Dragon Ball Super Episode 9 Review

Dragon Ball Super finally starts to live up to its name this episode as Goku transforms into his most powerful form yet, but it was an extremely slow burn.  The episode will fool you a bit with its pacing as it picks up from the last episode wasting no time with the summoning of Shenron only to slow down for the remainder of the show.  I personally didn't mind the slow pace because I know that from now until the end of this first arc that Goku and Beerus are about to fight for the fate of the Earth.  When I first heard that Toriyama and his team were stretching the Battle of the Gods movie across 14 episodes I figured that we were going to get a heavy dose of filler and I was right.  There are only five more episodes left in this tale and I'm hoping all of them focus on the throw-down between the God of Destruction and the Super Saiyan God that Goku becomes at the end of this episode.  Yes, the wait is over, Beerus finally comes face to face with the Super Saiyan God from his dream.

In the last episode of Dragon Ball Super Goku had a really clever idea to find the Super Saiyan God.  His idea was to ask the Eternal Dragon Shenron and that happens within the first few minutes of this episode.  It was nice seeing Shenron as you can't have a Dragon Ball series without him making an appearance, in my opinion.  Not only do we get to see Shenron but we get to see a different side of the Eternal Dragon that we've never seen before; fear.  Once Shenron finds out that Lord Beerus is around, he immediately starts sweating and fretting over showing the God of Destruction the proper respect.  Considering that Shenron is usually seen as the biggest power in the Dragon Ball universe, it was very entertaining to see him choke up in front of Beerus.  This turns the tables on what we are accustomed to seeing.  If Shenron is groveling before Beerus, then that confirms that Beerus is truly above and beyond anything we have ever seen in Dragon Ball before.  Goku is certainly going to have to power up to “super” levels if he is going to have a chance against Beerus.  

While Shenron isn't able to bring the Super Saiyan God before the Z fighters, he is able to explain how they can create one.  He tells them that they need five Saiyans of pure heart to transfer their energy into another Saiyan that is capable of accepting the power.  I'll give you one guess as to who they choose and I'll tell you that the choice probably has Vegeta cursing under his breath. Speaking of Vegeta, there was a wonderful exchange between the team as they brought up the question of whether or not Vegeta really is pure enough for this ritual.  It's a valid point and it seemed natural that this would come up.  Now if you, like me, have counted the number of Saiyans aboard Bulma's cruise ship you will find that they are one Saiyan short.  What are the Z fighters to do?  They can't just create another Saiyan, can they?  They actually can, in a way.  Videl takes center stage at this moment in the show and reveals that she is pregnant!  This shouldn't be a shocker to longtime fans of the series who have seen the final episode of DBZ or any of Dragon Ball GT.  The baby is Pan and she is here to help her family even though she hasn't been born yet.  It was very heartwarming getting to see Gohan freak out over being a dad.  The same can be said of Mr. Satan and Goku as well when it dawns on them that they will both be grandfathers.  Super has really driven home the fact that this group is a family and I hope that doesn't change.  Of course, Lord Beerus isn't excited about this revelation and only grows more impatient as the family shares their excitement with one another.  

After Beerus gets things back on track we are given a very lengthy sequence where Goku finally gets his godlike transformation.  This transformation of Goku's is very different than everything that has come before.  Instead of bulking up with more muscles and more hair, Goku actually seems to look a bit smaller and a lot younger.  His hair is a shade of red and he looks very similar to his base form.  I enjoyed this style of change as it wasn't achieved by him screaming at the top of his lungs until he was enveloped in lighting and growing beefy muscles.  Instead, we got to see a heartwarming gathering of family members as they powered Goku up into his God form.  Now that Goku has transformed it's time for the showdown that we have all been waiting for.  I can't wait to see what's in store for us over the next five episodes of Dragon Ball Super.  Bring on the fight! 



The Final Score - 4/5 Dragon Balls