Dragon Ball Super Chapter 83 Review: Bardock Beats Gas, but I Found the Explanation Weak

Dragon Ball Super manga chapter 83 finally answered how Bardock was able to defeat Gas, and for me the answer was a big letdown. Bardock doesn't find a new form or a weak spot. He simply powers up out of nowhere, and to me that came off as lazy writing.

Roddy Piper once famously said on television, "just when you think you've got all the answers, I change the questions," and that's apropos for this chapter. A lot of questions came out of it, a lot of things that have yet to be answered or explained. I think one of the biggest fears and concerns from the fandom, rightfully so, is that they never will be answered or explained, or at least not to the degree where we actually end up caring, understanding or agreeing with the creative choices from Toriyama and Toyotaro. Mostly I would say this is Toyotaro's idea, although we really don't have actual proof of that, and maybe an interview will come out later. He's definitely the guy who puts the manga together, and Toriyama has to have approved it, so it's both people.

Chapter 83 retcons Bardock's backstory yet again

On top of all that, there is yet another retcon, a retroactive continuity change, to Bardock's backstory in this chapter, and that is also going to be a controversial decision. It should come as no surprise that Toriyama has once again changed Bardock's backstory, because he has already done it a few times: first with Dragon Ball Minus, then with Dragon Ball Super: Broly adding to that, and now once again here, along with Toyotaro, to produce the backstory of how Bardock ties into Granola and the Heeters.

I want to say once again that not all retcons are bad. But as a fan of Dragon Ball, I've always preferred the original version of Bardock that Toei came up with for the TV special over the one Toriyama came up with. I accepted that this was Toriyama's vision and we're kind of stuck with it. Now it changes once again, and in my opinion it's somewhat of an unnecessary change, although I may change my mind on that depending on what they do in the future.

A flashback chapter with no Goku or Vegeta

As we all predicted the month before, this chapter was pretty much entirely a flashback. It's one of the few chapters in Dragon Ball Super history that does not feature Goku or Vegeta doing anything. This is the backstory of Granola and Bardock, and the answer we'd been waiting for since the previous fall about how Bardock was able to defeat the incredibly powerful Gas.

That question mattered because Bardock is not only a low class warrior but also nowhere near the caliber of fighter Goku would become through his various martial arts masters and his training. Bardock never took Goku's road from being just a kid to Ultra Instinct, because Bardock died too young and had no knowledge of any other real martial arts masters in the universe like Goku would discover on Earth and in other places. So the question all month was how Bardock would win. Would he find a new form just for him, turn into a Super Saiyan, or discover a weak spot in Gas? None of that happens. Some fans thought Bardock might get help from somebody, and he sort of did, but it wasn't what we thought.

Gas rips off Bardock's tail and Monaito turns to the Dragon Balls

The first key moment of the fight is when Gas rips off Bardock's tail. This was a very smart move. Gas has knowledge of the whole species and knows that when the tail is removed, a Saiyan can no longer access the powers of a Great Ape, so that gives him the advantage. With Bardock's back against the wall, Monaito thinks gathering the two Dragon Balls from planet Cereal might be the only way to even the odds.

Monaito gets the Dragon Balls and prepares to make a wish. He talks about how it's forbidden for him to make a selfish wish, but in this case it's really a wish for Bardock, to help him survive this battle with Gas. In an effort to save Bardock's life, Monaito wants the dragon to transport him to planet Vegeta for his own good, but Bardock refuses. This has been done before in Dragon Ball: back when Goku was on planet Yardrat, Porunga was summoned and Goku refused to take the wish, so there is a bit of free will involved when it comes to Dragon Ball wishes. Bardock, like his son, enjoys the thrill of battle, and he refuses because he wants to be the one to defeat Gas on his own.

This is interesting, though, because before this chapter we had no idea Bardock knew about the Dragon Balls. Now we know that before he died, he certainly knew there were wish granting balls out there somewhere. Did he ever tell anybody? Did he ever even tell Gine? These are things I wonder about, but they really aren't that important to the modern scope of Dragon Ball storytelling. It is something to be curious about.

Bardock's wish for his sons to grow up well is open to interpretation

Bardock asks Monaito instead to wish for his sons to grow up well, which is a very unusual wish, because the term well is very subjective. You can't say they had a perfectly healthy life both mentally and physically. Raditz became pretty much a psycho by the time he would actually meet Kakarot at the beginning of Dragon Ball Z. Kakarot, I guess, grew up healthy, but he also grew up in battle on Earth and eventually died twice, while Raditz died once.

So I'm not sure the dragon can grant wishes like that, where you're actually protecting somebody's life, body or mind from suffering. It's a very unusual request to make to a wish granting dragon, but I guess it's also kind of realistic that he would want that. There are so many different ways to interpret it. My best guess is that he meant for them to grow from kids to adulthood well, and that sort of did happen. As far as we know, Raditz didn't really have any major problems growing up, and Goku, while he did have some fierce battles on Earth, didn't even die until he was already a fully grown man.

Did Monaito actually make a different wish?

Things get interesting here, because a wish was certainly made to the dragon, but we don't know if Monaito actually made the wish Bardock wanted. We see Bardock make the request, but the words never actually leave Monaito's mouth. That leaves the possibility, albeit maybe slim, that Monaito made another wish, one that could explain Bardock's strange power up later in the chapter.

A seesaw fight and Gas's primal instinct

The fight between Gas and Bardock continues and becomes your standard Dragon Ball fight, although I'm sure Bardock fans are happy to see him fight again. Outside of this manga arc, we saw a little bit in Dragon Ball Super: Broly, and before that it wasn't since the TV special that we really saw him fight, outside of video games if you want to count those.

Gas unleashes his ability to manifest weapons on Bardock a few times in this fight, and then he transforms into his 100 percent power. This is being referred to as primal instinct, and although it might sound familiar or similar to Ultra Instinct, that's probably not the case. Bardock tries to make a babyface comeback but gets cut off. The fight is pretty much like a wrestling match: the good guy makes a comeback, the bad guy cuts him off, the good guy comes back, the bad guy cuts him off. It's a seesaw battle, and those are usually the most fun. I prefer those over one sided ones.

Bardock's sudden power up against Gas comes off lazy to me

Then things get really weird. Out of nowhere, Bardock powers up and begins blocking Gas's punches. Obviously, the Gas that Bardock is fighting is not the same one Goku fights in the present. This is 40 years ago or more, the wish to make him the strongest had not been cast yet, and we know Gas got stronger as time went on, because it's been talked about. So one could maybe assume Bardock was closer to Gas's power at this point. It just seems hard to believe, because in the previous two chapters we saw Gas smashing everyone, so we have him built up in our heads as an all powerful character.

Still, I'm not sure I'm a fan of this. Bardock doesn't transform. He just gets stronger and overcomes his limitations, which is something we've seen Goku, Vegeta, Gohan, Trunks and every Saiyan do. But usually it takes a bit more damage and some healing for them to tap into that zenkai power. This is just Bardock powering up to an enhanced version of himself without going Super Saiyan. Doing this without any real buildup just seems like lazy writing in my opinion. I feel like there were a million different things they could have done, and they picked probably one of the worst choices as far as having it make sense.

Yes, Saiyans do overcome their limitations, but Bardock has never been that kind of character, no matter which version of Bardock you're counting, and we never got any foreshadowing to this at all. It's implied that this power is essentially determination, and determination has been a factor in Dragon Ball characters willing themselves to get stronger. You could even argue that in the anime version of the Trunks arc of Dragon Ball Super, he used sheer will to tap into his rage form and create the spirit sword. But with Bardock's character it's something totally new and comes off lazy for me. Some of you are going to love it, and that's fine. We don't have to agree. Out of everything they could have done, I just feel this is probably one of the weaker ideas, and I didn't like it much at all.

Elec's warning revives Dragon Ball Minus' biggest complaint

The battle pretty much ends there, and Elec shows up. In a conversation that is kind of foreshadowed earlier, Elec reveals to Bardock that the Saiyans are basically on borrowed time. He doesn't straight up tell him Frieza is going to destroy them, but he's kind of saying they won't last much longer. So Elec somehow knows what Frieza is planning. Why would Frieza even tell Elec that? We don't know anything about their relationship, but they didn't seem close enough for Frieza to tell him what he's going to do and give the Saiyans an opportunity to rebel or leave. It just seems kind of weird.

What's interesting is that when Dragon Ball Minus came out, one of the biggest complaints, which stands to this day, was how Bardock knew what Frieza was going to do. It was chalked up to an eerie premonition, a weird gut feeling, as opposed to the original 1990 TV special, where Bardock was cursed with prophetic visions. "I'm sorry but that's the most interesting version of this story." Bardock's entire outlook changing because he can see into the future is a much more interesting arc than a villain with a twisty mustache telling him his time is limited. That's just lame Saturday morning cartoon stuff, and I love Saturday morning cartoons, but it wasn't needed. Bardock having this instinct is also kind of lazy, so I just prefer the original story because it was creative.

It's almost like Bardock has now become what Rogue One became to Star Wars: A New Hope, in that Toyotaro is trying to explain complaints and things many fans see as logic holes that didn't really need to be filled. This is another decision fans are going to be mixed on.

The ending and its timeline feel like the Toyotaro special

After Elec blasts Bardock, Frieza's ship arrives and the Heeters leave. Monaito heals Bardock and tells him Granola is safe. The chapter ends with Bardock knowing the Heeters are gone, and surviving, presumably going back to planet Vegeta soon after and probably landing shortly before or right around the events of Dragon Ball Minus and Bardock's story from Dragon Ball Super: Broly. I would have hoped this chapter of Bardock's life, where he fought the Heeters and met Granola, would have been set a little before that.

It really comes off like Toyotaro is trying to explain things without properly thinking it through, or just for the sake of explaining something, which we've criticized him for in the past. This is the Toyotaro special right here. He's done this a lot in previous arcs, especially when the anime version aired first, almost like he had to go back and fix the mistakes the anime made in his mind, even though it's a different continuity anyway. In some cases he doesn't, and I guess it depends on what he's writing, what he's in the mood to do, and whether Toriyama will approve it.

What Bardock's determination could mean for Goku

I'm not sure how Bardock's determination is going to influence Goku, except that he might for some reason see himself as a kindred spirit to his father, a lover of battle with that internal willingness to keep fighting. That is kind of cool, but it's also something we've seen from Goku before. If it's supposed to bring Goku a bit closer to Bardock as far as philosophy goes, I guess that's okay.

Overall, chapter 83 was a big letdown, and I'm not a fan of it. I thought the explanation of how Bardock beat Gas was very weak. It may lead to more things for Goku, but that remained to be seen, since chapter 84 was set to return to the present, where we might actually see how Goku and the others react to this and fight off Gas. It's not one of my favorites.

What did you make of the way Bardock beat Gas in chapter 83?