Anime

Dragon Ball Daima Could Have Fixed Its SSJ4 Continuity Error by Using This Form Instead

Dragon Ball Daima laid the perfect groundwork for a transformation never before seen in anime.

Goku as seen in Daima and Gogeta in the bg as seen in Dragon Ball anime

With only 20 episodes, Dragon Ball Daima proved itself to be a truly special installment, blending nostalgia with its premise of turning the Z Warriors into children, while also fulfilling fans’ long-standing wishes of seeing certain transformations become canon. The series first does this by introducing Vegetaโ€™s Super Saiyan 3 form, something fans had only dreamed of for decades, making its appearance in Daima a dream come true. Furthermore, with Daima being considered a canon installment, Gokuโ€™s Super Saiyan 4 is now also canon, another long-awaited wish fulfilled for many fans.

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However, making these transformations canon has created a major continuity issue with the chronologically subsequent installment, Dragon Ball Super. Super never featured either Vegetaโ€™s Super Saiyan 3 or Gokuโ€™s Super Saiyan 4 during its run. Neither character transforms into these forms, and Goku even states that Super Saiyan 3 was his strongest form, making it difficult to align both installments within the same canonical timeline. This suggests that these transformations were introduced more to generate buzz than to maintain canonical consistency. Whatโ€™s even more unfortunate is that Daima had laid the perfect groundwork to introduce an entirely new, never-before-seen transformation in all of Dragon Ball anime โ€” Gogeta Super Saiyan 3 โ€” one that could have resolved the continuity issues while generating just as much, if not more, excitement.

[Related: Dragon Ball Daimaโ€™s English Dub Finally Unleashes Adult Super Saiyan 4 Goku]

Gogeta as seen in Dragon Ball anime
Toei Animation

Dragon Ball Daima Laid the Perfect Groundwork for a Transformation Never Before Seen

It is important to note that, while it is almost impossible to explain Gokuโ€™s Super Saiyan 4 omission from Super, Vegetaโ€™s Super Saiyan 3 absence is easier to justify. When Gokuโ€™s Super Saiyan 3 failed against Beerus, Vegeta likely saw no reason to pursue or showcase the form, which could have explained why it was never seen. With this in mind, it is reasonable to assume that Vegetaโ€™s Super Saiyan 3 is still canon within Super and does not create a continuity issue. Therefore, to address the inconsistency, Daima could have fused Vegetaโ€™s latest transformation with Gokuโ€™s Super Saiyan 3 to introduce a never-before-seen transformation in anime, Gogeta Super Saiyan 3.

From the beginning, Dragon Ball Daima consistently hinted at a future fusion, particularly with the introduction of a new fusion method through a medicinal enhancement called the “Join Bug.” In Daima, it is explained that this bug can fuse two or more fighters into a single, powerful entity. Since the incorporation of SSJ4 in Daima was never directly addressed until the very end, many fans assumed fusion would be the method through which Goku and Vegeta would defeat their latest enemy in this new adventure.

Assuming the Join Bug functions similarly to the established fusion methods, particularly similar to the fusion dance method, Gogetaโ€™s appearance was strongly foreshadowed. Since both Saiyan warriors were capable of transforming into Super Saiyan 3, Gogeta Super Saiyan 3, a transformation never before seen in the anime, canonically or otherwise, was fully possible without disrupting the established timeline. Such a transformation in Dragon Ball Daima could have generated even more excitement than Gokuโ€™s Super Saiyan 4, which lacked a compelling narrative foundation, while also resolving the continuity error with Super.

Dragon Ball Daima can be streamed on Crunchyroll and Netflix.