He spares his universe from the torment of Majin Buu by defeating them before they’re able to summon enough energy to revive their leader. Even though Future Trunks was capable of preventing this epidemic, a new enemy eventually comes to decimate the planet. Enter Goku Black.

Future Trunks discusses that he’s been at odds with Goku Black for over a year and that in that time the evil double has swiftly made the human race extinct. Goku Black may be the moniker that Dragon Ball’s heroes give this new threat, but the villain actually just calls himself Goku. That detail is significant in the fact that this tyrant wants to take over Goku’s mantle and tarnish his reputation. He wants more than Goku’s powers, he wants his name (Crucible fans know how important this is).

A lot of this episode is about warning our heroes about what’s to come, but there are still a lot of other things to love here. It’s not a big deal, but the episode features some really gorgeous cinematography and scene composition. Moments like the one where Beerus and Whis are inside a gazebo and watch Goku and Vegeta bicker in the distance are really beautiful, complex ways to illustrate all of this.

This is a particular asset in an episode like this that largely entails Goku and company talking with their time travelling visitor around his time machine. There’s a lot of exposition and characters simply keeping each other up to date with what’s going on. With admittedly less action in this episode, the fact that “Hope!!” can still make all of this visually interesting and not feel boring is a real relief.

With a show that has as many episodes as Dragon Ball it’s totally not unusual for entire installments to be devoted to conversation, hashing out a plan, or most notoriously—powering up. These episodes are never going to rank among the series’ finest, but “Hope!!” reminds the audience that they can still be effectively done. Besides, the shock factor of Future Trunks’ return and the addition an Evil Goku still hasn’t worn off yet. This episode is almost like a necessary breather so viewers can continue to acclimate themselves to all of these big changes.