Dragon Ball Is Definitely Canon, And the Evidence Doesn't Lie

Although the Dragon Ball Super manga hasn’t officially returned, the recently released volume of the manga is already making connections to Dragon Ball Daima. The new volume includes a reference to a key element from Daima regarding everyone’s favorite assistant guardian, Mr. Popo, solidifying that the anime is canon within the Super timeline. During the premiere of Dragon Ball Daima’s final episodes, Dragon Ball producer Akio Iyoku revealed the anime began development in 2019, around the same time as the film Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero. Though both projects overlapped, Daima followed a separate narrative path.

Iyoku said Dragon Ball creator Akira Toriyama grew so invested in the concept that he took on most of the creative work himself. While Iyoku placed Daima between Dragon Ball Z's Buu arc and its final one, he stopped short of confirming its connection to Super, leaving Daima's canon status ambiguous and fans left to speculate Daima’s validity. However, Volume 24 of the manga hints that all the theories may finally come to a close.

Evidence of Daima Being Canon Is Stacking Up

Dragon Ball’s Spin-Offs Are Beginning To Connect, But It's Not Enough For Some

In Dragon Ball Daima, it’s revealed that Mr. Popo is descended from Demon Realm beings, marked by a pair of small horns shown when his turban is removed for the first time. This detail resurfaces in Dragon Ball Super Volume 24, where the table of contents features Mr. Popo without his turban, horns visible, standing beside Dende and Korin. While subtle, the callback is a deliberate nod from Super illustrator Toyotaro, suggesting a shared canon thread while simultaneously adding fuel to the Daima-Super canon debate.

Image of Super Saiyan Goku over a collage of Edward from Fullmetal Alchemist and Spike from Cowboy Bebop

50 Best Anime Series of All Time, Ranked

Anime has exploded in popularity recently, so it's natural to wonder what series in the medium's history rank among the best of the best.

Posts90

This subtle reference makes it clear that Dragon Ball Super artist Toyotaro acknowledges Dragon Ball Daima as canon to Super, despite ongoing fan criticism over continuity inconsistencies between the two. It makes sense—both series were heavily shaped by Akira Toriyama before his passing. While the continuity issues can be hard to ignore for longtime fans, there's little reason to believe Daima and Super won't soon be acknowledged as being within the same canon.

What Does This Mean For The Future of Dragon Ball?

Perhaps The Timeline Will Be A Little Less Confusing…

Dragon Ball has one of the most notoriously tangled timelines in anime. For a series so iconic, its chronology is anything but clear. None of the Dragon Ball Z movies are canon, yet both Dragon Ball Super films are. The video games aren’t canon, though some fan-favorite transformations from them have made their way into the mainline series. Add in alternate timelines, like Future Trunks, and design overhauls that confuse character continuity (Trunks again), and it becomes tough to tell up from down. Much of this uncertainty stems from the short Peaceful World Saga at the end of Dragon Ball Z.

Super Saiyan 4 Goku from Dragon Ball Daima in front of Super Saiyan 4 Goku from Dragon Ball GT.

GT vs Daima: Dragon Ball Staff Unpacks One of the Anime Series' Key Differences

Dragon Ball Daima is heavily influenced by 1996's Dragon Ball GT, but one animator has shared a key difference between the two series.

Posts

Dragon Ball Daima, while strong on its own, adds another wrinkle to that already messy timeline. The series was confirmed by its creators as a direct sequel to the Majin Buu Saga, even opening with its villains watching those events unfold. That placement makes sense until Battle of Gods, where Goku uses Super Saiyan 3 against Beerus, despite supposedly reaching Super Saiyan 4 in Daima. Still, Dragon Ball Super Volume 24 quietly acknowledges Dragon BallDaima, suggesting it won’t be ignored going forward. Hopefully, that means some continuity fixes are on the horizon to clear things up for fans.