The Screen Scribe

Now that we’re 7 episodes in, Dragon Ball Daima would appear to have one particular theme running through every single episode so far: subverting expectations. For an anime with the inbuilt history that Dragon Ball possesses, it would have been easy for this new rendition to fall prey to old formulas and tropes. But thankfully, Daima is a breath of fresh air in every sense. While last weeks episode was enjoyable, it was probably the weakest of the bunch so far, with several potential issues popping up that, if left unchecked, could have been detrimental to the series going forward. Mainly, the case of Vegeta, Piccolo and Bulma still being stranded on Earth. Dragon Ball has a history of sidelining it’s secondary characters in favour of Goku and new characters, and appeared to be doing so again, but episode 7 corrects this almost immediately and sees our group of Earth-bound heroes speed their way towards the Demon Realm to reunite with Goku.

Episode 7 continues to subvert audience expectations, both new and old, as Shin takes centre stage when the group fall prey to the Gendarmerie once again. From jumping into action to take out the Demon soldiers and their ships in impressive fashion, to endearingly releasing Panzy from her collar, episode 7 gives Shin a spot in the limelight that he has never really had since his reverential introduction way back in DBZ at the outset of the Majin Buu saga. His display of heroism and kindness ties thematically well with the general disposition of his people, the Glind, as a whole, being representations of hope in the universe. It was absolutely refreshing and exciting to see Shin finally have something to do other than talk, and hopefully we will see more in the future.

While Goku mostly takes a backseat in this episode (though we finally see him utilise Instant Transmission) it sets him up nicely for episode 8 and his first real opponent: the Tamagami #3. Daima again excels here by subverting typical Dragon Ball expectations. The artificial lifeform created by Neva is not some tyrannical being lording it over the Majin of his area. No, he is almost an afterthought, a relic barely even acknowledged by the locals until Goku approaches and challenges him. It’s another refreshing development and sets the stage for what hopes to be an exhilarating fight, where we will see just how much strength Goku currently possesses, and just how strong these revered Tamagami are.

3 / 5 from the Screen Scribe.

Dragon Ball Daima airs every Friday on Netflix and Crunchyroll.