'Dragon Ball Super' Episode 111: A Clever Strategy and a Painful Loss

"Dragon Ball Super" episode 111 features a major turning point in the Universe Survival Saga. The story focuses on the battle between Universe 11's Jiren the Gray and Universe 6's Hit the assassin. Spoilers to follow in this recap.

In the previous episode, Universe 7's Son Goku achieved the ability to perform Ultra Instinct (a.k.a. Master of Self-Movement), a powerful technique that made him a match for Jiren. But Goku was unable to keep it up and Jiren almost defeated him. Goku was saved only because Hit suddenly stepped in to challenge Jiren before he could finish off the Saiyan.

Episode 111 "The Surreal Supreme Battle! Hit VS Jiren!!" shows Goku licking his wounds when Frieza shows up, appearing to gloat before the downed Saiyan. But instead of finishing off Goku, Frieza strengthens him with some of his energy. Frieza tells Goku that he has to be the one to take out Jiren, as Frieza wants to avoid fighting the powerful Gray.

Goku is currently in no shape to take on Jiren, however. Meanwhile, Hit begins fighting Jiren, making much use of his signature move Time Skip. This doesn't seem to help him land a strike on Jiren, although the Gray is also unable to touch Hit for much of the battle. Still, Jiren does get a few hits in, and the assassin appears utterly outclassed.

Fans know that Hit is a formidable opponent, and he wouldn't enter a fight recklessly. He must have something up his sleeve. And when the Universe 6 warriors Cabba, Caulifla and Kale see Hit get knocked down hard, Cabba stops the others from intervening, saying that Hit has a purpose for what he's doing. Cabba notes the Hit has been blocking Jiren's blows, keeping them from causing him great injury.

It finally becomes clear that Hit was observing Jiren's counterattacks, and the assassin is able to slip past Jiren's defenses and land a powerful strike that lets him trap Jiren in a cage of time. Jiren finds himself unable to move, but Hit is also unable to do anything other than concentrating on freezing Jiren. He asks the other Universe 6 warriors to fight while he keeps Jiren frozen until time runs out.

But Hit's strategy is flawed, as Jiren slowly begins to move. Hit realizes that he will not be able to keep Jiren frozen long enough, so he decides to gamble on a finishing strike. But even while partly frozen, Jiren is able to use his mere gaze to block Hit's attack. He breaks free and knocks Hit out of the arena, eliminating the assassin from the tournament.

The tournament reaches the halfway mark. With Hit gone and Goku in a weakened state, Jiren enters meditation, leaving the rest of the tournament to his allies. Anime News Network suggests that the show is aware that the regular animation can't compete with the art of the one-hour special, thus the need to sideline Jiren until the big climax.

Comicbook.com notes that two new Namekian characters appear in this episode. They are fighting for Universe 6. When Goku goes down, they try to take out the Saiyan, but Piccolo and Gohan get in their way. The two are stunned to find themselves facing a Namekian like themselves.