The Tournament of Power arc in Dragon Ball Super is one of the most popular stories in the franchise’s history, with dozens of epic battles taking place at the same time with the biggest stakes ever seen in combat. However, with eight universes, each with ten warriors, not every character on the field had their due—in fact, several of them were not portrayed at all until the manga.
The Tournament of Power, also known as the Universal Survival Saga, pitted Goku and his comrades (along with Frieza) against the finest fighters from seven different universes. Because of the scale of the conflict, characters like Tien and Master Roshi, who hadn’t been used in a long time, got an opportunity to shine once more, and every member of Universe 7’s crew was featured in some way. However, because Goku and his friends couldn’t really defeat every single opponent in what was supposed to be a free-for-all, many opponents were defeated offscreen, with victory ascribed to other characters like Universe 6’s Hit. Instead of repeating information, the manga decided to have some battles play out differently.
Murisam, a character from Universe 10, is the subject of the first major modification. He launches a surprise attack on Universe 6’s Cabba in the anime but is defeated in a single strike. Murisam challenges Android 17 to straight combat in the manga, but 17 defeats him with a succession of quick attacks. Rubalt, another Universe 10 fighter, tries to avenge Murisam by going for 17 but is easily dispatched before being defeated by Frieza. In the manga, Android 17 is credited for beating Universe 6’s Botamo & Universe 4’s Damom, and Universe 10’s Dium, Methiop, and Napapa, implying that Android 17 defeated half of Universe 10’s crew on his own. Rubalt is among the last members of his squad standing in the anime, and he ends up fighting Piccolo instead, indicating one of the most significant (and negative) differences in performance between the two storylines.
Universe 4’s Gamisalas, a chameleon-like alien that spent the majority of the fight invisible, was another character who fared significantly better in the manga. In the anime, Gamisalas only takes out one opponent, but in the manga, he appears out of nowhere when another fighter’s clash puts them dangerously close to the ring’s edge. Before Piccolo turns the tables on him, he takes out Universe 2’s magical girls Ribrianne, Kakunsa, and Rozie, as well as ejecting Android 18 from the ring. Kale has also improved her performance, defeating a total of 17 opponents on her own or with the support of Caulifla, and is now on par with Golden Frieza. While out of control, Kale even smacks one of her own comrades, Auta Magetta. In the manga, Kale has a considerably harder time controlling her power, and Caulifla merges with her in the hopes of bringing her under control rather than giving her a boost in power. After that, the merged Kefla kills a large portion of Universe 11’s squad until Gohan kills Kefla as well.
While there are numerous minor differences in the order of elimination and who fights who, seeing characters like Kale and Android 17 defeat as many opponents as they probably should is impressive, and the alternate match-ups demonstrate just how much the battle could’ve changed if different strategies had been used. Even though the eventual conclusion is the same, the largest Dragon Ball Super fans will undoubtedly appreciate both versions of the Tournament.