Dragon Ball Daima Wasted the Anime’s Biggest Fusion Opportunity

Dragon Ball has entertained its fans for over 40 years now, but part of its magic is its creator Akira Toriyama’s wild creativity. Whether it’s motivated by bucking tropes about named attacks or creating the Super Saiyan moment as an excuse not to color in hair, he has made some legendary decisions. But his latest anime still kept surprising fans.

Dragon Ball Daima is, in many ways, more of an infusion of the humor and adventure of the original Dragon Ball with key fan-favorite moments from Dragon Ball GT. It’s a celebration of the franchise and its iterations, but one area it lacked was in fusion. Daima‘s introduction of Join Bugs teased this, only for a bait-and-switch finale.

Dragon Ball Missed an Opportunity for a New Fusion

While the Medi Bugs came in handy for Goku and the gang in Dragon Ball Daima, with Bulma hoarding Beaut Bugs and Goku and Vegeta using Revive Bugs like Senzu Beans, the Join Bug was an enticing concept. Functioning like an edible Potara, which makes sense given the series’ Glind origins of the Kais, characters could fuse eating these bugs.

Two characters could essentially consume each half of a Join Bug and fuse for an indeterminate amount of time. This could inevitably have led to another variation of Vegito or Gogeta, but other characters, namely Piccolo, could have spiced up the mix. With species or power level restrictions not given explicitly, Join Bugs could have led to some wild fusions.

However, despite hints early on, such as in episode #1 with how Shin confirmed how his “permanent” fusion was dissolved by Buu’s internal gases, nothing significant was done with fusions for Daima. While the opportunity can easily be dismissed as mere fan service, what the anime opted for instead was undeniably fan service of a different brand.

Dragon Ball Daima Ditched Its “What If” Moment for Other Fan Service

While the Join Bugs will sadly probably never get used, Dragon Ball Daima did take the opportunity to render superb fights including the return of Super Saiyan 3 and incorporating Super Saiyan 4. While the latter has a weak explanation and hinges on Neva enabling it, it’s still a glorious sight, especially for fans of Dragon Ball GT.

It could have been interesting to explore new spins on existing Dragon Ball conventions, and serves as further proof that viewers want the series to move forward, instead of lingering on nostalgia. Dragon Ball Daima is a wonderful tribute to Toriyama’s vision, but the series is in new hands with plans to release future content.

Super Saiyan 4’s return in Dragon Ball Daima was a stunning development, and made for some truly exciting final episodes in both of its young and adult iterations. But it was fan service at its core, and what the readers and viewers are demanding even more, is the next chapter of the story.