By Erika Suarez

Five very long minutes are left in the Tournament of Power, and the field immensely grows tense for the remaining two battles. After Dyspo’s defeat and Gohan’s honorable sacrifice, we move forward with Toppo and his dramatic transformation leaving behind his “justice” motto and becomes a God of Destruction after Frieza pushes his limits. A battle of evil stirs in the tournament and makes an impressive turn around for Toppo’s character.

Universe 11’s Pride Trooper, may not be the most exciting character in Super, but his new look in this episode gave us some awes and our complete attention. He drops the justice act and goes full mode, God of Destruction, when Frieza comes close to finishing him. His appearance is striking and fearsome and looking at the once powerful emperor Frieza, he comes nothing close to him. Frieza’s overconfidence led him to believe he could maintain and control Toppo’s energy sphere of destruction, instead, the purple energy devoured him. Frieza's battle against Dyspo is nothing compared to this, and it really brought out the bad and ugly in him, bringing us some memories from Dragon Ball Z's arc in planet Namek. 

Super successfully proves there are much more frightful warriors than Frieza and continues to show progress in one’s strength and looking back in the series, a warrior’s strength was recognized by power level from a scouter. This gives a perfect opportunity for the villainous character, Frieza, to bring a comeback and go beyond his golden form. It was hilarious that no one arrived to help Frieza’s battle against Toppo while he was being brutally beat down. Eventually, Android 17 casually steps in to fight and throws a rock at Toppo, and accidentally hits Frieza which was his intention in the first place.

Android 17 doesn’t get enough credit for staying this far in the tournament and although his character reveals itself as bland and simple, it has a unique side of it because he manages to bring humor under his empty emotions that eases this episode’s intensity. His moment in battle against Toppo wasn’t as impactful as Frieza’s, but it was enticing to see him experimenting different methods of giving damage to the God of Destruction. Usually, the android finds a way to break through his opponents but, Toppo is far from his capability.

Super takes it up a notch in this episode by unmasking Toppo’s true power. Not only did they reveal the power under that massive mustache of his, he is also a candidate for the next God of Destruction. Frieza stood no chance against the warrior’s upgraded power and unleashes his spur of villainy that mirrored his battle in Namek in the Dragon Ball Z series. 

Score: 4/5

Dragon Ball Super E.125- “With Imposing Presence! God of Destruction Toppo Descends!!”
Writer: Akira Toriyama
Studio: Toei Animation