Dragon Ball Super Chapter 103 SHORT REVIEW

Before we do anything else, I must relay to you all again once more: Series Creator Akira Toriyama Sadly Passed Away on March 1st, 2024, due to an Acute Subdermal Hematoma. His legacy is a vast one, but he will be missed all the same. I don’t think I could have started this post- however short it may be- without first remembering the man who started it all. Thank you, Sensei, for all the laughs and emotional moments you’ve given us; I hope wherever you are- you’re resting well. Until we meet again. 

And so- we come to the end of the “Super Hero” Epilogue story, and thus finish with the “Super Hero” content. Considering this is one of his last works, I don’t think I want to say “Final-Fr!ggin’-ly,” but I also cannot go without expressing how happy I am that we’ll finally be moving into NEW content, unconnected to a movie that’s been out for about a year now. Given his work with the Moro content and the Granolah content– I’m going into the next arc “Cautiously Optimistic…………………” or maybe just “cautiously.” There will never be another Akira Toriyama- his stories were……………. as the volumes said, “Distinctive;” you could always tell that it was him. And Toyotaro………………… I can’t say that I have the “Utmost Confidence” in him. But it’s not like we have much of a choice; all we can do is “Move Forward” and hope that whatever we get next is……………… let’s call it “Decent.” It doesn’t need to be anything “Redefining For The Genre-” I just want something “Good.“ All I want from you Toyotaro– something “GOOD.” But first we have to cover THIS, and then Dragon Ball Super Will Be On Break In Next Month’s Issue Of V Jump Magazine. Then we’ll see what we’re workin’ with. Now- Onward!! Dragon Ball Super Chapter 103: “A Legacy Toward The Future.” That one cuts deep…………………….

Goku vs Gohan

There isn’t much to say with this chapter, honestly; it’s pretty much a Battle chapter and those don’t have much content to them. But what I WILL say is that I like how Toyotaro took a minute to draw an actual scene, like when Toriyama(May He Rest In Peace) drew Vegeta vs Semi Perfect Cell; he took part of a page just to draw Vegeta turning his head after getting hit. Here, Toyotaro drew Goku getting pushed back by Gohan. Nice touch. And yet I can’t help but notice that his pages are still overly “cluttered.” In a page towards the end of the chapter, we see the Red Ribbon Duo Carmine and Soldier #15 asking a question, and Toyotaro takes the time to show Goten answering the question. Feels like we didn’t need to give Goten a whole side panel just to answer a question. Rather, he could have used that space making the Question panel larger, and have Goten’s speech bubble come in on the side(with a little drawing to let you know it WAS Goten). I don’t like “clunky” pages like that. 

As for the actual fight, it’s nice to see Toyo improve with how he draws a fight scene, trying to make sure our eyes have a “path” to follow as we move through the pages- just like with the original manga. If he works on that paneling, we could at least get some cool battle sequences. It’s also worth noting that Whis confirms in this chapter that “Beast” is NOT a Divine Form- he really IS just a “Ki Monster.” I think that’s how I would best describe Gohan’s Beast mode: “Ki Overload–” to the point where the Bioelectricity is as indicative of the form as it……………. was for Super Saiyan 2. I say it’s “more” indicative because Toyotaro’s consistent with drawing it. It always confuses me when it comes to Gohan vs Dabura; no fan can tell whether or not he was using Super Saiyan 2 in that fight. He LOGICALLY HAD to have been, but it was by the time of the Buu saga that Toriyama kind of just wanted to “do his own thing.” Can’t blame him for that, seeing as it was the Final arc of the original manga, but……………… that feels like the kind of thing any author needs to pay attention to. THEN AGAIN: Launch. 

I also like how Gohan talked about this form, as if lots of time has passed since the battle with Cell Max and now- like he has been training with the form every once in awhile, and found the point between where his power is at it’s peak and where his “mental faculties” remain intact. It also implies that- under different circumstances- he will go totally “Berserk.” But he got up to that point, I think losing enough “thought” to let him blitz MUI Goku the way he did. Like: Ultra Instinct reacts to the attacker’s intent– it senses where the enemy will attack and responds accordingly. It didn’t with Gohan’s attack in the middle of the chapter; if Goku’s body dodges on it’s own, then Gohan had to let HIS “instincts” do the attacking. An “Offensive” Ultra Instinct of sorts, I’d say. Probably not, but it doesn’t hurt to theorize. 

Broly vs Gohan

I think that this chapter is where Broly’s “Saiyan Blood” started coming through; his “Hunger For Battle” is starting to wake up. Goku saw that, and decided to give Broly the chance to……….. “Feed it.” 1)Shows some kind of “growth” from him in “Super,” letting him actually back out of a fight a letting someone else “have a turn” willingly. And 2)I’m guessing he started thinking about what Gohan said about Beast and “raising his to a point just before he goes berserk.” Broly’s training arc has been learning to control his own power instead of going crazy. Which Gohan just showed him how to do. And- much like how he copied Goku’s “God Bind” technique in the “Broly” movie(despite going somewhat “Berserk” at that point himself)- he just…………… copied him. We’re…………………… going to see him go Berserk again at some point in time. That term is more indicative of “Broly” as a concept than anything else. That and the phrase “Devil.” But I doubt that we’ll hear that at any point in time. But for now; it’s good to see him get a handle on his power. 

It’s also somewhat fitting that it was Gohan that helped him get the reigns on this, seeing as the 2 are somewhat similar. With this rebooted version as opposed to the original version of the Broly character. In short: 

• They both have a dad that they care about, but who doesn’t(or, rather, didn’t) quite understand them; Paragus too focused on his revenge to see what he was doing to his son, and Goku lacking a proper understanding of Gohan when they fought Cell. 
• Both have had problems with controlling their power in the past, both of which losing themselves in their power. Though in Gohan’s case: It was a divide between when he was a kid who had these “tantrums” that unleashed some of his power in small bursts, and later on with Super Saiyan 2 and Ultimate– letting the power go to his head. Broly just went f*ckin’ crazy and started blowin’ sh!t up until Gogeta beat the bricks off em.

I said “A lot” like there were 10 similarities, but those were really the only 2 that I found. I just needed an excuse to use that information. 

Goku and Pan

One(actually 2 since he stopped to think about Gohan and Broly’s connection) step forward– 2 steps back. He forgot he had a Granddaughter. Ain’t that bout a b!tch? Don’t, uh………………. don’t know what to do with that. Pan………….. clearly doesn’t mind it, so I don’t think Goku will dwell on it………… at all. I’ll simply say that 1)Pan continues to be adorable and 2)What the f*ck, Goku? I wish Pan woulda kicked you dead in your teeth!! And with how “dropping your guard” works in “Super-“ you probably would have ended up eating some of em.

Conclusion 

Holy Cr@p I finished that in a day. Ah, that should make dealing with the “Boruto” chapter easier. Have you guys seen the leaks for that? Won’t say much, but I WILL say that it’s going in a…………. somewhat predicted but in a Good way direction- The Best Kind of Direction. “The best mysteries are the one’s solved right before the reveal.” Man, it’s gonna be so cool. But back to this: Series is on break next month, preparing for a brand new story arc. Hopefully this one won’t cr@p out at the halfway mark. I’ve heard a lot from Geekdom101(He updates us with his Youtube channel; I don’t know the man personally) about how the franchise is being handled between the anime and manga, and…………….. fells kind of messy and pointless to me, having 2 different continuities n’ both sides just “doin’ their own thing,” even though- as I’ve laid out in some of the Arc Reviews I did way back when- they’d be…………….. well, “coherent and decently acceptable” we’ll say instead of “Good.” Merge some aspects of them, and you might get something presentable. 

Um…………….. I don’t got much else to say. Rest In Peace, Toriyama Sensei- Your Legend Will Never Be Surmounted. Toyotaro, you got a lot to live up to. If you need to take 3 months like Ikemoto(Boruto) and Tabata(Black Clover)- Please do. Rest well and PLAN. ‘Cause “Super” probably isn’t ending any time soon. I don’t want to say “Things Are Just Getting Started,” ’cause I don’t know what’s coming down the pipeline. All I can say Is Be Prepared. ‘Til next time, everyone.