Dragon Ball Super Episode 41 Review: Come Forth, Divine Dragon and Grant My Wish, Peas and Carrots!

This Dragon Ball Super review contains spoilers.

Dragon Ball Super Episode 41

“That’s no child! That’s the Omni-King, the supreme ruler of all twelve universes!”

Dragon Ball, by nature, follows a structure where intense, important battles are followed up with pleasant, albeit inconsequential, detours.  “Come Forth, Divine Dragon” is definitely an example of the tail end of that cycle, but it still makes for a fun episode that’s a welcome change from the previous dozen or so episodes that are purely fights.

Last episode ends with the arrival of the ominous King of Everything who has some plans for all of these all-star fighters. Zeno, the King of Everything declares that a much bigger version of this multiverse martial arts tournament will go on and involve the participation of all 12 universes rather than just two. So for those people that fell in love with Universe 6’s alternate take on classic Universe 7 characters, there’s liable to be many more opportunities for that in the distant future.

This episode also has a lot of fun with Goku’s trademark dimwitted nature. Zeno is such a figure of reverence that even the Gods of Destruction are in complete subservience mode. These supreme deities even freak out over the fact that their seats are above the Omni-King and so they’re technically looking down on him. They don’t want to take any risk in possibly pissing this guy off. The fact that the most powerful character that’s ever been in the Dragon Ball universe looks like some kind of child only makes all of this more enjoyable (Sarah Weidenheft absolutely nails the performance, too). Zeno originally intervenes in the tournament because he wants to discipline Beerus and Champa for shirking their Godly duties and hosting this ego boost of a tournament. He even jokes about replacing them and finding new Gods of Destruction.

Goku’s never been one to properly read the room and so he bluntly chums up with the guy, much to everyone else’s extreme embarrassment and discomfort. Dragon Ball Super does an effective job at slowly turning Goku into the universe’s Kramer and much of that oblivious carelessness is on display here. Fortunately for Goku and Universe 7’s sake, Zeno gets a huge kick over how Goku just treats him like one of the guys. It’s a refreshing level of honesty that Zeno must not be used to seeing very often. Goku goes to shakes the King of Creation’s hand and it’s a moment that the show plays for serious dramatic effect. It’s ridiculous in the best kind of way and Beerus and Champa’s eyes bug out a solid dozen times over interactions like this.

The post-mortem of the tournament has a lot of adorable moments, like when Cabbe refers to Vegeta as a mentor or how Mr. Satan takes a shine to Monaka and proposes that he becomes his gym’s mascot. Even the magic words that Beerus and Champa recite in the second half of the episode are silly nonsense that nicely play into Dragon Ball‘s lighter side. Now that the tournament is over, Beerus is able to move his attention back to the retrieval of the Super Dragon Balls. Android 18 of all people—er, Androids—makes the discovery that it looks like the final Super Dragon Ball is already with them. Lo and behold, the Nameless Planet that this tournament is held on is actually the seventh and final Super Dragon Ball! The series has summoned Shenron enough times that the ceremony has somewhat lost its power at this point, but Super Shenron is a shiny, new experience that the series has fun with. He’s also gold, so you know that this dragon is super powerful.

Beerus happens to get away with some massive deception here. He secretly wishes to Super Shenron that Universe 6’s Earth be restored, a dramatic gesture that doesn’t go wasted on Champa and Vados. The two are definitely aware of Beerus’ actions here, but why Beerus uses such a rare opportunity to help his “rival” remains to be seen. Maybe he knows he’s going to need Universe 6’s help in this upcoming tournament and he’s already starting to get them reliant on his help. That summon sequence for Super Shenron is also pretty absurd stuff. The gang collectively get absorbed by Super Shenron only to then encounter another Super Shenron at his core. All the while, a whole bunch of planet eating goes on.

The final moments of this episode may not be that important, but they’re certainly a lot of fun. They allow the show and these characters to properly decompress after the gauntlet that they’ve just gone through. Goku and company end up back on Earth by the conclusion of the episode and are already eager to train for their next challenge. The highlight from all of this though is the glimpse into Monaka’s real identity and everyday life. He’s apparently a postman on Beerus’ planet with humble aspirations of one day being a fighter. That truth makes Monaka’s “win” in the tournament all the more poetic. This civil servant finally got to live out his dream and act as a motivator for the universe’s two strongest fighters at the same time. Plus, some gratuitous riches aren’t a bad break either. “Come Forth Divine Dragon” is definitely a cool down episode, but it contains some of the series’ funnier moments and it’s hard to be frustrated at an episode that has such a good time. Heavier stuff is on its way, but in the meantime just enjoy the comically pleasant detour.

Oh, and Buu finally wakes up!