Dragon Ball Daima‘s final boss bore more than a passing resemblance to Jiren, the ultimate fighter from Universe 11 seen in Dragon Ball Super‘s Tournament of Power. Fans have wondered what connection, if any, Jiren may have had to Gomah, and now someone on the Dragon Ball team has finally addressed the issue.
As the Supreme Demon King of the Demon Realm and a heroic figure from Universe 11, it’s hard to imagine what Gomah and Jiren actually have in common. However, both were given hulking, muscular frames, and wore skintight outfits that were primarily red and black, giving them a very distinctive resemblance to one another. Given that Jiren’s mentor was supposedly killed by a demon (which could easily have been from the Demon Realm), some fans speculated that there was reason to think that the resemblance was more than coincidental.
Dragon Ball’s Character Designer Weighs In on Gomah and Jiren
Nakatsuru Reveals Toriyama’s Involvement in Gomah’s Design
In an interview with the show “Made in Asia,” Katsuyoshi Nakatsuru, a Dragon Ball character designer, answered some questions, including one about Jiren and Gomah’s shared resemblance. Nakatsuru commented that Gomah’s design was created by Akira Toriyama himself, and thus he couldn’t say definitively whether there was meant to be some connection between the two characters as a result. While the answer is a bit disappointing, it is interesting to know that Gomah was one of Toriyama’s designs for Daima, including not only his base form, but apparently his muscular Third Eye form as well.
Fan theories about the situation have certainly been interesting, such as speculation that Gomah was somehow the one responsible for killing Jiren’s mentor, but it seems that, at least for now, none of them will be confirmed. That’s unfortunate, as Daima could certainly stand to have a few more solid connections to Super, helping to show that they really are intended to be in the same continuity, despite some major issues with the canon now as a result of Daima. It could help to squash the idea that Daima is non-canonical, or represents its own branch of canon, separate from Super.
Will Jiren and Gomah’s Connections Ever Be Confirmed?
Fans May Never Know For Sure if the Resemblance is Intentional
Unfortunately, with Toriyama’s death last year, it may not ever be possible to fully confirm what was intended regarding Gomah’s design. There is always the possibility that Toriyama left some notes behind that might reveal the truth, but fans can hardly count on such a thing being found and released.
Just because it can never be confirmed doesn’t make it any less of a fun fan theory, however. The idea of the Pride Troopers or Gomah drawing inspiration from each other is certainly a wild one, but it can be fun to tie disparate parts of Dragon Ball canon together like this. After all, the world of Dragon Ball is both big and small at the same time, and this kind of coincidence can always be given new meaning later.