Dragon Ball Daima’s Fights Are a Huge Change for the Franchise, & I for One, Am Absolutely Loving It

Dragon Ball DAIMAis an intriguing addition to the anime conversation of the Fall 2024 season, thanks to its clear recognition of what made Akira Toriyama’s series great while introducing it to new worlds and even remixing familiar ideas. The series succeeds with a constant eye on what’s worked previously in the series while bringing radical twists to the lore and even exciting new visions for the series' combat. I enjoy whatDragon Ball DAIMAhas done with its fights, particularly because it recognizes what has worked but doesn’t settle for playing the hits.

Goku’s adventures in the Demon Realm inDragon Ball DAIMAwere bound to be a strange journey thanks toGomah’s wish to Shenron shrinking him and his friends, along with a host of mobility and physiological changes brought about by the transformation. They force Goku to fight with more limited abilities, reverting him to his skill set from the originalDragon Ball.Yet, he remains a Saiyan child with decades of training and combat muscle memory.This provides the recipe for especially fresh combat scenarios inDragon Ball DAIMA.

Dragon Ball DAIMA Goku using his Power Pole

Each New Episode of Dragon Ball DAIMA Showcases Varied & Dynamic Combat

One-on-One Fights Appear to Be Shelved for Now

Despite the first episode ofDragon Ball DAIMAintroducing a funsparring match between Goku and Vegeta, subsequent episodes featured widely varied combat scenarios for Goku and Glorio. Episode #3, the first proper fight, brings Goku, Shin, and Glorio to a seedy bar where they’re attacked for Goku’s non-demon heritage, at which pointa messy but exciting barfight breaks out, contrary to many of Toriyama’s outdoor-focused affairs.Episode #4 takes the fights outdoors when Goku rescues Panzy from being overwhelmed by Gomah’s lackeys in a cramped alleyway.

Entire portions ofDragon Ball DAIMA’sepisodes are dedicated to explaining the various nerfs to Goku’s powers, such as the heavier air restricting movement and flight, meaning he can’t fight the way he used to, even after just getting used to maneuvering his shorter limbs in episode #2.This pushes Goku to think on his feet and reassess his fighting IQ, using improvised weapons and the surrounding environmentin the bar fight. When he’s given more freedom to breathe in episode #4, he uses his Nyoibo with mesmerizing efficiency. It’s a strong reminder of Goku’s oldDragon Balldays.

Goku and Frieza from Dragon Ball

Beyond Goku’s fights, other characters like Glorio use a combination of close quarters combat and gunplay, while Panzy’s introduction includes Wasabi Bombs and tasers.

While Goku will inevitably regain his Super Saiyan form, unleash his Kamehameha, and likely use other tricks like the Instant Transmission,I enjoy him deploying even the more mundane tricks in his repertoire first.Dragon Ball DAIMAhas never had a static one-on-one fight where the animation devolves into rapid-fire fist exchanges or largely uninteresting battles like Gohan, Krillin, and Vegeta against Frieza’s henchmen. Of both actual fights thus far inDragon Ball DAIMAand even teases of Glorio’s marksmanship against bandits in episode #3, even nameless lackeys make exciting and worthwhile opponents for Goku.

Dragon Ball DAIMA Tamagamis guarding the Dragon Balls

Dragon Ball DAIMA Reaches Into OG Dragon Ball’s Bag of Tricks

Do I Spy a Nimbus Return?

I was pleased to see the return of a mix ofDragon Ball Zand originalDragon Ballconcepts, even with a peppering ofDragon Ball Superlore, showing how Goku would adjust to his child form.With a reduced power level anda regressed grasp on his flight abilities,Goku even brings back the Nyoibo to remove his range disadvantage, as seen in episode #2, which is used for Master Roshi’s clothes drying rack. This showsDragon Ball DAIMAtakes Goku’s limited abilities seriously while he makes a return to the basics.

It also means I can watch each episode with giddy anticipation for any other techniques that could return and other relics from the originalDragon Ball. As seen in the opening credits,viewers can easily spot an adult Goku riding his Flying Nimbusalongside the various Demon Realm planes of the series, a fun potential throwback and genuinely plausible remedy to the heavy air issue. Whether this is to be followed by more obscure relics like the Bansho Fan fromDragon Ballchapter #13, or the Bending Kamehameha from chapter #157 is anybody’s guess and a welcome possibility.

Varied Fights in Dragon Ball DAIMA Make Series Speculation Fun

Pre-Emptively Humoring Fan Theories with Each New Episode

I heavily enjoy speculating based on what’s already known and what could happen in manga and anime; I do it fairly often, such as forSaitama’s likely future fight with Godand the implications of a multiverse inBoruto. InDragon Ball DAIMA, with early glimpses of Goku and Vegeta regaining their Super Saiyan forms despite being still kids,Toei Animation did not make my job hard and, more importantly, made each Friday’s new release a highlight of the week. Seeing Goku and Glorio’s early fights is exhilarating, and I’m genuinely curious if Shin will throw down the gauntlet, too.

Seeing the series' fights take on a more physically involved approach teases how he’ll adjust and calibrate before taking on bigger enemies like the Tamagamis.

Akira Toriyama’sDragon Balltimeline is messy, butDAIMA’sposition gives away the easy answers anybody can guess, such as whether the good guys will win and if the Demon Realm poses a threat in the future. But seeing the series' fights take on a more physically involved approach, with Goku using the Nyoibo as a tool for maneuvering around his foes entirely,teases how he’ll adjust and calibrate before taking on bigger enemies like the Tamagamis. With Glorio knowingly being able to fly despite not understanding Ki,Dragon Ball DAIMAis a series that encourages fans to study it.

Dragon Ball DAIMA May Address My Gripe of Overstretched Fights

Five Minutes in Frieza Saga Time Is Three Hours

Being a child of the nineties brought up in shōnen manga likeDragon BallandNaruto,I can’t seem to avoid overly long fights, withDragon Ball Zbeing among the most groan-worthy offenders. I’ll never forget when Frieza said Goku had five minutes in their fight before Namek exploded, where some pretty serious anime time dilation occurred, dragging on for an additional eight episodes on top of an already padded-out fight.Dragon Ball DAIMAstill has plenty of episodes to make me eat the following words, but it looks like the new anime sidesteps these pacing issues.

After Frieza destroyed Namek’s core,Dragon Ball Zcarried on the fight between episodes #97 and #105.

But that’s not to say said long fights aren’t worthwhile;Gohan vs. Cell is a legendary longDBZfightdebuting his most iconic form, andNaruto’sacclaimed Sakura vs. Sasori fight, as I’ve warned my friend, drags a bit with eight episodes, as does Hiruzen vs. Orochimaru. That being said, being long isn’t what makes them better;their moments, consequences for the plot, and conclusions often bear the most weight,and lengthy monologues or talk no jutsu shouldn’t pad out the runtime. In the words of Saitama, “Keep it to twenty words or less!”

Daima Confirms One Big Reason the Demon Realm’s Dragon Balls Are Different From the Ones Fans Know

The Demon Realm Dragon Balls are different in several unexpected ways, with Dragon Ball DAIMA putting the series on an exciting trajectory.

So far, we haven’t had a huge sampling ofDragon Ball DAIMA’sfights, and the Tamagami fights or other battles in the series could revert to the issues throughout much of the franchise. Still, I find plenty to enjoy from Toriyama’s last original story whileSuperbuilds up to its inevitable continuation. But at least for now,Dragon Ball DAIMAand its approach to its fights have not yet overstayed their welcome.