Dragon Ball Daima: Episode 16 - Official Discussion Thread

[Majin Buu]

Gomah is fantastic, I liked that they let Hybys sit this one out in terms of comedy. Gomah has been cracking me up althroughout Daima, but I feel he was somewhat wasted seeing that only now they let him shine. There were some funny gags here and there in previous episodes, sure, but he showed on this one that he deserved a little more screentime. Maybe less fodder being fodderized episodes and more Gomah's nerves eating him up?

Agreed.

Honestly, Gomah has been growing on me these past few episodes. Up till around episode 14 he was largely just there for me, but his over-the-top panicking as the Dragon Team close in on him was funny and oddly endearing. I also love that he's been throwing shade the Special Forces from the moment they showed up despite them being his last line of defense.

[AliTheZombie13]

Sorry for the dumb question, but is there such a thing as a Japanese Saturday morning cartoon (Saturday morning anime in Japan)? Saturday morning cartoons were an American TV thing.

If Daima were a Saturday morning cartoon, it would be Americanized and heavily censored to be FCC-compliant (kinda like the 1996-1998 Saban dub of DBZ).

Semantics. Obviously, they're not called like that in Japan, but I have watched a lot of kids' anime that had a similar structure to Daima. Anime with strong initial and final episodes, but no real sense of plot progression in-between. Not very differently from American cartoons, that happens because these anime are aimed at very young kids and are almost exclusively focused on making every episode the same thing so they can pick up the show at any point.

I think the one that most fits the bill compared to Daima that I have watched recently is Digimon Ghost Game.

[JulieYBM]

Sorry for the dumb question, but is there such a thing as a Japanese Saturday morning cartoon (Saturday morning anime in Japan)? Saturday morning cartoons were an American TV thing.

If Daima were a Saturday morning cartoon, it would be Americanized and heavily censored to be FCC-compliant (kinda like the 1996-1998 Saban dub of DBZ).

Semantics. Obviously, they're not called like that in Japan, but I have watched a lot of kids' anime that had a similar structure to Daima. Anime with strong initial and final episodes, but no real sense of plot progression in-between. Not very differently from American cartoons, that happens because these anime are aimed at very young kids and are almost exclusively focused on making every episode the same thing so they can pick up the show at any point.

I think the one that most fits the bill compared to Daima that I have watched recently is Digimon Ghost Game.

Digimon Ghost Game was actually written specifically to be different from other anime like it.

It's noted by the interviewer that Digimon is often a serial, but Ghost Game tends to have one and dones. Sogo notes that many Digimon episodes end in one even outside of Ghost Game. The basis in the writing was looking at Tiktok and Youtube and them believing kids tend to jump off after a minute due to boredom, and the feeling its hard to make them watch longer stories. They are also worried that if its a serial they may not see the beginning and will skip it, or if it is too long they will half and give up, so he feels it's hard to write serials for kids and teenagers. He feels one offs have increased in anime the last few years. He notes that even watching a two minute video, you might jump off before it is done.

Looking at Daima, I do think that it lacks a real structure to its episodes, wherein there's an episodic A-plot that gets resolved or centers on a specific character. In this respect, I wouldn't compare Daima to Pokemon, because Pokemon would actually engage in episodic storytelling. Dragon Ball Daima is primarily this really weirdly paced serial, where there's no real plot resolution or character arc to an episode.

[AliTheZombie13]

OK, the entire TikTok explanation puts a new perspective on it, but still.

Daima is also a lot like 90's Sailor Moon, every episode is exactly the same thing, but little bits of plot slowly drop until everything comes to a head in the finale. Except Daima is not Sailor Moon, I would like it infinitely better if it was.

[JulieYBM]

OK, the entire TikTok explanation puts a new perspective on it, but still.

Daima is also a lot like 90's Sailor Moon, every episode is exactly the same thing, but little bits of plot slowly drop until everything comes to a head in the finale. Except Daima is not Sailor Moon, I would like it infinitely better if it was.

Those Sailor Moon series from the 1990s had more than two good directors...and actual proper story organization going on lol.

Dragon Ball Daima really should have been more properly organized so that the lore was cooked into proper A-plots for episodes. The format it's usually is just way too loosey-goosey.

[Chuquita]

I loved some of the more fun, episodic parts of 90's Sailor Moon. Could only dream of Daima utilizing that.

I still feel Daima hasn't fully fleshed out its world. It doesn't feel like a "wonderland" full of "magic"; it feels like missed opportunities for the antagonists to get creative with powers, spells, and magical items in the face of Goku and friends' own strengths.

Unless these last 4 episodes prove me wrong (and I hope they do).

[sangofe]

For me, this episode was among the top 5 best episodes. So far, I particularly enjoyed episodes 8-10, 13 and 1-2 in addition to this one.

I really liked that several unexpected things happened - for example, that it wasn't Degesu who obtained the third eye, but rather a thief. That Dende has already been rescued in an emotional scene. That there was a confrontation between the "Tokusentai" and Vegeta, and that everyone gathered for the final battle at the end of the episode. But what I loved most was the humor. Especially Hybis's hat being used to knock Degesu down and the whole scene where Gomah couldn't get the third eye out of the belt. And lastly, I liked that the episode ended on a cliffhangerish feeling. Better ending to an episode than many Daima episodes so far.

[Mr Baggins]

So far, I particularly enjoyed episodes 8-10, 13 and 1-2 in addition to this one.

Funnily enough, going through Daima blind, it was the even-numbered episodes (with the occasional odd-numbered one, like 9) that grabbed me the most. But then I went back to binge the show properly and am also watching the dub as it comes out, and man... now I just appreciate it that much more, enjoying nearly all of its episodes about equally. I think 13-15 has been Daima's "low point", but even those three are fun to watch.

Agreed that the ending shots of these episodes are often jarring, though. Hulked-out Gomah this week has been one of the show's better cliffhangers.

[LightBing]

This is the second worst episode for me.

Consequence of weak development of characters. The Degesu betrayal had no impact because the motivations weren't explored; no effort was made to make a parallel with him and Arinsu ambitions who has been doing something.
Nahare confrontation is generic and nothing really tells why he's different from his siblings.

Gomah obtaining the Third Eye suffers from the same problem. We have no point of reference to Gomah power or abilities beyond being a Vice-King to Dabra.
His apparent transformation design also doesn't seem great.

I wasn't bored because the comedy was fun.
I also liked that Panzy did something this episode.

-------------------------------------------------------

Next episode we'll see the payoff with Glorio.
It's been a plot that has been here from the start, mostly with silent stills of Glorio reacting. Which seem to indicate that Goku and the others might have gave him hope for a better Demon World, which is what I think is his goal ultimately.

[MCDaveG]

Damn, I have seen it coming with the Gendarmerie Force...

Anyway, there is quite a lot of padding that makes me nervous, few episodes before the show ends!
Great to see Jiren returning.

I hope there will be some epilogue or slice of life ending/tie in, otherwise we are left with straightforward skirmish.¨
Heroes versus Arinsu and Majins, which will shift into everyone versus Gomah.

I enjoy the show overall and hope they have some spectacles like SSJ3 Vegeta and some dope choreo for fights in store,
as I will def be sad when it ends in few weeks. The last piece of work from Mr. Toriyama.

[GhostEmperorX]

So now that all three Dragon Balls are gathered right outside Gomah's doorstep, is there going to be some kind of three-way struggle between him, the gang, and Arinsu? What decision will Glorio make?

[Saiya6Cit]

It was very entertaining to watch. The episode started a little slow and got better by the last half of it.

In enjoy Daima. The character design looks too much like DBSuper at times but they are Ok. Still a bit sad that Vegeta Bulma and Piccolo are just there for the nostalgic DBZ fans, I mean Daima could have been just like GT and have only Goku there because bulma, vegeta and piccolo are not doing much there. Whilst Glorio and Panzy play a great role in the story and are characters that I have grown to like.

I am interested on the plot and I will keep on watching it. Don't have much more left to say.

[TobyS]

I wonder if it will be a plot point than the majins and dragon team tire each other out before the king attacks them or if he's already more powerful.

We have what 4 EPS for majin fight demon king fight, wish back to adults, journey home/fate of the demon realm.

I wonder if there will be any consequences that affect future super 2 stories ir anything like that.

[StaticMania]

Hope spot:

Based on the next episode preview...there is a possibility that the threat of Gomah could force our heroic group of characters back to the 3rd Demon World.

There are 4 episodes left and the final fight certainly isn't going to start yet.

If it seems like they'd recruit Tamagami #1...there is a possibility that they'd also ask for the help of the other 2, plus going back to the 3rd world could...ya know, pay off that thing with the enslaved downtrodden peoples and their collars the series just ignored for 9 episodes.

Just due to the structure of the show...#1 and #2 didn't get much in the way of characterization and this would be a perfectly acceptable way to reincorporate them into the plot. Plus this kind of what I was hoping for at the beginning...before the cast became bloated.