Dragon Ball Daima Basically Just Confirmed It's The Franchise's Version Of Star Wars With Mysterious New Character

Warning: Spoilers for Dragon Ball Daima Episode #3Dragon Ball Daima's arrival in the Demon Realm has given the show a distinctly different feel from pretty much every other Dragon Ball series that came before. In fact, the episode had a distinctly Star Wars-like feeling to it, thanks in part to its mysterious new main character, Glorio.

After a few episodes of warm-up, Dragon Ball Daima is ready to dive into the story proper with Goku setting foot in the Demon Realm for the first time. While some elements of the Demon Realm are vaguely familiar, it is, in reality, a truly alien sort of space, featuring bizarre elements like floating volcanoes and a massive pit which once allowed transfer between worlds. The Demon Realm is a truly new location unlike any that Goku and his friends have visited before, but it may feel a bit more familiar to viewers, as it echoes elements of a popular genre: the Space Western.

Dragon Ball Daima Embraces the Space Western's Tropes

The Demon Realm's Alien Environment Makes Goku a Fish Out of Water

While the Demon Realm might not literally be out in space, Goku, Glorio, and the Supreme Kai did have to travel through space to get there, and it is fundamentally an alien world to Goku. The episode borrowed many classic tropes from the Space Western genre--the Demon Realm's rocky, desert-like environment filled with floating islands certainly felt like a Western-style setting on another planet. The town that they land in has a distinctly Western feel to it, complete with a bar full of rough figures who are eager to pick a fight with anyone who seems like a stranger.

The bar itself certainly felt reminiscent of the famous Tattoine cantina scene from Star Wars, filled with strange figures, no two of whom look quite alike. Glorio, as the group's pilot as well as the most experienced of the bunch, works well as a sort of Han Solo stand-in; he's quite cagey about his work, much like Han, and quickly proves within the bar scene that he's not someone to be messed with. While Goku may have done the bulk of the fighting, Glorio's efforts made it clear that he's been in more than his fair share of scrapes and scuffles over the years.

Much like a young Luke, Goku is the eager young man who doesn't yet know his more experienced partner all that well. That would, fittingly, cast Supreme Kai in the role of Obi Wan--someone old and wise, who knows more about this world than he lets on, and who intends to guide the young Goku through his adventure.

Dragon Ball Daima's Genre Shift is a Breath of Fresh Air

This Change Gives a New Perspective on Dragon Ball

Borrowing tropes from the Space Western genre in general, and Star Wars in particular, seems to have really helped Daima to establish a unique identity very quickly. The classic Space Western tends to involve a lot of exploration and adventure, which Daima is chock-full of. Having an alien setting that's in some ways familiar and in others completely unknown is a trademark of the genre, and putting a character like Goku, especially a kid Goku, into this situation ensures that the wonder and awe of such a setting immediately comes across to the audience.

Goku becomes a viewpoint character for the audience, experiencing this world for the first time along with them. Even the use of a ship to travel around helps to reinforce the feeling of this being a Space Western, especially since travel by vehicle is so incredibly rare in Dragon Ball in general. This feeling is likely to only be enhanced as Goku and his group move between the three Demon Realm worlds, each of which seems to have its own unique attributes and, perhaps, even culture. Goku is likely to meet all manner of strange beings in his quest, just like the aliens in a Space Western.

Bringing in elements of a related genre is quite fitting, especially since Dragon Ball has plenty of sci-fi elements to it, dating back to the arrival of the Saiyans in Dragon Ball Z. It feels like a very natural sort of inclusion, and helps to further emphasize that Daima is all about adventure and not just action. Like Han, the mysteries of Glorio are likely to be unraveled as the story continues, explaining just why he is the way that he is. Dragon Ball Daima has embraced its new genre elements without hesitation, and that's led to it becoming a distinctive new series even just a few episodes in.

Dragon Ball DAIMA is the fifth overall series in the action-adventure anime franchise. It features most of the classic cast members as de-aged versions of themselves, including Goku, Vegeta, and Bulma. The series was announced at NYCC 2023, with creator Akira Toriyama returning to handle DAIMA's run.

Seasons 1

Writers Akira Toriyama