Dragon Ball Super Beerus ep 5 review: better than the original?

Dragon Ball Super Beerus episode 5 is almost entirely the battle between Super Saiyan God Goku and Beerus, and it's a better cut than the original Dragon Ball Super version from 2015. It's fun and it gives Super Saiyan God its respect, but I still prefer the Battle of Gods movie.

The ritual is complete, Goku is now Super Saiyan God, and this episode is titled, in translation, The God of Destruction and Son Goku. Every title so far has included the word god, starting with episode one, The God Who Destroys. I wonder if the upcoming Frieza and Universe 6 episodes are going to have their own theme. The revival of Frieza saga is supposed to begin with episode seven, and I look forward to seeing what they fix there, because that arc had many problems.

Dragon Ball Super Beerus Episode 5 Is Almost All Goku vs Beerus

There's one scene right at the beginning with King Kai freaking out and getting yelled at by the old Supreme Kai who appeared in the original Super. As much as I respect and miss that character's voice actor, and I do a lot, the scene isn't really needed. Thankfully it doesn't take much time before the episode goes back to Goku and Beerus.

Goku has a unique celestial glow, an effect around the lines of his body, that was not in the original version of Battle of Gods. While that's going on, Goku and Beerus fly even higher into the sky, not quite into space but away from the ship. Gohan looks on without being able to sense the energy, and Whis gives a very brief explanation of god ki.

From that point forward, the rest of the episode is Goku versus Beerus. There's a cut to Vegeta looking on and things like that, but there's nothing else that pulls away from the fight for long.

Touched-Up Visuals and Classic Sound Effects Bring the Fight Closer to Old Dragon Ball

To summarize what they did: they took the visuals from the old Dragon Ball Super and touched them up, adding more aura, more colors and more filters, and changing the contrast on some shots. They also added the classic Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball Z sound effects.

All this tells me what we've been saying for the past few weeks. If the original Dragon Ball Super anime was going to adapt the Beerus and Frieza stories from the movie versions, "this is probably how it should have gone." At least when it comes to this fight, visually and audibly, it fits more with what Dragon Ball used to be.

The sound effects made me very happy. I was so happy Dragon Ball Daima brought them back, and now we're seeing them in Super, because the old school iconic sound effects are one thing Super was missing for sure. They were always important, in my opinion.

Goku Adjusts to Divine Power and an Early Kamehameha Foreshadows His Later One

Goku goes in for an attack but realizes his power is far beyond what he's used to, so he has to get used to it. It reminded me of how, in Dragon Ball Daima, Goku had to get used to flying in his smaller kid body because he couldn't control it at first. Goku is surprised by the magnitude of the power, and he doesn't put as much into his attacks as he did before, because that's what divine energy does.

Goku fires a Kamehameha, which was in the original Dragon Ball Super, but I think it made more sense here. We see him use the Kamehameha again in the second half of this episode, whereas in the original Super, if I remember correctly, the next one didn't come until the following episode. Here the first Kamehameha works as foreshadowing for the later one, and I think that worked better in this cut.

Beerus Fights One Handed to Tournament of Power Music

Goku goes in for strikes, but Beerus palms them away in a very playful way. Here they play Tournament of Power music, much of what was used for Goku and Jiren, including that fast guitar. Beerus fires back with punches and back fists. When Beerus throws a left straight, Goku blocks it but feels Beerus's power and the heat coming off their bodies.

Beerus gets more aggressive while using only one hand, playing the same one hand behind the back game Frieza played against Goku back in Dragon Ball Z. The cockiness of these characters, always underestimating Goku. At one point Goku blocks a punch and connects with one to Beerus's cheek, the first time Beerus has been hit by Goku in this fight.

Beerus makes a big purple ball, which this version gives more visual effects, and throws it at Goku, who deflects it away to Beerus's surprise. Goku goes in physically and Beerus dodges and blocks. The visuals here are good, and in comparison to the 2015 version this one is a lot better. Goku later lands a shot to the cheek, then does a go behind, flicking Beerus's head and chopping him the way Beerus did to him on King Kai's planet. That was also in the original Super, not newly animated.

The Fire Aura, the Crushed Energy Ball and the Full Mount

While this is fun and not boring by any stretch of the imagination, I still prefer the movie version, and I think I always will. Some lines of dialogue were changed from the movie, and even the English dub slightly changed things that altered the context of some of Goku and Beerus's conversation. There are elements of this fight that I think Dragon Ball Super dropped as the series progressed, and I think they were really important character moments for Goku.

Goku gets the fire aura, "which I think is the coolest thing about Super Saiyan God, the fire aura." I think it looks awesome. Beerus takes the advantage, scores a knockdown and fires another purple blast. Goku takes the ball, scrunches it down and claps it between his hands. Even Beerus is impressed, and Goku is breathing hard because it took so much out of him.

Beerus gets behind Goku and bounces him around with ease, taunting him. As in the 2015 version, Beerus then does a legitimate Brazilian jiu-jitsu full mount on Goku on some rocks and pummels him with shot after shot. I remember this from the original Super, because a full mount was the first thing I thought of when I saw it back then. Then Beerus fires a big blast and knocks Goku around like a soccer ball, the way it plays in Sparking Zero.

The Stratosphere Fight Multiplies Beerus's Cosmic Orbs and Skips the Long Power Up

After the commercial break, the fight is no longer on the ground. It's almost intimated that Beerus kicked Goku up there, to the upper levels above Earth, right outside of space in the stratosphere. This is where the climax of the Battle of Gods film took place.

As in the original Dragon Ball Super, Beerus creates little purple cosmic balls that he dribbles like a soccer ball, and Goku destroys one of them. The trailers for Dragon Ball Super Beerus showed that he makes more of them in this version, and it looks like they took one and copy pasted it so that Beerus makes dozens and dozens. He fires them all at Goku, who does an incredible Kamehameha and blasts them all away.

Then Goku and Beerus both power up. In the original version there was that weird part where they powered up for what felt like forever, and I knew it would get cut. To this day I don't get why it existed. It was a waste of time. They were probably trying to conserve on the budget or something; I don't know exactly what went on, but it was bad. Here it's one big power up that doesn't take up half an episode. Then they clash fists and the fight goes back and forth, which is the highlight of the episode, with the Tournament of Power music and the Dragon Ball sound effects.

The Universe Shaking Line Is Missing, Which Could Upset Power Scalers

One thing not made clear in this version, and this is going to upset power scalers, is the whole idea that the universe was shaking. I didn't hear any mention of it in this episode. That doesn't mean they won't mention it in the next episode.

I'm not saying that feat should be disqualified. But understand that in the original Beerus story, the Battle of Gods movie that Toriyama worked on directly, it wasn't there either. It was only stated in the 2015 Dragon Ball Super anime, and that's important to remember.

The Double Punch, Green Energy, Headbutts and the Super Saiyan Cliffhanger

At one point they're about to do a fist bump, the way MMA fighters sometimes do between rounds when they aren't arch enemies, and Beerus cheap shots Goku. Then they do the double punch, which is cool. The double punch didn't originate with Dragon Ball; another series came up with it first.

New auras surround Beerus and Goku that weren't in the original, more details added on top of the old Dragon Ball Super footage. Beerus prepares to blast Goku in the stomach with green energy, a color we also glimpsed while he was making the orbs. I'm not sure what the green is supposed to represent. I thought it was a cool visual, even though it looked a little off compared to the red and purple we're used to.

Goku headbutts Beerus multiple times, which was brutal and something we haven't seen him do in a very long time; headbutting was an old kid Goku move. I was really hoping for some blood here, even a little from Goku's forehead, and it didn't come. That irritates me, because I thought this was the right opportunity to show blood.

They go back and forth, and Goku begins to slowly phase out of Super Saiyan God. His aura shifts from red to yellow and back to red, and Beerus notices something weird is going on. Goku attacks, Beerus blocks, and then Goku's hair fully returns to gold, leaving him a Super Saiyan in the stratosphere. Beerus notices the change, and that's the cliffhanger. The Battle of Gods arc is supposed to be six episodes, so the fight is probably ending in episode 6, and we may get our first look at Frieza.

Verdict: A Better Cut Than Dragon Ball Super, but the Movie Still Wins

I'm curious to see what they add and cut going forward. I think they can cut a lot, and I want to see if there are any reanimated sequences. In this episode I didn't notice any new animation, apart from some fixes and one part I think was new, though I have to check the original. Either way, this is a better cut than the Dragon Ball Super version, which felt long winded and took forever.

I know I sound like a broken record, but the movie version is everything this story gives me. I loved some of the stuff in this episode, like the full mount and some of the space material, and I had fun. Still, I don't feel this part of the story needed redoing. I'm very curious about Universe 6, and Resurrection F a little, but really Universe 6, to see what changes they make. Because the original movie exists and I can return to it anytime I want, I tend to go toward it more.

Overall, this episode was fine for what it was. Goku was doing better against Beerus, but Beerus is still too much for him, which is what we expected. At least they gave Super Saiyan God its respect, and I appreciated that. "It's a better cut than Super, but I still prefer the movie."