The Dragon Ball franchise is often criticized for preferring brawls over plot, and even Akira Toriyama is aware of this shortcoming. While the very first Dragon Ball series focused more on the adventure aspect, as the franchise continued with Dragon Ball Z, GT, Super, and others, battles were given more focus.
Fans have thus begun missing the adventures of Goku, who roamed around places to get stronger. The World Martial Tournament in which different characters battled each other without impossibly high stakes, is also sorely missed.
Akira Toriyama was Afraid of Losing Dragon Ball‘s “Cheerful Spirit”
Akira Toriyama appeared in an interview regarding Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero, in which he talked about the battle-focused theme of the franchise. Apparently, when Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero was first proposed as a follow-up to Dragon Ball Super: Broly, the creator had a few concerns.
The previous film, “Broly”, focused on battles of next-level strength. If we had just kept going on like that and made the next movie another battle film, it seemed like we would lose Dragon Ball’s cheerful spirit. So this time around, I figured I should return things to a somewhat lighter route, with character-based daily life, which is then threatened by a crisis which results in a big battle.
-Akira Toriyama
Dragon Ball Super: Broly was an incredible movie that the world received with budding enthusiasm. However, it strayed from the lightheartedness of the original franchise. And while this move is fine for a single film, if the same pattern is continued, the attention of fans is bound to be diverted.
Akira Toriyama had realized this long ago, so when Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero was suggested, he decided to preserve the plot integrity rather than just the action sequences. This further shows that Toriyama is aware of what fans want from Dragon Ball and is ready to tweak it likewise.
Dragon Ball Daima Makes Use of Akira Toriyama’s Foresight and Focuses on the Plot
![A young Goku in Dragon Ball DAIMA. [Credit: Toei Animation]](https://fwmedia.fandomwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/02042123/young-goku-dragon-ball-daima-1024x576.png "Akira Toriyama Was So Vexed With 1 Decision in Broly Movie He Thought Dragon Ball is Losing its \"Cheerful Spirit\" 4")
Dragon Ball Daima is the first series to air after Akira Toriyama’s death and the last installment that is written by the creator. In his last interview, the author clarified that the production would focus on the plot and content rather than just intense action scenes.
I drew not only the story itself, but also the worldview, the design of the characters and the mechas. I believe it will be a production rich in content, not just intense action.
-Akira Toriyama
Dragon Ball Daima has already set itself apart from the rest of the franchise by featuring the characters as kids. Additionally, it has been created to focus on the adventure aspect, just like how Toriyama had always wanted. Daima might actually profit from going back to the roots of the series.
Akira Toriyama is also closely involved with the creation of the series by contributing to the story, world-building as well as character and mecha design. While it was initially planned to be an original anime without Toriyama’s involvement, he eventually ended up giving his utmost attention to Daima.
Dragon Ball manga is available to read on Viz Media while its anime and films are currently streaming on Crunchyroll.
