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Warning: Contains spoilers for Dragon Ball Daima episode #20.As great as it was forDragon Ball Daimato make Super Saiyan 4 canon, there was the obvious issue of how it was supposed to fit into canon. Goku never used Super Saiyan 4 in canon, and Super Saiyan 3 was stated to be his strongest form when he fought Beerus inBattle of Gods, so there was a clear continuity issue that needed to be addressed.
RegardingSuper Saiyan 4’s place in canon, when it was pointed out that Goku first used Super Saiyan 4 after Neva cast some sort of spell on Goku, people theorized that it was something Goku could only use while imbued with magic, and a lack of strong magic on Earth would explain why he never used it inDragon Ball Super. That would have been an easy explanation, but unfortunately,Dragon Ball Daimaignored the easiest explanation for Super Saiyan 4 and ultimately made things even more confusing, and it’s hard to call it anything other than a plot hole.
Dragon Ball Daima’s Finale Officially Makes Super Saiyan 4 A Plot Hole
Why Super Saiyan 4 Goku Makes No Sense
Not only didDragon Ball Daimanot use magic as a means of explaining Super Saiyan 4, but it ultimately made its existence all the more confusing. Despite being framed as the result of Neva using magic on Goku,Dragon Ball Daima’s finalerevealed that Goku already knew how to use Super Saiyan 4 beforehand, learning it sometime after the Majin Buu saga. Goku said he didn’t have a full grasp on it before the fight with Gomah, but nevertheless,Dragon Ball Daimafailed to resolve Super Saiyan 4’s continuity issue by making it a regular Super Saiyan form.
WithSuper Saiyan 3 Vegeta, it’s easy enough to explain Vegeta never using by remembering how its stamina drain makes it a liability and how Super Saiyan God made it redundant, but with Super Saiyan 4, there are numerous fights inDragon Ball Superwhere it would have made sense for Goku to use it, most notably when he fought Beerus. Add in Goku’s explicit statement about Super Saiyan 3 being his strongest form, andunlike Super Saiyan 3 Vegeta,Dragon Ball Daima’s finale turns Super Saiyan 4 Goku into a blatant plot hole that needs to be corrected.
Dragon Ball Daima Forgets Why Super Saiyan 4 Was A Fan Favorite
What Dragon Ball Daima Gets Wrong About Super Saiyan 4
Another issue withDragon Ball Daima’s take on Super Saiyan 4is how it compares toDragon Ball GT. The main reason Super Saiyan 4 was so popular with fans wasn’t just because of its cool design, but becauseGTput a lot of work into building up to its debut and, above all else, making it feel earned with how much Goku had to go through before unlocking it.Dragon Ball GTmade Super Saiyan 4 a fan favorite because of its appearance and the story behind it, and that’s why it was great to see it become canon.
All of that is another reason whyDaima’s take on Super Saiyan 4 doesn’t work. While Super Saiyan 4 being canon is great, some people have criticizedDaimafor making the form come out of nowhere as opposed to having any sort of build-up, and the reveal that Goku unlocked it offscreen only makes that worse, as it now can’t even be said that Neva at least helped Goku unlock his hidden potential.Dragon Ball Daimamaking Super Saiyan 4 entirely unearned for Goku completely forgets what made it so special inDragon Ball GT, and that’s nothing but disappointing.
Is There Any Way For Dragon Ball To Fix Its Biggest Plot Hole Yet?
How Can Dragon Ball Daima Fix Super Saiyan 4?
Super Saiyan 4 is a very blatant plot hole, and that begs the question of howDragon Ballcould resolve it. While there’s no way to retroactively insert Super Saiyan 4 intoDragon Ball Super, in whatever storySuperfinally returns with, Goku can turn Super Saiyan 4 and say something along the lines of he forgot about it while he was focused on mastering Super Saiyan God and Ultra Instinct.Dragon Ballis no stranger to retcons, soit wouldn’t be out of the question forDragon Ballto make Super Saiyan 4 work with simply more retcons.
All of that would still do a disservice to Super Saiyan 4’s appeal, of course. While Super Saiyan 4 becoming canon worked incredibly well in the moment,Dragon Ball Daimarevealing that Goku unlocked Super Saiyan 4 offscreen and making no attempt to make it properly work in canon almost completely ruins its appeal with how needlessly complicated it became. Whatever storyDragon Ballcontinues with will hopefully try to remedy things, but even so, it’s hard to deny thatDragon Ball Daimalargely dropped the ball with Super Saiyan 4.
