Following Dragon Ball Super's announcement of the Tournament of Power, many fans and characters in the show alike were anticipating one fighter in particular. The one individual said to be the strongest mortal in Universe 11 who could even challenge that universes God Of Destruction, Jiren the Grey. Of course, his first appearance as well as imposing presence that caught Goku unawares during their first meeting made everybody more eager to learn more about Jiren's motivations, his role as an antagonist, as well as the reasoning behind his strength and techniques.This expectation and potential exploration of his character only ever went skin-deep however, as shown by his lack of action except when fighting against Goku, Vegeta, Freeza, or Android 18. His backstory ends up being lackluster as well, being too simple and generic to really keep everybody invested in Jiren's character. However, could this have been salvaged from the very beginning? How much of Jiren's character was a missed opportunity, and what could have been explored?
Jiren The Grey is known as the strongest mortal in Universe 11, as well as a member of the hero group named the Pride Troopers. While his first appearance and role in the group seemed to be that of a Dark Horse, where not many know about his abilities but his victory and reputation precedes him, Jiren seems to be feared and respected by many individuals in his own universe, the latter in the case of Belmod, the God Of Destruction of Universe 11. However, due to Jiren's lack of a defined personality and vague motivation and backstory as well as the story's handling of his character, the fans were left disappointed by his interpretation in the anime. This led to much ridicule of the character, even leading to videos examining precisely why his character fell flat for so many. Once again, if it were to be salvaged, there could have been improvement. The only question is how and why.
What We Got From Jiren
To be more specific when it comes to Jiren's lack of a character or interesting dynamic, there has to be a focus on the flaws that Jiren displayed in his character. Jiren's introduction isn't particularly memorable, and his one motivation and dialogue is as simple as wanting to become stronger for the sake of never feeling weak as well as for its own sake. However, these little bits of information aren't explained until the final stretch of episodes in Dragon Ball Super where we learned them from Jiren's backstory, which is just as lackluster as many fans would say. So far, Jiren's character doesn't paint a positive picture or representation of his character archetype or dynamic as an antagonist.
As an antagonist for the Tournament of Power arc, Jiren doesn't truly become involved until a variety of episodes have passed before we see him in action in his fight against Goku. Despite such an impressive fight with animation, it's focus on dramatic narrative almost focused on Goku's struggle to lay a hand on Jiren as opposed to understanding what Jiren's doing this for. Because of such a lack of understanding or explanation, the fans could be enthralled by his strength and power but be derived from an engaging personality considering his entirely stoic and passive approach until engaged by the enemy.
What Jiren Could Have Been
Even with all the flaws presented before, Jiren's not a character that didn't have potential or any character traits that could have been explored in-depth. While the Pride Troopers themselves have stated to be heroic individuals wanting to save their universe, especially with the standing that they believe Goku is responsible for the threat of erasure, Jiren's stoic nature could have belied a deep care and responsibility for the Universe he swore to protect. In fact, many fans of the Manga of Dragon Ball Super were given an interpretation of Jiren that stated that he would have abandoned the tournament to protect Universe 11 immediately if it was in immediate threat. Jiren's backstory is too simple, and never given much depth, although a lot of specification could have helped keep the audience invested in the first few episodes.
Of course, Jiren's character could have not had his backstory revealed at all and kept a mystery so that the audience could instead focus on his actions and the motivation for saving his universe. Many combatants attempting to attack him, only to fail miserably or be intimidated into not fighting him, could also be a way to show how immense his power is in such a roundabout way that doesn't rely purely on exposition or somebody speaking for Jiren's power. Dragon Ball Super's anime interpretation of Jiren has its flaws, and certainly it could have been improved greatly as well as struck a better chord with fans of the show; Jiren as a character itself isn't impossible to redeem or even improve moving forward into the story. Despite the missing opportunities that Toei didn't tap into, and the potential that could have been used to take the Tournament of Power arc to higher levels; Jiren as a character is easily moldable, and many fans are still looking forward to when they weill see his involvement once again in the vast world of Dragon Ball Super.