Did ‘Dragon Ball Super’ Just Reveal the Date of Goku and Jiren’s Last Match?

Dragon Ball Super fans are on the edge of their collective seats as the Tournament of Power comes down to its final minutes. Right now it’s totally up in the air whether Goku and Universe 7 will win, or if Jiren and Toppo of Universe 11 will take the win in a major upset. There hasn’t been a single spoiler to tell us which way the situation is going, but we may have just gotten a hint that a final showdown between Goku and Jiren is coming at us soon!

The weekly Dragon Ball Super spoilers revealed the titles for the next batch of upcoming episodes, including episode 127, which comes with the “provisional title” of “Entrusting Hope to the Final Barrier”. A lot of fans saw that and instantly jumped to the conclusion that Android 17 and his eternal Android Barrier shield could be the key to Universe 7’s win. However, some rival thoughts about the episode title translation may suggest otherwise. As one Reddit commenter points out:

“バリア doesn’t just mean barrier. It means in general, an obstacle, and can be interpreted in this case, as line of defense. i.e. The line of defense that carries the last hope. I think the title refers to the elimination of everyone but Goku, and Jiren, episode 127 marking the start of their final battle. The hope of both universes rest on their last line of defense.”

If that translation is correct, Goku and Jiren’s last battle would air on February 11th.

It’s an interesting theory – one that you would initially think would be more in line with what would be taking place at that late point in the storyline – but maybe not. Other fans have also picked up on another valid translation that supports the theory that this title refers back to Android 17:

“Note: The title of 127 indicates that 17 is probably still in. バリア/baria (English written with katakana) is used for things like 17’s technique (it was also used for the same technique used by Bobbidi and Vegetto). The term used for a metaphorical power barrier is generally 壁/kabe. That’s what was used for “Super Saiyan wall” in Z (超サイヤ人の壁) and also episode 90: “See the Wall That Must Be Passed! Goku VS Gohan” (超えるべき壁を見据えて！悟空VS悟飯). Also, for breaking the “shell”, they just use the Japanese word for shell: 殻/kara.”

Judging from the comments, the majority of fans are hoping to see that iconic final match between Goku and Jiren, rather than the more novel and unexpected Anroid 17 last stand, or a final pairing between Android 17 and Goku. As is pointed out in the thread, if No. 17 last longer than Vegeta, than a large portion of the fanbase is going to be in an uproar…

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.