Dragon Ball Daima had quite a few surprises for anime fans in the first episode. For quite some time, shonen fans believed that the origin story of Piccolo and the Namekians had been resolved.
Now, the new Dragon Ball anime has seen both the introduction of the Demon Realm's residents and hints that not all is as it seems for those living on planet Namek. It looks like author Akira Toriyama still has some big surprises in store for Dragon Ball fans before he passes away. Evidence is that Daima will make some big changes to this long-running shonen series.
Daima's story is a story that comes as a direct result, not only of Kid Buu's death, but also of Dabura's death. Once the king of the Demon Realm, Dabura was bewitched by Babidi and finished off by Fat Buu. When the Demon Realm's second in command, Gomah, learned about Dabura's death, he became the new ruler of this kingdom.
In a shocking twist, Gomah reveals that the Demon Realm has a Namekian race of its own, opening another door for Piccolo and his race's new origin story.
Piccolo the Demon King
In the original Dragon Ball series, the villain Piccolo often referred to himself as “The Demon King”. During the events of Dragon Ball Z, the Namekians were initially believed to be aliens, from the planet Namek. In the premiere episode of Dragon Ball Daima, Gomah revealed that the Namekians originally came from the Demon Realm. That's right, blue-skinned anime characters are actually demons.
Dende learned all of this from Gomah, who told the young Namekian that this was the truth he should know. With the Namekians' characteristic “pointy ears”, they should know that they are all demons. Unfortunately for Earth's newest Kami, Gomah and his allies did not come to Earth to make friends.
The Namekians created the Dragon Balls of the Demon Realm
Daima introduces an elderly Namekian named Neva, who is responsible for creating the Dragon Balls of the Demon Realm. Gomah and Makaioshin note that their Dragon Balls grant “dark wishes”, or evil wishes, that can even take the target's life.
Upon arriving on Earth, the elder Namekian immediately used his ability to collect all the Dragon Balls in the world, even being able to turn them back to normal from stone. To ensure that the Z fighters would not become a threat to them, Gomah wished for all of the Z group to turn into “first graders”, establishing a new status quo for the anime adaptation.
With the next series focusing on Goku traveling across the galaxy and inevitably arriving at the Demon Realm. Since Gomah has support from his own Kaioshin and potentially an army of demons, it won't be easy for Son Goku to win, especially as a first grader.