Dragon Ball Daima Is Really Letting Fans Down With Its Villains

Dragon Ball has some of the most iconic villains in all of anime and manga, but Dragon Ball Daima is really letting fans down in this regard with its own villains. When Dragon Ball Daima first kicked off its run last year, fans were introduced to the Demon Realm for the first real time. While Dragon Ball had referenced this realm in the past with certain characters like Piccolo being from this region, Dragon Ball Daima has set out Goku and the others on a brand new adventure through this realm with all sorts of questions being answered about the franchise as a result.

With this new adventure also came a ton of intrigue as fans were introduced to several new foes popping up within the Demon Realm themselves. Given that they were likely going to be much weaker than Goku and Vegeta are, these villains were much more interesting as they seemed to have a much bigger deal within the Dragon Ball world than fans might have expected. But as Dragon Ball Daima fast approaches its end, it’s actually revealed to be the opposite. These new villains won’t have as much nuance or importance as first teased.

Dragon Ball Daima Has Terrible Villains

As Dragon Ball Daima kicks off its endgame and many of the mysteries are starting to reveal themselves, the answer to many of them have unfortunately been a let down because of a lack of nuance. The problem is especially exacerbated with Episode 16 as Degesu finally makes his move. He was initially introduced as someone working for the Supreme Demon King Gomah who also seemed to have something else in mind. As it turns out, he wanted to become the Supreme Demon King as well. But just to take over the role, and not for some grander plan.

Degesu makes his move and kidnaps the baby Dende, but is quickly caught by Goku and the others in the process. After threatening to shoot Dende, Degesu is immediately taken down and arrested before he gets to really make an impact in the story. It’s even more of a shame when it was also revealed that he’s related to both the Supreme Kai and Dr. Arinsu, but as of his defeat, nothing seems to come out of it. There’s a brief moment where the Supreme Kai alludes to the fact that Degesu always had schemes for power in mind, but it’s far from a full confrontation between Glind siblings that fans had hoped for.

The Glind, the race the Supreme Kai belongs too, were also expanded upon with the hope that it would lead to something. Fans learned about the fact that they were chased out of the Second Demon Realm, and the original trees they were born from has since become extinct. It would have been neat to have Degesu’s motivation potentially tie into all of this, but that’s just not the case. But he’s only one of the villains that have been a letdown for the series overall.

RELATED: 6 Questions Dragon Ball Daima Needs to Answer Before It Ends

Will Gomah Make Up For It in the Final Episodes?

It’s one thing for certain characters to turn out differently as a joke like the Majin Buu successors Kuu and Duu, but it’s another for that potential to be squandered. After seeing what happened to Degesu as he was quickly disposed of without really doing anything despite his potential, there’s now a worry over what will happen to Dr. Arinsu and Gomah. These two have been painted more as the clear villains for Dragon Ball Daima, so there’s even more of a worry that these two will let us down.

Dr. Arinsu has been openly plotting to claim the Demon Realm’s Dragon Balls for herself, but has not revealed what wish she wants to make with them. If it’s just revealed that she also wanted to become Supreme Demon King like Degesu, then it will feel like a letdown because there wasn’t enough of a nuanced motivation for doing so. There’d be no real need to sneak around as much as she has to claim that power. As for Gomah’s case, he’s the more traditional villain of the two.

He’s far from the humorous or powerful icons from Dragon Ball’s past, but with the Evil Third Eye he now is a powerful opponent that Goku and Vegeta will need to defeat. It’s yet to be revealed if he will be their final opponent in the Demon Realm, but that seems like that’s all he’s going to be good for either. Rather than having any complexity, he’s just going to be a powerful demon to punch. It’s just missing all of the flair that Dragon Ball fans have seen from villains in the past, and is a shame considering where all of this began last year.