I know people don’t really like Jiren from Super because at face value he is boring, and I get that. But I think he is really under appreciated.
What I love most about Jiren is he is the only Dragonball villain where off the bat it just seems like Goku can’t win. Of course it always does, and you know he can, but at least with older opponents Goku can hit them, he can damage them. You can see the path to victory, but how will he make it is the question.
But Jiren is so fucking strong that Goku powers up to maximum right in the beginning and Jiren lays him the fuck out.
Definitive
What makes this so special is “What is the secret?” Now in hindsight it is (technically) Ultra Instinct, but no one knew that at this point. It wasn’t like Frieza where all you hear about is the Super Saiyan, or with Cell when Goku gives up, or Buu who’s gimmick is he can regenerate. Clearly in all those fights there are more things at play, they just haven’t shown themselves yet. What I love about Jiren, and what the Supreme Kai sets up so nicely in the beginning shortly before that fight is when he says “Jiren isn’t like anyone we’ve faced before. He is just strong. Plain and simple”. And it’s true, and I love that. There is no secret, or gimmick, or special way he got so strong. He just is. And, without knowing about UI, it was just like how the fuck is Goku going to win this? There was seemingly no path to victory.
The whole thing about DB is it’s about working hard. Like the ethos to the show is the harder you try the better you get. It’s why Goku always wins and the bad guys always lose. Because Freiza is over confident and lazy, Cell is a cheating robot, Buu is...honestly bullshit. That whole arc sucks. But why Jiren is so compelling is without going in to his backstory, he is the same as Goku. If he is more powerful than Goku, by like 100’s of times, and he isn’t cheating, there is only one conclusion. Jiren earned it. So by the rules of the show, he has to win. And he, kind of does, if you know how it ends. Jiren subverts this ethos because, just like every other time, Goku powers up to Mastered Ultra Instinct. And at the end of the fight Jiren is still the one left standing.
I think the real disappointment with Jiren and why people think he is boring is because his back story is very dull. When people didn’t know, the speculation was wild like he was once a god of destruction, he was a sole survivor of a universe that Zeno destroyed but Jiren was so powerful he escaped, when people realised Ultra Instinct was coming in to play they thought Jiren already mastered it. Trying to find the secret, like the older villains, that would ultimately prove to be he’s weakness and he’s downfall. But instead Jiren’s origin is all he’s friends/family was killed by a nameless, faceless thing when he was a kid and this traumatised him in to a mindset of power can only be obtained through solitude, trust begets nothing.
And even though the way the origin is given is pretty mundane, the secret to his downfall is still there like people suspected. The difference between Goku and Jiren’s power, if you like, is that Goku has friends and trusts the people around him, and because anime, ultimately this is what proves to be the key. Considering the wild fan theories that went around about Jiren, the truth is pretty dull relative to them, but I’m glad this was it. The origin could have been presented better or spiced up a little bit. But I’m glad there was no secret to his power or limit to his ability and he wasn’t a fraud.
Obviously everything in the show is designed to do one thing and that is serve Goku’s story, and the push and pull of the show is if you progress by effort how can Goku win the day against someone he can’t out effort (And in the end that remains true, he can’t and needs help), but I’m still glad they stuck to their guns about Jiren and kept him as this powerhouse threat and changed Goku’s path to victory 1) Because the show doesn’t feel robbed by some secret, backdoor way to stop Jiren and 2) it makes the show unpredictable. Goku has always won every battle by powering up to the next step, and in this case it still wan’t enough. Jiren technically won because he embodies the rules of the show. But Goku and co actually end up winning because together they try harder than Jiren can by himself. I think it’s a really satisfying way to end the series, without devaluing any of the characters, sticking to the rules of the show, and still leaving the door open for ‘sequels’, because Goku still isn’t stronger.
The other thing people talk negatively about Jiren is he has no personality. But I think this is untrue, as well. He is very quiet in the beginning because they want to emphasise the fact he is the Mount Everest of the show. He’s big, strong, formidable, unmovable, and the less he says the less it gives away about him. He’s just a big, scary, dominating figure that overshadows everyone without trying. And every time the characters dent him, he just doubles down and destroys them, at times multiple characters in the same fight, in response. But he is like them, and he’s just bored because he is not getting pushed. But he’s character starts to reveal itself when Goku starts unlocking MUI.
2:08-2:25 is in my opinion such a terrific moment because it’s so confusing. But now I realise it another really smart way that the show gets the audience to respect Goku through Jiren.
To take a break the thing thing that I really love about DB is it’s idea of indirect character building. The only way you know Goku is awesome is because everyone around him says that. All the characters narrating the action on the sidelines aren’t there just to make sure you know what’s happening, it’s indirectly getting you to like the main character without having the main character say himself you should like him, because if he did that you never would. Directly Goku is likeable because he is funny, indirectly Goku’s actions are impressive because you know the characters surrounding him know what they’re talking about, are super strong, and they are impressed by him.
Lots of movies/TV/action based entertainment does that, but DB for my money has it’s own unique way of doing this indirect character building that makes it special and the characters constantly engaging.
And this is what reveals Jiren’s character. He is not boring because he is so strong. He is so strong he was unimpressed. Now he’s finally getting interested because there’s actual challenge for him. Again making Goku impressive that he is the character that can do that, but also making Jiren likeable because now he is excited by the main character like the audience is.
I guess the long long and short of it is, a lot of people out there hate or deny Jiren because they think he very bland and simple. But actually I think he is full of character that builds slowly and subtly, and not only makes himself really entertaining and fun but also serves the show and ultimately Goku, pretty much perfectly
