In case you were unaware, Dragon Ball Daima is the latest installment in the ongoing franchise led by Goku and the Z Fighters. Akira Toriyama has returned to spearhead the show, which has the entire cast turned into children by an evil wizard.
Dragon Ball has seen some ups and downs over the years. Watching Dragon Ball in order will give you awesome moments like Gohan going Super Saiyan 2 or Future Trunk carving up Cyborg Frieza, and some less so, like a lot of Dragon Ball GT.
The best Dragon Ball Z characters have challenged literal gods, but even they sometimes falter to subpar writing. Since Akira’s come back to lead Daima, it seems he might be looking to rectify the low point of GT and make sure one of the best anime series truly remains so.
A clue to this is in the core narrative: Goku’s been made a kid, just he was in GT. The difference in Daima is so has everyone else. The trailer has Vegeta, Piccolo, Krillin, and more looking like Muppet Babies fanart in the cutest way.
GT suffered from some ongoing issues around structure and pacing, and it wasn’t helped at the outset by taking our favorite Saiyan away from his friends and family. Daima maintains that Dragon Ball works best as an ensemble piece where everyone faces whatever’s happening together.
No disrespect to Pan, Goku’s granddaughter, but she just couldn’t make up for losing practically the entire other supporting cast. In this same vein, Daima’s story appears – so far, at least – to take place on Earth. It might seem small, but I’ve always found comfort in one of the best shounen anime centered mostly around our little blue rock.
Similar to the best superhero movies, I get a sense of inspiration for doing what I can to help humanity and the planet, too. Goku, an alien migrant who grows up to start a family and develop a close circle of pals, simply will not let anyone or anything ruin civilization. Genocide is often the impetus for him moving to another level of Super Saiyan and wrecking shop, too.
All of which is to say, Dragon Ball Daima has a lot going for it that makes me excited. But beyond that, I’m intrigued by what may be Akira going back over a misstep in Dragon Ball and doing it over again. Not only should we try to save each other, it’s never too late to fix something that didn’t work.
Over 20 years later and Dragon Ball’s still giving me advice. Check out our guides on One-Punch Man season 3, the Dragon Ball Super season 2 release date, and the Demon Slayer season 4 release date for more great upcoming anime.