The eighteenth episode of Dragon Ball Daima, broadcast in Japan on February 14, 2025, delivers the big twist: on the verge of defeat, Goku transforms into Super Saiyan 4, the form born in Dragon Ball GT and never before seen in a story conceived by Toriyama. In the finale Glorio summons the Demon Realm's dragon, and his wish changes everything.
Summary
As a Super Saiyan 3, Goku can finally hurt Gomah, helped by Majin Duu and Tamagami Number One. Kuu runs off to buy a huge chocolate cookie and throws it to Duu: the Majin powers up and, mimicking Goku, takes on a look resembling his Super Saiyan 3. Together they put Gomah on the back foot for the first time, but the sugar rush soon wears off and Duu drops out.
Gomah unleashes even more power and fells Goku and the Tamagami. Convinced he has won, he rises into the air and charges a blast to wipe everyone out. Just then Neva approaches Goku and uses his magic to awaken his hidden strength: Goku takes on a new form, with magenta-red hair and fur, his tail back in place and enlarged forearms. It is Super Saiyan 4. He swats Gomah's attack aside and fights him on equal terms, while the other fighters, having caught their breath, rejoin the battle.
The group falls again, but buys Goku time to charge a Kamehameha, which he fires despite a blow that briefly knocks him out. Gomah is not finished, though: the Third Eye gives him even more power and turns him into a giant who towers over everyone. Goku can no longer keep up: trapped in a magic sphere, he is drained of energy until he reverts to his base form.
Meanwhile Arinsu calls Glorio and asks him to bring her the three Dragon Balls. Glorio, who had secretly learned Namekian, gathers them and summons the dragon: a red version of Porunga, so enormous that even giant Gomah barely reaches its hand, and which flicks him away when he tries to attack. Arinsu orders Glorio to wish for her to become the new Supreme Demon King. After a long hesitation, Glorio begins to speak his wish.
Our take
Super Saiyan 4 is Daima's boldest choice, and the series handles it smartly. There is no need for the Golden Great Ape transformation of Dragon Ball GT: here the form is a latent power that Neva awakens, and the returning tail harks back to the hero's Saiyan roots. The design, by Toriyama himself, changes the look too: dark rose hair and fur, longer arms and an even bulkier build than in GT. For the form's full history, see our page on Super Saiyan transformations.
The rest of the episode does not linger on the triumph: Gomah grows even larger, Goku loses, and the finale hands the ball to Glorio. His dilemma, torn between loyalty to Arinsu and affection for the group, is the emotional heart of the series, and the gigantic dragon dwarfing even Gomah is an image that sticks.
Trivia
- "Awakening" is the official English title on Crunchyroll and Netflix. Toonami aired the English dub on October 19, 2025.
- According to figures cited on Wikipedia, this episode pushed the series into the top three most-watched anime in Japan, and several streaming services, piracy sites included, crashed.
- CBR's Daniel Kurland gave it 10 out of 10, calling it "another perfect half hour of television".
- Directed by Kan Murakami and storyboarded by Aya Komaki, with Kaori Saitō and Mikio Fujiwara as animation directors and Tadayoshi Yamamuro as chief.
- In Crunchyroll's English dub, this is the last episode in which Stephanie Nadolny voices kid Goku; Sean Schemmel returns in the next one.
Characters
- Goku, Majin Duu, Majin Kuu and Tamagami Number One
- Gomah
- Neva, Piccolo, the Supreme Kai, Glorio and the others
- Dr. Arinsu and the Demon Realm's Porunga