Dragon Ball Super Episode 2 Review: To the Promised Resort! Vegeta Takes a Family Trip?

This Dragon Ball Super review contains spoilers.

Dragon Ball Super Episode 2

“Peace is just the best.”

So here we are with Dragon Ball Super episode 2. With the lofty expectations of last week’s premiere finally out of the way, perhaps a much more casual approach can be applied to the series. Unfortunately, while this is still more of a step in the right direction than the premiere, things are still very in a land of re-introduction where the show is gently easing us back into this large cast of characters, with this episode focusing on Vegeta and his distinct little family. So to any radish enthusiasts that jumped on board to this program after last week…you might want to sit down for this.

Right from the start we get a pretty good idea of what the tone of all of this is going to be. Vegeta defiantly stands on top of Bulma’s Capsule Corp air vehicle rather than riding on the inside with his family. He’s determined to turn even the smallest gesture into some sort of training exercise, no matter how much it means he’s neglecting his family in the process. In spite of his attitude here, it’s sort of beautiful to get an idea of just how much Bulma loves and understands the guy.

Chi-Chi might be screaming at Goku to not train too late on King Kai’s planet, but Bulma doesn’t flinch at the opportunity to put her vehicle through an insane flight path, merely to give Vegeta a little extra something. That’s why Vegeta’s behavior in this episode is likely going to be polarizing to some people. Yes, it’s a very humorous episode of the series that banks on Vegeta’s callous, stoic nature, but he’s also a complete asshole to Bulma. Like, he doesn’t show her any affection at all here, in what probably qualifies as a pretty fair representation of their usual behavior together. Beyond that though, he’s practically an out-right dick to his family and looks beyond miserable through all of the shopping, relaxing, and dining. He actually pulls away from Bulma when she tries to touch him. Give Vegeta a blood-thirsty tyrant from across the universe, but don’t ask him to try and unwind and have fun.

I’m not saying that Vegeta doesn’t care about his family—in fact, far from it—but he’s not going to be snapping selfies with Bulma while at the beach. There’s so much of him simply staring off into the distance looked pissed off. It contrasts well with everything else in this installment, but even I at a certain point was like, “Jesus Christ man, at least hold your wife’s hand!” But that’s why we’re getting a “Vegeta on holiday” episode rather than a “Mr. Satan and Majin Buu go to the amusement park” endeavor; the idea itself is designed to be jarring.

When the reveal eventually takes place that this episode is actually a callback to the Buu Saga Dragon Ball Z episode, “Take Flight, Videl,” it’s kind of unbelievable that the series decides to pay respect to such a minor piece of continuity that surely no one was expecting to be followed up in the first place (for the sticklers out there, it’s also worth noting that the re-used footage we get this week is actually from Dragon Ball Z, whereas last episode’s flashback used Dragon Ball Kai assets). In the process though, Vegeta’s adherence to keeping a promise to his son and managing to do the right thing—even if he hates it—does an economical job at illustrating how Vegeta truly feels about all of this.

Plus, that briefest of moments where Vegeta takes a little extra satisfaction in eating the (humungous) octopus because of the one that got on his face through water travel is a perfect character beat. It’s so, so silly and petty. What’s ridiculous is that when Vegeta is no longer capable of enduring this dreaded “fun” for any longer, he flies away from their vacation spot, with Bulma and Trunks merely waving bye to him and exchanging, “Well, for Vegeta, he lasted a lot longer than I thought.” They understand that his true idea of a good time is breaking a sweat harder than Kakarot.

While it’s a lot of fun and games this week, some minor plot progression does take place. Namely in the sense that Goku and Vegeta both resume their training for the Next Big Threat. And on the topic of which, material with Beerus and Whis still remains at a minimum, but the tease we get in this episode is much more substantial than the preview in last week’s premiere. Sure, it’s more casual destruction at the hands of Beerus, but we learn where all of this is heading (not to mention, some really gorgeous animation and character designs for the dinosaur and aliens that they encounter on their pit stop). The perpetually bored God of Destruction has been plagued by a dream that shows him the ultimate warrior that might finally be able to satiate his battle thirst, the Super Saiyan God. For those that have seen the Battle of the Gods film, you know where all of this material is ultimately heading, but for the uninitiated, it’s probably pretty likely that Beerus and Whis are headed to Earth to search for their mystery God. And hey, wouldn’t it be nifty if some new sort of Super Saiyan transformation is also looming right around the corner?

Next episode it’s Bulma’s birthday, which might not be the battle of the strongest that some of you have been hoping for from this series. But be patient, there’s a certain unexpected party guest that’s really going to shake things up.

(It’s not Chiaotzu.)

Dragon Ball Super continues to air on Saturdays at 8pm on Adult Swim, and 11:30pm in their Toonami block.