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The battle between Goku and Jiren inDragon Ball Superis one of anime’s most memorable and iconic fights in history. There’s no other fight in the medium that attracted thousands to gather in Mexico and watch on the big screen like it’s a major worldwide event. It’s no surprise why Crunchyroll awardedDragon Ball Superthe “Best Continuing Series” in 2019.
The Tournament of Power introduced Goku’s ascendance to Ultra Instinct, which left fans and Gods speechless. It continues to be a spectacle even today. And it inspired a gazillion memes and fans to annoyingly say, “Can he beat Goku though?” But what many fans don’t know is that Goku vs. Jiren’s fight sequences are a big reference to Goku vs. Frieza that took place way back inDragon Ball Z.
By looking at them, fans would even be forgiven if they think Goku vs. Frieza foreshadowed Goku vs. Jiren (even though it did not).
The similarities between Goku vs. Jiren and Goku vs. Frieza
For instance, Jiren was hyped by so many people in the multiverse, including Universe 11’s God of Destruction Belmod. In the anime, Whis told the rumor about a mortal stronger than his Universe’ Destroyer God, and in the Tournament of Power, it turned out to be Jiren, which was confirmed by Belmod.
In the manga, Toyotaro had the Pride Troopers leader Toppo state that Jiren is better than Belmod in terms of power level alone, though he pales in comparison to the Destroyer’s techniques like Hakai and Ultra Ego.
“A fighter that not even a God of Destruction can beat”: Dragon Ball Theory Claims Jiren Never Loses for the Same Reason Goku Will Always Be Stronger than Vegeta
The hype created for Jiren is similar to Frieza when King Kai was shocked to find out that he’s on Planet Namek, and warned Goku to stay as far away from him as possible. This made viewers aware that Frieza is the strongest in the Universe and not even Gods like King Kai, Kami, and King Yemma could stop him.
At the start of both fights, Goku is no match for his opponent so he starts using the Kaioken to close the gap. Both Krillin in the Tournament of Power and Tenshinhan in the Frieza saga assumed that Goku should be able to multiply his Kaioken to the highest easily. But the Gods, Whis and King Kai from each of the arcs, informed them that Goku is already using the highest multiple against Frieza and Jiren respectively.
Goku uses the Kaioken X20 out of desperation, but that doesn’t inflict any significant damage on his opponents. And when he ran out of ideas, he used a Spirit Bomb, only for that to fail as well. But that eventually led to the legendary transformations that were foreshadowed in prior arcs. Goku transformed into a Super Saiyan in the Frieza Saga for the first time, a form that was first mentioned by Nappa in the Saiyan Saga.
Not Chi-Chi or Frieza, Only One Dragon Ball Character Can Make Goku Run with His Tail Between His Legs
And when it comes to Ultra Instinct, Goku first activated it by emerging from the ashes after everyone believed the Spirit Bomb’s impact had killed him. The technique was earlier described by Whis in the Ressurection “F” arc, where he tells Goku and Vegeta that they need to reach a state where their bodies act on their own, independent of their consciousness.
At the conclusion of the arcs, Goku was unable to kill Jiren and Frieza, who were vanquished by others, namely Zeno and Future Trunks, respectively. Both Jiren and Frieza were later revived by a wish to the Dragon Balls, thanks to Android 17 and Sorbet.
The possibility of Goku vs. Frieza and Goku vs. Jiren happening again
AsDragon Ball Superis confirmed to continue for at least another 10 years, fans are excited to see some of these fights happen again in future arcs.
As far as Goku vs. Frieza is concerned, it is more or less sure to happen real soon, as the end of the Granolah arc and the Super Hero arc teased Goku and Vegeta facing Black Frieza in an upcoming manga arc. Fans saw the Saiyan duo getting one-shotted by the galactic tyrant in their strongest forms.
Despite getting revived back to life by Whis at the end of the Tournament of Power, Frieza has every intention of perpetrating more evil. And Goku says that when the time comes, he’ll step in to beat him again. Due to this statement, fans are expecting a rematch of Goku vs. Frieza and Vegeta vs. Frieza in a future arc ofDragon Ball Super.
“He is excellent to fit the role Vegeta filled for so long”: Frieza’s Redemption Arc is Long Overdue and Akira Toriyama Set it Up Perfectly to Compliment Goku
When it comes to round 2 of Goku vs. Jiren, it could happen again in the next Tournament of Power. As fans know,Dragon Ballbecame popular thanks to its tournament arcs, and Toyotaro wouldn’t pass an opportunity for another ToP. And he could have the 4 Universes that were exempted from the first tournament participate in the next.
They could face each other and 4 other Universes, including Universes 7 and 11, that performed best in the Tournament of Power. In this way, Toyotaro can set up a rematch between Goku and a new and improved Jiren, driving fans into a frenzy once again.
Dragon Ball, Dragon Ball Z, andDragon Ball Superare available to watch on Crunchyroll.
Anand Bhaskaran
Articles Published :134
A Dragon Ball fanatic who also loves to read and talk about Indian spirituality. An MBA finance graduate with a passion for doing everything that is unrelated to it. Anand has over 4 years of experience under his belt, having worked with leading content heads in the anime community. Currently, he’s more into Slice of Life and Romcom shows than actual Battle Shonen. But unfortunately, he’s stuck with a job writing ONLY about Battle Shonen (smh).
