Dragon Ball Daima – Season 1 Episode 1 Recap & Review

Conspiracy

Episode 1 of Dragon Ball Daima begins with the narrator delving into detail about the Dragon Ball universe. He discusses the dragon balls, Goku, and the experiences Goku developed with his friends over time. Then, we cut away to two characters watching footage of Babidi and Dabura on a screen.

One of the characters is a Kai named Degesu and the other is a demon named Gomah. Degesu and Gomah zoom in on the footage. The footage features Goku, Shin, and their friends. Gomah asks Degesu if Shin is his older brother. Degesu doesn’t share kind words about Shin so Gomah forwards the footage. 

The footage features Majin Vegeta attacking Goku. Gomah can’t believe strong warriors exist in the “outside world.” The two discuss Goku and Vegeta’s powers and Gomah fast-forwards the footage. The footage then depicts Majin Buu’s (Buu’s) awakening. 

Eventually, Buu turns Dabura into a cookie and eats him. Gomah is speechless. Degesu tries calming Gomah down by telling him he’s the ruler of the Demon Realm. Gomah doesn’t care because he fears Babidi will force Buu to attack them next. 

He and Degesu continue observing the footage. The footage shows Majin Vegeta sacrificing himself to defeat Buu. Then, the footage features Buu surviving Majin Vegeta’s attack and our heroes using the Dragon Balls. Degesu writes down facts about Shenron. Meanwhile, Gomah fast-forwards the footage to gather intel about Buu. 

He and Degesu learn through the footage that Buu murdered Babidi. They forward the footage more. The footage features Super Buu fighting Gotenks. After that, we see Goku using his Spirit Bomb attack to defeat Kid Buu. The alien is shocked by these events. Degesu tells the alien he has no enemies left and is the new king of the Demon Realm. 

Degesu refers to the alien as King Gomah. Then, Dr. Arinsu enters Gomah’s throne room. Arinsu updates Gomah on her research and praises him for his new status. Arinsu hopes Gomah will continue to fund her research activities in Dabura’s steed. Additionally, Arinsu tells Gomah he should be concerned about Goku and his friends. 

Degesu argues the opposite. He feels Goku and his buddies won’t come to the Demon Realm. Arinsu departs. Gomah and Degesu discuss the former’s concerns about Goku and his allies. He argues they should use Earth’s Dragon Balls to make Goku and his friends younger. 

Arinsu returns briefly to praise Gomah for thinking of that idea. Gomah and Degesu discuss other plans. The former suggests wishing for the Evil Third Eye. Degesu refers to the Evil Third Eye as the Tertian Oculus. He says the oculus was lost to time during Dabura’s father’s (Abura’s) reign.

Gomah states that anyone who places the oculus on their forehead will obtain unbelievable power. Degesu wants Gomah to let him make the third wish. Gomah says he’ll think about it and suggests they focus their efforts on the upcoming coronation party. He wants to develop a good speech to impress the three Demon Worlds and the Majin.

Gomah tells Degesu he’ll have Neva (an old Namekian) tag along with him. As the two part ways, someone sneakily observes them from afar. Later, Degesu and Gomah wait for Neva to arrive. 

Neva arrives and enters Degesu and Gomah’s ship. The three plan to visit a younger Namekian for business purposes. Eventually, the three meet a talking grey fish. The three want to travel to Universe 7, particularly Earth, and the fish tells them Arinsu traveled there. 

After Degesu and Gomah discuss Arinsu’s activities, the two and Neva head to Universe 7. Meanwhile, Goku and the others are celebrating Trunk’s 9th birthday. Shin and Kibito are at the party too. Goku and Shin discuss Shin’s activities, the potaras, fusion’s mechanics, and other things. 

Goku tells Shin that Gohan is not at the party because he’s busy studying. After Goku and Vegeta eat, the two spar with each other. At the same time, Mr. Popo and Dende observe our heroes from the Lookout. Popo wants to attend the party, but Dende insists they remain on the Lookout. 

Then, Gomah, Degesu, and Neva arrive on the Lookout and greet Dende and Popo. Gomah demands Dende to bring the Dragon Balls here. Dende says he can’t fulfill that request. Gomah asks Neva to gather the Dragon Balls for him. He promises to extend Neva’s life for 1000 more years. 

Gomah tells Dende that Neva created the Demon Realm’s Dragon Balls. He says Neva created Tamagamis to protect the Dragon Balls, so no one in the Demon Realm got an opportunity to grant a wish. Neva checks Earth’s Dragon Balls and tells Gomah they’re still in stone form. 

Neva gathers the Dragon Balls and returns them to normal. Dende refuses to tell Gomah and his allies the password. Degesu says they know the password because they watched a video of him saying it. He knocks Dende out. Then, Degesu says the password, and Shenron appears. 

Gomah tells Shenron to turn everyone who fought Majin Buu and assisted in the fight with him into first-graders. As for the younger kids, Gomah suggests Shenron turn them into babies. The episode ends with Goku and his friends transforming into first-graders and babies. 


The Episode Review

Dragon Ball is back! However, it may not have returned in the way fans had expected. Regardless, many fans were looking forward to this anime considering it may be the final project Akira Toriyama got a chance to work on. This is due to his unfortunate passing that occurred earlier this year. 

Regardless, this was a fun set-up and recap-like episode of Dragon Ball Daima (Daima). It gives fans who may have fallen off with the series after Z a recap of its final saga, the Buu Saga. It also introduces fans to new characters like Gomah, Degesu, Arinsu, Neva, and others. 

Gomah evokes similar energy to the other tiny enemies Goku fought in the past like Emperor Pilaf. Hopefully, the series can find ways to make Gomah a significant threat as the ones Goku and allies fought before. Additionally, it’s interesting that this series is taking nods from Dragon Ball GT

Yet, this time, Bulma, Vegeta, and others will be kids while the others are babies. Seeing how our characters will go about their daily lives as toddlers will be interesting to some but slightly disappointing to others. Hopefully, Daima’s plot will lean toward the former spectrum. 

But all in all, this was an intriguing way to start this anime. I’m interested to see what happens next. 

 

Next Episode

Expect A Full Season Write-Up When This Season Concludes!
  • Episode Rating -
    (3.5)
3.5

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