Dragon Ball Daima Viewer Survey Results: Part 4
Part 4 of my Dragon Ball Daima Viewer Survey results are here! How did fans feel about 10 different aspects of Daima?
Topics in Part 4 include:
- Viewers agreed or disagreed with 10 sentiment statements—Second 5
If you missed Part 1, go read it now, where I covered:
- The language of Daima the viewers watched
- Where they watched it
And Part 2, where I covered:
- Overall Daima series rating
- How many episodes they watched
- If they engaged in repeat viewings
- Recommended it or not
- Watched it alone or with others (and with whom)
And Part 3, where I covered the first 5 sentiment statements.
Let’s dive in.
10 Sentiment Statements
The 1,182 participants who completed the survey were asked to agree or disagree with the following 10 statements, with an “Agree” or “Disagree” button.
These statements appeared in a random order in the survey for each participant.
I will present the statements in the order of what viewers agreed with the most, down to what they agreed with the least (i.e., disagreed with the most).
With each statement I will express the general sentiment behind what most viewers felt, and why these are the results that were received.
I will leave my personal bias out of it, except for the final result.
6) Daima’s Ideas and Writing Were Good
A film or TV show is only as good as its writing. It doesn’t matter how talented the actors, music, and special effects are, if the writing’s bad, then the final result will disappoint fans.
We’re at the 6th ranking and still high in the agreement percentages, but we have reached the 1/3rd mark for disagreements with this statement.
802 (67.85%) participants agreed that Daima’s ideas and writing were good, while 380 disagreed.
The majority of fans liked the writing, with many loving it, as they praised the additions to the Dragon World’s lore, the new characters, the new vehicles, jokes, transformations, fanservice, action, and Akira Toriyama’s lighthearted charm.
One viewer said, “Dragon Ball Daima returns to the roots of Toriyama’s writing style, where he has as much fun as he wants to and takes the story wherever he wants it to go; which is a breath of fresh air from Super’s uninspired storytelling—with it mainly focusing on fanservice without much story cohesion.”
Many fans fell in the middle. They said they were sometimes bored or confused, and at other times entertained and laughing, with a bit of action here, too much exposition there, and a mish-mash of different goals, end results, and feelings.
One said, “It had a lot of good ideas, and I enjoyed the Demon Realm, but I think the moment-to-moment writing should have gone through another draft. Very exposition dump-y. And in typical Tōei fashion, the pacing of the show was pretty bad.”
Above all, they praised the comedy as Daima’s strongest point. Every episode had something funny in it. And the ending made a lot of viewers laugh out loud (myself included).
But some were flat-out disappointed by it.
One viewer’s pithy comment was a hypothetical question by viewers of, “Y’all got any good writing?”, and then Tōei’s hypothetical response in the negative of, “We got hype moments and aura.”
Common topics of viewer complaints included poor pacing, too much exposition, too much lore (or not enough in the right places, or with nonsensical explanations), illogical power-ups and transformations that came out of nowhere, episodes that seemed to contain filler, poor use of certain characters (such as Piccolo), making Goku look stupid, too many characters (who then didn’t do enough), weak antagonists, weak storylines and character arcs, formulaic events, boring dialogue, and an underutilization of the Demon World after decades of fans wanting to learn more about it.
On top of that, there were many bits of lore that contradicted previous facts, some plotlines were never capitalized on (such as the fusion bugs and the prisoner collars that Panzy said she would have removed for her fellow citizens (but we never see do)), it catered too much to nostalgia instead of introducing new ideas, and the writers didn’t connect Daima to the events in Dragon Ball Super in a logical way (which left fans confused).
There were mixed opinions about Toriyama’s involvement, with some fans praising his touch in its more obvious moments, while others felt like they could see what Toriyama had in mind but his idea was poorly executed, and they attribute this to the other writers and producers of the series.
This bias for or against Toriyama often leads to praise in some areas and criticism in others. Of course, no one outside of Toriyama’s inner circle knows for certain who contributed what line, scenario, or character, in any given moment.
In the end, Daima had successful writing overall, but with serious caveats. None of those caveats alone could take a viewer’s perception of it from a ‘great’ show to a ‘terrible’ show, but many of them added up could take it from ‘great’ to ‘average’.
7) Daima Excited Me from Beginning to End
Similar to the previous topic in how it relates to the show’s writing, here we get to the first truly divisive topic, with fans split down the middle.
660 (55.83%) participants agreed that Daima excited them from beginning to end, while 522 did not.
This was the most controversial of the 10 statements, and for many the most important. They were also the most vocal about this topic.
Before I made this survey, I heard from a lot of fans on social media watching Daima that they felt the show’s pacing was poor. Knowing this going in, I chose not to make this statement about the pacing in particular because I felt this would have an implicit bias in the question.
Instead, I chose to make it about the end result of supposedly poor or proper pacing, which is the feeling of excitement. If you felt the show was exciting from beginning to end, then that meant the pacing was good; if not, then the pacing was bad.
Many fans felt the story started strong, with mystery, tension, and a sense of embarking on a new adventure. But as episodes continued and characters were revealed, the mood shifted, events got drawn out, or events continued to repeat themselves in unentertaining and illogical ways (such as the spaceship breaking down a second time, and then a third time), the storyline became hit or miss, character arcs went unfulfilled or were predictable, scenes that were alluded to earlier were never depicted, and the villains at each stage were underwhelming. These viewers became bored.
For example, one viewer said, “Its big downfall was its pacing. The more laid-back approach was fine at first, but right up to the end, it never felt like it really picked up. Repetitive plot beats, like the ship breaking down, and a general lack of tension, made watching it a chore sometimes.”
Another said, “The biggest problem with Daima was the episode structure. So many times, I could tell episodes just ended because they ran out of time for a 23-minute TV slot; not because that was where the story was naturally meant to conclude. It made the series very hard to keep coming back to.”
And, “The sheer love and talent put into the animation was wasted on subpar writing, retcons, and attempts at worldbuilding that raised more questions than they answered. It’s a show I wanted to love, but couldn’t due to it falling short. Writing quality really is everything.”
Other fans loved it from start to finish and appreciated the slower moments as a build-up to what came later.
Yet here’s the most fascinating result. As I showed in Part 2 of these survey results, fans watched the series to the end, regardless of if they were bored or excited.
There are many ways to interpret this result, such as citing Akira Toriyama’s involvement (or lack of it), being forced to comply with broadcast television time standards and adding filler material, or being pressed for time and falling back on formulaic tropes instead of original writing.
What is your explanation?
8) Daima Was a Dragon Ball GT Reboot
When Daima was announced, fans saw the childlike Goku, spaceships, and the theme of a new adventure, and some felt like it was a reboot of Dragon Ball GT (1996), the still-controversial and anime-only continuation of the series that lacked Akira Toriyama’s writing.
Yet Daima had Akira Toriyama’s writing, so if anything, it would be a good GT reboot, right?
But was it a reboot at all?
Akio Iyoku, the Executive Producer of Dragon Ball Daima and current franchise runner, answered this question in an interview on February 11, 2025 on the Japanese pop culture news site Mantan-Web.
Iyoku said, “We primarily targeted viewers in their early 30s who grew up watching Dragon Ball GT and now have children of their own; the idea was to create a new series with the same spirit as GT.”
So Iyoku’s goal was to create a new series with the same spirit as GT for people who grew up watching GT, but it wasn’t a straight reboot of GT.
What did the fans think?
At 8th in our list, we reach our first negative result.
534 (45.17%) participants felt that Daima was a Dragon Ball GT reboot, while 648 (54.82%) did not agree.
Iyoku’s statement came out on February 11, after 17 episodes of the Japanese version’s broadcast run, and it appeared on a Japanese pop culture site. So unless you’re a hardcore Dragon Ball fan who follows the latest news, you probably never read Iyoku’s statement. And even if you had, you had probably formed your own opinion about the matter by this point.
This meant you experienced the series for what it is, without his intentions coloring your perspective.
But now that you’ve heard what Iyoku has to say about it, do you feel that Daima is more or less like GT?
One viewer referred to Daima as, “Dragon Ball GT 2.0, with better animation.”
Another said, “I liked that Akira Toriyama’s final project in life was a passion project and love letter to GT. Returning to its roots in Daima and GT are highlights, as Dragon Ball at its core was supposed to be a fun and magical adventure, not just flashy fight scenes and power levels. Toriyiama said it best when he said he wanted fans to enjoy GT with him. He himself enjoyed it and he wanted more content similar to GT for fans of the next generation to enjoy too; which you can tell by watching Daima.”
Either way, the results show us that 55% of fans felt it was not a GT reboot. But that’s a close result.
One viewer took a business approach to this question of intent, saying, “Daima was created as a replacement for Dragon Ball GT, utilizing its iconography and visuals to serve as a more marketable alternative moving forward. … [But] GT’s ideas and writing were ultimately unusable for Daima to repurpose.”
Given this split result, it seems that Iyoku succeeded in his goal of making “a new series with the same spirit as GT.”
Whether or not you think that’s good is a different question.
9) Daima Was Marketed Well
Tōei Animation has an infamous history of not marketing Dragon Ball well outside of Japan.
The financial success of the 4 most-recent Dragon Ball Z and Super films, along with the global success of the Dragon Ball Super anime—despite poor marketing on their part—had shown Tōei that international fans would come out to support this franchise. Yet with each new release, Tōei continued to fail in their marketing efforts to appeal to international fans.
Why? It’s almost as if Tōei felt like it was a waste of money to even try to market their new Dragon Ball products because fans would come out and watch them regardless.
Did Tōei do a better job with Daima?
No, fans felt that they did not.
385 (32.57%) participants felt that Daima was marketed well, while 797 (67.42%) felt that it was not. So, a direct 1/3rd and 2/3rd result.
There weren’t any specific critiques of the marketing from viewers except to say that it “was bad,” it “sucked,” it was “mis-marketed,” or it was “atrocious.”
One cynical viewer stated that the only reason for the show’s existence in the first place was to market new toys to kids, as if that explains why it shouldn’t be marketed to anyone.
The most serious marketing effort that was made to promote Daima consisted of an initial reveal and teaser trailer at the 2023 New York Comic-Con. I praise Tōei for flying across the world to do this. But even this reveal was met with many boos and disrespectful responses from fans (much to my chagrin). These fans wanted to see the continuation of the Dragon Ball Super anime, and not something that appeared so childish.
Months later, this trailer was followed by a couple more teaser trailers as the show approached its premiere.
These trailers were effective in generating hype among lifelong fans, but did they reach audiences outside of those who were going to watch it regardless?
And with all due respect, a few trailers is a rather low budget effort, as these trailers could have been made by a single video editor.
Where was the marketing to promote the most lucrative and influential shōnen anime of all time, and the swan song of its creator, Akira Toriyama?
Did you see commercials or ads for the show on social media, on YouTube, on on-demand TV channels, on broadcast TV, on billboards, on the sides of busses, on the radio, on podcasts, in magazines, or anywhere aside from those trailers?
I never did.
Where were the toys, the T-shirts, and the merchandise buzz before the show aired? Aside from a few figures and some video game DLC releases that were announced as the show was airing (only to arrive months afterward), there was almost nothing.
And promotional efforts outside of Japan and the United States? Unheard of.
Yet, Dragon Ball fans still talked about it and watched it.
That may be all well and good for Tōei’s financial returns, but I keep wondering when Tōei is going to realize that there are other people who want to watch Dragon Ball besides those who already watch it.
Can’t Tōei plan, and schedule, and give Dragon Ball the respect it deserves?
Maybe they could finally spend some of the literal billions they’ve earned from this franchise on their marketing efforts?
10) Daima Was Intended for Adults
The 10th and final sentiment statement in my survey may not come as a surprise.
Only 288 (24.36%) participants agreed that Dragon Ball Daima was intended for adults, while 894 (75.63%) disagreed.
Here’s a sneak-peak of my survey’s demographics info to point out that 98.22% of participants in this survey were age 16+, yet ~76% of participants felt that Daima wasn’t intended for adults.
In other words, Daima wasn’t intended for most of its audience. At least not the audience that took my survey.
Why do adult fans feel this way?
One viewer said that Daima was, “A children’s show with a few moments to satisfy the adults. Such a disappointing installment to the franchise. Dragon Ball is not a kid’s show.”
Hasn’t Dragon Ball always been a kid’s show?
Yes, and I often say that Dragon Ball is made for 12-year-old Japanese boys. Of course, it can be liked by anyone—and is.
But international audiences often don’t perceive Dragon Ball as a kid’s show.
The primary reason for this is Dragon Ball Z. This series was intended for the 12-year-old boys in Japan who grew up with the Dragon Ball manga and anime and wanted more mature action and violence. Yet it’s still full of immature humor and silliness, care of Akira Toriyama’s charm; which is part of what makes it feel balanced and kid-friendly.
To simplify the point, the main issue is that in the English-speaking fandom is that Millennials grew up with Dragon Ball Z first and it was marketed as action-oriented and intense. So they still have the perception that ‘the entire Dragon Ball franchise = DBZ,’ instead of the entire franchise being made for 12-year-olds. As a result, in their minds, anything that is like DBZ is good, and if it’s not like DBZ, it’s bad. And if it takes the action and violence to an even higher level, then it’s great!
So then Daima comes along and it’s not like DBZ, so they think it’s for kids instead of for them.
And this is almost as true for kids who grew up with Dragon Ball Super in the mid-to-late ‘10s and are still watching in the 20s, in that Super is more like DBZ than GT and Daima.
So you can’t blame fans for thinking that the franchise is for adults, because that’s how the show and the franchise were presented.
Combine this with the multiple child-like qualities of Daima, such as the miniature cast that consists of kids and babies, a shiny veneer to their character designs, absence of on-screen violence or death, kid-friendly music, and lighthearted scenarios in spite of being in a literal Demon World, and it’s easy to see why most adults felt disconnected from the series.
Returning to Executive Producer Akio Iyoku’s statement, he added, “We wanted parents to feel encouraged to watch with their kids, so we paid close attention to the presentation.”
By this we can infer he meant to remove blood and extreme violence, mature themes, and adult content from the show that fans of Dragon Ball Z have always wanted to see more of.
Astute fans in the online community noticed blood in the first Dragon Ball Daima teaser trailer that was trickling down Vegeta’s forehead (while sparring against Goku) in what would later come to be Episode 1 of the series. At the time, such fans felt that the presence of blood might redeem the otherwise childish premise.
But in the actual show, there was no blood.
This suggests the blood and more violent content was removed—if other examples ever existed. Perhaps this was done for the sake of appeasing broadcast censors in Japan, or to appeal more to adults who would supervise their kids while watching the show together.
Whether you are interested in Iyoku’s approach or not is a personal take, but one problem with his response is that Daima wasn’t advertised and framed like a show made for parents to watch with their kids. Daima doesn’t look like typical child-friendly entertainment (such as a Disney or Pixar film), it wasn’t broadcast on TV when kids are awake, and it wasn’t labeled anywhere as a kid’s show. Plus, audiences didn’t know the producer’s intention for the show going into it.
What we have here is a problem of identity, target demographics, and marketing.
Perhaps this is why participants in this survey felt that Daima was more like a show made for kids who could also watch it with their parents, instead of a show for adults who may also want to watch it with kids.
Yet as I showed in my survey, it was adults who were watching—alone—and not with kids.
Was the original intent truly to make a children’s show for adults, as Iyoku said?
Consider how odd the following TV show premise sounds, as if executives were sitting around a board room and discussing ideas for a new Dragon Ball show.
‘Let’s make a show in 2024 about a cast of adults who are shrunk down to the size of kids in order to reboot a show from 1995 where the same thing happened—even though that was the least successful and most maligned series in the franchise—so we can make a cartoon that appeals to the nostalgia of adults who grew up with that show and now have their own kids—even though a large number of those adults don’t have kids in Japan and abroad because of the poor global economy—yet limit its accessibility by broadcasting it at midnight on Japanese TV and to paid adult subscribers on streaming platforms that require a credit card that kids don’t have and thus prevents kids from watching it!’
Seems like a strange business strategy. But maybe I’m missing something.
From a creative standpoint, I get that the Dragon Ball producer’s intent was to make a series that the whole family can watch. This is in line with Akira Toriyama’s artistic philosophy that his work should feel like “pure entertainment” rooted in the lighthearted spirit of the 1970s and ’80s. I love that idea, and you should respect the source material.
But the problem with this is four-fold.
First, most adult Dragon Ball fans have matured, their tastes in entertainment have evolved, and technology has advanced.
Second, today’s kids are into short attention span theater on devices that offer countless forms of free entertainment.
Third, in Japan, they can’t stay up late to watch it. And globally, most kids can’t get access to it without their parent’s credit card.
Fourth, kids likely haven’t watched the other Dragon Ball series that Daima was built upon and relies on you being familiar with for so much of its story and character’s pasts.
So there’s a disconnect between what the producers of Dragon Ball offered, what Dragon Ball fans wanted, and where and how they wanted to watch it.
Daima can entertain adults, but the results reveal that it was not intended for adults.
In conclusion: The producers of Daima made a show for kids and told adults to watch it.
The fascinating part is that ~76% of participants felt that the show wasn’t intended for them, yet an equal ~76% felt that the show was a successful series overall. So even though it wasn’t made for them, they liked it.
What do you think that tells us?
Conclusion of Part 4
This concludes the 10 sentiment statements section of my Daima survey.
Did the results align with your own preferences, or did something surprise you?
Come back soon for Part 5 of my survey results, where I’ll reveal how Dragon Ball Daima viewers ranked Daima in relation to the other Dragon Ball anime series, from highest to lowest.