Why Dragon Ball Daima’s Biggest Issue is Shueisha’s Fault, Not Toei’s, Explained

The release of the Dragon Ball Daima anime is anticipated for the Fall 2024 season. However, the anime’s key visual, exact release date, and further teasers have yet to be unveiled. This delay has led to frustration towards the anime’s marketing team, with Toei Animation bearing the brunt of the criticism.

Despite the premiere of Dragon Ball Daima possibly being just five months away, one anime fan has revealed the truth behind the scenes of its production and marketing. The fan also disclosed the person responsible for the series’ lack of marketing. This contradicts the previous belief that everything was going smoothly.

Shueisha’s Role in the Lack of Marketing for Dragon Ball Daima

An avid anime fan, @AnimeAjay, utilized X to address the misunderstandings among fans regarding the responsibility for the poor planning of the Dragon Ball Daima anime. This decision was made after witnessing the fans’ disappointment towards the series’ marketing situation.

Toei Animation was tasked by Shueisha with producing the Dragon Ball Daima project. Subsequently, Shueisha enlisted manga creator Akira Toriyama to provide guidance for the project. With Shueisha and Toei Animation working together, the project began to take shape.

Goku and Vegeta as seen in the Dragon Ball Daima anime (Image via Toei Animation)

Throughout the production and marketing process, Shueisha and Toriyama closely oversaw Toei Animation’s progress. It was reported that Nakatsuru’s initial design for Goku, which resembled the character’s appearance in Dragon Ball GT, was ultimately rejected. Furthermore, a scene in the trailer teaser revealed Goku’s Gi to be a shade of yellow instead of orange, but this was corrected under Toriyama’s direction.

Shueisha, being the leading publishing company, also oversees the marketing strategy for the production. This includes setting the release dates for trailers, key visuals, and other promotional materials. Toei Animation, the production company, then follows their instructions and delivers the requested assets accordingly.

Chi Chi and Bulma as seen in the anime (Image via Toei Animation)

As the production’s premiere approaches, the marketing efforts are being extended to include third-party services, which have a significant impact on the audience. The company appears to prioritize large-scale Western events over Japanese events in order to reach a wider audience. This approach seems to be aimed at creating an immediate sense of excitement.

Therefore, Toei Animation is obliged to retain their assets until they receive direction from Shueisha regarding the matter.

Son Goku as seen in the anime (Image via Toei Animation)

As per @AnimeAjay, the key visual for Dragon Ball Daima has already been finalized, but its unveiling has been postponed until the next major event. This has caused disappointment among fans, who have noticed a stark difference in the handling of this series compared to Toei Animation’s other popular anime, Eiichiro Oda’s One Piece.

Therefore, @AnimeAjay urged fans to direct their frustration and anger towards Shueisha rather than the production team at Toei Animation. It is hoped that both Shueisha and Toei Animation will release further information about the anime in the near future.