Why I Love Jiren

Written by Shiggins

I prefer "Grey" over "Gray" but whatever...

Let's not mince words here; Jiren seems to be nobody's favourite Dragon Ball antagonist. In fact, he's often seen by many as one of the least impressive in every area except power level. And speaking as a huge fan of the franchise, that's never sat right with me, but I've never been able to understand why... until today. So take a read, fellow geeks and nerds, as I decide to dive into the mental world of Jiren the Grey and see if there really is more to the muscled Area 51 resident than we all initially realised, or if he is just a "wall" that Goku has to overcome.

So who is Jiren the Gray? For the few of you who don't know, Jiren is literally the strongest opponent Goku has ever faced in his long career. With strength able to literally surpass that of the Gods, Jiren is a member of the Pride Troopers, a force for peace and justice within the 11th Universe who was called in to help bring his universe to victory in the Tournament of Power. Goku and his friends went up against Jiren, and so the ultimate climax of the tournament, as well as Dragon Ball Super itself, revolved entirely around taking down this seemingly impossible foe. When it was all over, and the Super Dragon Balls brought back all the destroyed universes, Jiren vowed to see Goku again, having become a changed man through the battles with Goku and his chums.

One of my favourite videos  right now is of a live premiere of DBS' final episode, in front of a massive crowd of fans, as they literally chant and cheer for the defeat of Jiren from Goku's hands. (Fun fact; This is the same crowd that inspired Norihito Sumitomo to put chants into the soundtrack of DBS: Broly). You might say "well, of course they cheered. They're fans of Dragon Ball. They'll cheer for anything". And to that I say, consider how many recent returns of franchises have been met with lacklustre responses from the fans they were made for due to creative decisions or disappointing ideas. I don't think that it's true that fans will cheer for anything. This crowd cheered because they were invested in Goku, they were invested in Frieza, and they were invested in Jiren. We know why they loved the first two, so let's look at number 3!

BBQ flavour.

When I started this article, the first idea that came to mind was that Jiren is Super's version of Tien. An extremely bald character who fights Goku in a tournament, has someone constantly demanding he wins on the sidelines, and who eventually becomes a better person through the blows exchanged with Goku. However, this falls apart when it comes to motivation, as Tien was never established as a real "villain" and was always portrayed as a character torn between his master's honour and his own desires to be a fighter. Tien's change was inevitable, but Jiren is completely different in that regard, since his motivation wasn't even hinted at for the longest time.

I'm going to choose now to say that it can't be understated how great a performance both Eiji Hanawa and Patrick Seitz gave as their respective Jirens.

Jiren's motivation is fairly simple and obvious, but it gets the job done to develop the character's disdain for teamwork. His home was destroyed by a villain, but Jiren survived thanks to the aid of his soon-to-be master, named in the manga as Gicchin. He trained Jiren alongside several other students, but Jiren was motivated by revenge and led a charge against the villain, which resulted in a massacre. Many of Jiren's friends died, as did Gicchin, and he was abandoned by those that remained. Seeing that he couldn't get the result he wanted with allies, Jiren believed they were holding him back and become the titan of strength through his own efforts.

At first glance, I admit I thought this backstory was a complete bore. "His master died so he hates the power of friendship" isn't exactly Corleone levels of complexity. Now, in the manga, Jiren's motivation is somewhat more explored as we learn he is actually rejecting what Gicchin wanted him to learn, and he plans to use the wish of the Super Dragon Balls to resurrect Gicchin to show him how far he has come. (And in the exact same chapter, Vegeta calls him out on being that selfish and childish for this wish). As I thought about how Jiren rejected Gicchin's teachings, I was reminded of the panel below this paragraph, as well as the scene from episode 130 in which we get a quick look at Goku's history against opponents and all that he has learned from both his own master, and many others such as Korin and Kami. Goku learned from all the people in his past, Jiren didn't...

Kami. Korin. King Kai. I wonder if the letter "K" has some sort of relevance in Japan, like the number 7 does.

And that's when it truly hit me what Jiren is. Why Jiren is so engaging, and why all of us wanted to see him beaten by the protagonist so much...

Jiren is Nega-Goku.

Anti-Goku, Negative-Goku, Goku's reflection, Ukog. Whatever term you personally want to go for, Jiren is a complete rejection of not just his own master's teachings, but of Goku and the franchise itself. Everything about Jiren is against the very essence of Dragon Ball. And the more I thought about it, the more it really just made sense.

Ever since the series began focusing on martial arts, the lessons taught by characters like Roshi have always focused on Goku learning from others and never forgetting there are others stronger than you or losing yourself to arrogance, as brilliantly shown by the use of "Jackie Chun" making sure Goku felt humility from an early loss by defeating him in the first tournament arc. (NEVER skip Original Dragon Ball) And Goku took that valuable experience to heart, letting it shape him to become the man we all know, and as he fought Piccolo, Vegeta, Frieza, Cell, Buu and Beerus, Goku always learned he could go further, and the allies and friends he made along the way were something he should never forget or abandon. Whether it be Goku counting on Gohan to beat Cell, using everyone's energy to power up Spirit Bomb and defeat Buu, or the defeat of Jiren himself thanks to the efforts of Vegeta, Frieza, Android 17, and Roshi in the manga, Goku needs help and should never abandon the people in his life. Even if that last message does feel somewhat watered down at times by the fact Goku always gets the win in the end...

Speaking of the manga, look at the muscles on Jiren's ass!

Jiren on the other hand is fully convinced he is the strongest, and none can beat him. The arrogance he displays constantly throughout the arc is a far better representation of what can happen to someone who gets "too strong", which is something the Resurrection F movie tried to do with Goku by having him get shot with a laser while his defences were down, to divisive results. Jiren believes he is better than everyone who comes across his way, and even his allies like Top and Dyspo are abandoned because of this, causing Jiren to end up alone with nobody to help him. I don't think anyone could argue that if Jiren had worked with Top and Dyspo from the very start, his universe would have come out on top in a heartbeat.

But in what other ways is Jiren a rejection of Dragon Ball? Well for starters, he's an antagonist of Goku who doesn't ever transform (unless you count losing your shirt as a transformation), isn't a sadist who likes to torture people, and even when Goku transforms several times, it's not enough to take him down! Spirit Bomb? Jiren says no. Ultra Instinct Sign? Jiren still comes out on top. Mastered Ultra Instinct? Somehow, Jiren will still be the last man standing! All the rules of Dragon Ball you had been taught in the past are no longer relevant because of Jiren!

You guys wouldn't count "Mega Swole" as a transformation, would you?

Even Jiren's design, to me, is completely anti-Goku. Look at Goku's colour and lively movements, the massive range of expressions, and how he's able to practically giggle and bounce around like an idiot in almost any situation that isn't threatening his life. Then look at Jiren, with his grey skin, black eyes and emotionless countenance, and they couldn't be any more different. Even when Jiren's emotionless exterior does begin to crack due to Goku's influence, the smiles are small, quiet and respectful, which Goku is capable of but rarely uses due to his almost-childlike exterior.

However, it's not just the rejection of Goku that makes Jiren so interesting to me. If that's all there was, he'd just be a stoic and less-evil Frieza (basically Cooler). No, what makes Jiren more interesting to me is the stuff that actually makes Jiren feel like an alternate Goku, the little things that almost connect Goku and Jiren together. I mentioned the Resurrection F moment where Goku's cockiness gets him critically injured and how this relates to Jiren's own overconfidence (Some people don't care for this take on Goku, but it's clear the writers were trying to make it work and so I believe it's worth pointing out for this topic), but there are plenty of other examples, many of them seemingly small but add up over time. For example, both Goku and Jiren technically approach this tournament with the same goal: Fighting the strongest ones. Take a look at how Goku starts the Tournament of Power, immediately rushing to fight Top and Jiren, since they are, in his eye, the two most worth it for him. Jiren's approach on the other hand is to sit down and meditate, because only the strongest matters to him and, at this time, nobody comes close to the level he cares about. These two characters have the same desire, but the level of arrogance by Jiren causes both of them to approach it differently.

Moments like this are a constant throughout the ToP, like when Jiren actively allowed Goku to fully prepare his Spirit Bomb, almost exactly like Goku allowing Frieza to reach 100% all those years ago, or when Jiren openly despised that it looked like his fight with Goku would end in such an undignified and unfortunate way, and wished him well before knocking him off the stage. And as Jiren begins to grow because of the battle, we see more and more how Jiren and Goku are similar. I think the picture below perfectly sums up how Jiren changed throughout the arc, and became someone Goku could relate to.

Still so damn scary though.

The biggest failings of Jiren are caused primarily by the arc's length, with the Universe Survival arc technically lasting 55 EPISODES! And Jiren was first mentioned as the strongest foe for Goku in episode 82, 14 episodes before the tournament itself even starts! Since Jiren is the ending battle, he can't get involved too soon and that means episode after episode after episode of him forced to just sit there and be a scary figure, with only brief moments of foreshadowing to tell us he'll be worth it, like when he took down Kale. I wouldn't even consider Jiren an actual character worth caring about until episode 109, the first time Goku and Jiren clashed in battle. And because of all the other enemies and characters within the arc fighting for screentime, Jiren's development is very stop-and-start, needing to let characters like Ribrianne and Agnilasa shine before he can continue. I genuinely love this arc, but the pacing and amount of content in it are a major determent to who Jiren is and who he will become.

I guess he couldn't... Hit him! 

There is also another major negative, that would be wrong of me to ignore. Earlier, I said he's not a sadist like Frieza or Cell, and this is true. His quiet and cold nature is a big issue for a lot of people, since he can come off quite bland or uninteresting because of it. Personally, I think him being like this is actually quite unique for such a wacky and loud cast of characters and helps to differentiate him from the rest of the rogues gallery who favour going big and transforming constantly, but it is clear why a lot of people would look at how quiet and collected he is, how wild and irrational someone like Beerus is, and instantly reject Jiren because he isn't like the other characters.

Honestly, as the title shows, I love Jiren. I think he's a great character who manages to stand out from the other antagonists of the series through his personality, development and relationship with Goku, and I believe that the manga does wonders to improve him. Although the big names in the Dragon Ball fandom like to make it seem like I'm the only one, I personally believe there are many out there who enjoy Jiren as much as I do. I mean, did you hear that crowd?! (If not, get to YouTube now!)

And now for the real question... Is Jiren stronger than Super Broly?

You're lying if you say you don't want to see Jiren again, interacting with the other characters. LYING!

Shiggins:[Admin]
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Born under the stars of the Dark Gods, Shiggins owns the power of the Great Eye and is utterly magnificent in his omniscience. If you dare to discover more about someone as great as him, then go ahead. And to all my friends and family members, YOU are wrong and I should be disappointed! Not the other way round!,. You can find out about him or ask him stuff on ask.fm/shigginsishere or go to his tumblr page http://otakugajeel.tumblr.com/