With less than 40-hours to go, before the Tournament of Power begins, Goku is still in recruit mode. In the last episode, he managed to convince the husband and wife duo, Krillin and Android 18, to join up. Now he’s heading out to recruit another, Android 17, which happens to be Android 18’s twin brother. Fans of Dragon Ball Z will also remember that Goku and Android 17 have never faced off against each other, thanks to Cell absorbing him during the Cell Saga. So I was really looking forward to seeing the reactions of Goku and the super-powered android that originally was determined to Goku’s life.
However, before getting to that, there was another nice reveal that made me pretty excited. They finally mentioned Uub, the reincarnated version of Evil Majin Buu/Pure Buu, from Dragon Ball Z. Fans of the series remember that while he was heavily present in the non-canon Dragon Ball GT, but he hasn’t been seen nor heard from in Super. At least now we can stop wondering where he is as he will be present in some form or another, assuming the Z Fighters can make it through this saga (Editor: Of course they are!).
You see, Goku and Uub originally faced off against each other during the final episode of Dragon Ball Z. Whereas However, Dragon Ball Super takes place immediately after the defeat of Majin Buu and sits between Dragon Ball Z episodes 288-289. That places the new series within a ten-year gap, so Goku and Uub haven’t met each other yet.
[videopress Xz6wI3kn]Goku enlists the help of Dende to locate Android 17 because his sister doesn’t stay in touch with him (what kind of sister is she?) and since he is an android, Goku can’t sense him. Thankfully, Dende still has some use and is able to move the Lookout to where Android 17 is at. The location just happens to be an animal preservation island. Yes, Android 17 has had a complete change of character it seems. He’s not out to kill anyone, he’s married, has several kids and he protects animals as a park ranger. This is quite the change from the guy who blew stuff up for fun in Dragon Ball Z.
Goku meets up with Android 17, just as he is fending off an attack from poachers. There are a lot of animals on this island that these poachers want their hands on, and protecting them is Android 17’s job. Goku pitches in and the both of them make short work on the little guys with guns. Once that was finished, Android 17 recaps what happened to him since the Cell saga, up until now. Afterward, Android 17 and Goku finally get down to some fighting.
Here’s where things start get interesting.
Ever since Super started, the only characters that have received a noticeable power increase have been Goku, Vega and Future Trunks, who is no longer a part of the show (for now). Everyone else has either slacked off or are working to get back to their original power levels since they no longer fight. Android 17, however, has gotten immensely stronger.
This surprises Goku and remarks that Android 17 is stronger than he expected. To which Android 17 replies that he simply wasn’t relaxing during his downtime. Perhaps the rest of the Z Fighters should adopt his work ethic.
During the fight, Android 17 was easily able to match up to not only Goku’s Super Saiyan form but also his Super Saiyan God form. This is significant as there haven’t been any characters on the planet that could pull off this feat. Sure, we had several characters that could, but they were either an alien or a God. In fact, during several exchanges, he was able to land several attacks that eventually forced Goku to transform to his SSG form. Something that Goku admits he wasn’t even planning on doing. That’s typical cocky Goku for you.
But the kicker here is that was even able to block Goku’s Kamehameha SSG charged attack, with ease!
After a spectacular battle, the two decide to end the fight, as Android 17 doesn’t want to destroy the island he is protecting. Then we get down to the main reason why Goku wants to recruit Android 17. At first, Goku lies to him and explaining it is for fight money, to which 17 shoots him down. He makes a decent living and gets paid well, so the fight money, that doesn’t exist, isn’t worth it. To which Goku slips up, and has to admit that they’re going to be fighting for the universe. As part of the plot, you’d imagine that someone who is a husband and father would want to fight to protect his family, right?
Well, Android 17 wasn’t hearing any of that. He figures if the entire universe disappears all of a sudden, with everyone together then there is no use. Afterward, he turns Goku down and wishes him luck. This confuses me, to be honest. This is a character who protects the animals on the island on a constant basis, yet doesn’t care if the universe is wiped out? Thankfully, before the episode ends, we’re given a peek for the next episode which sets up a plot for the very same animals that Android 17 is protecting to be kidnapped.
Maybe this will provide the perspective to help Goku in the Tournament of Power. We’ll find out in the next episode.
Summary
I have to say that I wasn’t expecting what we got from this episode. I was thinking that Android 17 would have the same power level as 18. Instead, we get reintroduced to a character who could rival both Goku and Vega in power and one who isn’t obsessed with fighting. It’s also nice to see that 17’s character has progressed from a ruthless killer to a family man, protect and can hold his own when needed.
Also finding out that Uub is still around is an added plus.
Finally, this episode should make fans and anime lovers happen, in regards to the art and animation. I know there have been complaints that the animation quality has been low in recent episodes. This episode, however, was easily some of the best I’ve seen in the series. Here’s to hoping as we hit the climax and confusion of this arc that it stays this way.
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Witty sentence here and the score. remember to use the star system!
