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The shocking revelation teased in the official website’s sneak peek of Dragon Ball Super Chapter 76 has finally been revealed! And, my God, did it send shockwaves through the Animanga fandom.
Bardock, the chad, the badass father of Goku we all love, enters the Manga lore by being involved in the Cerealian massacre many years ago.
Many fans, including myself, noticed the foreshadowing in Chapter 68 by paying close attention to the giant ape that peered into the church where kid Granolah was at.
Check out my article on the Bardock connection. (Note that the theories explored in that article are old so ignore those. Laughs nervously).
Many of us were waiting whether Bardock’s name will show up. 3… 4… 5… 6 chapters into the arc and no sign of the fan-favorite Saiyan.
Some dismissed it as an Easter egg and would probably not be explored at all and some thought the authors forgot about it. However, there were some, including myself, who had faith that the Bardock connection will be touched upon sooner or later.
Then I saw the preview and the teaser for Dragon Ball Super Chapter 76 and thought “Yes. This will be THE chapter”. I even posted a Tweet mentioning the possibility and I’m glad it turned out to be true.
Guess I do get some things right in my life huh.
Recalls all the things I got wrong in my personal life.
This could have huge implications for our heroes and the arc’s titular character, which I’ll discuss later in this write-up. Things are about to get really interesting, and I’m all in for it!
And just like Chapter 75, there were mixed reactions to the spoilers. The same old story. People jumping to conclusions without getting the full context and why Bardock did what he did and so on.
Even after the Chapter drop, the fandom was heavily divided once again. I guess some things will never change.
There’s so much to discuss in this chapter. So Without further ado, let’s dive deep into analyzing Dragon Ball Super Chapter 76 – the Fate of the Saiyans!
(As my usual way of doing chapter breakdowns, I’ll point out and elaborate on the most important things in the chapter and do an overall birds’ eye view analysis).
Granolah’s reasons for living and why he contemplated suicide
Love or hate, but you gotta admit, Granolah handling both the physical and psychological battle with the Saiyans on his own is quite remarkable.
He may have become arrogant as a result of his power, but one must not overlook the mental challenges he’s faced since that fateful day 50 years ago…
Granolah using all of his power and killing both him and Vegeta to end the brutal fight might seem odd at first.
But with close observation of his motivations for living, you’ll realize how much he had to fight within to keep his sanity (which he failed to do so).
Let us look at the attachments he clings to in order to stay afloat:
The Cerealians:
Of course, Granolah’s prime reason for killing Frieza and the Saiyans is to avenge his fallen brethren. His main goal in life is to one day see the Cerealians alive again.
He wanted to use the Dragon Balls to return how things were 50 years ago before the Saiyan invasion.
This is a stark contrast between Granolah and Vegeta in the early days.
Vegeta didn’t care as much about the annihilation of his race and wanted immortality to rule. Granolah too had a selfish wish, but for a different reason.
Granolah has lost his main source of solace now that the Cerealians are wiped out for good.
Monaito:
According to an article on the Dragon Ball official site, Monaito is the adoptive father of Granolah who had been taking care of him ever since the tragic day.
Being a Dragon Clan Namekian, Monaito showed compassion and mercy towards the Cerealian for the most part (although some things about the Namekian are still unknown).
The old Namekian trusted Granolah enough to tell him about the Dragon Balls on Planet Cereal and even revealed how to summon the Dragon.
Granolah betrayed that trust by stealing the Dragon Balls and using them for a selfish reason. He summoned the Dragon without his consent, even though Monaito warned him not to go about with his wish.
Granolah failed to listen even after Monaito chastised him for making such a wish and warned him that wielding such power would attract a slew of enemies, endangering him and the Namekian.
Hence, Granolah left Monaito in the dust, even after all the care the latter had given him for 40 odd years.
Oatmeel:
We don’t know much about Oatmeel as a character yet, but from what I’ve seen, he, too, is concerned about Granolah’s well-being.
Not sure when he and Granolah first met, but I’m assuming it was during the early days of Granolah’s life.
He knew all about the Cerealians and their right eyes and how Granolah’s eye was a cut above the rest. This means he knew Cerealian biology all too well. And he knew the others when they were alive.
Oatmeel was questioning Granolah’s methods and warning him every step of the way in his quest for vengeance. In fact, the AI questioned whether Granolah’s plan for revenge was even justified.
After stealing the Dragon Balls, he asked Granolah why he was ignoring the old man’s warning. But the Cerealian just brushed it aside.
Oatmeel was concerned with the amount of power Granolah now holds in his hands. And the fact that he had to reduce his life span made it even worse for Oatmeel and Monaito to accept such a wish.
He clearly called out the fact that Goku and Vegeta aren’t like the barbaric Saiyans Granolah described. They clearly don’t seem to work for Frieza, nor were they evil.
Oatmeel reminded him again and again that the two Saiyans aren’t aware that a massacre took place on this planet.
Granolah’s uncontrollable rage got the best of him, and he threw away his eyepiece (along with Oatmeel), declaring that he no longer needed his assistance. As a result, he cut ties with Oatmeel.
But the AI was concerned for his misguided friend. So he called for the ship and went to fetch Monaito.
The Sugarians:
The fish-like creatures viewed the Cerealians as a friendly and peaceful race.
Granolah had a friendly relationship with the Sugarians, so much so they wanted him and Monaito to move in with them within the boundaries of their city.
The Sugarians were confident that Granolah wouldn’t cause any harm to them and rather would protect them and the Planet from any danger.
This changed when Granolah and Vegeta took their fight into one of the cities (which had to be evacuated because the Sugarians were terrified of the explosions and tremors and fled their homes).
The Sugarians had no idea what caused these disturbances, until this happened.
Granolah claims that if he uses his rapid-fire Ki blasts on Vegeta, the city will be unharmed. However, the city did sustain some damage. Buildings began to shake and crack.
In the background behind a one-way glass window, a Sugarian mother and her child saw Granolah mercilessly shooting at the Prince.
Shocked by what they saw, the two were terrified of Granolah and saw him in a completely different light, one that was far from heroic.
If word goes out that it was Granolah who endangered the Planet with all those explosions and tremors, the Sugarians may no longer regard him as a peaceful individual. Hence, they’d lose their trust in him.
Granolah realizes he became what he despised the most after seeing the Sugarian mother and her child in parallel with his own mother and himself in the flashback.
The Heeters:
Not so much as a favorable attachment but he has to cling on to the Heeters cause’ he got no choice. He needs the money to live and support himself & Monaito.
His boss Elec treats him like shit. In his heart, the man desires to murder Granolah. So, definitely a boss I’d hate.
Vengeance against the Saiyans and Frieza:
Granolah gave up everything mentioned above for this singular purpose in life.
Avenging his fellow Cerealians is the heart and soul of Granolah’s life. Without it, he’d be an empty shell.
If that is put into question, he’d lose all sense of meaning in life. And that’s exactly what Vegeta intended to strike.
During the battle, Granolah may have thought about all of the things he needed to sacrifice to get his selfish desire fulfilled. He turned a blind eye to Monaito and Oatmeel’s warning and ditched them.
Granolah made new enemies in Goku and Vegeta, even though they were not really his enemies.
For the sake of security, the Heeters wanted to get rid of Granolah. He is now crazy strong and poses a threat to their plans.
“Brandishing that sort of power would attract enemies”, said Monaito. Hence, the Heeters tricked the Saiyans into thinking Granolah was the enemy. So they pit one against the other and hoped they’d kill each other during their own battle.
Vegeta raised many doubts in Granolah’s mind about the legitimacy of his actions. He argued that revenge ain’t the way of the Cerealians because they were a peaceful race.
Granolah’s mind had gone for a toss. All that hatred took out the remaining sense of sanity and compassion he once held.
Seeing the frightened Sugarians was the last straw. He saw what he had become and from his P.O.V, there’s no turning back.
What is the use of living if I sole reason for living is questionable?
I could have lived a peaceful life with Monaito, Oatmeel and the Sugarians.
Yet I gave all that up for this nonsensical goal which doesn’t make any difference for the dead. I could have moved on, but no. I could have listened to my friends, but no.
What do I have left? There’s nothing worth living anymore. At least let me use my excuse for revenge to save the Sugarians, Monaito and Oatmeel from the disgrace that I am by killing the Saiyan in front of me. I need my peace. AAAAHHHH!
Perhaps this is what Granolah is thinking on the inside. His mind is shattered. His desire for vengeance drove him insane, and he now feels compelled to pay the price.
Therefore, he decided to kill Vegeta along with himself. Deep inside, he couldn’t take it anymore. His inner subconscious wanted to stop, but he was drowned in anger that he couldn’t control himself.
When Monaito came, Granolah was aghast. He didn’t want the Namekian to stop what Granolah feels was destined to happen.
From the above image, we can see he’s clearly in pain. Physically and mentally exhausted. He just wanted to get this over with and be at peace.
Doubts crept in from all directions, but his resolve wouldn’t let him listen to logic. That would imply giving up his sole reason for existing.
Actually, Granolah was incorrect in thinking he gave up everything else. Monaito and Oatmeel knew the gentle person that he is and wouldn’t give up on him easily. That’s why Oatmeel brought Monaito to speak with Granolah.
This, aside from the truth bomb of “not all Saiyans are bad”, gave hope that Granolah is not alone and he has people by his side.
After hearing about Bardock, I reckon he’d calm down and reconsider his plans to annihilate the Saiyans.
Now let’s talk about the person who relates to Granolah so much so that he and only he wanted to fight the Cerealian alone.
Vegeta has not regressed but progressed
Vegeta’s main motivation in the entire fight was to prove that the Saiyans weren’t destined to be wiped out, as well as having a good battle.
Beerus, in Chapter 69, questioned Vegeta’s take on the destiny of the Saiyans.
His argument was each person writes his own destiny according to his actions. So why should Vegeta accept the fate of someone in the past on himself?
Beerus also instructed him to “destroy” all of those thoughts and recreate himself from scratch.
This means, Vegeta needs to create a brand new avatar of himself that is distinct from his current or past selves.
The thing is, Vegeta did try to revert himself to his old ruthless self (Saiyan Saga Vegeta). He mistook what Beerus meant and failed.
When Granolah was charging up to land the finishing blow, Vegeta accepted his defeat and thought the Saiyans were evil after all and are destined to die.
This could change when he hears about Bardock, the pure Saiyan who wasn’t fully evil and saved Granolah and Monaito from death’s clutches.
I elaborated more on the whole growing of Vegeta’s character change in another article. So do check it out!
Dragon Ball Super Chapter 76 – Saiyans Vs Cerealian (Part 2)
The chapter begins with Granolah’s attack causing a church to explode (foreshadowing the mention of Bardock).
Vegeta dodges attacks rather than enduring them because he has reached the limit of how much voluntary damage he can withstand.
Granolah has his left eye powered up and uses it to the extent of his current knowledge (he just got it, so there won’t be much prior knowledge to fully exploit it).
However, Vegeta says that the Cerealian will hit his limit soon and power down. That’d give him the window to attack head-on.
And Vegeta was right. He did power down. But it was at the time where the Saiyan couldn’t do anything about it.
Granolah gasped for air after KO’ing Vegeta with his rapid-fire Ki blast attack, and his left eye changed back.
When Granolah was charging up his suicidal blow to kill both Vegeta and himself, it turned red again.
However, Goku managed to save them’ by elbowing Granolah while Monaito’s appearance distracts him. This reverted his left eye back to normal once again.
I guess Granolah should learn how to wield his newfound power. Perhaps the Saiyans would train him after they have decided to team up…
Another interesting thing in this Chapter is Goku’s ability to shift his vitals.
Goku found a way to tackle Granolah’s pressure point attack
Goku brags about how he got a reading of Granolah’s signature move and how to tackle it. The Cerealian calls it a bluff and proceeds to neck chop him.
At that time, Goku senses Granolah targeting his neck and… something happens to it. The SFX given is “tngl” or “tingle”. Tingle refers to a feeling of something moving inside the body.
Goku pretends to be knocked out (unlike against Majin Vegeta) and launched a surprise attack at Granolah’s back. A sneaky move by Kakarrot!
Granolah then charges in to strike Goku’s abdomen… but the same “tingle” occurs. To everyone’s surprise, Goku stays on his feet and punches Granolah backward.
It’s worth noting that Granolah previously struck Goku in the same locations. The first time was on the neck, and the second time was on the abdomen.
As a result, Goku was able to predict that Granolah would target those areas once again.
Goku explains that, before Granolah makes contact, Goku shifts his vitals slightly so that he doesn’t go down completely.
This seems to be connected to the so-called “healing ability” Goku used before.
In my review article of Chapter 75, I explained how it wasn’t actually healing but it was Goku just using Ki to close up the wound on his chest. This gave him an idea…
What if he used Ki from the inside to temporarily move or strengthen his nerves and muscles covering the vital parts?
It might be similar to how the Armored and the Female Titan hardening their necks in Attack on Titan to protect their vital part.
It seems Goku could use such a maneuver only when he activates Ultra Instinct (as confirmed by Granolah). That means he’s using Ultra Instinct in conjunction with Super Saiyan Blue.
However, this only cushions the impact and doesn’t reduce the force to 0. That is possible only by dodging it completely. And that’ll take time for Goku to pull it off.
After a while, Vegeta tags in and forces Granolah to fight in the Sugarian City. Then the Prince proceeds to copy Goku’s signature move. I thought Vegeta isn’t interested in using the same moves as Kakarrot. Bad Vegeta.
A small extension of Granolah’s flashback in Chapter 68
Boy, I couldn’t be happier that we finally got a continuation of Granolah’s flashback.
Note how he refers to it as a dream in Chapter 68. This means he doesn’t remember what happened all in all on that fateful day.
Giant apes fill the background as Granolah runs as fast as he can towards a church. He rejoins his mother and falls in her loving arms.
She is quite attractive though. But I don’t wanna bring up the fans’ reaction to seeing Granolah’s mom in the spoilers.
It appears that the other Cerealians assisted Granolah in escaping. The Cerealians are truly a compassionate and self-sacrificing race.
Suddenly, they hear “thoom thoom thoom”. The same sound effect is present in Chapter 68’s flashback panel too.
Bottom – Chapter 76 flashback scene
I think we can guess what will happen immediately after this. Granolah and his mom, scared out of their wits, would look at the roof and suddenly witness Bardock in his Oozaru form.
What happens after that is anyone’s guess.
Speaking of Bardock, Monaito noticed how Goku looked strikingly similar to the Saiyan that saved him. He could immediately recognize that he (Goku) has something to do with Bardock and proceeded to stop the brawl.
Here are a few thoughts from my end:
- Bardock might have seen Gine and Raditz (Goku was in an incubation tank for 3 years) in Granolah and his mom. Then he reverted to his base form.
- Rather than a warrior race’s pride per se, I think Bardock maintains something of their pure nature – Director Nagamine.
- He’d probably got his soft nature from his wife Gine. Listen to what Toriyama had to say about Gine:
A long time ago, she fought on a four-person team together with Bardock. Gine had a gentle personality and wasn’t cut out as a warrior. Bardock repeatedly saved her from danger. At that time, a special emotion was born between them. Normally, Saiyans don’t have much of a notion of romance or marriage, and apart from the royal family of Vegeta, they aren’t particular about blood-relationships. Being in among all that, I suppose you could say that the pair of Bardock and Gine were those rare Saiyans who were joined by a bond other than for reproductive purposes.
Akira Toriyama, Super Q&A with Naho Ooshi
- According to Toriyama, Bardock is a Saiyan, too, so he is warlike, but compared to other Saiyans, who are cold-hearted and of simple thoughts, he also happens to possess calm judgment and a small measure of humanity.
- Because of his actions of “saving his companions“, which is rare for a Saiyan, a portion of the low-class warriors greatly adored him.
- Bardock might have aided Granolah, his mom and Monaito in their escape. Unfortunately, the other Oozarus killed the mother while trying to save Granolah while escaping.
- In Akira Toriyama’s one shot Manga “Kintoki” (a tale similar to that of Granolah’s), we see the main character Toki realizing that he’s not a. He meets another “Aurumoculi”.
- Could this mean another Cerealian other than Granolah is alive? Another Cerealian that Bardock saved? It is a possibility.
Yes, I know many fans aren’t happy with Minus Bardock being used in the canon rather than the TV Special. Honestly, I like both versions.
And with Minus Bardock being considerate to Goku, we can foresee a meaningful connection Goku feels for his father.
In the final panel of Dragon Ball Super Chapter 76, Goku is confused while Vegeta snaps. Goku wouldn’t remember his father as his memory fell when he struck his head on a tree root as a child.
The only time he has heard of him was from Frieza and Vegeta back on Namek. But if he could regain some of his memory, It’d be such an emotional moment if he remembers him keeping his hand palm closer to Bardock in the Broly movie.
On the other hand, Vegeta could remember the name Bardock. He might have heard about him from Raditz.
Things could get really interesting from now onwards and I’m all in for it!
Final Thoughts
Dragon Ball Super Chapter 76 was a psychologically driven narrative. I liked it a lot, although some fans might disagree with me.
Seeing Granolah mentally breaking down and Vegeta growing as a character were interesting parts. And of course, the Bardock mention was the cherry-on-top kinda moment.
It’s really surprising to me why Monaito would hide this information from Granolah all these years. He said he lied to him. I think he was the one who told Granolah that the Saiyans and Frieza annihilated his race.
Granolah has undoubtedly lost a significant portion of his childhood memories as a result of PTSD or some form of shock. Perhaps it was triggered by his mother’s death.
One reason I could think of why Monaito didn’t tell him the truth was, he thought that the Saiyans were no more and there’s no need to bring back unpleasant memories. But while telling him of his past, he could have told him about Bardock…
I guess we’ll find out in Chapter 77.
Another interesting thing is, Oatmeel went straight to Monaito in order to save Granolah from his uncontrollable anger (a scenario I predicted in my Chapter 75 review article).
Did he know about the whole Bardock rescuing scene? Was that why he went to fetch Monaito?
I think both of them are hiding something from Granolah. Something that might cause the PTSD to return.
In Chapter 69, Monaito said “I’ve upended Granolah once again” and in Chapter 72, Gas said, “the memories of this planet are not particularly good ones”. Will we see some revelations on those in the next chapter?
I’m expecting Monaito to narrate the full flashback of Bardock saving them. And I’d love to see what Goku thinks of his father and family.
The only “family touch” he ever had was with Raditz and it wasn’t a pleasant experience. I guess his outlook on his family would change.
Bardock is crucial in this arc. The fate of the Cerealians and the fate of the Saiyans changed because of one character – chad Bardock.
He saved Granolah, preventing the Cerealians from complete extinction and saved Goku, without whom, the Earth and the entire Universe wouldn’t exist. Bardock, the chad Saiyan from the past, is helping his son and the future of the Saiyan race.
The next chapter might end with the cliffhanger with the Heeters summoning the Dragon and ready to make their wish.
Before taking off, check out the following PV of Dragon Ball Super Chapter 76!
What do you think of Dragon Ball Super Chapter 76? Did it live up to your expectations? Let us know in the comments below!
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