Dragon Ball Super Episode 28 Review: The 6th Universe’s Destroyer – His Name Is Champa

This Dragon Ball Super review contains spoilers.

Dragon Ball Super Episode 28

“Hey, who are you! The one that looks like a fat version of Beerus!”

The introduction of Beerus and Whis has added a lot to the Dragon Ball universe, but one of their most distinct characteristics is their tremendous love of food. This food obsession that they have brought to Dragon Ball Super has been a fun diversion, but it’s interesting to see that this time it’s actually the spark to the show’s newest arc. It’s not some generational grudge, a new dangerous species, or some unleashed form of evil. No, a cup of instant ramen is basically what sets the Earth on the course for danger.

To begin with, there’s a certain unbridled energy that fuels “The 6th Universe’s Destroyer” that largely feels present due to the battle with Golden Frieza now being a thing of the past. It’s just fun to officially be in fresh, new territory with the contents of the past two Dragon Ball Z films now officially in the series’ rear-view mirror. The direction the series decides to embrace with this new arc is also particularly exciting for just how much it blows up the scope of the series. Through the years it’s been understandably difficult to find increasingly strong foes for Goku and friends to go up against, so the idea of there being not just one new universe full of characters, but eleven, opens up a lot of new possibilities. It might still be some time until Dragon Ball Super fully explores all 12 of these universes, but for the time being, the series is entirely satisfied with just shining the light on Universe 7’s corresponding universe, Universe 6.

Up until this point, Champa and Vados have been reserved for cryptic cameos in a few episodes, but this entry really allows for them to become characters. Apparently Champa is Beerus’ twin brother (something that everyone has trouble swallowing) with Vados being Whis’ older sister. There’s also much time devoted to just how much animosity exists between Beerus and Champa. It’s to be expected that the Gods of Destruction from complimentary universes would have a hostile relationship, but these two come in hot and only continue to increase the temperature. The pair makes Goku and Vegeta look like BFFs.

While this meeting of the Gods might create a lot of tension, something that’s shared between universes is their intense, near-gluttonous love for food. This episode might briefly toy with the idea of which of these Gods of Destruction is stronger, but in spite of some minor sparring, the question is ultimately left for another day (although Beerus is unquestionably in better shape). Rather than determining which of the two is stronger in the physical sense, Beerus and Champa are instead more interested in proving which universe has the more impressive cuisine. Beerus and Champa give each other’s taste buds a true challenge, but in the end, it’s the incredible power of instant ramen that comes out triumphant. Apparently Champa and Vados have never spent any time with any of Earth’s college students.

This cutthroat love of food ends up leading to the discovery that Universe 6’s Earth has been destroyed through past warfare, which means that this exquisite Earth cuisine is something that’s exclusive to Universe 7. This is news that Champa simply cannot stand for, which leads to the bizarrely beautiful proposition that a tournament be held between Universe 6 and 7, with the winning universe receiving Earth—but more importantly, its food—as the prize. Fortunately for Beerus, Goku and Vegeta haven’t skipped a beat in their training after Frieza’s demise. If these guys are ready for anything at the moment, it’s a test of strength. Now to find the other three members for their team.

Even though Goku is already fantasizing about shooting blasts at Universe 6’s strongest, Beerus is still skeptical towards this whole tournament business. He’s not even sure if such a planet-swapping maneuver can even be done between universes in the first place. It’s at this point that Champa lets loose the information that he’s been quietly collecting the Super Dragon Balls, and with their immense power, it would be able to pull off the conditions of the tournament. It may feel a little hollow for the series to introduce an even stronger set of Dragon Balls (these things are essentially planets), but the minor aside that the Namekian Dragon Balls were actually chiseled out of these makes for a nice touch. It at least provides some connective tissue to what’s been established rather than these giant orbs suddenly existing from out of nowhere.

Once the news of the Super Dragon Balls is out on the table, matters pick up at a considerable tempo. Goku is fairly positive that Bulma will be able to locate the final Super Dragon Ball with a modified version of her Dragon Radar. With all of the pieces appearing to be in place, Beerus is given little choice other than to agree to Champa’s tournament. After all, he can’t look like a coward in front of his twin brother.

For those that have been on the fence with Dragon Ball Super’s previous arcs or even fallen off ship entirely, these episodes are the perfect time to get back on board. There’s so much fun stuff in this new saga, with the can of worms that this multiverse concept opens up only leading to even more encouraging developments. “The 6th Universe’s Destroyer” might technically be setup for the most part, but the episode throws so many new ideas at the audience that this is hardly a problem. There’s a lot to take in and the installment wisely frames it around the comedic squabbling of Beerus and Champa, as well as Goku and Vegeta’s bewilderment over just how many more opponents are suddenly out there for battle.

Dragon Ball typically handles tournaments quite well, with some of the strongest material from both Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball Z taking place within Tenkaichi Budokai installments. It should be exciting to see how Dragon Ball Super decides to approach all of this. With this new story arc featuring plenty of fights and lots of new characters, the series is about to head into some of its strongest episodes yet.

Now to just figure out where to find some Don-Don Bird eggs. Bet they’d go great with some Yardratian bacon…

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