Caulifla and Kale took center stage this week on Dragon Ball Super's episode 113 with a fight against an exhausted Goku.
Last week's episode saw Cabba gain confidence after a speech from Vegeta and knock out Universe 4's Monna. Despite reaching Super Saiyan 2 to do so, however, Cabba found himself out of the ring when Frieza approached him. In an effort to make up for Universe 6 losing both Hit and Cabba, Caulifla decides that she wants Goku to teach her how to achieve Super Saiyan 3. Goku says he hasn't yet built up the stamina to sustain Super Saiyan 3, and faces Caulifla's Super Saiyan 2 form without transforming. Taking Caulifla through some of the basics of martial arts and more common techniques like afterimage, Goku slowly teaches Caulifla how to be a martial artist rather than a straight brawler. Caulifla manages to get some hits in as they continue, but it becomes clear that, along with being weakened from his fight with Jiren, Goku is using the fight as an opportunity to train Caulifla. Goku eventually progresses to Super Saiyan 2, saying he still doesn't have the energy for his third form, and invites Kale to join the battle as well. Kale joins in with her bulky Super Saiyan form, at first seemingly overwhelming Goku with dual-combat tactics, until Goku shows he hardly has to try to hold them off. Unlike the battles in some episodes, much of the fighting between the Saiyans is shown entirely, rather than just having the characters move too fast for the eye to see by showing blurs and occasional shapes. With Goku clearly holding back to train the female Saiyans, the fight is impressive simply for how often the characters go blow for blow. The negative aspects of the episode come from contradictions and the issue of quick powering up that has been a complaint since the new Saiyans were introduced. While Caulifla might be a prodigy, Whis calls her a street fighter early in the fight, as she lacks the intensive training of a true martial artist like Goku. With less training and power than the Universe 7 Saiyans, it has been a source of irritations for some fans that Cabba, Caulifla and Kale were so qiuckly able to achieve Super Saiyan forms. The first transformation was initially introduced as requiring a great warrior with an enraged heart, and has since become a plaything for Vegeta's son and Goku's youngest, and was unlocked for Caulifla when she simply focused her energy in her back. Caulifla has continued the trend of quickly reaching states that used to be a big deal, as she advances to the flawed muscular Super Saiyan form the Universe 7 characters achieved and abandoned during their battles against Cell. After learning of the problems with the form, Caulifla is immediately able to power up to Super Saiyan 2 after Goku shows her the form, which in the past was a terrifyingly emotional form Gohan reached that dwarfed everyone else. Caulifla's constant use of Super Saiyan 2 is a contradiction to the issue of stamina that characters have long pointed out for transformations, even as recently as with Frieza's golden form and Caulifla's muscular form. As Vegeta and Goku pointed out in these instances, the respective characters had just achieved new power that quickly drained stamina and was bad for drawn out fights. This issue has existed as far back as even the original form, which initially took great effort for each Saiyan to achieve and put incredible stress on the body. Despite this, Caulifla seems perfectly fine as she continues to use Super Saiyan 2, simply taking an occasional break but never seeming to truly tire. Likewise, Kale contradicts the issue of non-polished fighting skills being not enough to take on Goku. When Whis calls Caulifla a brawler, he states that Goku's martial arts skills allow him to predict his opponent and make appropriate reactions to every move in a way that a non-trained fighter wouldn't be able to. Due to her prodigal nature, Caulifla is quickly able to adapt her fighting experience as Goku trains her. Kale, on the other hand, merely has raw power and little fighting experience due to her timid attitude, making it strange when she manages expert maneuvers not just alone, but in combination with Caulifla. Though the new Saiyans face issues with continuity in the world's rules, there is an interesting aspect to them training under Goku and Vegeta. Cabba is similar to Gohan with his relaxed nature and reluctance to fight, which contrasts with Vegeta's hotheadedness. Having Vegeta as his master is a good way for Cabba to get past the weaker aspects of his personality and learn to be a more ferocious fighter. On the other hand, Caulifla is similar to Vegeta with her great temper, so she can learn to focus her natural talent and raw strength by training with the calm and happy Goku. As Kale is so often scared and wants to follow Caulifla, it also makes sense for her to learn from Goku, who can potentially taunt and push her in the right ways to use her latent anger and strength to reach her full potential. The episode can be slightly frustrating with inconsistencies and Caulifla and Kale matching Goku's power, but is overall entertaining. At the very least, Caulifla and Kale's characterization and potential make them more interesting episode subjects than Ribrianne, who has yet to be knocked from the stage. As the characters also get quite a bit of development in the episode, 113 works effectively like the previous one as a way to calm down from the bigger fights and flesh out some side characters. Next week's episode is teased with an image which appeared to be a fusion between Caulifla and Kale, which got me immediately excited for what is to come.
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As of October 20, Pokemon Go has been updated to have a "Trick-or-Treat" event that will last until November 2.
The event causes ghost-type Pokemon and others with spooky designs to appear more to players. According to an article on Gamespot's website, this includes Cubone and Houndour, ghosts Gastly and Misdreavus and the newly introduced Sableye, Shuppet and Duskull. Other event bonuses include doubled candy rewards, special items available in the shop, a Halloween Pikachu and a hat of the Pokemon Mimikyu. With Sableye, Shuppet and Duskull involved, Niantic is also introducing the third generation of Pokemon from the series' Hoenn region and Ruby, Sapphire and Emerald games. This update comes only months after the second generation was added back in February, which some might see as moving too quickly. In an article on the Forbes website, writer Paul Tassi said the new Pokemon suffer from lack of popular awareness that even non-Pokemon fans had of the originals. While everyone knows Pikachu and Charizard, he said, those not as familiar with later Pokemon will not be as excited to raise a Nosepass or Zigzagoon. At the same time, there are likely still other areas of the game that could be improved or aspects that could be added before a whole generation of Pokemon are needed. The game's combat system is rather simplistic and suffers from lag issues and the possibility of stronger moves not working if the player's Pokemon is attacked while using them. The Halloween event will also bring in the "shiny" forms of different Pokemon, called so because they differ in color from their usual forms. This update likely could have raised excitement for the game without adding a whole new group of Pokemon, and adding not just these Pokemon, but also alternate forms of Pokemon, might cause bugs that need to be fixed later. While games have long had buggy problems, it's common for current games with massive multiplayer is recurring glitches and bugs that get little attention before creators move on to adding new content. One such game is Dead by Daylight, where some players still come across glitches as they play that range from momentary goofiness to lobby breaking. This includes getting stuck in objects, being launched into the air and leaving the map's boundaries rather than escaping in the end, which some YouTubers and streamers compile into videos, like player OchiDO. If Niantic hopes to retain excitement for Pokemon Go, creators need to make sure they balance adding new things to the game with maintenance and improving existing content. While there might still be issues with the game, I for one am excited for the event, as it gives me the opportunity to catch Pokemon I don't see as often. The chance to catch a special witch-hat-wearing Pikachu is also enticing, and possibly getting a new silly hat like my avatar's current Magikarp one is an entertaining idea. Dragon Ball Super took a break this week from the extreme action previously shown with Goku and Jiren to focus on the Saiyans of Universe 6.
Last week's episode ended with Jiren knocking out Hit of Universe 6 and sitting to meditate, as without his new "Ultra Instinct," even Goku stands no chance against Jiren. Without Hit, Universe 6 now lacks its strongest fighter, with everything left to mild-mannered Cabba, angry Caulifla and timid Kale. The trio has the potential to save their universe, being an alternate version of the race of warriors Goku and Vegeta come from, the Saiyans, but they each have problems standing in the way. Though bred for fighting, the Saiyans of Universe 6 are less aware of their full potential, with Vegeta and Goku serving as their introduction to the "Super Saiyan" transformation. While Caulifla has the same ferocity as Goku and Vegeta, her anger leads to her picking fights she can't win and wasting energy like when she fought Goku. On the other hand, Cabba is too cautious, similar to Gohan, which leads to him falling behind from lack of confidence. Kale has the raw power of an extreme Super Saiyan form, but is always afraid and has only occasional control over her strength. Universe 6's Destroyer God Champa decides he wants his fighters to hide and last out the tournament, but Caulifla charges in to fight Universe 4's Monna. Caulifla intends to protect Kale, but Cabba flies in to stop her, saying he will fight because she needs to regain her stamina. Though he talks big, Cabba is quickly shown to be no match for Monna, who expands into a ball-like form and pummels him. Cabba is soon blown off the tournament ring, but Vegeta steps in to save him and blasts Monna away. After punishing Cabba for his lack of Saiyan pride and almost being knocked off, Vegeta tells him to fight with all he has. Vegeta says that if he wins, which would lead to the Omni-Kings, the most powerful beings in existence, erasing the losing Universes, he will use the Super Dragon Balls to bring back Universe 6. Cabba again challenges Monna, and quickly becomes enraged as she taunts him, calling Vegeta a coward and saying she will defeat him, Caulifla and Kale. Cabba's anger soon overflows and causes him to transform beyond Super Saiyan for the first time, into a Super Saiyan 2. While this goes on, Goku attempts to survive the sudden onslaught of Universe 4 that began when they noticed he is exhausted. Episode 112 was a good way to calm things down from the the excitement of Ultra Instinct. It is good to meter out the high action points, and as the tournament is only halfway done, viewers need the occasional break. Cabba's battle against Monna is a good source of character development, with Cabba finding his inner strength and pride. Similarly, fans will note the continued strong change in Vegeta from his initial villainous character to one of Earth's greatest heroes. Vegeta's decision to revive Universe 6 if given the chance is a complete turnaround from when he arrived on Earth with the intent to kill all its inhabitants. Another positive aspect of the episode is the complete lack of the irritant Ribrianne and her lackey Rozie, who would only drag things down with their attempted comedic relief. As the tournament winds down, fans can be assured that weaker characters will be given their own progression before being taken out to make room for a massive final confrontation. With its most recent episode, 111, Dragon Ball Super has overall continued the upward trend that came with Goku's new "Ultra Instinct" form.
In the previous episode, Goku took on the menacing Jiren after returning from seemingly being vaporized by his own attack, the spirit bomb. Glowing with blue energy, Goku shocked even the watching gods and angels by suddenly matching and almost overcoming Jiren. The form quickly ran out, however, and Goku was again blown away, and the episode ended with Frieza pointing a ball of energy at his face. At the opening of 111, Frieza pulls a surprising move by sharing his energy with Goku, referencing their first fight when Goku did the same. With Goku now no match for Jiren, the popular assassin character Hit steps up, using his ability to freeze time to try knocking Jiren out. While this happens, Vegeta takes on the love-powered Super Ribrianne and Rozie, the weak point of the tournament arc. Ribrianne and Jiren's universes seem to satirize classic anime tropes, with Ribrianne emotionally talking about the power of love and Jiren's allies exemplifying justice. While Goku's fight against Jiren and Hit's follow-up were segments that could easily be enjoyed, Ribrianne's constant butt-ins drag the show down. While Jiren's companions can take the justice trope too far, they can be serious and add something to the situation. Ribrianne, meanwhile, is an irritating eyesore each time she is shown, and fans are left rolling our eyes as the writers attempt to convince us she is a match for Goku and Vegeta. Any powerful attack from another character leads to Ribrianne and Rozie crying, talking about the power of love and becoming motivated once more to assault Goku and Vegeta with heart-shaped attacks. The characters embody one of the more mocked aspects of many fighting anime, in which the power of friendship and love seemingly fix characters and give them the power to win. This leads to their on-screen time being repetitive and annoying, merely an interruption to the more exciting aspects of the show. They don't ruin the show, however, and fans can notice references to classic Dragon Ball moments, like Frieza sharing energy with Goku and the character Cabba, who has decided to train as Vegeta's disciple, mimics Vegeta's classic fighting stance. As the excitement for next week's episode grows, the hope is that the action will continue to rise and Ribrianne and Rozie will finally be knocked out. |
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