 7 as the winner of the Tournament of Power. As the final losing universe is wiped out of existence, the MVP of the fight — Android 17 — is rewarded with the wish from the Super Dragon Balls. Android 17 wishes back all the universes that were lost in the Tournament of Power, and the audience learns that Zeno would have eviscerated the user of the wish if they had chosen a more selfish route.
As every fighter returns, future narratives are built with Goku displaying empathy towards Jiren and hope for a future clash between the two. Vegeta wishes for Cabba and the Saiyans of Universe 6 to continue pushing past their limits, knowing they’ll one day meet again, and the rest of Universe 7 head back to their lives on Earth to celebrate another victory. As Limit Break x Survivor continues to play in the minds of many Dragon Ball Super fans, the reaction to the Universe Survival Saga is a positive one, as the proper blend of nostalgic moments and proper storytelling led to a beautiful and satisfying finish. One that many hope will be followed up by the next few arcs with the same love and care.
Dragon Ball can be streamed on Crunchyroll.
More
Dragon Ball Super: Ranking Every God Of Destruction From Weakest To Most Powerful
In Dragon Ball Super, how does each God of Destruction rank in terms of power?
Dragon Ball Super
Release Date
July 5, 2015
Studio
Toei Animation
Based On
Manga
Creator
Akira Toriyama
Number of Episodes
131
Streaming Service(s)
Crunchyroll
, Funimation
Fuente: successacademy.edu.vn
Categorías: Anime
