Today at New York Comic Con, Toei Animation celebrated the 40th anniversary of Dragon Ball Z and shared behind-the-scenes details on how they crafted their recent release, Dragon Ball Daima anime.
During the Dragon Ball Daima presentation, Akio Iyoku, the executive producer of Dragon Ball, and Monica Rial, the English voice actress for Bulma, acted as hosts. Similar to Nintendo Direct, Dragon Ball Daima included a game panel with a large number of game announcements to excite fans – the first being Dragon Ball: Thrill! Zero including the first wave of DLC characters in Dragon Ball Daima Vegeta Mini and Glorio. Similarly, Goku Mini will be joining Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2 and will be available to play for a limited time for free.
Goku (Mini) from Dragon Ball DAIMA will join the fight in #DBXV2 Future Saga Chapter 2 DLC!
A free gameplay trial of Goku (Mini) will be available for a limited time. Grab the Power Pole and go into a frenzy! pic.twitter.com/SmXWg4RQag
– Bandai Namco US (@BandaiNamcoUS) October 17, 2024
Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot will also receive downloadable content (DLC) for the Daima Demon Realm for players to explore. In terms of mobile games, Battle Dokan will feature Goku and Vegeta mini as characters. In Dragon Ball Legends there will also be a special event where players can play as Goku mini. In trading cards, Dragon Ball World Fusion will get Glorio and Pansy cards with the fifth booster pack. In the fighting games scene, Toei Animation announced registration for the upcoming Battle Hour 2025 Fighting Games Tournament. The event will be held in Los Angeles from January 18-19.
Later during the session, English voice actress for Iyoku and Kid Goku, Stephanie Nadolny, appeared to announce that she will be voicing Mini Goku in Daima as well as reminding fans that Daima English episode will be released in American theaters from November 10-12. The committee also revealed that Aaron Dismuke (Alphonse Elric in Fullmetal Alchemist) will be the English voice actor for Glorio.
Dragon Ball Daima comes out at an exciting time for Dragon Ball fans. (Aside from the staggered release on Netflix on October 18), the original anime release was first shown on streaming platforms like Crunchyroll and Hulu on the same day of the highly anticipated Fighter’s release, Thrill of Dragon Ball! Zero. The game, beware, sold a staggering 3 million copies within 24 hours of its release on October 11. On the other hand, Daima comes not only a full calendar year after its reveal at last year’s NYCC, but also after the death of series creator Akira Toriyama on March 1.
During last year’s New York Comic Con, Iyoku revealed that Toriyama played a crucial role in Daima film production, overseeing story and character designs. During the session, Iyoku showcased illustrations drawn by Toriyama on the demon world and its creatures, both inside and outside. Daima includes many magical vehicles.
Introducing playable SEASON PASS DLC 2 characters from Dragon Ball DAIMA, coming soon to DRAGON BALL: Sparking! Zero.
🟣 Vegeta (Mini)
🟡 Glorio
🟣 and more…Stay tuned for more updates! #DBSZ pic.twitter.com/lumYfm1KL2
– Bandai Namco US (@BandaiNamcoUS) October 17, 2024
“Toriyama is very particular when it comes to machines, how they work, and how they move,” Iyoku said. “There will be all kinds of machines that (fans) will see throughout the show.” Unfortunately, those who watched the live stream on Popverse were unable to see any of Toriyama’s illustrations.
Like Dragon Ball GT, Dragon Ball Daima sees Goku and his friends transformed into children. From the first episode alone, Daima introduces a new story that will witness Z fighters battling creatures from the demon world who have gained power thanks to Goku’s quick neutralizing of Buu saga enemies.
Japanese dub fans can look forward to watching new Daima episodes every Friday (and again, English dub experts can watch the first three episodes of the series). Daima in American theaters from November 10-12. In the DBZ fashion scene, the committee closed their announcement with a special video message from the Japanese voice actor for Goku, Masako Nozawa, who encouraged everyone to enjoy the premiere. Daima first episode. Naturally, the episode began after everyone present did their best in the Kamehameha.
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