Dragon Ball Heroes Big Bang Mission ep 8: Vegito Blue vs Fu

Episode 8 of Dragon Ball Heroes: Big Bang Mission turned out better than I expected. For an episode of Heroes, it was one of the better ones. It put Super Fu up against Vegito Blue, brought Mira and Towa into the main Big Bang Mission episodes, and revealed what the pair want Fu to become.

The episode also came out sooner than I thought it would. I was sure we had heard it would air later in the week, but it aired in Japan earlier than that.

Why I keep expectations low for Dragon Ball Heroes

When it comes to Dragon Ball Heroes, I usually set the bar very low. It's a promotional anime. Apart from an episode or two, it never gets a big production. There's never enough time to tell the story properly, and sometimes you need some kind of background to understand every part of what is going on. Most of us don't have that background.

Even if you have played Xenoverse and know who Mira and Towa are, you won't understand those characters the way someone in Japan does after playing Dragon Ball Heroes for years and years. Even with reviews and coverage of all this material, there is still a gap for people outside Japan.

So expectations are usually low, because most Heroes episodes are not great. The episodes are short enough, though, that some fans can find something they like, depending on their tastes and how much they enjoy certain kinds of fan service. Fan service is what Dragon Ball Heroes is really about.

Mira, Towa, Gohan and Gotenks Xeno appear in Big Bang Mission episode 8

This episode had been promoted as Super Fu against Vegito Blue. That was the big teaser we got the month before. Yet the first third of the episode was mostly dialogue, bringing together Super Saiyan 4 Xeno Goku, Vegeta and Trunks.

We also got Mira. It wasn't strictly his first appearance, since he showed up in a short, quick scene in the special episode. Now, though, Mira is in the main Big Bang Mission episodes alongside Towa. Gohan and Gotenks Xeno appeared as well. If you follow the Heroes story, that was fun.

Vegito Blue vs Super Fu: decent action, uneven animation

The second half of the episode was the fight between Fu and Vegito Blue. Remember, we're lowering the bar here. This isn't Dragon Ball Super level, and it certainly isn't Dragon Ball Super: Broly level. We're not talking about Dragon Ball Z, Dragon Ball or even GT in terms of how good the fighting looks or how intense the exchanges get. When Heroes delivers a good animation cut or decent choreography, it gets appreciated more, even though it's really being judged on a lower scale.

With that said, the actual action wasn't too bad. It was interesting to see Fu and Vegito Blue face off. There were also some strange animation cuts. In one scene Vegito Blue fires a Kamehameha and it looked very strange. The way they drew him, his face and his arm looked a bit skinny. I didn't like that look.

Still, it was great, because seeing Fu stand up to Vegito Blue tells you how strong he is. He isn't a fusion. He has been boosted, but he isn't a fusion, and he still held his own against Vegito Blue. Even he was surprised by Vegito's strength, but we all know how strong Vegito Blue is.

Back to the animation: it was mixed. Some parts were good and some were a little odd. Don't expect it to look as good as Dragon Quest: Dai or Dragon Ball Super: Broly. We shouldn't expect that. We might get lucky sometimes when a certain animator works on one of these cuts, but that is very rare. Most of it looked decent, and there were a few very good shots, especially the fast exchanges between Fu and Vegito.

It was funny, too, because during the fight Fu's eyes turned deep red. I looked at it and thought he looks like he's on something. The way they drew that was unsettling.

Super Shenron and the Gods of Destruction target the tree

While the two were fighting, a tree began to glow and Fu started losing his mind with excitement. The episode then cuts to the Gods of Destruction, with Whis and Vados there, and we see Super Shenron, the giant golden dragon from the Super Dragon Balls.

By the way, the dragon is not called Zalama. That was a translation error. Zalama is its creator. This dragon is simply Super Shenron, and this was the first time it had been summoned in Heroes.

Towa reveals Fu is meant to replace Mechikabura

According to translations from DBS Chronicles, Mira and Towa are not against Fu, as we originally thought in this series. In the older Heroes material, the games and maybe even some of the later speculative material from Dragon Ball Online, Mira, Towa and Fu were allied, but there had been a hint of some kind of rift here.

That doesn't seem to be the case. Towa apparently tells the Time Patrol that Fu is her son, which we sort of knew, and that he will become the next Dark King. While this happens, she holds Xeno Goku and Xeno Vegeta in a kind of energy prison. He breaks free, but Mira appears and freezes him in place.

Mira and Towa then talk about Fu being their creation, with the idea that he will become the new Dark King. Essentially, they say they want him to replace Mechikabura, one of the main villains of the Dark Demon Realm in Heroes. The plan is for Fu to lead a new demon army and, of course, rule the multiverse across all of time.

Is the Big Bang Mission arc nearing its end?

At the end of the episode, the tree starts to die. The Gods of Destruction summoned the Super Dragon so they could destroy the tree's roots, and the tree crumbles in front of everyone. It seems Vegito Blue didn't move fast enough, but the Gods of Destruction took care of it.

So it looks like this arc might be heading toward its end, even though there are supposed to be other things still to come. For example, there was talk of Super 17 returning. Maybe that will only happen in the manga version or the game version, but as far as I saw, it wasn't really hinted at in this episode. Maybe it gets cut entirely. We'll see.

With the tree crumbling, you would assume the Big Bang Mission arc is probably close to its end, or something else is going to happen, because Fu will certainly have to find a way to either restore the tree or do something with it. There are also still some loose ends here.

My verdict on Big Bang Mission episode 8

Overall, for a Heroes episode, it was better than I expected. It never comes close to the quality of Dragon Ball, which is arguably the better show overall.

I've seen some people say after chapter 65 of the Dragon Ball Super manga that they think Heroes is better. Maybe the Heroes manga, but I don't know. Heroes is so strange that it can't really be better. I know the Toyotaro situation was controversial, but saying Heroes is better is a bit much if you ask me. If you think so, though, everyone has the right to like what they like.

I didn't dislike this episode at all. For a Heroes episode, it was one of the better ones, and that is about all we can hope for.