Dragon Ball Super’s Jiren Actually Earns His Reputation (in The Manga)

The Dragon Ball Super Tournament of Power pitted Goku and company against the best fighters of other universes, including Universe 11’s Pride Troopers, led by Jiren. But while Jiren in the anime merely stood around and let his teammates do all the work, the manga’s version of Jiren proved he was worthy of being considered the best.

From the beginning of the Universal Survival Saga, Universe 11 is set up as the major challengers for Goku’s Universe 7. While the already familiar Universe 6 is also the subject of attention, Universe 11’s team immediately stands out, as it consists of a team of costumed heroes who legitimately seem interested in the common good, as opposed to characters like Frost who merely pretend, or Universe 9’s Lavender, who immediately resorts to dirty tricks and delights in causing his opponents to suffer. Goku also initially fights Universe 11’s Top after the Zeno Expo, a difficult battle that is declared a tie in the anime, but a victory for Top in the manga. Naturally, Top mentioning that there’s a fighter even stronger than him is enough to capture Goku’s attention and force him to train even harder.

In the manga, Jiren is introduced in a similar way; he’s very cold towards Goku and hardly even acknowledges anyone else. However, instead of sitting and meditating through the fight, Jiren is seen fighting alongside his team, knocking out at least one fighter right away. He then proceeds to fight both Hit and Goku at the same time, ultimately eliminating Hit from the tournament. Jiren also seems to be working more strategically with his team, communicating with Dyspo and Top, showing some level of concern when they’re in trouble, and even taking threats like the invisible fighter seriously. When Master Roshi steps in in Goku’s place, Jiren also battles and defeats him, even though Beerus and Whis recognize Roshi’s fighting style as being surprisingly close to Ultra Instinct.

The difference between anime and manga depictions of Jiren is a classic example of the old writing rule, “show, don’t tell.” The anime tells its viewers that Jiren is the strongest, but it also wants to save him as the final confrontation at the end of the tournament, so his power isn’t actually shown. When Jiren battles Goku at the end of the anime, Jiren should be relatively fresh, while Goku and the others are all quite exhausted from the rest of their opponents; regardless of the truth, it makes it seem as if Jiren’s only doing so well for that reason, and that a fair fight might go differently. In the manga, Jiren has more opportunities to prove his strength and is shown battling a larger variety of opponents, which gives off a very different impression when the two finally have their showdown. While Jiren doesn’t have much dialogue in either version, he gets a few more lines in that make him come across slightly more heroic, like showing respect for Android 17’s apparent self-sacrifice.

All in all, the manga version of Jiren much more closely aligns to how the character is described by others: immensely powerful, a hero of his people, and one of the most skilled fighters in Dragon Ball Super‘s multiverse. While the manga’s Jiren may have a bit more fighting time than his anime counterpart, what really sets them apart are the small touches, which come together to paint a better picture of one of Goku’s strongest rivals.

About The Author

Carlyle Edmundson
(234 Articles Published)

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Carlyle Edmundson is a news and features writer with an affinity for science fiction and fantasy. He graduated from the University of North Carolina Wilmington with a BS in Film Studies and is glad that it’s relevant to his work. A lifelong fan of anime and manga, he has attended dozens of conventions over the years and may or may not have cosplayed at them. He is also the author of the Dystopian Detective series, available from most places ebooks are sold.

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