Dragon Ball DAIMA DLC Stirs Chaos: Was the Anime Written On The Fly?

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The animated series of “Dragon Ball” generated a great deal of discussion among fans during its initial broadcast. Although the series managed to conclude its primary narrative within 20 episodes, various aspects were left intriguingly unexplained at the end, leaving fans with unanswered questions.

In this anime, the loose ends and inconsistent tempo have sparked discussions among fans about whether Akira Toriyama had a pre-planned storyline or improvised as he went along during production. While there’s evidence to support both arguments, the upcoming Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero’s first Dragon Ball DAIMA character pack might lend credence to the theory that the anime was created impromptu.

The Dragon Ball DAIMA DLC‘s Character Choices Are Just Weird

On April 21, 2025, Dragon Ball DAIMA: Character Pack 1 was launched, marking it as the second downloadable content (DLC) for the game Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero, which came out in 2024. This pack brings eight fresh characters to the game: Mini Goku (Super Saiyan), Mini Vegeta, Mini Vegeta (Super Saiyan), Mini Vegeta (Super Saiyan 2), Mini Vegeta (Super Saiyan 3), Glorio, Panzy, and Majin Kuu. The DLC also offers an updated move for Mini Goku, changing his Ultimate Blast to Aura Impact. Some players might find the selection of characters quite unusual upon purchasing this DLC, given that new versions of Goku and Vegeta are typical, but the inclusion of Majin Kuu is rather striking.

In the game Majin, it seems unusual to have only one minor villain among a group of heroes, as this particular villain, Majin Kuu, hardly fights against the DLC’s heroes. This makes it difficult for players to reenact some of Dragon Ball DAIMA’s most significant battles, which is a disappointment to many fans. The situation becomes even more peculiar when you consider that Majin Kuu was primarily working alongside Majin Duu, Dr. Arinsu’s second Majin, throughout the story. This means players cannot pair Kuu with his most suitable partner, despite several game modes emphasizing team-based fights. Similarly, fans have expressed dissatisfaction about Panzy, a main character who rarely participates in one-on-one combats.

Fans also make the case that, given space constraints, incorporating Majin Duu or one of the Tamagamis might be a more strategic roster choice since they were pivotal figures in some of the series’ most iconic battles. Nonetheless, Panzy’s inclusion seems plausible considering her prominence in the early promotions for “Dragon Ball DAIMA”. For instance, her Masked Majin persona was featured in the key art and a “Dokkan Battle” event prior to her “Dragon Ball DAIMA” debut. This implies that she could have been a significant surprise inclusion, as suggested by the trailer for “Dragon Ball DAIMA: Character Pack 1”, where Panzy appears after the trailer ends, creating an air of mystery around her addition.

Even The Transformations Are Off

It’s quite noticeable that Mini Goku behaves strangely compared to regular Goku in Dragon Ball DAIMA. Unlike how Goku mainly used his base or Super Saiyan forms throughout the series, during the climactic battle, he transformed from Super Saiyan to Super Saiyan 3, even showing a new version, yet only Super Saiyan Mini Goku is included in Dragon Ball DAIMA: Character Pack 1. This is peculiar since Mini Vegeta can access Super Saiyan, Super Saiyan 2, and Super Saiyan 3 transformations, with the latter debuting as early as Episode 12 of Dragon Ball DAIMA (“True Strength”). Therefore, it seems unlikely that the reason for excluding Super Saiyan 4 is due to each DLC covering only half of the show.

The absence of Super Saiyan 4 Mini Goku in the upcoming Dragon Ball DAIMA DLC leaves us wondering about Bandai Namco’s approach to this form. If the second pack does grant Mini Goku his Super Saiyan 4, would players who buy only that pack be limited to using Mini Goku in forms like Super Saiyan 3 and 4? Or could it introduce a new version of Mini Goku with distinct transformations including Super Saiyan 3 and Super Saiyan 4? Some fans speculate that the next DLC will bring a Dragon Ball DAIMA version of adult Goku, making him the sole character to have access to the Dragon Ball DAIMA version of Super Saiyan 4.

It could be suggested that the decision to introduce additional DLC packs for Dragon Ball DAIMA might have been aimed at boosting sales, but the result seems to create unnecessary complexity with minimal advantage, which raises questions about why Bandai Namco would opt for such a move. However, it’s important to recall that many spectators and experts speculate that Super Saiyan 4 was an eleventh-hour addition in Dragon Ball DAIMA. The anime heavily hints at a fusion through a Join Bug, which never materializes, and DAIMA contradicts the Super Saiyan 4 reveal within just a few episodes. Although Goku initially requires Neva’s magic to unlock the form, he later claims to have mastered it through rigorous training following his battle with Majin Buu, without any reference to Neva, implying that the writers may not have fully clarified the form’s regulations at that point.

In addition to some peculiar choices made throughout development, there are other aspects that suggest the Dragon Ball DAIMA team didn’t fully grasp the game’s overall direction until later stages. The most conspicuous example is Dragon Ball DAIMA: Character Pack 1, which doesn’t introduce new stages or Bonus Battles. Although it can be excused that a character pack wouldn’t add stages (as this was also the case with the previous Super Hero DLC), the absence of Bonus Battles is puzzling, given that the pack incorporates Glorio and Mini Goku, characters who could have been used to reenact their memorable battle from Dragon Ball DAIMA Episode 6, “Lightning”.

New Character Details Feel Deliberately Vague

Many Parts Of The DLC Feel Like The Writers Trying To Avoid Directly Referencing Plot Points

In addition to complicating things, some characters have unique move idiosyncrasies. For instance, Vegeta can use Skill Points to consume a Revive Bug during combat in the game, which he did in Dragon Ball DAIMA’S Episode 15 titled “Third Eye.” However, it’s important to note that Vegeta consumes the Revive Bug only reluctantly. On the other hand, Goku, who frequently eats Medi Bugs from the Demon World without hesitation throughout the series, doesn’t have this particular move. This discrepancy feels thematically strange, especially given that one of Goku’s skills is the more conventional “Full Power” ability.

In the downloadable content (DLC), the character interactions seem less carefully crafted compared to those in the main game. While some exchanges are entertaining, such as Vegeta calling Majin Kuu too weak to be a Saibaman or Goku mistakenly addressing Glorio during a fight, many others feel generic and unoriginal. A clear example of this is the dialogue that appears when you pair Panzy and Mini Goku in your team, where Panzy accuses Goku of stealing her food and Goku responds by apologizing for being hungry.

In the game Dragon Ball DAIMA, an encounter between Goku and Panzy seems out of character for their relationship and lacks the specificity found in many interactions within the base game. This issue of vagueness persists in the Encyclopedia’s Girl Talk mode, where players hear Bulma, Chi-Chi, and Videl discussing various characters. These discussions are filled with intricate Dragon Ball references, but even for non-canon characters, the descriptions can be overly vague. However, many of the characters from Dragon Ball DAIMA receive less detailed descriptions compared to others.

Super Saiyan Mini Goku’s description starts with Bulma saying:

“Guess you can become a Super Saiyan even when you’re a widdle first grader!”

Only for Videl to add:

“Geeze! Even though he’s this small, I can tell that he’s insanely strong!”

Other character sketches subtly allude to plot elements in “Dragon Ball DAIMA,” yet they purposefully avoid providing specific details about the characters. For instance, Bulma introduces Panzy by stating something along the lines of: “Panzy… she’s a mysterious figure with hidden depths, but I can’t reveal too much about her.

“Huh? Who’s this little cutie here? Never seen her before. You think she’s a human?”

Only for Chi-Chi to note:

“I don’t think so. Take a look at those pointy ears of hers. Wait a second! It’s sort of like…”

Allowing Videl to quickly interject:

“Yeah! They look just like Piccolo’s! You think there might be a connection?”

This phrasing seems intentionally vague and can encompass numerous possible story resolutions, particularly given that Piccolo’s connections to the Demon Realm had minimal impact on the narrative, mostly limited to occasional references.

Though the ambiguity in these character depictions could potentially lead to the conclusion that Dragon Ball DAIMA is not canon (since Bulma would recall such individuals and forms if both Dragon Ball Super and Dragon Ball DAIMA were considered canon), it’s worth noting that many of the game’s non-canon characters are given more specific descriptions, often referencing their past deeds or battles. This makes the girls’ bewilderment seem less like a humorous device and more like the writers being cautious, as they may not be fully aware of the character’s storyline.

When considering the DLC dialogues alongside one another, it becomes evident that most of them are painfully generic, as if they were penned by individuals who had a limited understanding of Dragon Ball DAIMA’s creative direction. It remains unclear why Bandai Namco divided the Dragon Ball DAIMA DLC in the way they did. Developing video games is a complicated process, making it likely that plans can undergo significant changes throughout the development phase. This complexity is magnified when the game is based on a licensed property, because numerous individuals and groups (each with their own preferences and viewpoints) must approve every decision, which can result in various disagreements.

In simpler terms, the unusual nature of the DLC for “Sparking! Zero” might not be connected to the anime’s creation process. Instead, it could be due to Toei or Bandai Namco thinking this was the most effective use of their development team’s time or a way to maximize the game’s earnings. However, when you compare the DLC pack’s oddities with the unresolved plot points and unusual rhythm in “Dragon Ball DAIMA,” it becomes clear that the story may not have been planned out completely from the beginning, and Akira Toriyama might have altered the story multiple times during production. This suggests that discussions about these issues are likely to continue for some time among fans.

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2025-04-23 21:12