Although Dragon Ball Super is a popular continuation of Dragon Ball Z, it doesn’t quite reach the same quality. While enjoyable at times, Super often repeats the flaws of DBZ, like power levels that get ridiculously high, an endless stream of new transformations, and storylines focused on constant fighting rather than compelling stories or character growth. Dragon Ball DAIMA, however, showcases Akira Toriyama at his finest.
Akira Toriyama’s final project, Dragon Ball DAIMA, is a significant step forward for the Dragon Ball series. In just 20 episodes, it achieves more than Dragon Ball Super did across its 131 episodes and two films. Even when it’s not at its peak, Dragon Ball DAIMA shines with excellent direction, animation, and a compelling story that evokes the early days of Dragon Ball – a time when the series was innovative, thrilling, and wonderfully imaginative.
Akira Toriyama Personally Wrote Dragon Ball DAIMA Himself
While Akira Toriyama is listed as the story creator for the English version of Dragon Ball Super, he didn’t personally write the entire series. He did write the stories for the movies Battle of Gods, Resurrection F, Broly, and Super Hero. However, for the Universe 6 Tournament, Goku Black Saga, and Universe Survival Saga arcs, Toriyama only provided general outlines to Toyotarou and Toei Animation. In fact, Toyotarou wrote the Moro and Granolah arcs independently, with Toriyama offering guidance. Dragon Ball DAIMA is a completely different situation.
The team behind Dragon Ball DAIMA says Akira Toriyama personally wrote the story and all the dialogue for every episode. While this is hard to believe, especially after his passing on March 1, 2024, Dragon Ball DAIMA clearly reflects his unique style. It’s filled with the humor, unusual details, and imaginative fights that made the original Dragon Ball and early Dragon Ball Z so special. Unlike Dragon Ball Super, which Toriyama only broadly outlined, DAIMA feels like a true extension of his work – something we haven’t seen since his Dragon Ball Super movies.
Dragon Ball DAIMA is a Perfect Balance of Early Dragon Ball & DBZ
While Dragon Ball Super largely followed the path set by the latter half of Dragon Ball Z, Dragon Ball DAIMA takes a different approach. It successfully blends the charm of the original Dragon Ball with the strong storytelling, well-developed characters, and exciting action that defined the Saiyan and Frieza Sagas from Dragon Ball Z. Even the moments designed to please fans feel more meaningful in DAIMA, like Vegeta achieving Super Saiyan 3 without being shown and Akira Toriyama officially making Super Saiyan 4 Goku part of the story during the final fight. Plus, DAIMA is genuinely funny, using humor focused on the characters themselves – similar to Dr. Slump and the original Dragon Ball – which makes the jokes and characters more endearing to viewers.
Like the original Dragon Ball series evolved into DBZ, Dragon Ball DAIMA gradually shifts its focus toward more action. The first part of the series emphasizes adventure and world-building, introducing the Demon Realm and its characters – similar to the early Dragon Ball and Red Ribbon Army storylines. Then, the latter half delivers exciting, well-animated fight scenes that feel natural after the initial setup. This blend of adventure, action, and humor is a hallmark of Akira Toriyama’s work.
Dragon Ball DAIMA Animation & Art Direction Are 10/10
The early episodes of Dragon Ball Super had noticeable problems with animation and direction, mainly because the animators were rushed. The recent re-release starting with Dragon Ball Super: Beerus seems designed to both prepare for the Galactic Patrol Prisoner Saga and improve the overall viewing experience, ensuring new fans don’t have to sit through subpar animation before the Tournament of Power. Fortunately, Dragon Ball DAIMA doesn’t have these issues.
From the very first episode, Dragon Ball DAIMA boasts stunning animation and direction, with a cinematic quality that actually gets better as the series progresses. The fight scenes flow seamlessly, the characters are full of life, and the world of the Demon Realm looks like it came straight from Akira Toriyama’s sketches. Even the weaker episodes are visually impressive and compare favorably to the best moments in Dragon Ball Super.
Dragon Ball DAIMA is a stunning visual experience that truly honors the characters and story created by Akira Toriyama, doing a better job of capturing their essence than Dragon Ball Super did outside of its films.
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2026-02-09 02:35