Dragon Ball Super Vol. 2 (Manga Review)
By: RogueSymbiote
The tournament between Universes 6 and 7 continue in Dragon Ball Super Volume 2! The ownership of universe 7 hangs in the balances as Goku faces off against Frost. Now that Frost has achieved his final form, Goku must defeat a familiar looking foe. Just as a reminder, this is a direct translation manga and as such with have different spelling for some characters. Let the insanity begin!
Story Arc
Goku and Frost both display amazing power in front of a captivated audience. Our beloved Saiyan gains the upper hand and appears to have solidified his victory. Frost has no intention of losing however and pushes forward in an all-out assault. To the shock of everyone, Goku knocked unconscious and forced out of bounds. Frost is proclaimed and victor and begins his next match against Piccolo. Goku blatently tells the Namekian that he has no chance at defeating this Frieza look-a-like.
Piccolo puts up a worthy effort, but is also bested by Frost. Just as the tournament judge announces Frost as the winner, Jaco objects to the decision and accuses Frost of cheating. The rules of the tournament clearly state that no weapons or poisons are allowed. The judge inspects Frost, discovers a needle with an illegal substance and is disqualifies the dishonest combatant. Vegeta has other plans however. He tells the judge to allow him to face Frost as he is the next fighter in line for universe 7. After announcing that both Goku and Piccolo are eligible to fight once more, Beerus changes the order of his fighters to allow Vegeta to face Frost. The Saiyan Prince demolishes his opponent with the upmost brutality and advances.Vegeta's next opponent is Otta Megetta, a metal man who weighs nearly 1,000 tons. This new challenger seems immovable and invulnerable to all attacks. Vegeta uses his brain and begins to destroy the arena around Otta. In utter frustration, Vegeta begins to verbally abuse the metal man, which causes his foe to mentally break and topple over. The next battle takes place between two Saiyans. Vegeta faces off against Cabbe. Realizing that the young Saiyan is unable to become a Super Saiyan, Vegeta pushes Cabbe to the breaking point. Upon hearing the threats against his home world, Cabbe unlocks his Super Saiyan power. Pleased with his work, Vegeta defeats Cabbe and then shows him Super Saiyan Blue in order to show the true limits of the Saiyan race.
Hit is the final warrior for universe 6 and shockingly defeats Vegeta even in his Super Saiyan Blue form. Goku questions Vegeta on Hit's abilities, but the Saiyan Prince can offer no advice. It is soon revealed that Hit uses a time-skipping technique that allows him to shift about 0.1 seconds in time. The small increment of time is just enough to throw off his enemies and attack with no opposition. Goku begins to guess Hit's moves and soon begins to land punches on the mysterious being. Hit and Goku display limitless power upon one another which ultimately ends in Goku stepping out of bounds so he can see Monaka's power. Goku is unaware that Beerus has lied about Monaka's power in order to push his Saiyan proteges to new heights. Hit returns the kindness of Goku and takes a dive against the weak Monaka. The tournament has ended and Beerus is awarded the super dragon balls. Before they can be used however, Zeno Sama, the Lord of Everything, makes his presence known and is unhappy with Beerus and Champa for hosting an illegal tournament. Zeno Sama is intrigued by the concept however and announces that there will be another tournament with all 12 universes.Beerus uses his wish to restore the human planet of universe 6 so that Champa can enjoy the delicacies that he craved. After returning to Earth, Trunks from the future/alternate timeline arrives in the time machine to explain how a monster who resembles Goku aims to destroy humanity in his world. Trunks has come to this time and world in hopes of help in defeating Goku Black. Beerus is furious as time travel is a serious crime. He quickly changes his mind however when he discovers the version of himself from the alternate universe may have been destroyed as a result of this new foe. Goku and Vegeta prepare to face a powerful new enemy and restore peace to a troubled world.
Volume 2 Review
Dragon Ball Super Volume 2 is full of interesting, surprising and powerful moments. The art is astonishing as always. The panel art flows effortlessly. The action sequences are thrilling. It's hard to not read the entire volume in one sitting as it is so captivating. The humor continues to land. Every characters' emotions are displayed perfectly. My absolute favorite aspect of this volume is the Vegeta's transition into mentor with Cabbe. While everyone just assumes Vegeta has gone evil once again, he is in fact pushing a fellow Saiyan to break through their limits. The Saiyan Prince appears to be empowered and hopeful after learning that a planet of his people still exists in the multiverse.Introducing so many new characters can be difficult, but every single one of them is flushed out perfectly. The seemless incorporation of this new ensamble proves that Akira Toriyama remains connected to the roots of the franchise, while knowing how to expand and grow. The battles within the tournament were so different from one another and kept the reader guessing what would happen next. Hit and Cabbe are two characters that I hope to see much more of in the future. The storyline is familiar and new all at the same time. I could see how some might think the future Trunks storyline is just another rehash of what we've seen before, but screw them! We all wanted more future Trunks story, don't even lie.
This is normally where I write about what fell short... but I can honestly say that nothing really comes to mind. When the only complaint I have is that it's a little hard to tell between Super Saiyan and Super Saiyan Blue, you know it's a solid product. I enjoyed the risks taken with character choices and the return of fan favorites. This volume does an astounding job at setting up the future of the series and I for one can't wait to read more. If you had any complaints about this volume, let me know what I may be overlooking. If you just want to chat about DBS, I'd be happy to do that as well. If you're interested in reading Dragon Ball Super Volume 2, click right here to visit Viz Media's online shop.We received a free copy of this product in return for an honest review
