Dragon Ball Daima Episode 14: Did Neva's Shield Backstory Just Reveal the Grand Priest's Origin?

Dragon Ball Daima episode 14, titled Taboo, follows a episode 13 that I did not think was very well liked, and this one gets the story moving again with a new villain squad, a huge lore drop about the barriers between the demon worlds, and a possible tie to the Grand Priest himself.

Panzy's message to King Kadan could set up a much bigger demon world conflict

Early in the episode Panzy communicates with Perill to have him pass a message to her father King Kadan in Demon World 3, telling him that they now have two of the Dragon Balls and are heading to the first Demon World. I do not think this scene was put in by accident. My theory is that her losing her cell phone to the Kraken is going to break communication between the third Demon World and the first one, and that there may end up being a much bigger conflict between the two demon realms coming up later in the series.

Perill also informs her that King Kadan himself went to steal a plane so he could travel to the first Demon World, which suggests he could be part of the big climactic battle near the end of the series. That is something I was not expecting, and I was not sure we would see him again, especially in combat. Perhaps he thinks Goku will defeat Gomah and overthrow him so that he himself can become the grand king of all three demon worlds, though that remains to be seen.

The new Ginyu Tokusentai is a deliberate Ginyu Force callback for the 40th anniversary series

In Demon World one, Gomah requests that his special forces be gathered, five members of the military police who appear to be the highest ranked members of the Demon World one army. This is a clear tie in to the Ginyu Force from the Frieza Saga, right down to the name, since the original was called the Ginyu Tokusentai and this group is called the Ginyu Tokusentai. Some viewers are going to call this a rehash, and I think that is being done on purpose, because Daima is the 40th anniversary series and it has been recreating and paying tribute to 40 years of Dragon Ball, which is the same reason we got Glorio and Dr. Arinsu mirroring Mira and Towa.

Both this new group and the original Ginyu Force are parodies of Japanese Super Sentai, which has existed in Japanese pop culture since the 70s and was clearly something Toriyama watched growing up, with the goofy poses, the multiple colors and the overall wackiness. Super Sentai is the same source material that Haim Saban Americanized into Mighty Morphin Power Rangers in the early 90s. Gomah's embarrassed reaction to the group posing mirrors Frieza's reaction the first time he saw the Ginyu Force on Namek.

Unlike the Ginyu Force, these guys do not seem to have magical abilities, at least not yet, though they do carry weapons. I do not think those weapons are going to do anything meaningful to Goku, Vegeta or Piccolo, though that remains to be seen. I am not going to take these characters seriously as a threat, and I do not think anyone else should either, because they are comic relief until the actual final boss shows up, just like Ginyu was for Frieza.

The demon world map hints the third eye is about to become a major plot point

Daima shows a map of the demon realm with Demon World 3 on the outside, Demon World 2 in the middle, and Demon World 1 right in the center, and the layout kind of looks like an eye, which I think will matter in the coming weeks because the third eye is about to play a major role. I really like this map, since the small spheres represent the different planets of Demon World 2, including the planet of the giants and other places the crew has already visited.

My favorite line of the episode comes when the leader of the special forces tells Gomah to \"go take a bath and play with your fart bubbles.\" Dr. Arinsu also warns the special forces that these kids already defeated Majin Buu and Tamagami, only for the group to just laugh it off, not believing it. That reminds me of how the Ginyu Force underestimated Goku on Namek before he revealed his true power with the Kaioken and Captain Ginyu panicked. I do not expect actual physical combat between these guys and the main crew, and I think the realization that they cannot compete physically will make them run. There is even a line where one of them admits he was worried he peed himself a bit, and I really hope that when he actually sees what Goku and the others can do, they show him wetting his pants for real.

Neva's ancient spell reveals he created the shield of light between the demon worlds himself

When the crew arrives at Warp, they find him asleep, and Neva is the one who explains what is going on since he knows the most about the demon realm. Goku pokes Warp with a stick to wake him, which is a callback to Dr Slump, Toriyama's original breakout work, where Arale had a habit of poking things with sticks. The group brings up the tunnel connecting to the first Demon World, first mentioned back in episode three when the Supreme Kai talked about a link between the three demon worlds covered by a magical barrier, and this episode finally explains how that barrier got there.

Goku touches the shield with his stick and gets electrocuted, knocked unconscious for a few seconds, since it is not just a wall of light but a magical barrier with a failsafe. Neva comes to the rescue, showing for the first time that he can fly, and then begins casting an ancient Nean spell, using the same words spoken at the very start of the original Daima trailer from September. It turns out that spell can unlock access between the demon realms by removing the shield of light, and this episode reveals that Neva himself created that shield millions of years ago.

The backstory explains that when the three demon worlds were open to each other, ruffians from the third Demon World and arrogant people from the first Demon World were causing chaos in the second Demon World, the home of the Glenns and the Neans, so Neva segregated the worlds to protect his people. One shot from this flashback stands out to me for several reasons: the ancient Nean homes shown in the background match what we have seen of Planet Namek, and the soldiers dressed in black gear wear a chest symbol that resembles the third eye, more foreshadowing tying the military police to that artifact of power used by previous demon kings.

Clues in that flashback suggest the Grand Priest could be a Glend from the demon realm

Looking closer at that same flashback image, the belt buckles on two of the soldiers are very reminiscent of Dragon Ball, and the female looking figure in the middle resembles the Grand Priest, the number two in command behind Zeno in Dragon Ball Super. That raises the question of whether the Grand Priest could actually be a Glend from the demon realm, since he already somewhat resembles a Kai, and if so, how he ended up in that role. I really hope we get that backstory someday.

A lot of people believe Dragon Ball Super has been on such a long hiatus because it is waiting for the Daima story to conclude so it can build a new arc out of the characters, locations and lore introduced here, and that is very possible. I have said in past videos that I was told Daima's story would tie into something in Dragon Ball Super in the future, though that was before the passing of Toriyama, so I genuinely do not know what the future holds and am waiting to see. The figure in the red coat in that same shot looks like the leader of the group given the coat and apparent rank, and the outfit on the Grand Priest lookalike also resembles what Merged Zamasu wore, and since the original Zamasu is a Glend, the idea that the Grand Priest could be a Glend feels plausible to me.

The military uniforms echo Star Wars and World War II imagery, in keeping with Toriyama's history influences

These military uniforms could be compared to the Imperial uniforms from Star Wars, but a lot of that Star Wars iconography, especially in the original trilogy, is itself borrowed from World War II, specifically the German army. Plenty of real world armies throughout history have worn dark uniforms like this, and I think Daima is simply following that same well of inspiration. Toriyama is a huge history enthusiast, particularly around wars, which is also why the Red Ribbon Army arc borrowed so heavily from World War II era characters.

Neva also explains that this same overbearing rule from Demon World one's military is one of the big reasons the Neans left for the outside world in the first place, something Piccolo already touched on back in episode two. Once Neva put up the shields, Warp was placed at the tunnel, though we do not yet know who put Warp there. Piccolo calls Neva a legend for what he accomplished, and Neva does appear to be the most powerful Nean we have seen in terms of magic, seeming to outclass both Kami and even the Grand Elder of Namek.

Do and Kyu's snack run with the special forces hints they could fight the group without Goku

There is a funny scene where the Demon World Ginyu Force parody go shopping for potato chips and run into Majin Do and Kyu, who get brushed off as kids and told they can have snacks once they reach the group's power level. I find that funny because Majin Do is no joke, having defeated Tamagami, and the fact that the military police guys were nearly in disbelief that Goku could handle them so easily tells me Do would probably overwhelm all five of these guys on his own.

I could see a situation where Do and Kyu team up to take out the special forces themselves without Goku ever getting involved. The special forces end up buying the kids snacks, though they run short on money and can only afford two items, and Do and Kyu are shown thanking them for it. I really hope these two do not die, since they are fun characters I would like to see get more comic relief scenes together, though I admit there is a chance the story sends them into a fight instead.

The escape into the first Demon World sets up the climax, and Gohan probably will not be part of it

Both Dr. Arinsu and Dr Aru notice that the barrier between the demon worlds is now open, and Warp realizes the shield is down and that they have company. Glorio explains that the first Demon World has a small sunlike sphere orbiting it, unlike Demon World 2 and 3, which do not appear to have suns, something I think may be modeled on the idea that the closer you get to a planet's core, the hotter it gets. When the plane predictably breaks down, everyone bails out and flies, with Vegeta carrying Bulma since she cannot fly, while Glorio and Hebus each carry one of the Dragon Balls, a detail worth noting since Glorio still has what look like sinister motives involving handing the balls over to Aru.

The skydiving descent into Demon World one, with its rocky reddish atmosphere that looks the most like hell, is followed by the military police spotting the crashed plane and, through binoculars, the people descending. Gomah immediately realizes his worst nightmare has arrived, though at this point nobody knows Neva is the one who helped them get there. I want to address the question of whether Gohan will show up near the end of the series. With Warp shut down and the demon realm sealed off the way it now is, I do not see how Gohan could realistically get there, so I am starting to believe he probably will not be involved in the final conflict.

Gomah orders an immediate attack on Goku's group, and the guards open fire, leading into a final shot of Goku and the others escaping an army of military police both on foot and in vehicles as the episode fades to black, a Dragon Ball Z style cliffhanger I was glad to see return. The next episode, called Third Eye, should give us backstory on Dorap and the third eye itself along with the start of the fight between Goku, Piccolo, Vegeta and the military police, and possibly Glorio as well, as the story heads into its climax in the first Demon World.

Where do you think the Grand Priest's possible ties to the demon realm are heading?