Feb 22, 2024
Super Dragon Ball Heroes: Ultra God Mission is the 4th installment of the Super Dragon Ball Heroes manga story line and is the definitive adaptation of the story from the arcade game it is based on. (There is an anime version too like most the previous arcs).
It is a multidimensional tournament arc where contestants fight stronger versions of characters from various Dragon Ball arcs: Dragon Ball, Dragon Ball Z, Dragon Ball GT, Dragon Ball Z movies etc. It is organized by the former Kaioshin of Time, Aeos, who wants to erase all other histories but the main one. Which one of these will be the
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main one? That will be decided by which team wins. There are various conditions a team can win. Thus is not only strength, cooperation or strategy involved, but also luck. This gives weaker universes a chance to survive.
As it is tradition for Super Dragon Ball Heroes, even establishing the characters are fighting stronger versions of enemies they have beaten in the past, it will take time to get used to seeing someone like Android 18 pushing Goku to Super Saiyan Blue. Some characters who experienced new power ups from the previous arcs will have them in this story, examples as such are:
- Xeno Goku and Xeno Vegeta going Super Saiyan 4 Limit Breaker
- Super Saiyan Blue Berserk Controlled Vegeta
- Evil Saiyan Turles
In terms of action, it is not much different from the anime counterpart which offers far more as the Super Dragon Ball Heroes story continues. The manga adds more flavor by showing more of the underused characters that cannot really compete with these planetary threats. They react to these ongoing battles. We see team work between established characters to defeat a common threat and more interactions to flash out some of the established characters.
There are even some endearing moments, like the organizer of the tournament teasing Yamcha. Speaking of Yamcha, I think he has some of the most hilarious interactions but also the most respectable moments in this story arc.
Also some of the characters that were established in the previous arcs got even stronger and the manga bothers to give a small explanation indirectly to that.
Regarding characters, I think the manga just flat out beats the anime counterpart. We see more of the mindset of the characters and things of their characters explored we didn't get to see. Turles' character development getting carried over. Disagreements with the teammates Hearts and Cooler. Even the antagonist Aeos who appears as a serious character and wants to fix the timeline has some scenes where she is very playful. Finally we get some insight about the relationship between Aeos and Chrona as well as the backstory of Demigra who will also get involved. Lastly, the fights are more destructive than anything you probably see in the anime, Dragon Ball Super anime and Dragon Ball Super manga.
As far as the fights go, the manga rarely disappointed in terms of action. While some people may consider this a spoiler, I think some major match ups can be often the reason why someone would want to read this story arc. What does Heroes have to offer in terms of match ups?
- Goku vs Xeno Goku
- Xeno Trunks vs Future Gohan
- DBZ Broly vs Jiren
- Goku vs Bardock
- Xeno Gogeta vs Xeno Broly
There are also some highlights worth watching for but I won't mention them. These few fights are just a small taste what is there to look forward to.
Criticism, some of the fights will fall short because of limited promotion. But the most important ones are done well. Also like always, Xeno Goten is just there. There are a few scenes with him but he feels like an afterthought. Same with Xeno Pan. Despite her being a time patroller now, she hasn't gotten any love by Heroes. No Super Saiyan. No special power up. No fight at all. But she does have some really fun moments. Even Xeno Gohan has been shafted in favor to give more screentime to main timeline Gohan. The only Xeno characters that matter are Goku, Vegeta and Trunks.
Overall the manga of Heroes is worth a read. Good action, fun interactions and fan service that won't overstay its welcome.
Reviewer’s Rating: 6
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