Highlights
- The Moro arc introduces a terrifying new villain named Moro who poses a significant threat to the heroes of Universe 7.
- The arc focuses heavily on both Goku and Vegeta, giving them equal opportunities to shine and develop their abilities.
- The final battle against Moro showcases the creative use of old powers in new and exciting ways, resulting in a thrilling and unique fight.
Ever since Dragon Ball Super went off the air in 2018 with the closing of the Tournament of Power, fans have been clamoring for any new piece of content from the franchise. In December of the same year, fans would get a feast for the eyes with the release of the monumental Dragon Ball Super: Broly, a movie that took the world by storm by bringing fan-favorite characters into the official canon of the series and delivering on some of the most jaw-dropping and gorgeous visuals ever seen in an anime.
However, the manga would soon catch up to where the anime left off, bringing fans back into the world of Dragon Ball with the Moro arc. This arc would introduce a brand-new villain and would raise the stakes for all of Universe 7 by having the heroes fight against an enemy who was stronger than everyone who ever came before him. So, let's see why the Moro arc will be groundbreaking once it finally gets animated.
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The Introduction of a Terrifying New Villain
The story of the Moro arc takes place right after the end of Dragon Ball Super: Broly, where Goku and Vegeta have saved the world from Broly's destructive rampage while the titular villain himself is at peace now on a remote and safe planet with his friends. The arc picks up from the Galactic Patrol Prison after giving a recap of events for the readers.
Over here it is revealed that many years ago, when Goku managed to defeat Kid Buu, he inadvertently broke the seal that the Grand Supreme Kai had placed on Moro 10 million years before the start of the franchise. At this time, Moro had been held as a prisoner by the Galactic Patrol but was seemingly able to get back some of his destructive magical power due to the breaking of the seal. After gathering a bit more of this power, Moro was able to break free of his constraints and flee the prison.
Upon escaping, Moro heads for Namek to find the Dragon Balls and comes across Goku and Vegeta, and he engages the latter in combat. Here, he removes his robes and reveals himself to be a tall, humanoid goat monster that slowly sucks the life force out of Vegeta during their fight, causing him to look much younger. This shows that Moro is incredibly powerful as he outsmarts and defeats the Saiyans.
Much like Kid Buu, Moro is seen as a selfish and power-hungry monster that has a singular mind toward destruction and self-fulfillment. He is very similar to Sukuna from Jujutsu Kaisen in that he generally detests life, viewing others as food that serves to feed him and are objects to his whims. He is highly manipulative and deceitful, as he was seen to kill Cranberry when he felt he had to and played weak to absorb Vegeta's energy.
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This also shows that Moro is very arrogant, but despite this, he still takes caution when he needs to, as seen when he absorbs the energy and life force of many planets to prepare for his rematch against the Saiyans. Still, though, he thinks brute force and might are the only ways to victory and that training is beneath him due to his pride and arrogance. This is exacerbated when he thinks of himself as being above the Gods of the universe.
Moro's moveset isn't very different from most Dragon Ball villains apart from a few factors. Aside from the standard Ki manipulation, energy blasts and incredible physical prowess, Moro's main ability is his energy absorption, which allows him to steal the life force of either an individual or he can turn it up to a planetary scale, eradicating entire worlds of their energy in a flash. After absorbing OG73, Moro was able to gain his masterful copying ability, which allowed him to copy even Perfected Ultra Instinct and easily put him as the most powerful villain that the heroes have ever faced at that stage of the story.
There's a Much Heavier Focus on the Main Characters
Unlike many arcs of Dragon Ball, the Moro arc makes both Goku and Vegeta the central focus of the story rather than just Goku. Throughout the series, a common complaint among fans is that Goku would always be the one to save the day at the end of many of the arcs in the series and due to this, none of the other characters would get much time to shine, aside from a few very obvious exceptions.
This was a massive fault in the storytelling of the series as it made every subsequent arc super predictable, as people would always know what to expect at the end, and no matter how hard others (especially Vegeta) worked, it would be Goku who ended up with the most meaningful moment. The worst example of this was the ending of the Resurrection F movie, where Vegeta went on to defeat Frieza fair and square in his newly unlocked form, only for Goku to get the finishing blow.
In the Moro arc, both fighters get an almost equal amount of time to shine and both undergo very similar journeys. Though Vegeta is unable to unlock a new transformation on the same level as Goku's Ultra Instinct, he undertakes intense training on Planet Yardrat to learn Forced Spirit Fission. This is in contrast to Goku's training with Merus to hone his Divine Technique.
Forced Spirit Fission is the exact opposite of Fusion. Where Fusion takes two entities (or energies) and multiplies them together to form a singular power, Vegeta's new technique has the inverse effect as it can separate the energies from one another. This is the perfect technique to counter Moro as it can separate him from all the immense power and magic that he has gathered from absorbing others, and it proves to be extremely useful in the final fight against him.
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Old Powers are Used in New and Exciting Ways
The final battle against Moro is one where the heroes are forced to use everything that they have to put down the villain for good. This fight truly is wonderful due to how it sets itself apart from the battles that fans have seen before in the series. The main reason for this is because of how similar concepts and powers are used, providing something fresh and exciting to see.
Upon learning that his Forced Spirit Fission is no longer useful against Moro's final form, Vegeta realizes that he can oppositely use the move, fusing the energies of the heroes to give Goku the push he needs to overpower the monster. This is beautifully portrayed with Goku's brand-new move that fans have named the 'Spirit Avatar'. Due to already having an immense power boost from Ultra Instinct, Goku can use the ability with its full offensive output.
Upon giving out due to fatigue and almost being killed by Moro, Vegeta gathers everyone's energy and gives it to Goku and awakens the Spirit Avatar, which is essentially a gigantic form made purely of energy, essentially like a Spirit Bomb that Goku can control. As this Avatar is formed, Goku is able to overpower Moro before he can completely destroy the Earth and in doing so, finally puts an end to the monster.
The arc ends with peace on Earth once more and the Z-Fighters enjoying some well-deserved rest. However, the end of the arc is an ominous one, as the whereabouts of OG-73 are still unknown. This is immediately followed up by the arrival of Granolah, leading perfectly to the following Granolah The Survivor Arc.
Dragon Ball can be streamed on Crunchyroll and Funimation.
