English Dub Review: Dragon Ball Super “You’re Our Tenth Warrior! Goku Approaches Frieza!”

Desperation makes Goku turn to old enemies for help!

Overview (Spoilers Below)

Universe 7 needs a final member to enter the Tournament of Power with, and Goku thinks that Frieza is a good fit, much to the protest of everyone else. Vegeta, especially, is not happy about it, but Goku manages to convince him with the help of Whis. Once he has the group’s approval, Goku teleports to the afterlife to meet with King Yemma. After some convincing, Yemma allows Goku to enact his plan to bring back Frieza for 24 hours so that he can fight in the tournament.

Meanwhile, in another universe, Kale and Caulifla train to try and become Super Saiyans. Kale isn’t confident in herself, but Caulifla demonstrates that she can make it happen by focusing her energies into her back. It doesn’t look like Kale will be able to pull it off, but after hearing Caulifla and Cabba argue, she somehow taps into her latent Super Saiyan power and transforms. Amazingly, however, her Super Saiyan makes her resemble Broly, the Ultimate Super Saiyan, which indicates that she has attained enormous power. Kale, going berserk, unleashes that power on Cabba and Kaulifla, and the three of them fight it out with their newfound powers. Eventually, Kale calms down and reverts back to normal.

Back in Universe 7, Goku goes to HELL to meet with Frieza, who is being punished by hanging from a tree in a cocoon in a beautiful field of flowers. He proposes his offer to Frieza, who gladly accepts the opportunity to get out of HELL for a while, but under the condition that Goku fully resurrects Frieza with the dragon balls. To convince Goku, Frieza powers up into his own “Super” form, which grabs the Saiyan’s curiosity. After some negotiation, the two agree on an arrangement to bring Frieza back in exchange for a resurrection by the dragon balls. After their discussion, Goku goes to Baba the fortuneteller, ready to bring Frieza back.

Our Take:

The action continues as Dragon Ball Super cruises into another strong episode on its seemingly endless trek to the beginning of the Tournament of Power. Despite expectation, all this buildup is doing quite well for the story, as the team we’ve assembled is a pretty incredible combination of stories. The Universe 7 team now exists not just as a collection of characters but a representation of all their lives in the universe they love. Their eclectic gathering stands to be the setup for many great fights in the tournament to come. Even though none of the big action has happened yet, I feel as if the story has already come so far.

We get two major moments that are sure to turn heads. The first, being obvious, is the recruitment of Frieza into the roster of fighters for Universe 7. This is a confrontation long in the making and one that adds a strong element of internal conflict and drama to the team. Most notably, Vegeta is sure to be the major opposition to Frieza, which is a good setup for what’s to come. Goku has almost literally made a “Deal with the devil” here.

The second major moment was more of a surprise: the reveal that Kale is the Ultimate Super Saiyan of her universe. I absolutely did not see that coming and was surprised they even brought the idea of Broly back in this arc. The fight was pretty standard, but I was completely in awe at this new development. It’s the kind of thing that really rewards you for being a long-time fan of the show. Yeah, it’s just a cameo at the end of the day, but Dragon Ball Super is a show that exists for its fun and excitement, and I’m not gonna complain about getting more of that.

It’s not all great, though. There’s some damage to the lore of the “Super Saiyan” transformation enacted by Caulifla and pals. The issue is that the three of them are able to tap into their Super Saiyan power rather easily just by “Focusing on the tingle of power” in their back. That’s a bit too reductive for the power that is usually reserved for times of immense need. It’s a smaller issue since Caulifla and her universe had to go Super Saiyan at some point, but it does bother me and is likely to bother people who are deeply invested in the story. Overall, though, this is another good episode that is sure to be a real crowd-pleaser.