Dragon Ball Daima Is Back in the Hot Seat
Dragon Ball Daima was supposed to be a massive celebration piece for one of anime’s most untouchable franchises. Instead, it has become one of those Dragon Ball entries that fans argue about non-stop — especially when the topic shifts to canon, pacing, and whether the story actually moves the franchise forward.
Now, Kazuhiko Torishima has added serious fuel to the debate.
Torishima is not just some random commentator. He was formerly Shonen Jump’s editor-in-chief and is famously tied to Dragon Ball as Akira Toriyama’s legendary former editor. So when he criticises a Dragon Ball project, fans listen — even if they do not agree with him.
According to attendees at Comicon Napoli, held at Mostra d’Oltremare earlier this month, Torishima reportedly went hard on Dragon Ball Daima during an interview. Fan translations shared online, including by X user @XMathemagician, claim he questioned how the series was approved at all, while describing it as slow, foolish, and a betrayal of what Dragon Ball should be.
Harsh? Definitely. But the reason this comment is spreading is because some fans have been feeling the same thing quietly.
The Big Problem: What Does Daima Actually Add?
Daima’s setup sends Goku and the gang on a Demon Realm adventure after they are turned into younger versions of themselves. On paper, that sounds like classic Dragon Ball: weird magic problem, new world, road-trip energy, and plenty of fights.
The issue is that the premise can feel more like an excuse than a necessary next chapter. Instead of pushing Dragon Ball’s lore forward in a clean way, Daima leans heavily on nostalgia and fan-service moments. The series gives Shin more focus and introduces the idea that people with pointed ears are connected to demons, which affects how viewers read older Dragon Ball lore.
That kind of retcon can be exciting if the story fully commits to it. But for critics, Daima does not always dig deep enough. It teases bigger implications, then often shifts back to spectacle.
And bro, Dragon Ball fans know spectacle. Transformations are basically the franchise’s national sport.
Vegeta SSJ3, Super Saiyan 4, and the Hype Trap
One of Daima’s biggest talking points has been its transformation reveals. Vegeta finally getting Super Saiyan 3 is the kind of thing fans have imagined for years. The design itself is cool, no doubt. But the criticism is that the story does not make the moment feel fully earned.
Then there is Super Saiyan 4, another massive surprise that immediately grabbed attention because of its history with Dragon Ball GT. For long-time fans in Malaysia and SEA who grew up catching Dragon Ball on TV, VCDs, Animax, or later through streaming and social media clips, SSJ4 carries a lot of nostalgia.
But nostalgia alone cannot carry a canon entry. That is where Torishima’s criticism lands hardest. If Daima exists mainly to deliver moments fans have been waiting decades to see, it risks feeling more like an anniversary toybox than a meaningful story.
Why Malaysian and SEA Fans Should Care
Dragon Ball is still huge in this region. Whether you are the type who buys figures, argues power-scaling on Facebook groups, watches clips on TikTok, or jumps into every new Dragon Ball game, Daima’s status matters because it affects how fans talk about the franchise going forward.
If Daima is treated as an important canon chapter, then its lore changes, character power levels, and transformation reveals become part of future debates. That means every new game, anime continuation, or merch line can potentially pull from it.
But if fans see it as mostly fan-service, then Daima becomes another “cool but messy” Dragon Ball entry — enjoyable in pieces, but not something everyone accepts as essential.
The series also has pacing complaints that hit modern anime viewers harder. SEA fans are spoiled now. We get seasonal anime discussions instantly, clips travel fast, and everyone is comparing weekly episodes against packed titles from Jujutsu Kaisen to One Piece. If an episode feels slow or padded, people will say it straight away.
Daima still has its defenders, and that is fair. The Demon Realm idea is fun, the visuals have strong moments, and seeing old fan dreams become animated is not nothing. But Torishima’s comments cut into the central question: did Dragon Ball Daima need to exist as a story, or was it built mainly to sell excitement?
For now, that debate is probably not ending anytime soon.
Source: ComicBook Anime