English Dub Review: Dragon Ball Super “Conquer the Terrifying Foes! Krillin’s Fighting Spirit Rebounds!”

How Krillin got his groove back.

Overview (Possible Spoilers Below)

As Krillin begins to slowly lose his cool during the events of the previous episode, Krillin’s wife & child arrive at Master Roshi’s place to search for him. It’s here where she learns from both Roshi and Fortuneteller Baba that Krillin and Goku have entered the “Forest of Terror,” which is a place where they have to face illusions of enemies that they had battled before. Among the group of illusions are classic villains from DBZ’s past, such as Frieza, Dabura, Majin Buu, etc. And each of them has a symbolic history tied with Krillin since many of them either heavily injured his ass or have actually killed Krillin at some point. Progressively, it becomes more clear that Roshi’s true intention for the Herb hunt was a therapeutic solution to help Krillin overcome his inner-demons of inadequacy in battle.

In the forest, Krillin is terrified by what he sees before him. and unlike Goku who’s always more willing to battle overwhelming odds due to his proverbial hard-on for combat, Krillin tries to get the point across to Goku that he’s nothing like him in terms of responding to dangerous situations and attempts to escape. But the trees block the entrance which leaves Goku and Krillin in a disadvantage. As the illusions actively pursue and attack them, Krillin finds himself surrounded by the illusions, but his attacks only make them stronger. After slicing one in half, he discovers that they are powered by his own energy.

In response to this, Krillin heeds Roshi’s training and calms himself down, which manages to weaken the illusions. As a final challenge, Baba summons an illusion of Super Shenron, which immediately ensnares Goku. After Krillin quickly arrives and frees him. The two of them use a combined Kamehameha blast destroying the towering illusion. Afterward, the illusions turn into the same rare herbs that Roshi sent them out to retrieve. As Goku and Krillin return to Roshi’s house with bags full of this oddly specific herb, Roshi admits that there isn’t really actually a secret technique, but Krillin, who’s regained his confidence, disagrees. The episode ends on a lighthearted note when Android 18 shaves Krillin’s head which further signifies’s Krillin’s decision of getting back into martial arts.

Our Take

Although it took a while to understand what was really going on, this two-part episode showed Krillin’s humanity on a more relatable level. And much like Gohan’s character growth over the course of DBZ, People forget that Krillin himself also had the most growth and development in the early years of the older DB series back when him & Goku were still kids as he was once a Shaolin Monk of the “Orin Temple” before Goku & Roshi came into his life. And given that he’s one of the strongest human’s on earth, It always seemed like he had hidden potential, but it also helps that Krillin now has loving & caring people in his life who never gave up on him.

Reportedly, This is not only the final filler episode, but it also marks the beginning of DB Super’s final chapter/storyline known as the “Universe Survival” Arc which is said to tie up loose ends regarding Grand Zeno’s plan to start a large-scale tournament with all 12 Universes involved. And with an upcoming new Animated movie that’s said to be coming later in December of 2018, it’s still a good year to be a Dragonball fan!