Dragon Ball Super Episode 10 Review

The last episode of Dragon Ball Super was an extremely slow burn that finally left us with a Super Saiyan God.  Episode 10 picks up the pace just a bit as Goku starts to come to terms with his new transformation.  The progression of the story is still probably slower than most people were expecting at this point, but it definitely serves a purpose.  At the beginning of this episode, Goku can barely control his body.  It seems like the power of a God is far beyond what Goku is used to when he takes a step to the next level.  His body seems to be moving too fast for him to be able to keep up and it is obvious that there is going to be a bit of a learning curve here.  In a very unexpected move, Beerus, without spelling it out, sort of coaxes the power out of Goku.  It's as if he is training him to be able to handle the power before he inevitably cranks things up.  I absolutely loved this approach to the battle.  This transformation is vastly different than any that have come before it.  Bulma even comments on this, mentioning the fact that Goku didn't exactly beef up this transformation, saying that he still looks relatively normal.  It's as if the creators are giving the audience time to acclimate to this new Goku as much as the Super Saiyan God is acclimating to his new powers.  It's a smart approach and a good way to pad this battle out for the remainder of the season.  Speaking of the remainder, an end to this season was hinted at with Goku suggesting that if he can defeat Lord Beerus then the God of Destruction should leave the Earth alone and go back to where he came from.

Almost the entirety of the cast are spectators this episode, but that doesn't mean that they don't have some good moments.  Vegeta, in particular, has a few standout moments this episode without doing much of anything.  When Bulma and company race to a spaceship as to get a better view of the action, Vegeta just stands still looking on.  The moment is pretty powerful.  I don't think that Vegeta is upset that Goku got the power of a God transferred to him.  As Goku finally nails a hit on Beerus this episode Vegeta actually cracks a smile.  It was a wonderful Vegeta moment and something I think I will always remember from here on out.  It apparently takes an act of God to make that Saiyan smile.  

This episode drops a lot of the humor that Dragon Ball Super has presented thus far but doesn't get rid of it completely.  There are two throwaway scenes this episode, one that involves King Kai and the other involving Pilaf and his crew of knuckleheads, that seem to try to inject at least a bit of humor into this mostly serious leg of the saga.  The King Kai scene finds the unfortunate Kai getting chewed out by the elder Supreme Kai for not stopping this entire battle before it began.  The Pilaf bits just showcase his little gang searching for the Dragon Balls yet again.  I was a little put off by the Pilaf scene because I could have sworn that he saw Shenron leave and therefore the Dragon Balls getting scattered across the globe again, but hey, maybe he has extremely bad vision.  Either way, his and King Kai's scenes added absolutely nothing to the tale overall and could have been excluded.  The more I see of Pilaf the more I hate him.  I really hope that by the end of this series he serves some sort of purpose.  At this point in time, his only purpose is to take up screen time.  

Dragon Ball has always been about the fighting and it seems that Super is finally shaping up to deliver on that end.  Now that I've seen Goku go through a crash course in the use of God mode, I am watering at the mouth for a real fight.  Beerus played with Goku this entire episode so I am really ready to see Goku retaliate on a scale that actually inflicts pain on the God of Destruction.  Goku did manage to get revenge on Beerus for the forehead flick he received at the hands of the deity near the beginning of this series.  It was another moment that made me smile.  It seems like there were quite a few of those this episode.  This was probably my favorite episode since Goku went Super Saiyan 3 during episode five.  Now that the preliminary tests of strength are done the real battle of the gods can begin.  Goku teases Beerus, as well as the audience, at the very end of the episode by saying that it's going to be a whole lot of fun when he goes all out.  It's a pretty safe bet that he isn't lying to us.

The Final Score - 4/5 Dragon Balls