The essentials in 30 seconds
In Dragon Ball Daima, Gomah has the Earth Dragon Balls gathered and then asks Shenron to reduce Goku and his loved ones to childish appearance. He wants to weaken those who defeated Majin Buu before they can threaten his rule in the Demon Realm. The adults become small and the younger ones are changed into babies. This is neither Goku's transformation in Dragon Ball GT, nor a natural return in time.
The word “become again” can be confusing: the heroes do not relive their childhood and do not lose all their memories. Their body is altered by a wish, while their personality, connections, and experience remain present. Goku therefore retains his fighting instinct, but must adapt his gestures, distances and habits to a new size.
Warning: This article reveals the trigger for Dragon Ball Daima, who is responsible, and several consequences of their wish. It also distinguishes Daima from Dragon Ball GT, whose starting point and rules are not the same.
What happens after Majin Buu is defeated?
Dragon Ball Daima begins after the victory against the evil Majin Buu. In the Demon Realm, Dabra's death leaves power vacant. Gomah takes the place of king and discovers, with Degesu, the images of the fight which led to Buu's defeat. He sees mortals capable of achieving power far beyond that of an ordinary army.
This observation directly connects the new issue to the end of Dragon Ball Z without repeating the same fight. Goku, Vegeta, Gohan and their allies saved the Earth, but their victory is interpreted elsewhere as a political threat. Gomah does not know their character in the same way as those close to them; he especially judges their ability to defeat beings linked to the Demon Kingdom.
The new king also notices the Dragon Balls and the possibility of obtaining a wish. Instead of immediately confronting the heroes, he chooses to act on their bodies before they learn of his existence. This strategy reveals less martial superiority than preventive fear: Gomah wants to reduce the risk from a distance.
Majin Buu's Forms Guide helps to replace the enemy whose fall worries the Kingdom of Demons. The Frieza, Cell and Majin Buu collection allows you to compare the silhouettes of the major threats that precede Daima.
Why does Gomah fear heroes?
Gomah knows that the Earth Fighters have defeated Majin Buu and that the Kaioshin is close to them. He imagines that they could intervene in the Demon Realm or challenge its authority. His decision therefore does not respond to an attack from Goku: it anticipates a possible threat and transforms strangers into enemies before any contact.
He doesn't just ask Shenron to keep them away. Making them small appears to offer several advantages: reducing their reach, hindering their physical strength and complicating the use of techniques developed in adult bodies. The plan remains flawed because it underestimates the heroes' experience, ki, and ability to adapt.
This underestimation belongs to a long tradition of Dragon Ball. Antagonists judge Goku by his size, his origin or his light-hearted attitude, then discover that his effectiveness does not correspond to their hierarchy. Gomah only reverses the order: he already knows the maximum power shown against Buu and hopes to neutralize it by modifying his support.
The figurine of Black Goku Rosé with his scythe recalls another plan where an opponent seeks to exploit the body of a hero. In Daima, the wish does not replace Goku's spirit: it changes his size while leaving his identity intact.
The Son Goku collection shows why a few signs are enough to recognize the Saiyan, even when his proportions change.
How is the wish formulated?
Gomah and Degesu travel to Earth with Neva, a Namekian from the Demon Realm. Neva can intervene on Earth's Dragon Balls and accelerate their availability, then reunite them. Gomah summons Shenron and demands that those involved in the fight against Majin Buu, as well as their loved ones, be changed into children.
The wish therefore targets a group defined by its link with the battle and the combatants. It does not rejuvenate the entire earth's population. Adult characters take on a childlike appearance, while those who were already young become even smaller, in the form of babies. The collective effect allows the story to modify several heroes without repeating a wish for each.
Shenron performs a magical transformation here. The heroes do not go back in time: Bulma retains her knowledge, Vegeta his memories and the Kaioshin his identity. Their personal history is not erased. This distinction explains why they can analyze the situation and look for a solution as soon as they understand what happened.
A dragon's limits depend on the set of Dragon Balls, its creator, and the wording of the wish. We should therefore not deduce from this single event that Shenron can absolutely modify any being in any condition. The article on the limits of Shenron places the vows in their rules and precedents.
The Piccolo collection recalls the historical link between the Nameks and the creation of the Dragon Balls used on Earth.
Who becomes a child or baby?
The wish notably affects Goku, Vegeta, Piccolo, Bulma, Chichi, the Kaioshin and several allies linked to the fight against Buu. Commercial and promotional designations often use "Mini" for these new appearances. This term describes their reduced version; it does not create a separate duplicate.
Goten and Trunks, already children at this point in the timeline, become babies. This detail confirms that the wish does not simply fix everyone at the same digital age. It applies a reduction adapted to each person’s situation. The proportions remain stylized, and it is best to avoid giving them an exact age when the story does not give it.
Dende is particularly important because Gomah considers him a resource linked to the Dragon Balls. His kidnapping takes part in the departure towards the Kingdom of Demons. The portrait of Dende, god of the Earth explains why his role goes beyond that of a simple witness.
Majin Buu is not just a historical pretext: his defeat changed the political balance of the Demon Kingdom and reveals the strength of the group. The story of the friendship between Mr Satan and Buu recalls, however, that a being linked to the catastrophe can also evolve through attachment, an idea that Gomah does not take into account.
The Vegeta collection allows us to compare its adult silhouette to representations where its proportions tell the story of another period.
What does a smaller body change in combat?
Goku retains his memories, his reading of the fight and his mastery of ki, but his physical landmarks change. His center of gravity, the length of his limbs and the range of his blows no longer correspond to decades of training in an adult body. He must recalibrate his movements rather than relearn martial arts from scratch.
The Nyoï Bō, his magic staff, becomes particularly useful again. It compensates for part of the lost reach and recalls the adventures of his childhood without canceling his adult experience. This choice shows that Daima is not limited to reducing a character model: the choreography adapts to another size and to spaces specific to the Demon Kingdom.
Flight and certain energy habits also require adaptation. A known ability is not necessarily inaccessible, but its use may seem different when the body and environment change. The series uses this constraint to restore importance to movements, objects and proximity techniques.
Vegeta and Piccolo also remain experienced fighters. Their appearance does not psychologically take them back to childhood. The tensions, pride and decisions always belong to the adults they were just before the wish. The transformation therefore produces a handicap and a new grammar of action, not general amnesia.
The Injured Super Saiyan 2 Gohan figurine illustrates another way in which Dragon Ball makes physical constraint visible: the body can be diminished while the will to protect remains intact.
Why is this not the same case as in Dragon Ball GT?
In Dragon Ball GT, a wish related to the Black Star Dragon Balls primarily transforms Goku into a child. The trigger involves Pilaf and a different formulation. In Daima, Gomah voluntarily acts to neutralize an entire group using terrestrial Dragon Balls. The heroes concerned, the source of the danger and the immediate consequences are therefore not identical.
The two series share a starting image – Goku in a small body – and reconnect with a travel adventure. This visual resemblance is not enough to make Daima a new version of GT. The kingdoms explored, allies, rules and chronological place differ.
You should also avoid automatically transferring capabilities from one series to another. A transformation or object used in GT does not become available in Daima by simple analogy. Each story establishes its own stages. The caution is the same as for the versions of Broly: sharing a name or a silhouette does not merge two continuities.
The guide to the two versions of Broly provides a useful method for separating graphic resemblance and narrative identity. The broly collection allows these variations to be observed without confusing them.
Where does Daima fit into the story?
The starting point is after the defeat of Majin Buu: Gomah watches precisely this event and reacts to its consequences. The characters are still living in the period immediately following this crisis, before the later developments shown elsewhere. This position explains the state of the family, the ages of Goten and Trunks and the already established relations with the Kaioshin.
It is better to describe this place based on visible events rather than forcing every detail into an invented date. Daima reveals new elements about the Demon Realm and certain divine characters; this information completes his story without forcing us to pretend that all adaptations follow exactly the same branch.
The Complete Guide to the Dragon Ball Daima Timeline develops the marks before and after the arc. To review the choice that closed the previous crisis, the article on Genkidama against Buu recalls the collective role of Earthlings.
Earth Dragon Balls normally become inert again after a wish before regaining their energy. Neva's intervention constitutes a particular element of the Daima trigger. The guide to recharging Dragon Balls distinguishes the usual cycle from this exceptional manipulation.
The general collection Dragon Ball helps to place the mini versions among the ages, forms and eras of the heroes.
Frequently asked questions
Does Goku become a child again naturally in Daima?
No. Shenron transforms his body following Gomah's wish. Goku retains his memory, his character and his adult experience.
Why doesn't Gomah just ask for their deaths?
The story shows him choosing a collective weakening that he thinks is sufficient. He underestimates the heroes' ability to retain their ki, adapt, and enter the Demon Realm. We must not invent a precise limit of Shenron that the scene does not state to explain this choice.
Do all people on Earth become children?
No. The wish is aimed at people connected to the fight against Majin Buu and their loved ones. The entire population is not getting younger.
Is Daima a sequel to Dragon Ball GT?
No. Both works use a child-like Goku, but the wish, the characters affected, the world explored and the place in the story are different.
Do Goten and Trunks become children too?
They are already children when Gomah makes her wish. Its effect reduces them further and they appear as babies.
In summary
Gomah transforms Goku and his loved ones because their victory over Majin Buu makes him fear intervention against his new rule. Thanks to Neva, he gathers the Earth Dragon Balls and asks Shenron to make them small. Adults take on a childish appearance, children become babies, but their memories remain intact. This collective reduction launches the adventure in the Demon Realm and should not be confused with the wish that only transforms Goku at the start of Dragon Ball GT.