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‘Dragon Ball Super’ Episode 69 Review, 70 Preview: Yamcha Becomes Relevant Again After Insane ‘Dr. Slump’ Crossover

By Simon Alvarez
Published on: 14:42 PST, Dec 3, 2016

Dragon Ball Super Episode 69 was insane. From the classic Dr. Slump episode intro to the chaos that ensued during the fight between Goku against Arale to the consistent fourth wall breaks courtesy of Vegeta, this week’s DBS episode was a wild rush from start to finish. If any, it was everything that avid fans of Dragon Ball and Dr. Slump expected, and the episode definitely delivered. What’s more, DBS Episode 70 “Champa’s Challenge! This Time, Let’s Face Off in Baseball!” appears to be just as fun as this week’s.

The current filler episodes of Dragon Ball Super are being aired as a means to transition the anime from the dark and recently-concluded Future Trunks arc to the rumored but yet unconfirmed Omniverse Tournament Saga, which fans speculate would involve the strongest fighters from the numerous Dragon Ball universes. With the next arc almost certainly going to be more intense than the Future Trunks saga, numerous DB fans have stated that the current filler episodes’ change of pace and tone are definitely welcome.

Last week’s episode already started the fillers for the anime, and it was actually better than many expected it to be. This week’s episode, however, exceeded expectations, simply because the anime was able to create a scenario that does justice to both Dragon Ball and Dr. Slump‘s characters. As Arale and the Gatchans started wreaking havoc and as Vegeta began to realize that the little robot girl was unbeatable, the Saiyan Prince did one thing that was very unique — he broke the fourth wall, repeatedly.

During his fight with Arale, Vegeta remarked that she must be a gag character, especially since regular manga/anime fighting moves do not work on her. By the end of the episode, Vegeta poked fun at the whole scenario once more, stating that he would never fight another gag character again. In a lot of ways, Vegeta’s lines during this episode appeared to poke fun at fans who over-analyze Dragon Ball power levels, especially those who consistently complained against the sudden power-ups that were exhibited in the recently concluded Future Trunks arc.

Overall, DBS Episode 69 “Goku vs Arale! The Earth Comes to an End Due to their Battle?” was everything it was supposed to be. It was funny, ridiculous, and overall, extremely entertaining and satisfying. The preview for next week’s episode “Champa’s Challenge! This Time, Let’s Face Off in Baseball!” appears to show yet another entertaining filler, too, with some of the Universe 6 fighters coming back for a good old game of baseball. What’s more, Episode 70 would see the return of Yamcha, one of the original Dragon Ball characters who eventually became a professional baseball player.

Over the course of the Dragon Ball franchise, Yamcha has become a meme-worthy character, mainly because he steadily began to be outclassed by the other characters in the series. His eventual lack of strength compared to the main characters, together with the fact that he seems to have a penchant for dying, appears to have encouraged the franchise to retire him from a life of fighting altogether.

The preview for DBS Episode 70 shows an extremely competitive match between teams headed by Beerus and his rather overweight brother Champa. Though very brief, the Dragon Ball Super Episode 70 preview seemed to show that Yamcha’s presence in Beerus’ team would lead them to a pretty satisfying victory. This actually makes a lot of sense, since Yamcha actually works as a professional baseball player after his retirement from the battlefield.

Thus, despite him being heavily outclassed by practically every other character in Episode 70, his experience in the sport would most likely be a valuable asset for Beerus’ team. The next episode’s teaser ended with Yamcha throwing what appears to be his most iconic baseball move, the Wolf Fang Pitch. Needless to say, his actions in the preview have managed to get avid Dragon Ball fans extremely excited.

Dragon Ball Super has so far done a really good job with its filler episodes. Last week’s Shenron fiasco episode was actually not bad, and this week’s Dr. Slump crossover was just so ridiculous and awesome that it instantly became one of the funniest DB episodes in a very long time. From what could be seen so far, it appears that Episode 70 would continue this trend for now, with the baseball match against the Universe 6 team appearing to be just as entertaining as this week’s Dr. Slump crossover.

By Dragon Ball Super Episode 71, which would be aired on December 18, however, things are bound to get a bit more serious, as an assassin would go after Goku’s head. Theories about who would want Goku dead have already been emerging as of late, with many speculating that the rather serious premise of the episode means that it would be the beginning of the next big arc. If these speculations prove true, then fans of Dragon Ball Super would be wise to prepare themselves once more. For now, at least, it would be best to just enjoy the harmless, lighthearted fun that Episode 69 and next week’s Episode 70 offers. After all, with the anime rumored to be scheduled for 100 episodes, and considering DBS Episode 71’s premise, it seems like the next arc might very well be the anime’s most intense and epic saga yet.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pa3XabcHJAw

[Featured Image by Toei Animation]

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