'Dragon Ball Super' Fans Aren't Happy With Jiren's Backstory

Jiren has been one of the most mysterious foes Goku and company have ever faced in Dragon Ball [...]

Jiren has been one of the most mysterious foes Goku and company have ever faced in Dragon Ball Super, and now that the origins of his power have been revealed fans are a bit disappointed in the outcome.

Maybe it's because of the theories fans had made over the Tournament of Power's run, or maybe it's because it came late in the game, but fans are just not happy hearing about the source of Jiren's power.

Jiren's source of strength, and backstory, was revealed to be that his parents were killed by an "evil-doer." He was rescued, and taught to fight. His increased strength attracted more fighters and allies to his side, enough to the point where Jiren felt confident in facing down the evil-doer again. But his friends, and his teacher, were killed in the rematch.

Jiren then vows to grow stronger and challenge the evil-doer again but the friends who survived the first attack refused to fight at his side. Feeling betrayed, he cast away notions like trust and friendship and believing the only real strength lies in justice, he grew to who he is today.

Fans were just not feeling this origin story citing examples such as Vegeta, who's entire planet was lost and he was enslaved by the villain who did it (and even has to work with him for the safety of his universe). They also mention how his power level doesn't quite get explained by this simple origin (which some fans even point out it short explanation as a reason why it fails) as every character has trained their whole life.

Frankly, fans believed that since Jiren has been built up and presented as the strong foe in Dragon Ball canon, that the two minute origin story just didn't do enough to fill in his backstory to make him the compelling foe that has been on screen for so many episodes.

Since the series is ending soon, fans were hoping Jiren would be a compelling final battle but it seems that he will provide more of a visually compelling battle than a narrative one rather than mix the two like in the past.

There is also currently a new Dragon Ball film in the works for 2018. The film will focus on the Saiyans, the "origins of Goku's power," and potentially the story of the very first Super Saiyan God. Not only does it aim to be the best film in the series, original creator Akira Toriyama will be contributing to the film's script and new character designs.

Dragon Ball Super's "Universal Survival" arc is part of the recent simulcast agreement that sites like Crunchyroll and Funimation have scored. DragonBall Super airs on Crunchyroll Saturday evenings at 7:15 p.m. CST. Adult Swim airs the English dub during its Toonami block Saturday evenings at 9:30 p.m, and is now available to stream on FunimationNOW and Amazon Video.

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