Dragon Ball Daima

Episode 20

At last, we've finally come to the end of Dragon Ball Daima, and with it, the final work that the late Akira Toriyama ever contributed to. Even now that feels extremely sobering to think about, and I'm not really sure how to process it. The Dragon Ball franchise has been with me for basically as long as I can remember, and I likely wouldn't be here talking about anime in the first place if 5-year-old me didn't get up every morning to see if Goku would finally make it off of Namek. While the franchise makes far too much money to ever realistically allow this to be the last piece of Dragon Ball animation ever made, it's still surreal to think about what lies for the future of DB without its creator. However, for all that gloom lying overhead, I'm glad to say that this finale was more of a celebration than a final send-off, and felt like an accumulation of everything I've come to love about Dragon Ball.

There's been a lot of really spectacular fight scenes across recent Dragon Ball entries and Daima in particular has really pushed the envelope, but even so, it's hard to express how cool end of Super Sayain 4 Goku vs King Gomah was. It's a rip roaring spectacle of rapid fire punches, gigantic energy blasts, and explosive bursts of power, put together with some of the best battle animation I've ever seen out of this franchise and easily the biggest showstopper of any of its TV entries. That alone would have been enough to cement this as a winner, but it manages to go even further by filtering the back half of the fight to resemble something akin to a 4:3 aspect ratio and making visuals feel like something straight out of 1996. In nearly any other instance, a choice like this would feel jarring, but given everything surrounding this episode, it's about as beautiful of a love letter to the heyday of the franchise as it gets and really added to the presentation. On top of all that, seeing Goku rip out a Kamehameha so powerful that it broke every barrier separating the three Demon Worlds was one of the coolest things I've seen out of Dragon Ball in a long time, and by the time everything was said and done, I felt like I was transported straight back to my earliest days of watching Dragon Ball Z.

Given all that, I probably should have been upset when Gomah managed to power through Goku's attacks and healed himself, but it was completely worth it for what came next. After Piccolo fails to land the three hits on the back of the head needed to remove the Third Eye from Gomah, the day ends up being saved by none other than Majin Kuu, who manages to smack Gomah with the giant book he's been holding. Would it have been cooler seeing SSJ4 Goku eviscerate Gomah? Probably, but if there's one thing that can be counted on from Toriyama, it's subverting expectations with a good punchline, and this is as good as it gets. With how much Kuu been looked down on for his lack of (relative) strength, having him step up as the show's unlikely savior is both the funniest and most satisfying rug we could have gotten out of this, and I couldn't stop clapping the whole way through this twist.

Once Gomah is defeated, he's given the wacky punishment of being trapped inside a magic bottle for 100 years, but manages to get it reduced to 99 out of consideration for the fact that he didn't hurt Dende. He even gets to have Degesu for company, and some video games to pass the time during their imprisonment. It's a little strange to be sure, especially when compared to the fates of other major DB villains, but it does feel in line with the tone of this show and Toriyama's sense of humor. Plus if we're being honest, compared to the likes of Freeza or Cell, Gomah is practically a saint, so its hard to be mad about this outcome and I got a good laugh out of it.

With Gomah imprisoned, this now leaves the matter of who gets to take his place as the new Supreme Demon King. At first everyone agrees on Dr. Arinsu since when it's all said and done, she's not really that bad and she's shown she can be reasonable. Despite lining up with her goals though, Dr. Arinsu decides to turn down the position, as without the Dragon Balls to make her all-powerful, there's nothing stopping someone else from stealing her position. It's then that Neva suggests the role should go to the one that defeated Gomah and since Kuu was the one who actually landed the decisive blow, the role ends up going to him. Not only is this a great punchline, but it's an equally impressive long con. Kuu may not be much of a fighter but between his brains and willingness to be a team player, he's got all the qualities of a good ruler. He even elects Dr. Arinsu as his vice ruler along with offering cabinet positions to Glorio, Neva, Duu and King Kadan after taking notes of how their individual talents could be useful to the Demon Realm's prosperity. Of all the ways I could have seen this battle for the throne ending, this certainly wasn't one of them, but it was by far the funniest option we could have gotten, and given that Majin Kuu has easily been one of the best new additions to the cast, I'm more than happy to see him recognized as the king that he is.

Had that been the show's final punchline, I would have been more than happy to call this finale perfect, but somehow it manages to save its best ones for last. Firstly we've got the revelation that rather than it strictly being something gifted to him by Neva, Goku could in fact use Super Sayain 4 all along, as he'd been training off screen after defeating Buu. When Vegeta rightly points out how ridiculous that is, Goku responds by pointing out that no one had ever seen Vegeta using Super Sayain 3 before this adventure either, and the only comeback Vegeta can muster is that it's actually ”brand new” transformation called Ultra Vegeta 1, and he definitely didn't do it just trying to copy Goku. I don't imagine that handwaving things like this will satisfy folks looking for consistency in the franchise's continuity, but I honestly found it pretty hilarious. It's probably the most Toriyama-like answer we could have gotten about this subject, and in its own way it works as a final reminder to take all the stuff with power levels and transformations but only so seriously.

…Or at least it would be if not for what happens when Goku and the others decide to pay a visit to the shop where he bought his healing bugs. While they're rustling through the inventory, they find an old jar containing inventory that the shop owners never got around to selling. What does it contain you may ask? A pair of Third Eyes. As it turns out the Third Eye was part of a set that originated from this shop, and one of the previous Demon Kings happened to buy it ages ago. Having objects that powerful just being gifted out is the most insane punchline imaginable for a franchise with power scaling as ridiculous as Dragon Ball's, and having them be offered to Goku and the others at a discount right as the episode ends is the real icing on the cake. This is hands down the funniest possible way this show could have ended, and while I was looking forward to seeing this show end on some kind of heartwarming tribute to Toriyama's legacy, ending on a big gag feels just as, if not more, appropriate.

After having the show end on that big a laugh, I can definitively say that I had an excellent time with it. I really appreciated this show's attempts at recapturing the spirit of the earliest days of Dragon Ball, and while I certainly have my nitpicks about parts of its plot or how it handled the new characters, there was so much charm behind it that even at its worst, it was hard not to find something to like about it. Between the great action and incredible humor this really was the most fun I'd had with the Dragon Ball franchise in a long time, and it's been a great reminder of why it's stuck with me even into adulthood. While it's certainly not a perfect show, if Dragon Ball Daima truly is the last piece of Akira Toriyama's legacy to be brought into the world, I'm more than happy with the result.

Thank you, Toriyama-sensei.

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Dragon Ball Daima is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.