Dragon Ball Reveals New Ultra Instinct Goku Artwork

Dragon Ball is giving Goku a chance to shine in all his Ultra Instinct glory, via some new promo artwork for the Dragon Ball Heroes arcade/card game. The new artwork takes what you could probably call a “throwback” look at Goku’s Ultra Instinct form from the Tournament of Power – the first time that the Saiyan hero manifested the godly power. When Goku finally achieved Ultra Instinct in his final battle with Jiren during the ToP, his uniform (which had already been shredded from non-stop battle) tore down to the waist, and his wild Saiyan hair took on that silver color, while his body got hard-ripped like never before.

While this Dragon Ball Heroes artwork may be taking a look at where Goku began with Ultra Instinct, things have moved forward significantly since then. The Dragon Ball Super manga’s new story arc (which follows the ToP) saw Goku actually have to invest time and attention training in the use of Ultra Instinct.

The divine power couldn’t be taught by any mortal; thankfully, Goku found a rare ally in Merus, an angel-in-training who was masquerading as a Galactic Patrolman. Merus taught Goku that the essence of Ultra Instinct is maintaining zen-like serenity in the heat of battle, to the point where the body moves and fights at a speed faster than conscious thought. Even with that training, Goku still couldn’t use Ultra Instinct without a final emotional push – which he got when Merus died, as a result of fighting to protect Goku and Earth from new villain Moro.

This time, when Goku achieved Perfected Ultra Instinct in his battle with Moro, the will execution of the form looked much different. In perfect visual metaphor, Goku stood calm and motionless with eyes closed in his base form, channeling his energy into a massive column of fiery energy, which enveloped him completely. That furious maelstrom shook the Earth and then vanished in an instant, leaving behind a scene so quiet and serene that the movement of the water and chirping of the birds can be heard. Unlike Super Saiyan forms, Perfected Ultra Instinct has no aura or crackling energy, just Goku with Silver hair and a harder (but leaner) muscular physique. Dragon Ball Heroes has similarly explored Ultra Instinct’s upgraded forms, by having Goku train with Grand Priest.

Seeing Goku fight with Perfected Ultra Instinct was similarly more impressive than anything we saw from Super Saiyan – here’s hoping there’s more of it to come.

Dragon Ball Heroes airs new webisodes monthly. The arcade game is available in Japan.