Dragon Ball Daima review: Toriyama's parting gift is a series with as many highs as lows

Dragon Ball Daima ended its 20 episodes-long run last Saturday, March 1, 2025, right on the one-year anniversary of author Akira Toriyama's passing. The aftermath has been positive but with a lot of things to analyze. The Daima anime was a much-needed return for the franchise after Super's conclusion back in 2018 and offers a different take on the series that is both new and old.

Indeed, Dragon Ball Daima was Toriyama and Toei Animation's attempt to celebrate the franchise's 40th anniversary and also make a return to its adventure-based roots while taking some elements from the non-canon sequel, GT. It is a combination of several factors, coupled with the confusing continuity debates, that led to a series of very notorious ups and downs, which divide the community to this day.

From a technical perspective, Daima is a stunning product that gives Dragon Ball the animation and direction that a franchise of this status deserves in this day and age. On the other hand, it also presents some issues regarding the future of Goku and his friends moving forward.

Disclaimer: This article reflects the author's opinion. It also contains a considerable amount of spoilers.

Dragon Ball Daima: A review of Toei Animation's new anime, analyzing whether it pays homage to the legacy of the franchise

Kid Super Saiyan Goku as seen in the anime (Image via Toei Animation)

The Dragon Ball Daima began airing on October 11, 2024, and has been a considerable hit from a business perspective. It was one of the most-viewed shows during its run and moments such as the latest episodes were the talk of the town, which is something that the people at Toei Animation were probably happy about.

However, several elements in this anime have been quite divisive, such as the continuity problems and what some perceive as a constant need to push nostalgia.

Dragon Ball Daima: Analyzing the direction and production

Shin, Glorio, and Kid Goku as seen in the anime (Image via Toei Animation)

There were initial doubts regarding Dragon Ball Daima because of the premise of the cast being turned into kids and how much the landscape of the anime medium has changed since 2018.

While the Broly and Super Hero movies featured high-quality animation, films have a higher budget to work with, so there were concerns regarding whether Toei Animation could compete with Dragon Ball in a market where the likes of Solo Leveling, Demon Slayer, Jujutsu Kaisen, and others had top animation.

However, the studio proved the doubters wrong by delivering the best-animated Dragon Ball series in the market with a level of visual consistency that the franchise never had before in this format. There are very few instances where the animation shows any degree of quality drops and stays visually stunning, with elements such as the backgrounds of the Demon Realm being extremely gorgeous to see.

Adult Super Saiyan 3 Vegeta as seen in the anime (Image via Toei Animation)

Moreover, Dragon Ball is a franchise celebrated for its battle choreographies and Daima has managed to excel at this. Some of the earlier fights in the series, such as Goku vs. Tamagami Number Three, are dynamic and exciting to watch, which is key if people are going to make new products moving forward with this series.

The visual consistency, direction, and animation were of tremendous quality until the final episodes, which pushed the envelope even further. Goku and Vegeta's transformations and displays of power as adults against Gomah are probably some of the best-animated moments in the characters' celebrated history, which is saying a lot.

From that angle, Dragon Ball Daima is a masterful work by Toei Animation, which, coupled with their work on the modern One Piece anime, proves a new era for this studio.

How this series compares to others in the franchise

Vegeta using his Final Flash technique (Image via Toei Animation)

The most divisive element regarding Dragon Ball Daima, and one that is bound to continue in the coming years, is its tone and how it differs from some of the most popular eras of the franchise. There is no denying that the idea of the cast being turned into kids and having a more "apt for all ages" approach has divided the community, which has been a constant since the days of Super.

Dragon Ball is a franchise that has had a lot of different eras, with the early years being a more fantasy-based martial arts adventure comedy, eventually evolving into a combat-focused space opera, which is the Z portion of the franchise. There are people who grew up with Z and GT and never watched early Dragon Ball, which is why Daima's attempts to harken back to those Kid Goku arcs may divide some people.

The lack of real stakes and tension, coupled with a more lighthearted approach, has made Dragon Ball Daima very difficult to like with people who would want something more akin to the days of the Saiyan, Namek, and Cell arcs. It also happens with Super, with fans wanting a more serious arc with a greater sense of danger.

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

It would be easy to ignore those fans' criticism and claim that it is just nostalgia or not understanding Akira Toriyama's writing style, which has been comedic since he made a name for himself with the Dr. Slump manga in the early 80s. However, it is also fair to say that the more serious and tense era of the franchise was the most celebrated and popular. This led to a degree of debate about what Goku and his friends should be moving forward.

Toriyama sadly passed away a year ago, and the overall feeling is that this is a new era for the franchise, with the recent Akio Iyoku interview stating that the people in charge want to make Dragon Ball content "for the next 50 years." So, it begs the question of what Dragon Ball is at this point and what the people in charge want it to be.

The truth is that none of Dragon Ball Daima, Super, and GT managed to be celebrated by the vast majority of the fandom like the original series did, even if Toriyama got involved. These projects were also done in different eras of the anime industry and haven't managed to win over most people, so there is an argument to be made that something is missing.

Goku executing a Kamehameha (Image via Toei Animation)

As a one-off product, Dragon Ball Daima is quite good and offers a new world to explore, a new group of characters to enjoy, and some truly memorable moments for some of these iconic characters, such as Goku and Vegeta. But there is an argument to be made that this formula would get old quite fast for people who love the series for its epic and tension-filled moments.

If anything, Dragon Ball Daima serves as a way to gauge what people want from the franchise, which is something that highlights a lack of a defined identity beyond the battles and the hype moments. GT, Daima, and Super managed to be great only in moments but failed to deliver consistently.

The legacy of this series moving forward

Super Saiyan 4 Goku (Image via Toei Animation).

The legacy of Dragon Ball Daima moving forward will be defined by its place in the franchise's canon, which has become rather infamous in recent weeks. There was an initial perception that the anime was canon between the original series and Super, but multiple scenes caused a lot of problems with the continuity.

The two most prominent examples are Goku's Super Saiyan 4 and Vegeta's Super Saiyan 3 transformations, which don't make sense given the fact they didn't use them against Beerus. There is a very good chance that Daima will be its own continuity moving forward, but the lack of clarity on this matter does not help the series' case.

It is also bound to be special in the long run for being Toriyama's final work before passing, the first time that the anime tries to develop the Demon Realm, and Super Saiyan 4 making a return to the main storylines. All of that is bound to give this product a special place in people's minds.

The party as seen at the end of the series (Image via Toei Animation)

The legacy of Dragon Ball Daima, as mentioned earlier, will be defined by continuity and how these new elements are used moving forward. If it is confirmed that Daima is part of an alternate reality, much like GT and Super, then there is a chance for a brand new direction for the story moving forward.

This could make this series quite important because it could start a new era for the Dragon Ball universe, offering the fans the possibility to choose between Super and this one. This is fairly common to see in the Marvel and DC comics where there are multiple continuities, but it is not very normal to see this in anime and manga.

The party in the final credit scenes of the series (Image via Toei Animation)

Moreover, this is the first Dragon Ball anime to have enjoyed a seasonal approach for its production, and as mentioned earlier, the results are there to see. Super was affected greatly by the weekly schedule, offering a lot of episodes with uneven quality, which also influenced people's perception of its final product.

Regardless of opinions on the actual story, Daima's most positive legacy is showing that this franchise deserves animation and direction of the highest quality, which benefits from having a seasonal approach. Therefore, this is something that the franchise should encourage moving forward regardless of the new content they will make.

Dragon Ball Daima: A criticism of the narrative, storytelling, animation, and soundtrack

Kid Bulma and Piccolo as seen in the anime (Image via Toei Animation)

The plot of Dragon Ball Daima is very simple in the sense that Gomah wishes for them to be turned into kids and kidnaps Dende, which leads Goku and his friends to go to the Demon Realm to rescue him and return to their adult forms. It is a very straightforward plot and is also executed clearly, but the main issue is the lack of tension and unnecessary fluff.

The story in Daima lacks tension because of a powerscaling issue since Majin Buu is supposed to be stronger than anyone in the Demon Realm, and Goku and his friends already defeated him in the original series. Therefore, the protagonist and Vegeta walk past most of the opposition without any major problems, except for Gomah with the help of the Third Evil Eye.

On the other hand, about five or six episodes don't progress the plot of Dragon Ball Daima, and it was recently revealed they were made before Akira Toriyama finished writing the story and it shows. Granted, some people may like the exploration element of these episodes, but it makes the series feel like a less cohesive story, affecting the pacing of the final product.

Majin Duu and Majin Kuu as seen in the anime (Image via Toei Animation)

On the positive side of things, the animation, as mentioned earlier, is phenomenal as well as the world-building of the Demon Realm. It is a different experience from the most recent Dragon Ball series as the audience gets to see Goku, Panzy, Glorio, and Shin explore the different levels of this reality, building a nice rapport in the process.

The new characters, for the most part, have also been welcomed by the fandom, with the likes of Glorio, Panzy, Dr. Arinsu, Neva, Majin Kuu, and Majin Duu being liked by the audience. There is no denying that Degesu and Gomah fail as villains since they lack that threatening aura, but the other additions were quite good.

Dragon Ball Daima also works quite well with the characterization of most of the classic cast, which Super was often criticized for. The battle sequences and hype moments, as was previously stated, also work extremely well, with the final episodes ranking among the best in the franchise's entire history.

Dragon Ball Daima: Cast and voice acting

Adult Super Saiyan 3 Goku powering up (Image via Toei Animation)

The voice acting of Dragon Ball Daima is quite interesting because it represents a balance between the older and newer generations of Japan in this area. Masako Nozawa continues her legendary career as Goku's voice actress, with her performance in the last few episodes worthy of all the praise in the world when considering she pulled this off at 88 years of age.

Koki Uchiyama, most commonly known for voicing Tomura Shigaraki in My Hero Academia, delivered Glorio's stoic and distant personality efficiently, while Fairouz Ai, one of the market's most popular at the moment, did a great job as Panzy. Both Yudai Mino and the legendary Ryō Horikawa did very well voicing Vegeta as a child and adult, respectively, and the same can be said of Showtaro Morikubo as Gomah, capturing his histrionics quite well.

Overall, Dragon Ball Daima does a great job when it comes to voice acting, which is highlighted by some smaller members of the cast, such as Tamagami Number Three being voiced by Kenta Miyake, the voice of All Might in My Hero Academia, and elevating his characterization.

Final thoughts

Dragon Ball Daima will always have a special place in people's hearts because it is the final story Akira Toriyama ever wrote. Therefore, it is difficult to analyze this series as a fan from a purely objective perspective. However, it is a series with some incredible moments, world-class animation, and also a story with pacing issues, unnecessary fluff, and possible continuity problems.

It captures several elements that have made Dragon Ball such a legendary series while presenting some of the problems that have plagued this franchise for years. Therefore, it presents some truly great stuff while also dealing with its own set of problems.

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Edited by Meenakshi Ajith