Episode 41 of Dragon Ball Super, first broadcast in Japan on May 1, 2016 and titled Come Forth, Divine Dragon! And Grant My Wish, Peas and Carrots! in the English dub, is the true epilogue of the tournament with Universe 6. Zeno, the king of everything, plants the seed of a much bigger competition, the Super Dragon Balls are gathered and the divine dragon grants a wish nobody expected from Beerus.
Summary
Every god present is frozen at the sight of the newcomer, except Shin, who asks his ancestor who he is. Beerus explains to Goku that this is the ruler of all twelve universes, and the brothers rush to pay their respects. In his panic, Champa forgets to punish his fighters. Zeno has come to scold the two gods for neglecting their duties, and jokes about replacing them. Then he admits he enjoyed the tournament so much that he wants to hold another one, with fighters from every universe. Goku volunteers on the spot and, to Beerus's horror, shakes his hand. Zeno does not mind at all, and leaves with his two attendants.
Beerus scolds Goku: Zeno could erase all twelve universes in an instant. Champa keeps his word and hands over his six balls, spares his team so as not to risk Zeno's displeasure, and Cabba starts calling Vegeta "master". Goku offers Hit a rematch, and Majin Buu wakes up only now. Bulma cannot find the seventh ball on her radar until Android 18 points out that there are already seven signals, all right here, and Monaka suggests looking at the map in three dimensions. It is the tournament planet itself, covered in debris.
The summoning phrase must be spoken in the language of the gods, and Beerus stumbles over a word that does not exist in it: chonmage, the samurai topknot, slipped in where "please" should go. Whis leaves it as is and, after a moment of doubt, a golden dragon as big as a galaxy appears and swallows their ship. Inside, the core of Super Shenron asks for the wish. Beerus whispers it to Whis, who translates. Beerus tells Bulma he asked for a comfier bed. It is Vados, on the way home, who discovers the truth: Universe 6's Earth has been restored, civilization and all. Back on Beerus's planet, Monaka is paid off with a mountain of gold: he is just a delivery man.
Our take
The episode achieves two important things in little time. It presents Zeno as both childlike and terrifying, and makes him the engine of the future Tournament of Power. And it gives Beerus an act of hidden generosity: the god who pretends he wished for a better pillow and instead gives his brother back a planet is one of the sweetest moments of the saga.
Super Shenron, absurdly enormous, is an image that sticks, and the language-of-the-gods gag, Japanese read backwards, is one of those touches that make Dragon Ball unique even in the details.
Trivia
- Written by King Ryū and directed by Hideki Hiroshima, with storyboards by Hiroyuki Kakudō and animation direction by Osamu Ishikawa and Seizo Toma.
- It drew a 5.1% rating in Japan.
- The language of the gods is Japanese spoken backwards, syllable by syllable; Whis's wish means "revive the Earth and humanity of Universe 6".
- In the original phrase, chonmage replaces chōdai, "please", a pun the English dub renders as "peas and carrots".
- The matching part of Toyotarō's manga is chapter 13.
Did you know? Piccolo theorizes that after its last wish the seventh ball crashed into a small planet and was coated in its debris, which is why it looked like an ordinary world.
Characters
- Goku, Vegeta, Piccolo, Beerus, Whis and Monaka
- Zeno and his attendants
- Champa, Vados, Cabba and Hit
- Bulma, Android 18, Majin Buu, Mr. Satan and Jaco
- Super Shenron