Dragon Ball Super: Part 5 (Box Set Review)
By: RogueSymbiote
Spoilers Ahead!
Summary
Goku joins Beerus and Whis as they travel to universe 10 to investigate the energy similarities between Goku Black and the Supreme Kai Gowasu's apprentice, Zamasu. Goku easily defeats Zamasu in a sparring match. Beerus and Whis sense the evil intent from Zamasu and watch from a distance until their suspicions are confirmed. After Zamasu assassinates Gowasu, Whis turns back time to save the Supreme Kai. Beerus destroys Zamasu and believes he has prevented Trunks' dystopian future.
Trunks returns to his own timeline with Goku, Vegeta and Bulma to discover that Beerus' actions have changed nothing. Black reveals Super Saiyan Rosé and devastates Goku, Vegeta and Trunks. Before the Z-Fighters are destroyed, Zamasu reveals himself and explains his desire to destroy all mortals. Black explains how he acquired Goku's body. Trunks' rage explodes into a new form and faces off against Black to give Goku, Vegeta and Bulma enough time to escape in the time machine once again.
Master Roshi trains Goku on how to perform evil containment wave while Vegeta trains in the hyperbolic time chamber. The Z-Fighters return to Trunk's timeline and face off against Black and Zamasu once again. After a fierce battle, Black and Zamasu fuse using the potara earrings. Vegeta and Trunks perform a father-son galick gun, but the fused Zamasu still remains. The box set concludes as Goku unleashes a devastating kamehameha.
Review
Dragon Ball Super: Part 5 has a lot of good and bad. The sci-fi elements and play with time travel are done very well. The Future Trunks storyline has always been a fan favorite so it was fun to learn what became of that timeline. The character development in these episodes is fantastic. Vegeta and Trunks' relationship deepens and culminates in an emotionally powerful father-son galick gun. These episodes incorporate exciting new animation styles and techniques that add much needed variety to battles. The animation itself however is inconsistent at times in terms of quality.
The high repetition of going to and from the alternate timeline gets old very quickly. Rather than traveling and fighting through adversity, the heroes just run away multiple times. I don't know what happened during this arc, but everyone is a moron. Bulma, who is a tech genius, doesn't know how to work the camera on a phone and they forget the senzu beans and the evil containment wave seal. I'm all for Goku playing the fool, but this was overkill.
Overall, Part 5 is a lot of fun. With new animation battle styles, exhilerating fights, and solid character development, there's a lot to enjoy. I would rate this much higher if it weren't for the repeated use of time travel to escape from Black and Zamasu.
Box Set Review
Dragon Ball Super: Part 4 features episodes 53-65 on two Blu-ray discs. The semi metallic box art of Goku Black is a great addition to the box set collection. The episodes can be enjoyed in both English and Japanese. Extras include textless songs, trailers and a Coffee Break with Mat and Trunks.
Note: Funimation provided us a review copy in exchange for an honest review
