Dragon Ball DAIMA is available to stream on Crunchyroll and Netflix On March 1st 2024 the world was shook by the passing of Akira Toriyama , a manga legend best known for the  Dragon Ball series and Dr. Slump but also as an iconic character designer who worked on video games such as the Dragon Quest series, Chrono Trigger , and Blue Dragon . His death came just months away from the release of Dragon Ball DAIMA - a brand new instalment in the franchise that was written by Toriyama himself. It's a much sadder world without him, but this is one final gift from the man himself. Unlike previous Dragon Ball series, DAIMA  tells a single story rather than multiple arcs, and at a mere 20 episodes is the shortest by some margin. The series ran from October 11th 2024 to February 28th 2025 - rather fittingly concluding the day before the first anniversary of Toriyama's passing.

Dragon Ball DAIMA is available to stream on Crunchyroll and Netflix It's been five years since the  Dragon Ball Super anime series ended and while fans haven't been completely starved of new Dragon Ball content since then, the times have certainly changed. The passing of creator Akira Toriyama earlier this year shocked the world, and although its a far sadder place without him we were fortunate enough to see him revisit the story onscreen one last time with Dragon Ball DAIMA . The sixth entry in the Dragon Ball franchise had Toriyama involved with the story "deeply beyond his usual capacity", in which Goku , Vegeta and the rest of Earth's fighters are transformed back into children by a brand new evil.

Release Date: April 2018 RRP: 5616 yen You know that a toy line has hit a high point when it's releasing reissues and renewals of previously released figures alongside a steady string of brand new moulds. That's been the case for the Dragon Ball S.H. Figuarts range for some time now, and now that  Dragon Ball Super has finished airing collectors are clamouring for those hard-to-get older releases more than ever. Bandai Tamashii Nations have now answered these cries with the release of S.H. Figuarts Freeza Resurrection Ver. , giving the Emperor of the Universe a shiny new paint job along with some new accessories to reflect his appearance in the latest series. Better still is that this new Freeza is also a general retail release, whereas the original final form Freeza and Golden form Freeza figures were Tamashii web exclusive figures.

Dragon Ball Super is available in streaming form on Crunchyroll In 2013 Toei Animation shocked fans with Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Gods - a brand-new feature film that not only directly followed on from Dragon Ball Z , but was also written by creator Akira Toriyama himself. Its success led to Dragon Ball Z: Resurrection 'F' two years later - a direct sequel reviving the franchise's most popular villain and again written by Toriyama. There was no denying that Dragon Ball had well and truly returned, but it wasn't until Dragon Ball Super was announced that it really sunk in. Running for an impressive 131 episodes, this was the first proper Dragon Ball series since Dragon Ball GT all the way back in 1996. And with the advent of simulcasting in its absence, one of the most popular anime franchises on the planet could now reach a worldwide audience faster than ever before.

Release Date: August 2017 RRP: 7560 yen The S.H. Figuarts line is full of prototypes that never saw the light of day and the Dragon Ball line is no exception. The series may have recently hit a sweet spot where new releases are coming in at a better rate, but that doesn’t change the fact that the whereabouts of Kid Buu, Maijin Vegeta, GT Goku and Jaco the Galactic Patrolman are still unknown. But arguably one of the most anticipated among these was Nappa . First appearing way back in 2012, Nappa immediately faded into the unknown until the Dragon Ball line got a new lease on life – and with that Nappa also got a brand new figure. The new and improved S.H. Figuarts Nappa is now on par with the newly released Saiyan Saga Vegeta figure, with Nappa himself released as a Tamashii web exclusive in Japan as well as the usual wider release in the US via Bluefin Tamashii Nations .

Release Date: July 2017 RRP: 5616 yen With Dragon Ball Super now over 100 episodes in, it’s fair to say that the Dragon Ball franchise is back in a big way. The same goes for its S.H. Figuarts line too, which has crawled back from the odd web exclusive every so often to a string of regular releases that are both retail and exclusive. August will see the long awaited release of S.H. Figuarts Nappa , with Tienshinhan and Yamcha figures to follow the end of the year. With so many Saiyan Saga -era figures coming, it seems only fitting that there’s also a brand new S.H. Figuarts Vegeta based on his original antagonistic appearance – finally getting the retail release treatment he deserves like the Super Saiyan version did last year.

Unlike retail S.H. Figuarts where the most popular releases might eventually be reissued, Tamashii web exclusives are a one-time deal. If you’re unable to purchase one on release, you’re stuck with the gamble that is aftermarket prices. However the Dragon Ball range has presented Bandai Tamashii Nations with a bit of a conundrum – as despite being made up of mostly web exclusives in Japan they has proved incredibly popular overseas. Fans are clamouring for reissues, so Bandai have come up with the “Premium Color Editions” – slight repaints of previous figures to give the illusion of an all-new figure. The range kicked off last year with new versions of Vegeta and Trunks , with the third now arriving in the form of S.H. Figuarts Perfect Cell – a figure previously released in 2012 and as one of Dragon Ball Z ’s most popular characters, long overdue this treatment.

Do you hear that? That’s the sound of Dragon Ball Z collectors selling off their S.H. Figuarts Super Saiyan Vegeta –Premium Color Edition- figures after Bandai Tamashii Nations almost immediately followed its release up with the announcement of a newly improved mould. Unlike the five Vegeta figures that have preceded it, this S.H. Figuarts Super Saiyan Vegeta isn’t an exclusive release and marks the first time the character has been a mass release figure – despite being the secondary lead in the franchise by this point. Using the same new-style body as the recent Super Saiyan Trunks figure, this Vegeta is supposedly based on the ascended version from the Cell Saga but ultimately works as him from any point in the show’s timeline.

Despite boasting a lot of unreleased prototypes and a bit of a spotty period with few releases, it’s fair to say that Dragon Ball has remained one of the more consistent ranges S.H. Figuarts has on offer. With the arrival of Dragon Ball Super creating renewed interest in the franchise, the line has also experienced something of a renaissance – with new characters, “renewal” figures and premium colour editions all on offer. Earlier this year saw the release of popular new character and God of Destruction Beerus , and no long behind him comes his faithful attendant Whis . Unfortunately unlike his master Whis is a Tamashii web exclusive figure in Japan, but will undoubtedly see more widespread release in the US via Bluefin .

One of the biggest problems of the Dragon Ball Z range of S.H. Figuarts is that most of them have been Tamashii web exclusives . This essentially means that most of the cast has been limited to one initial run, and the constant reissuing of the lines few early retail releases (Super Saiyan Goku, Gohan and Piccolo) are enough to make up for this. Characters such as Vegeta and Trunks fetched ludicrous prices on the aftermarket, so Bandai Tamashii Nations decided to get in on the action themselves with new Premium Colour Editions . While basically re-releases of the original figures, they have also been given a more accurate colourscheme to get around the usual “one and done run” of web exclusives. First up is Super Saiyan Vegeta , which was originally released back at the tail end of 2011. Trunks is set to follow in January 2016, with Super Saiyan 3 Goku seen at events and Perfect Cell also rumoured to make an appearance again sometime this year.

The S.H. Figuarts line’s humble beginnings may have started with tokusatsu and the Kamen Rider franchise but as the years gone by it has expanded further and further – delving into both anime and live-action film. Arguably one its most popular anime sub-lines has been the Dragon Ball Z range, which despite being mostly limited to Tamashii web exclusives in Japan has proven to be a huge success in the West and constantly has new prototypes appearing at events. With Dragon Ball back in the hearts and minds of Japanese viewers full-swing thanks to the recent movies and Dragon Ball Super series, Bandai Tamashii Nations have released their first mass release Dragon Ball figure in since 2010 with Super Saiyan Goku Super Warrior Awakening Version . This figure is based on Goku’s climactic battle with Freeza on Planet Namek when he first tapped into his Super Saiyan abilities.

After 18 long years, Dragon Ball is well and truly back. Sure it's had a few OVA moments in that time, but thanks to the success of recent movies Battle of the Gods and Resurrection F  the franchise has finally returned for a brand new series. And with original creator Akira Toriyama back in tow for character design and original story concept, it's a pretty big deal. Like many others my first experiences with anime as I know it today was coming home from school every day and watching Dragon Ball Z on Toonami , so the though of having a new episode to week every is making my inner child scream. Thank you Toei Animation , thank you for the gift that is Dragon Ball Super.

First off, I'd like to wish a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to every reader of this blog. Hope Santa brought you everything you want and you have a great rest of the year. Next, here I decided to review something that I'd never seen but was already close to my heart. I'm a long time fan of Dragon Ball/Dragon Ball Z - DBZ was pretty much what INTRODUCED me to anime. But Dragon Ball GT (which after much searching the internet I found stands for Grand Tour) was something I had never watched. I don't know whether it was because of the debated canonicity or the fact most fanboys seem to hate the series, but it had always escaped me. So now after playing Dragon Ball Z Budokai: Tenkaichi 2 on the wii (whose story mode featured the sagas from GT) I decided it was finally time to give this series a go. Set 5-10 years (depending on the version) after DBZ, GT sees Goku returning to life as a child after an accidental wish is made on the Black Star Dragon Balls, which a...