Dragon Ball Daima makes me feel like a kid again!

Modern techniques paired with a classic 90’s feel lets us know that Akira Toriyama’s last vision has a lot of budget behind it and is cared for. Katsuyoshi Nakatsuru, the animation designer for the new series, has given the world his absolute best work to date with Dragon Ball Daima.

With social media blowing up about his direction for the series. A couple of things I hope the change in this story is for Vegeta to finally get a new outfit because the Saiyan armor is nice but…it is definitely time for a change. Long overdue. 

The Dragon Ball Daima storyline

From the first scene showcasing the dragon balls and the demon realm, you can tell this is going to be an instant classic, rich with storytelling as well as comedic moments. Daima doesn’t exclude its new viewers to the Dragon Ball franchise, by instantly showcasing the past story from the main plot, explaining why the characters you see are important to know. The brief appearance of Bardock, even though it was just a slide, had me physically stand up, not only because he is my favorite, but because the mention of him gives me hope for the future (no pun intended). 

Daima also provides a lot of subtle comedy, placed well with memes that have went viral on social media. Krillin has a quick pose after being turned to a child that is used for Twitch emotes, reaction photos and memes. Seeing the infamous Vegeta head bob made me actually laugh out loud. 

The Buu Saga was the main plot point in this episode, seeing as our new main villains watched the whole thing via television, which is a joke in itself. Seeing different forms of Buu fight the Z Fighters, along with a top tier character, Gohan, makes me reminisce about watching Dragon Ball Z on my parents living room floor. Seeing Gohan fight at his peak again almost made me shed a tear. It was fantastic. 

The Demon Realm

Watching our new villains, Gomah, Degesu and Dr. Arinsu analyze our favorite fighters on a television was a crazy moment, because in reality, they are just like us, except they’re evil. Gomah unfortunately looks way less intimidating than his former king, Dabura, but paired with the story, this makes sense…for now. Dr. Arinsu speaks of the demon realm as if there is nobody equal to Majin Buu, but I personally think she is being deceptive for her own gain. 

We also find out that the demon realm has its own set of dragon balls, but they haven’t been used because they have protectors, the Tamagamis. Gomah wants to use the dragon balls to get rid of the Z Fighters but to avoid making a “black wish”, he decides that one of his three wishes will be to make the Z fighters children. 

While heading out of the demon realm, it is mentioned that people from the realm can go to any universe they want, which makes me put my thinking cap on. I think this extra lore will connect to Jiren’s story of having a villian kill his friends and family. I don’t think Jiren will appear in Daima, but this lore might be brought back up, and maybe we even get a hint to who it is. Maybe we get an official introduction to Janemba? 

After going to earth and making his first wish with the help of a Namek named Neva, who is also an interesting and curious character who I think is hiding something, Shenron informs him that since Gomah is not regular, he only gets one wish, and immediately leaves. This was hilarious because when did this become a rule and why was Shenron so direct with it? He borderline scolded and judged Gomah for his wish in the process. 

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Final Thoughts

The episode ends with all of the Z Fighters being turned to children mid birthday party for Trunks and mid sparring match for Goku and Vegeta. 

Overall, this first episode of Dragon Ball Daima brought back so many memories of watching Dragon Ball on Toonami in the early morning and late night, and for a pilot episode of a new series, Toriyama and his trusted successors did a wonderful job of bringing back an old audience, and gaining new fans as well. This series is bound to be successful.