Warning: Contains spoilers for Dragon Ball Daima episode #9.Dragon Ball Daima episode #8 revealed Arinsu’s plans to create her own Majin Buu, and episode #9 wasted no time following that up. With a fragment of the original Majin Buu mixed with a multitude of other ingredients, including, oddly enough, a Saibaman seed, Arinsu completed her own Majin named Majin Kuu and sent it off to get the Dragon Balls before Goku and his group could.
The birth of Arinsu’s personal Majin, Majin Kuu, is a major development, and there’s already a lot to be excited about. Dragon Ball Daima introducing a new version of Majin Buu is plenty exciting on its own, but just from what little has been shown of him, Dragon Ball Daima is making Majin Kuu different from Majin Buu in a very notable way, one that’s sure to do a lot to help him stand out in future appearances. It’s a perfect capitalization on the premise, and it continues to make Daima the most exciting Dragon Ball story in years.
Dragon Ball Daima's New Majin Is Already Majin Buu's Perfect Opposite
Why Majin Kuu Is Majin Buu's Perfect Foil
Majin Kuu only appeared for a single scene in Dragon Ball Daima episode #9, but the anime has already made a big statement about what to expect from him. When Arinsu ordered Majin Kuu to defeat Tamagami Number One and take his Dragon Ball, not only did Kuu give a verbal response, but he did so with intelligent language, both in the subtitles and the original Japanese. That means that Majin Kuu, unlike most forms of Majin Buu, is an intelligent villain in Dragon Ball, which immediately sets the characters apart, despite functionally being the same type of creature.
The specific wording Majin Kuu uses in response to Arinsu is very formal Japanese, hinting at his heightened intelligence.
Not only does Majin Kuu’s intelligence highlight how competent Arinsu is compared to Bibidi, but if Majin Kuu was the same mindless monster as Majin Buu, especially in his Kid Buu form, then his presence would feel like a retread of everything done with Majin Buu in the Buu saga, all of which would have done a disservice to the otherwise original flavor of the story. As such, Dragon Ball Daima depicting Majin Kuu as being more intelligent than Majin Buu does a lot to help keep the story fresh, and it will be great to watch that further develop.
Majin Kuu Is A Perfect Return To Classic Dragon Ball Villains
Majin Kuu being an intelligent villain is great to see, especially with how it relates to the Dragon Ball franchise, as a whole. Majin Buu was notoriously unintelligent in most of his forms, a stark contrast from most Dragon Ball villains who, while not usually geniuses, tended to have some level of seriousness and intelligence in their characterization. With this kind of writing, however, Dragon Ball Daima brings the series back to more classic villain writing with Majin Kuu’s characterization, and it’s great to see that, even with how much Daima presents itself as a sequel to the Buu saga.
That sort of writing works even better when contrasted with Daima’s other villain, Gomah. Gomah’s writing harkens back to the original Dragon Ball era where the villains, while competent, were more goofy than anything, and by having someone like him in the same story as someone like Majin Kuu, Dragon Ball Daima can show off the differing appeals of serious and silly villains by contrasting the writing of Majin Kuu and Gomah. It’s a practice that can make both characters look great, and hopefully, Dragon Ball Daima will see fit to capitalize on that.
Majin Kuu's Key Character Trait Could Make Him Daima's Greatest Villain
There’s much to like about Majin Kuu’s writing, especially when it comes to his power level. Super Buu was Majin Buu at his strongest not just because of his power, but because his growing intelligence let him use his powers more effectively than the other forms, save for Kid Buu, who balanced his lack of intelligence out with his chaotic nature. If Majin Kuu is another intelligent Majin, that means that Majin Kuu’s intelligence could make him a threat comparable to Super Buu, and that would do a great job of further highlighting how different he’ll be from Majin Buu.
Super Buu’s growing intelligence let him fight with more creativity than the vast majority of Dragon Ball villains, so if Majin Kuu is invoking Super Buu with his intelligence, then the fights with Majin Kuu could be filled with creative visuals and choreography from start to finish, something that, of course, is an issue with Dragon Ball that Daima has been making great strides in improving upon. Overall, Majin Kuu is sure to be a great addition to Dragon Ball, and whatever Dragon Ball Daima does with him is sure to be great to see.
Dragon Ball Daima releases new episodes Fridays on Crunchyroll.
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
English (US) ·