Goku vs Superman Review

Kakarot, otherwise known as Son Goku, the boy left alone who reached the might of gods.

Kal-El, or as his Earth name goes, Clark Kent, better known as Superman, the valiant hero fighting for a future where justice and respect prevail.

For years, people have pondered the question “Who would win in a fight?” over this iconic rivalry. And while the answer is obvious, here we are doING IT A THIRD FUCKING TIME-

okay so uhhhh the db team thought it would be very funny if they pulled out goku vs superman 3 right when nobody expected it and not even on the season finale amiright folks hahahahahaha FUCK

alright so i understand the GOAT ultraguy spent 4 fucking years researching both characers at their maximum extend so that they could be ready to do this and i really respect that but still doesn’t get off the fact that the timing to do this matchup is very shitty being completely honest 😭

let’s get this over quickly: goku vs superman, doesn’t need an introduction, this is the third time death battle does it and this time it's a remaster/rework of both of the past versions. personally i think the timing to do this matchup is, outright horrible considering we already had a dragon ball episode this season and that last season is infamous for having a small “oversaturation” of dragon ball, the finale literally being a dragon ball centered episode. again i get why they did it right now and what not and i understand how much it means to the team, heck outside of a death battle scenario i really like this match too, but the timing really puts a sour taste in my mouth. that and, like it’s goku vs superman i ain’t taking a step inside all the discussion it brings. nonetheless, i still wanted to enjoy the episode, given these are two characters i love deeply with my heart, so i went in fully blind. was it worth it? we're about to see.

yada yada, with nothing more to say let’s drop into what i think of this episode

Analyses

repeating what i just said, i went into the episode completely blind, no idea of what i was stepping into. starting up with a general comment, the best part of both analyses is the music chosen. it REALLY adds up to the whole feeling of both characters and fits them like a ring to the finger, it fits so well and it brings the analyses personality. and, of course, very good editing from the team’s part, mainly on superman’s end but still good on both analyses nonetheless.

going up with goku’s analysis, it covers up his character… almost perfectly. going off from his start as a mere low class saiyan to how he reached the power of gods to heroes, which is… heroes. i really like how it’s all structured, going off his different abilities (at least, his most iconic ones) one by one and clarifying some misconceptions, like the “light speed teleportation” thing the dub made us and THEM believe 10 years ago (also wow it’s been a while). on the same vain, they talk about his transformations in a way that it shows the impact they had both in-verse and to the audience, or so i feel like it. and they don’t go their way overexplaining themselves, they just focus in the ones appearing in the animation which makes it well organized. all the time they had, they used it extremely well, going in depth with… practically everything you need to know about goku. but the key part of all of this is how they mention that his greatest strength is his discipline and drive to keep getting stronger, it’s mentioned quite a few times in the analysis overall and i’d say it’s a focal point, which totally makes sense because that’s goku’s focal point as a character. someone who is always willing to get stronger, someone willing to be better at fighting and who went from a low class saiyan to a powerful figure respected all across the multiverse, all thanks to his hard work and dedication. they go through different points of his life where he’s had to learn something new in regards to this, whether it be how he came to terms with his saiyan heritage or how he had to learn to act, not think. and it all sets up the ending of his analysis really well to really put into perspective how far he’s gone. truly an incredible journey of a character.

moving onto superman’s analysis, there’s two things that stand out. first, of course, his characterization. if there’s a character that’s been sadly bastardized by modern media and even their own writers, it's superman. this noble man, although he isn’t perfect, will ALWAYS fight for the better good of humanity. as he put it once:

he loves the earth, he loves fighting until the world is a place where love and justice stand out. as the analysis itself put it, “A simple solution to overwhelming problems”. and THAT’S what i love about this analysis, because they capture superman at his core: a true, pure good hero. one that is stupidly busted anyway, because comics, but they focus on that true good nature of his and all the things he’s done for planet Earth. oh yeah, on that note, superman is fucking busted, and they do a good job explaining that. you guys don’t know how MUCH i appreciate they decided to put up a whole explanation over DC’s convoluted chronology and timelines and all its cosmology as well, alongside every crazy single shit superman has done over the years. similar to goku, they explained his most recognizable and important powers in a fletched out manner and everything relevant for the fight and verdict was cleared in his analysis. they really managed to properly explain one of the most convoluted cosmologies in the VS community in a way that is easily understandable and good LORD do i respect that. like, genuinely i can’t think of any other way they could’ve done it like they did it’s amazing.

overall? they cleared anything they needed to clear for this fight perfectly in both analyses. admittedly, i feel as if i like superman’s more, heck it’s probably my new favorite analysis in the season, but both are just… REALLY solid and other than just saying “hey look at this crazy ass universe-busting feat he did isn’t it cool right” it goes in depth as to who they are. The fighter who never gives up and always moves forward VS The hero who would do anything for the place he loves. East VS West. Goku VS Superman- and i’m already getting poetical alright let’s move onto the fight

Fight

I WANT TO FUCKING CRY

okay sorry about that let's go bit by bit. i think it’s best to mention my one big complaint with the animation, and it’s the models. i feel they’re not too expressive, especially superman’s, and sometimes they’re a bit too shiny. they clash and sometimes it looks weird, as if they’re made of plastic, as if they’re action figures. but honestly… i like it better that way, for an entirely personal reason. i remember that when i was a kid, i used to have a superman action figure i really liked, and seeing superman’s model in the fight reminded me of just that. similarly enough, i also had a goku action figure, one that while not as similar as the model in the fight, still brings me good memories. heck, pretty sure i still keep it somewhere in my room lmao. so in a way, the janky models remind me of times where i was happier, remind me of those good times, so i guess that adds up an emotional factor to me. other than that, another small gripe would be that i feel that they don’t use much of their abilities, they use their most iconic ones but not a wider variety, which i’d like but i think that’s just me.

alright, with that out of the way, good FUCKING LORD this fight hits all the areas. we start up strong, with the two of them already fighting, getting that iconic shot of SSJ goku and superman clashing arms, a shot of which we got a “FIGHT!” at the start of the episode, that’s a neat touch. moving on, we start with, what i think, is the strongest part of the fight: the dialogue.

“Today’s the day! We’ll finally settle who’s stronger!”

“Haha… if you say so!”

i like the funny implication (and sorta headcanon of mines) that goku has developed a fascination over superman’s power and wants to keep testing him to maybe one day beat him. also might be a bit of a stretch but an allusion to how the community dubs this one “One Last Time”.

and throughout the fight you can tell… they’re just having fun. the shots of their smiles as they fight, the sound design feeling not exactly impactful at first but realistic, and the absolute amazing track by brandon sounding in the background. on and on, if you pay attention to the dialogue you’ll notice a ton of little details not only within the dialogue itself, but in the fight too. goku wanting superman to go all out since the start, but superman holding back in fear of doing too much damage, a “World of Cardboard” as he himself put it in the fight (which, by the way, fits perfectly for the scene it’s put in). goku turns into SSJBSSJ and the tension starts ramping up, both of them starting to take the fight a lot more seriously, which is when we get to the part in space where goku, sending a barrage of ki blasts, accidentally makes superman destroy the moon, which is when that world of cardboard quote comes. not only is this an incredible reference, but it also shows both character’s personalities so well. goku doesn’t care much given it’ll all go back to normality once they wish everything to fix itself, which is a common thing in dragon ball as a whole, but superman cares beyond that, he wishes to be careful with every single thing around him, hence why his view on a “world of cardboard”. and the delivery of it really sells it, seriously Xander Mobus did an amazing job voicing superman.

moving on, we get to the kinda uncalled, but pleasant surprise of the universes breaking and the different goku vs superman timelines. GT Goku vs Superman Blue, Goku Black vs Ultraman, and Xeno Goku vs Cosmic Armor Superman, all of which are very fun nods to the characters and the many iterations they’ve had over the years. the xeno vs CA looks especially gorgeous in that hand-drawn style. i’ll later talk and ramble more about how i love that they added the so-called “continuity fights”. anyways, superman wrecks goku’s shit and sends him back to earth, and here comes ANOTHER part i especially love.

goku compliments superman over his insane strength, moving over to talk about the suit to distract him, which is a very fun direct reference to the original goku vs supes. however, the REAL joy comes when goku activates Ultra Instinct. the music ramping up, and goku taking the upper lead because HOLY SHIT A VS ANIMATION ACTUALLY CAPTURED ULTRA INSTINCT CORRECTLY I AM IN TEARS. they keep on their fighting in a very dragon ball-esque style (in a frame they actually play rock paper scissors it’s so wholesome) and the animation goes full here, the impact of everything getting slowly bigger and bigger. we get the nice funny injustice reference, but goku takes the upper lead, which causes superman to REALLY get serious after unleashing a solar flare.

and we move on to the climax, superman realizing the true weight of the fight now goes over THE ENTIRE GALAXY ALL TO GET THE ENERGY OF A MILLION SUNS, which goku reacts by saying “Finally”, which goes BACK TO THE FACT THAT HE WANTED SUPERMAN TO GO ALL OUT SINCE THE START. and so, he begins charging a Kamehameha, THE Kamehameha. as a lifelong dragon ball fan, i couldn’t help but to repeat the words alongside goku, seeing my childhood go right in front of my eyes. superman goes all out, tanking the attack in front like he did in Goku vs Superman 2, and goku replying by going kaio-ken and, of course, DESTROYING THE PLANET WHILE AT IT AND MAKING HIS ULTRA INSTINCT AVATAR GO OUT, CLASHING FISTS WITH SUPERMAN ONE MILLION LIKE THEY DID IN THE ORIGINAL GOKU VS SUPERMAN, SHATTERING REALITY WHILE AT IT. ALL WHILE THE “Watch me come ALIVE!” PLAYS IN THE BACKGROUND. JESUS. FUCKING. CHRIST. yeah no this is the best climax in the season, it makes you feel all sorts of emotions and it does what its two predecessors hadn’t been able to do properly.

in the end, the music turns into a much more positively melancholic tone, and goku appears in the middle of a white void with a halo over his head. superman is there too, and replies with how he had fun, thing which was seen in the fight. goku, of course, says he’ll be stronger next time, like he’s always done with those opponents of whom have matched his power, all as both watch the different continuities of the fight, resting after such a brawl they just had. and there’s so much easter eggs you can find in these versions, you can tell the team had fun doing this part out of all the liberties they took with them. from references to the original fight, to a scourage reference, to a fusion fight, to MOTHERFUCKING MILKMAN VS SSJ5 GOKU, it’s filled with little nods to not only the characters, but also death battle as a whole, and i really like that, you can tell there’s love put into it. and to end it all off with a golden note, you get the fist bump, which not gonna lie, made me tear up a bit. one of my biggest gripes with the matchup as a whole is that, realistically, goku and superman wouldn’t be enemies, they wouldn’t fight to the death. they’d be friends, pals, and it’s something finally exemplified in this episode. the fist bump just feels like such a nice touch after… pretty much everything this matchup has amounted to over the last few decades. a peaceful send-off to such an iconic matchup. a rivalry that will be remembered for ages for years to come on the internet.

“Let’s go again!”

“You’re on.”

God, just… hearing them say this and act like this brings me to such happiness in my heart. The music, the dialogue, the shots… it all makes for the best scene in the episode. This is the true nature of these two, this is THE Goku vs Superman.

to give some small sidenotes, the voice acting is excellent. N murder drones does a good job voicing goku, it captures his excitement when fighting an opponent as strong as him, but smash narrator absolutely knocks it out of the park as superman. the deliveries of each line feel true to the character in so many ways, as in this is EXACTLY how he’d react, exactly how i’d imagine him to sound. it sells the character in so many aspects, and it alone does more respect to superman than the irrelevant sequel ever did. the sound design at first feels a bit low but, again, realistic, but it ESPECIALLY helps the fight build up tension as each hit feels stronger thanks to the sound design, all amounting to the big climax. the track is phenomenal, although i am not too sold on brandon’s vocals this time, the instrumental is absolutely fantastic, one would say it’s… Super. the highlight with the track has to be how well it blends with the actual fight of that i’m sure.

moving onto the results, i gotta say it’s definitely the most fletched out verdict in the entire season. they went bit by bit (also like in the original), exemplifying what they could do and what they couldn’t do, all in an elaborate manner bringing up the multiple feats they mentioned in both of their analyses. nothing new was brought up in the verdict, nothing really seemed out of place or confusing to understand, it was just a clear verdict where they go over everything that makes their strengths interact, even if they uh, sorta balanced some stuff out but it’s always nice to see DB make it so that a fight doesn’t look as much as a stomp as it actually is.

but, of course, the fact they go beyond and talk about the importance of the matchup and how it’s not just your average VS debate. albeit it’s… a bit apologetic of goku and kinda funny how they say that superheroes stick to their ideologies considering superman’s wanky writing, what i appreciate is the intention AND what comes after it. i mean, think about it, why else would we watch a show about our favorite characters fighting to the death and oversimplifying them to mere fighters? because it’s FUN. that’s what the whole VS community revolves around and that’s what it should have as a principle, this is nothing more but a passtime! a way to have fun overanalyzing fictional characters of all sorts! there’s no need to get salty and angry over debates, when by the end of the day we’re all just doing this… for fun. and if we’re doing it for fun, then we should have fun doing it in the first place, not get ourselves angered by it. but, again, it’s like slamming action figures together, as boomstick put it. would you remember the time you grabbed your toys and did stupid ass plots with them, doing all sorts of crazy fights? that’s the core of death battle, and that’s the core of VS debating. it’s all just stupid, crossover fun. or maybe i’m just overthinking it anyways this little moment also shows the friendship bond between wiz and boomstick that’s also very nice!

…oh right i don’t have any other parts to dive on.

Verdict

man… what an episode. for a not-so-great matchup with VERY bad timing, they brought out everything that’s been shown and learnt over the past few years and seasons for an ultimate episode that’s made with one special thing: Love. this whole episode feels like a huge love letter to both characters, it really tells away their importance and how far they’ve come. this episode reminded me why i love goku, why i love superman, and how important this matchup is as a concept. and shit man… the dedication put into the episode; the thought into every single detail in both the analyses, fight, and results; the whole feeling of it just… speaks miles beyond what words could do in how much of a respectful tribute this is to both characters. and after all… this hits ME on an emotional level. seeing these two characters i love done respect in a way that brings me back to the reason as to why i love this show, as the memories i had in my childhood watching dragon ball and looking at youtube vids about comics, this episode just hits all the right areas for me, and it makes me love it to a personal level. this isn’t Goku vs Superman, this is Goku AND Superman. 10/10, no questions asked.

and to finish off this amazing season, you get the so-called “Most Requested Death Battle Fight”, GALACTUS vs UNICRON. it’s very funny to write it all in caps because they’re big as fuck and while i don’t care much about the fight, i’m REALLY looking forward to the animation and the entire impact of it. i really look forward to the team solidifying this season as the best one in the entire show. until then, see y’all in two weeks!

by the way sorry for the tonal whiplash with the intro i wrote it before i watched the episode LMAO