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The 3rd episode ofDragon Ball DAIMAdives right into the Demon Realm, where fans witness Goku, Supreme Kai, and Glorio go through multiple portals that literally shake them to their very cores in order to reach the 3rd world of the Demon Realm. Sure, the second half of the episode felt a bit likeDragon Ball GTbutDAIMApromises more lore drops with a lot more characters involved.
Additionally,DAIMAis rumored to end within 20 episodes so it shouldn’t be draggy as much.Dragon Ballfans haven’t seen the series explore a place this deep since planet Namek and drop revelations this big in early episodes since the Saiyan Saga. Glorio’s home world looks like a scene straight out ofStar Wars, prompting fans to suspect whetherDragon Balltook a page from it once again.
Star Warsreferences inDragon Ball DAIMAand the Demon Realm
The episode used several classic Space Western tropes, including the Demon Realm’s rocky, desert-like terrain with floating islands, which felt like a Western-style setting on another planet. The town they arrive in has a somewhat Western feel to it, sort of like a cowboy theme, where the gang has entered a bar filled with strange creatures eyeing suspiciously at Goku because he doesn’t have pointy ears.
That very scene is a strong reference to the famous Tattoine cantina scene fromStar Wars: A New Hope, where Luke Skywalker and Obi Wan enter a seedy cantina bar and they’re welcomed by creatures who gaze at them with menacing looking eyes.
Glorio, the group’s pilot with the most knowledge of the world, works well as a Han Solo stand-alike because he’s cagey about his profession and proves himself in the bar scene. Goku may have done most of the battling, but Glorio’s efforts showed that he’s been in many fights over the years.
Just like a young Luke Skywalker, Goku is eager and doesn’t know his more experienced partner well. That would make Supreme Kai a parallel to Obi Wan, an old and wise man who knows more about the Demon Realm than he lets on and wants to help Goku on his trip. However, this isn’t the first timeDragon Ballpays a tribute toStar Wars.
Akira Toriyama’s love forStar Warsdraws many of its references in his works
Series creatorAkira Toriyamais a huge fan of western media likeStar WarsandJackie Chanmovies. In fact, his ever one-shot manga that he gave to Shueisha in a contest was a complete parody ofStar Wars, which got later rejected. Nevertheless, he continued to draw references in his works likeDr. Slump, Mysterious Rain Jack,and, of course, Dragon Ball.
One suchStar Warsreference can be seen inthispage of the Red Ribbon Army arc, where the device attached to Bulma’s one hover car is clearly based on R2-D2. The R2-D2 droid is in turn connected to an air car that looks like Luke’s X-34 Landspeeder on Tattoine. Other references include Korin Tower looking like Bespin Cloud City, Goku’s healing pod in the Frieza Saga matches with Luke’s inStar Wars, and so on.
Before Dr. Slump and Dragon Ball, Akira Toriyama’s Most Famous Work was a Star Wars Parody with R2-D2, Darth Vader and Luke Skywalker
Toriyama’s craze forStar Warssince childhood made him to insert various Easter eggs inDr SlumpandDragon Ball, and even drawing a special illustration ofAnakin Skywalker and a Trade Federation droidto commemorateEpisode 1: A Phantom Menace. In the case ofDAIMA, fans expect more space war-like battles and creatures resembling those ofStar Warsto show up.
Dragon Ball, Dragon Ball Z,Dragon Ball Super, and Dragon Ball DAIMAare all available to watch on Crunchyroll.
Anand Bhaskaran
Articles Published :134
A Dragon Ball fanatic who also loves to read and talk about Indian spirituality. An MBA finance graduate with a passion for doing everything that is unrelated to it. Anand has over 4 years of experience under his belt, having worked with leading content heads in the anime community. Currently, he’s more into Slice of Life and Romcom shows than actual Battle Shonen. But unfortunately, he’s stuck with a job writing ONLY about Battle Shonen (smh).
