Dragon Ball Super Beerus ep 3 review: tighter pacing, one dud

Dragon Ball Super Beerus episode 3, in which the god of destruction heads to Earth, has probably the best overall editing of the three episodes so far. The pacing was so so good for this episode. I do have some criticisms, though, and some things I would probably have done differently.

The three episode titles so far all start with the same word. I wonder if that's going to be a theme going forward. Remember how Daima had the red letters that were supposed to be some kind of code, but there was no code? I hope they're not doing that again.

Dragon Ball Super Beerus episode 3 switches between dark and lighthearted tones

This episode continues Beerus's search for the Super Saiyan God. After defeating Goku and realizing Goku isn't the Super Saiyan God, Beerus wants to go to Earth, where the rest of the Saiyans are. That includes Vegeta, the other surviving Saiyan, who might know something about the Super Saiyan God. Meanwhile on Earth, Vegeta's wife Bulma is having a birthday party, and Beerus is about to crash it.

Going in, I wondered how they would reshape the tone. Beerus is much scarier in this new enhanced edition of Dragon Ball Super, and the tone is darker. It still has humor, but not as much as the original Dragon Ball Super did. This part of the Battle of Gods story, which Yusuke Watanabe and Akira Toriyama wrote for the 2013 movie, was more lighthearted in its earlier versions. There was the bingo game with Vegeta, the Pilaf gang, Trunks with the pistol and other goofy moments. The 2015 Super version was a bit different, but still lighthearted.

I wondered whether they'd keep the darker tone here or go lighthearted for a while and then switch back. What they wound up doing is switching between the two.

The Bulma birthday party montage is what I wanted from this recut

The episode opens with Beerus arriving to ask Vegeta about the Super Saiyan God. We see a flashback to Vegeta as a kid and his father King Vegeta's dealings with Beerus, while Goku is scared of what could happen to the Earth. All of this happens on the Princess Bulma ship, where the birthday party is being held.

They brought back classic music from early Dragon Ball Super for a montage of Beerus and Whis meeting everybody at the party and eating. It took elements from several sections of the original Dragon Ball Super and made them into a montage that was fluid and quick and got the point across. This is what I wanted to see more of in this recut: montages that keep some material in but speed through it.

Why I think cutting the bingo game goes against the Toriyama vision pitch

Interestingly, we see Beerus eating takoyaki. In the original 2015 Dragon Ball Super anime, Vegeta made the takoyaki. Chef Vegeta was a really fun scene, and it has been cut from this version. In the Battle of Gods movie, that moment was the bingo game. Both are gone. No bingo, no Chef Vegeta.

On one hand, I understand they want a darker tone that makes Beerus more frightening, and that makes sense. However, the promotion behind this recut is that it's supposed to be closer to Toriyama's vision, and the bingo game was in the original Battle of Gods script he wrote with Yusuke Watanabe. The 2015 Super had already replaced it with Chef Vegeta. At least, I don't think the bingo game was in the 2015 series; I don't remember it being there. Either way, I think getting rid of it goes against that pitch.

I'm okay with them making cuts here and there with content like that. The problem is the Oolong tease at the end of the episode, which I'll come to below.

The Pilaf gang and Beerus vs Majin Buu over pudding

We get a scene of Pilaf, Shu and Mai on a sinking boat, their first introduction in this cut. I think they probably could have cut them, but they're in the background and erasing them would have required much more work and been more of a nightmare. So they found a quick way to have them meet Goten and Trunks when they come on board, and they zipped through it very quickly.

That leads to the battle between Beerus and Buu over pudding, just as in the original Toriyama story, with Buu licking up the pudding and Beerus getting mad. Once again, the effects and contrast were used well to illustrate the anger, frustration and terrifying power of Beerus as god of destruction. Beerus versus Majin Buu was really well done.

I'm excited to see what they do with Majin Buu in the Moro arc anime. Back in August, I discussed that the staff of the Galactic Patrol anime were working on the Moro versus Buu fight, which comes relatively early in that story, and I heard many exciting things. Seeing Majin Buu fight again after so long was cool.

Beerus disciplines Gotenks and freezes Vegeta with one finger

Beerus tosses Buu into the ocean, Buu attacks him, and Beerus uses his foot to toss him down into the food cart area. Goten and Trunks fuse into Gotenks, who attacks, and Beerus disciplines Gotenks the way he did in the 2015 Dragon Ball Super anime. In the original 2013 Battle of Gods movie, Beerus spanks Gotenks, and I've always preferred that version. Growing up in a primarily Latino family, getting whoopings was something we did, so it brought me back.

Tien Shinhan, Yamcha and Piccolo all get knocked away. Vegeta goes Super Saiyan to confront Beerus and goes to throw a punch, but freezes. I do remember this from the 2015 version. Beerus knocks him down with one finger and puts his foot on his head, which is supposed to mirror the King Vegeta scene.

They are zipping through this material so much better. People have said it, and I've said it: the original Dragon Ball Super anime should probably have been like this. Obviously, if I were in charge, I would have made a few changes here and there.

Ryo Horikawa's Vegeta after Beerus slaps Bulma

Then comes the "my Bulma" scene. Bulma gets up to chastise Lord Beerus, and Beerus slaps her down. The editing was again really good here. They took a scene that was easy to do and shaved it down so it gives you maximum impact.

I want to praise Ryo Horikawa's performance as Vegeta. This is the same audio from the 2015 Dragon Ball Super anime, not the movie, and it's one of the few times I thought the anime surpassed the movie. You can feel the pain and anguish in his voice as someone puts their hands on his wife. It's a combination of things: he's angry his wife got hit in the face, but he's also upset because there's nothing he can do about it. This is Lord Beerus, and he knows he's going to be in trouble.

Vegeta's purple aura is not Ultra Ego foreshadowing

Vegeta powers up as he did in the original version, but with different effects, including a subtle purple glow. I'd almost call it a papier-mâché type of effect, and it was really nice. I can already see the headlines asking whether this foreshadows Ultra Ego.

The Toei staff obviously know about Ultra Ego, because they're adapting Toyotaro's manga, and that manga is going to be used as a reference for the storyboards of the Moro and Granolah anime arcs. But this is not Ultra Ego foreshadowing. Vegeta's aura and energy have always been a bit purple, especially when he does the Galick Gun.

Some of this fight has been redone. Beerus blocks Vegeta at first, but Vegeta does land a few hits. There's no line from Master Roshi about Vegeta surpassing Goku, because that was in the Battle of Gods movie, not in this version.

Why Vegeta doesn't use Super Saiyan 3 against Beerus

I think some people might have been expecting Super Saiyan 3 Vegeta, the form introduced in Daima. He wasn't going to use it, and Daima itself explains why. Vegeta learned that Super Saiyan 3 has a flaw, which is the stamina drain. That has always been an issue with the form, Vegeta knows it, and so he decided to enhance his Super Saiyan and Super Saiyan 2 forms, which are far more balanced.

I think some people don't want to accept that explanation, but it makes sense. Why would you use a form that could drain your stamina in a long fight when you can have a form that doesn't, and still power up your base?

Vegeta fires the Galick Gun with the purple aura, and it does nothing. Beerus flicks Vegeta's forehead and knocks him down. Beerus then decides he's going to destroy the Earth, in an awesome redone scene with new effects and dreadful music from Sumitomo that shows his frightening power. Everyone's faces say they're doomed.

Beerus spares Earth for the food, which I'd call foreshadowing of his bond with Bulma

Beerus stops because he remembers how much he liked the food. I would say that's foreshadowing of his future relationship with Bulma. In later arcs, Beerus and Whis get food from Bulma because they love Earth's food so much, and that's a big reason they even befriend Goku and Vegeta. Bulma, as part of the wealthiest family on Earth, can get anything done.

If you haven't tried takoyaki, which is fried octopus, try it at least once, even though fried octopus sounds weird to some people. I love takoyaki. I haven't had it in years, but it is incredible. "I can understand Beerus wanting to spare the planet for some more of that."

The Oolong rock paper scissors game could probably have been cut

So Beerus gives them a chance. He points to Oolong, and it's all up to him in a game of rock paper scissors. That game wasn't in the theatrical cut of Battle of Gods, but it was in the extended cut released in 2014 with extra scenes, which Toriyama did put into his collaborative script with Yusuke Watanabe. So when it comes to Toriyama's canon, the rock paper scissors game did happen, and I'm not mad at them for keeping what he wrote.

However, the bingo game is gone, so I feel the rock paper scissors game could probably have been cut. Back in the days of the original Dragon Ball Super, I said it wasn't really necessary. It was cool to see Oolong get screen time, but I felt it wasn't crucial.

This episode was notably darker and more serious than its 2015 counterpart, but it did keep some lightheartedness. "Toriyama is a gag manga writer." He has written dark material in the past, but it's not his natural way of writing, so there will be comedy. Dragon Ball has historically been that way; it's not meant to be taken too seriously, although there is some darkness. Having some levity, I think, is okay.

In my opinion, though, the takoyaki scene from the 2015 Dragon Ball Super was a better and funnier example of Toriyama's type of comedy than the Oolong scene, even though Toriyama actually wrote the Oolong one. It's a weird way to feel about it, but it's my opinion, and ultimately it doesn't hurt anything. The scene is built up dramatically, but it's obviously for comedic purposes too. Dragon Ball has a history of using rock paper scissors to decide things, and Japanese culture seems to get a kick out of it.

What comes next in Dragon Ball Super Beerus

The cliffhanger is whether Oolong can stop Beerus from destroying the planet. Episode 4 is supposed to feature Goku returning and the God ritual.

Dragon Ball Super Beerus is scheduled for 19 episodes, running from October to around February. The Battle of Gods arc, which ran 14 episodes in the original Super, from the start through Super Saiyan God Goku versus Beerus, has been cut down to six. Elements of the Resurrection F arc should start appearing in just a few weeks. I want to see how they've enhanced Super Saiyan God Goku versus Beerus, and I think we'll get an idea of that very soon.