I do not like Dragonball Super. I agree with all of the criticisms against it, and all of the character assassinations present. Sadly, it is a stain on something I love.

But if you take one thing away from this, please let it be this: Battle of Gods is not Dragonball super, it does not suffer the issue of misunderstanding its source, it does not deserve the hate its given. Battle of gods is brilliant. I mean it, Battle of gods is beautiful.

First, keep in mind the period it was being released. We had gone so, so long without NEW Dragonball stuff. After all this time, its back. Dragonball, our childhoods, our inspiration and dreams, its back. The man who could do anything, who rest assured his wife and audience everything would be ok, was back.

That same Goku does not last too long.

Beerus shows up and molly whops him. The impossible happens, Goku loses, and is embarrassed. Immediately the goal is clear as day, as always in dragonball: beat the big bad, beat Beerus, the man on the hunt for a "Super Saiyan god".

It doesn't waste much time setting up who Beerus is, he's divinity and he is merciless, and he's coming to earth to take our childhoods away.

I adore Vegeta here. Hes still a bit of an egotist as he always will be, but hes a family man and a defender of earth first and foremost. He's fine with doing a dumb dance, and eating Takoyaki and putting on a show so long as it protects his home. A lot of DBS regresses the purity of DBZ Vegeta, but I personally thought he ruled here, fighting a man he knows he has a guarantee of losing to purely to protect his loved ones. No cares for surpassing Kakarot, or being number one, just to keep the ones he fought for vs kid Buu safe. Vegeta at his purest after Z.

And he loses, as Vegeta tends to do (lol). Showing first and foremost a new conflict: the old Ki wont work here, we cant win with emotion and force, we must ascend, we must go higher. Its brilliant in setting up the soon faulty DBS power scaling, and it sets a distinct tone for the movie, and a distinct goal for Goku: ascend, and save the world.

And that he does, as he comes to earth last second to save the day, as he always would. Through Shenron and through Videls child, showing how far Saiyan's have come due to earth and just how important these bonds really are, he achieves it.

Anti climatic don't you think?

Intentionally so, and Goku makes full point of such, pointing out how he's not happy with his form as he does not feel he earned such. Intentionally anti climatic, giving the audience the same feeling of dissatisfaction as Goku, and hinting towards the climax by leaving a gap in our expectations purposefully. Its genius.

They do battle, Goku stands his own but never fully grasps Beerus. As hard as he fights, he never fully feels Beerus out. This isn't Goku fighting Beerus, this is super Saiyan god doing battle. This is not the way Goku fights, he's built HIMSELF to be so strong, this is not how he wants to win.

And thus, its not how he wins. Channeling super Saiyan god into super Saiyan, the form he worked on and perfected with his son, he fights Beerus as son Goku, going all out as the warrior raised on earth; not the warrior gifted a new form.

He loses. Despite going all out, despite fighting as Goku, he loses. Thus, Beerus explains the universe. or well, universes. There are 12 total, and within just this one, is Beerus and Whis, two people so much stronger than him.

As Gokus mentor, Roshi did his best to instill one moral into his student: there is always someone stronger than you.

And it comes full circle here. Now, not only are there two impossible to scale people, but potentially billions across MULTIPLE UNIVERSES. As an ending to Dragonball, this would genuinely be the best there is, leaving such ambiguous and leaving Goku to train on this new level, in a sense that satisfies him, sending him on a now infinite quest to be the strongest. I believe dbs ruins such by exploring said universes, but i digress.

There is no better example of Goku as a character than Battle of Gods (don't misread this as "this is the best Goku"). Comforting, backed against the wall, trying to the end. It is Goku at his purest, bringing out all of his best qualities and displaying just how special he really is. Dragonball really was back, Super Saiyan's were back, Ki blasts were back, GOKU. was back. That, alone, is beautiful to me.