‘Dragon Ball Super’: Everything We Know About the Finale

Dragon Ball Super is airing its finale (ep. 131) this week, and it is probably the most highly-anciticipated event in Dragon Ball history – perhaps in all of anime history, as well!

DBS is going out with a major battle that few ever saw coming, and the last few weeks of spoilers and episode previews have teased that there’s going to be one hell of an ending to the Tournament of Power saga!

With so many episode leaks and finale promos out there, it may be hard to keep track of all the juicy details. To help prepare you for the epic event, here’s Everything We Know About Dragon Ball Super‘s Finale:

It All Ends Here

In case that heading isn’t clear: this is the end. Dragon Ball Super’s Tournament of Power arc ends this week with episode 131, which will also serve as the ending to the larger “Universal Survival” arc. For those fans thinking that we could get some kind of big cliffhanger that will continues this storyline at some point later – don’t hold your breath. The ToP has been in its “last minutes” for months now; even at Dragon Ball pacing, that leaves little room for continuation after this episode. We’re going to get a definitive ending, and it could be a major game-changer. 

Goku is Down (But Not Out)

Goku mastered Ultra Instinct just in time to turn the tables on Jiren in their final one-on-one bout. The Siayan hero surpassed the gods themselves with his mind-blowing power-up; however, he paid a costly price for that power, as his body was ravaged by the strain of pushing his limits past the mortal threshold. Goku’s limp body was saved from ring-out by Freeza, who will step in to battle Jiren next. Though it looks like Goku is down, the preview for the finale shows Goku striking back in his base form, presumably to help finish the fight. Goku may end up proving to be his usual MVP self!

Android 17 And Freeza Tag-Team

Seeing Freeza and Android 17 take on Toppo was an odd-pairing of former Dragon Ball Z villains, but it turned out to be pretty cool. Little did we know, that battle was merely meant to establish foundation for Freeza and No. 17’s real bout against Jiren! Since they already have experience fighting together, there’s no reason to expect that Freeza and No. 17 won’t put on an even more impressive show the second time around, when so much is riding on the line. 

Freeza Will Have One Hell of a Fight

After it was revealed that Freeza would indeed be making the last stand for Universe 7, we’ve seen a lot of hype from the Dragon Ball Super cast and crew about just what an epic fight we’re about to see between Jiren and the evil emperor! As one of the most powerful fighters in the series, Freeza can put on as impressive a show as Goku did in the previous episode – and our eyeballs will thank him for it!

There’s a Post-Credits Scene

We heard that the Dragon Ball Super finale episode would be going the Marvel route, with a special post-credits scene! You can read the SPOILERY explanation of what the post-credits scene is, below – or just save it for when you watch the episode. 

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SPOILERS: According to translator Herms98: “Seems that the last episode of Super’s ending theme will have some kind of special video montage, rather than the usual closing animation,” the translator shared. “Which is presumably the “something special” the producer mentioned.”

In addition to that, some other translations also point to a special clip of the upcoming Dragon Ball Super movie being shown, as well! 

This Could Be It (For Now)

Its been a roller-coaster of emotion for fans, as we get to this Dragon Ball Super finale. First, it seemed like this end to the Tournament of Power would simply be the end of Super‘s latest chapter; then it was announced that the anime series was ending here; then hope sprang from Toei Animation’s announcement that Dragon Ball Super would continue after the first movie was released. But after doing some math on the series announced at Anime Japan this week, it’s looking like Dragon Ball Super could be off the air until at least spring or fall of 2019. That’s a painfully long wait for a show that’s at the height of its popularity right now. Let’s hope some other plans in the works. 

The Movie is Tied to This Finale

When the 2018 Dragon Ball movie was announced, it seemed like it would be a standalone prequel story about the history of the Saiyans of Universe 7, and the story of the very first Super Saiyan. Later, we learned that the film would be the official first Dragon Ball Super movie, tied ot the events of the anime series. Freeza will be involved, and one purpose of the story will be explaining how Goku is able to achieve such radical power. In that sense, the finale of the Tournament of Power will be a crucial signifier of where the franchise story goes next. Be sure to watch the trailer, above!

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Dragon BallSuper 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.