Dragon Ball Super: Part 2 (Review)
By: RogueSymbiote
The fate of the Earth hangs in the balance as the battle between Beerus and Goku rages on. Beerus' obsession with locating a Super Saiyan God has forced Goku to brand new limits. As Goku's friends and family look on, it seems as though their time left together is limited. What will be the outcome of this battle between gods?!... Well, I'm about to tell you so just keep reading...
Story Arc
As Goku continues to fight an uphill battle, he falls out of Super Saiyan God form, but continues to maintain the same level of strength. Beerus informs him that he no longer possesses the god form, but that the experience of this new transformation has dramatically increased his base level strength. Goku refuses to be told what his limits are, but in the end, is defeated by Beerus. The Z-Fighters beg Beerus to have mercy, but their words fall of humongous, deaf ears... or do they? Just as Beerus prepares his destructive blast to eliminate the Earth, he falls asleep and is escorted back to his home by Whis. On their journey back to the home of the gods, Whis suggests that Beerus pretended to fall asleep in order to spare the Earth while not appearing to go back on his word to do so if Goku lost.
There's a slight time jump and we learn that Whis has been visiting Bulma. By showing Whis all the delicious food that Earth has to offer, she hopes to gain favor with him and avoid any potential destruction incidents like this in the future. Vegeta learns about these visits and discovers that Whis is actually Beerus' teacher. The proud saiyan prince bends a knee and begs Whis to train him. Through some strange ways, Vegeta is able to convince the god to train him on Beerus' planet.Another time jump occurs and Pan is born. Goku learns that Vegeta has been training with Whis and begs Bulma to have Whis come back and train him as well. A very impatient Goku finally gets his wish and is brought by Whis to train alongside Vegeta. While the two strongest saiyans away, Frieza is wished back and restored by the Frieza Force. The evil overlord begins training and then makes his way to Earth for revenge on Goku. The remaining Z-Fighters on Earth try to hold off Frieza and his militia until Goku and Vegeta can return.Goku senses Gohan's strength and is able to instant transmission with Vegeta back to Earth just in time. Goku and Frieza square off for their epic rematch. Vegeta tires of their messing around and tells them both to fight at full strength. They power up and reveal their new forms of Golden Frieza and Super Saiyan God Super Saiyan, or Super Saiyan Blue as its referred now. The real battle commences and Goku is slightly overwhelmed by Frieza's strength. Both Goku and Vegeta however notice the flaw with their enemy's new form. Frieza is burning up too much energy and quickly begins to lose his ground. One of Frieza's henchmen, Sorbet, takes a cheap shot at Goku which takes him out of the fight. Just as Frieza is about to finish him off, Vegeta steps in to take his turn. The battle between former overlord and captive begins in Part 3!
Episode Arc Review
This arc has so much nostalgia weaved in each episode. The battles against Beerus and Frieza are extremely well animated and very different from one another. The character development is on point and shows that the voices of fans are indeed heard and valued. The voice acting is fantastic and is enhanced by the phenomenal score. Vegeta finally gets his chance to ascend in strength. Gohan, Piccolo and the other Z-Fighters even get their time to shine in the spotlight. I especially enjoyed Krillin and Master Roshi stepping up against the Frieza Force. These episodes serve as a stepping stone to the big things that are to come in this franchise.While there is a lot to love about these episodes, there are some weak points. The animation varies in quality throughout each episode. Some parts look unbelievable well done, while others look rushed. The filler episodes seem unimportant with no real weight for the series. The time jumps are unclear and leave you wondering where you are time wise in the series. My biggest issue however is that the final episode in Part 2 is just one episode before the finale for the entire arc. I love a good cliffhanger, but come on... Overall, I enjoyed this arc and can't wait to watch the next!
Box Set Review
The box set art is amazing. Golden Frieza has a fantastic design and is the perfect choice for the cover. The Blu-ray set includes episodes 14-26 in both English and Japanese. Extras include: textless opening and closing songs, trailers and a segment where Jason Douglas (Voice of Beerus), Ian Sinclair (Voice of Whis), and Jason Douglas' children watch Dragon Ball Super together. The video with Douglas and Sinclair watching Super is entertaining and funny. This set is perfect for any Dragon Ball fanatic and can be purchased from Funimation right HERE! The box set is currently on sale at the Funimation store so head there now before it's too late!
