To the disappointment of Dragon Ball fans everywhere, Gohan was missing in action in Dragon Ball Daima. However, according to the anime’s creative team, Goku’s Super Saiyan son had a Daima-approved redesign by the late Akira Toriyama ready to go.
This latest behind-the-scenes information about Dragon Ball Daima comes from the Episode 1 commentary included in the Japanese Blu-ray release from July. The creator’s commentary for Daima Episode 1, “Conspiracy,” featured Akio Iyoku (producer), Aya Komaki (series director), and Yoshitaka Yashima (episode director). According to the creative team, an unpublished Gohan (Mini) design exists, illustrated by Toriyama himself.
Unused Gohan Design by Akira Toriyama Revealed by Dragon Ball Daima Producer
Mystic Gohan is fighting against Super Buu in Dragon Ball Daima’s flashback sequence to DBZ. Image via Toei Animation
Daima’s Episode 1 commentary was translated by social media user @/Enomis on X (formerly Twitter). The anime staff doesn’t go into detail as to why Gohan was excluded from Dragon Ball Daima, but they did reveal that Toriyama drew an updated design of Kid Gohan as a just-in-case. “We had the sensei draw him, just in case,” Iyoku said. Gohan doesn’t appear in any of Dragon Ball Daima’s 20 episodes. Instead, his mysterious absence is explained with a throwaway line by Goku during Trunks’ birthday bash in Episode 1. According to Goku, Gohan’s been distant from his friends and family because he has too much studying to do.
While this is in line with Gohan’s personality — and arguably a set-up for the events of Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero — it’s disappointing that his absence was easily explained away with one forgettable line, considering Goku almost passed the torch to his son in the “Cell Saga” from Dragon Ball Z, where Toriyama originally intended to end the series on before being persuaded to continue.
While not part of Team Goku or Team Vegeta during their journey to the Demon Realm, Gohan is, at the very least, present for Episode 1 of Daima, albeit in flashbacks. An updated adult design of Gohan is featured in the cold opening for Dragon Ball Daima, which serves as a quick recap of Goku’s life, spanning from Bulma’s discovery of him in the woods to his defeat of Kid Buu in the final saga of Dragon Ball Z.
The flashbacks to the “Majin Buu Saga” in Daima Episode 1 also show Gohan’s confrontation with Super Buu, after unlocking his hidden power. This version of Gohan, either referred to as Mystic Gohan or Ultimate Gohan, overwhelmed Super Buu in power until the deadly Majin increased his power level by absorbing Gotenks. Thankfully, the flashback sequence in Daima only included Gohan’s most flattering scenes, not the ones that tarnished the character’s reputation.
Dragon Ball Daima is available to stream on Crunchyroll.