English Dub Review: Dragon Ball Super “Goku vs. Kefla! Super Saiyan Blue Gets Defeated!?”

Don’t call it a comeback!

Overview (Spoilers Below)

Kefla has arrived onto the main stage of the Tournament of Power and she is absolutely wrecking Goku in his weakened state. Their power is so great that Vegeta can feel their strength rising even while he fights Top. Gohan and Piccolo, meanwhile, are still going toe-to-toe with their two namekian foes. Beerus, seeing Champa use the Potara earrings, wishes to use them himself to regain the advantage in the ring. This prompts other universes to throw down their earrings as well, but Kefla is able to knock out their fighters before they can use them.

Even using Super Saiyan Red, it doesn’t look like Goku can last against Kefla and her overwhelming strength. Unable to hold back any longer, Goku enters Super Saiyan Blue, which prompts Kefla to power up once again as well. The two go at it once more, and with Goku using his kaio-ken technique, he’s able to multiply his power further. With his enhanced speed, he’s finally able to land some powerful blows on Kefla, but she’s still not down. Kefla turns the tables once again and lands a powerful kick to Goku’s face that knocks him out cold. Goku rises once more and in his nearly defeated state is able to access the power of Ultra Instinct once again.

Our Take:

There’s a certain challenge that comes with having two incredibly powerful fighters go at it in an outright brawl. Unlike battles of lower power levels, which often get more into the depths of technique and strategy, when you have god tier fighters going at it there’s a certain complexity that gets lost in the fighting. After all, when people can punch mountains into rubble and shoot enormous energy beams, cleverness and technique don’t really matter too much anymore. This is the biggest weakness and, depending on how you look at it, the greatest strength of this episode. The same could potentially be said for the series as a whole as well. While the standoff between Kefla and Goku is filled with explosions and power-ups, there isn’t much more to it other than two warriors taking turns punching each other in the face. This isn’t unknown to the show, so maybe this works for most viewers, but I found that it dragged down my experience of the episode.

This battle between Kefla and Goku is separated by little tidbits of what seem to be more interesting battles with the rest of the Z warriors. I’m admittedly far more interested in what’s going on with the androids and with Gohan and Piccolo than Goku’s battle because one already has a good idea of how the fight will end. The rest is just extra flash to make their battle look better. I think the show would be better served if it divided it’s focus away from the Kefla/Goku battle and prolonged that fight over the course of the smaller battles taken place around the arena.

However, as long as this episode is dedicated to seeing Kefla and Goku slap the shit out of each other, it does do a good job of presenting their combat. The animation is fluid and Goku and Kefla have a solid banter that enhances their blows. Not to mention, the payoff to their battle, the rediscovery of Super Saiyan Ultra Instinct is quite satisfying and a good payoff to the battle.

I can’t say this is a perfect episode, but even for one that could have been better, there’s still a lot to enjoy. This isn’t going to turn off any viewers of the series or act as a black mark on an otherwise stellar arc, it just has a few setbacks that keep it from being amazing. Good is par for Dragon Ball Super, and that’s a tradition continued here.