Fans eagerly awaiting the new year with a fresh episode of Dragon Ball Daima may be disheartened by recent news regarding the 40th-anniversary series. A short hiatus is scheduled for the show during the first week of January 2025.
Fuji TV, the Japanese broadcaster that airs Dragon Ball Daima every Friday in Japan, has confirmed that the series will take a break on Jan. 3, 2025.
Dragon Ball Daima reassures fans during anticipated hiatus (Photo: Dragon Ball DAIMA/Toei Animation)
This disappointing update was conveyed through Dragon Ball Daima’s official X (formerly Twitter) account. As a result, Episode 13 will instead debut the following week, on Jan. 10, 2025.
The creator of One Piece illustrates the final volume cover for the Dragon Ball Super Gallery Project that honors the series’ 40th anniversary.
Dragon Ball Daima Takes 1-Week Break at the Start of 2025
Since its debut on Oct. 11, 2024, Dragon Ball Daima has consistently released new episodes every Friday in Japan, with English-based streaming services like Crunchyroll quickly following suit.
With the exception of daylight saving time adjustments affecting English premieres, the show has maintained its regular Friday airtime for nearly three months.
This upcoming break will mark the series’ first hiatus. Nonetheless, fans need not worry about production issues, as the initial days of the new year are traditionally recognized as holidays by many major companies in Japan, despite only Jan. 1 being a national holiday.
It’s likely that Dragon Ball Daima isn’t the only prominent series, whether anime or otherwise, taking a week off to accommodate special New Year’s programming.
While it has become increasingly common for anime series to announce sudden breaks without specified return dates, as seen with Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon?, concerns about Dragon Ball Daima being off for just one week are understandable.
However, there are no alarming indications of production troubles at Toei Animation regarding Dragon Ball Daima. This situation contrasts sharply with the issues faced by the Dragon Ball Super TV anime series when it launched in 2015, where early episodes were plagued by poor character designs and disappointing animation quality.
The subpar animation in Dragon Ball Super was particularly jarring since the early episodes retold recently released anime films. This disparity highlighted the inferior TV animation compared to the high-caliber visuals of Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Gods and Dragon Ball Z: Resurrection ‘F’.
Even Akira Toriyama expressed his discontent with Dragon Ball Super during its initial episodes. Fortunately, Toei Animation managed to rectify the situation around the “Future Trunks” story arc, culminating in a thrilling and highly satisfying conclusion for Dragon Ball Super in 2018.
A former Shonen Jump editor doesn’t hold back in his critique of the Dragon Ball Super manga by Toyotarou and the late Akira Toriyama.
While Dragon Ball Daima fans will experience a brief wait for Episode 13, there are still plenty of exciting developments on the horizon for 2025. The English dub of Dragon Ball Daima is set to officially premiere on Crunchyroll on Jan. 10, 2025.
Stephanie Nadolny, the original English voice actor for Kid Goku, will reprise her iconic role after a 15-year hiatus. Nadolny noted that Toei Animation played a crucial role in facilitating her return for Daima.
Viewers can enjoy new and previous episodes of Dragon Ball Daima on a variety of streaming platforms, including Crunchyroll, Netflix, and Hulu.
Additionally, the Dragon Ball Super manga will make a temporary return with a special one-shot story in February. Fans can access previous chapters digitally through the Viz Media and Manga Plus app.
