Dragon Ball Super Episode 40 Review: A Decision at Last! Is the Winner Beerus? Or Is It Champa?

This Dragon Ball Super review contains spoilers.

Dragon Ball Super Episode 40

“That’s the mysterious effect of Goku!”

It’s not every episode where a tournament comes to an end and Goku also gropes an alien ruler’s genitals! There’s a lot to talk about on this latest Dragon Ball Super! Seriously though, that gag with the Galactic King genital tentacles is so insane and out of place, yet it’s one of my all-time favorite moments from the entire series.

“A Decision at Last!” suffers from a lot of the same issues as the previous installment, like its tendency to draw out the battle and take its time where it’s not necessary. In this one it at least results in a conclusion though, which is a definite plus and makes it easier to look past. Goku and Hit continue to be at a stalemate as they trade blows back and forth (although they both get in some really solid, devastating blows on each other). This regrettably doesn’t make for the most exciting battle, but the episode is aware of this. Goku then makes a pretty baller play and requests that the tournament’s “no murder” rules be rescinded.

Goku gets no enjoyment from his fight with Hit if the assassin’s still not able to perform at his maximum potential. This means that Goku asks that Hit graciously be allowed to murder him and that the tournament’s rules see a shift to reflect such a change. It’s a scene that perfectly distills Goku’s boneheaded, yet passionate nature, and then follows itself up with an even better example of Goku being Goku.

While Beerus and Champa are stuck in argument over whether the new murderous rules of the tournament should become legal, Goku simply jumps out of bounds and disqualifies himself. It’s an absolutely infuriating moment, but it’s clearly meant to be an action that frustrates the audience. A moment of real earnestness gets to take place between Goku and Hit before this surrender takes place. The two talk about their role in the larger scheme of the universe(s) and it’s a sweet moment that grounds this impossible fight for a quick second.

Goku insists that Beerus and Champa’s decision regarding the rules doesn’t matter in the end because he’s too weak to carry on anyway. “Kaio-Ken Blue” has left the fighter completely drained and if Hit still has new levels of power to experiment with, there’s absolutely no point in Goku sticking this one out. It also makes for some welcome symmetry towards the first time Goku pulls off the Kaio-Ken technique, much to his body’s dismay. Besides, as far as Goku’s concerned their team still has their ace in the hole, Monaka, at their disposal to blow everyone away. As far as Goku is concerned, the silver lining to his forfeit is that he at least now gets to see Monaka in action.

So against all odds, the bonkers spectacle of Hit versus Monaka comes to fruition and boy does it not disappoint. Believe it or not, Hit does not instantly execute Monaka or disintegrate every bone in the charlatan’s body with a single punch. No, instead Monaka stays true to his fictitious reputation and comes out as the winner. The guy with the nipples does what Goku and Vegeta could not.

Naturally, there’s a catch to all of this. Hit throws the fight against Monaka as means of thanks to Goku for showing him how to exceed his potential and become stronger than he thought possible. Hit proves that he maybe could have a secondary career as an actor and cool it with the hitman business because he beautifully feigns defeat. Even Monaka believes that maybe he is the strongest fighter between universes. As a result, Beerus’ impossible charade about Monaka’s legendary strength gets to live on. In fact, he technically wins the tournament for them. There’s a real Mr. Satan quality to all of it if you squint hard enough. Monaka provides a bunch of satisfying comic relief here, whether it’s in his less than glamorous entrance into the arena or his complete bemusement to the incredible displays of power that occur around him.

“A Decision at Last!” jerks its audience around a little bit and as far as conclusions to tournaments go, it could be better. At the same time, I can respect that Dragon Ball Super keeps Hit at a level above Goku and Vegeta and all the evidence points to a re-match happening in the near-future. This multiverse tournament goes out with a whimper, but that shouldn’t invalidate the worthwhile fights and transformations that have come as a result. Dragon Ball has done enough tournaments (and it still has more on the way) that it’s hard to still be surprising with their endings. This isn’t the worse, but it makes for a fine way to move ahead with everything.

On that note, before Universe 7 gets to celebrate over their win, an interesting development immediately steals their thunder and mixes things up. The apparent “King of Everything”—which means all 12 universes—graces everyone with his appearance. This is clearly a big deal judging by how the big wigs react here, which obviously means there’s something seriously dire afoot. Something that involves the help of more than just one universe—maybe even all of the universes. It’s still a few episodes until Dragon Ball Super’s next big arc starts, but its tease now officially begins and it’s sure seems epic. Essentially after the next episode there are six episodes of filler before the awesome new arc kicks off in Episode 47. It also makes this the perfect time for the series to softly “reset,” so to speak, as it prepares for what’s to come.

In the meantime, get ready for cool water clones because if it works for Spider-Man: The Animated Series, it’ll work for Dragon Ball Super.