Dragon Ball Daima: Episode 13 - Official Discussion Thread

[tinlunlau]

Episode came to crunchyroll delayed so ended up watching it on Viu TV via VPN. Not so much commercial breaks this time (thank God!). But I thought this episode was pretty bland. Just glad we're back with a new episode.

[IntangibleFancy]

I was really disappointed here. I felt like this episode would have been better early on before they started getting closer to the ending. Plus, I think the fact that we just came back from a break to what was mostly a filler episode also doesn’t sit right.


I’m not here just for the fighting, but I was kind of looking forward to it, given how good One Piece has looked, but I’m getting the feeling we won’t be seeing another episode 8 until close to the end which is unfortunate.

[Chuquita]

It does feel out of order coming off of ssj3 Vegeta, but if I try to spin why this almost-filler episode is placed here in the most optimistic way I can-- maybe it's a "calm before the storm" situation where next week's episode will be heavy on moving the plot forward and kickstart the third/final act of Daima?

Something like that happened in GT; this takes a lot from that.

Edit: Just watched Ajay's video on ep 13; mentions https://dbgbh.bn-ent.net/title/daima/#Stage at the end. Battle hour is showing ep 15 two days after 14 airs... something big happens in 15?

[sangofe]

Fantastic looking episode. Original ideas, and a great world. Right into my top 3 favorite episodes. A great episode after the disappointing last episode.

[AliTheZombie13]

For all the GT comparisons, the GT episode in question felt more watchable than this.
It's not like the gang in GT just collected all the Dragon Balls and Baby conquered all of Earth only for the show to throw in a completely random episode about giants. It was placed at the beginning, where it should've been placed, where the stakes were still low and we were still learning about the characters.

On top of that, the episode in GT felt more plot-progressive than this. They collected a Dragon Ball, they started budding with Giru and named him. Sure, it wasn't a lot, but a little is better than nothing. Here... There was nothing. The stakes (apparently) just rose immensely and the show threw me a pointless, unrelated kindergarten-level adventure story.

"But it's a breather after the Vegeta fight bla bla bla."
Be real, this entire show was composed of nothing but breathers up until now.
There were absolutely no stakes in any of the previous episodes.

[goku the krump dancer]

This cool down episode would feel less offensive if we didn’t take a break last week.

[Zekken]

I’m not here just for the fighting, but I was kind of looking forward to it, given how good One Piece has looked, but I’m getting the feeling we won’t be seeing another episode 8 until close to the end which is unfortunate.

Sadly I think One Piece is a way more prioritized show over Daima which started out as a direct-to-streaming spin off. Think we would have to wait for the return of Super to see anything in that realm of consistent production quality for a TV anime

[JulieYBM]

I’m not here just for the fighting, but I was kind of looking forward to it, given how good One Piece has looked, but I’m getting the feeling we won’t be seeing another episode 8 until close to the end which is unfortunate.

Sadly I think One Piece is a way more prioritized show over Daima which started out as a direct-to-streaming spin off. Think we would have to wait for the return of Super to see anything in that realm of consistent production quality for a TV anime

Dragon Ball Daima's aesthetic is an intentional one, so even if they had more animators to work with the series would still have the same lack of intensity that One Piece has had since Episode #892.

[Zekken]

I’m not here just for the fighting, but I was kind of looking forward to it, given how good One Piece has looked, but I’m getting the feeling we won’t be seeing another episode 8 until close to the end which is unfortunate.

Sadly I think One Piece is a way more prioritized show over Daima which started out as a direct-to-streaming spin off. Think we would have to wait for the return of Super to see anything in that realm of consistent production quality for a TV anime

Dragon Ball Daima's aesthetic is an intentional one, so even if they had more animators to work with the series would still have the same lack of intensity that One Piece has had since Episode #892.

Hmm not sure what you mean by intensity per se, but just on the notion of composition, storyboarding and direction I would say Daima is a ways of One Piece's highs in Wano and Egghead arcs. And that is a staffing issue, Nagamine, Ishitani and Nakamura were regulars on DBS but not present here, I think that says something of how Toei viewed this show form the inception.

If by intensity you meant the fastidiousness to the character designs overall I do see your point but even then One Piece has been way more flexible when big name animators do their scenes. In Daima We have seen them break for Shida(appeared once) and some others i guess but not to the level I would have hoped for. At least not yet, we haven't reached the climax yet so I wont judge too much

[JulieYBM]

Sadly I think One Piece is a way more prioritized show over Daima which started out as a direct-to-streaming spin off. Think we would have to wait for the return of Super to see anything in that realm of consistent production quality for a TV anime

Dragon Ball Daima's aesthetic is an intentional one, so even if they had more animators to work with the series would still have the same lack of intensity that One Piece has had since Episode #892.

Hmm not sure what you mean by intensity per se, but just on the notion of composition, storyboarding and direction I would say Daima is a ways of One Piece's highs in Wano and Egghead arcs. And that is a staffing issue, Nagamine, Ishitani and Nakamura were regulars on DBS but not present here, I think that says something of how Toei viewed this show form the inception.

If by intensity you meant the fastidiousness to the character designs overall I do see your point but even then One Piece has been way more flexible when big name animators do their scenes. In Daima We have seen them break for Shida(appeared once) and some others i guess but not to the level I would have hoped for. At least not yet, we haven't reached the climax yet so I wont judge too much

By intensity, I mean the layouts, timing, and line distortions and other animation techniques used. You're not going to see the characters turn into really notceable line distortions and smears in Dragon Ball Daima like you will in One Piece. Dragon Ball Daima isn't going to have much in the way of webgen or kagenashi drawings, either (which is a shame, because Nakatsuru's designs look amazing when drawn without shadows, as evidence by the old Digimon films).

[YamiGoku]

I dont know much about animation just the bottom of the barrel basics, but, with all the time they took making this series, this is the best they have? I've seen regular seasonal anime put amazing actions piece episode after episode, and this is the best Toei can do for a DB series with years of work? yeah it looks pretty but idk, it feels almost like they were on a budget, like they couldn't afford to do nothing too impressive aside from maybe the last fight/s of the show.

[Zekken]

Dragon Ball Daima's aesthetic is an intentional one, so even if they had more animators to work with the series would still have the same lack of intensity that One Piece has had since Episode #892.

Hmm not sure what you mean by intensity per se, but just on the notion of composition, storyboarding and direction I would say Daima is a ways of One Piece's highs in Wano and Egghead arcs. And that is a staffing issue, Nagamine, Ishitani and Nakamura were regulars on DBS but not present here, I think that says something of how Toei viewed this show form the inception.

If by intensity you meant the fastidiousness to the character designs overall I do see your point but even then One Piece has been way more flexible when big name animators do their scenes. In Daima We have seen them break for Shida(appeared once) and some others i guess but not to the level I would have hoped for. At least not yet, we haven't reached the climax yet so I wont judge too much

By intensity, I mean the layouts, timing, and line distortions and other animation techniques used. You're not going to see the characters turn into really notceable line distortions and smears in Dragon Ball Daima like you will in One Piece. Dragon Ball Daima isn't going to have much in the way of webgen or kagenashi drawings, either (which is a shame, because Nakatsuru's designs look amazing when drawn without shadows, as evidence by the old Digimon films).

Oh ok now i get it. Yeah I agree, cant remember a single time we have ever had kagenashi in dragon ball would be nice to see. At least heres hoping we get more Aya Komaki episodes, everything she touches ends up so beautiful.

[Vegard Aune]

I dont know much about animation just the bottom of the barrel basics, but, with all the time they took making this series, this is the best they have? I've seen regular seasonal anime put amazing actions piece episode after episode, and this is the best Toei can do for a DB series with years of work? yeah it looks pretty but idk, it feels almost like they were on a budget, like they couldn't afford to do nothing too impressive aside from maybe the last fight/s of the show.

The show is highly polished and has at least one or two highlights in basically every episode. I think the main reason why it isn't wowing you as much as you might have hoped is just that... the script and the storyboard and all that don't do much that lends itself to super impressive sequences. So outside of the occasional fight scene which all look decent to phenomenal, what you have is mostly just fairly flat scenes with impeccably on-model drawings.

This episode was probably the most consistently visually impressive one since Goku VS Tamagami 3 though. Lots of great scenery shots, lots of nice sequences that take advantage of the size difference between Goku and pals and the giant, and a pretty cool action setpiece at the end too. Even if, yeah, it does suffer from the common writing pitfall of characters just not using abilities we know they have, and also the fact that these random giants are apparently stronger and more dangerous than the Tamagami...

[Mister_Popo]

Dragon Ball Daima positions itself as a tribute to 40 years of Dragon Ball, but this ambitious goal highlights the challenges of balancing nostalgia with innovation. While it aspires to tell an adventurous story, it struggles to maintain a consistent tone and identity.

One standout example of Daima's potential can be found in this episode set on the planet of giants. The dynamic animations and creative use of perspective brilliantly convey the size difference between the giants and Goku and his companions. Moments like these showcase the series at its best: adventurous, visually captivating, and distinct from the large-scale power battles that Dragon Ball Super is known for.

However, these flashes of brilliance are fleeting. The Demon Realm, initially teased as a bizarre and otherworldly setting, turns out to resemble a prehistoric or medieval Earth rather than a truly unique world. Daima hesitates to fully commit to its adventurous premise, instead attempting to juggle Dragon Ball original series adventures, epic DBZ-like battles, and lore connections to Supers divine realm.
This blend could work, but only with a strong narrative thread to tie the elements together. Unfortunately, this cohesion is missing. Daima feels like a series trying to be something different every week, without developing a clear and recognizable identity of its own.

Daima shows glimpses of greatness, especially in its visual execution. At the same time, it hesitates to tell its own story. While it is enjoyable at times, it remains a series searching for itself.

[kemuri07]

I’m not here just for the fighting, but I was kind of looking forward to it, given how good One Piece has looked, but I’m getting the feeling we won’t be seeing another episode 8 until close to the end which is unfortunate.

Sadly I think One Piece is a way more prioritized show over Daima which started out as a direct-to-streaming spin off. Think we would have to wait for the return of Super to see anything in that realm of consistent production quality for a TV anime

Dragon Ball Daima's aesthetic is an intentional one, so even if they had more animators to work with the series would still have the same lack of intensity that One Piece has had since Episode #892.

Pretty much this. Daima is a self-contained spinoff of Dragon Ball, One Piece is currently 1000s of episodes in a 30 year old story line that is currently in one of its more emotionally high stakes story arcs to date. They are not the same. I guess for me, we're 13 episodes into a presumably 20 episode anime, so I've been able to figure out my expectations for what kind of show Daima. I am not expecting Daima to suddenly become THE GREATEST ANIME OF ALL TIME like some of you seem to be. Like I've said before, What you see is what you get and knowing that, I've been enjoying Daima.

Though funny enough, I actually did not like this episode. I think the world building and designs are great, and I loved that bit at the end of the episode, but the actual conflict didn't do much for me. For me, probably the only miss of the entire show so far.

[Mr Baggins]

I am not expecting Daima to suddenly become THE GREATEST ANIME OF ALL TIME like some of you seem to be.

Though we are in broad agreement, I'll depart with the implication of this statement somewhat to say that some of the best shows of all time (including action shows) are laid back. Some of the best shows are ones where the stakes are nothing, or said stakes don't truly manifest themselves until the end. It all depends on whatever the story is selling thematically.

I'd say the biggest divisive element of this episode is that it just doesn't do as much with the cast or their dynamic compared to prior weeks. To draw another Watanabe comparison, it's like the fridge alien episode from Cowboy Bebop, or the zombie episode from Samurai Champloo. It's one of those weird one-offs that's so indulgent in creating its own fun that it doesn't even attempt to tie into the larger narrative, which is obviously what I meant when I called it a filler or breather. I think it's charming for what it is, and certainly leagues more engaging than GT's equivalent, but it's ultimately optional snack break content.

Even the Warp-sama deactivation stuff is almost guaranteed to be mentioned again next episode, so you can skip this one altogether and probably miss nothing. The caveat, of course, is that this all assumes Bulma and Panzy's bonding moment or Majilite doesn't have an impact on the story later on.

[AliTheZombie13]

I guess for me, we're 13 episodes into a presumably 20 episode anime, so I've been able to figure out my expectations for what kind of show Daima. I am not expecting Daima to suddenly become THE GREATEST ANIME OF ALL TIME like some of you seem to be. Like I've said before, What you see is what you get and knowing that, I've been enjoying Daima.

I'm happy for you, will always be happy that something brings joy to the misery of life.
But for me, I'm also not expecting Daima to be great. Hell, I'm able to put up with anime most people consider garbage, like GT, Yashahime and Kimba The White Lion.

I'm expecting it to be minimally interesting or fun to watch, and it's been failing on that front ever since the Minotaur episode. Probably will fail on the early episodes as well once I start rewatching and retroactively realize that all of that build-up at the beginning with them becoming most wanted, Panzy wanting to become the hero of the oppressed, the life-sucking device, the limitations imposed on the main characters, etc, all go nowhere significant.

Another thing to point out here, because it keeps being brought up every single time someone dares to criticize Daima's lack of content: It being episodic absolutely does not excuse it being this boring and uninspired. Guess what? Kimba the White Lion, Cardcaptor Sakura, Super Sentai, Sailor Moon, and a million other shows I can mention are also episodic, and I love them all. But Daima is not Kimba the White Lion or Sailor Moon, it's got nowhere near the same level of comedy, character building, personality or social commentary. It can look pretty and well-animated all it wants, it still bores the hell out of me.

[Chuquita]

Original Sailor Moon did have fun filler content, I agree.

I would've enjoyed this episode more if Daima were a 52 episode series and not a 20 episode one. At this point I know what to expect and while Daima is not what I wanted after the weekly show hiatus, I figure we'll be back in the desert of no new animated content by March so I'll enjoy whatever scenes there are left that interest me for these final 7 weeks.

[Mr Baggins]

I would've enjoyed this episode more if Daima were a 52 episode series and not a 20 episode one.

Weren't you just postulating a few posts ago that we could be heading into the third act? Neither of us have the faintest clue of how this is all going to wrap up.

If you don't like the episode, cool, but the episode count should have no bearing on its quality. That's doubly true of these other remarks about last week's break, which is not going to matter months from now when everyone can binge it.

Another thing to point out here, because it keeps being brought up every single time someone dares to criticize Daima's lack of content: It being episodic absolutely does not excuse it being this boring and uninspired.

*sigh*

That's a gross mischaracterization and misunderstanding of what that observation was addressing in the first place, but whatever you say, dude. I don't doubt that you and maybe a couple of others in these threads are going to argue week after week that the show is boring and uninspired, and while you're entitled to do so, none of those platitudes relate to the fact that its format was brought up to respond to a specific complaint about the structure.

It's also funny that you mention comedy and personality, because I find Daima's to be heads and shoulders above every one of those shows you mentioned. What "bores" you, even though you're tuning in quickly enough to be among the first people to comment every week, is enjoyable for many of us. We'll have to wait and see where all the social commentary goes. This isn't me attempting to appeal to popularity here so much as simply mentioning that your comment isn't a substantive one at all; you're just pointing out that it's not for you, which is fine, if unremarkable.

Disingenuous framing is disingenuous.

[AliTheZombie13]

*sigh*

That's a gross mischaracterization and misunderstanding of what that observation was addressing in the first place, but whatever you say, dude. I don't doubt that you and maybe a couple of others in these threads are going to argue week after week that the show is boring and uninspired, and while you're entitled to do so, none of those platitudes relate to the fact that its format was brought up to respond to a specific complaint about the structure.

The observation being that, apparently, people who don't enjoy Daima are way too plot-focused and should just enjoy the self-contained adventures Daima brings? Again, Daima is no different than Super Sentai or Sailor Moon. Unlike the latter two, though, it has utterly failed to impress me. So maybe the problem isn't that people are too plot-focused, it's just that Daima is bad at doing episodic things as well.

It's also funny that you mention comedy and personality, because I find Daima's to be heads and shoulders above those shows you mentioned.

That's like... Your opinion, bro.
But it's okay, we're allowed to disagree.

What "bores" you, even though you're clearly tuning in quickly enough to be one of the first people to comment every week, is enjoyable for a lot of us.

OK, so? Should this discussion forum be a "positivity only space"? Should I not mention my dissatisfaction with a commercial product I'm investing time and money on because there are people who are satisfied and who might get bothered about anyone else raising complaints about it?

We'll have to wait and see where all the social commentary goes. This isn't me attempting to appeal to popularity here so much as simply mentioning that your comment isn't a substantive one at all; you're just pointing out that it's not for you, which is fine, if unremarkable.

Disingenuous framing is disingenuous.

I'm happy for y'all, I'm simply not one of you.

Where I draw the line is people going into these threads "Omg, look at all these people saying they're not liking Daima, they must be expecting the anime to be the best thing ever or something, they must not come into the show knowing it's episodic or something, they must be making things up or watching a different show! Why don't you guys like it?"

Disagreeing is fine. You may think Daima is great to watch and I'm happy for you.
Questioning people as to why they don't like it, and then getting offended when they answer, however, is not.