Bardock takes center stage in this month's new chapter of Dragon Ball Super, and many fans were surprised with the manga's portrayal of the character.
Both "Goku" and "Bardock" trended on Twitter worldwide for several hours following the release of the new chapter, as fans discussed Dragon Ball Super's more compassionate take on Goku's father. While Bardock has always been portrayed as being slightly more level-headed and affable than his Saiyan peers, some fans have complained that Super's portrayal of the character is too empathetic, but in general, reception to the new chapter and Bardock's upgrade from minor character to a key figure in this arc's story, has been mostly positive so far. Lots of praise has been directed at artist Toyotarou's art for the chapter, especially the full-page introduction of Bardock in his humanoid form.
BRO BLESS THE LATEST CHAPTER.
— GamesCage - Hype Guy (@OnTheDownLoTho) October 20, 2021
WE GOT MORE STORY FOR BARDOCK & THE HOODED STYLE LOOKS CLEAN AF??? pic.twitter.com/K1DFwdksOv
I LOVED this #DragonBallSuper chapter. What people fail to realise is Bardock electing to spare THREE people because he was reminded of his wife & son doesn't make him soft. It actually gives him more complexity than the OG Bardock. Saiyans are more fascinating with depth. pic.twitter.com/R5Ldazi5Hn
— The Erased Chronicles & Heart of Adventurers (@HeartofErased) October 20, 2021
AND THERE HE IS! Bardock looks incredible in the latest Dragon Ball Super Manga Chapter, especially here. To see Toyotaro dedicate an entire page to draw him out like this, is really cool. Defiantly one of my favorite pages of this chapter. pic.twitter.com/HqUX4mtkg4
— UnrealEntGaming (@TooRealUnreal) October 20, 2021
Chapter 77 of Dragon Ball Super picks up from the end of the last fight, when Vegeta's destructive last stand against Granolah was interrupted by the arrival of Monaito, the Namekian sage who raised Granolah. Monaito tells the story of the night when the Saiyans originally attacked the planet Cereal under the orders of Frieza; while most of the Saiyans were out brutally slaughtering the planet's inhabitants, a lone Saiyan warrior named Bardock decided to spare the lives of a mother and child because they remind him of his wife and his newborn son, Goku. Monaito notices Goku's resemblance to Bardock and asks if he knows him, but Goku replies that he doesn't and that since he was raised by a human on Earth, he actually doesn't know that much about the other Saiyans. Vegeta finally reveals to Goku that Bardock was his father, while Granolah struggles with the revelation that it was a Saiyan that saved his life. Monaito reveals that it was the Heeters, not the Saiyans, that killed Granolah's mother, and that Bardock actually saved his life that night. The chapter ends with the Heeters continuing their search for the Dragon Balls, as they plan to finally deal with the survivors of that night's massacre.
Dragon Ball Super was first serialized in Shueisha's V Jump magazine in 2015 and features a story that is a direct continuation of the original Dragon Ball manga. The series is written by creator Akira Toriyama and is drawn by Toyotarou, a self taught artist who has become Toriyama's chosen successor. The manga was adapted into an anime series that ran from 2015 - 2018 and will continue with the latest movie in the series, Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero, which will be released in 2022.
Source: Twitter
