Dragon Ball Super Chapter 84 Review: Ultra Instinct and Ultra Ego Unite, but Bardock's Wish Still Bothers Me

Dragon Ball Super manga chapter 84 finally put Ultra Instinct Goku and Ultra Ego Vegeta side by side in combat against Gas. It's a chapter that left me divided. There are things about it I really did like and things I personally did not like. But when I look at it objectively, or at least analyze my own judgment, "the things that i liked about this chapter were a lot more superficial than what i did not like about this chapter."

Chapter 84 confirmed Bardock's wish was granted, and the translation changed its meaning

The previous chapter, 83, was marred in controversy because of Bardock's wish, and it had been a major talking point ever since, along with what that wish means for the Dragon Ball story. The early pages of chapter 84 confirmed that the Cerealian dragon granted the wish. It created a sort of power boost in Bardock which, combined with his own will, allowed him to eventually go home and, at some point in the future, send his son away from Planet Vegeta and save his life.

Unfortunately, this became the victim of yet another mistranslation from Viz Media. In the Viz release, Bardock wished for his sons to thrive. In the Japanese version, it was worded more in a way where he wanted his sons to grow up and be strong. That is exactly what happened to both Goku and Raditz: in a twisted form of irony, neither one of them died until they met as adults.

I see Bardock's wish as plot armor for Goku

There's a lot that goes into this wish, and it has some serious ramifications for the Dragon Ball story. On the low end, you could say the wish, while made in good faith, created a situation where Bardock had to be home for events to transpire as we know them. That somewhat fixes the Dragon Ball Minus speculation and gives it a bit more clarity.

On the worst end of the spectrum, though, this could mean the wish literally created plot shielding for Goku. The reason Goku was able to barely survive so many moments during his childhood in Dragon Ball would then be this protective shield from the dragon.

There are a lot of ways to look at and interpret the wish, and everyone has their own opinion. I seem to be pretty dead set on it being plot armor and a plot convenience created by Toyotaro to make Bardock's role in the story more meaningful than it was before. That's something they've tried to do since Dragon Ball Minus, and I'm not a fan of it. If you disagree, that's fine. But there's no question to me that the intent is to make Bardock more important, whether for marketing purposes or just Toriyama having some new favor with that character. As much as I don't like it, it is what it is. I can't change what Toyotaro has already written, and I don't want it to be the only focus of this chapter. Still, it was a big con for me in this chapter and the previous one.

Vegeta's new Saiyan pride is about the whole race, not his bloodline

The other part of this opening that I counted as a con was the idea of Vegeta and Goku now realizing the importance of Saiyan pride. I do understand that this is a little bit different from the Saiyan pride Vegeta had in Dragon Ball Z. Back then, when he was younger, he was talking more about his own internal pride in his heritage: being not only a Saiyan but of royal bloodline. A lot of what Vegeta did in Dragon Ball Z was ego based, which is why the Ultra Ego form is so fitting for his character even now. It also showed his kind of small man complex, which he finally grew out of near the end of the Buu saga.

This version of Saiyan pride is actual pride for the race, not just his own bloodline. It's Vegeta realizing that even though Bardock was a low class warrior, he still made decisions he felt were right for him and his children. Vegeta even makes a joke about how it wasn't fair that Goku was wished to be protected. Still, Bardock made a noble choice but also chose not to go down without a fight, which is something even low class warriors of the race will do. That's how I'm interpreting the statement. With Dragon Ball, "there's always room for different opinions and interpretations." This one just seems a bit cut and dry to me, though somebody can always come along with something I wasn't expecting.

Ultra Instinct and Ultra Ego fighting together was cool, but I'm not sure it was worth the trade off

Besides the early part of the chapter, I actually did enjoy most of the rest, but a lot of that was for superficial reasons. We got the return of Ultra Instinct and Ultra Ego, and for the first time Goku and Vegeta worked together in these respective forms in combat against Gas. That was something we had been waiting on for quite some time, and it was cool.

The thing is, yes, it was cool and fun to see, and it made the chapter more enjoyable. But "it's just a fight," and Dragon Ball has, most of the time, given us good fights. For me, "I'd prefer a good story along with the good fights," and I'm just not sure the trade off was really worth it in this instance. I will say that Toyotaro's art has improved, and having Ultra Ego Vegeta back is refreshing, along with UI Goku and his silver hair.

This came after the chapter teased us by showing Goku and Vegeta in Saiyan armor, only for both of them to say they don't want to wear it. Toyotaro was obviously doing that as a bait and switch in the drafts to get everybody hyped. That's a big deal for Goku especially, because the only time he has ever worn Saiyan armor was during his training with Gohan in the Cell saga. It could have been a great moment for him to relate to his father, and it was kind of just taken away. I'm not really sure why, because seeing Goku in the armor, even for one fight, could have been kind of cool.

The Granolah arc's story is one of my least favorite, but its fights have been great

Most of this chapter was combat, and that seems to be the strength of this entire arc. I haven't been secretive about my problems with the story of the Granolah arc. Some agree with me and some disagree, but I've been critical of it. It's not my favorite story at all, and it's probably one of my least favorite Dragon Ball stories. At the same time, the fights have been great, I've had fun with Ultra Ego, and there's good stuff to enjoy here.

While the fight goes on, we see that the Heeters are still around, lurking in the shadows, watching and preparing some kind of backup plan. There are a lot of clues that there's more to Gas's power than meets the eye, including from Elec himself. So I wonder if maybe another wish was made besides the one he made, or maybe the way he worded his wish was different. He did talk about making the wish after the fight with Granolah and the Saiyans so that Gas would be the strongest they've ever faced.

Vegeta may finally be harnessing Ultra Ego without his guilt over Granolah

This is also Gas's first time ever dealing with techniques that come from angels and gods of destruction, meaning Ultra Instinct and Ultra Ego, which uses Hakai energy. Hakai energy is a different form of god ki, and one that is very dangerous toward mortals.

Based on how he performed in this chapter, it looks like Vegeta has figured out how to use Ultra Ego even more effectively than he did against Granolah. Or it could be that he no longer carries the same guilt he had because of the history with Granolah, since Vegeta's family in a way helped wipe out Granolah's race. That was the whole problem before: Vegeta couldn't let go of that guilt in order to be a destroyer properly. Gas, though, has a whole history of hate with both the Saiyans and the Cerealians and comes from a bad family. So Vegeta is probably thinking at this point that he should just get rid of him, and that's where I think he's beginning to really harness the Ultra Ego power. It's been a struggle for Vegeta for several chapters, and now it's coming full circle, which I am happy about. There's some progression here from both Goku and Vegeta.

Gas's weapons became a defensive technique

I also like that Gas's fighting intellect has gone up because of the wish. He might never have met Beerus, and he might not know what a god of destruction is, but he knows the power Vegeta is using is scary. So when Vegeta launches a Hakai ball at him, he uses his shield to protect himself, knowing that if the shield gets evaporated away, he can still live, as opposed to losing his arm or maybe his whole body.

That means Gas's ability to manifest weapons isn't just an offensive maneuver anymore. It's also defensive, and that's an evolution of his techniques that I really like. There are things in this chapter I really do like. It's the backstory and the way they keep changing the past that frustrates me, while what's going on in the present is so much better.

Goku saves a city while Vegeta grows stronger from every blow

Elec seems very confident because they used those same transformations against Granolah and couldn't get the job done, despite Gas being concerned. But Saiyans get stronger with every fight, especially Ultra Ego, and that turned out to be one of the big teases for the following chapter.

In a big sequence, Goku has to help save the lives of an entire city, and he and Vegeta end up split up for a bit. Goku uses his mastery of god ki to push the Hakai ball away from the planet without touching it, saving the inhabitants. That shows he still has the ability to use ki in the proper defensive way.

Meanwhile, Vegeta is getting pummeled by Gas, who begins to get overconfident. Vegeta ends the chapter by telling him this isn't going to go the way he thinks, because he's still moving despite being injured. He says he's getting stronger with every blow and that the damage being inflicted on him is like fuel. The same thing happened when Ultra Ego Vegeta fought Granolah, so it appears to be a property of the form that he gets stronger in battle when he takes damage. It's sort of like what Broly does, except with a much more dangerous side effect. I don't mean the out of control rage part of it, but the fact that god ki, and Hakai ki even more so, can make things disappear.

The questions chapter 84 left open

The chapter closes on the realization that Ultra Ego Vegeta is not going down without a fight, which left a lot of questions going into the next chapter. What happens with Granolah, and does he get involved in the fight? What about the Heeters and their plot? There are lots of unanswered mysteries there. And who defeats Gas: Ultra Ego Vegeta, Vegeta and Goku together, or Granolah? Then there's whatever remains of this arc.

Who do you think should be the one to bring Gas down?