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Here's a fun experiment: ask a group of Dragon Ball Z fans about what filler they actually liked from the original cartoon. More than a few will no doubt cite the profoundly ridiculous driving school episode. In it Goku and Piccolo reluctantly take a break from their training regime to learn how to drive. Naturally, they fail spectacularly. Farcical scenarios like this came along every now and then during Dragon Ball's original broadcast, plopping characters more at home on barren battlefields into ill-suited everyday settings. Hilarity usually ensued. Dragon Ball Super's second episode seizes upon the spirit of these premises and runs with it, forcing Vegeta to tag along with his wife and son on a tacky family holiday. The resulting affronts to the Saiyan Prince's pride provides an amusing foundation for the episode, balanced by more substantial events unfolding elsewhere in the cosmos.
Vegeta makes his first appearance standing on the roof of a plane as Bulma pilots it towards a popular tourist trap. To help her husband train, she spins the aircraft through the clouds, dives into the ocean and plummets through a dense forest. As an octopus slides off his face and twigs gather in his hair, Vegeta endures the aerial onslaught with ease. Eventually, the family reaches their destination and Vegeta gets to show off his moody attitude as well. Thinking the whole trip is an irritating waste of time, he follows stone-faced from one vacation sinkhole to the next. He sticks around only to fulfill a promise he made back in the Buu Arc to take Trunks to an amusement park. It's neat to see Dragon Ball Super follow up on this minor detail from the manga. Hopefully, it's a sign the staff are paying close attention to the source material, and will dodge the inconsistencies endemic in other recent Dragon Ball animations.
Even when Vegeta gets to enthusiastically chow down on massive plates of food, a roasted octopus ruins his mood when it sprays black ink all over him. That he actually manages to put up with all this tomfoolery demonstrates how much he's changed since his introduction as a genocidal space pirate more than 30 years ago. Of course, mellowing out only goes so far for Vegeta. Eventually, he loses his patience after being hassled in a tropical concert mosh pit and blasts off to catch up on training. Yes, Vegeta is still obsessed with surpassing Son Goku. Yes, it's a retreaded character trait that's begun to wear out its welcome. But old habits die hard, I suppose, and it does give Vegeta motivation to improve himself. At the very least, it was nice to see him temporarily swallow his pride to make his son happy. Even when he hightails it, Bulma muses that it was amazing he lasted as long as he did. Families in Dragon Ball are weird like that.
While Vegeta is stuck fulfilling family obligations, Goku has bummed off to Kaiō's refurbished planet to train. Better known as King Kai in the U.S., the Lord of Worlds and bad jokes is exasperated at Goku teleporting in unannounced. Being a bit of jerk, Goku brushes off his divine teacher's concerns, pigs out on rice and begins exercising. As it turns out, Kaiō's not the only one dealing with uninvited guests this episode. Out in space, Beerus and Whis drop in on a prehistoric planet for groceries. On the surface, a tribe of green, four-armed googly eyed aliens and their cocky Tarzan leader take down a fire-breathing dinosaur. As they carry its carcass away, Whis shows up to politely demand the aliens hand over the meat. None too pleased, the alien chief transforms into a red Yu-Gi-Oh monster and attacks Beerus, who comes to pester Whis for taking too long. Irritated, the divine cat deflects the alien's pesky attacks and subsequently blows the planet up for good measure.
Admittedly, the goofy shenanigans leading up to the planet's destruction doesn't quite match the later tragic tone. Whis carrying out a caveman grunt conversation with the alien keeps the scene from feeling too serious. Wiping out the quirky natives on a whim stills set up Beerus and Whis as clear antagonists - especially compared to their breezy introduction in Battle of Gods. We're reminded that, despite their amusing traits, these two are not nice people. Beerus nonchalantly looks on as the planet explodes, amused by the lightshow. With energy beams erupting from the surface, the doomed world bursting apart in space does put on a dazzling spectacle. The same can be said for the rest of the episode, which combines competent drawings with a diverse color palette. It's particularly nice to see Vegeta drawn with fuller hair and sharper features compared to his rounder look from recent movies. He looks more like the classic Vegeta design fans love, while also rocking a stylish dark blue polo shirt.
Like in the first episode, the animators continue to use cgi to lend notable environmental objects a distinct, heavily textured look, such as the octopus Vegeta attempts to eat. Personally, I find these effects are a nice touch and don't clash too much with the 2D aesthetics. More can be said of the greater abundance of still shots used in Episode Two. If anything, they highlight the thin budget allotted to Dragon Ball Super, allowing animators to cut down on drawings. Thankfully, they're used economically, and in some cases even complementary. For instance, the montage that highlights moments from the vacation - including one hilarious shot of Vegeta riding a miniature train - simulates the feeling of looking through a family album. Action scenes don't fare as well, unfortunately, coming across as weak and uninspired. But at this point in the narrative, they're of little consequence, and will no doubt improve for the truly impressive battles later on. For now, Dragon Ball Super has continued to favor comedy, and for that it's the little touches that matter.
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As a whole, Vegeta getting dragged into a family outing doesn't fail to entertain. The concept never wears out its welcome, thanks to screen time devoted to other characters. Everything felt balanced and lasted just as long as it needed to. I can say the same for the show overall. Already, it knows just how to mix the right elements to create steady, enjoyable episodes. So far everyone on the Japanese cast is nailing their roles (though I reserve a personal exception for Trunks, whose forced kid voice simply doesn't work for me). It was particularly nice to hear Jōji Yanami's dignified delivery of Kaiō's lines, rather than Sean Schemmel's nasal-snorting gag voice. Don't get me wrong, I like Schemmel as Goku fine enough. But his "King Kai" portrayal diverges far too drastically from the Japanese performance. It really feels like a relic of outdated dubbing practices.
Compared to the voice acting, it's harder to assess the music thoroughly. It's been such a hodgepodge of differing styles. Most arrangements work within the context of their scenes (an exotic Arabian horn melody for Beerus relaxing, a foreboding ambient hum for the planet exploding, ect), but they still don't quite capture a Dragon Ball vibe. That said, the opening theme is growing on me more and more, though I wish the main singer had put more energy into delivering his lyrics.
So far, I haven't touched on Toei Animation's plan to retell its latest theatrical Dragon Ball movies as Dragon Ball Super's first arcs. Next episode that will change, as the show begins to directly cover material from Battle of Gods. Having proved a controversial move among fans who enjoyed those films as they were, Toei will be treading on fragile ground. With a smaller budget, but more time to expand the plot we saw in theaters, it will be interesting to see how changes are handled once we're in the thick of the movie's action. For now, Beerus is only beginning to remember his premonition of a Super Saiyan God - a powerful warrior destined to entertain him endlessly. If future episodes are anything like this one - nicely paced, visually pleasing and seamlessly building upon Akira Toriyama's universe -Dragon Ball Super is sure to do the same for us.
Episode Score - A-
Past Episode Reviews:
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