Dragon Ball Super Episode 84 Recap And Review: “Universal Survival Saga: Son Goku The Recruiter Invites Krillin and No. 18”

The latest episode of Dragon Ball Super answers the question of if Krillin is ready for the Battle Royal as he is tested by both Goku and Gohan.

The Universal Survival Saga is well underway now with the stakes named and the tournament set. All that remains now is for Goku to gather up the other nine competitors to enter the tournament.

With Gohan at hand, Episode 84 sees Goku visit Krillin in attempts to convince him to enter the battle, along with No.18. What follows is Krillin put to the test.

Spoilers for the Episode Ahead

The episode begins with Krillin on police duty with images of him stopping bank robbers, conducting car chases and heroically saving a cat out of a tree, as Goku and Gohan watch.

We then see the Saiyans visit Krillin and No.18, notifying them about the tournament (not mentioning that losing universes are destroyed of course).

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At first, Krillin is hesitant as he wonders if returning to fighting in a big tournament is the right choice, but when Goku and Gohan inform him of the Tournament of Power’s rules, Krillin was surprised with the no-killing and out-of-bounds rule.

It makes sense with Krillin’s history with villain’s and his repeated run-ins with death, that this tournament will be a change of pace for him and allow him to showcase his skills.

No.18 even encourages Krillin, mentioning that he has indeed been training this whole time and that it would all go to waste if he doesn’t enter the tournament. She references some exercise equipment which informs us that Krillin has, in fact, been training vigorously.

Goku then follows to ask No.18 if she can participate, which makes her suspicious when he insists she should participate when she rejects him at first. Goku then convinces her that the winning prize would be 10 million Zeni for each winning participant, to which she then accepts.

Meanwhile, Gohan still questions Krillin’s ability to compete with the other competitors from the other universes. This is playing off the visions Gohan had in the previous episode of Krillin being outmatched, and Gohan wanting to test him to see what Goku sees. Gohan challenges Krillin to a sparring match.

Image Courtesy of Toei Animation

Before the match, No.18 questions why Gohan is so serious about the upcoming tournament, once again raising her suspicions which Goku brushes off. Even making a mistake stating the winning prize was 100 million Zeni as opposed to the 10 million he mentioned before, that No.18 noticed.

The battle begins and, immediately, Gohan is under attack as Krillin fires a flurry of Ki attacks. This then followed Krillin showcasing a new move, which he named “Taiyo-Ken (Solar Flare) x100.” A move which is an enhancement to his normal Solar Flare move, but as the title suggests, is 100 times more powerful?

This blinds Gohan, which provides Krillin with the opportunity to knock him out of the mountain top they were fighting on, winning the battle according to Tournament of Power rulings.

Impressed by his performance and his strategy, Goku opts in and challenges Krillin. Mentioning that the Tournament of Power isn’t only about raw power, but skill and strategy.

The group heads to the top of Mr. Satan’s building, on the helipad, where Goku suggests they could fight.

At this point, however, No.18 voices her concerns on Krillin fighting, stating that he had just fought already and may be tired. He also mentions that the Solar Flare technique wouldn’t work twice and that he’s going up against Goku—someone who is significantly stronger than him.

Krillin ignores her concerns, as he reminisces back to Dragon Ball days, where the competitors first fought in the Tenkaichi Budokai World Tournament. In a touching flashback, we see Goku and Krillin bumping fists back then, and they repeat the same at present day. Something that would make every Dragon Ball fan tear up for nostalgia sake.

Image Courtesy of Toei Animation

The two begin squaring off as Goku transforms into his regular Super Saiyan form. Much to the surprise of No.18, Krillin actually manages to hold his own—firing off a series of Destructo Disc’s which Goku dodges.

Although, it was later seen that this was a clever distraction, as Krillin was actually targeting Goku’s footholds. This is seen when the ground Goku was standing on gives way.

Goku, impressed by this strategy and praising Krillin for his wits, elects to transform into his Super Saiyan Blue form.

Krillin and company all stare in awe at the power and energy of Goku, as Krillin mentions to himself that he has always been a bystander for when Goku transforms to his blue form, but has never experienced it as an opponent.

Gohan and No.18 recognize the drastic power difference between the two competitors, as No.18 shows more concern for Krillin.

Avoiding the obvious consequences, Krillin opts to continue fighting. Both competitors, with much joy and adulation on their faces, fire their Kamehameha blasts—with Goku’s blast being considerably larger than Krillin’s.

Image Courtesy of Toei Animation

Unable to hold up the blast, Krillin continues to struggle only for No.18 to interfere and knock Goku’s blast away. She proceeds to explain to Goku that whilst both were competing in a one on one match-up, the Tournament rules would allow multiple match-ups at once.

She interjects herself into the match-up, stating that this will now be a two on one match since it is possible to fight more than one opponent in the battle royal.

Goku, however, at this point reverts back to his original form, much to the shock of everyone. Impressed by their actions, he admits that he does have a lot to learn from them and that if he were to compete at this point, the outcome wouldn’t have gone his way.

He then asks No.18 if she still is in contact with her brother, No.17, as Goku suggested to invite him as one of the competitors. No.18 responds stating that whilst staying in contact with him, she does not know of his whereabouts, but that he does work with animals.

Krillin suggested that the God’s are aware of a lot of stuff and that perhaps they may know where he is. Goku responds that he will go visit Dende, setting up the next episode.

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Thoughts on the Episode

Overall, this was a highly enjoyable episode where advancing the story of the Universal Survival arc played on these characters developments. The highlight of the episode was easily the learning of Krillin’s new ability, as well as playing off past episodes.

The Tournaments unorthodox rules raises good questions of how will these competitors fare, so it was a good touch to play on the different settings the fighters will compete under. All that being said, the saga continues to intrigue and excite us all as we await the upcoming tournament.

What were your thoughts on this episode? Do you think Krillin is ready? What are you excited for in the next episode? Let us know in the comments!