This Dragon Ball Super review contains spoilers.

Dragon Ball Super Episode 12

“Do you think you can go beyond the Power of a God?” “Exactly. Watch me go!”

For a show that has gone on for as long as Dragon Ball has, and one that delights in introducing the Next Big Strong Super-Threat as soon as the previous one has been vanquished, there’s a natural roadblock: How much stronger can people keep getting? Goku and company are now at a stage in their lives where they’re not only fighting gods, but becoming them. While increasingly strong characters usually just translate to fancy new transformations and overwhelming displays of energy, this episode of Dragon Ball Super begins to explore the consequences of what can happen when two people as strong as Goku and Beerus go head-to-head. The startling answer that the episode posits is that basically, the universe can’t handle this mess.

Yes, after a few episodes of Goku getting the hang of his new skills and Beerus biding his time, now that these two are allegedly at full-strength, the collective force of their battle is actually tearing the universe apart. Suddenly “who’s the strongest?” is less pressing of a matter than “Let’s keep the universe from breaking.” As these two trade blows, planets and solar systems are casually swallowed up into nothingness or eliminated in drastic bursts of energy. All of these planets could be Earth-like bodies that house heroes of their own, but they’re mindlessly deleted in the fallout of this match (not to mention Earth itself experiencing significant shockwaves). Goku and Beerus are operating at such an elevated fighting level that their energy is taking on the form of dragons and warring against each other in outer space. When your aura essentially becomes a dragon that’s capable of giving Shenron a run for his money, you know that you’re fighting in pretty peak condition.

Ever the trickster, Beerus seems to be well aware of the destruction that’s being caused by the clash of his and Goku’s power. The fact that he’s so cavalier about all of this hints at the mindset that Beerus is in during this stage of the battle. He’s gotten so obsessed with defeating Goku and ending this frustrating planet that he doesn’t even care if there is tremendous collateral damage that accompanies it, as long as he still proves that he’s number one. That being said, in spite of the insurmountable stakes in place here, it’s a little jarring to see just how casual Goku and Beerus are through all of this. This might be the most important fight of Goku’s life, but it plays a lot more like two old friends trying to bring the best out in one another. They’re even cracking jokes and tips to each other.