I’m a former Dragon Ball Z fan. Why Daima is bringing me back to the anime franchise

When I was in elementary and high school (remember the late 90s and early 2000s), Dragon Ball Z was my favorite show. Although I still consider him one of the best animated series ever madeI have to admit that I haven’t seen Goku, Piccolo, Vegeta and the rest of the Z Fighters in action, at least not regularly, in over a quarter of a century. I guess you could call me a legacy fan.

But everything changed when a colleague recommended Dragon Ball Dime shortly after the first performance since death of franchise creator Akira Toriyama debuted on TV schedule for 2024. After watching the first episode (they are released weekly for everyone who has Netflix subscription), I must say that I’m all charged up, like from one of Goku’s Kamehameha attacks. And guess what? I feel like a child I watch 90s anime all over again!

Goku and team — (Image courtesy of Funimation)

I was a big fan of Dragon Ball Z as a kid, but fell away during the long breaks between seasons.

Cartoon Network’s very influential Toonami software block This used to be my problem, so much so that I would run home as soon as my bus pulled into my parents’ street. Every day I would rush out the door, drop my backpack and sit down for a couple of hours to watch shows like Reboot, Gundam Wing, Sailor Moon and of course Dragon Ball Z. I’ll never forget watching those first few seasons – the Saiyan Saga, Frieza’s fight on Namek where Goku went up against Super Saiyan for the first time, the wild war with the Androids, and then Cell – but then everything came to a screeching halt before the start of the Buu Saga .

Back then, when I still had a dial-up modem and no access to Japanese videotapes, I had to wait a long time until the next sagas were localized for American television. At some point before the Buu saga began, I stopped watching. Dragon Ball Z. I stopped filling my folder with terrible drawings of my favorite characters, and I stopped looking at images from subsequent seasons and sequels. Dragon Ball GT. And I never returned… until now.

Super Saiyan Young Goku Charges Up

(Image credit: Toei Animation)

After years of not knowing where to start a new series, Dragon Ball Daima gave me an entry point.

Until I stopped looking Dragon Ball Z The franchise continued many years ago with various TV series, films, video games and other media. However, overwhelmed by hours of stories to catch up on and characters to get to know, I never went back simply because I didn’t know where to start without going back to the beginning and rewatching seasons I’d already watched multiple times .

But when I heard my colleague talk about Dragon Ball Dime and how much fun it was to watch and how perfect it was for lapsed fans like me, I decided it was finally time to return and rekindle my love for the franchise that meant so much to me as a child. In one episode, I have to admit that I feel like I’m that awkward 12-year-old version of myself who thought a short-sleeved shirt and sweater vest looked good again.

Degusu prepares to attack.

(Image credit: Toei Animation)

The premiere of “Daima” went a long way in helping me figure out what I missed in the later episode “Dragon Ball Z” before heading off on my next journey.

When I first looked Dragon Ball Dime premiere, I was take effect immediately Dragon Ball Zespecially the Buu saga which I missed years ago. I was finally able to see what Majin Buu was and all the different forms of this destructive and incredibly powerful being. The first half of the episode is essentially a recap of everything I missed, told through the eyes of Goma, the new King of the Demon Realm, before he begins his journey that will play out throughout the series.

Not only that, Dragon Ball Dime The premiere (the only episode available at the time of writing) also revealed that Z-fighters what they’ve been up to since then and how they settled into life after the extensive battle with Buu.

But then, in the final moments of the episode, Goma, Degesu and an ancient Namekian named Neva leave the Demon Realm and invade Earth to steal the planet’s Dragon Balls and wish for all the warriors to turn into children, starting a new life. an adventure similar to what happened to Goku in Dragon Ball GT.

Young Piccolo is preparing to hit someone

(Image credit: Toei Animation)

The mixture of humor, drama, horror and action that made me fall in love with Akira Toriyama’s series is better than ever.

I used to like how Dragon Ball Z found a way to mix humor, drama, horror and action to create truly wild situations. On one hand you have Goku pretending to be an angel or eating a ton of food, but on the other hand you have devilish creatures that can wipe out entire cities without even reaching their final form. I was so happy to see this Dragon Ball Dime continued this wild combination of genres.

Again, I’ve only watched the first episode so far, but everything about this premiere was amazing and I’m so excited to see how things progress for all these young Z-Fighters as they try to make things right again. And the Demon Realm looking both cool and disturbing is something I hope we see a lot more of in the future, even if it’s just Goku eating giant bowls of demon rice or some weird bowl of food.

Super Saiyan Goku in the Cell Saga Dragon Ball Z

(Image credit: Toei Animation)

I feel like Dragon Ball Daima was made for laggard fans like me and that’s great

There is no doubt that a significant part Dragon Ball Z fans have never stopped watching the series and have remained loyal to the franchise over the years, but I can’t help but feel that Dragon Ball Dime was created with former fans like me. There’s so much about the show that seems aimed at those viewers who have long since fallen off the train and need help getting their clothes back on before things really get going.

If this was the intention of the late Akira Toriyama and everyone else involved in making the sequel, then hats off to them because this could be an amazing model that other long-running franchises could use in the future. But I hope it’s there there won’t be many extra episodes How Dragon Ball Z.

New episodes Dragon Ball Dime are available every Friday on Netflix, and I’ll be there to check them out like a prodigal fan on his way home. We don’t know yet what does the future hold for the franchise?there are some upcoming Netflix movies and shows Worth watching, especially for anime fans.

Watch Dragon Ball Daima on Netflix.

I’m a former Dragon Ball Z fan. Why Daima is bringing me back to the anime franchise

I was a big fan of Dragon Ball Z as a kid, but fell away during the long breaks between seasons.

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