We Need to Talk About the Ending of Dragon Ball Super’s Tournament of Power Right Now

I’ve been critical of Dragon Ball Super. Okay, I’ve been VERY critical of Dragon Ball Super. Not only did I not think it was the same level of quality of some of the other Class S anime right now (i.e. My Hero Academia, One Punch Man, Attack on Titan), I didn’t think it was the same quality as the Dragon Ball series which preceded it. I’ve been thoroughly unimpressed with the Super Saiyan Rainbow Coalition that Dragon Ball Super has become, and the Tournament of Power overall felt like a shadow of the tournaments we got earlier in the franchise. With that said, I want to give credit where credit is due. I recognize greatness wherever it occurs, and the truth of the matter is, Dragon Ball Super episode 131 was pretty great. A Kamehameha wave of spoilers ahead I had deep reservations about the decision to replace Buu with Frieza. Frieza was the defining antagonist in Dragon Ball. Cell was fun in his arrogant quest for perfection, and King Piccolo was genuinely scary in the otherwise light-hearted early adventures of Goku, but no one holds a candle to Frieza in terms of villainy. I was afraid of villain decay setting in, and I didn’t want to see the Emperor of the Universe softened by going the route Tien, Piccolo, Vegeta and others went. That worked for them, but not for Frieza. Somehow, this finale pulled off the miraculous feat of find a way of softening Frieza AND making him more awesome. Seeing Goku and Frieza team up to take it to Jiren was a thing I never knew I wanted, b…