Wait, Dragon Ball Daima just told a joke about Dragonball’s evolution?

Warning: contains spoilers for episode 6 of Dragon Ball Daima.Dragon Ball Daima is the last installment of Dragon ball franchise, and is not without references to the works that came before it. Some references are very blatant, as the entire plot references Dragon Ball GTbut others are more subtle, like the way the montage of scenes from the Majin Buu saga in the first episode referenced a popular meme of Vegeta shaking his head.

Dragon Ball Daima had many references to the wider world Dragon ball franchise, and now, this may include, of all things, Dragonball Evolution. Dragonball Evolution was hated by Dragon ball fans around the world, and 15 years later, it is still considered one of the worst live-action anime adaptations of all time and one of the worst films, in general. Despite all this, Dragon Ball Daima episode #6 may have made a subtle reference to a Dragonball Evolution jokeand as strange as it is, if that was the intention then it works surprisingly well.

Dragon Ball Daima Evolution Reference Explained

In Dragon Ball Daima episode #6, after finding out that Goku had been wanted by the Gomah Gendarmerie and was being identified by his hair, Shin asked Goku to try tying his hair, but Goku said that his hair is too hard for that. This is important because Dragonball Evolution There was a running gag where Goku tried to comb his hair back, only for it to spontaneously spike up and shoot out all the gel he put in it, so with that in mind, Dragon Ball DaimaGoku’s joke about Goku’s abnormally spiky hair may be referring to Dragonball Evolution making a similar joke 15 years earlier.

Dragon Ball Daima Isn’t the First to Reference Evolution This Year (and Why It Matters)

Why Dragon Ball Keeps Referencing Its Worst Film

What it does Dragon Ball Daimaof Dragonball Evolution Even more surprising reference is that he wasn’t the first to make one in 2024. In the climactic fight between Goku and King Piccolo, King Piccolo said: “Human power has failed before, as it will fail again”, and this line is quoted in Dragon Ball: Spark! Zero when corrupted, Fused Zamasu uses his ultimate attack. The reference is purely because Zamasu’s voice actor James Marsters also played Piccolo, but regardless, Dragon Ball: Spark! Zeroof Dragonball Evolution reference shows that Dragon Ball Daima is not the only one Dragon ball property willing to reference Dragonball Evolution.

As for why these references are important, although Dragonball Evolution it’s unlikely it will ever be considered a good film, enough time has passed for people to say that at least some things worked, even if they were small, so the various references Dragon ball keep doing it for Dragonball Evolution can be seen as an acknowledgment that some things in the film worked. None of this does Dragonball Evolution less terrible, of course, but with this line of reasoning, Dragon Ball Daima It’s even more fun to make these kinds of jokes.

Dragon Ball Daima releases new episodes every Friday on Crunchyroll.