Episode 1, "Conspiracy"
*****SPOILERS*****
Synopsis: In the Demon Realm, a pair of figures, the new king Gomah, and his subordinate Dagasu, watch the fight against Babidi and Buu unfold, astonished mortals could defeat them. Seeing that they had the help of the Dragon Balls, Gomah plots to transform Goku and the gang into children to prevent them from getting in his way. He enlists the help of an elderly Namekian, Neva, who comes along with him to Earth to gather and reactivate the Dragon Balls from their slumber in between wishes. Gomah has Shenron summoned, and makes his wish, causing all those who fought against Buu to be turned into kids.
Comments:
Wow. It's been a long time since I did a text review. And of a Dragon Ball series, to boot. I haven't done that since I dropped reviewing Dragon Ball Z Kai a decade ago. So bare with me, it may take me a while to find my sea legs again.
Dragon Ball Daima is touted as the creator of Dragon Ball, Akira Toriyama's, last work, with his personality infused into the process. I have to agree that Daima definitely feels more Toriyama-ish than some parts of Dragon Ball Super. The quirky new characters, for instance, and the whole Demon Realm set up. We have the diminutive, cynical, impatient Gomah, the new king of the Demon Realm, and Dogasu, Kaioshin's brother. We also have Dr. Arinsu, Dogasu's sister, and a scientist working for the Demon Realm. And finally, Neva, an ancient Namekian with the power to break the Dragon Ball's usual rules. Yep, these seem like Toriyama's handiwork, both in design and personality.
I sense a bit of Emperor Pilaf in Gomah, but get the feeling he's a bit more dangerous, possibly possessing magical skills like Babidi. Unless, of course, he has his underling do most of the work, in which case I can see a betrayal in the near future. Whatever the case, the two scheming denizens of the Demon Realm are definitely ready to assert themselves, as is proven at Kami's palace on Earth. Poor Dende.
I swear, every time Goku and his friends get together to party, something bad happens. Whether it's this, Abo and Kado's arrival, or Beerus and Whis, it looks as though the DB gang is cursed to have less-than-fun gatherings. Now Goku and friends have been transformed into children so they can't get in Gomah's way, but I don't think they were planning on getting in his way of ruling the Demon Realm to begin with. They didn't even know him!
Just bad luck, I guess.
But good luck for me, because I got to watch a pretty solid opening episode. Of course, a lot of it was recap of the Buu arc, but there was plenty of original content to whet the appetite for more. And I'm pretty sure Goku's going to have to go up against those Tamagami guardians, so I'm looking forward to that.
Good voice acting from the Japanese cast (even though some of them are clearly showing their advanced age), solid music, and some humorous moments (Goku ragging on Vegeta's height, for instance) made it worth watching. Now let's hope we get some good action soon.
