Is Dragon Ball Daima A Quiet Remake of Dragon Ball GT?

Dragon Ball Daima‘s premiere is almost upon us with the new Dragon Ball anime series set to start streaming on Hulu and Crunchyroll on October 11th. Ever since the premise of the new series was revealed, fans have been saying that Dragon Ball Daima looks a whole lot like the late ’90s series Dragon Ball GT. Those comparisons are not ending as Dragon Ball Daima’s premiere gets closer, so now is the perfect time to address the question directly. 

What Is Dragon Ball GT? 

If you don’t know the backstory: Dragon Ball GT (or “Dragon Ball Grand Tour”) was a Dragon Ball anime series that premiered in 1996. It was a sequel series to Dragon Ball Z – however, at the same time, GT was not at all based on the any of the manga series by creator Akira Toriyama (Dragon Ball, Dragon Ball Z), but was instead an original, anime-only creation by Toei Animation, hoping to continue capitalizing on the popularity of Dragon Ball Z. 

The story of Dragon Ball GT saw Goku transformed from an adult back into a childlike state, by a wish granted to perennial nusances the Pilaf Gang, using a set of “Black Star Dragon Balls” gathered from planets across the universe. The balls also came with a dire condition: any planet that is host to a wish made on the “Ultimate Dragon Balls” must see the seven balls re-collected and brought back to the host planet within a year – or it would suffer a feedback of the wish energy and be annihilated. That sets a ticking clock over the heads of young Goku and co., as they head out into the cosmos to find each of the Black Star Dragon Balls. 

Sound familiar? 

The series is not canon and is often slammed for not being a Toriyama creation; however, it also cemented its iconography, with “mini” versions of popular characters as well as the now-infamous Super Saiyan 4 transformation, which has echoed Broly in being one of the most popular elements of Dragon Ball that is somehow not official canon. Dragon Ball Super finally made Broly official canon with its first feature-film release, which was an updated retelling of the original Dragon Ball Z non-canon film. So is Dragon Ball Daima doing the same for Dragon Ball GT? 

Is Dragon Ball Daima A Low-Key Remake of Dragon Ball GT? 

The story of Dragon Ball Daima was based on work from Akira Toriyama, who became actively involved in the creative design of the series, after initially only lending light input. It feels like Daima is an attempt at a sort of “do-over” for Dragon Ball GT, with slightly tweaked parameters. 

For one thing, we know that Dragon Ball Daima WILL be canon. So it’s no promo anime that stands on its own. Also, we know that where Dragon Ball GT was concerned with exploring the galaxy, delving into the mythology of the dragons, and continuing with villains and/or arcs from Dragon Ball Z, Dragon Ball Daima will be dipping back into the Demon Realm mythology of Dragon Ball – a lane that’s largely be relegated to Dragon Ball games and promo anime like Dragon Ball Heroes. 

Based on what trailers have shown, the story of Dragon Ball Daima sees several demons escape the Demon Realm and corrupt the dragon balls with a wish that turns Goku and the Z-fighter gang into minis. Goku has to go on a mission with the Kai to collect the dragon balls and reverse the wish – while contending with the forces of the Demon Realm. It’s the framework of Dragon Ball GT, but refocused on material that was inspired by Toriyama, rather than a creative team at Toei. Following the unexpected death of Toriyama, fans seem willing to accept that as a full-fledged badge of authenticity. 

So is Dragon Ball Daima a low-key remake of Dragon Ball GT? Time will tell the answer for sure when the series is out – but it definitely looks that way.

Dragon Ball Daima will stream on Hulu and Crunchyroll starting on October 11th.