Embracing change can often feel daunting, especially when it clashes with deeply held beliefs about something you’ve cherished for years. I get it; I was skeptical too when the news dropped in October 2023 about Dragon Ball Daima bringing back Goku and the crew as kids. After the adrenaline-fueled, five-and-a-half-year wait following the epic Tournament of Power saga in Dragon Ball Super, hearing that we’d return to the series with a child-like twist wasn’t exactly what I had envisioned. However, after giving those initial episodes a go, I had to admit I was wrong, and quite frankly, so was everyone else doubting the series.
Jump to 2025, and it became almost fashionable to criticize the Dragon Ball series, often for valid reasons. The fight scenes, for instance, haven’t quite reached the intricate choreography seen in Attack on Titan or Jujutsu Kaisen. The series sometimes masked this by making battles appear too fast to truly grasp. Plus, let’s be real: Dragon Ball Super often relied on unpredictable transformations, like the Super Saiyan Blue Evolved, which diluted the suspense. Goku’s still the same airhead, Gohan’s toned down, and Vegeta can’t catch a break. But here’s where Daima turns the tables.
In just 15 brilliantly rendered episodes, Daima steers the Dragon Ball series back to its core essence. Remember when Goku’s Super Saiyan transformation was something that would blow your mind? That’s back, and this time, it’s rarer and more impactful. It’s in the fifth episode of Daima that Goku taps into that golden aura to defeat King Kadan’s warriors, and he revisits it sparingly thereafter. The emphasis has shifted back to authentic hand-to-hand combat, peppered with some strategic Power Pole moves, truly grounding these supernatural battles in a relatable reality. And when Vegeta finally breaks out his Super Saiyan 3 transformation in episode 12, retrieving the Dragon Ball from Tamagami Number Two, it was like BAM! rewriting a major oversight from before. Vegeta finally getting in on the Super Saiyan 3 action was long overdue, marking a pivotal shift in the Dragon Ball canon.
The fight scenes this time around are arguably some of the franchise’s finest since Goku and Vegeta’s legendary clash with Broly back in Dragon Ball Super: Broly in 2018. Watching Goku dodge Tamagami Number Three’s ki attacks, then skillfully destabilizing its leg with a kick, or deftly evading a hammer blow only to dismantle its handle with his Power Pole—it was enough to bring tears to my eyes. The battles in Daima don’t just fill scenes; they pack real stakes and depth, going far beyond mere spectacle.
Narratively, this series beautifully builds on our favorite Dragon Ball Z arcs without getting tangled in some of Dragon Ball Super’s polarizing threads. Let’s face it, Dragon Ball Super isn’t given its due, with the Tournament of Power arguably standing out as the peak of Dragon Ball storytelling. Nevertheless, Super occasionally got lost in overly ambitious god-level narratives, like the overly convenient resolve of Fused Zamasu via Zeno’s erasure. Starting off right after the beloved Buu saga, Daima skillfully expands on this, respecting its legacy while adding fresh layers.
Of course, Goku still retains his airheaded charm, quite unlike his intense vibes during the Cell or Frieza clashes in Dragon Ball Z. Many episodes lean more towards discovery rather than pure battles, but the inclusion of intriguing new characters such as Glorio, Dr. Arinsu, and Panzy transforms these journeys through the unexplored Demon Worlds into exciting treasure hunts through a rich past we’ve overlooked. With just a month to go before Daima’s season finale, I urge everyone, skeptics and fans alike, to dive into this captivating series and perhaps rethink what they believed the Dragon Ball saga could be. It’s fair to say Daima is the reinvigoration the franchise has long needed, standing as testament to its enduring legacy.
