The Screen Scribe

I spoke a lot in the previous review about how Dragon Ball Daima has been excelling so far in subverting expectations of both longtime Dragon Ball fans and newcomers alike in both its narrative development (which is traditionally not a strong suit of Dragon Ball) and recycling old tropes in a refreshing fashion. Episode 8, “Tamagami”, continues this in a two-part, breathtaking Dragon Ball extravaganza that completely redefines everything we knew about the Buu Saga from the original DBZ.

The first half of the episode is purely focused on the long-awaited battle between Goku and the first Tamagami of the series. These artificial lifeforms have been meticulously built up since episode 1 as these all-powerful guardians of the Demon Realm Dragon Balls, and while the fight itself was a truly spectacular display of animation, stellar and inventive choreography that utilizes Goku’s size difference to wonderful effect, and a celebration of the original Super Saiyan form, it is rather short lived. This is the only disappointment however, and it wets the appetite for further fights that await us down the road. It is important to make note as well that the Tamagami forced Goku to transform all the way to Super Saiyan 2 to finish the fight, making these guardians at the very least as powerful as Perfect Cell, with the potential for the next two to be even stronger than Tamagami #3.

But these guardians are not just agents of pure force. Once the Tamagami is overcome by Goku’s sheer strength, Goku is forced to partake in a shell game to gain possession of the Dragon Ball. While Goku is not particular known for his intelligence, this game plays perfectly to his strengths as he effortlessly keeps up with the Tamagami’s lightning-fast hands. I found this element of the Tamagami challenge particularly fascinating as it will potentially give some of the secondary characters such as Shin and Bulma, possibly Panzy too, a chance to shine in tests of intelligence that Goku cannot be relied upon to overcome.

All of that, and it was only half the episode. The second half is full of revelatory retcons to franchise lore that are both genius and divisive. Genius in that it opens so many doors for the future of Daima and turns Dr. Arinsu into a genuine threat for our heroes going forward and divisive for retconning certain established elements of DBZ that have stood untouched for decades. Personally it does not bother me, I’m all for retcons as long as they make sense narratively, within the established rules of the worldbuilding, and honour the original work.

A genuinely superb episode of Dragon Ball, it is by far the strongest of the new series thus far and gives us a clearer idea of where the series is headed after seven episodes of world- and narrative building. I’m excited to see what lies in the futures of Goku and the Z-Fighters as Daima continues.

5 / 5 from the Screen Scribe.

Dragon Ball Daima airs every Friday on Netflix and Crunchyroll.