Dragon Ball is a series or two-halves, having roots as both a gag comedy series and as the definitive battle Shonen anime. With Dragon Ball Z being the most popular installment in the franchise, most fans know the series for its action, so this is what sequel series aim to emulate. This is to their detriment, and it's easy to see from their shallow approaches to storytelling that Dragon Ball GT and Dragon Ball Super weren't projects that the franchise's creator had much involvement with.

While Dragon Ball GT and Dragon Ball Super didn't excite Akira Toriyama, Dragon Ball DAIMA obviously did, being the final anime he wrote for before his tragic passing. Anyone the least bit familiar with Toriyama's sense of humor can see his fingerprints all over the series, and how much joy he took in sprinkling in the kinds of dumb jokes that made him a star. Dragon Ball DAIMA embraced Akira Toriyama's vision for the franchise in a way no other DBZ sequel ever has, and the fact the anime is easily the best of the Dragon Ball sequels proves just how much Toriyama enjoying the writing process mattered.

Dragon Ball isn't the manga Akira Toriyama originally became famous for – that would be 1980's Dr. Slump, the highly-juvenile gag comedy manga Arale Norimaki originates from. Between Dr. Slump, and the gag comedy & adventure-filled early arcs of Dragon Ball, you shouldn't need to research Toriyama or read old interviews to understand what he most enjoyed as a writer. Perverted jokes, potty humor, over-the-top displays of power from unassuming characters, and bright & weird worlds were always what Toriyama loved writing most. It just so happened Toriyama was more skilled at paneling action scenes than nearly every other manga artist in history.

, and not entirely of Toriyama's own volition. Toriyama initially only had the Pilaf Saga planned out When the decision was made to keep the series going for just a little longer, he decided to do a tournament arc, similar to ones he'd included in Dr. Slump. The massive leap in popularity the 21st World Martial Arts Tournament Saga enjoyed changed the course of the series forever, as it proved that Toriyama's fight scenes were a huge draw, and should be a larger part of the manga. From there, things naturally escalated, as the stakes slowly got higher and more serious, until suddenly Toriyama was depicting the awe-inspiring battles that would later be brought to life by Dragon Ball Z.

What's important to understand about this series of developments is that Toriyama did not make all of his narrative choices independently. Toriyama had three editors throughout Dragon Ball's publication and each had their say in what the series should be. Most notable understanding the transition between Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball Z is the manga's second editor, Yu Kondo, who took over for Kazuhiko Torishima at the start of the Saiyan Saga. Kondo played a major role in pushing Toriyama to up the drama and action of the series, which is why the Frieza and Cell Sagas are so far divorced from what the series started out as & unlike what Toriyama most enjoyed writing. It's also why, when Toriyama's final editor, Fuyuto Takeda, took over, he was free to give fans the humorous and satirical Buu Saga, an arc much more in tune with his sensibilities.

To call Dragon Ball GT and Dragon Ball Super divisive would be an understatement. They have their fans who will defend them to the death, but there are just as many people who despise both series and think they're unworthy of bearing the "Dragon Ball" name. There are likewise endless arguments about which of the two anime is better, with the answer largely boiling down to personal preference over whether bold ideas or competent execution are more important. One of the few things most fans should be able to agree on, though, is that neither GT nor Super feels like Toriyama's work – not should they, because Toriyama's involvement in these anime was incredibly limited.

Apart from contributing concept art and character designs, Toriyama had nothing to do with Dragon Ball GT. After working on the Dragon Ball manga for so long, he was burnt out and nothing that the anime staff was doing was enough to reignite his passion. The lack of Toriyama's involvement is obvious, with GT's Black Star Dragon Balls Saga failing to re-capture the magic of the Pilaf and Red Ribbon Army Sagas as it intended to, and its more serious, action-focused arcs stumbling at every step in their vein attempts to be like Dragon Ball Z.

Toriyama was far more involved with Dragon Ball Super than he was GT, but he still wasn't excited enough by what the series was to take a more hands-on approach. He was simply content to come up with ideas for stories and characters, and to pass them along to his successor, Toyotarou, and the anime staff. For better or worse, DBS is a sequel to DBZ specifically, and is all about explosive fight scenes. The only Dragon Ball Super media Toriyama actually wrote were the Broly & Super Hero movies. It's clear he did enjoy getting to put his own more humorous spin on the iconic Legendary Super Saiyan in the former, and primarily spotlighting the comedy duo of Piccolo & Pan in the latter.

While Toriyama has been involved with every Dragon Ball anime to some extent, Dragon Ball DAIMA is the only one since DBZ that included him as a part of the writing team. Production actually began without him, but he was so drawn to the concept that he made himself the driving force behind the anime. This makes sense, given that , with a de-aged Goku and a wacky adventure in a bizarre world. And, sure enough, Toriyama having so much fun on the project enabled him to use Goku's journey through the Demon Realm as a means to share his magic with fans one last time.

For classic Dragon Ball fans, the first half of Dragon Ball DAIMA is a treat like no other. Mini-Goku is adorable and hilarious, the Demon Realm is fascinating, and there's a sense of wonder around every corner of it, the quartet of Goku, Nahare, Glorio, and Panzy share perfect comedic chemistry, and they're all able to contribute to the group's efforts in different ways, adventure takes priority over action, the action that is present is mostly based around martial arts, and Toriyama runs wild with all the dumb running gags and potty humor that he loved so much. The first nine episodes of Dragon Ball DAIMA are as close to a modern-day re-imagining of the Pilaf Saga as it could get while still telling an original story, and some of the best Dragon Ball content in ages.

While the latter half of Dragon Ball DAIMA shifts directions, and takes greater influence from both Dragon Ball Z and Dragon Ball GT, Toriyama's glee can still be felt in every episode. The Majin Brothers are wonderful characters that no one else could have created, Hybis is hilarious every time he opens his mouth, the Megaths show a priority of fun storytelling over serious power-scaling, Gomah going from a gag villain to the ultimate big bad is unlike anything in GT or Super, and there are countless great jokes, even during the glorious final battle. Even the parts of the series that don't work, like the Gendarmerie Force, are still distinctly Toriyama.

Through every moment of Dragon Ball DAIMA, it's obvious that Akira Toriyama was having the time of his life getting to write Dragon Ball as an adventure-comedy again. With how much his identity as a writer is baked into the anime, it's hard to imagine what the series would have been like had Toriyama not gotten involved, or if he hadn't been so enthused about working on it. Fortunately, that isn't something fans need to worry about, and they can simply continue to enjoy the legend's final opus for years to come.