‘Dragon Ball DAIMA’ Is Hiding an Entire Greek Tragedy Behind King Gomah’s Petty and Trivial Outbursts

SUMMARY

• King Gomah’s outbursts in Dragon Ball DAIMA mirror Greek figures like Oedipus Rex and Macbeth.
• Gomah's paranoia leads him to make self-destructive decisions, leading to his epic downfall.
• The petty yet desperate actions of King Gomah will only prolong the inevitable.

There are many new and interesting characters in the world of Dragon Ball DAIMA. One of the major characters in the narrative that the anime introduces is the enigmatic King Gomah. He started off as being a powerful entity with enough pull to put our Z fighters in hot water, with his wish of turning them into children.

King Gomah is paranoid and out of control | Credits: Toei Animation

King Gomah then went on to have a transformation into a character whose petty and desperate actions to salvage the situation and obtain what he wants are reminiscent of the hallmarks of a Greek tragedy.

As his realm starts falling apart due to the happenings and crumbles under the weight of his paranoia and his horrible decision-making, Gomah’s arc becomes a stellar example and an exploration of how pride and desperation can lead to self-destruction.

Gomah is the modern Oedipus of the Demon Realm

The things that were going pretty well for Gomah started to take a horrible downward dive. At the heart of King Gomah’s downfall and descent into madness lie his misguided attempts to protect his realm from possible threats. Instead of living peacefully (which he could have pulled off without messing with the Z fighters), he made the decision to use his wish to affect Goku and the others.

Degesu in Dragon Ball DAIMA | Credit: Toei Animation

This paranoid behavior of his is self-destructive and it can be evidently inferred from his haphazard decision to shut down Warp-sama, the sole passage to the 1st Demon Realm. It feels like striking a fatal blow against himself, or maybe he is of the opinion that he needs to do this to regain a semblance of control.

Much like Oedipus Rex, who sought to escape a prophecy only to end up fulfilling it, Gomah’s paranoia drives him to make choices that will lead to his epic downfall. He is acting with the spirit that no one should possess that which he cannot.

A Macbethian descent into madness

Gomah’s tragedy deepens when viewed through the lens of his motivations. His enemies possess the Dragon Balls, a devastatingly powerful weapon, yet Gomah’s actions are rooted not in immediate survival but in fear of an imagined attack. His inability to trust or strategize beyond his impulses mirrors Oedipus’s blindness—both literal and figurative—to the truths that doom them.

The Arrogant King Gomah | Credits: Toei Animation

Gomah’s undoing isn’t just going to end with his self-inflicted wounds; it will escalate into a massive problem, what with the eerie taboo of shutting down Warp-sama being committed. This makes Gomah akin to Shakespeare’s Macbeth. Like the Scottish king, Gomah becomes consumed by his ambition and spirals into paranoia.

This can be seen from many signs like hurting oneself to prevent the other party from gaining an advantage. A classic parallel to the ‘burning crossed bridges’ or ‘axing one’s own foot,’ these actions are all a result of paranoia to keep his power and control over his realm. These petty outbursts and drastic measures reinforce his inevitable fall.

You can stream Dragon Ball DAIMA on Netflix and Crunchyroll.

Written by Chandra Shekhar

Articles Published: 125

Chandra Shekhar, also known as Dan, is a voracious reader with an insatiable hunger for fantasy and fiction. Having devoured countless books, explored manga worlds, and delved deep into anime realms, Dan lives and breathes stories. As a creative mind who rambles on about books and anime all day long, Dan fits right in at FandomWire.