Episode 62 of Dragon Ball Super, first broadcast in Japan on October 16, 2016 and titled I Will Defend the World! Trunks's Furious Burst of Super Power! in Funimation's dub, splits the story in two. In the future, Trunks, fresh from erupting into a new form, stays behind alone as a shield; in the present, the heroes look for a weapon other than their fists and find it in an ancient technique: the Evil Containment Wave, or Mafuba, which seals an enemy inside a container.
Summary
In his new form, Trunks holds his own against Black better than anyone expected, but he cannot beat him. He seems to go down under the counterattack, then gets back up and fires a Masenko. He asks Vegeta to take Goku back to the past: he will hold the villains off while the others find a way to defeat them. Vegeta reluctantly agrees, tosses the bag of senzu beans to Mai and has Bulma bring out the time machine. Black fails to stop it, but neither he nor Zamasu is worried: they will be back soon enough.
In the present, young Trunks assumes his older self stayed because the future is safe. Beerus brags about it until Bulma puts him in his place with a furious outburst. Once Vegeta explains who Black really is, the God of Destruction closes the case: he already erased this world's Zamasu, and other timelines are not his problem. He and Whis wish everyone luck and leave.
Meanwhile, Chi-Chi and Gohan visit Krillin, now a police officer, to ask where Goku has been for days; Krillin suspects the truth but dodges the question. Goten and young Trunks rush to Bulma to join the fight and she sends them home. When Chi-Chi and Gohan arrive, Bulma denies everything, but Shu, Piccolo and Krillin keep giving the game away until Goku himself appears, covered in bandages, and digs into his wife's packed lunch.
Having heard the story, Piccolo makes a suggestion: the Evil Containment Wave. If Black and Zamasu stay still long enough, they can be sealed away for good. While Bulma repairs the machine, Vegeta locks himself in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber and Goku visits Master Roshi, who agrees to teach him while warning him how dangerous it is. All night long Goku tries to seal Turtle in a jar, missing again and again for lack of focus, until he finally gets it right. Roshi will prepare the charm for the seal, in exchange for a night out with pretty girls. In Universe 10, Beerus and Whis visit Gowasu: the future did not change, and the Supreme Kai, blaming himself for choosing Zamasu, offers to help.
Our take
It is a transition episode that does its job well. After three tense installments, the return to the present is a breath of fresh air: Chi-Chi looking for her husband, the kids wanting to fight, Bulma's chain of lies collapsing in seconds. The show reminds us that, outside Trunks' war, a family is waiting for Goku at home.
Choosing the Evil Containment Wave is smart. Against an immortal enemy you need a weapon that contains rather than wounds, and reviving the technique Master Roshi once used against King Piccolo ties the most modern saga to the very roots of the series.
Trivia
- Written by Yoshifumi Fukushima and directed by Masanori Satō; it drew a 6.2% rating.
- The Evil Containment Wave returns for the first time since the Piccolo Jr. Saga, and the Pilaf Gang flash back to Roshi using it against King Piccolo.
- That flashback shows Pilaf, Mai and Shu in their adult forms, alongside Piano.
- In the Brazilian Portuguese dub, Vegeta says Black's power is "over 8000," a wink at the famous "It's over 9000!" meme.
Did you know? In the original Dragon Ball, the Evil Containment Wave cost its user their life, as it did Master Mutaito and Roshi himself. Dragon Ball Super never mentions that price.