Warning! Spoilers ahead for Dragon Ball Super chapter 82!
Dragon Ball Super continues to solve some of the franchise’s deeply ingrained faults by making a forgotten Dragon Ball Z tool the key to Goku defeating the villain Gas.
In chapter 82 of Dragon Ball Super, the Namekian Monaito, whom Goku’s father Bardock saved decades ago from the villain Gas, reveals that he still has Bardock’s broken Scouter that contains a saved audio file. Since Goku and his friends have been unable to find a way to defeat Gas in the present day, Monaito hopes that if they somehow repair the Scouter, they can retrieve the audio file that will, with any luck, contain information on how Bardock successfully won against Gas. After repairing the device, they find—much to their delight—that the audio file is from that fateful day so long ago.
Aside from the intriguing plot development that is usually missing in Dragon Ball, this is the latest example of how mangaka Akira Toriyama and artist Toyotarou have made objects or characters that the franchise has made irrelevant suddenly relevant again. Unfortunately, the Scouter couldn’t be helpful in the usual sense since Scouters are normally used to locate and track a target’s power level, and most of the main characters, including Goku, possess the capability to do so naturally without the help of technology. So, obviously, Akira and Toyotarou had to reintroduce the archaic piece of technology in a different way. And this was obviously the next best decision—aside from Goku and the others somehow losing their ability to sense another character’s power level.
Although things are expected to change, especially in a series that has been ongoing in some form since 1989, the absurd amount of power that the franchise’s heroes have amassed has greatly minimized the number of objects these godlike warriors must rely on —eliminating a great deal of plot developments in the process. For instance, Goku lost his reliance on the Flying Nimbus and Power Pole—which were originally major staples of his character. Instead of having to find innovative ways to travel using the Flying Nimbus or fight with the Power Pole in varying circumstances, Goku can now simply fly, teleport or just unleash a wave of insanely powerful energy. But since Goku can’t use time-defying telepathy on those from the past (yet), he must rely on a Scouter that recorded crucial data from years gone by, in turn, providing a bit of diversity in a series that’s infamous for perpetually conforming to the same themes and tropes.
Besides offering some distinctiveness in an otherwise stagnant storyline, the incorporation of this Scouter serves as a physical connection between Goku and his long since deceased father Bardock. Before now, Goku knew absolutely nothing about his father, and now, not only has Monaito revealed things about Bardock that Goku never thought he’d ever know, but Goku now has a physical object that once belonged to him. The Granolah the Survivor Saga was already known for bridging the gap between the present day and Dragon Ball Z‘s ancient past, and now it’s actually accomplishing this on a more tangible level.
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