Dragon Ball Daima Finally Assembles its Main Team, & it's Already a Massive Improvement Over GT

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Warning: Contains spoilers for Dragon Ball Daima episode #5.Since its initial reveal, much has been said about the overlap betweenDragon Ball DaimaandDragon Ball GT. Both shows center around Goku going on an adventure after being turned into a child by the Dragon Balls, withGTtaking place in space andDaima inthe Demon Realm, and the first arcs of both shows even tackle similar themes of poverty and government corruption, as well.

There are undeniable similarities betweenDragon Ball DaimaandDragon Ball GT, which can even be seen in the makeup of the main characters of each show. The main groups of both shows play into similar archetypes and personalities, but due to how differently the characters and respective stories are written,Dragon Ball Daima’s main characters are already written to be far better than the main characters ofDragon Ball GT.GTis still infamously divisive among fans, soDaimaputting so much work into improving it on all fronts is great to see.

Dragon Ball Daima and Dragon Ball Gt similar cut of the characters in a spaceship

Dragon Ball Daima’s Version Of Goku Is Already Far Better Than GT’s

Dragon Ball Daima’s Goku Vs Dragon Ball GT’s Goku

The biggest comparison betweenDragon Ball DaimaandDragon Ball GTcan be drawn throughhowDaimaandGThandle Goku’s writing. Both shows attempt to make a point about Goku becoming weaker after becoming a child, butGTcouldn’t commit to that and made Goku feel as strong as ever. By comparison,Dragon Ball Daimais far more consistent at depicting a weakened Goku thanDragon Ball GTwith things like Goku struggling to fly and needing to use the Power Pole again, and that makes Goku’s situation feel far more impactful and less gimmicky.

More than that, however, is how each show handles Goku’s personality. As with manyDragon Ballprojects,GToften wrote Goku with little to no air of seriousness and prioritized his adventurous nature, but whileDaimastill makes Goku a largely goofy character,Dragon Ball Daimadoes a better job of striking a balance between Goku’s silly and serious natures compared toGT, with Goku treating the plot with a far larger sense of urgency by comparison. It’s a great shakeup fromGTand the overarching franchise, and it’s already madeDaima’s take on Goku a great one to watch.

Shin & Glorio Both Take On GT Trunks' Role, & They’re Far Better At It

How Shin & Glorio Compare To GT Trunks

InDragon Ball GT, with Goku and Pan being as eccentric and impulsive as they were, it often fell onto Trunks to be the straight man of the group, but Trunks had little to no personality beyond that, so he was often boring to watch. InDragon Ball Daima, the role of the straight man is split between Shin and Glorio, but thanks to Shin being an established character and Glorio being an abrasive character with a lot of mystery,Shin and Glorio are far better straight men than GT Trunkson account of having far more to their characters.

Trunks being the straight man also led to him being the one to handle the group’s technology and come up with plans, but even that was often hard to justify due to how he was only on the team because Vegeta forced him to be there. By comparison, while Shin and Glorio aren’t technologically gifted, they both have an understanding of how the Demon Realm works and know how to plan around, especially Glorio, soDragon Ball Daimagives Shin and Glorio better justification for being the smart members of the cast thanDragon Ball GTdid with Trunks, as well.

Dragon Ball Daima’s Kid Character Is Already Far Better Than Dragon Ball GT

How Panzy Compares To Pan

Another notable comparison that can be drawn between the casts ofDragon Ball GTandDragon Ball Daimais between Pan and Panzy. Both characters are meant to be the stereotypical bratty kid characters, but while the only justification for Pan’s inclusion was her being Goku’s granddaughter, Panzy is given a far better justification as another person who wants to stop Gomah and a princess who uses her connections to help the team.Dragon Ball Daimadoes a far better job justifying Panzy’s involvement thanDragon Ball GTdid with Pan, and the show is all the better for it.

The differences between Pan and Panzy can also be seen in how they handle themselves in fights. Both characters are established as the weakest members of their respective teams, but while Pan’s incompetence was often detrimental to herself and others, Panzy’s skill with gadgets and knowledge of the Demon Realm more than make up for any shortcomings in terms of power. Add in how Goku isn’t as far above everyone as he was inGT, andDragon Ball Daimadoes a great job of not making Panzy’s weakness as problematic asDragon Ball GTdid with Pan’s.

Panzy’s skill with gadgets also sets up another possible difference between her and Pan. While Pan never truly grew as a fighter or a character, albeit thanks in large part to how much Goku took over the story,Dragon Ball Daima’s theme songteased Bulma and Panzy bonding over their love of inventing, something that could spark growth in Panzy’s character that was sorely missing with Pan.Dragon Ball Daimais already teasing that Panzy will receive more character development than Pan did inDragon Ball GT, and if it keeps to that, it’ll surely be great to see.

Dragon Ball Daima Continues Fixing Dragon Ball GT’s Biggest Problems

Dragon Ball Daima Does GT Right

While it would be disingenuous to write offDragon Ball Daimaas simply a modern take onDragon Ball GT, it’s undeniable thatDaimais fixing many ofGT’s biggest problems. Not only does the story have more palatable stakes and better action and animation, but the comedy and overall writing are sharper inDaima, likely due to Akira Toriyama’s heavy involvement in its production.Dragon Ball Daimaimproves onDragon Ball GTin almost every technical and writing area, and that’s only going to get better as its story progresses.

Naturally, those sorts of improvements best show themselves with the main characters of each show. The flaws in the main cast ofDragon Ball GT, both as individuals and as a team, made everyone except Goku boring to watch more often than not, butthe main cast ofDragon Ball Daimais already avoiding the larger issues ofDragon Ball GTthanks to better characterizations for everyone involved.Dragon Ball Daimacontinues to deliver on everythingDragon Ball GTshould have decades prior, and that’s unlikely to let up anytime soon.