Dragon Ball Daima Is Already Fixing GT's Weirdest Story Arc

Warning: Contains spoilers for Dragon Ball Daima episode #3.From the moment Dragon Ball Daima was first announced, the series has drawn rampant comparisons to Dragon Ball GT. Both stories are centered around Goku going on an adventure after being turned into a child by the Dragon Balls, and while Daima leans more toward fantasy as opposed to GT leaning toward sci-fi, the similarities are impossible to ignore.

The similarities between Daima and GT only became more apparent after Daima’s premiere. Not only does Gomah, the one who turned Goku into a child, greatly parallel Pilaf in terms of personality and motive, but Daima’s first story arc has Goku enter a setting that has a notable parallel to the setting of GT’s first story arc. At least from the first episode, though, Dragon Ball Daima is set to have a much better take on one of Dragon Ball GT ’s weirdest story arcs, and it will be great to see how that ultimately plays out.

Dragon Ball Daima Is Referencing GT's First Arc Heavily

A Stolen Spaceship and Social Tensions Appear in Both Stories

In Dragon Ball GT’s first story arc, Goku, Pan, and Trunks landed on planet Imecka, a world overrun with crime and poverty due to the high taxes imposed by the tyrannical Don Kee. Goku’s group fell victim to the situation when their spaceship is stolen, and in their quest to retrieve it and continue their quest for the Black Star Dragon Balls, they ultimately ended up forcing Don Kee to give up his selfish ways and make Imecka a better place to live for all.

By comparison, in Dragon Ball Daima, when Goku, Shin, and Glorio first arrive in the Demon World, they’re forced to start their journey in the Third Demon World, an area of the Demon World explicitly noted to be for the lower class. Dragon Ball Daima episode #3 then spent most of its runtime emphasizing how bad the current state of affairs in the Third Demon World was, and the trio even had their spaceship stolen, creating another parallel with Dragon Ball GT’s first arc.

Dragon Ball Daima Is Handling Themes of Poverty and Class Better Than GT

Dragon Ball GT’s first string of episodes is generally held in low regard, and the first arc on planet Imecka is no exception. Because of how episodic the first half of the Baby saga is, none of the themes of poverty and class differences mattered in the long run due to the story needing to move on to something else, so any semblance of thematic writing there ends up feeling moot. Add in GT’s typical problems with poor pacing and general writing, and Dragon Ball GT ’s first story ultimately fails to add anything to the overarching story.

By comparison, Dragon Ball Daima’s handling of things is already shaping up to be much better. Right after the basic structure of the Demon World is established, Daima also establishes that Dragon Ball Daima's Glorio is antagonistic toward Shin due to Shin being a Glind, an upper-class race of demons ignorant of the struggles of the lower class. That’s not something that can be resolved in a single episode, so Dragon Ball Daima ’s story about poverty and class differences is something that will personally affect the characters as opposed to being a one-off story that won’t matter in the long run.

The structure of Dragon Ball Daima also gives credence to a stronger focus on themes of poverty and class differences. Unlike GT, Dragon Ball Daima is set to have a linear narrative from the very start, so if every episode is meant to contribute to the overarching narrative, then Dragon Ball Daima ’s themes of poverty and class differences will likely be a recurring part of the narrative. Seeing that receive more focus will do a lot to further separate Dragon Ball Daima from Dragon Ball GT, and overall, it’s sure to add a lot to the franchise, as a whole.

While the elements of poverty and class differences Dragon Ball Daima introduced with the Third Demon World are bound to be a persistent plot point, especially with Glorio’s arc and his dynamic with Shin, a big part of Daima’s appeal is that it’s a return to the aesthetic of the original Dragon Ball i.e. when the series was largely just a goofy adventure story. As such, the nature of Dragon Ball Daima ’s story might prevent any themes of social commentary from getting too developed, which might lessen their overall impact, as well.

Dragon Ball has always been a series that excels in how well it delivers on the basic tenets of anime action and writing, so while having more serious subject matter will certainly enhance its storytelling, Dragon Ball Daima won’t necessarily be worse off for not making social commentary a major part of its story. Of course, it’s hard to judge anything after a single episode, so with any luck, it won’t be long before Dragon Ball Daima makes it clear just how far it will go with its take on Dragon Ball GT’s first arc.

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