Episode 119 of Dragon Ball Super, first broadcast in Japan on December 10, 2017 and titled Unavoidable? The Ferocity of a Stealth Attack! in Funimation's dub, is a little mystery inside the tournament. Universe 4, lurking in the shadows until now, strikes with opponents nobody can see, and the one who cracks the case is Android 17, though Universe 7 loses Piccolo along the way.
Summary
Catopesra switches to his Ultimate Mode and tries his strongest technique, but Vegeta answers with a Final Flash, in his view a far better example of a "final" attack. The Universe 3 robot manages to stop at the edge of the stage, then tumbles off as if something had hit his legs. Moments later, something nearly knocks Vegeta over and kicks Gohan off the edge, where Piccolo's stretching arms catch him.
Teleportation, afterimages, time-skip? When Universe 4's God of Destruction, Quitela, starts laughing, Beerus realizes he is behind it, and Master Roshi offers the most old-fashioned theory: an invisible man. That is exactly it. Piccolo tries hitting blindly with an energy burst from his whole body, the same one he used against Goku at the 23rd World Martial Arts Tournament, but the enemy slips away and the Namekian burns precious stamina. Roshi, thinking back to the last time he ran into an invisible man many years ago, suggests covering the enemy in something, maybe a nosebleed. Gohan picks a cleaner method: he kicks up a cloud of dust that reveals Gamisalas's outline, and Piccolo eliminates him.
Quitela is unfazed. Little Xiangca creates a red zone full of illusions: fighters from the erased universes, the Trio de Dangers among them, return for revenge, and their blows hurt even though Universe 7's attacks pass right through them. Piccolo senses two people behind it, one still and one moving, and throws Xiangca out. The second fighter, Damom, seems invisible too but cannot hide his ki, yet no attack connects, and in the end it is Piccolo who gets knocked off the stage.
Now it is up to Android 17. He closes his eyes, stops relying on sight and ki, and when Damom attacks, he intercepts him: Damom is a tiny insect man, and the mismatch between his ki and his size had fooled everyone. Since he has no wings and must jump to attack, Goku pounds the stage to bounce him into the air, and 17 traps him in a small barrier, then kicks him out. Universe 4 has no fighters left. Quitela tries to take everyone down with him, but he and his universe vanish before he can do anything. Twelve minutes remain.
Our take
After so many contests of raw strength, an episode that asks you to think is a breath of fresh air. Each Universe 4 opponent is a different puzzle, and each is solved by a different character: Gohan with dust, Piccolo with his senses, Android 17 with the intuition of a nature ranger used to watching animals. The reveal of Damom, an insect mistaken for a ghost, is a good idea, simple and fair.
Piccolo's exit stings, but it fits: the Namekian has spent everything protecting the others and falls just as the problem is about to be solved. Roshi digging up the memory of the invisible man and the bloody nose is a gift for anyone who has followed the series from the start.
Trivia
- Written by Ayumu Hisao and directed by Toshiaki Komura, with Tsutomu Ono, Midori Sawaki, Naoki Yamauchi and Yasuhiro Namatame as animation directors. It drew a 4.5% rating in Japan.
- In promotional listings the episode carried a different title, "A New Victim from Universe 7! Universe 4 Gets Serious!!"
- An early design for Gamisalas appeared in the issue of V-Jump released on August 21, 2017. Around the same time, retailers listed the series' final box sets, which then planned for 133 episodes; the show would end at 131.
- In the manga, Universe 4 is erased much earlier, as the second universe to fall.
Characters
- Android 17, Piccolo, Gohan, Goku, Vegeta and Android 18
- Gamisalas, Xiangca, Damom and Quitela
- Catopesra
- Master Roshi, Krillin, Tien, Beerus and Whis
- The Grand Minister and the two Zenos