Episode 97 of Dragon Ball Super, first broadcast in Japan on July 2, 2017 and titled Survive! The "Tournament of Power" Begins at Last!! in Funimation's dub, kicks off the Tournament of Power. After twenty episodes of build-up, eighty fighters hurl themselves at each other on the floating arena in the Null Realm. Gohan's team strategy lasts a few seconds, the first elimination arrives, and Goku nearly gets knocked out almost immediately.
Summary
The Grand Minister repeats the rules: the time limit is one hundred units, about forty-eight Earth minutes, marked by the pillar in the middle of the arena slowly sinking; killing, weapons and healing items are banned, and anyone who falls off is eliminated. Gohan asks his teammates to cover each other's backs and fight with superior numbers, but the moment the Grand Minister gives the signal, Goku dashes toward Top, and Vegeta, Androids 17 and 18 and Frieza each go their own way. Master Roshi reassures Gohan: it will be fine anyway.
Goku is intercepted by Universe 4's Ganos. Elsewhere, Narirama, Universe 3's robot, activates a spinning mode that sweeps away many opponents, until Hit and Basil each tear off one of his arms. Basil then knocks Rylibeu, Universe 10's winged fighter, off the ring, and she suddenly finds herself sitting in the stands next to her gods: she is the first one out. The two Zenos tick her off on their tablets, and God of Destruction Rumoosh is ashamed that it happened to a fighter with wings.
Gohan, Piccolo, Tien, Krillin and Roshi stick together against a group of opponents led by Lavender and protect each other, though their special attacks are not enough to break through. Basil, meanwhile, cannot push out Napapa, Universe 10's sumo wrestler, who repels his attacks. Goku spots Top tangling with Murichim and then Jiren, standing motionless in the middle of the battle; the Zenos have already taken note of him.
Distracted, Goku is grabbed from behind by Universe 4's Nink, who plans to throw himself into the void and drag Goku along: losing one fighter to eliminate a strong one is a good trade. At the edge, Goku turns Super Saiyan Blue, breaks free, grabs the arena and lets only his opponent fall. Then he immediately powers down to save energy, to Beerus's dismay. But he is already surrounded by Universe 9's three brothers and other fighters. Forty-seven minutes remain.
Our take
The first tournament episode has two jobs: explain how the battle works and convey a sense of chaos. It does both well. The sinking pillar is a simple, effective visual idea, Rylibeu's elimination immediately shows what happens to those who fall, and the direction jumps from group to group without losing the thread.
Nink's trap is the most interesting moment, because it explains the tournament's logic better than any rules briefing: in a team battle, sacrificing yourself to remove a strong opponent is a legitimate move. And Goku dropping back to base form to conserve his strength introduces the theme of stamina that will run through the whole saga.
Trivia
- Written by Atsuhiro Tomioka and directed by Hideki Hiroshima, with Yukihiro Kitano and Hirotaka Nii as animation directors. It drew a 6.0% TV rating in Japan.
- From this episode on, the opening and eyecatches include Frieza on the team.
- In the manga, Goku immediately goes looking for Jiren rather than Top, and Nink is eliminated by Vegeta.
- Napapa shouts "dosukoi" as he fights, just like Doskoi, the sumo wrestler from Dragon Ball Z: Bojack Unbound.
Did you know? Eliminated fighters do not actually plunge into the void: they are teleported to the stands beside their universe's gods.