Why does the majority of English-speaking DB fans hate Daima?

[TechExpert2021]

I'm seeing this almost an awful lot even before Daima premiered, especially on some DB-Daima-related threads on GameFAQs and Reddit; and certain YT videos. Fans in those places were comparing Daima to GT (and referred to Daima as GT 2.0) or something like Teen Titans Go. Some even claim that Daima is Dragon Ball for babies. On this forum, I don't see that much hate or prejudice towards Daima. Is it because they never asked for it? Is it because they want DB Super back only for the Moro and Granola arcs to be animated (and to have a second season or DBS 2)? Is it because they thought Dragon Ball should all be about muscular men fighting each other, transformations, and power levels?

[Dragon Ball Ireland]

Can't say I've heard of this hate, but fandoms will always have a new punching bag. 20 years ago it was GT, 15 years ago it was Kai, and nearly 10 years ago it was Super. For Star Wars fans it was once Return of the Jedi, then the prequels, and more recently The Last Jedi. Don't be surprised if the next Dragon Ball series becomes the next victim of online hate.

Some even claim that Daima is Dragon Ball for babies.

People said that when Kai first aired and a lot assumed the Nicktoons version was how the show looked.

[SupremeKai25]

Humans are programmed to hate on the new, shining product. That was Super for the past 10 years. Now, as I predicted, Super has been replaced by Daima as the shining new punching bag to hate. It's called "recency bias".

But I'd still argue that there is no real "hate", not in the way that Super gets hated.

And, oh boy, does Super get hated with so much passion and scorn. It's hilarious how a harmless kids' show can make grown men so hateful.

I'd say there's more "apathy" than hate when it comes to Daima.

[AliTheZombie13]

Because they grew up with Z and have internalized the notion that Dragon Ball is about fighting and nothing else.
To many, Dragon Ball is little more than a power fantasy. Things like Daima and GT betray that notion.

[tinlunlau]

Because they're not real fans and prefer the Falconer score over the Kikuchi score.

[Dragon Ball Ireland]

Because they're not real fans and prefer the Falconer score over the Kikuchi score.

The Faulconer loyalists were always a loud minority and to be honest I don't hear them much anymore, if at all. Prior to Funimation's Super dub fans were speculating about Faulconer returning for the dub and some even went as far as to say they wouldn't watch the show without "his" score.

Ironically because Super was a show that pandered so much to people who loved the over-the-top action of Dragon Ball Z I think it actually showed these fans they actually love Dragon Ball independent of whatever score made it "epic" for them.

[nineko]

I don't "hate" Daima, but it's so slow. Six episodes in, and they're basically getting started, it's not using its time well, in my opinion. And please note that I'm not a huge fan of continuous fights, in fact episode 6 (which arguably features the most serious fight up to this point) is possibly one of the worst so far, so no, I'm not asking for a new tournament of power, either. They're traveling? Let them arrive, ffs. Do things.

[M16U3L2015]

I think it's because a lot of English-speaking fans are fans of Z and especially Funimation's dub, which causes them to have the wrong idea of what DB is supposed to be.

It's a bit curious to compare the reaction to Daima by the English-speaking fandom with the fandoms of other languages, like for example the Hispanic fans, I've seen that the reaction is much more positive in places like Facebook or X, where several are liking it and prefer this series over GT or Super.

[StaticMania]

They're traveling? Let them arrive, ffs. Do things.

Where are they even going...?

They just got to a place and immediately left, but haven't really said whether or not they're going to the Dragon Ball.

Maybe this is why people are complaining about it feeling like nothing is happening.

[SelfTrainedNamekian]

I'm seeing this almost an awful lot even before Daima premiered, especially on some DB-Daima-related threads on GameFAQs and Reddit; and certain YT videos. Fans in those places were comparing Daima to GT (and referred to Daima as GT 2.0) or something like Teen Titans Go. Some even claim that Daima is Dragon Ball for babies. On this forum, I don't see that much hate or prejudice towards Daima. Is it because they never asked for it? Is it because they want DB Super back only for the Moro and Granola arcs to be animated (and to have a second season or DBS 2)? Is it because they thought Dragon Ball should all be about muscular men fighting each other, transformations, and power levels?

i think a lot of the fandom all over the world do not like the idea of seeing everyone turning into kids, they (including me) did not like that about gt, i love gt but i dont like how goku is a kid there, same with daima, i love the idea of the demon realm and everything but i hate to see kid goku and now its not only goku its everyone, which makes it more annoying.

people hate it for a good reason. we had kid goku in dragon ball, he grew up and thats it, there is no reason to turn him into a kid over and over.

if daima was everything it is now only with a different wish and everyone were adults then i think people would love it much more

[The Monkey King]

I'd say there's more "apathy" than hate when it comes to Daima.

For once we actually agree on something.

As a die-hard Dragon Ball fan even I can't be bothered to keep up to date with Daima, I'm 2 episodes behind and don't feel like I've missed out on anything.

"Is that kid Goku beating up more mooks with nice animation for the 7th time? Wooooooooooooooooooooow"

I think from episode 10 onwards it will hit the gas but right now... meh.

As for my more casual friends who gladly watched the DBS movies in cinema with me, none of them have even the slightest interest in Daima, they saw Goku get transformed into a kid again and that killed all intrigue.

I still think Goku might get a SSJ4 equivalent transformation that restores his adult body which will bring more casual fans back in.

[Jord]

Because it has such an incredibly slow paced series. We're 6 episodes in. No big fights but instead we got a lot of exposition. The main characters, besides Goku are as boring as can be and fan favorite characters like Vegeta, Piccolo and Gohan are only used sporadically for now.
Not to mention how it takes beats from GT but fails to act upon the faults that GT has in the eyes of the fans.

[super michael]

Humans are programmed to hate on the new, shining product. That was Super for the past 10 years. Now, as I predicted, Super has been replaced by Daima as the shining new punching bag to hate. It's called "recency bias".

But I'd still argue that there is no real "hate", not in the way that Super gets hated.

And, oh boy, does Super get hated with so much passion and scorn. It's hilarious how a harmless kids' show can make grown men so hateful.

I'd say there's more "apathy" than hate when it comes to Daima.

I am not one of the fans that hates Dragon Ball Daima, I am enjoying every episode at the moment. So no being the newest isn't why people hate something.

DBS deserve the hate it gets, since the writers looks like they never read or watched Dragon Ball. Sometimes the writing was awful, an example being increasing the characters negative trait to the max and making them forget what they knew. They even lost character development.

Goku in DBS an example doesn't act like Goku in DB/DBZ. DBS Goku is so clueless and dumb to nearly everything, including training. He is so bossy and whines way too much.

I think it's because a lot of English-speaking fans are fans of Z and especially Funimation's dub, which causes them to have the wrong idea of what DB is supposed to be.

It's a bit curious to compare the reaction to Daima by the English-speaking fandom with the fandoms of other languages, like for example the Hispanic fans, I've seen that the reaction is much more positive in places like Facebook or X, where several are liking it and prefer this series over GT or Super.

There is the manga, surely there are those that read it and not just watched the anime only.



Edit Sonic 06 (PS3/Xbox 360) is nearly 20 years old, that doesn't make the game any better now than it did in 2007. That game was bad and is still bad now.

[Cipher]

They're traveling? Let them arrive, ffs. Do things.

This is definitely an issue, at least early on. (I say "early," but we're a fourth of the way through.) Their goals and destination feel nebulous right now, and each of the first six episodes has felt like a non-starter in some way.

Adventuring is fine, but we don't really have the forward momentum of character drama/getting to know a new cast (Glorio's motivations are the only real hook), or goals already being met and twists underway. Where are they going? How close are they to getting there? How much has happened since the opening status quo, really, by this point?

By comparison, they'd already obtained several Dragon Balls and met Yamcha for a shake-up in the original DB arc (no master class of pacing itself; hence the series shifting gears the next arc)--while we learned about an entirely new cast of characters--already dealt with the first major subarc in GT, and every short Toriyama adventure manga to which Daima readily draws comparison (Jaco, Sandland, Kajika, Cowa!, etc., etc.) completes character and adventuring arcs over the course of a single volume. Which, length-wise, across mediums, we would already be around the halfway point in comparison to, but content-wise of which Daima has covered about the equivalent of two chapters--and without those new cast dynamics to buoy it. (Goku and Shin and known and static, and we're about to add Piccolo, Vegeta and Bulma to the mix too.)

I don't dislike Daima, but if there's any apathy, I don't think it can solely be dismissed as people wanting nothing but action spectacle, or disliking lighthearted DB. Indeed, its relative charm and humor are what keep it fun to spend twenty minutes with once per week. But to the extent that there's frustration with it, I think people just want to be engaged and surprised--usually DB's and generally Toriyama's forte.

[StaticMania]

They started with 3 in the original...

So by the 6th episode they've gotten 2 and already dealt with Yamucha initially, who is currently plotting to meddle.

---

Because they didn't really have a goal until episode 4, the problem has been that the traveling didn't have a point. If, for example, Glorio's plane didn't get stolen...would they have still came to the conclusion to get the Dragon Balls? Where was his initial trajectory?

He said the Dragon Ball was in the opposite direction of where they originally came in, so...if they weren't going that way, where was he going to take them? They went away from the Dragon Ball and the flew over the hole that connects the demon worlds. So now they're going back the way they came, making everything that happened so far(t) feel a bit pointless.

[Jord]

It doesn't help that they're stuck on the same planet, which looks barren and boring. GT also had a slower pace but by episode 6 they were on a new planet. Besides, on the previous planet, we saw it in both day- and nighttime and got to meet it's inhabitants and the culture. By experiencing it, not by telling about it. There is a very basic and old phrase in storytelling, "Show, don't tell".

[SupremeKai25]

I'd say there's more "apathy" than hate when it comes to Daima.

For once we actually agree on something.

As a die-hard Dragon Ball fan even I can't be bothered to keep up to date with Daima, I'm 2 episodes behind and don't feel like I've missed out on anything.

"Is that kid Goku beating up more mooks with nice animation for the 7th time? Wooooooooooooooooooooow"

I think from episode 10 onwards it will hit the gas but right now... meh.

As for my more casual friends who gladly watched the DBS movies in cinema with me, none of them have even the slightest interest in Daima, they saw Goku get transformed into a kid again and that killed all intrigue.

I still think Goku might get a SSJ4 equivalent transformation that restores his adult body which will bring more casual fans back in.

You know that apathy is worse than hate, right? Just as no publicity is worse than bad publicity.

The ironic thing is that people like you hate Super, but what you do not realize, is that you are still generating internet traffic and discussion around the thing you hate (Super)!

Apathy is WORSE. And right now I'm seeing more apathy than hate when it comes to Daima. It's simply that... I'm not seeing a lot of people talk about Daima online.

[AliTheZombie13]

So what? Even if the entire world hated Daima (which I really doubt), most of the episodes are done anyway.
Daima has also been created with the intent to bring in new audiences, so who cares what the "Mid" crowd thinks?

[super michael]

There are many people that likes Dragon Ball Daima, which includes me.

Many people hated Digimon Adventure Reboot and still hates it now. The writing in that anime was awful, they rushed the evolution and then they refused to use that evolution power even if that could prevent them losing or dying. An example being Petaldramon, no one turned into their Ultimate form except Angewomon who only used her healing ability and didn't fight. Agumon could turn into his Mega form, but no he didn't.

There was too many PIS in the Reboot.

Being new or old has nothing to do with how one views a anime or game.

[FinalForumPodcast]

I don't know about HATE. I'm not seeing a lot of HATE. But it's got such slow pacing and such low stakes that people are just kinda...sitting on it.

It doesn't feel like appointment-viewing when you have pretty much everyone out there saying "Oh. Yeah. Nothing really happened this time, but it's pretty to look at and a cozy, enjoyable watch for the most part" six weeks in a row.

I've enjoyed the show and find myself just kinda sitting back and watching new episodes whenever I get a chance instead of IMMEDIATELY on Friday nights. I've been a little busy this week so I haven't even gotten around to 6 yet and feel like "Yeah. I will."

Granted, it's probably actually worse that it's being received with such a resounding "...okay?" than if it were hated, but I'm not seeing a lot of HATE.