TV Review: Dragon Ball Daima - Toriyama's Grand Tour

 

Dragon Ball Daima is an anime miniseries that marked the 40th anniversary of the Dragon Ball franchise as well as the last project with involvement from creator Akira Toriyama before his death in early 2024, releasing posthumously. While the build-up to Daima had a lot of fans not sure what to expect, I believe this turned out to be Toriyama's perfect swan song.

Set a short time after the defeat of Kid Buu but years before Beerus' awakening (technically), a power struggle begins in the Demon Realm (a separate plane of existence than Hell to be clear) after the death of King Dabura at the hands of Buu. Fearing the power of the mortals, the heir apparent Gomah makes a preemptive move by traveling to Earth and using the Dragon Balls to turn the Dragon Gang back into children, as well as kidnapping the now infant Dende. The now mini versions of Goku and friends mount a rescue mission and give chase to the Demon Realm, seeking its version of the Dragon Balls to restore things to normal.

To address the immediate elephant in the room, yes, this does sound very familiar to Dragon Ball GT, but with a few key differences. First, it's not just Goku turned back into a kid, so now we get to see characters like Vegeta and Piccolo acclimate to their smaller statures. Second, they're traveling a world of magic rather than the depths of space. Combine these and you actually get the perfect anniversary series. Like GT, Daima harkens back to the original Dragon Ball series with Goku traveling with friends old and new seeking the Dragon Balls with more emphasis initially on martial arts than energy fights. Making the setting the Demon Realm also brings the franchise back to its fantasy roots, skewing away from the sci-fi tone of not just GT but a majority of Z as well.
Something of note of the Demon Realm is that those originating from there have pointed ears, and this includes the Namekians and Kais. I'm a little on the fence about this new information, but it does help tie Piccolo back to his Demon King origins. A lot about the Demon Realm makes me wonder if Akira Toriyama was a fan of "The Owl House", especially when you compare the fictional settings and its inhabitants from both shows. Given it's been said that Toriyama was inspired by "Terminator" when writing the Android Saga, a similar situation honestly wouldn't surprise me.

I should point out to those wanting to watch Daima that it starts off painfully slow. I think it was about episode eight for me that things really started to pick up steam. While I do commend Daima for having a tighter story compared to GT or Super given its limited run, it probably could have been trimmed down a bit. I would also contribute the limited run to the animation and fight scenes being consistently well done by comparison as well.
In terms of the dub, part of what helped me get through some of the slower parts was Stephanie Nadolny's return as the voice of young Goku, slipping back into the role like riding a bike. By comparison, the voice actors for the kid versions of other characters take a little time to settle into their roles but they get there the more they perform. But to be fair, I think that's normal for any voice actor in a long running role.

If Daima will be well-known for anything, it's Akira Toriyama pulling a Shenron by granting fans' wishes with the inclusion of Super Saiyan 3 Vegeta and Super Saiyan 4 Goku.

Vegeta reaching Super Saiyan 3 is something fans have wanted to see since Goku introduced the form in the Buu Saga. While Vegeta's had the transformation present in video games, Daima marks its first appearance in an official capacity. And I have to say that Vegeta made the form badass again after how much it got downgraded in Super.

Similar to how he rebooted Broly, Akira Toriyama gives Goku a new version of Super Saiyan 4 that's familiar but distinct from its GT origins. While it kind of comes across as an asspull and lacks some of the prominence the first transformation in GT had in my opinion, Daima maintains Super Saiyan 4 as the pinnacle of primal Saiyan power, culminating in probably the biggest Kamehameha in the franchise's history.

And once the characters are restored to adults, this allows Christopher Sabat and Sean Schemmel to cut loose in their respective roles and transformations.

Despite initial reports and continued insistence after the series, Dragon Ball Daima doesn't fit within the same timeline as "Dragon Ball Super". Goku and Vegeta's new forms in Daima alone prevent things from lining up. Much like GT can't happen after Super, Super can't happen after Daima. It is just a little surprising though considering Toriyama's involvement in both, though Daima had much more of it apparently. And while I had no luck in relocating the article, I remember seeing that Daima was considered by Toriyama to be his true follow-up to Z.

So after Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball Z, you can look at it as a "choose your own adventure" map with Daima, Super, and GT as potential continuations, each having their own merits and drawbacks. While part of me still prefers GT for its natural story progression from Z and bringing finality to the Dragon Ball story, I think Daima is objectively the best out of all three. I didn't expect to like Daima as much as I would, but the overall story and animation was on par with the "Super Hero" movie in making me feel like a kid watching DBZ again.

For what would sadly be his last project in the franchise, Akira Toriyama knocked it out of the park with Dragon Ball Daima. And I would like to take this time to thank him for helping shape my childhood and beyond.

TV Review: Doctor Who Series 15 - Timey Wimey Woo

 

It's round two for the Davies/Gatwa/Disney era of Doctor Who, taking viewers aboard the TARDIS for more exciting new adventures. A lot of what made the last series great is present here, but there's plenty to help Series 15 stand out for better and worse (but not a lot on the latter). I will keep spoilers to a minimum until later on because there are major developments in the finale.

While Millie Gibson is still present as Ruby Sunday, the main companion role this series is filled by Varadu Sethu as Belinda Chandra. A nurse who gets abducted by robots to an alien planet in the premiere episode, Belinda is eventually being saved by the Doctor. There's a lot to like about Belinda, like her first instinct to help people when she sees them in distress; she reminds me a lot of Martha Jones, both of them being in the medical field adding to that fire. Belinda's a smart cookie too, immediately recognizing the risks of travelling with the Doctor and wishing to return home after her first adventure. However, something is preventing the TARDIS from taking her back to the moment she left with much of the season revolving around that mystery why that may be. Going off that, Belinda makes a good point that the Doctor is basically a time detective. This does make a Belinda a reluctant companion at first, which is a nice shake-up to the formula. As the Doctor works his magic to get her home, Belinda grows to trust him and have fun as they travel time and space. In fact, she would go on to be his closest companion since Clara Oswald.

Showrunner Russell T. Davies once again crafts a well-done series of episodes. Social commentary is ever present, touching on subjects such as AI, misinformation spreading, as well as stereotypes and discrimination. If I had one complaint though, it's that there are time Davies seemed to be copying himself from his first tenure as showrunner. I just noticed some ideas felt familiar from episodes like "The Girl in the Fireplace" and "Voyage of the Damned" for example. The final episodes of this series even hit a lot of beats of the last of series three. It's hard for me not to notice since I'm so familiar with the show. And when a show runs as long as Doctor Who has, you're bound to see recycled elements. It's all in the execution, which succeeds enough where it doesn't bog down my enjoyment.

 

Let's go through the episodes that really stood out to me:

* In "Lux", Alan Cumming voices a cartoon character of the same name, following in the footsteps of the Toymaker and Maestro as another of the Pantheon of Discord. If you remember the episodes featuring those two, you know the kind of craziness that can ensue. The episode also breaks the fourth wall in a way I don't think one would expect Doctor Who to do.
* "The Well" is a direct sequel to the episode "Midnight" from 2008. In my opinion, it's scarier than its predecessor while also making me appreciate that episode even more.

* "The Interstellar Song Contest" has a lot going on for it. It has one of the most horrific moments I've seen on Doctor Who, one of the craziest, and we get to see how Ncuti Gatwa's Fifteenth Doctor is when he's really angry. It brings about the darkest moment for this Doctor and one of the darkest for the character in general. The episode also reveals the secret of Mrs. Flood as it leads into...
* ...the two part finale of "Wish World" and "The Reality War", a reality warping story as we watch the Doctor and his allies set to make things right. While the first part basically shows us a right-winger's wet dream, the second gives a special effects heavy battle akin to a Marvel movie with the personal stakes for the Doctor having never been higher.

It's now time to delve into SPOILERS because, believe it or not, we have a regeneration occur at the end of "The Reality War".

In the altered reality first presented in "Wish World", the Doctor (as John Smith) and Belinda are shown to be married and have a daughter named Poppy. As they and the rest of the Doctor's allies recover their memories, they realize the risk of Poppy being erased if the proper reality is restored. Despite their best efforts to keep that from happening, Poppy does in fact disappear. Because there did end up being minor timeline changes after resetting things, the Doctor enters the TARDIS and initiates a regeneration, sending some of that energy into the time vortex to slightly alter the timeline some more so that Poppy exists once again. He is successful, although now Poppy was fathered by another man. After bidding farewell to Belinda and Poppy, the Doctor leaves in the TARDIS to allow his regeneration to proceed...

You saw that right. Billie Piper, who once portrayed companion Rose Tyler, is the next Doctor. So why has the Doctor once again chosen a familiar face to wear? I do have a theory. As discussed before, the Fifteenth Doctor has been more emotionally open compared to some of his predecessors. As he left Belinda and Poppy, he told them that he loves them both. He even says it to the Thirteenth Doctor (Jodie Whittaker returning for a cameo), who appeared in the TARDIS due to the recent time shenanigans prior to enacting his plan; this catches her off guard as it's something the Doctor doesn't usually say. And if there's one thing that breaks the hearts of Whovians to this day, it's the fact that the Tenth Doctor never uttered those three words to Rose. Granted, that could be a reach. But going back to the Thirteenth Doctor interaction, maybe this could also be seen as a form of self-love.

The future of Doctor Who is kind of in the air at the moment, with no confirmation of a Christmas special this year of a sixteenth series. I do hope we see some continuation. For what it is though, the fifteenth series of Doctor Who is a high note to go out on, even with a cliffhanger.