‘Dragon Ball Super’ Manga Shares First Look at Mastered Ultra Instinct

The Dragon Ball Super manga series is getting down to the final minutes in the Tournament of Power arc, and that means it is time for main event: Goku vs. Jiren of Universe 11!

This battle between two of the multiverse’s strongest fighters required both of them to break their previous limits and manifest new levels of power. For Jiren, that power was his unprecedented ability to increase his power through the sheer will to become stronger; for Goku, it meant striking the perfect balance between power, speed, and energy flow that is the perfect form of “Ultra Instinct”:

As you can see in the small montage of artwork above, Toyotaro’s take on the full Ultra Instinct powerful is decidedly different than the one which first debut in the Dragon Ball Super anime. Goku’s silver hair and eye transformation remains the same, however, Toyotaro’s version shed’s the ultra bright and vibrant aura that Ultra Instinct Goku manifested into the anime. Instead, the manga version of Ultra Instinct seems to lean more on the idea of the technique making a fighter so fast and powerful that they become imperceptible to most mortals. Goku’s aura is still clearly at work (as evidenced by the way the loose threads of his clothing are floating around him), but in the Ultra Instinct form it’s just become imperceptible to the eye. Finally, Goku’s physique is much more in line Akira Toriyama’s original Ultra Instinct designs, and in the manga, Goku gets to keep his shirt on while he’s using it.

We previously got a taste of Toyotaro’s version of Ultra Intinct Goku, after some of his sketches leaked online. The full version of the Ultra Instinct character design, and the depiction of it in combat against Jiren, have been as exciting on the page as they were onscreen – and maybe even more so. We’ve already done the breakdown of why Dragon Ball Super’s manga ToP arc is better than the anime, and a lot of that same reasoning applies to this title bout between Goku and Jiren. The manga version reveals a lot more about Jiren’s character and backstory, and also results in a much more exciting outcome. Like the anime, Goku can’t maintain Ultra Instinct long enough to finish Jiren off; however, in the manga, Goku’s loss of power results in one of the most exciting Goku and Vegeta team-ups that the series has ever delivered!

Dragon Ball Super: Broly will hit Japanese theaters in December, and is expected to arrive in the U.S. on January 16, 2019. Dragon Ball Super is currently airing its English dub on Adult Swim during the Toonami programming block Saturday evenings at 9:30 p.m. ET. 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 Funimation, VRV and Crunchyroll.