Dragon Ball Daima beaten by surprise new anime on Netflix

Dragon Ball Daima is now a few episodes in on Netflix, but Goku’s run on the service isn’t the big anime of the season.

Dragon Ball Daima was a contender for the biggest upcoming anime of the year. As if the Z Fighters returning in an anime show wasn’t exciting enough, the passing of creator Akira Toriyama makes it essential viewing for longtime fans.

Netflix managed to get the TV show for streaming in major regions, including the UK and US, but it has stiff competition on the platform. A newcomer, DanDaDan, is actually what’s been garnering the viewership.

Netflix’s Top 10 has DanDaDan in second for the week ending October 13, 2024. More recently, the show is seventh on FlixPatrol’s daily top ten for October 20th.

That’s consistency, and Daima is nowhere to be seen in either chart. Before we start celebrating DanDaDan as the usurper of Goku and Vegeta’s throne, there are multiple mitigating factors here.

For a start, Netflix isn’t the only place one can find the new Dragon Ball, as Crunchyroll has it too. DanDaDan is exclusive, and much more heavily promoted as a result.

Dashboard ads and homepage buttons are more commonplace for DanDaDan than Daima (at least in my experience so far). Throw in that it’s something completely fresh, so anyone can jump in, whereas there’s 40 years of history behind Daima that may put off potential viewers.

Whatever the reason, it’s always refreshing to see new properties taking off. Given that Demon Slayer is ending soon, Jujutsu Kaisen and My Hero Academia‘s mangas both finished this year, and the future of Dragon Ball is uncertain, there’s proof the next generation is in safe hands.

Now, will this one be outlasted by One Piece too is the big question. Have a look at our guides to Sakamoto Days and Solo Leveling Season 2 to see what else is coming up.