Dragon Ball Daima Team Break Silence on That Confusing Cliffhanger Ending

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Akira Toriyama’s last project, Dragon Ball Daima, came out last year to celebrate the series’ 40th anniversary. This 20-episode series starts a fresh story where Goku and his companions travel to the Demon Realm to find their own Dragon Balls. While Earth enjoyed a short period of peace after Majin Buu was defeated, Gomah, the current ruler of the Demon Realm, quickly identified Goku and his friends as dangerous due to their immense power. The first episode begins by briefly showing what happened before, as Gomah and his assistant, Degesu, observe the battle against Babidi, Dabura, and Majin Buu.

Gomah is happy to become king after Dabura dies, but he knows he needs to get rid of anyone who could challenge his rule. Unfortunately, he can’t use the Dragon Balls in the Demon Realm because powerful beings called Tamagami are guarding them. So, he and his followers travel to Earth with a sinister plan, but the episode ends with a puzzling cliffhanger. Because the anime aired weekly, fans had to wait some time to understand what was really going on. But, according to a recent statement from the show’s creators, the ending of the first episode was deliberate. It was meant to be confusing. They intentionally left viewers wondering what would happen next.

Dragon Ball Daima’s First Episode Was Intentionally Confusing

Fans were aware the series would continue with Goku and his friends as children, but the first episode concluded in an unexpected way after Gomah summoned Shenron. The quick cuts between characters shouting made it hard to follow what was happening, leaving many viewers puzzled. The anime’s Blu-ray box set features commentary from staff members like Akio Iyoku, Aya Komaki, and Yoshitaka Yashima, detailing the series’ production. @Venixys on X shared a translation of this commentary for the debut episode.

The translation shows the team struggled with how to conclude the first episode. After it aired, they even got feedback from viewers who were puzzled. But this confusing ending was deliberate, as it didn’t show the smaller forms of every character. Dragon Ball Daima picks up after these surprising events, and fans really enjoyed the trip to the Demon Realm, which was full of unexpected twists and cliffhangers.

The commentary shared some fascinating details about how the series was made, including that the initial script from Akira Toriyama wasn’t finished because he hadn’t figured out how the story would end yet. The team also had concerns about how viewers would react, as the first episode largely consisted of summaries and focused on the plot involving Gomah and Degesu, Supreme Kai’s younger brother. The episode even introduced Degesu’s incredibly intelligent sister, Dr. Arinsu, but didn’t give much attention to the central characters. The finale of Dragon Ball Daima sets the stage for future developments, and the commentary suggests that Toei has more planned for the series.

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2025-10-02 20:40