Summary
Dragon Ball Super’sTournament of Power arc showcased the strongest characters across the multiverse fighting for survival. Almost every new character that had been introduced as a representative of their universe in this arc proved to be a powerful combatant who deserved a place on their universe’s team of strongest fighters. However, for most of the Tournament, none could get the better of Universe 11’s strongest warrior, Jiren the Gray.
Jiren was an anomaly in the Tournament and was an almost mythical fighter whose power was rumored to surpasseven his God of Destruction, Belmod. However, during the events ofDragon Ball Super’slatest film,Super Hero, Vegeta explained that despite being overpowered by him for most of the Tournament, Jiren’s power wasn’t much greater than that of Universe 7’s Saiyans. So, let’s see how Jiren was such a powerhouse in the Tournament!
A brief run-through of Universe 11’s strongest fighter
First Appearance
Dragon Ball Super, Episode 78, “Even the Universes' Gods are Appalled?! The Lose-and-Perish Tournament of Power!”
Story Arc
Tournament of Power arc
Even before he made his full debut in the series, Jiren was built up as the most tremendous fighter in all of Universe 11, something which perfectly coincided with the rumors of there being a mortal to have surpassed their universe’s God of Destruction.Throughout most of the Tournament, Jiren’s strength was so great that he spent most of his time meditating, never really focusing on any of the fighters due to how great the gap in their strength was.
This was true for pretty much every character besides Ultra Instinct Goku. Only during his battle with the Saiyan did Jiren really show any strain or effort, and even then, Ultra Instinct Omen still wasn’t enough to make him go all out. This meant that anything under the level of Ultra Instinct wasn’t enough for Jiren to take the fight seriously, as was seen in his various battles against other characters where he barely even broke a sweat.
Jiren’s Overwhelming Power
The truth behind his unparalleled strength
In his brief backstory, Jiren’s approach to power and combat is revealed. When he was a child, his family was killed by amysterious and powerful villain, after which he was essentially adopted by someone who would go on to become his master, who Jiren came to love deeply. However, many years after the initial attack, the mysterious villain returned to the scene and killed Jiren’s master.
Jiren was far weaker back then and was powerless to stop the monster, and his remaining friends and fellow disciples refused to help him take down the culprit. Due to this, Jiren became obsessed with the concept of absolute strength and devoted his life to it, seeking power above all else so as to never allow himself to be weak enough to fail to save someone again. His drive to get stronger and win is the crux behind his character, which is why he has trained non-stop to become the powerhouse that he is.
All is meaningless without victory. To be defeated is to lose everything.
This, in turn, also explains why he’s so strong. Toward the start of theDragon Ball Super: Super Heromovie, Vegeta is shown to meditate while on Beerus' planet, where Goku asks him why he’s focusing on meditation over sparring. Here, Vegeta reveals that despite beingcompletely overpowered and outmatchedby Jiren during the Tournament of Power, the gap between the Saiyan’s power and his wasn’t all that great, implying that in terms of sheer might, Jiren wasn’t outside their power level.
However, the only reason why he seemed like such an insurmountable obstacle was because of how he utilized his energy. Due to Jiren’s obsession with strength and devoting his entire life to the pursuit of getting stronger, all he did was train, both physically and mentally. This training allowed Jiren to maximize his power output, using almost every single drop of his energy in his strikes without wasting even a little bit of it.
This mastery and self-control over his Ki was the deciding factor in terms of their power gap. Though their strength wasn’t much different,the Saiyans wasted too much energywhile fighting, meaning that they weren’t using their power to its highest level. Since Jiren found the perfect balance of his power, every single blow that he dealt had as much strength and energy behind it as possible.
Thematically, this also shows combat in the series is more than just fisticuffs and brute strength. With this revelation, Goku and Vegeta’s trajectory for the future has changed since they now realize the importance of energy management in a battle more than ever before, due to which each of them is on track to becoming the most powerful version of themselves possible. By using their energy most efficiently, the Saiyans will see benefits in terms of their overall power as well as in their transformations and power-ups!
