‘Dragon Ball Super’: Is There Another Level of Goku’s New Transformation?

Dragon Ball Super literally broke the Internet this past weekend with its two-part epic event, which saw Goku battle Jiren in the Tournament of Power!

The battle with Jiren maxed out Goku‘s power levels and boosts; however, the Saiyan warrior still managed to overcome defeat (if only for a moment) when he manifested a powerful new form that allowed him to a least get Jiren’s full attention.

However, with Goku’s new “Ultra Instinct” form having dissipated as quickly and mysteriously as it appeared, Jiren has quickly regained the upper hand, and is now be the biggest threat in the tournament.

But as longtime Dragon Ball fans have been noting all along, this feels like familiar territory. Could there be another level of Goku’s Ultra Instinct transformation we have yet to see? Check out the clues that are already there…

What Is “Ultra Instinct?”

Goku’s new transformation is called “Mastery of Self-Movement” in Japanese, which translates to “Ultra Instinct” in English. While we don’t know everything about it yet, both translations seem to imply the nature of this new power (or state of being, more accurately):

Whis already explained early on in the Universe Survival saga that the technique is one that allows a fighter to actually fight and react faster than the speed of thought; it’s a powerful state that Whis has achieved, but one that his student, Beerus, has yet to master (hence Beerus’ jealousy at seeing Goku achieve it). 

Given what we saw in Episodes 109 – 110, Goku taps in the Ultra Instinct state completely by error, and has clearly not mastered it, as he suddenly loses the power, and pays for it with a beating from Jiren.

Clearly, Goku has more to learn about the Ultra Instinct, and when he does, we could see another epic transformation take place…

Red and Blue Auras

One thing fans are already holding up as evidence that Goku has another Ultra Instinct level to reach is the artwork of the transformation. In the actual episodes of Dragon Ball Super (109 – 110), Goku reaches Ultra Instinct by having SSJ style black hair with gray eyes, and a fierce blue aura surrounding him; in certain artwork, however, Goku is flanked by both blue and red auras. 

That discrepancy in the visual representation is leading to some speculation that he’ll synch both his Ki and Kaio-Ken power boosters to reach the next level of Ultra Instinct powers. It’s a reasonable enough theory – but also one that could be quickly debunked, as the artwork is in fact artwork, and the red and blue auras could be for aesthetic effect, rather than indication of some deeper meaning. 

Still though, the biggest evidence of all for Ultra Instinct having another level (or several, leading to a “final form” reveal) comes from the history of Dragon Ball itself…

DBZ All Over Again…

We’ve said it before, we’ll say it again: Dragon Ball Super‘s current “Universe Survival” storyline is mirroring the end of Dragon Ball Z‘s “Freeza Saga” like crazy!

In the Freeza saga, we had a major milestone event when Freeza’s power and ruthless violence pushed Goku to the emotional breaking point that allowed him to achieve the Super Saiyan transformation for the first time. However, after seeing Goku initially battle in SSJ form, it’s revealed that both he and Freeza aren’t fighting in their fully powered up forms, which occurs in the actual final battle several episodes later. 

At this point, we can probably assume the same is happening with Ultra Instinct. The power has only begun to make a dent in the unstoppable Jiren, who has yet to reveal his own final form and/or top power level. There’s a major rematch that needs to still take place, and the smart money is definitely on Goku learning a thing or two about how to do the most with Ultra Instinct, before he can finally defeat Jiren. 

…That is, if Freeza doesn’t kill Goku first (a fitting revenge). 

Dragon Ball Super airs on Crunchyroll Saturdays at 7:15 p.m. CST. Toonami also airs the English dub on Adult Swim Saturdays at 11:30 p.m.