Since its premiere last October, the new anime series Dragon Ball Daima has captivated fans as a special 40th-anniversary project. With its story and character designs personally crafted by the late original author Akira Toriyama, the show is now rapidly approaching its grand finale.
But today (February 14), Episode 18 of the anime dropped a bombshell: Goku transformed into Super Saiyan 4 and plunged into an epic battle against King Goma! The internet instantly erupted, sending "Super Saiyan 4" soaring to the top of Japan's X (formerly Twitter) trending topics.
▼ Both "Dragon Ball Daima" and "Super Saiyan 4" dominated the X trending charts.
For veteran Dragon Ball fans, the mention of Super Saiyan 4 immediately brings to mind Dragon Ball GT. While GT carried the Dragon Ball name, it famously lacked Toriyama's direct involvement in its script or character designs, with him only credited as the original creator. Many fans, therefore, consider it a standalone, non-canon work.
However, this time around, the Super Saiyan 4 in Dragon Ball Daima was personally designed by the late Akira Toriyama himself, confirming it as his authentic vision! Although Goku is currently in his shrunken state, the transformation mirrors the GT version with the emergence of a tail and a vibrant coat of red fur around his chest and arms.
Yet, there are distinct differences: his hair and eyebrows are now red, unlike GT's black, and his pupils have shifted from yellow to red, with the eye outlines changing from red to black.
▼ Netizens break down the differences between GT and Daima's Super Saiyan 4 Goku.
▼ Witness the epic transformation!
Fans online were absolutely buzzing, with comments like: "Dragon Ball Daima is insane! Can't believe we're seeing Super Saiyan 4 in the Reiwa era!" "It's wild that this anime brought back SSJ4!" "Dragon Ball is finally getting good again!" "SSJ4 in Daima?! Who knew we'd see it outside of GT!" "Mind blown! SSJ4 Goku is back in Daima, does this make GT canon now?" "It's been years since we've seen this!" The discussion was absolutely electric.
Some eagle-eyed fans even dug up Akira Toriyama's original Super Saiyan 4 Goku artwork from the old Dragon Ball GT DVD box sets. The design is strikingly similar to Daima's, with the only major difference being Goku's shrunken size in the current series.
Dragon Ball Daima is slated to conclude on February 28, leaving just two episodes left after this one. While the series has generally received positive reviews, many fans feel it's a bit too short. As this marks one of Toriyama-sensei's final contributions to the Dragon Ball universe, all eyes are on how these last two episodes will wrap up his legacy.