Dragon Ball Daima (Japanese: ドラゴンボールDAIMA) is an upcoming Japanese anime television series produced by Toei Animation. It is the sixth televised animated installment in the Dragon Ball media franchise, and the second and last to have been written by franchise creator Akira Toriyama, who died in March 2024. The series is scheduled to begin broadcast on Fuji TV on October 11, 2024.

Dragon Ball Daima
Main visual
ドラゴンボールDAIMA
(Doragon Bōru Daima)
Genre
Anime television series
Directed by
  • Yoshitaka Yashima (director)
  • Aya Komaki (series director)
Written by
StudioToei Animation
Original networkFuji TV
Original run October 11, 2024 scheduled

Production

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Toei Animation announced at their New York Comic Con panel on October 12, 2023, that a new anime titled Dragon Ball Daima would be released in fall 2024.[1] Dragon Ball creator Akira Toriyama was said to be "deeply involved beyond his usual capacity" and is credited in the accompanying teaser trailer with the original work, story, and character designs.[1] A press release also credited him with creating the designs for many of the vehicles, monsters and background characters, and coining the title.[2] Toriyama provided a message to the Comic Con panel explaining that although "DAIMA" is a made-up term, it is written in Japanese as "大魔", which translates into English as "Evil".[1] Akio Iyoku, executive producer of the Dragon Ball franchise, said that the series had been in the works for the last five years, but the title was decided less than a month ago.[3] He would also later state that Toriyama "crafted the entire story", which Iyoku described as having a "strong sense of adventure and lots of action".[4]

In November 2023, the January 2024 issue of V Jump announced the main staff members of Dragon Ball Daima and confirmed that Masako Nozawa reprises her role as Goku.[5] Yoshitaka Yashima (animation director of Dragon Ball Super) and Aya Komaki (director of One Piece) both serve as directors of the anime, while Yuko Kakihara (Urusei Yatsura) is credited with series composition and scenario.[5] Katsuyoshi Nakatsuru, who previously worked on Dragon Ball, Dragon Ball Z and Dragon Ball GT, adapted Toriyama's character designs for animation.[5]

A second trailer focusing on Goku was released as part of the Dragon Ball Games Battle Hour event on January 28, 2024.[6] Character illustrations that Toriyama created for the anime, including some new characters, were shown during a livestream of the event.[6] Toriyama died on March 1, 2024.[7] A week later, the message he sent to the 2024 Tokyo Anime Awards Festival in acceptance of their Lifetime Achievement Award was publicly displayed at the event. In it, he revealed that Dragon Ball Daima was originally planned to be an original anime series without his involvement, "but as I gave advice here and there, I ended up getting deeply involved with the project without realizing it."[8][9]

A key visual featuring multiple characters with the tagline "Welcome to the Great Adventure!" and a third trailer were both released on July 19 and revealed that the show would debut that October.[10] On September 2, Fuji TV announced the specific broadcast details, including the start date of October 10, and that all episodes of the show were completed.[11] Two days later, a fourth trailer and a second key visual, featuring two more characters than the first visual and changing the tagline to "Welcome to the Demon Realm!", were released. The former revealed cast members Yumiko Kobayashi as Kaioshin, Koki Uchiyama as Glorio, and Fairouz Ai as Panzy, and also teased the show's theme song.[12] The roles of Showtaro Morikubo as Gomah, Junya Enoki as Degesu and Yoko Hikasa as Dr. Arinsu were announced by the franchise's official website on September 10.[13]

Music

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The series opening theme song is "Jaka Jaan" (ジャカ☆ジャ〜ン, Jaka Jān) by German record producer Zedd and Japanese vocal duo C & K. Zedd was offered the job of composing the song as he is an open fan of Dragon Ball, and the lyrics were written by Yukinojo Mori, who has written many songs for the franchise.[14] Mori commented that although he was worried about writing for the franchise yet again, Toriyama gave fresh excitement by changing its direction from "battle" to "adventure".[14] Keen of C & K is credited with co-composing the music.[15] The ending theme song is "Nakama" by Zedd featuring Japanese-American singer Ai. Zedd again composed the music, while Ai wrote the lyrics.[13]

Release

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Dragon Ball Daima will have its world premiere at Tokyo Big Sight on October 6, 2024, during the Dragon Ball Daimatsuri event, which commemorates the 40th anniversary of the original manga. The first episode will be screened three times throughout the day, with cast members in attendance during the first two.[16] The series will began its television broadcast on Fuji TV on October 11, 2024, airing on Fridays at 11:40 p.m. under a new anime programing block.[17] The first episode is ten minutes longer than normal.[16]

References

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  1. ^ a b c Mateo, Alex (October 12, 2023). "Toei Animation Announces New Dragon Ball Daima Anime (Updated With Comment)". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on October 18, 2023. Retrieved September 4, 2024.
  2. ^ "Set for Fall 2024 Release: The All-new Anime Series "Dragon Ball DAIMA"". Anime News Network. October 13, 2023. Archived from the original on October 13, 2023. Retrieved September 4, 2024.
  3. ^ "ドラゴンボールのエグゼクティブプロデューサー伊能昭夫さん、新作に自信「想像を超えるアクションはちゃんと用意」". Chunichi Shimbun (in Japanese). October 14, 2023. Archived from the original on January 30, 2024. Retrieved September 3, 2024.
  4. ^ "野沢雅子:新作「ドラゴンボールDAIMA」 悟空を演じ「うれしい」 鳥山明さんへ思いを込めたかめはめ波". Mantan Web (in Japanese). March 11, 2024. Retrieved September 3, 2024.
  5. ^ a b c Tai, Anita (November 20, 2023). "Dragon Ball Daima Anime Series Reveals Staff". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on February 8, 2024. Retrieved September 4, 2024.
  6. ^ a b Dempsey, Liam (January 28, 2024). "Dragon Ball Daima Anime Reveals New Goku Character Trailer". Crunchyroll. Archived from the original on January 29, 2024. Retrieved September 3, 2024.
  7. ^ Speed, Jessica (March 8, 2024). "Dragon Ball creator Akira Toriyama dies at 68". The Japan Times. Archived from the original on March 8, 2024. Retrieved September 3, 2024.
  8. ^ Garbutt, Emily (September 4, 2024). "Akira Toriyama's final Dragon Ball anime show, which he contributed to before his death, gets a new trailer". GamesRadar+. Archived from the original on September 5, 2024. Retrieved September 4, 2024.
  9. ^ Taniguchi, Riuichi (March 8, 2023). "【追悼・鳥山明さん】日本のカルチャーを世界的人気に導いた『ドラゴンボール』の功績". Real Sound (in Japanese). Archived from the original on May 20, 2024. Retrieved September 4, 2024.
  10. ^ Pineda, Rafael Antonio (July 19, 2024). "Dragon Ball Daima Anime's Trailer Reveals October Premiere Date". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on August 4, 2024. Retrieved September 4, 2024.
  11. ^ Echebiri, Makuochi (September 2, 2024). "'Dragon Ball Daima' FINALLY Sets Release Date". Collider. Archived from the original on September 6, 2024. Retrieved September 6, 2024.
  12. ^ Pineda, Rafael Antonio (September 3, 2024). "Dragon Ball Daima Anime's Trailer Reveals More Cast, Opening Song". Anime News Network. Retrieved September 4, 2024.
  13. ^ a b Loo, Egan (September 9, 2024). "Dragon Ball Daima Anime Unveils More Cast, Ending Song Artists". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on September 10, 2024. Retrieved September 10, 2024.
  14. ^ a b "Dragon Ball DAIMA Unveiling the second main visual and main trailer! Announcing the voice casting for new characters!! Plus, the opening theme is a super collaboration!". Dragon Ball Official Site. Shueisha. September 4, 2024. Archived from the original on September 4, 2024. Retrieved September 3, 2024.
  15. ^ "フジテレビ系「ドラゴンボールDAIMA」オープニング主題歌 作詞". Yukinojo Mori Official Site (in Japanese). Amuse Inc. September 5, 2024. Retrieved September 10, 2024.
  16. ^ a b Hodgkins, Crystalyn (September 2, 2024). "Dragon Ball Daima Anime Premieres on October 11". Anime News Network. Retrieved September 3, 2024.
  17. ^ Harding, Daryl (September 2, 2024). "Dragon Ball Daima TV Anime Starts October 11 With Extended 1st Episode". Crunchyroll. Retrieved September 3, 2024.
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