Key Takeaways
- Z Fighters will struggle with flying due to the size change & the heavier air in the Third Demon World.
- Reach issues occur, leading Goku to rely on Power Pole for assistance.
- Goku’s physical strength is weaker in his younger body, but to what extent remains unknown.
Warning: The following contains spoilers for Dragon Ball Daima, Episode 5, “Panzy”, now streaming on Crunchyroll.
Dragon Ball Daima has Goku and the rest of the Z Fighters revert to having the bodies of first-graders thanks to a wish on the Dragon Balls from the new main antagonist, King Gomah. But besides having smaller frames, what else did the wish do to make the Z Fighters less of a threat? They clearly kept their mental states as adults, so they didn’t grow dumber or forget how to fight, though maybe growing dumber isn’t really the biggest issue for Goku. But although the Z Fighters may behave like they always do, make no mistake, Gomah’s wish has profound effects that make them far more inefficient in combat.
The new King of the Demon Realm, Gomah, quickly recognized Goku and the rest of the Z Fighters as the biggest threats to his reign. Unfortunately for Gomah, his combat prowess is nothing compared to Majin Buu or even the previous King of Demons, Dabura, while Goku on his own is seen to be a match for either of them. So, if Gomah can’t beat the Z Fighters in a fair fight, his next best option is through some underhanded schemes using the Dragon Balls. Now, you may think that shrinking just makes Goku and the others harder targets to hit, and while that may be true, the cons far outweigh the pros.
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Flight Problems
The Z Fighters Could Barely Fly Without Crashing at First
In Dragon Ball Daima, episode 2, “Glorio”, Supreme Kai informs Goku that he senses a disturbance in Kami’s Lookout. As Goku starts to fly to go there, he immediately goes out of balance and crashes into a table. A young Master Roshi explains that the sudden change in size makes them unaccustomed to the balance of their bodies. Flying is one of the most basic Ki techniques in the entire series, so if Goku and the others are already struggling with the basics, you can only imagine how they’ll struggle with more complicated moves.
Goku and the others start to get used to flying in their new bodies later on, but unfortunately for them, the Demon Realm presents another challenge that makes flying even more difficult. The air in the Third Demon World is heavier, making it far more strenuous to move, and even Glorio, a fully capable adult, considers flying too exhausting as a proper mode of long-distance transportation there. So it seems that for the time being, Goku and his pals will only be using flight during combat or moving across short distances. They would need to rely on walking and vehicles for longer travel.
“The gas that volcano spews makes the air heavy. There are volcanoes all over this area… The thicker the gas is, the heavier the air becomes.” -Glorio regarding the air in the Third Demon World
Depth Perception and Lower Reach in Combat
Objects in Sight Are Farther than They Appear
Being used to having bigger bodies gives the Z Fighters a misconception of how far their punches and kicks can reach now that their bodies are all tiny. In episode 2, Goku was practicing melee fighting, using one of the columns in Kami’s Lookout as a training dummy, and at first, he could barely hit it because he kept attacking from way too far. That was Goku trying to hit a stationary target. If he had fought a moving target at that time, he would have struggled greatly. This problem with reach is what led to Goku getting back his trusty Power Pole from the early days of the original Dragon Ball series. While he tries to get used to fighting in a tinier body, he can use the Power Pole to effectively supplement any lack of reach he has.
Having good reach is extremely important in fighting, and Goku knows that better than anyone else, as one of his first major losses was due to a lack of reach. As fans might recall from Dragon Ball episode 28, “The Final Blow”, during the 21st World Martial Arts Tournament Finals, Goku lost to a disguised Master Roshi solely because the latter’s legs were longer.
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The Z Fighters Are Physically Weaker Now
But It’s Still Unclear How Much
As seen during his first time in the Third Demon World in Dragon Ball Daima episode 3, “Daima”, Goku seems to struggle when moving and fighting in the heavy air. This is the same Goku who has experienced training in environments with gravity that’s hundreds of times stronger than Earth’s. His struggling is a clear sign that his younger body is not at all as strong as his older one. To further prove the point, Supreme Kai tells Goku in episode 5, “Panzy” that the Saiyan is not in his prime to caution him before fighting King Kadan’s elite warriors. Thankfully, everyone they’ve fought in the Demon Realm so far has been easy enough for Goku or Glorio to handle, but in classic Dragon Ball fashion, they’re bound to face off against some truly powerful opponents any day now.
The next big question is how far have Goku’s and the other Z Fighter’s physical strength deteriorated. Could this Goku at full power still blow up planets or stand a chance against some of his older foes like Cell and Frieza? It’s too soon to tell; fans will have to wait for more statements and feats from the characters in Dragon Ball Daima before anyone can draw a decent conclusion.
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Dragon Ball Daima is now available to stream on Crunchyroll and Netflix. The release date for Dragon Ball Daima, episode 7, is set to be November 22, 2024 at 10:00 AM PT.
