REVIEW: ‘Dragon Ball DAIMA’ Episode 2 — “Glorio”

With Gomah’s(Shôtarô Morikubo, Tokyo Revengers) wish granted, Goku (Masako Nozawa) and the others find themselves in child-sized forms. As they learn what has transpired, they prepare to strike out to fix what’s been done in Dragon Ball DAIMA Episode 2, “Glorio.”

This episode picks up right where the last one left off. With his first wish granted, Gomah prepares to make his other wishes, only to learn he has no more left. When he confronts Shenron about how this could be, he is told the last two are for regular wish makers only, not first-time users.

This moment is excellent. While Shenron (Ryûzaburo Ôtomo, Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust) may be telling the truth, it’s much funnier to think he simply doesn’t like the new king of the Demon Realm. And since he has generally gotten along well with Goku and company, he resents being used to harm them and simply refuses to grant more wishes for Gomah. The usually subservient dragon getting sassy with a wishmaker he doesn’t like is a fun role change for him.

Despite getting cut short of his full goals, Gomah is reasonably satisfied with how events have turned out. He momentarily considers killing the now infant Dende, but at Degesu’s (Jun’ya Enoki, Ron Kamonohashi’s Forbidden Deductions) urging, opts to kidnap him instead to use as leverage in case those he has wronged come looking for him.

Once the villains depart for the Demon Realm, Dragon Ball DAIMA Episode 2 turns its attention to our heroes. Figuring that their transformation has something to do with Shenron, several members of the group head to the lookout to figure out what’s transpired. Once there, they learn from Mr. Popo the truth about their situation. Since the Demon Realm cannot be simply teleported to, Supreme Kai offers to use his spaceship.

However, years of neglect and some indirect damage from Goku and Vegeta’s battle against Kid Buu have left it in shambles. Luckily, earth happens to be home to the greatest mechanical mind in the galaxy, and Bulma (Aya Hisakawa, Star Ocean: The Second Story R) is quickly brought in to rectify their problem.

Bulma’s delivery in Dragon Ball DAIMA Episode 2 is perfection. As always, whenever brute force can’t fix a problem, it’s up to the genius to save the day. Bulma’s confidence in ordering around members of the creation’s ruling class, like Kabito, never gets old. That she currently looks like she’s 12 only makes the image all the more comical. Everything about Bulma in these moments lands perfectly thanks to Toei Animation excellently delivering the authority and self-assurance she always wields. There are few characters in any medium that can rival Bulma’s confidence and even fewer that have earned the right to swagger around as she does. It’s great to see her get a moment so early in the series.

While Bulma works and others plan, Goku focuses on adapting to his new body. While he manages to get the hang of flying quickly enough, he struggles to adjust to his shorter reach. This causes him to have an epiphany, a rarity for the character, and he heads out to acquire his classic weapon, the power pole.

Nodding back to the original Dragon Ball, Dragon Ball DAIMA Episode 2 sees Goku return to Korin’s Tower to retrieve his long-absent weapon. Seeing Korin still there and virtually unchanged from what fans remember is a fun little moment of stability. Even with all the craziness in the show, Korin is still Korin. However, he doesn’t have the power pole, having passed it along to Master Roshi.

Returning to the Kame House, Goku finds Roshi excited with his young new body as he tries on flashy outfits. It is comical to see the aged master in child form but still bald. Luckily for Goku, Roshi still has his power pole, though he’s been using it to hang his laundry.

Once Dragon Ball DAIMA Episode 2 returns to Dende’s Look Out, we see the arrival of the titular character, Glorio (Kôki Uchiyama, Haikyu: The Dumpster Battle). A servant of one of the Demon Kings, he has been sent to retrieve Goku so they can stop Gomah. While the mysterious visitor’s help is accepted, Supreme Kai (Yumiko Kobayashi) opts to tag along, not fully trusting the young man’s timely arrival. And since the spaceship Glorio came in only fits three, the others will have to wait for Bulma to finish with her repairs to follow along.

This final note leaves things a little worrisome about what comes next for the series. The Dragon Ball franchise is always at its best when the team is together. Whenever it focuses too hard on Goku alone, the story tends to suffer. If it only takes an episode or two for the others to catch up, things will be fine. Just so long as the rest of the team isn’t relegated to a secondary role in the story for too long as they struggle to catch up with Goku.

Dragon Ball DAIMA Episode 2 delivers a solid story. A bit of humor, a trip down memory lane, and Bulma strutting her genius as only she can keep this setup episode fun, even as the series continues to get itself moving.

Dragon Ball DAIMA Episode 2 is streaming now on Crunchyroll and will arrive on Netflix next week.