Dragon Ball Daima

Episode 11

Last week I mentioned that while I was still enjoying this show, I was worried about where it would go next, since it didn't seem like Majin Kuu had enough going for him to make for a long-term threat. The solution to this problem was much simpler than I thought it would be: If the first Majin Buu clone didn't work, why not make a second one? It's certainly not what I expected, but it's both a welcome twist and a hilarious one.

We get a reintroduction to Neva when Goku and the others run into him on the old Namekian planet. While Neva initially tries to present himself as senile, Piccolo manages to see through him and correctly deduces that he's the true mastermind behind all of them being turned into kids and uses King Gomah to help lure them to the Demon Realm. We also learn that he's likely far more powerful than Gomah himself, as Neva turns out to be behind the creation of both the Demon Realm Dragon Balls and the Tamagami that guard them but has chosen to avoid using his power for violent means (something which gets Piccolo the thousand-yard stare from everyone else when they recall his past atrocities). His exact motives remain a mystery, but in the meantime, he manages to convince the gang to let him tag along and I welcome his presence. While we haven't seen much of him up to now, what we have seen suggests that he'd probably make for a pretty good comedic addition to the group. Even though I'm not expecting to get anything as wild as him being the true antagonist of this series or anything, I like the idea of the group acquiring a second party member whose motives can't be completely trusted.

That brings us back to our new Majin, as after Kuu fails to impress, Dr. Arinsu and Marba decide to put a little more of Buu's essence into the brew. Rather than be terrified at the prospect of being replaced, Kuu is downright enthusiastic about his new brother, which helps to sell how weirdly delightful he is. While it was hard to tell whether Majin Duu here was gonna be meant to be taken seriously (well as seriously as he can be considering how goofy the name is), or simply serve as the setup for another punchline, it turns out the answer is here is both. On the surface, he doesn't seem too intimidating as he comes off as even more simple-minded than Fat Buu, and has an even bigger craving for chocolate. Still, when Dr. Arinsu decides to test him against one of the Tamagami, he fares much better than Kuu and manages to hold his own despite having no idea what he's doing here.

While most of the comedy in this episode comes from the villains, we get some pretty solid laughs from the gang when they finally make their way to the second Demon Realm Dragon Ball. This time, it's Vegeta who insists on fighting, but not before the Tamagami dismisses him as a child and tells him to go back home and suckle on his mommy's teats which might be the sickest burn anyone has given Vegeta across the entirety of Dragon Ball's existence. Unfortunately for Vegeta, the actual fight doesn't go much better for him. While he manages to hold his own against the Tamagami, he gets overpowered just long enough to get knocked into the ocean and potentially eaten by a kraken. It's the poorest showing our boy has gotten in a while and I'm sure some fans will cry foul about it, I think it's a nice change of pace. I feel like Vegeta as a character works best when he's being humbled. His being dunked on to this degree is probably one of the surest signs that Toriyama wasn't exaggerating about his level of involvement here. I do not doubt that Vegeta will find some way or another to save himself next week, but in the meantime, I'm more than happy to roll with the jokes here. As much as I'm enjoying the action in this show, it's nice to see how much it's leaning back into the comedic roots of the franchise.

Dragon Ball Daima is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.