Dragon Ball Daima - Episode 2. Review without spoilers. The spark of adventure has been lit

How little Goku was missed! Always restless, a little unruly and with that innocence that, let’s be fair, he never lost even being the most powerful saiyan. The second episode of Dragon Ball Daima serves as a springboard for the beginning of the great adventure and, in the process, reminds us why the origins of Akira Toriyama’s work were so fun. Aligning the anime just a little bit to the spirit of Dr. Slump and Sand Land to, from there, prepare the viewer for the greatest journey of our tiny heroes.

If the first episode of Dragon Ball Daima It served both as a letter of introduction and for the audience to locate themselves within the chronology of the Dragon World, the second functions as a reunion with the little Son Goku whom we met 40 years ago in the pages of Shonen Jump. A little boy with wild hair and tremendously impatient who, instead of cowering in the face of adversity, sees the opportunity to get into new trouble. And, in the process, as Toriyama warned more than a year ago, he recovers his mythical staff. Pure fanservice.

And in “Glorio”, the name of the second episode of Dragon Ball Daimaa second brave step is taken but in the right direction: Akira Toriyama, who in addition to creating the original work acted as scriptwriter in this anime, reminds us that Dragon Ball was not always about epic battles, but about moments capable of generating a special complicity with the reader and the viewer. Making the simple, the unexpected and what is familiar shine in a special way on the screen.

The second episode of Dragon Ball Daima serves as a springboard for the beginning of the great adventure

Channeling Goku and his friends towards their next great destiny whose nature and promising possibilities are present from the title of the series itself: the Dai ma-kai

. Or, as Miguel de Cervantes would say, the kingdom of demons.

What happened so far…

“Goku and his friends have been dwarfed by Gomah’s plan. They discover that they must go to the demonic world and begin to prepare. Goku picks up his Magic Staff and faces the adventure with enthusiasm. Then the young Majin Glorio appears.”

Beyond the twelve known universes lies el dai ma – kai. For a long time these mysterious domains were ruled by the supreme demon king Dábra, who was not only powerful and an expert in dark magic, but exceptionally evil.

Not long ago, the sorcerer Bábidi used a spell to subdue Dábra. This exceptional spell was based on taking advantage of the evil of each being to turn the target into his puppet, although the sorcerer’s plan was not to claim the kingdom of demons, but to awaken the Bu Monster on planet Earth. Something that, by the way, claimed the life of Dábra.

Luckily for the entire universe, both Bábidi and Bu were stopped by an exceptional fighter named Son Goku with the help of his friends, the inhabitants of the Earth and even the gods themselves.

Goku had not the slightest interest in traveling to the Demon realm. In fact, I was unaware of its existence. But Gomah, the successor and new monarch of the Dai ma-kai, understood that the existence of beings as powerful as Dábra and the Monster Bu was a potential threat, so he made the determination to go to Earth and get rid of these dangerous mortals. using a wish of the dragon balls.

Since Earth’s dragon balls use white magic, they cannot annihilate Goku and his friends. Instead, Gomah decides to use his wish to the sacred dragon to c onvert everyone who played a role in the fight against the Bu Monster. in harmless little children

. What the new regent of the Dai ma – kai does not suspect is that the mischievous Goku was already a formidable fighter when he was just a brat.

Without going into details, the episode “Glorio” returns Goku, Krillin or Piccolo to the appearance of children with which they debuted in the manga and anime while showing us a fun rejuvenated version of the rest of the protagonists of Dragon Ball Z. And although some seem happy with this new youth, grumpy Vegeta is eager to settle scores with the culprit.

For his part, Goku wastes no time and, sensing that there is a great adventure ahead, decides to recover the staff with which he undertook his first trips in search of the dragon balls. Because perhaps his punches and kicks have lost strength and range, but His spirit and his Saiyan passion are still enormous.

And it is then, at a point in the process in which inquiries begin to be made, when the name of the episode appears in front of their noses: like Dábra and Gomah, the mysterious young Glorio He is also an inhabitant of the Dai ma – kai. He does not have a threatening air and the only two things he carries with him are his gun and a ship capable of traveling between Earth and the demonic realm. Chance? Not at all: this demon has specifically gone to look for Goku.

Goku wastes no time and decides to recover the staff for his next adventure.

Since there is still no technology on Earth to reach this realm (a certain prodigious scientist is already working on it) Glorio offers to take little Goku to the Dai ma – kai a little before the rest of his friends. And although our brave hero with a staff hardly sees any problems, the rest can’t help but wonder if this mysterious demon who appeared by surprise is really someone to be trusted.

The return of the magic staff is synonymous with adventures

As we already mentioned, the episode “Glorio” leaves aside the frenetic action associated with Dragon Ball intentionally, and it does well: despite the fact that the protagonists of Toriyama’s work barely had minutes on screen in the inaugural chapter, they now return, picking up the story where they left off almost thirty years ago at the end of the manga. Well, not at the end at all but right after the battle against the Bu monster.

It is worth repeating that the animation, on behalf of Toei Animation, is fully aware of the demands of fans from all over the world and of any age. Being, for all intents and purposes, a production that with only two episodes broadcast radiates extra care both on screen and through the voice work of the Japanese cast. Accommodating young viewers, but also those who watched the anime all those years ago. And that, for those of us who live on this side of the world, raises the most obvious question: when will we see Goku speak in other languages?

What I can tell you is that the tone of this episode recovers two aspects that have always been present in Dragon Ball but that in one way or another had been reserved for the least relevant moments:

That group dynamic with elements of exquisitely simple humor that we saw in Akira Toriyama’s first works and that propelled him to Dr. Slumphis first success.

That exquisite feeling of moving between the familiar and the mysterious. Because at this point it is legitimate to start making comparisons with Dragon Ball GT, but there are elements and new pieces on the board that make the set feel special and different. And it’s still early to see how original it will end up being.

What is clear is that the fact that Goku has decided to recover his emblematic magic staff is not a matter of design and we do not know if it will end up being something substantial for the plot, but it is more than clear that Toriyama’s intention was recover the spirit and sensations of great adventure in a big world with elements of comedy and action that he is looking forward to showing to his fans and new viewers. With new characters that, little by little, will give nuances to the plot and with very beloved heroes that we will rediscover not only because of their “mini” appearance, but also because we see them for the first time getting into different types of trouble.

And between one thing and another, a sensational premise: seeing the reckless Goku again with his Staff and the more restless Bulma embarking on a new quest with old and new friends. Being, for all intents and purposes, both a sensational tribute to the 40 years since it began publication Dragon Ballas a full stop for the adventures of the characters that fascinated entire generations by resuming a very special custom: the feeling of being satisfied with what you have seen and that the best will always come next week.