‘Dragon Ball Super’ Explains Jiren’s Resurrection Wish

Dragon Ball Super isn’t one to laden its baddies down with origin stories, but it seems the series is making an exception for Jiren. The anime may have glossed over his history, but the manga is finally piecing together his rather curious wish.

You know, since the show never bothered to mention the wish Jiren was working for at the Tournament of Power.

Recently, Dragon Ball Super put up its latest chapter, and it was there Jiren made a revelation about himself. As it turns out, the Pride Trooper wants to win the Tournament of Power to resurrect his dead master, and it is Toppo who steps in to explain why.

“There was one thing Jiren never learned,” Toppo said before dropping the big bombshell: “Official approval from his master.”

Continuing, Toppo said Jiren never felt like he lived up to his master’s standards, and Gicchin was killed before the boy could prove himself.

“Master Gicchin never recognized Jiren as a successor. I can’t say for certain, but Jiren assumed he just wasn’t strong enough, so he devoted himself to honing his strength. In the time since, he’s grown outrageously powerful. He probably wants his master to see him now and grant that approval.”

Now that Jiren as become the strongest Pride Trooper, the fighter wants to see Gicchin what he is made of. As fans have seen, Jiren can fight toe-to-toe with Son Goku at every level. There is no doubt the Universe 11 lead has become a defender of all things justice, but Jiren will not allow himself to accept that title unless Gicchin can come back and anoint him as such.

Are you surprised by Jiren’s motivation here…? Let me know in the comments or hit me up on Twitter @MeganPetersCB to talk all things comics and anime!

If you want to check out more of the anime, Dragon Ball Super currently airs its English dub on Adult Swim during the Toonami programming block Saturday evenings at 9:30 p.m. It is also available to stream on Funimation and Amazon Video. The Japanese language release of the series is complete, and available to stream on FunimationNOW, VRV, and Crunchyroll.