Episode 35 of Dragon Ball Super, first broadcast in Japan on March 20, 2016, opens with the showdown between Vegeta and Frost, which lasts far less time than anyone expected. Then come a new rule, a new opponent and, for a few seconds, the figure who will dominate the rest of the tournament: the assassin Hit.
Summary
Free to use his poison needle in a match with no weapon rules, Frost boasts that he might kill Vegeta "by accident". He never gets the chance: Vegeta turns Super Saiyan and slams him into the arena barrier with a single blow, cracking it. On the sidelines, Beerus finds the puncture mark on Goku's hand: his loss is overturned and he is back in the tournament. Goku wants to face Monaka right away, but Beerus insists he be saved for last. Goku admires how focused Monaka looks with his eyes closed; Whis quietly tells him he fainted at the sight of the Kamehameha. Beerus, for his part, claims that anyone who disturbs Monaka's "meditation" gets incinerated.
Vados raises a cube-shaped barrier around the ring and the referee announces a new rule: anyone who touches it, even in mid-air, loses. Beerus objects, the brothers settle it with rock-paper-scissors without settling anything, and in the end Vegeta simply accepts. Meanwhile Frost tries to escape in Champa's cube, but a figure stops him and knocks him out with a mysterious technique. It is Hit, the "legendary assassin", who has already been promised the cube.
Vegeta's next opponent is Magetta, a bulky, slow robot from the Metalmen of Galactic System 66950. Vegeta smashes his head, but Magetta simply bangs it until a new one pops out. Then he spits a huge stream of lava, and the referee clarifies that it is not a weapon, just saliva. Vegeta realizes the barrier rule is meant to take away the air, his opponent's weak spot, and turns Super Saiyan. Whis notices something wrong, though: the arena is heating up.
Our take
The lightning win over Frost is a small reward for anyone who sat through his hypocrisy. Vegeta wastes no time on speeches and one punch settles the matter: it is the answer that best fits his character, and the show stages it without needless fanfare.
The rest of the episode is weaker. Magetta is a likable opponent but not an interesting one, and the barrier rule feels invented purely to stretch the fight. What makes the episode matter is Hit's appearance: a few seconds, a single move, and it is already clear that he is the real danger.
Trivia
- Written by King Ryū and directed by Kazuya Karasawa, with storyboards by Yukio Kaizawa and animation direction by Osamu Ishikawa and Kaori Takamura.
- It drew a 6.3% rating in Japan.
- In Japanese, Magetta is voiced by Naoki Tatsuta, the series narrator and voice of Oolong, who goes uncredited.
- Universe 6's Supreme Kai assumes the Metalmen must exist in Universe 7 too; Kibito is far from sure.
- The matching part of Toyotarō's manga is chapter 11.
Did you know? There is a one-week gap between Episode 34, aired on March 6, 2016, and this one: Fuji TV did not air a new Dragon Ball Super episode on March 13.
Characters
- Vegeta, Goku, Piccolo, Beerus, Whis and Monaka
- Frost, Magetta, Hit, Champa and Vados
- Shin, Kibito and Universe 6's Supreme Kai