Dragon Ball Super Episode 36
“A prince like me was saved thanks to the rules?” Dragon Ball Super’s current arc is able to have a lot of fun with this by presenting an alternate universe full of new takes on familiar characters, but it also does an exceptional job at making these fights feel distinct. Each of these battles focuses on a different sort of aspect, more or less, with Vegeta’s battle with Magetta being one of the better executions of how to keep these fights feeling fresh. Things kick off to an interesting start as the intense heat that Magetta generates begins to deplete the oxygen within the fighting arena, due to the freshly installed barrier. It’s a little surprising that Goku of all people picks up on this tactic before Vegeta does, but let’s give the Saiyan Prince the benefit of the doubt and chalk this up to his brain being overheated. This new rule leads to Beerus and Champa getting lost in legislature for a hot second. Even though Champa has this barrier installed explicitly to aid Magetta in battle, he’s still quick to make sure that it’s “street legal” and not voiding any of the tournament’s restrictions. Beerus has plenty of resentment towards Champa and his strategy to get ahead in the tournament, but there’s nothing that he can do about it. Thankfully, Vegeta’s not going to let a new perimeter and an increase in temperature cause him to tap out. On that note, this is definitely one of the smarter battles from the tournament, where there’s a brilliant strategy component to both Vegeta and Magetta’s tactics. Magetta’s plan to turn his lava into carbon and then use it as a weapon isn’t just clever, it’s cool as hell. There’s also a heavy psychological aspect to this fight too, with Vegeta’s victory being a result of him essentially bullying Magetta into submission. Even though the guy is a robot, Vegeta is capable of getting in the machine’s head, driving him crazy, and disrupting his composure for long enough to strike. It’s also a lot of fun to see Vegeta get consistently surprised throughout this fight, yet still always rolling with the punches. There are a number of moments in this episode where Vegeta nearly sees disqualification and they’re all thrilling set pieces. Each time Magetta’s efforts push Vegeta to the limit it really does feel like he might lose. Vegeta is just as surprised as the audience is for this one and it’s a detail that makes this battle much more exciting in the process. Vegeta’s solution to not being knocked out of bounds also makes for a great twist that doesn’t feel manipulative. On top of the great fight that goes down here, Goku and Vegeta reiterate that they continue to fight at a fraction of their potential because they want Universe 6’s Hit to know as little as possible about their fighting styles. It might add a little extra stress to these fights, but it again reflects an intelligent battle strategy and as Goku says, it’d be boring otherwise. “Vegeta’s Great Blast of Fury!” is anything but boring and continues the strong trend that Dragon Ball Super has been on lately. Next episode shows off what a Saiyan from Universe 6 fights like, so if you thought Vegeta versus a Metal Man was cool, get ready for something special. Read the full Den of Geek NYCC Special Edition Magazine right here!
