Before explaining what Ultra Instinct is in Dragon Ball Super, the first thing that we have to understand is that Dragon Ball series is notorious for how inconsistent it can be. Ridiculously inconsistent. I remember Akira Toriyama saying that the reason why Goten and Trunks didn’t have monkey tails as kids is because he forget that Saiyans actually had tails. The creator of the series really forgot about a small detail in his own creation.
Akira Toriyama forgot about the character Launch and she did not show up in Dragon Ball Z saga. Akira Toriyama has ruined certain parts of the series and despite his mistakes, Dragon Ball is still as popular as it ever was. Kids and event adults don’t get tire of Goku and the gang. So I am going to try to explain this and try to make as much sense as possible despite all the inconsistencies that we have encounter.
I also want you guys to realize how Dragon Ball has abandoned power levels after the Frieza saga. At least in the Frieza saga we could tell who is stronger according to the scouters numbers.
How Did Goku Achieve Ultra Instinct
Goku Ultra Instinct transformation happened by accident. It happened during the tournament of power when Goku was fighting Jiren. Desperate to beat the Grey alien, Goku used the spirit bomb and Jiren was confident enough to wait for Goku’s attack. After the Spirit bomb failed Goku seemed to have fallen into the gravitational pool of the spirit bomb and accidentally absorbing its power. Remember that the spirit bomb does not harm innocent people and since it could not have harmed someone pure hearted like Goku it transferred its power to Goku.
Why did Goku randomly transform into his white/ grey hair ultra instinct form. Well, if you think about it. What he was fighting Jiren he was already in his Super Saiyan Blue form, covered by his Kaio Ken red aura. So Goku was at full power when fighting Jiren. What else comes after Super Saiyan Blue.
So when he absorbed the spirit bomb, it gave him enough power to leap onto the next level of God energy or God Ki. Goku Ultra Instinct. However, when he first transform into ultra instinct, it was consider the ultra instinct omen so it was not at full power.
In the Dragon Ball Super Manga, Goku was able to master ultra instinct to the point where he could reach, Ultra Instinct sign, which is a more advance version of the form, so he had more control over it.
Also keep in mind that Goku wont need to use a spirit bomb or Genki Dama to transform into ultra instinct. The reason Goku absorbed the Spirit bomb was because it was heading for him and if he did not do something about it he could die. So Goku decided to compress the spirit bomb so that he can survive and yeah, he basically absorbed it. However, the spirit bomb was only a temporary source of power for his depleted body because remember, Goku was using Super Saiyan Blue form with the Kaio Ken times 10 technique which takes a huge toll on his body.
Absorbing the spirit bomb helped him recover and use that energy to continue fighting, however, as a side effect, it helped Goku leap to his next transformation, the ultra instinct.
Goku Ultra Instinct VS Jiren Power Level
The first time Goku transform into Ultra Instinct, Jiren was still not using his full power. Meaning that Jiren’s power level was above ultra instinct omen but not at the level of the complete form of ultra instinct or as Beerus calls it, autonomous ultra instinct. It wasn’t until the end of the tournament of power that Goku finally reached his full power and was able to give Jiren a run for his money. I mean, Goku was able to take one of Jiren’s energy blast and vaporize it.
As far as the number of the power level, who knows at this point. It could be in the quadrillions. The point is, Jiren is not at the level of the complete ultra instinct and honestly, in future episodes, Jiren is going to come back and probably master ultra instinct to fight Goku again.
What Exactly Is Ultra Instinct And How Is It Different?
Some Dragon Ball fans are probably thinking, “its just a new transformation like Super Saiyan Blue except now he has white hair.”
Not exactly, but to explain what ultra instinct is we have to go over what the other forms were about.
Super Saiyan Forms
The Super Saiyan forms from the first to the third long hair transformation, were about speed and strength. Remember when Gohan first turned into Super Saiyan 2. Trunks confirmed that Goku had reached Super Saiyan 2 when he said, “he did it right, he gain strength without losing speed.” The entire cell saga when Goku, Vegeta and Gohan went into the hyperbolic time chamber, they were trying to reach the Super Saiyan form but all they could do was just ascend with more strength and lost speed.
Once Gohan turned Super Saiyan 2 he was able to increase his speed and strength simultaneously. He did not have to compromise one for the other. This is also true for Super Saiyan 3 form(which is the coolest).
Super Saiyan God
With the god forms whether if it was red hair or blue hair, it was able Ki control. Red hair meant the awakening of God Ki and then Blue hair meant the complete control of God Ki. When Whis was training Goku and Vegeta, he was really training them to be able to reach ultra instinct which was the next step in the list of transformations.
So Super Saiyan forms were about gaining more speed and strength. God forms where about control over Ki energy so then how is ultra instinct different.
Ultra Instinct Form
So with ultra instinct we see that Goku gets silver eyes and silver hair. Now in anime, a character that has silver or white hair means someone who is balance. Hair color is very symbolic in anime. So with ultra instinct you have a transformation that has reached a level of great balance and harmony with energy.
As Whis said when he was training Goku and Vegeta.
You two are still thinking before you move, rather than just moving. This over thinking is limiting your fighting speed, messages can only travel through your nervous system so fast. When you rely on thoughts for physical action, you lose precious fighting time. Your end goal should be to master the ability of having each parts of your body think and move independently of other parts.
This is also something that Bruce Lee talked about. When you master a certain martial arts, whether if its Karate, Tae Kwon Do, Judo, Aikido, you don’t have to think so much because your body knows what to do. Its like in real life, when you have done something so many times, you don’t really think anymore, you just do it. Do you think about driving, no, you just do it automatically.
With ultra instinct the senses are exaggerated and Goku’s body moves before his opponent does. Its like the Sharingan in Naruto, when Sasuke awakened the full Sharingan he was able to read other people’s movement before they did.
Also realize that with ultra instinct, there is no crazy hair transformation, he goes back to his basic form except with silver hair because now he has control over his speed, strength, Ki and his instincts.
I hope that helped you understand Goku’s Ultra Instinct dudes and dudettes. Thanks for reading.
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