Dragon Ball Super ch. 70: Granolah's wish feels lazy

I liked Dragon Ball Super manga chapter 70 more than chapter 69 when it comes to Granolah's quest for revenge. I think it was okay, a step up from the last chapter, but there's still a long way to go before I'm sold on where the story is heading.

Chapter 70 continues Granolah's quest for power and his quest to get vengeance on Frieza. It gives him the strength he wished for, and that's where my mixed feelings start.

Granolah's wish comes with a three year condition

I criticized chapter 69 because I didn't like how contrived it was for Granolah to get the Dragon Balls on that same day, within a single chapter, summon the dragon and gain the power to become the strongest in the universe. I was worried that chapter 70 would simply hand that power to him. Well, it did hand it to him, but there is a condition attached.

I'm very conflicted about this. I like that there's a condition, but having him die in three years isn't a good enough condition to me, if I'm being honest. Three years should be more than enough time for Granolah to find Frieza, take him out and complete his mission, and that's what he's going to do. Death has also been a joke in Dragon Ball for many years, and it's not likely it'll take him that long to get to Frieza.

You could argue that it's his life to give. That seems to be what he wants as a character: revenge no matter what, and he's willing to give up everything, including his own life, for it. I do like that aspect of Granolah. What I don't like is how easy it was for him to get this incredible power boost.

Why Granolah's power as the strongest mortal can still be surpassed

I think a lesson is going to be learned when all is said and done, and maybe I'm going to be wrong about this: the quest for power isn't effective if you cheat. Later in the chapter we find out that Granolah is the strongest mortal for now, as granted by the Cerealian dragon, but that doesn't mean his power can't be surpassed.

So even though Granolah might be stronger than Goku and stronger than Vegeta, we're talking about Saiyans here, and surpassing people is all they've ever done from the beginning. When Goku and Granolah have their eventual confrontation, Granolah might be stronger. But once Goku learns to tap into the higher levels of Ultra Instinct, or gets a good zenkai if he's still going to get those, he might surpass Granolah, and Granolah's wish wouldn't be as important.

I think the moral of this story is going to end up being that even if you cheat to get stronger, it could cost you your life, or that even if you're getting stronger, you can still be surpassed. The way Goku and Vegeta are doing it, through their training, is a much more satisfying and natural method.

A wasted opportunity that mirrors Resurrection 'F'

I do feel like this is a wasted opportunity. Much like with Resurrection 'F', I think it's lazy writing to have Granolah become the strongest by making a wish. I don't like that, and I'm not going to like it, even with the condition. That's my opinion, and you may disagree with me, which is fine.

Having Granolah go on a quest to find the Dragon Balls, maybe going through some suffering and pain, or facing a more dangerous condition, or not getting his power from a wish at all, would have added something. As it stands, it's missing drama. This chapter, and this whole manga at that point, is about Granolah. It's his story, and drama is missing because he isn't going through struggles to become the strongest.

Granolah dominates Oil and the Heeters, but the fight lacks context

The chapter establishes Granolah, who gets long hair and then cuts it, as the strongest in Universe 7 for the time being. There's some concern from Whis and the Oracle Fish. The second half of the chapter, though, focuses strictly on Granolah showing off his power by meeting up with the Heeters and dominating them, especially Oil in their confrontation.

This was good paneling by Toyotaro, and I liked that the Heeter guy got smashed. I understand what they're trying to tell us, but there's a problem. We as an audience don't have a connection with Oil when it comes to his power. We know who Oil is, but we also know he's probably not on the level of Goku, Vegeta or even Frieza. So Granolah showing off isn't impressive to a long time Dragon Ball fan, because we have no context for how strong Oil is.

Don't get me wrong, it's cool to see, but it won't impact us the way it's intended to. I feel like that one panel of Whis being surprised at Granolah's power, and at how this could be a problem, does more for us as fans and for Granolah's credibility than him beating up Oil. Maybe I'm speaking just for myself here, but I think many of you will see my point.

The Heeters' plan to pit Granolah against Goku and Vegeta has flaws

One thing I liked is that there was very little Goku and Vegeta. It was all about Granolah, and I appreciate that. I also liked that the chapter showed more of the Heeters being scoundrels. At the end we find out their plan is not only to take over Frieza's empire by having Granolah take out Frieza, but, if Granolah becomes a problem, to instigate a fight between him and Goku and Vegeta.

There are a couple of things wrong with their logic. They talk about Goku and Vegeta fighting Granolah two on one, and that this might be enough to beat him. What they don't understand is that Goku and Vegeta never fight two on one unless they absolutely have to. They usually take turns, and only end up fighting together when things become too difficult.

On top of that, Granolah isn't a murderous evil villain. He wants revenge on Frieza, and maybe on Goku as well, but he doesn't want world domination or absolute power. He's going to die in three years. He's not the same kind of character, so there's no real stake for the universe's balance. It's a small story about Granolah's revenge, which I like. It's different from Moro or Goku Black. I also like the Heeters' idea of using this to their advantage, and I want to see what their role will be going forward.

Unanswered questions about the Cerealian dragon

A lot of the chapter was spent on characters in utter disbelief that Granolah got so strong. Once Granolah revealed that he did it with the Dragon Balls, it made me wonder whether they're going to be using those Dragon Balls in the future. How often does the Cerealian dragon come out? How often does he grant wishes?

If he can grant a wish to make you the strongest with conditions, what else could he grant? What other conditions does he offer? Is he the only dragon to ever offer conditions? I have so many questions about that dragon. I appreciate the lore that Toyotaro, or Toriyama in this case, is giving us, but at the same time I worry we're not going to get answers, and that's what concerns me.

My worry that the Granolah arc repeats Resurrection 'F'

We have confirmation that Toriyama is writing this story, and it does seem like Resurrection 'F'. In that film, Frieza came back to life and trained off screen for four months. We didn't get the training, yet he got so strong he was able to one shot Gohan, do all kinds of damage and compete with Goku. Frieza was a monster in Resurrection 'F', and to me that film was written very lazily. I'm worried this arc is similar: Granolah already has the power, so now it's just a matter of finding Frieza and seeing what happens.

I'm going to give it a chance, because I always do, and I'm not saying it's going to be bad. But I don't want a repeat of Resurrection 'F', which to me was one of the weaker stories Toriyama told in the modern era, probably the weakest. The Goku Black arc and the Tournament of Power were probably better, and Broly was really good. Resurrection 'F' was visually nice but not a great story.

Toyotaro did say it was a genius story, so we'll see. But can we trust them at this point? People always say that, and they said Resurrection 'F' was brilliant when it wasn't. I'm not trashing it or hating on it, and I'm cautious rather than dismissive. I don't want this to be another Toriyama story that doesn't go anywhere or skips past what we're supposed to see. For me, chapter 70 was a decent chapter, not the best.