Dragon Ball Z fans might've heard there's a new series currently out to enjoy, but they may be apprehensive to watch. After all, many of us grew up watching Goku become the most dominant fighter in the universe, but then we grew up, and keeping up with shows like that falls by the wayside. I know that was the case for me, and I'm here to spread the word that it's completely fine to jump into Dragon Ball Daima even if you've been away from the franchise for a while.
This show is the final series created by the late Dragon Ball creator, Akira Toriyama, so I can understand the curiosity of many who wonder if they should tune in. While I can't offer a definitive consensus of whether or not readers will enjoy it seeing as the series just started, I can at least list the reasons why people who haven't kept up with the franchise in a while have nothing to fear when it comes to just throwing on this episode and seeing if they like it. Let's dive in.
Dragon Ball Daima Doesn't Require You To Have Seen Dragon Ball Super
Dragon Ball Daima arrives after the latest series, Dragon Ball Super, but the good news is that you won't be penalized here if you've missed that series. This new series is more directly tied to the main Dragon Ball Z continuity and takes place shortly after the conclusion of the Maijin Buu saga.
It would appear that all of the more recent reveals about the lore in Dragon Ball Super, such as the talk of gods, the multiverse and angels, are not in play here. It feels much closer to the tone of Dragon Ball Z and features a bulk of the cast and familiar elements that a more casual fan is familiar with.
For example, if you remember the Dragon Balls and how they work, you will be in good shape. There will be new parts to the greater lore introduced in Dragon Ball Daima, but it's nothing so overwhelming I thought it was exceptionally hard to follow. As entertaining as DBZ was back in the day with its cool characters, I don't think anyone would ever accuse it of being the most complex anime. I would say Dragon Ball Super changed that a bit, but as I said, it's not a factor in this adventure.
The Series Premiere Features A Recap Of The Maijin Buu Saga
Even if you haven't watched Dragon Ball Z since watching Goku defeat Maijin Buu with a spirit bomb in the early 2000s, jumping into Dragon Ball Daima is still doable. A large part of this is thanks to the first episode's introduction of the antagonists, Supreme Kai's brother Degusu and the new Demon King, King Gomah. The two spend most of the first episode watching the events of Dragon Ball Z's Maijin Buu saga play out via some television so the viewer can get a refresher.
I won't jump into spoilers for those who want to experience the series for themselves, but I will say some pretty big things are revealed in just the first episode. If you were a little bit more curious about the Demon Realm and what it entails in Dragon Ball, this seems like a series that jumps into that a great deal. I feel like the classic '90s anime and others like it tried to sidestep issues like this, so it'll be refreshing to see it explored in greater depth.
I will add the disclaimer that if you're an English-speaking reader who grew up watching the dubbed version of the Dragon Ball shows, you will have to wait a while to see that. Fathom Events is planning to premiere the first three episodes of the English dub in theaters November 10th through the 12th, and I assume they'll arrive on Crunchyroll about a week or so after that. If you don't mind subtitles though, jump in now. I had no problem watching the first episode, even though I was raised watching the dub.
So Far, The Series Has A Similar Premise To Dragon Ball GT
While there's plenty of time for the series to differentiate itself, there are already some similarities between this series and the first Dragon Ball Z sequel, Dragon Ball GT. I don't necessarily think it was strange that this franchise has twice had a villain use the Dragon Balls to wish Goku into a child; the only difference so far is that this latest person to do it decided to wish all the Z Fighters were kids again, too.
I have questions about how Daima and GT will exist in the Dragon Ball canon. There's a part of me that wonders if Daima was constructed to be a replacement for GT, which was created without Akira Toriyama. Then the situation got a lot more confusing when GT was included on a canon timeline of the Dragon Ball universe, so maybe two different villains just decided to hatch the same plans?
Ultimately we'll need time and more episodes to get some of the answers to these questions. I would imagine the series will make it clearer as we get more episodes, but I will say this: the first Daima episode already referenced travel in the multiverse, which was a part of the storytelling in Dragon Ball Super. If Daima is getting more intentional references to a series we know is canon that comes after it, perhaps this series was ultimately created to retcon the GT series and serve as its replacement. We can only wait and see and further celebrate the franchise that was a vital piece of Toonami viewing back in the day.
Catch new episodes of Dragon Ball Daima on Crunchyroll on Fridays. Tune into new episodes and see what else is coming up on our 2024 TV schedule for the rest of the year.
