I’m a new Dragon Ball fan and Daima is the most fun I’ve had with the series since the end of Z

Dragon Ball Daima It was a refreshing view of Dragon ball franchise, and even with just a few episodes, I’m already having more fun with it since I first saw it Z‘to send. Daima managed to recapture something unique about Toriyama’s work, and that was quite apparent from the first episode.

Although I certainly considered myself a Dragon ball fan today, it wasn’t always like this. Unlike many Dragon ball Fans, I didn’t grow up with the series. I had friends who liked it, of course, and that way I got some exposure to the series, but my family didn’t have cable TV at the time. Dragon ball it was popular, so any hopes of being able to watch it were immediately dashed. When we finally got cable TV, Dragon ballThe peak of popularity had already passed, and the only series shown was GTwhich didn’t impress me much at the time. For a long time I thought Dragon ball It just wouldn’t be for me.

Dragon Ball Z Kai was my true introduction to the series

The full length of Dragon Ball scared me for a while

I knew that Dragon ball it was quite long and packed with content, making the idea of ​​watching it (especially before easy streaming) daunting. However, I was a regular viewer of Adult Swim’s anime block, and they started airing Dragon Ball Z Kaithe edited retelling of the series that removes a lot of filler, leaving only the content of the manga-canon. I ended up watching it week after week for years and finally got to experience what all my friends loved so much when we were younger. When Super was announced, I was thrilled to see more Dragon ball.

While Dragon Ball Super is great in many ways, there has always been something about it that just isn’t quite the same as Dragon Ball Z was. It’s hard to define what it is, but the emphasis on gods and the multiverse has given Dragon Ball Super a scale that was sometimes difficult to quantify, it was so large. I love characters like Beerus and Whis, but I must admit that their presence really evolved what Dragon ball and. Goku and Vegeta are operating at such absurd power levels that it can be difficult trying to keep up.

Eventually, during the pandemic, I went back and watched the entire original Dragon balland made a new observation of Dragon Ball Z Kaitrying to identify exactly what he did Z so special. I felt like I was finally understanding the series on the level of a longtime fan; After all, it’s been almost ten years since I first met Kai. When Daima was announced, I was initially a little hesitant, as many were, due to the presence of an aged Goku unpleasantly reminding me of GT. However, I knew better than to judge by that and decided to wait for the series premiere to decide for myself.

Dragon Ball Daima brings adventure back to the series

Daima revived an adventurous part of Dragon Ball that was sorely lacking

Daima begins with a review of the Buu Saga, with some colorful comments from the villains. Seeing classic scenes reanimated was amazing, and using this device of having the in-universe characters look back to the previous arc kept things interesting. Goku’s last victory was used to skillfully motivate this new villain, Gomah, in such a way that the plot of Daima is a direct consequence of defeating Buu. The story took its time getting to Goku and the others’ shrinking, and that helped signal how Daima would be getting closer to its plot.

Now, three episodes in DaimaI’m starting to understand what attracted me. Daima has a sense of adventure, requiring Goku to go to a foreign land (the Demon Realm) and fight enemies in their territory, rather than attacking Goku where he lives on Earth. In that regard, Daima it’s more similar to the Namek Saga, where Goku also found himself on an alien world full of enemies. Goku is on a mission once again, just like he used to be during the original Dragon balland he has the child’s body again to help drive this point home.

Super I never had that element of adventure. Although Goku and his friends visit many bizarre locations, they are usually escorted by Beerus and Whis, and there is no risk of enemies in these new locations. When there are enemies, like Goku Black, they usually come directly to Goku rather than Goku having to go out and track them down. Even the Dragon Balls themselves have become so routine that they are gathered off-screen quite frequently, and the focus is mainly on big battles like the Tournament of Power.

Daima does what Super does and more

Daima goes beyond super by reviving the franchise’s roots

One thing Super was definitely expanding the series’ story, and that’s been very true Daima so far too. Daima is set to explore the Demon Realm, an occasionally mentioned but never-before-seen corner of the universe, and has already revealed a lot about how this new world works. This improves the world of the series immensely and places Goku in an unknown realm that will force him to rely on abilities he hasn’t used in years. SuperGoku’s lore, on the other hand, revealed the nature of how the universe works, but didn’t have much of a direct impact on Goku or his journey.

Daima is expanding Dragon ballworld in a better way than Super making his new additions extremely relevant to the plot, forcing Goku to learn about this new world and put his knowledge into practice. This makes clear the adventure element that is embedded in this story and makes the revelations about the lore even more significant, as they directly impact Goku’s success. This goes back to the best days of Dragon ball and Dragon Ball Zensuring that Dragon Ball Daima is a worthy successor to what came before.