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Warning: The following contains spoilers for Dragon Ball Daima, Episode 5, “Panzy”, now streaming onCrunchyroll.
Aside from the fact that Goku is young again,Dragon Ball Daimahas tons of similarities to the originalDragon Ballseries. From the colorful world and characters, to the pacing of the plot and the way it’s written, to the new characters being introduced, all of them feel like they’re paying homage to the series that started it all.
It’s very fitting thatDragon Ball Daima,Akira Toriyama’s final workin the franchise, is returning to its roots and feeling more like the originalDragon BallthanZandSuperever did. Even though the events inDaimahappen betweenZandSuper, it still feels like the series has gone full circle of the pacing and overall vibe.
The Adventure-Exploration Aspect of OG Dragon Ball Is Back
The Series Feels Less Serious and Way More Playful Again
Fans of the oldDragon Ballseries can immediately tell from the first few episodes thatDragon Ball Daimawill once again put an emphasis on the characters going on adventures and exploring thewild and wacky worlds Toriyama’s cooked up. Ironically, for the first time in a long time inDragon Ball, one of the main characters' main goals is actually finding the Dragon Balls. The last time finding the Dragon Balls was the main objective in a canonDragon Ballshow was during the Frieza Saga, which is crazy to think about.
One of the reasons the franchise deviated from storylines that revolve around exploration is because thecharacters have simply gotten too strongand fast. Almost every Z Fighter can fly at break-neck speeds and blow up planets with little effort. It would no longer make sense for them to go around exploring mountains, forests, and villages because nothing there would pose a threat to them. They could just fly to wherever they want, get what they want, then leave immediately. Goku learning Instant Transmission was just the final nail in the coffin that made exploration a thing of the past.
Dragon Ball Daimasolves the issue bymaking the Z Fighters weakerandadding some rules to the worldwhere the show will mostly take place, the Demon Realm. The biggest rule to have an effect so far is the heavy air in the Third Demon World, which makes flying inefficient as a form of transportation. Flying would make Goku and the others too exhausted and open to attack, which is why, for now, flying is reserved for fighting and crossing short distances in treacherous areas.Goku can still use Instant Transmissionas a kid, but his not knowing anyone’s ki in the Demon Realm means that it’s not quite as useful this time around.
New Characters with Roles/Personalities Resembling OG Dragon Ball Characters
King Gomah Is Basically Pilaf Reincarnate
Not only do they share the same trope of being evil short kings (literally), but some of the actions Gomah takes are also very reminiscent of Pilaf’s in both the original seriesand evenDragon Ball GT. He’s a silly-looking character who longs for world domination and uses the Dragon Balls to hopefully achieve it. Like Pilaf inGT, Gomah even turns Goku into a child, although the rest of the Z Fighters join him this time. Gomah even has two sidekicks, like Pilaf’s Shu and Mai, although Degesu and Arinsu don’t seem nearly as goofy.
Glorio Feels Like a More Serious Yamcha
Now, admittedly, out of all the characters on this list, this one might be a bit of a stretch. Yamcha was always shown to be a quirky character with a weakness for girls, which doesn’t really apply to Glorio. However, on the rare occasion that Yamcha shows his serious side, he gets that brooding, lone-wolf vibe that matches Glorio’s. In the beginning, Yamcha was also the “street-smart” character who knew the ins and outs of the world more than others, which is exactly Glorio’s role inDaima. Also, Glorio doesn’t have a cute little partner like Yamcha having Puar, but you can’t have them all.
Panzy Is essentially a Mix of Bulma and Chi-Chi
Panzy’s role inDaimais basically what Bulma’s role was in earlyDragon Ball. She’s a tomboy-ish mechanical whizz who joins Goku’s adventures. Like Bulma, she also often sermons Goku about his lack of hygiene and crude behavior. Panzy also has that classic Bulma self-indulgence, bringing along enough unnecessary luggage to crash their ship in episode 6, “Lightning”.
Unlike Bulma, but very much like Chi-Chi, Panzy can put up a fight. She has a stun gun and wasabi bombs to disorient enemies, and can even use a weak form of telekinesis through magic. Another similarity she has with Chi-Chi is that she’s the young daughter of royalty, with her father being the king of the Third Demon World, Kadan. And to that extent, Kadan is pretty much like the Ox King of the Demon Realm, even sporting the same build as him. He seems to play a more involved role inDragon Ball Daimathough, as he plans to end Gomah’s reign, which is why he assists Goku.
“I wanna see Gomah go down. Plus, I’m good with machines. I’ve got my secret weapons. And if this trash plane breaks, they’ll be in trouble.” - Panzy to Kadan
There’s another character that Panzy sort of pays homage to, and it’s not from the original series. Her role resembles that of Pan fromDragon Ball GTbecause, like Pan, Panzy is a young girl (at least she looks that way. Panzy’s actually 82, but that’s young for Majins apparently), who forces herself into the group. Pan in GT stows away on Goku and Trunks' ship, only revealing herself when they’ve already launched off.
Dragon Ball Daima is now available to stream onCrunchyrollandNetflix. The release date for Dragon Ball Daima, episode 7, is set to be Jul 27, 2025 at 10:00 AM PT.
