Dragon Ball Daima’s Super Saiyan 4 Origin Was a Disappointment

Dragon Ball Daima has wrapped and with its grand finale, shonen fans are left with mulling over one of the final works of Akira Toriyama. The anime series did throw some major curveballs at fans as many were not expecting Super Saiyan 3 Vegeta to make an appearance, let alone a Super Saiyan 4 Goku. This legendary anime form first appeared in Dragon Ball GT and most Z-Fighter fans believed that it would never make its way to the canon universe. Unfortunately, the fourth Super Saiyan level had one major caveat in its origin story, or perhaps lack thereof.

If you weren’t aware of Super Saiyan 4’s origin in Dragon Ball Daima, the finale reveals that Goku was able to achieve the level through off-screen training. While he first debuted the transformation as a child in the fight against Gomah thanks to Neva the Namekian, Goku apparently already knew he had the power within him the whole time. Son just needed a little push when it came to making sure he could access it in his “mini” body and the elder Namekian was more than happy to oblige. This new origin raises quite a few questions and ultimately falls flat when it comes to the form’s potential.

[RELATED: Dragon Ball Daima’s Finale Explains Super Saiyan 4’s Origin (And Fans Might Not Like It)]

Super Saiyan Misfire

Goku learning a new form off-camera is nothing new for the Dragon Ball series, as past examples have included Super Saiyan 3 and Super Saiyan Blue. For Super Saiyan 4 however, it feels like a giant missed opportunity for what could have been a major story beat in Daima. Son achieving this form via training simply leads to so many questions and seeing him achieve it, even via a flashback, would have helped to give anime fans a major scene.

Some of Dragon Ball’s best moments have come from new transformations making their debut. Goku achieving Super Saiyan thanks to Krillin’s death was an emotional gut punch, with the same perhaps being far more true for Gohan reaching Super Saiyan 2 while fighting Cell. Here, the transformation holds little emotion behind its origin, seeming almost like a throwaway concept that might be good “fan service” but fails to truly give an emotional impact.

Super Saiyan 4 Leads To Many Questions

For some time, Dragon Ball Daima has been touted as being a part of the overall main storyline, taking place before the events of Dragon Ball Super. Since this is the case, Goku’s refusal to ever use Super Saiyan 4 when fighting leads to continuity issues, especially when he initially fought Beerus. Of course, at the time of Super’s creation, they didn’t know that Super Saiyan 4 would be introduced to the main universe, but the frustration remains. Super Saiyan 4’s absence could have had an easy enough workaround in that perhaps the fourth level could only be used in the Demon Realm or could only be used in the proximity of Neva or even that the Z-Fighters’ memories could have been wiped. It’s a missed opportunity for sure and it helps to make the legendary form feel far more surface-level than it should.

Comparing this new origin to Dragon Ball GT’s debut makes it all the more shaky in the present, as the Grand Tour, despite its flaws, did introduce Super Saiyan 4 quite well. Kid Goku transforming into a giant golden oozaru, only to be brought back from the brink by Pan and achieving this new level felt earned, especially in the face of the villainous Baby. On the flip side, Vegeta taking a “shortcut” to do the same worked well for the character, showing how the Saiyan Prince was more than willing to take an “easy route” if it meant narrowing the gap between him and his eternal rival. Of course, Super Saiyan 4 Gogeta was the icing on the cake in this sequel series.

We don’t know if Super Saiyan 4 will make a comeback in Dragon Ball Super, since the manga is already planning a comeback but we hope that the printed story, and perhaps eventual anime, are able to learn from Daima and mend some fences. Dragon Ball might have its fair share of amazing battles and dazzling transformations, but all those hit that much harder if they have an emotional impact backing them up.