Dragon Ball Daima episode 18 review: Toei Animation's reintroduction of Super Saiyan 4 cements Daima as a classic

Modified Feb 15, 2025 04:30 GMT

Dragon Ball Daima episode 18 review and more (Image via Toei Animation).

Dragon Ball Daima episode 18 aired on Friday, February 14, 2025, at 11:40 pm JST. This episode mostly focuses on the now-famous moment of Goku turning into Super Saiyan 4 for the first time in the canon material and his battle with Gomah as Glorio betrays the party and summons Porunga to wish for more power for Dr. Arinsu.

This Dragon Ball Daima episode 18 review analyzes the anime’s storyline, production quality, casting choices, and other elements. This article will review the series' progression and conclude whether it does justice to the legacy of author Akira Toriyama and the franchise.

Disclaimer: This article contains spoilers for the series and reflects the author’s opinions.

Reviewing Dragon Ball Daima episode 18

Dragon Ball Daima episode 18: A brief synopsis

Goku transforming into Super Saiyan 4 (Image via Toei Animation).

Dragon Ball Daima episode 18 starts with Goku having turned into a Super Saiyan 3 and keeping a lot better with Gomah, eventually aided by Tamagami Number One and Majin Duu after the latter ate a cookie. However, the King of the Demon Realm still manages to overpower them, which seems to be the end for the heroes.

The next part of Dragon Ball Daima episode 18 is the biggest highlight as Neva approaches Goku and uses his magic to unleash more power from within the protagonist, turning into a Super Saiyan 4. Vegeta and the rest are in shock as Goku manages to get the better of Gomah, even going as far as causing him massive damage with a Kamehameha.

The villain, however, does survive and goes even bigger. Glorio is called by Arinsu to get the Dragon Balls as he gets near to her, Majin Duu, and Majin Kuu. Glorio is revealed to speak Namekian and summons Puronga, with the episode ending as he wishes to make Arinsu the strongest in the Demon Realm, although viewers don't know if he truly asked the dragon for that.

Narrative review of Dragon Ball Daima episode 18: A near flawless episode

Super Saiyan 4 Goku as seen in the most recent episode (Image via Toei Animation).

Dragon Ball Daima episode 18 definitely would go down in history as this series' biggest highlight, far surpassing Vegeta's Super Saiyan 3 transformation, and delivering something that many fans wanted to see for decades. Goku's Super Saiyan 4 transformation is going to be the thing this series is going to be remembered by and the studio delivered on all fronts in that regard.

When it comes to the rest of the episode, Toei Animation delivered a stellar combination of animation and direction, with the stakes against Gomah feeling dire and tense. Contrasted with previous episodes, this one had the level of urgency required in a final battle.

Now that the series's adventurous nature has been cast aside in recent episodes in favor of battle, this makes Glorio's final moments all the more notorious. His indecision to work for Arinsu in this installment feels like a reward for the journey he went through in the series, with the cliffhanger leaving people wanting more, which is always great.

Dragon Ball Daima episode 18: Reviewing the production, animation, soundtracks, and voice acting

Super Saiyan 4 Goku powering up (Image via Toei Animation).

The voice actors continue to deliver high-quality performances, shown throughout the interactions. It is difficult to highlight a particular performance at the moment beyond the fact that this continues to be an amazing cast of voice actors with a lot of experience in the medium.

The animation was at its strongest in this episode, giving Goku's transformation and the subsequent battle the attention and care it deserved. There is also a lot of emphasis on the setting and atmosphere, which is quite good, adding a dramatic element to Glorio's betrayal and Porunga's appearance.

Final thoughts

Dragon Ball Daima episode 18 is bound to go down as the most impactful and talked-about installment of this series for the near future since it featured the canonical introduction of Super Saiyan 4 or at least a form inspired by it. Beyond that, it is also a well-done episode with action, and tension, and starts the conclusion of Glorio's subplot in the story.

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Edited by Bharath S