Dragon Ball DAIMA

Dragon Ball DAIMA (2024–2025) is a 20-episode original anime. Akira Toriyama's story and designs shaped it, and it is the last Dragon Ball anime he worked on. It follows the Majin Buu Saga in continuity. A plot by a Demon Realm schemer leaves Goku and his friends transformed into children, and they travel to the Demon Realm to put things right.

The Demon Realm is a new corner of the world, with its own Dragon Balls and its own eccentric inhabitants. Goku and his allies, including Glorio, Panzy and the returning Supreme Kai, must clear obstacles and gather the Balls to recover their bodies. The tone is closer to early Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball GT than to the escalating universe-level fights of the later franchise. It values exploration, humor and fairy-tale invention alongside the action.

The series also deepens existing lore, including the origins of the Majin and of the Supreme Kai's people. It builds toward a confrontation with the Demon Realm's ruler and his Evil Third Eye. Reviewers described its plot as light even by Dragon Ball standards. They also saw it as a heartfelt, nostalgic homage.

DAIMA is about the joy of adventure and the enduring spirit of Goku. Shrinking the heroes strips away the usual escalation of power levels and returns the franchise to its original idea of a curious child travelling a strange world with friends. Producer Akio Iyoku said the series was made in the "same spirit" as GT, aimed at adults who grew up with Dragon Ball and at their children.

It is also a farewell to Toriyama. His whimsy runs through it: a hero is saved by a comic accident, and a mocked outsider becomes a ruler. Its message is that bonds across divided peoples, humor and heart matter more than raw strength.

Some read the series as a love letter to GT and to the franchise's early adventure style. Others see it as a farewell to Toriyama, with Majin Kuu's rise as the final gag. The ending also invites debate over whether Super Saiyan 4 was earned or a deus ex machina, and whether the open ending promises a sequel.

DAIMA arrived in 2024 as the first new Dragon Ball TV anime after Super. It was a nostalgic project deliberately rehabilitating the spirit of the often-criticized GT. Toriyama's death during production gave it extra emotional weight as a final farewell. It played in a limited US theatrical event and was intended for a worldwide audience. The series is mostly remembered as a loving, lighthearted tribute to its creator.

Reviewers praised the nostalgic charm, the new setting and the heartfelt farewell tone. One review called the story minimal even by Dragon Ball standards. Others called the finale predictable but a soothing celebration of Goku and a fitting farewell to Toriyama's world. Fan criticism focused on the villains being less threatening than earlier ones such as Towa, and on Super Saiyan 4 being poorly explained. Overall it is regarded as a warm, if safe, send-off.