Dragon Ball Super‘s English dub is currently powering through the Future Trunks arc, and ever since the series introduced the idea of 11 other universes existing along with Goku‘s, these other universes have come into play each arc.
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Like battling the denizens of Universe 6 in the Universe 6 arc, the Future Trunks arc has surprisingly brought Goku to Universe 10. Along with the arc’s core of time travel, there’s a bit of universe crossing since it was teased that the main villain of the arc, Goku Black, could possibly have a connection to Universe 10.
But what is Universe 10? Why is so important to the Future Trunks arc? Read on to find everything you need to know about Universe 10.
What Is The Future Trunks Arc?
Before explaining Universe 10. it’s important to know how the series got here. In the Future Trunks arc, it’s revealed that Future Trunks’ future Earth has been ravaged by a mysterious foe. Humanity has been whittled down to Earth’s few survivors, and Trunks has been struggling to keep this foe at bay.
So despite getting strong enough to defeat Android 17 and 18 in his time, and Dabura and Babidi before they were able to summon Majin Buu, Trunks’ time is still rocked by a strong villain. After the foe kills his mother and his friend Mai, Future Trunks manages to travel back in time to get the help of Goku once again like he had done during the Android saga.
That’s when it’s revealed that the mysterious foe is someone who looks and talks just like Goku.
Who Is Goku Black?
As Future Trunks and Bulma could not believe this evil Goku to be the actual Goku, they dubbed the foe “Black.” Goku Black is notable as he has all of the powers that Goku has, and it was shown in a fight with Goku early on in the arc that he shares the same type of fighting prowess as Goku. Meaning that Black too was gaining strength with every fight, much like Goku and his Saiyan body matures and improves.
Goku’s usual trick of getting stronger than the villain mid-fight already seems like a poor strategy given that their initial confrontation improved Black as well, and Black already seems like a strong villain thanks to easily defeating Trunks every time the two meet. He’s also intelligent since he thinks to destroys Trunks’ time machine and attempt to keep him in the past.
Why Is Universe 10 Important?
After Goku and Goku Black’s initial confrontation, where Goku Black managed to make it to the past through a time warp thanks to his Time Ring, Whis and Beerus reluctantly investigated Goku Black’s energy and realized that someone in Universe 10 has energy that feels exactly like Goku Black’s.
But since the connection is fuzzy and vague, Goku, Beerus, and Whis had to travel to Universe 10 in order to speak to the Supreme Kai in-training about the mysterious connection since his energy was ringing close to Goku Black’s for some reason that has yet to be discovered.
Who Are The New Kais?
As Goku, Beerus, and Whis head to Universe 10 to investigate the mysterious energy connection, the search brings them to Universe 10’s Supreme Kai Gowasu (voiced by Garett Schneck in Funimation’s English dub) and the protege he is grooming to take over the position, Zamasu (voiced by David Gray in the English dub).
Goku immediately challenges Zamasu to a fight, sensing a greater well of power within the Kai. Zamasu reluctantly agrees after Gowasu also tells him to agree since he had negative feelings toward mortals, and fighting Goku could change his perception. In a way, it did, as Goku gave Zamasu a surprising run for his money.
After Zamasu blocks Goku’s initial attack, he believes he gained victory but Goku’s quick thinking and fighting prowess forced Zamasu to activate his godly ki. In this moment, Goku thinks Zamasu shares a lot with Goku Black. But his godly Ki seems to be different than him still.
What Are The Time Rings?
Another clue to Goku Black’s true identity is his Time Ring. The Time Ring is a divine artifact that allows a Supreme Kai to monitor a universe or sense disturbances in the time stream (which is why Black was able to build a temporary bridge between Future Trunks’ timeline and Goku’s). But even then, Kais aren’t allowed to interfere with the passage of time.
When meeting with Beerus and Whis, Gowasu shows the two that he has five time rings in Universe 10’s collection, with one of them being unexplained. Universe 10’s Time Rings definitely are the biggest clue to Goku Black’s true identity and why the universe itself is so important to the arc.
What’s The Deal With Zamasu?
In the few moments fans have been introduced to Zamasu in the series, it is clear that the Kai is a different thinking Kai than the Supreme Kais of Universe 7 and even his mentor, Gowasu. Zamasu is struggling with becoming a Kai because he has a strong distrust of mortals, thinking they do nothing but destroy themselves. Wondering why he’s supposed to allow that kind of entity exist, this struggle is only deepened after his fight with Goku.
After their fight, Zamasu says he comes to respect mortals but the fight with Goku makes him see them as much more dangerous and needing to be rid of than before. So Goku and his casually fighting ways potentially has made a grave mistake that will cost him later.
Is Goku Black From Universe 10?
While knowing what Universe 10 adds to the Future Trunks arc is important, once all the pieces come together fans realized how important this universe is to the series. Goku Black’s identity is still a mystery, but there are clear clues that tie him to Universe 10 as his point of origin.
His time ring, which only Kais can use, Zamasu’s matching energy, and now Zamasu’s perspective on mortals in general (and possibly Goku, now) is setting the stage for what transpires in the future. There are too many aligning clues to state that Goku Black doesn’t have a connection with Universe 10, especially given that Zamasu moves and fights like Goku Black in the same way.
This mystery will surely unravel itself in the episodes to come.
Where Can I Watch?
Dragon Ball Super airs the Japanese language dub with English subtitles 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, VRV and Amazon Video.
If you want to catch up with the English dub, the first 39 episodes of Dragon Ball Super are now available to stream on FunimationNOW, Crunchyroll’s VRV service, and available to purchase on Amazon Video. The 39 episodes span the full range of what has aired in the North America and covers the “Battle of Gods” arc, “Revival of F” arc, and the most recently ended “Universe 6” arc.
Funimation has previously announced the rest of the series will soon be available on the service as well. Releasing in 13 episode batches two weeks after the last episode airs on Cartoon Network, fans of Dragon Ball Super‘s English dub without a cable connection now have a way to experience the series.
With the Future Trunks arc currently in action, now’s the best time to jump in, prepared with all of the back story beforehand.
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