Episode 110 of Dragon Ball Super, first broadcast in Japan on October 8, 2017 as the second half of a one-hour special and titled Goku Enkindled! The Awakened One's New Ultra Instinct! in Funimation's dub, is the one that went around the world. Crushed by his own Spirit Bomb, Goku vanishes and reappears with silver eyes and an aura nobody has seen before: this is Ultra Instinct, a state in which the body fights on its own, and for a few minutes it is enough to stand up to Jiren.
Summary
Jiren holds the Spirit Bomb back almost with a stare, while Goku, in Super Saiyan Blue with Kaio-ken, pours everything he has into it. Whis realizes the rumors were true: Universe 11 has a mortal as strong as a God of Destruction, if not stronger. Squeezed between the two forces, the sphere hits its limit, contracts and bursts. When the smoke clears, Goku is gone: not on the stage, not off it, and nobody can sense his ki.
The Grand Minister rules that Jiren will not be disqualified, since Goku would have been killed by his own technique, and tells everyone to keep fighting. Then the World of Void begins to shake. At the center of a surge of energy, Goku reappears with silver pupils and an aura that blazes like fire around a strangely calm ki. Jiren attacks, and the Saiyan dodges everything without visible effort. Gohan notices it is impossible to tell when he is about to strike or evade; Toppo and Dyspo try to step in and are brushed aside just as easily.
Jiren waves his teammates off and resumes the duel, this time on even terms. In the stands, the Grand Minister, Whis and Beerus land on the same words: Ultra Instinct, a level even gods struggle to reach. Whis ventures an explanation: the Spirit Bomb's energy acted as fuel for an exhausted body, but the key was the struggle against the explosion, which cracked the shell around Goku's limits.
The state does not last, though. When Goku goes for the decisive blow, Jiren blocks it: the Saiyan is truly spent. He reverts and is blasted away. Hit seizes the moment to attack Jiren, who parries without turning around. Vegeta reaches the fallen Goku and demands an explanation, but his rival has no idea what happened. Suddenly Goku vanishes again, snatched away by Frieza, who points a hand at him. Twenty-five minutes remain.
Our take
Few Dragon Ball episodes have had such an immediate impact. Ultra Instinct works because it flips the logic of transformations: it is no longer about screaming and hair changing color, but about silence. Goku does not get bigger or angrier, he gets calm, and the direction sells it with smooth, almost dance-like movement that contrasts with Jiren's fury.
The idea does not come out of nowhere. During training, Whis had talked about a body able to react without waiting for thought, and the Japanese name, Migatte no Goku'i, plays on exactly that idea of moving "on its own". The tournament turns that lesson into a spectacle without dropping a clear limit: the power comes and goes, and Goku cannot control it. It is a smart choice, because it leaves room for the episodes to come.
Trivia
- Written by Atsuhiro Tomioka and directed by Masato Mitsuka, with Naoki Tate and Yōichi Ōnishi as animation directors. The special with episode 109 drew a 3.5% rating.
- According to producer Satoru Takami and series director Ryōta Nakamura, Ultra Instinct's name, backstory and design were supplied to the staff by Akira Toriyama.
- It marks the first use of the vocal version of "Ultimate Battle", the song that scores the tournament's key moments through the finale.
- Funimation's subtitles and dub rendered the "heat" Goku gives off as "fervor" and "passion"; the Toei simulcast translated it literally.
- This incomplete version would later be labeled Ultra Instinct "Sign"; its evolution is covered on our Super Saiyan transformations page.
Characters
- Goku, Jiren, Toppo and Dyspo
- Vegeta, Gohan, Piccolo, Android 17 and Frieza
- Hit and Vados
- Krillin, Tien and Master Roshi
- Beerus, Whis, Shin, the Grand Minister, the two Zenos, Belmod and Khai