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After the end ofDragon Ball Daima, many fans feel a bit puzzled as to how this series andDragon Ball Superwould connect to each other, as there are a few contradictions or events that, although not entirely contradictory, don’t seem to add together.
Some answers may have been vaguely hinted at in an interview with Akio Iyuko, the executive producer of the anime. While Iyuko doesn’t mention anything concrete, it is worth taking a look at what he said when he addressed howDaimais connected to the broaderDragon Balluniverse.
“You Can See The Connections”
In an interview withMantanWebin February, producer Akio Iyuko answered a question about the connection betweenDaimaand the original story. While his answer is a bit elusive (especially sinceDaimawas stillairing its final episodes), he confirms that the series is set after “the Buu saga of the original manga”, and later adds:
Many people wonder whereDaimais placed inDragon Ball,but we are trying to show many connections toDragon Ball.Toriyama-sensei probably made connections in his mind that we have no idea about. The biggest surprise for me was that everyone from the Demon Realm has pointy ears. I think that was something he had in his mind for a while, but I was like, “Oh! That’s it.”
He had a strong sense of theDragon Ballworld, and he would change his focus depending on the work, but he wouldn’t force anything into the setting. The plot is also important, and since there is no original manga for this anime, we were aware that we had to “pull” it out like a manga.
While this may not seem very significant, it is interesting to note that Iyuko and the article text in generalseem to emphasize thatDaimais a sequel to the manga. While it doesn’t exclude the possibility thatSupertakes place afterDaima, it may suggest that the manga and the anime do not represent the same timeline.
Could Dragon Ball Have Multiple Timelines?
While there could be several timelines,there are no explicit mentions of this concept in the interview. It is only mentioned that there are"multiple stories" or “multiple storylines"in the franchise. He says that there are many “connections”, but it is not entirely clear if he meant “timelines” when using that word — but the vagueness could be intentional. When this interview was published, fans still didn’t know howDaimawould end, and a good portion of them believed that there would be a link toSuper.
But asDaimaseemed to depart from trying to be congruent with the events ofSuper,other fans have been speculating that there are multiple timelines in the story. If that’s true, thenDaimawould be a sequel to the manga, andSuperwould be a sequel to the anime. But again, this is not confirmed, it justseems to be vaguely hinted at.
Some fans seem to agree that Iyuko’s answer is in line with the idea of multiple timelines, and in their opinion it could even makeDragon Ball GTcanon:
Dispute Over Rights May Be Involved
It has been reported that the rights toDragon Ballare thesubject of a dispute between Shueisha and Capsule Corporation Tokyo(allegedly founded by Iyuko with Toriyama’s support). For example, if Shueisha has a strong claim to the rights toSuper, it may have been a conscious decision not to make a direct connection to Super — sinceDaimais not based on aDragon Ballmanga, it may be easier for CC Tokyo to claim ownership.
However, Shueisha is credited on theDragon Ball Daimaofficial site, and the series was in development years before Toriyama’s death. For now, this is mostly speculation, as a “clash” between Iyuko and Shueisha over the series was also reported to be going on long before Toriyama’s death.
Dragon Ball Daimais available to stream on Crunchyroll and Hulu.
