The final project by Akira Toriyama, Dragon Ball Daima, concluded last month, leaving fans with nostalgic and bittersweet feelings. The acclaimed and beloved author wrote the story, designed the characters, and oversaw the production. The story takes place shortly after the Majin Buu Saga, as Goku and his friends face another major problem – they are turned into children. The culprit behind this is the new Supreme Demon King Gomah, who takes the throne after Dabura’s death. Gomah has never seen people nearly as powerful as Goku and his friends and is afraid that someday they will attack the Demon World too.
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The story continues as Goku and the others travel all the way to the other world in hopes of acquiring their dragon balls. The anime was released around the same time as the manga’s 40th anniversary and captured fans’ hearts with gorgeous animation, expansive world-building, and adorable character design. When the anime entered its final stretch, it included an unexpected transformation, Super Saiyan 4, which fans adore more than ever. The transformation was first introduced in Dragon Ball GT but has never been considered canon until now. While the anime has ended, it didn’t answer a major question fans were looking for, with a bizarre, supposedly coded message in the episode titles.
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Dragon Ball Daima Episode Titles Were Suspected of Hiding a Secret Message
During the New Year’s special, All Night Nippon – Dragon Ball 40th Anniversary Special, Dragon Ball Daima’s Executive Producer, Akio Iyoku, discussed the series. The 20-minute program was made available on Radiko’s official website. Since the original broadcast was in Japanese, @peraperayume on X (previously known as Twitter) translated and highlighted key points. Iyoku revealed that the episode titles hold a hidden meaning, which will only be unveiled after the season concludes. However, he refrained from providing further details, as it was meant to be a significant aspect of the show.
Each episode title has one character highlighted in red. The idea was that these characters from all twenty episodes would have a special meaning. However, even after the anime was concluded, there was no explanation about the episode titles. Since the letters are in Japanese, it’s more difficult for global fans to figure out the meaning. Even though the anime has ended, Iyoku hasn’t stepped forward to explain it yet. It’s possible that it contains some kind of wordplay, but we can’t know for sure.
Forming a coherent Japanese sentence using only those letters is nearly impossible, especially while using each one only once, but it might not strictly be meant as a written message. It’s been a popular puzzle, tied to the titles’ usage of each of the 20 dakuon katakana, essentially Japanese letters with two “muddy” accent marks. @Herms98 on X tried to solve this puzzle and came up with an answer. While it doesn’t fully explain everything, the user believes it corresponds to each of the twenty episodes of Dragon Ball Daima. The finale aired right before March 1st, 2025, the first anniversary of Toriyama’s passing. Hence, there is a possibility that Toei wanted to include one final tribute in the anime, using each of these unique characters once apiece.
What’s Next For Dragon Ball After Daima’s Ending?
As of now, there is no official confirmation regarding upcoming projects related to the franchise. Dragon Ball Daima’s post-credit scene left room for the story to develop later on. Unexpectedly, the third eye, which granted immense power to the previous Demon Kings, wasn’t a unique item, as there are two more available at a mysterious store selling strange, status-altering consumables called medi-bugs, sky seeds, etc. There was no explanation about where the eyes come from and why they grant someone that much power.
Even so, the ending was wholesome, and there’s no guarantee that there will be a sequel. Furthermore, Dragon Ball Super is still on indefinite hiatus, even though it released a single chapter in February 2025. The series went on hiatus in March 2024, the same month Toriyama died. Toyotaro, the author of the spin-off manga Dragon Ball Heroes: Victory Mission and the illustrator of Dragon Ball Super, will be taking the helm as he will now be working on both the story and art. However, it’s still unclear when the manga will return to its usual schedule. Dragon Ball is one of the most iconic anime and manga franchises in history, so Toei and Shonen Jump won’t let it end with Daima.
H/T: @Herms98 on X
