How Dragon Ball Super Failed With the Granolah Arc

The latest chapter of Dragon Ball Super has arrived and with it, readers might have experienced the conclusion of the Granolah The Survivor Arc, the storyline that introduced the intergalactic bounty hunter while also taking Shonen fans into the past of Dragon Ball lore. While there are some thing to like about the battle against the Heeters, the latest storyline has plenty of problems that stopped it from being a solid entry in the series created by Akira Toriyama and we wanted to walk you through some of the biggest examples. 

If you haven’t had the opportunity to read the latest chapter of Dragon Ball Super, Chapter 86, you can read it here to see how the battle between Goku and Gas comes to an end as Granolah and Vegeta also lend a helping hand to Son. While there certainly are more than a few problems with this Shonen arc, there were some strong points as well. Vegeta’s Ultra Ego is an interesting transformation that seems organic to the Saiyan Prince, Granolah’s “monkey’s paw” wish upon the dragon balls is an interesting hook for the character, and the Heeters as a crime family looking to topple Frieza in order to acquire his forces is a nice twist in terms of villain motivations. 

What do you think the weakest aspect of the Granolah Arc is? Feel free to let us know in the comments or hit me up directly on Twitter @EVComedy to talk all things comics, anime, and the world of Dragon Ball. 

Where’s Frieza?

As mentioned earlier, the Heeters’ ultimate goal wasn’t to kill Goku and Vegeta, but to rather stop them from interfering with their takeover of Frieza’s armies and become the top dogs in the universe’s underworld. While Frieza appears to be their ultimate goal, the space tyrant has yet to appear in this arc, even in flashbacks that would regularly discuss how the Saiyans were working on the Shonen antagonist’s behalf. There are a lot of different things that this arc could have done to set itself apart, but seeing the Heeters go directly after Frieza, placing the likes of Goku, Vegeta, and Granolah on a mission of actually protecting the pint-sized dictator would make for an excellent storyline. 

Bardock’s Message is…”Be Strong To Win”?

One of the biggest mysteries of the Granolah Arc was how Bardock, the father of Goku, was able to actually defeat Gas in the past despite the fact that the Saiyan warrior’s highest power level was around 10,000. While Gas might have been weaker during this time frame, he certainly appeared to have more than enough energy to take down Goku’s dad. When Goku, Vegeta, and Granolah are given old audio of the fight between Bardock and Gas, we are shown the fight in its entirety in one Dragon Ball Super chapter and Bardock simply…becomes stronger somehow. Readers don’t learn exactly how Bardock was able to become stronger to defeat Gas outside of simply wanting to and most fans remain confused if he tapped into some form of Ultra Instinct, though this would play havoc with the fact that he died at the hands of Frieza ultimately. There were so many interesting ways that this fight could have gone and the manga, unfortunately, failed on all fronts. 

“New” Ultra Instinct

Following the reveal of Bardock’s “method” in fighting Gas, Goku is able to tap into some new form of Ultra Instinct maybe? To this day it’s still quite confusing as to why Son’s Ultra Instinct Sign was able to make him stronger than the Heeter he was fighting, though you could make the argument that it’s because he tapped further into his Saiyan roots. Ultimately, it falls flat because there are so many questions about whether it’s even a new form of Ultra Instinct and what this means for Goku moving forward when he has a transformation that seems to be a halfway point between Super Saiyan and Ultra Instinct. 

Stupid Energy Goku

Listen, Goku being able to form a giant energy version of himself is one of the dumbest things that Dragon Ball has ever done, and considering some of the dumb things that Dragon Ball has done, that’s really saying something. We were somewhat hoping that Goku’s big energy man would be a one-and-done technique from the Moro Arc, and really, the way that he uses it in the latest chapter, it should have been. He simply makes it appear to toss Gas into the sky, which is something he could have done in any myriad number of ways. It’s just not an interesting technique when all is said and done and it really doesn’t play up on any of the Saiyan’s strengths.

Vegeta: The Eternal Jobber

Do we even have to say anything at this point? Vegeta was able to achieve a new transformation during this new arc, only for the Saiyan Prince to get beat down by both Granolah and Gas, making it effectively useless. Putting the former villain onto an even playing field with Goku’s Ultra Instinct was a necessity, but it’s long past time that Vegeta was given the opportunity to score a major victory. Imagine if the storyline saw Vegeta beating Granolah and then, in turn, being defeated by Gas. It would have gone a long way in showing that the Saiyan Prince is no longer playing second fiddle to Goku. 

Granolah Won’t Kill??

Where on Earth did this come from? At the end of the latest chapter, Granolah, who is an assassin, has the opportunity to eliminate Gas and the Heeters, the people responsible for the death of his mother and the death of his entire race and instead of doing so, simply throws up his hands and says that he no longer seeks revenge. While this turn wouldn’t be a bad one, the fact that there’s no build-up to it and he reveals this information in a cut-and-dry sequence takes some oomph from the bounty hunter. You simply can’t say that Goku’s influence changed him when they knew one another for an hour and were trying to kill each other for most of that time.

Gas Is A Terrible Villain

When Gas first hit the scene as the new strongest being in the universe, there was an interesting foil in that he was effectively a puppet for Elec, being forced to sacrifice his life in order to take down Goku, Vegeta, and Granolah. With a unique powerset at his disposal as he whipped out weapons made of energy ala the Green Lantern, Gas was ultimately struck down as a threat thanks to the revelation of his backstory, in which he wet himself, as well as transformations that just didn’t seem that terrifying. Gas just didn’t have the same impact as past villains like Moro, Goku Black, and Jiren to name a few. 

Too Much Goku & Vegeta

In both the Moro Arc and the Tournament of Power Arc in Dragon Ball Super, the Shonen series did a good job of giving roles to a number of Z-Fighters such as Gohan, Piccolo, Krillin, and even Yamcha. In the Granolah Arc, none of the brawlers outside of Goku and Vegeta were to be found and the arc somewhat suffered for that. As it stands, we don’t know where Dragon Ball will go next when it comes to its story, but there are some characters that are just dying to return after being away so long.