Dragon Ball DAIMA’s epic final battle between Demon King Gomah and Super Saiyan 4 Goku is one fans will never forget. The finale was a fitting farewell from Akira Toriyama as the last confirmed piece of Dragon Ball media he directly worked on before his death. Viewed on its own merits as a stand-alone story, Dragon Ball DAIMA’s series finale provided a fun and satisfactory ending to the story it set out to tell from Episode 1. As part of the larger Dragon Ball franchise, though, the anime makes zero sense.
Many fans have been forced to accept Dragon Ball DAIMA as part of a new multiverse consisting of three individual continuities by way of Dragon Ball Super, Dragon Ball GT, and now, Dragon Ball DAIMA. It’s a simple explanation that allows them to ignore the plethora of plot holes the anime introduces. That said, all hope isn’t lost for fans desiring a cohesive storyline between Dragon Ball DAIMA and Dragon Ball Super. Dragon Ball DAIMA could still make sense – the anime just needs a Season 2 to make the story work.
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Dragon Ball Super is The Last Canon Story Still Ongoing – & Dragon Ball DAIMA Doesn’t Fit
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The point has been made ad infinitum since Dragon Ball DAIMA‘s finale: the story does not fit into Dragon Ball Super. Dragon Ball Super was seemingly the only piece of Dragon Ball media extended the canon of Toriyama’s original Dragon Ball series; especially since Toriyama was heavily involved with its creation and storyline. Toriyama personally wrote the scripts to all the Dragon Ball Super films, and he worked closely with Toyotarou on the manga to ensure it followed his vision. Dragon Ball Super has been the closest thing to a direct Akira Toriyama-written continuation of Dragon Ball’s storyline, with a canon which – unlike Dragon Ball GT – couldn’t seriously be called into question.
With Dragon Ball DAIMA set before Dragon Ball Super, there’s no real reason Dragon Ball DAIMA couldn’t be canon to Dragon Ball Super. Other than Dragon Ball Super, Dragon Ball DAIMA is the Dragon Ball sequel Toriyama has worked most closely on, and is the single anime series he’s had the most involvement with. Despite all signs pointing to a series that follows a consistent continuity between Dragon Ball, Dragon Ball DAIMA, and Dragon Ball Super, DAIMA ended up separating itself in a number of ways. Dragon Ball DAIMA could have easily been the bridge that connected Super to Dragon Ball Z even more closely. Instead, it ended up making them seem even further from each other than ever before.
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Through a series of “retcons” and plot holes, Dragon Ball DAIMA removed Dragon Ball Super from its place as the definitive sequel to Dragon Ball, confirming there is no truly definitive sequel to Dragon Ball at all – just a number of stories that are in no way connected to each other. There are a few plot holes that confirm the fact Dragon Ball Super can’t be connected to Dragon Ball DAIMA – at least not in its present state. Many of them are more minor than others, but there is at least one that entirely explains away any hope of Dragon Ball DAIMA being connected to Dragon Ball Super.
Some of the lesser plot holes riddled throughout Dragon Ball DAIMA range from the fact that Kibito Kai never fused again at the end of the series to the the fact Vegeta could use Super Saiyan 3 in Dragon Ball DAIMA despite never using it in Dragon Ball Super. These minor plot holes paint a clear picture that Dragon Ball Super’s story was not taken into consideration in any way when Dragon Ball DAIMA was written. However, there’s one nail in the coffin that solidifies the fact that Dragon Ball DAIMA is an entirely different continuity to Dragon Ball Super: Super Saiyan 4 Goku.
The existence of Super Saiyan 3 Vegeta already raised questions as to how Dragon Ball DAIMA might be connected to Dragon Ball Super, but that was at least somewhat explicable. It’s possible Vegeta just didn’t want to use SSJ3, and never needed it again after becoming a Super Saiyan God. However, it’s far more difficult to hand-wave Super Saiyan 4 from Dragon Ball Super’s storyline. There were innumerable opportunities for Goku to use SSJ4 in Dragon Ball Super. At one point against Beerus, Goku even (now infamously) states that Super Saiyan 3 is his strongest form. It’s possible Toriyama simply forgot about this single line of dialogue, and that wouldn’t be off-brand for Dragon Ball’s creator at all. Still, as it stands, the absence of Super Saiyan 4 in Dragon Ball Super’s version of the story all-but-disproves its connection to Dragon Ball DAIMA.
Dragon Ball DAIMA Can Still Connect To Dragon Ball Super Through Season 2
There Are Still At Least Two Years Between The End of Dragon Ball DAIMA and the Start of Dragon Ball Super
Dragon Ball DAIMA had many chances to easily away why Goku didn’t turn Super Saiyan 4 in Dragon Ball Super, so the fact the anime never bothered to is questionable to say the least. Goku could’ve merely spoken a single line of dialogue that vaguely suggested he just didn’t feel like using it again, and fans would have embraced that explanation with open arms. Instead, the anime chose to go the route of using its final episode to confirm that not only could Goku turn Super Saiyan 4 at will whenever he wanted, it was already something he had been training to achieve before Dragon Ball DAIMA even began.
This just made the situation even more precarious for anyone hoping to see Dragon Ball DAIMA and Dragon Ball Super have a canonical connection that made a modicum of sense. Even as dire as the situation is, Dragon Ball DAIMA Season 2 could very easily make all the problems go away. It’s generally accepted that Dragon Ball Super’s introductory God of Destruction Beerus Saga takes place four years after the events of the Buu Saga. Since Dragon Ball DAIMA takes place one year after Buu, it leaves a lot of extra room to fill in the space between these two conflicts. There’s plenty that could happen in the interim between Dragon Ball DAIMA and Dragon Ball Super that could help the two series make sense with each other.
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Goku could discover that he has trouble using Super Saiyan 4 when outside the Demon Realm, an issue which could make facing the next villain slightly more difficult. Goku could even lose the ability to use SSJ4, perhaps trading some of his power to destroy the demon who created the Evil Third Eye to begin with. Perhaps Kibito and Shin might even be forced to fuse again in order to support this weakened Goku, further fixing yet another plot hole between the two series. These are just a few examples of the kinds of scenarios a second season of Dragon Ball DAIMA could employ in order to fix some of its inconsistencies with Dragon Ball Super. Of course, Dragon Ball Super could retroactively address the inconsistencies between itself and Dragon Ball DAIMA too.
A future arc could explore Zeno’s relationship with Super Majin Rymus, forcing Goku and his friends to return to the Demon Realm and recall their Dragon Ball DAIMA adventures. Dragon Ball DAIMA’s relative success in terms of quality makes it a likely candidate for a continuation of its story. With a second season, Dragon Ball DAIMA could fill the plot holes in Dragon Ball Super while potentially setting the stage for Dragon Ball Super’s later arcs, thereby bringing the series full circle in a more interesting way. This could naturally lead in to the return of the highly anticipated second part of the Dragon Ball Super anime, which has more than enough material completed in the manga to fill a second season rather easily.
Dragon Ball DAIMA Left Plenty of Plot Threads Open For a Future Story
There’s More Than Enough About The Demon Realm to Fill a Second Season or Film
Aside from its unanswered questions and apparent plot holes, Dragon Ball DAIMA’s ending – when viewed entirely in a vacuum – did provide a fairly satisfying conclusion to the series. Looking at it just in relation to DBZ, there weren’t any real plot threads left open-ended, as every character had a sufficient conclusion to their arcs. However, the anime did close out with an interesting cliffhanger that seemed to set itself up perfectly for a sequel. In the post-credits scene, Goku and his friends revisit the shop where they originally bought the Medi Bugs back in Episode 4. While there, they make a chilling discovery.
On an old dusty shelf tucked away where no one could see it was a jar containing two more Evil Third Eyes that the shopkeeper had for sale. Of course, these Tertian Oculi serve as a last-second shocking twist that’s at once both terrifying and humorous. But there could also be more to them than that. If this were really a plot thread the series cared to revisit, it would leave a whole plethora of story possibilities in the unanswered questions regarding the Oculus itself. Who did they belong to in the first place? What if they fell into someone else’s hands? An overpowered villain who creates the Eyes would be an interesting story to cover, especially since a relatively weak villain was already shown to easily keep up with the Z Fighters thanks solely to the power of the Third Eye alone.
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With another overpowered villain wielding the Third Eye even more successfully than Gomah, the series would likely need another warrior even more powerful than Super Saiyan 4 Goku to fight them. Luckily, Dragon Ball DAIMA provided the means to achieve even greater power by way of the Join Bugs. The Join Bugs were heavily theorized about by the fandom throughout Dragon Ball DAIMA’s run. Fans genuinely believed there would be a fusion to close of the series finale, to the point that even when Goku lost his bag of Medi Bugs, it only seemed to serve as confirmation that this plot thread was not forgotten.
Of course, the Join Bugs were never used, much to the ire of Vegito and Gogeta fans everywhere. Super Saiyan 4 Goku was more than enough excitement for the series finale anyway, but it raises the question of how they could one-up that with a Season 2. Join Bugs are the obvious answer. A brand-new Fusion character using the bugs could be an interesting idea to explore, especially considering the Join Bugs have features that are unique from any other fusion method in the series. Fusing Goku, Vegeta, Gohan, Goten and Trunks all into one fused fighter with the Join Bugs would definitely make for an exciting and shocking twist.
It’s clear there are plenty of ways Dragon Ball DAIMA could continue with a second season, even if it didn’t take Dragon Ball Super into account at all. If it did, though, there would be even greater possibilities. While Degesu and Gomah would be unlikely to return as villains since they’re sealed away, Gomah’s apparent connection to the Pride Troopers (by way of his identical attire) is another loose plot thread yet to be explored. Dragon Ball DAIMA has already set itself up for a second season in several ways, so it only makes sense to just continue the story and tie up any loose ends in the process.
Dragon Ball DAIMA Doesn’t Need to Make Sense, But It Would Be Better If It Did
Dragon Ball’s Canon Will Be a Complete Mess If Dragon Ball DAIMA Doesn’t Fit Into Dragon Ball Super
While it would be great to see Dragon Ball’s various series all be sufficiently interconnected in a way that was logical, that’s not what Akira Toriyama ever seemed to care about the most. Instead, Toriyama just enjoyed telling a good story, and letting it go wherever it ended up, no matter the inconsistencies that might crop up down the line. This led to some amazing results, as the story and characters evolved in unexpected ways in his manga. However, it has led to problems with newer anime series that were released following the end of DBZ, as the continuity of the series is constantly being called into question.
For many fans, this suggests that the franchise is just better off viewed as a multiverse of different potential endings to Dragon Ball, with none being more “canon” than any other. That’s definitely the most reasonable approach considering the franchise now has at least three separate anime continuities to pull from between Dragon Ball Super, Dragon Ball GT and Dragon Ball DAIMA. Neverthless, it does hurt the stories of each of these series when considered as a unit, because it makes Dragon Ball’s sequels feel much less like genuine continuations of Goku’s story and more like potential alternative possibilities for what could’ve happened to Goku and his friends at different points in the franchise. It doesn’t have to be that way, though.
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Dragon Ball DAIMA, Dragon Ball Super, and even Dragon Ball GT all take place at very different points in the Dragon Ball timeline, so if they were all devoid of plot holes, they could all easily be considered part of the same exact storyline from beginning to end. The series doesn’t have to make these stories fit together, but if it even just made the attempt, it would make the overall Dragon Ball Universe more cohesive, and the story of each series that much more satisfying to follow. A second season of Dragon Ball DAIMA could be exactly the push the franchise needs in the right direction to start making sense of the little details that matter to the fan base.
Ultimately, Dragon Ball fans will always show up to witness the most amazing fights and displays of strength in the anime medium, but there’s no denying that what really makes them stick around is the story and the characters. Dragon Ball’s story may have plot holes and inconsistencies and that’s okay. Plot holes and weird retcons have always been part of the series, even in Toriyama’s original manga, and fans never really expected a dramatic change to Toriyama’s writing style in Dragon Ball DAIMA to begin with. However, the inconsistencies between Dragon Ball DAIMA and Dragon Ball Super are too dramatic to ignore for anyone really expecting these two stories to intertwine in any cohesive way. The most logical way for the franchise to solve this debacle is to just continue Dragon Ball DAIMA for a second season that makes sense of its inconsistencies.
Dragon Ball DAIMA is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.
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Summary
Dragon Ball is the labor of writer/illustrator Akira Toriyama, beginning with Dragon Ball back in 1984. The series originally started as a serialized manga back in Weekly Shonen Jump for nearly a decade until it expanded into the anime franchises it is most known for today. Dragon Ball was later adapted into two animes, with one being Dragon Ball Z, the most universally known series in the entire Dragon Ball canon. The franchise has continued to expand lore via films, video games, and additional sequel TV series, such as the more recent Dragon Ball Super and Super Dragon Ball Heroes. Dragon Ball centers mostly around Son Goku, a being known as a Saiyan, and his friends as they face off against intergalactic threats and seek out the titular dragon balls. When all seven of these balls are collected, they can be used to summon a legendary dragon that can grant the wishes of whoever so gathers them. The Dragon Ball franchise continues to be one of the most well-known and beloved animes of all time, with over forty different countries airing it, and has had a tremendous impact on Western culture as a whole.
