A massive twist in Dragon Ball Super that excused the sudden appearance of posable threats for Goku and Vegeta didn’t just happen randomly. The Dragon Ball sequel actually set the stage for it to happen in an earlier saga, and the connecting factor was the resulting side effects that consequently made these random developments more believable and underscored the importance of one of the series’ most ubiquitous themes – the power of training.
Dragon Ball Super made waves when Granolah the Cerealean wished to become the strongest warrior n Universe 7, especially since another villain named Elec later made the same request for his companion Gas. Although a decent explanation as to how there could possibly be a villain strong enough to pose a threat to Goku and Vegeta, the twist allowed Vegeta to outsmart Granlah’s wish in a clever way that added some nuance to the conflict. In Dragon Ball Super chapter 74 by story writer Akira Toriyama and artist Toyotarou, Vegeta informs Granolah that although he’s much stronger than him, he lacks experience and hasn’t trained enough to learn how to truly harness his new power.
Goku Gave The Same Lesson to Another Dragon Ball Super Villain
Although Granolah and Gas’ wish had other drawbacks, Vegeta’s point about Granolah lacking the necessary experience to beat him despite being much stronger echoes what Goku said to the villain Moro in the earlier Galactic Patrol Prisoner Saga. After devouring Seven-Three, Moro was able to use his copy ability to steal the angel Merus’ Ultra Instinct to help him beat Goku. But in chapter 65, Moro’s body begins to swell the more he stays in this state, a phenomenon Goku blames on the fact that Moro didn’t hone himself to withstand Ultra Instinct like he did.
Although a relatively minor moment during Moro’s reign, the later Granolah the Survivor Saga not only revisited this theme but expanded upon it. After Vegeta taunts Granolah about his lack of experience, Granolah’s subsequent failures against him and even Goku in a later battle come as a direct result of him only assuming this new strength so soon and too quickly. For instance, Granolah’s wish also gave him a variation of Instant Transmission, but Goku is able to easily outmatch him in an Instant Transmission battle since he has been using the technique since Dragon Ball Z. A more direct connection to Moro’s swelling body, however, is how Granolah and Gas later lose a portion of their life to accommodate the new power, especially Gas when he starts to deteriorate.
Dragon Ball Super Also Foreshadowed Vegeta’s Biggest Growth
This isn’t the only time that Dragon Ball Super has used effective foreshadowing to lead to massive moments in different sagas. Some of the more critical instances involve Vegeta’s rejections of certain types of techniques before eventually relenting despite his earlier grievances. In the Future Trunks Saga, Vegeta first expresses disgust over the idea of having to rely on Mufaba against Goku Black. Vegeta once again shares the same sentiment about Goku’s Instant Transmission midway through the Galactic Patrol Prisoner Saga, only to see him sacrifice his ideals in an effort to get stronger.
By Vegeta sharing his opinion of Mufaba, Dragon Ball Super established how he felt about techniques to demonstrate incredible character growth once he made concessions. Much like how Dragon Ball Super explored an unnatural boost in power to foreshadow a new critical type of wish, the Dragon Ball sequel uses foreshadowing to underscore impressive character growth.
Dragon Ball Super is available on Viz.com
