Goodbye, Universe 9.
Warning: The following review contains spoilers for the episode.
The Tournament of Power is underway and Goku is hard pressed to stay in the ring. Episode 98 kicked things up a notch, showcasing both Goku and Vegeta in a fight for their lives, while Frieza was able to revel in his own brutality. The brawl like nature of the tournament was still underplayed this week, but the truly dark ending quickly made me forget that as we’re reminded why everyone is fighting.
One thing that is stressed throughout the episode is the concept of endurance, something we rarely see in Dragon Ball. Often times our heroes go all out and either burn themselves out, or win the fight. The Tournament of Power offers a unique problem and seeing everyone dealing with it is proving quite interesting. Goku and Vegeta were hard pressed because they are forced to limit their power as much as possible in order to conserve energy. That’s not to say our heroes never struggled in the past, but seeing them control themselves, in their base forms no less, makes things more dramatic and exciting when Goku and Vegeta do finally unleash a burst of power. This concept of endurance is something that will only get better as time goes on, and I look forward to seeing how it’s dealt with when everyone is running low.
Frieza gets a brief moment to shine too. It’s a dark but brilliant few seconds. When Frieza was brought along, I feared they would tone him down for the tournament, but that is clearly not the case as he is toying with his victims, torturing them and nearly killing them to the point where they willingly jump off the arena. It’s great to show off his monstrous ways, not only to highlight how much better our heroes are, but to emphasize his malevolence and build up his inevitable turn on our allies.
While there were some excellent fights this week, it’s a little disappointing that Super still struggles with depicting the brawl-like nature of the Tournament of Power. It was better this week, with several people ganging up on Goku and then Vegeta, but it still comes off as a bit too convenient when you begin to consider the many dozens of other warriors who are also fighting. There should be stray energy blasts flying everywhere and fighters dipping in and out of fights, yet constantly we see people managing to pick individual fights without a single interruption. As the tournament goes on, it will naturally lose its brawl-like feel, but as it stands, it hasn’t even found it yet.
The last few minutes of Episode 98 hit home exactly what everyone is fighting for: survival. Universe 9 gets erased from existence. It’s a sobering reminder that Zen-Oh, for all his childish mannerisms, is an all- powerful being who is playing with trillions of lives during this tournament. The Angels and Grand Priest are also displayed Interestingly this week, with strange camera angles and moments depicting them in a sinister light, implying there is more going on behind the scenes than we know.
The Verdict
Episode 98 delivered on nearly all fronts. Goku and Vegeta were at the center of a great fight, showcasing not only their power, but their intelligence as well. Frieza’s brutality was skillfully displayed and the entire episode was capped off with a truly dark moment as Universe 9 was erased. Super is still struggling to make the Tournament of Power feel like an actual all-out brawl, but it got a little closer this week and delivered some truly killer action.
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