The Difference Between Ki and Magic

Key Takeaways

• People in the Demon Realm mostly use magic over ki, unlike those from outside it.
• Both ki and magic can power similar abilities, like telekinesis, they’re basically just different energy sources.
• Mastery of one power source doesn’t guarantee proficiency in the other, as seen with Babidi and Z Fighters.

Warning: The following contains spoilers for Dragon Ball Daima, Episode 5, “Panzy”, now streaming on Crunchyroll.

Just when you thought that you had gotten a handle on how Dragon Ball‘s power system works, Dragon Ball Daima comes in and introduces a whole new system: magic. To be clear, magic has always been a part of Dragon Ball, but was only ever sparingly used and was never really explained to any meaningful depth. An example of magic in the series is Babidi, the wizard who revived Majin Buu, who also used magic to turn people with evil in their hearts into his slaves. The Dragon Balls themselves are also magical and were created using Namekian magic.

But as Dragon Ball Daima reveals, the people living in the Demon Realm, where most of the show takes place, mostly exclusively use magic instead of ki, giving it a bigger role than it’s ever had in the series. And it’s not just that they don’t use ki; apparently, Demon Realm citizens, with a few rare exceptions, don’t even know what ki is.

People from the Demon Realm Generally Only Use Magic

However, the Demon Realm Citizens Still have Ki

As explained by Panzy in Dragon Ball Daima episode 5, “Panzy”, every Majin can use at least one magic spell. This is interesting because, outside the Demon Realm, not everyone uses ki techniques and would have to train before doing so. In fact, apart from the Z Fighters, most humans probably live their entire lives without using any.

Now, while many people from the Demon Realm don’t even know what ki is, they can still use it if they manage to learn how. Goku can still detect presences in the Demon Realm, which means that the people and creatures living there do have ki in their bodies; it’s just that most of them have never learned how to utilize it. Similarly, people from outside the Demon Realm can also use magic if they study it, like how Babidi, Fortune Teller Baba, and the Namekians have.

Ki and Magic Function Similarly

Like Two Different Power Sources That Power Similar Objects

Think of it like this: a car powered by diesel and a car powered by electricity both use different fuel sources, but at the end of the day, the fuel’s main function is to power and move the vehicle. Similarly, it seems that some ki techniques can do the same thing as magic spells, but they simply require a different type of “fuel”.

For example, both ki and magic users can use telekinesis. Goku, Cell, and Frieza have all used telekinesis using ki in the past, but Panzy, who didn’t even know what ki was, can also use telekinesis with magic. Panzy also often mistakes Goku’s moves, like his Instant Transmission and Kamehameha, for magic, which means there are probably magic abilities out there that do something similar.

“I still can’t believe it. Just how strong are you? You even use magic… You transformed and shot weird light from your hands.” Panzy talking about Goku’s Kamehameha

Another thing, you can’t plug a diesel car into a charging station, and you can’t just pump gas into an electric car. Likewise, you can’t use ki to power magic abilities, and you can’t use magic to power a Kamehameha. You’d have to find and use an equivalent move or technique that does something similar first. But then there are hybrid cars that use both electricity and fossil fuels, and in the same way, some people have trained themselves to use both ki and magic, like Glorio and the Supreme Kais.

Glinds in general are probably naturally adept at using both types of power sources since they’ve experienced life both inside and outside the Demon Realm. As mentioned above, Namekians use magic to create Dragon Balls, but they’re generally well-versed with ki control as well.

However, Dragon Ball Daima still has a long way to go. Maybe somewhere down the line, they dive deeper into the intricacies of magic and reveal some moves or properties it has that make it more distinguishable from ki.

Being a Strong Magic User Does Not Make You a Strong Ki User

And Vice Versa

Being a master at one of the power sources does not mean you’ll be any good with the other. One example of this is Babidi, as the evil wizard could cast extremely powerful spells, but wasn’t shown to be able to use any ki techniques to defend himself. At the other end of the spectrum, Goku and the rest of the Z Fighters are excellent at controlling their ki and using it to fight, but most of them don’t really have any experience with using magic.

When it comes to ki, people often use physical and mental training to improve their strength and control of it. It’s why you always see Goku, Vegeta, and Piccolo sparring, working out, or meditating to get stronger. As for magic, it’s currently unknown how one needs to train to become better at using it. Whether they need different kinds of physical training or need to literally study spells through scrolls or books, is something that Dragon Ball Daima might hopefully reveal soon.

Dragon Ball Daima is now available to stream on Crunchyroll and Netflix. The release date for Dragon Ball Daima, episode 10, is set to be November 13, 2024 at 10:00 AM PT.