#at least glorio's doing the long haul

[neenack]

So, uh, she's just some girl Degesu hired

[duhragonball]

Daima 4: Chatty

I wish this guy was a cereal mascot, because you know his cereal would be awesome.

Last time, Glorio brought Goku and the Supreme Kai to the Third Demon World, but they got in a barroom brawl on their first night there, and Goku beat the patrons up so badly that they decided to steal Glorio's plane for revenge.

This situation is a lot like what happened in Episodes 3 and 4 of Dragon Ball GT, which sees Trunks' spaceship get towed away by the Imeckian authorities. But that's where the similarities end, and I think it's worth examining the differences to see what works and what doesn't.

Okay, so let's do a really quick recap of the Imecka storyline from GT. The GT crew is forced to land on Imecka to make emergency repairs, only to discover that Imecka is a hypercapitalist dystopia. They decide to stay with their ship because they can't afford the hotel, but the ship is impounded, because the planet's ruler, Don Kee, depends on trapping offworlders on his planet to maintain his financial empire. For some reason Pan insists they try to take back the ship without using their super powers, only to finally change her mind in Episode 5. Goku wins easily and they force Don Kee to return their ship and cancel all the debts owed by his citizens. Also, they meet Giru on Imecka, and Goku finds out he can't teleport in his child body.

I don't want to spend a lot of time griping about GT, but the main issue with the Imecka storyline are that it really doesn't have enough story to be a three-parter. Pan's self-imposed pacifist run feels like it was only designed to fill time, and the heroes keep forgetting that they can fly. When Goku finally does use force, he really only has to fight one major opponent, and it's a pretty quick battle. Meeting Giru was the most important thing that happens, but they could have encountered him literally anywhere else and it would still work. And Goku not being able to teleport seems like it ought to be a problem, but we never see a time where he couldn't just use flight or super-speed instead.

So how does Daima deal with this same setup? Well they start walking. Glorio doesn't even try to find the guys who took his plane, so I guess he figures it's long gone. In GT, the gang happened to show up just in time to see their ship being hauled away, and it needed repairs, so at least they knew no one would fly away with it. But I guess whoever took Glorio's plane flew out of town, so there's no way to catch up, even if they knew which way to go.

This seemed kind of strange to me at first, until I realized that Glorio doesn't need the plane quite as badly as the GT crew needed their ship. The GT guys were traveling from planet to planet, but Glorio's just escorting Goku to see King Kadan. He's already made it to the Third Demon World, so he can make the rest of the trip on foot. It's just going to take a lot longer this way. The Supreme Kai, is more concerned about how they're going to make the return trip, since they'll definitely need the plane to get back to Universe 7. But that's still a ways down the road. Glorio can only suggest that he'll figure out something later, but for now all they can do is head for the next town.

Actually, this is a nice way to showcase the characters and their differing motivations. Glorio's mostly annoyed by the inconvenience of the whole thing. Anyone who's had a car stolen or towed knows what he's going through right now. But in terms of his mission, he's basically where he needs to be, which is the Third Demon World. He's behind schedule, but he's still on his home turf.

The Supreme Kai is the one worried about their return trip because he's not on his home turf. He only came along because he wants to know more about King Kadan's plans for Goku, and Degesu's connection to King Gomah. He wants to know how they're getting back to Universe 7 because he kinda sorta runs the place and he can't afford to get stuck in the Demon Realm forever.

Then there's Goku, who's more care-free than the others. He does care about the mission. He wants to rescue Dende, restore himself and his friends to normal, and defeat King Gomah. He also cares about the plane. I think this is important because in GT it often felt like Goku hardly seemed to care about anything that much. But in Daima he's just as upset about the plane theft as the others. But he doesn't let it worry him for long. For Goku, there's no point worrying about the way home until they've finished their business in the Demon Realm. He'll worry about it after he saves Dende and clobbers Gomah, and not before.

All Goku's concerned about right now is getting to the good part, so he suggests they just fly to where they need to go. They can all fly under their own power, sure, but Glorio reminds Goku of the thicker air in Demon Realm. We saw this slowed down Goku's movements in the previous episode, and Glorio also explained that he couldn't fly the plane too fast in the Demon Realm atmosphere, because the wind resistance would tear it apart. Similarly, Goku could fly here, but he'd have to work a lot harder to do it, and he would wear himself out covering the distance they need to go.

And that might not be a big deal, except we've already established that this is hostile terrain. There's bandits and rowdy bar patrons and planejackers and that was just the last episode. They can't afford to fly long distances and then stop to rest.

Even so, they do fly a little, because there are big canyons with that Sea of Darkness thing below them. So you really can't go anywhere in Demon Realm without some sort of flight ability. But a big monster attacks Goku from out of the Sea of Darkness, and Glorio has to fight it off in mid-flight, which just goes to show how treacherous this place can be. We're used to characters zipping all around the world in Dragon Ball Z, but that sort of thing just doesn't work in Demon Realm, at least not for the kind of power level we're seeing in this show. Maybe Jiren or Beerus could fly around without a problem, I dunno.

Anyway, this is a really great way to change the playing field for this show. It took a few episodes to set it up, but it makes sense. This feels like the sort of flavor that early GT was going for, but could never quite pull off. That's because GT never seemed to establish how or why the characters would be less powerful than they were in Z. Goku was de-aged, yeah, but he and Trunks could still fly and turn Super Saiyan. Pan was a little kid, but she was still much, much stronger than anyone in O.G. Dragon Ball. So you kept getting episodes where they just acted like they couldn't fly or turn Super Saiyan, without ever explaining it.

What we're seeing here in Daima is a lot more like Krillin and Gohan's situation on Planet Namek. The boys could fly and shoot energy blasts, but they knew if they did that stuff, they would be detected by the bad guys' scouters. Then the scouters got destroyed, and they were a little safer, until it turned out that Vegeta had learned to sense ki the same way they could. So when Krillin took Gohan to meet Elder Guru, they had to travel slowly. Then as soon as they picked up the pace, Vegeta sensed their location immediately and came after them.

It also helps to introduce new characters like Glorio to the mix, since you won't be beholden to the established rules for the major characters. Daima has to nerf Goku and the Supreme Kai, but Glorio's a brand new guy, so he can be exactly as powerful as they need him to be, no explanations necessary.

It also helps to add new gimmicks to the story to make up for the powers you take away. Eventually, Glorio, Goku, and the Supreme Kai find this general store in the middle of nowhere, and they get some food. Glorio inquires about buying a new plane, but the couple who run the place don't have a plane, so they sell him a "Sky Seed" instead. There's a cute scene where they haggle over the price, but I don't want to get too bogged down. What I want to talk about instead is the other stuff for sale in this store: Medi Bugs.

So there's a display in the store that's just a bunch of wooden barrels filled with dead bugs. Gross, but they actually have special properties. There's one kind called the Revive Bug that works like a Senzu bean, but that's just for openers. There's Achichi Bugs for burns, Zutsu Bugs for headaches, and Beaut Bugs for silky smooth skin.

I can only assume that these are going to come in handy later in the show. Someone will get a really bad burn, and they'll eat a bug to fix it. Glorio will get a headache while filling out the paperwork to make the return trip to Universe 7, and that Zutsu bug will save the day. In episode 32 or whatever, Vegeta will take a self-care day and eat a Beaut Bug to enhance his skincare routine.

Oh, there's also a Join Bug that you cut in half and give to two people, and they fuse together. So we've already got fusion set up for down the road. Goku marks out for this, because I think he senses what we do: there's going to be a battle later in this show that's challenging enough that we need fusion to deal with it.

And you know, this might be another point in favor of the whole "Damia is a GT remake" theory. I don't buy it myself, but I can't quite dismiss it either. Maybe they came to Toriyama with a basic layout of GT story beats and he said "Yeah, we can do fusion near the end of the series, but we should lay the groundwork for it and build up to that moment." I don't think anyone really questioned GT Vegeta getting the Fusion Dance right on his first try, but it still would have been a bigger moment if they had been setting up for Gogeta instead of hotshotting it the way they did.

Anyway, Goku begs Glorio to buy him dead bugs the same way I used to ask my mother to buy me Transformers at Target. Then they head over to use the new Sky Seed Glorio just purchased.

Okay, so the Sky Seed is that Q-tip looking thing you may have seen in the closing credits. The guy who sells them has a whole routine he does to launch them, with a wizard robe and a megaphone and everything. But it's basically just a missile. There are plants in Demon Realm that make these Q-tip-shaped seeds and when you rip off part of one end, they launch into the air with tremendous force. The Supreme Kai has never heard of this, so about halfway into the flight he asks Glorio how he's steering the thing, and he explains that he's not. It's just a projectile, which means they need to fly off of it before it crashes.

This seems kind of silly, but it helps. The Sky Seed takes them "120 kilos" closer to where they're going. I don't know if that's kilometers or not, but that's pretty impressive. That's like an hour on the highway in a car, and it only took a few minutes. Glorio estimates it'll take half a day to get to the next town, and Goku suggests flying under their own power from there, and using the Revive Bugs to recover stamina. That's a pretty good plan, except Supreme Kai and Glorio don't want to eat bugs. Also, I would think Goku would want to save those Revive Bugs for a big fight, but he's bored with all this traveling.

Along the way, Goku asks Glorio about the Demon Realm's Dragon Balls, since Piccolo had mentioned there was a set here back in Episode 2. Glorio tells him that there's only three Demon Realm Dragon Balls, and you don't have to find them because everyone already knows where they are. Each one is located in one of the three Demon Worlds, rather prominently on display. The problem is that you can't take one without first defeating the Tamagami guardian who protects it. This was all arranged by Neva thousands of years ago. And no one has ever made a wish on these Balls, because the Tamagami are incredibly strong and have never been beaten. Well, maybe someone managed to beat one or two, but no one's ever made a clean sweep, that's for sure.

So this makes Goku all excited, because he's a rowdy boy and he loves fightin'. He wants to clobber the Tamagami and get the Dragon Balls just for the fun of it, but the Supreme Kai reminds him that they're here to save Dende first. But Glorio thinks this might not be a bad idea. Suppose Dende gets killed, or they can't rescue him. If Goku could defeat the Tamagamis, he could use the Demon Realm Dragon Balls to rescue Dende, then they could use the Earth's Dragon Balls again and restore their bodies to the proper age.

Goku's thrilled to have any excuse to pursue this plan, but after Glorio says it, he has this weird staredown with the Supreme Kai, who doesn't seem to be convinced. He's been suspicious of Glorio from the beginning, so maybe we're beginning to see Glorio's ulterior motive starting to take shape. Officially, he's here to bring Goku to defeat Gomah, but maybe he really wants Goku to defeat the Tamagamis.

I'm not sure what the implications of this would be. For example, let's say Goku wins and makes his wish. Do the Tamagami reset and then someone else would have to defeat them all over again to make the next wish? Or would the Tamagami be gone forever, allowing the Demon Realm Dragon Balls to be gathered and used by anyone who can find them? It might alter the balance of power in the Demon Realm, which is probably why Neva stayed behind and set up the Tamagamis in the first place.

But on the other hand, I'm glad we're already talking about Goku fighting these big unbeatable guardians. I mean, they're all over the opening and closing credits, so I was pretty sure it would come down to this anyway, but it's better to confirm it early on and give the audience something to look forward to. Episodes 3 and 4 haven't gotten a whole lot done, but they have been steadily filling up Goku's dance card. He's gotten into several skirmishes just walking around the Third Demon World, and we already know he'll be doing some fusion and fighting Gomah, and all three Tamagamis. Oh, and he fights Vegeta a little in the opening credits, so if they want to do another Goku vs. Vegeta fight on top of the rest, I'm down to clown.

In the next town, Goku and pals find the villagers being hassled by King Gomah's royal goons. They're here for the classic evil tax collection bit, but with a twist. They've put magic collars on everyone so they can't run away, and they also have a device that drains the life force out of people. So if you can't pay the tax, which King Gomah has increased from 1 gold piece to three, then you lose three years of your life for each gold piece you can't pay. There's an old man who can't afford to pay, and losing nine years of his life will kill him, so he's kind of fucked. Just as Goku decides to intervene...

This character shows up. She throws a "Wasabi bomb" at the guards, but it's a dud, so she just ends up running away. She's got a taser, too, but that doesn't do much good, so just when it looks like she's captured, Goku jumps in and goes to town on all the guards. Not just any town. Goku Town.

So this fight scene kicks ass. The barroom fight from the last episode was pretty sweet, but we've already topped it. The bad guys are more evil and better armed, so it's even more satisfying when Goku clobbers them. Also the choreography is just gorgeous. Goku's swinging the Nyoibo around like a maniac, bouncing off walls, doing all sorts of flippy shit like an indy wrestler with nothing to lose, and it really reminds me of Goku invading Red Ribbon headquarters way back in the day. If the rest of the series is anything like this, then we are in very good hands.

And to turn back to GT Episode 4 for a moment, this is what Goku could have been doing in that show, except he just... didn't. Because Pan told him no. For no apparent reason. So it's refreshing to see Daima Goku charting a very different course. Glorio also told Goku to stand down, but at least he had a good reason. They were having a hard enough time as it was without revealing their presence to King Gomah's men. But Goku had all he could stands, and he couldn't stands no more. He had to jump in and kick ass. He had to. That's who he is.

I think Dragon Ball Super kind of created this version of Goku who kind of didn't care about what was happening. I'm not sure it was intentional, or if it's even present in the text, but the fans got really fed up with "Stupid Goku," the version of Goku who didn't understand kissing, and constantly had to have the plot explained to him. DBS Goku was pretty lackadaisical about the Tournament of Power, and recruiting Frieza, and promising to bring Frieza back to life to get him to join the team. I would occasionally defend DBS Goku, but usually the best I could come up with was that he really didn't have much of a choice in these scenarios, and he was just refusing to stress out about things he couldn't control. Fans wanted him to stop Grand Zeno from erasing universes, but how could Goku do that?

Well, you can certainly argue that maybe the writers should have thought of that before they came up with the story. The gods in Dragon Ball Super were too big to stop, so it left Goku in a position where he didn't have much agency. Grand Zeno saved him from Beerus and Champa, Grand Zeno saved him from Zamasu, and Android 17 just happened to win the Tournament of Power and make the one wish that wouldn't get everyone erased. You know what? Dragon Ball Super kind of sucked.

Daima gets it right. Glorio knows the smart play is to keep quiet and let the injustice play out, but Goku doesn't care. The Turtle School taught him to use martial arts to help the weak. And Saiyans aren't much for hiding, and Goku's no ordinary Saiyan anyway. He came here to wreck Gomah's shit. If clobbering Gomah's men attracts Gomah's attention, then good, it means the fight will come to Goku that much sooner. If Gomah sends more troops after Goku, then the fight will be that much more fun for Goku.

Maybe King Kadan didn't understand what he was getting into, but Goku's the Legendary Super Saiyan. You want stealthy heroics, go call Batman or whatever. But don't drop a war machine in your backyard and then complain about the noise.

Anyway, when the dust settles, Goku's like "Oops, I didn't meant to kick this much ass. Sorry!" and they have to run out of town. Glorio's annoyed that Goku's made himself a fugitive on top of everything else, but before they can discuss it further that girl from earlier shows up and unmasks to reveal... a girl?

Well, it's the girl we see in the closing credits, so I'm glad we finally got her on the board. I'm pretty sure her name is Panzy, because that's the title of the next episode.