Warning: contains spoilers for Dragon Ball Super chapter 86
Finally, Dragon Ball Super has paid off its promise to stop always putting the spotlight on Goku and give someone else the role of protagonist. The conclusion of the "Granolah the Survivor" arc sees the newest character, Granolah, rise up to defeat the villain, Gas, even saving Goku and Vegeta in the process.
Goku is one of the most iconic characters in the world, and fans of Dragon Ball love him, but they have also been waiting for the series to make one of its other characters more relevant, considering that the franchise has so many interesting and powerful ones. Of course, Vegeta is always the first candidate to replace Goku as the protagonist, and the Prince of Saiyans recently got the spotlight in the fight against Gas thanks to his new Ultra Ego transformation. However, it seemed that, in the end, Goku would once again be the hero who saves the day, using his new and upgraded Ultra Instinct, but things turned out differently.
In Dragon Ball Super chapter 86, Goku is in dire straits after Gas powered up further, tapping into the whole energy granted to him by the Dragon Balls when he wished to become "the strongest warrior in the universe," at the expense of burning his own life. While Goku is utterly overwhelmed, Granolah makes a comeback after previously being almost killed by Gas, and teams up with the Saiyan to bring down their common enemy. Goku, with some help from Vegeta, buys Granolah enough time to charge a new, powerful attack that is finally able to defeat Gas, bringing the fight to an end.
Since its beginning, the Granolah Arc teased that it would shift the focus away from Goku and Vegeta in favor of a new character. Granolah was given a lengthy introduction and a detailed backstory, which set him up as a nuanced character with complex motivations. However, during the fight against Gas, it seemed that Granloah was already being relegated to the rank of supporting character, especially after the revelation that his past was connected to Bardock, Goku's father. The impression was that, once again, everything revolved around Goku and that Granloah was just a way to reintroduce Bardock in the story. Luckily, his miraculous comeback against Gas provew the opposite, as this is one of the only times that a major Dragon Ball villain is not defeated by either Goku or Vegeta.
It's very easy to understand why Dragon Ball Super keeps relying on Goku as the protagonist, considering the huge success of the franchise that has been built around his character; if something is not broken, why fix it? However, it is also true that, after four decades of Dragon Ball, fans are getting a little tired of the same formula. This is why Dragon Ball Super needs to experiment and innovate to remain successful, and the Granolah Arc proves that the story can still be good and entertaining without overusing Goku.