# Dragon Ball DAIMA

Dragon Ball Daima (Japanese: ドラゴンボールDAIMA, Hepburn: Doragon Bōru Daima), stylized as Dragon Ball DAIMA, is a Japanese anime television series produced by Toei Animation. It is the sixth televised animated installment in the Dragon Ball media franchise, and the second and last to have been written by franchise creator Akira Toriyama, who died in March 2024. The series premiered on Fuji TV in October 2024.

## Cast

| Character | Japanese | English |
| Son Goku | Masako Nozawa | Stephanie Nadolny (mini), Sean Schemmel (adult, episode 1 only) |
| Kaioshin | Yumiko Kobayashi (mini) Shinichiro Ohta (adult, episode 1 only) | Nia Celeste (mini), Kent Williams (adult, episode 1 only) |
| Glorio (グロリオ) | Koki Uchiyama | Aaron Dismuke |
| Panzy (パンジ) | Fairouz Ai | |
| Gomah (ゴマー) | Showtaro Morikubo | Tom Laflin |
| Degesu (デゲス) | Junya Enoki | Landon McDonald |
| Dr. Arinsu (ドクター・アリンス) | Yoko Hikasa | Morgan Garrett |
| Vegeta | Ryō Horikawa (adult, episode 1 only) Yudai Mino (mini) | Paul Castro Jr. (mini), Christopher Sabat (adult, episode 1 only) |
| Piccolo | Tomohiro Yamaguchi | Nasim Benelkour (mini) |
| Bulma | Mai Nakahara (mini) Aya Hisakawa (adult, episode 1 only) | Taylor Murphy (mini), Monica Rial (adult, episode 1 only) |
| Krillin | Aki Kanada (mini) Mayumi Tanaka (adult, episode 1 only) | Lara Woodhull (mini), Sonny Strait (adult, episode 1 only) |
| Chi-Chi | Ai Kakuma | Brittany Lauda (mini) |
| Kame-Sennin | Nobuaki Kanemitsu | Jordan Dash Cruz (mini) |
| Trunks | Tsubasa Yonaga (mini) Takeshi Kusao (episode 1 only) | Celeste Perez (mini), Alexis Tipton (episode 1 only) |
| Son Goten | Masako Nozawa | Kara Edwards |
| Dende | Erina Goto (mini) Aya Hirano (episode 1 only) | Emi Lo (mini), Justin Cook (episode 1 only) |
| Mr. Satan | Toru Sakurai | Cory J. Phillips (mini) |
| Mr. Popo | Kimiko Saitō (mini) Yasuhiko Kawazu (episode 1 only) | Trisha Mellon (mini), Chris Cason (episode 1 only) |
| Kibito | Yusuke Handa (mini) Shin Aomori (episode 1 only) | Aaron Michael (mini), Chuck Huber (episode 1 only) |
| Majin Buu | Shiho Amuro (mini) Kōzō Shioya (episode 1 only) | Dusty Feeney (mini), Josh Martin (episode 1 only) |
| Yamcha | Ryōta Suzuki | |
| Neva (ネバ, Neba) | Hiroshi Naka | Garrett Schenck |
| Korin | Ken Uo | Christopher Sabat |

## Production

Toei Animation announced at their New York Comic Con panel on October 12, 2023, that a new anime titled Dragon Ball Daima would be released in fall 2024. Dragon Ball creator Akira Toriyama was said to be "deeply involved beyond his usual capacity" and is credited in the accompanying teaser trailer with the original work, story, and character designs. A press release also credited him with creating the designs for many of the vehicles, monsters, and background characters, and coining the title. Toriyama provided a message to the Comic Con panel explaining that although "DAIMA" is a made-up term, it is written in Japanese as "大魔". Akio Iyoku, executive producer of the Dragon Ball franchise, said that the series had been in the works for the last five years, but the title was decided less than a month ago. He would also later state that Toriyama "crafted the entire story", which Iyoku described as having a "strong sense of adventure and lots of action".
In November 2023, the January 2024 issue of V Jump announced the main staff members of Dragon Ball Daima and confirmed that Masako Nozawa would reprise her role as Goku. Yoshitaka Yashima (animation director of Dragon Ball Super) and Aya Komaki (director of One Piece) both serve as directors of the anime, while Yūko Kakihara (Urusei Yatsura) is credited with series composition and scenario. Katsuyoshi Nakatsuru, who previously worked on Dragon Ball, Dragon Ball Z, and Dragon Ball GT, adapted Toriyama's character designs for animation.
A second trailer focusing on Goku was released as part of the Dragon Ball Games Battle Hour event on January 28, 2024. Character illustrations that Toriyama created for the anime, including some new characters, were shown during a livestream of the event. Toriyama died on March 1, 2024. A week later, the message he sent to the 2024 Tokyo Anime Awards Festival in acceptance of their Lifetime Achievement Award was publicly displayed at the event. In it, he revealed that Dragon Ball Daima was originally planned to be an original anime series without his involvement, "but as I gave advice here and there, I ended up getting deeply involved with the project without realizing it."
A key visual featuring multiple characters with the tagline "Welcome to the Great Adventure!" and a third trailer were both released on July 19 and revealed that the show would debut that October. On September 2, Fuji TV announced the specific broadcast details, including the start date of October 10, and that all episodes of the show were completed. Two days later, a fourth trailer and a second key visual, featuring two more characters than the first visual and changing the tagline to "Welcome to the Demon Realm!", were released. The former revealed cast members Yumiko Kobayashi as Kaioshin, Koki Uchiyama as Glorio, and Fairouz Ai as Panzy, and also teased the show's theme song. The roles of Showtaro Morikubo as Gomah, Junya Enoki as Degesu, and Yoko Hikasa as Dr. Arinsu were announced by the franchise's official website on September 10. Daima is the first production not to feature Tōru Furuya as Yamcha, as it was announced that he would be replaced by Ryōta Suzuki on October 4.

### Music

The series opening theme is "Jaka Jaan" (ジャカ☆ジャ〜ン, Jaka Jān) by German record producer Zedd and Japanese vocal duo C&K. Zedd was offered the job of composing the song as he is an open fan of Dragon Ball, and the lyrics were written by Yukinojo Mori, who has written many songs for the franchise. Mori commented that although he was worried about writing for the franchise yet again, Toriyama gave fresh excitement by changing its direction from "battle" to "adventure". Keen of C&K is credited with co-composing the music. The ending theme is "Nakama" by Zedd featuring Japanese-American singer Ai. Zedd again composed the music, while Ai wrote the lyrics.

## Release

Dragon Ball Daima had its world premiere at Tokyo Big Sight on October 6, 2024, during the Dragon Ball Daimatsuri event, which commemorated the 40th anniversary of the original manga. The first episode was screened three times throughout the day, with cast members in attendance during the first two. The series began its television broadcast on Fuji TV on October 11, 2024, with the series airing on Fridays at 11:40 p.m. The first episode is ten minutes longer than normal.
Crunchyroll began streaming the series worldwide outside of East Asia, Europe and Middle East on October 11, 2024. Hulu also streamed it on the same day in the United States, while Netflix began streaming it in Asia on October 14, then globally on October 18. Toei Animation and Fathom Events screened the English dub of the first three episodes in United States theaters from November 10–12, 2024.

## Episodes

| No. | Title | Directed by | Storyboarded by | Animation directed by | Original air date |
| 1 | "Conspiracy" Transliteration: "Inbō" (Japanese: インボウ) | Aya Komaki | Yoshitaka Yashima | Takeo Ide Chikashi Kubota (chief) | October 11, 2024 (2024-10-11) |
| After the death of Dabura, Gomah becomes the new Supreme King of the Demon Realm. He and Degesu, Shin's younger brother, watch what transpired against Majin Buu. Dr. Arinsu, Shin and Degesu's sister, joins them to ask Gomah if he will give supplies for her research just like Dabura did and gives them the idea to use the Dragon Balls to make the warriors who fought against Majin Buu young in order for them to not pose any threat to the Demon Realm. Due to the Demon Realm's Dragon Balls being protected by robot creatures called Tamagami, Gomah, Degesu and Neva, creator of the Demon Realm's Dragon Balls, go to Kami's Lookout. When they leave the Demon Realm, they learn that Dr. Arinsu visited Earth at some point. On Kami's Lookout, Neva uses his power to collect Earth's Dragon Balls. Dende tries to stop them but is knocked unconscious by Degesu. Meanwhile, the Z-Warriors and their allies are celebrating Trunks' ninth birthday at Capsule Corporation. Degesu summons Shenron and Gomah wishes for the warriors who fought Majin Buu to be turned into children. ||||||
| 2 | "Glorio" Transliteration: "Gurorio" (Japanese: グロリオ) | Kazuya Karasawa | Yoshitaka Yashima | Naoko Yamaoka Yūya Takahashi (chief) | October 18, 2024 (2024-10-18) |
| The Z-Warriors and their allies are turned into children by Gomah's wish, while those who are already children are turned into infants. Gomah takes an infant Dende as a hostage and returns with his group to the Demon Realm. Sensing a disturbance on Kami's Lookout, Shin and Kibito teleport there with Goku and Piccolo and find Mr. Popo, who explains what happened. Since mortals usually cannot enter the Demon Realm, Shin locates his long lost ship that brought him to Earth prior to Majin Buu's awakening, though its abandonment has made it unusable. Promising to complete the ship within ten days, Vegeta and Bulma are brought to the Lookout to begin repairs. A few days later, another ship arrives from the Demon Realm, though its occupant, a demon named Glorio, desires to stop Gomah at his leader's behalf and asks Goku to help him. Having recently retrieved his Power Pole to fight since he is not used to his smaller body, Goku accepts and is joined by Shin, while Vegeta and the rest of the Z-Warriors are left to wait until Bulma's repairs are complete. ||||||
| 3 | "Daima" (Japanese: ダイマ) | Takao Kiriyama | Yoshitaka Yashima | Kozue Komatsu Miyako Tsuji (chief) | October 25, 2024 (2024-10-25) |
| Glorio, Shin, and Goku fly to a nearby planet called Batapi. There, they encounter a Warp Lord, a massive fish-like entity that acts as the portal between the Demon Realm and the known universes. Glorio enters the password to travel, though Shin is not able to relay it telepathically to Kibito before being teleported. The group appears at the access gate to the Demon Realm, which is split into three worlds, and enter into World 3. Glorio explains that travel between worlds is only done through the Warp Lords, and while he lives in World 3, he works in World 1 where Gomah's kingdom is located. After landing the ship on the surface, Goku and Shin find it similar to that of Earth, though the air is heavy with fumes spouted from the local volcanoes. The trio also find the area is very hostile, as both tribal inhabitants and the local townsfolk provoke attacks without warning. After dispatching a group of thugs at a restaurant in a nearby town, the group rests at an inn. The next morning, however, Glorio's ship has been stolen by the thugs. ||||||
| 4 | "Chatty" Transliteration: "Oshaberi" (Japanese: オシャベリ) | Kan Murakami | Yoshitaka Yashima | Yuuichi Hamano Naota Shintani (chief) | November 1, 2024 (2024-11-01) |
| Without a ship, Glorio, Shin, and Goku continue their journey on foot as the heavy atmosphere makes flying too strenuous. Their destination is the palace of the third Demon World King, who sent Glorio to Earth for Goku. Fighting off monsters along the way, the group stops at a medicinal tea shop to rest. While there, the group obtain medicine similar to Senzu Beans, an herb that causes users to undergo Fusion, and a rocket-like seed for long distance travel. After riding on the seed, the group lands only half a day from the palace. However, upon realizing that each world in the Demon Realm has a Dragon Ball that can be earned after defeating their guardian Tamagami warrior, Goku convinces Glorio to change course to the direction of the nearest Dragon Ball protector after reaching the Third World king's castle, which is back near where they started. Needing a break, the group finds a nearby town, where Gomah's minions harshly tax its citizens. Goku steps in to defeat the minions after a young demon girl initially disrupts the oppression, who inquires about Goku's intentions. ||||||
| 5 | "Panzy" Transliteration: "Panji" (Japanese: パンジ) | Yūichi Tsuzuki | Yoshitaka Yashima | Naoki Murakami & Koji Watanabe Yuya Takahashi (chief) | November 8, 2024 (2024-11-08) |
| The demon girl, who identifies herself as Panzy, follows the group as they continue their journey, still wondering about who they are and their intentions. A self-described inventor, she demonstrates her knowledge of the Third World by assisting in their directions, as well as showing off her abilities using Magic, something she says many Majin Demons possess. Meanwhile, Gomah plans to raise Dende so he can make new Dragon Balls for him. The group arrives at the palace, Kadan Castle, where Panzy is revealed to be its princess. Goku and Shin are introduced to the king, Panzy's father Kadan, and relay the situation regarding their youthful appearance, Dende's kidnapping, and the desired defeat of Gomah using the Demon Realm's three Dragon Balls. To demonstrate his strength, Goku defeats the warriors of the palace, earning Kadan's trust. As they prepare to depart, Kadan tasks one of his attendants to retrieve the remaining Z-Warriors from Earth. Boarding a ship, Panzy convinces her father to let her go too while Shin warns Goku that Glorio may be hiding his true intentions. Shortly after they take off, however, the ship engine sputters and they crash into the ground. ||||||
| 6 | "Lightning" Transliteration: "Inazuma" (Japanese: イナヅマ) | Gaku Yano | Gaku Yano | Takumi Yamamoto | November 15, 2024 (2024-11-15) |
| Panzy admits that the ship engine quit because her luggage exceeded the weight limit. As she repairs the engine, Goku ducks behind a bush to defecate. Bounty hunters hired by Gomah's men whom Goku beat up earlier come looking for him, but the others convince them that he is not there and they leave. The engine is repaired and they take off after leaving some of the luggage behind. Shin explains that Degasu and Dr. Arinsu are his siblings who stayed in the Demon Realm due to their ambitions. When they make camp and sleep, Glorio secretly contacts Dr. Arinsu, who he works for. A minotaur attacks the group intending to eat them. Goku and Glorio argue about who gets to fight it and decide to fight, ignoring the minotaur. Glorio is capable of matching Goku's strength and use magic to unleash electrical attacks. He ultimately surrenders, however, once Goku goes Super Saiyan. Frightened by Goku's power, the minotaur leaves. Meanwhile, Bulma finishes repairing Shin's ship. Vegeta, Piccolo, and Kibito attempt to go to the Demon Realm, but the ship powers down and crashes after only a few feet off the ground. ||||||
| 7 | "Collar" Transliteration: "Kubiwa" (Japanese: クビワ) | TBA | TBA | TBA | November 22, 2024 (2024-11-22) |