Dragon Ball Daima: Episode 8 - Official Discussion Thread

[StaticMania]

Oh, I just realized.

This episode explains why the Tamagami had those giant Dragon Balls above them. They're literally just a display, a giant landmark that lets you know you're close to the Dragon Ball.

Them going away when you earn it, also lets other people know that it's no longer there (in a situation where that info isn't paraded)...and maybe the display won't show back up when on cool down.

[Noah]

Best episode so far, it’s been a long time since I’ve been this hyped for a Dragon Ball episode!

• The start of the fight with Goku using the nyoibo was just amazing

• I honestly didn’t expect to see SSJ2 this early, I love this transformation so much

• Like Lord Beerus said in the last episode thread, so far Gomah's wish doesn't really make sense, since Goku, even though he turned back into a kid, hasn’t struggled with it at all in this series yet. He can still transform and use his techniques normally. It just shows that, so far, it was just an aesthetic choice by Toriyama.

• So happy they brought back the classic sound effects, from the Kamehameha to the SSJ2 aura with sparks, way better than the lame ones from DBS

• I can’t believe Arinsu is planning to create a new Majin (Boo?), I actually like it because it adds more drama to the story and an even bigger obstacle than the Tamagamis and Gomah

• NEP doesn’t seem as good as this one, I just hope they get back together with Vegeta and the others soon

[Mr Baggins]

Like Lord Beerus said in the last episode thread, so far Gomah's wish doesn't really make sense, since Goku, even though he turned back into a kid, hasn’t struggled with it at all in this series yet. He can still transform and use his techniques normally.

1. Episode 2 Goku isn't Episode 8 Goku. We're seeing him gradually able to use more techniques and abilities every week that he wasn't using at all at the start. Same with transformations: Episode 5 Goku could barely sustain Super Saiyan, yet now he's pulling out Super Saiyan 2 against Tamagami #3.

2. Not only does this make sense, it's part of an actual plot point and character dynamic. Glorio went from thinking that Goku would be easily manageable as a kid to seeing him acclimate to his new body exponentially faster than he anticipated thanks to the latter's fighting experience. Only Nahare isn't surprised.

There's also tension here, but it's tension between the members of our party rather than "tension" between Goku and some episodic bad guy everyone knows is losing anyway. I prefer the more sincere approach.

[StaticMania]

The action in previous episodes could've served yet another purpose in showing Goku adapting to these new conditions...

By the time of the 3rd action sequence, it would be him back at 100%...but ya know, in regards to adjusting. Since he's not having trouble with any of his actual abilities. Him training in the background (if he had been past episode 2) works well as a justification, it's not enough though.

Like the first action scene did address that, but it would've been better if it was built up through the episodes rather than being a single episode problem. It's unlikely Goku or anyone else is going to learn any significant transformations or whatever in this interquel, so that would've been this series' equivalent.

----

This is fine btw.

[Saimaroimaru]

Reading some of the takes in these threads, I'm left with one question:

What exactly are people expecting from a new series, if not to expand on the lore and world-building of previous series?

It feels like 2015 all over again when there were complaints about Beerus removing "agency" from Freeza, lol!

Fandom growing pains. We will learn to deal with it, given time.

[Hugo Boss]

This won't happen, but it would be cool if residual ki from Vegeta's sacrificial attack was embued in that piece of Majin Buu, thus making this future enemy a Vegeta-esque character.

That’s actually an interesting idea! I’m going with new Boo being sort of a Majin 21, since it has Arinsu’s essence embued. Personality-wise, she could end up behaving like Vegeta, but a female version.

[JulieYBM]

This won't happen, but it would be cool if residual ki from Vegeta's sacrificial attack was embued in that piece of Majin Buu, thus making this future enemy a Vegeta-esque character.

That’s actually an interesting idea! I’m going with new Boo being sort of a Majin 21, since it has Arinsu’s essence embued. Personality-wise, she could end up behaving like Vegeta, but a female version.

Thanks! I thought that it would be interesting as an idea because it would then mean that Vegeta could then face off with a sort of physical manifestation of his prior decisions. It feels very haunting as an idea.

Also, it would be pretty cool to have this foe be able to transform into Super Saiyan.

[LightBing]

It would be cool if there was an army of failed Boo's around. There's at least one..., wonder where it is now.

[kemuri07]

It's ironic that Daima Goku sometimes behaves more adult than DBS Goku, despite being a kid.
During the cup challenge, I can't imagine DBS Goku being calm and focused like that. He would be all excited.

Having just watch this episode, I more than agree. It's not even that Daima does anything crazy with Goku, it just reminds us that "oh yeah Goku is supposed to be likeable." He has a natural charisma about him that attracts others and he's a battle genius. I kinda liked the "this motherfucker right here" shit eating grin he gets when he points out that the Tamagami tried to cheat him. And then of course the final shot of that Tamagami trying to ape the Kamehameha as Goku and Co fly away because Goku tends to have a positive influence on everyone around him.

It's just small moments like that that make me really enjoy this iteration of Goku.

[Chuquita]

Seconding how likeable Goku's been in Daima. He's lots of fun here.

When they showed Vegeta's sacrifice on their daima-tube for a brief second I was super-engaged wondering if he was going to be targeted for some role so having them cut away to Arinsu collecting Buu blobs felt like a bit of a bait and switch.

Arinsu adding her saliva to Buu's mixture; does this make the resulting Majin their baby? Maba her mother-in-law? Is Buu now technically a parent?

[StaticMania]

The saliva has to do something, eh...

Boo reforms naturally, so the result could be anything...except Janemba. It could even be...Boo being important to the story, that's why the Kaioshin Ship is still in play.

Totally the reason.

[tonysoprano300]

Like Lord Beerus said in the last episode thread, so far Gomah's wish doesn't really make sense, since Goku, even though he turned back into a kid, hasn’t struggled with it at all in this series yet. He can still transform and use his techniques normally.

1. Episode 2 Goku isn't Episode 8 Goku. We're seeing him gradually able to use more techniques and abilities every week that he wasn't using at all at the start. Same with transformations: Episode 5 Goku could barely sustain Super Saiyan, yet now he's pulling out Super Saiyan 2 against Tamagami #3.

2. Not only does this make sense, it's part of an actual plot point and character dynamic. Glorio went from thinking that Goku would be easily manageable as a kid to seeing him acclimate to his new body exponentially faster than he anticipated thanks to the latter's fighting experience. Only Nahare isn't surprised.

There's also tension here, but it's tension between the members of our party rather than "tension" between Goku and some episodic bad guy everyone knows is losing anyway. I prefer the more sincere approach.

Id argue it still doesn’t make sense because the world of DB doesn’t draw a real distinction between Kid and Adult bodies, everything is about your Ki level and martial arts mastery. This is the same franchise that had 11 year old Gohan outclass his near adult counterpart at the start of Boo. This is also the same franchise that had Vegetto retain all of his fighting capabilities in the form of a piece of candy.

Being a kid doesn’t inherently make you weaker in DB, in real life it does but not in DB.

That said, its a minor issue that I kind of accepted after the first episode aired

[Mr Baggins]

Id argue it still doesn’t make sense because the world of DB doesn’t draw a real distinction between Kid and Adult bodies, everything is about your Ki level and martial arts mastery.

The distinction being made isn't between adults and kids, it's between adults/kids and adults that suddenly get turned into kids. Episode 2 has a whole spiel about how it messes with the balance of their bodies, which in turn affects other things like flying and ki output. There's a reason Gomah further opts to turn Goten and Trunks into babies after Shenron mentioned them.

It's just that few of the main villains seemed to actually count on Goku etc. adapting to their miniature selves or re-adjusting to all their old techniques so quickly. They ignorantly figured that fiddling with their physiques and what little they know about ki would be enough.

[tonysoprano300]

Id argue it still doesn’t make sense because the world of DB doesn’t draw a real distinction between Kid and Adult bodies, everything is about your Ki level and martial arts mastery.

The distinction being made isn't between adults and kids, it's between adults/kids and adults that suddenly get turned into kids. Episode 2 has a whole spiel about how it messes with the balance of their bodies, which in turn affects other things like flying and ki output. There's a reason Gomah further opts to turn Goten and Trunks into babies after Shenron mentioned them.

It's just that few of the main villains seemed to actually count on Goku etc. adapting to their miniature selves or re-adjusting to all their old techniques so quickly. They ignorantly figured that fiddling with their physiques and what little they know about ki would be enough.

I suppose but even that is sort of questionable because Vegetto got turned into a piece of candy and just went right back to completely dominating Boo without missing a beat. I could be wrong but I got the impression that Gomah genuinely thought that making them into kids/babies would inherently make them weaker.

[LightBing]

My theory is that Shenlong messed up the wish on purpose. He behaved differently, asking questions and leaving after a single wish.

Trunks and Goten still were, I guess conscious, even as babies. Their body digressed, not their Ki and mind.
They had to adapt a little and gave us some gags. It didn't affect the plot.

[Mr Baggins]

I could be wrong but I got the impression that Gomah genuinely thought that making them into kids/babies would inherently make them weaker.

I mean, sure, he probably did. Again, these guys know next to nothing about ki. The point I'm making is that Gomah's wish didn't go as planned.

Episode 2's dialogue is the explanation for why they all needed a little time to acclimate regardless. Candy Vegetto isn't really comparable, but even in that situation, he only kept his raw power and not much else.

All this makes more than enough sense for the story.

[ankokudaishogun]

Gohma's wish made perfect sense.
He just couldn't know the people he was going to turn into kids were super-duper fighting genius from a warrior race with massive experience in Ki manipulation.

I'd say "Shenron messed up on purpose" but now I think about it no instance of rejuvination has turned back the memory\mentality of the owner of the body in any version of the franchise.
King Piccolo, Goku in GT, the Pilaf Gang and now everybody in DAIMA.

It's actually consistent.

[Luso Saiyan]

I could be wrong but I got the impression that Gomah genuinely thought that making them into kids/babies would inherently make them weaker.

That's correct. And it's precisely because that's the case that his wish made sense.

[FinalForumPodcast]

Got caught up a day or so ago. This episode was great in a lot of ways: a good battle, great animation, good Toriyama-style humor, and very good storytelling in terms of starting to get to "the point" and unraveling some of the mystery. It gave me a lot of confidence that this show can bring it all home in the end and be a rewarding watch.

I could be wrong but I got the impression that Gomah genuinely thought that making them into kids/babies would inherently make them weaker.

That's correct. And it's precisely because that's the case that his wish made sense.

Exactly. It's not about whether it would make sense to an outside viewer. It's about whether it makes sense to the person making the wish. He thought the Dragon wouldn't kill them (nobody's ever really tried that before, although some have wanted to), and so tried to think his way into making them harmless.

It's backfiring, but not NECESSARILY because the wish was bad. Most of these characters have been training and fighting since they were children, so turning them into children just gives them a minor hurdle in terms of getting used to a new body and re-learning some techniques.


And as has been pointed out, there have been stumbles for the one character we're actually following. Goku couldn't go full Super Saiyan in episode 5. He did it later. He is struggling a little with his size and balance. He's constantly improving, because HE'S GOKU, but it's not been smooth for him, and perhaps if Gomah had challenged him immediately after the wish was granted, he would have had a chance but Goku (and the rest) are now getting days (and weeks?) to get use to their new bodies, and we all know how fast Saiyans adapt.

[sangofe]

Wow. Just wow. Amazing background, amazing animation, amazing colors, good comedy and good tension in the second half of the episode. This is the best Dragon Ball has been. Ever. To me at least. If anything surpasses this then I don't know what I'll say. I probably will be speechless.