Ultra Instinct Goku Takes On Aeos in a Rare Good Episode of Super Dragon Ball Heroes

Episode 5 of Super Dragon Ball Heroes, titled Decisive Battle in the Divine Realm, The Power of Time Approaches, is one I can honestly call good, and that is a rare thing for me to say about this series. The main reason is the respect it shows to Ultra Instinct, as Goku faces off against Aeos, the original Supreme Kai of Time.

Episode 5 Stands Out Because of How It Treats Ultra Instinct

Most Super Dragon Ball Heroes episodes do not land for me. "They're usually just kind of just 10-minute cutscenes." That is pretty much what they are, and that is what they are intended to be. This episode was different, and mostly because of how it handled Ultra Instinct.

Some have even said that the respect the Dragon Ball Heroes game and its universe have shown Ultra Instinct goes beyond what Toyotaro has written. I kind of understand why. Toyotaro overcomplicates the technique a little too much, whereas Super Dragon Ball Heroes simplifies things and goes back to basics.

Aeos and the Supreme Kai of Time Civil War Drive the Ultra God Mission

The idea behind this arc is a pretty cool one to me. There is a Supreme Kai of Time civil war going on, with Aeos, the original Supreme Kai of Time, trying to gain power by gathering the scrolls. That has been the main plot thread pushing the Ultra God Mission arc forward.

The current Supreme Kai of Time is, of course, concerned because of the power and abilities. Aeos has unique, magical, godlike abilities, and those abilities make her the most dangerous enemy they have faced so far. I like that.

Both Supreme Kais of Time Can Transform, and That Surprised Me

The episode did something I had not seen before, though maybe that is because I had not played the Heroes game in a couple of years since coming back from Japan. Both Supreme Kais of Time, the new one and the old one, can transform into taller, more combat ready versions of themselves, and we actually see them transform to prepare for battle.

I did not think Supreme Kais, or any kind of Kaioshin, could transform, but for the purposes of this story, there you go. Super Dragon Ball Heroes is constantly trying to create new cards, so it has to create new forms and bring back old characters with new looks. That has been going on forever.

Dragon Ball is a series with transformations, so I am not really upset about this. It just came as a surprise, because it changes the way I had perceived Kaioshins all these years.

The Animation Got a Noticeable Boost, and I Wondered Why

There was a montage of clips from previous battles in Dragon Ball Heroes, and I loved it. It was really well animated and really well done. They definitely turned up the animation for this episode.

I was not sure why. At the time, with the movie already out, there was no Dragon Ball anime running, and the manga was on break. The manga would not have anything to do with this, since a different staff works on the anime, but I did wonder whether some people moved over just for this episode. That happens a lot, with plenty of shuffling behind the scenes over who works on what.

Dragon Quest: The Adventure of Dai had also just ended, which meant those animators were going to have more free time for future projects, whether Dragon Ball, One Piece or whatever Toei wanted them on. This could have been one of those temporary projects until something more important got going.

Goku's Conversation With Aeos About Erasing Timelines Had Real Weight

Something else this episode did that Heroes rarely does was include a somewhat insightful conversation. The show never has time for that. Aeos wants to consolidate all the timelines into one. Think about what they did with Loki; it is a very similar concept. The current Supreme Kai of Time somewhat agrees, but knows the other timelines have potential and that there are innocent people in them.

That leads Goku to talk to Aeos about getting rid of the other timelines. As a martial artist, Goku loves to fight, and he is enjoying the fighters he meets, but he also speaks to her as a mortal who cares about life, which he does. Dragon Ball fans seem to think all he cares about is fighting. That is true to a degree, but he cares about his loved ones and wants people to live so he can fight them again. "Goku is not a bad person."

He straight up asks Aeos whether there is any way she can avoid wiping out the innocent people in those timelines. That raised a question for me: why did Goku not say this to Zeno? This is supposedly set after the Tournament of Power, since Heroes began after it, so Goku had already seen Zeno erase universes. Maybe he learned. It is tough to say, but I do think they need to tweak that part of Goku's character in Super.

Ultra Instinct Omen Goku Outpaces Aeos and Shatters Her Frozen Realm

Then it gets even cooler. Aeos tries to blast Goku with a freeze attack, and Goku immediately shifts into Ultra Instinct Omen and gets behind her. Even Aeos reacts to the speed and the heat. We all know how well Ultra Instinct was built up with the gods during the Tournament of Power, and Aeos clearly knows it too. It is a divine technique.

Goku comes out swinging with kicks and punches. The animation here is not great, but it is good enough. Aeos dodges, because even though Ultra Instinct is incredibly fast, she is a very powerful character, and Dragon Ball Heroes villains are often extremely overpowered. When she counterattacks, though, Goku dodges everything. That is the Ultra Instinct speed. Chronoa notes that Goku is doing this to avoid being hit by that time blast, because the Supreme Kai of Time's time power is no joke.

There are some really good cuts and frames, and it is one of the more enjoyable things Heroes has given us. Goku does what I would call a modern version of the warp Kamehameha in Ultra Instinct, at point blank range just like he did with Cell, and destroys the frozen realm of space and time. Once again they are elevating Ultra Instinct, and I can see why people say there is more respect for it here.

Aeos Realises Goku Could Be Trouble, and I Thought the Arc Would Turn

After that, the Supreme Kai of Time realises Goku could actually be trouble. At the time, I thought this was going to be the turning point of the arc, with Goku becoming the actual protagonist and Aeos flipping on him. She is realising what Beerus said in Battle of Gods: left unchecked, these Saiyans could be really dangerous to the gods.

It feels like Dragon Ball is still heading in that direction. I did not think Goku and Vegeta were going to overthrow the gods necessarily, but there is somebody else who might, and that is Frieza.

Demigra Returns and Instantly Takes Out Mechikabura

The episode also shows Mechikabura, a character I talked about many years ago and one of the top villains of the Time Breakers, essentially their leader. He gets instantly taken out by Demigra, which I guess was a tease. Demigra is indeed back after a long time, with sinister motives, positioned as either the final boss of this arc or a boss within it, giving the heroes something to deal with besides Aeos.

For a Heroes episode, this was enjoyable. It runs about 10 minutes, and while most of these episodes are disposable, I had fun with this one. "Anytime you can see UI animated, it's always a good time."

Do you agree that Super Dragon Ball Heroes shows Ultra Instinct more respect than Toyotaro's manga does?