The third episode of Dragon Ball Super, broadcast in Japan on July 19, 2015, gets the story moving. Beerus learns who the warrior he is looking for might be and decides to pay Goku a visit, while the Supreme Kais dread the thought of the two meeting. Meanwhile on Earth, the old gang boards the cruise ship where Bulma is celebrating her birthday.
Summary
On the way home, Beerus racks his brain over the name from his dream: "Super Seiyan God"? "Super Soyan God"? Whis thinks it sounds overblown either way. In the Sacred World of the Kais, the Elder Kai explains to Supreme Kai who Beerus is: just as there are gods who create, there must be gods who destroy, but this one picks planets to erase on a whim. Goku must never find out about him, because he would challenge him. Luckily only gods can sense Beerus' energy, and Goku is far away on Earth. At that very moment King Kai calls them telepathically: Goku is training on his planet. The Saiyan hears his name, but King Kai distracts him by bringing up the time Goku teleported Cell to his world.
Back home, Beerus questions the Oracle Fish, who thirty-nine years earlier foretold the arrival of a formidable opponent. The fish cannot recall the name until the god threatens to cut her meals from three a day to two: then it comes back to her, "Super Saiyan God". Whis fills Beerus in on how Frieza destroyed Planet Vegeta and how a Saiyan defeated the tyrant; the last Saiyans now live on Earth. Astonished, Beerus decides to visit King Kai's planet and question Goku.
On Earth, Krillin, Android 18 and Marron are stuck in traffic: she spent ages on her makeup and has her eye on the fancy bingo prizes. Krillin turns the car back into a capsule and the family flies the rest of the way, meeting Yamcha, Tien and Chiaotzu. Gohan, Videl and Chi-Chi arrive at the ship; Gohan shows Piccolo his wedding photos, Master Roshi and Oolong are caught ogling women on the beach, and Mr. Satan keeps Majin Buu away from the buffet. Only Goku and Vegeta are missing, and a furious Bulma sets sail without them.
On King Kai's planet Goku suddenly drops his weights: he has not sensed Beerus, he has just remembered the party. Whis packs a lunch and estimates the trip will take about twenty-six minutes, "as long as an anime episode", Beerus grumbles. The Elder Kai, meanwhile, realizes with horror where they are headed.
Our take
It is a transitional episode, but a well-built one. The Oracle Fish scene and Whis' recap are there for viewers coming to Super without the film: in a few minutes we learn who Beerus is, why he wants a Saiyan and how it all ties back to Frieza. The Kais' conversation adds something the movie lacked, the balance between gods of creation and gods of destruction, an idea that will become central in later sagas.
The Earth half is pure ensemble comedy, a parade of cameos to catch up with everyone. And the twenty-six-minute gag is a wink at the audience that the next episode will make almost literal.
Trivia
- Written by Toshio Yoshitaka and directed by Masanori Satō, with Yoshitaka Yashima as animation director.
- The Elder Kai reveals that Beerus was the one who sealed him inside the Z Sword. The detail came from an answer by Akira Toriyama published in Saikyō Jump in June 2014.
- The film's bingo tournament becomes the "Super Bingo" here, with the same prizes: a jet, a castle, a big diamond and a secret top prize.
- The Oracle Fish is again voiced by Shōko Nakagawa, as in the film Battle of Gods.
- The wedding outfits in the photo shown to Piccolo do not match the ones seen in Dragon Ball Z episode 289.