Episode 40 of Dragon Ball Super, first broadcast in Japan on April 24, 2016, ends the tournament between Universes 6 and 7 in the most unexpected way. Goku chooses to lose, Monaka wins without knowing how and, just as Champa is about to take his anger out on his own fighters, a tiny figure appears in the ring and terrifies every god present: Zeno.
Summary
Goku's Kamehameha cracks the dome and threatens to suck the audience into space until Whis and Vados seal it again. Goku and Hit are standing on the giant portraits of Champa and Beerus, which float above the arena and therefore count as in bounds. Hit dodged the blast by improving his Time-Skip yet again, and thanks Goku for it. The Kaioken, though, is taking its toll. Champa tells Hit to keep his distance until Goku collapses. Cabba objects, and Champa reminds him that he and the others are only pawns. Goku and Hit both glare at him.
The two bump fists and charge. Hit strikes first, Goku holds on and answers by slamming him into Champa's portrait. Then, exhausted, they get back up, and Goku asks for the rules to be lifted: Hit is an assassin, and as long as killing is banned he cannot fight at full strength. Champa happily agrees, Beerus refuses, and the brothers start bickering. Goku realizes the argument will not end anytime soon. He tells Hit they can finish another time, somewhere without such restrictions, walks to the edge and jumps off. Hit wins. As soon as the Kaioken fades, Goku collapses in convulsions.
Beerus is livid: now it is Monaka's turn. Only he, Whis and Piccolo know the truth, that the "strongest warrior" was a bluff to motivate the Saiyans. Monaka climbs down trembling and lands a limp punch on Hit's leg. After a long pause, Hit cries out and flies out of the ring. Universe 7 has won. Hit walks off saying that now he and Goku are even, gives up the cube and asks to go home. Champa swears no one on his team will return alive, and Beerus stops Goku from intervening: fighters belong to their god. Just then Vados notices three figures in the ring. Champa and Beerus scream. It is the king of everything.
Our take
The tournament's finale is a bold gamble. Instead of a spectacular victory, Super picks two gestures of respect: Goku leaving the ring because the gods' quarrel has drained the fight of meaning, and Hit returning the favor by letting himself lose. It is an elegant way of saying the fighters are worth more than their masters.
Monaka winning without understanding how is the perfect comic payoff for a long deception, while Zeno's arrival instantly changes the scale of the series. Seeing Beerus and Champa terrified of a being the size of a child is the best introduction he could have had.
Trivia
- Written by King Ryū and directed by Masanori Satō, with animation direction by Yoshitaka Yashima.
- It drew a 6.2% rating in Japan.
- The Elder Kai scolds Shin for "stealing" his lines about the effect Goku has on people.
- Goku thanks the Galactic King by shaking one of his tentacles, and learns to everyone's embarrassment that it is not an arm.
- The matching part of Toyotarō's manga is chapter 13.
Did you know? The Japanese title keeps the suspense to the end: "At last, a decision! Is the winner Beerus? Or is it Champa?" In the end, neither god is the one who decides the tournament.