Dragon Ball Daima may be officially considered a canon installment of Dragon Ball by Toei, but there are a few continuity issues that give fans reason to pause. If Daima is to be canon to Super, then Dragon Ball Super will have to pick up the slack and help explain these continuity problems away for the two series to coexist in one canon timeline.
Daima's continuity problems range from being so small as to be inconsequential, to being massive problems with reconciling the canon. Each error that Daima made is unique in how it needs to be addressed, and there are some options for how best to deal with them. Those that can be ignored might be better off going unaddressed, but the major problems are simply too big to pretend they don't exist. Here are 7 of Dragon Ball Daima's worst mistakes, and some ideas about how to potentially fix them.
7 Piccolo Can't Speak Namekian
Dragon Ball Daima, episode #11
In Daima, Piccolo states that he can no longer speak Namekian, due to having been on Earth for too long, forcing the party to accept Neva's offer if they want to make a wish on the Demon Realm's Dragon Balls. However, Piccolo speaks Namekian in the final arc of the original Dragon Ball when talking to Kami, indicating that he could speak Namekian when he was younger. There's also the fact that Piccolo fused with Kami, who definitely knew Namekian quite well, and should at least retain Kami's knowledge of the language.
One popular fan theory that cropped up after this episode aired was that Piccolo lied about not knowing Namekian; he did this so as to give Neva a reason for coming along, allowing him to keep an eye on the elder Namekian, who had already acted against them (albeit under Gomah's orders). It's the kind of caution that Piccolo would display, and could easily be addressed by having Piccolo speak Namekian in Super. If anyone questions him on his ability to speak it, then Piccolo could it that he previously lied to Neva.
6 Shenron's "Regular" Wish Deal
Dragon Ball Daima, episode #2
In the second episode of Daima, Gomah comes to Earth with Neva, intending to use the Earth's Dragon Balls to make his wish against Goku and friends. However, instead of granting three wishes, as has become the norm, Shenron tells them that three wishes is a bonus for "regulars," and that Gomah will be receiving only one. Gomah uses his wish to turn Goku and friends into children again, then kidnaps the now-baby Dende and takes him back to the Demon Realm.
This causes some problems with Resurrection F, as in that storyline, the Pilaf Gang gets control of the Dragon Balls, only to have them hijacked by Frieza's henchmen to bring him back to life. Depending on which version you are watching or reading, Pilaf gets two wishes, while in the manga Frieza's henchman only gets one. This could be remedied by having Pilaf recognized as a "regular" by Shenron, granting him the extra wishes as a result. Pilaf has certainly used the Dragon Balls before, as that's how the gang turned young again in the first place.
5 The Demon Realm Dragon Balls
Dragon Ball Daima, episode #4
With the introduction of the Demon Realm came a new set of Dragon Balls. These were explicitly stated to be the first set of Dragon Balls created, even before the Namekian Dragon Balls, and were made by Neva himself. This, however, has some difficulty fitting with Dragon Ball Super, which of course introduced the Super Dragon Balls, which were said to be the original set of Dragon Balls from which all others were created. This is especially confusing considering that the Demon Realm predates the creation of Dragon Ball's multiverse, where the Super Dragon Balls are located.
The Super Dragon Balls were said to be created by a dragon god named Zalama in a particular year, suggesting they didn't predate the multiverse but were instead added later. What's left ambiguous is whether Neva made the Dragon Balls before the multiverse was created, or after. It could be that Neva was simply the first Namekian to create a set of Dragon Balls, and that the Super Dragon Balls did indeed come first. In that way, both facts can be true: Neva's were the first set created by Namekians, while the Super Dragon Balls were created first by Zalama.
4 Namekian Origins Were Retconned
Dragon Ball Daima, episode #11
The Namekians have had several origins; first, Kami and Piccolo were holy and demonic beings, respectively, before it was revealed that they were actually aliens from the planet Namek. Piccolo Jr. was thrilled to meet others of his kind, and gained an appreciation of Namekian culture through his fusion with Nail. However, Daima went a step further, revealing that the Namekians were originally from the Demon Realm, and that the planet Namek wasn't their true home, but merely a planet very similar to it. The Namekians were thus turned from aliens to demons.
This retcon changes a lot of what fans know about Namekians, but ultimately it doesn't completely discredit anything in Super; in fact, Super hinted at this truth itself, with Namekian diaspora, like Monaito, in the manga's Granolah the Survivor saga. It also explains why Namekians exist in other universes besides Universe 7, as seen in the Tournament of Power. Making the Demon Realm the true home of the Namekian people is substantially different, but it doesn't affect ongoing story beats too much. Perhaps more exploration of the Demon Realm's connection to the multiverse in Super could further illuminate the issue.
3 Vegeta Goes Super Saiyan 3
Dragon Ball Daima, episode #12
One transformation which Vegeta had conspicuously never used was Super Saiyan 3. While many fans assumed that he was capable of it and simply didn't use it for the same reasons Goku doesn't, there had not been any confirmation that was true until Vegeta transformed in Daima. Vegeta uses Super Saiyan 3 to overpower the Tamagami in the Second Demon World, earning them the Two-Star Demon Realm Dragon Ball. Vegeta uses the form again in the final battle against Gomah, although it's far less effective this time than it was against the Tamagami.
Since it was never explicitly stated that Vegeta couldn't go Super Saiyan 3, there's technically no continuity problem here. In Dragon Ball Super, when asked by Future Trunks about Super Saiyan 3, Vegeta simply smirks and shows off a far greater transformation, suggesting that he was capable of Super Saiyan 3, but knew it was no longer useful. This scene in particular actually makes more sense after Daima, but there are definitely some occasions when it seems like Vegeta should've used Super Saiyan 3 (like when Beerus insulted Bulma).
2 Kibito Kai is a Big Problem
Dragon Ball Daima, episode #1
In Daima, it's established right up front that Kibito and Supreme Kai Shin were able to undo their Potara fusion by entering Buu, who creates a sort of gas that causes fusions to come undone. This explanation actually clarified a scene in Dragon Ball Z, when Vegito unfuses after entering Buu, but it set up all sorts of other problems for Dragon Ball Super. It was clearly important to have Supreme Kai be a separate character for Daima's plot to work, so there was little choice but to defuse them, yet the decision to do so causes a huge continuity snarl.
It's shown in Dragon Ball Super that Kibito Kai remained in that form for quite some time, before finally using the Namekian Dragon Balls to wish themselves apart again. This doesn't happen until the Tournament of Destroyers in Super, which means he should be Kibito Kai throughout the Battle of Gods and Resurrection F storylines. This can only be explained by having Kibito and Shin fuse a second time, after Daima ends, which they then undo with the Namekian Dragon Balls. It's actually a fairly substantial problem, and would require quite a bit of explaining away to resolve.
1 Goku's Super Saiyan 4
Dragon Ball Daima, episode #18
During Daima's final battle with Gomah, Goku is granted a potential unlock by Neva, not unlike that given to Gohan by Guru on Namek. This allows Goku to ascend to Super Saiyan 4 for the first time, astonishing his friends and leaving Vegeta aghast. Goku utilizes the new form to battle against Gomah, but is reverted back to his base form. After being wished into adults by Glorio, Goku ascends to Super Saiyan 4 again, and proceeds to defeat Gomah, even blasting a giant hole in the borders between the Demon Realm's worlds that will ensure free travel between worlds.
The implication seems to be that Super Saiyan 4 is accessible to Goku indefinitely from this point forward, raising questions about why he didn't use it against Beerus. Goku even explicitly states while fighting Beerus that Super Saiyan 3 is the limit of his power at the time, but we now know that's not true. After this point, it can be assumed that Super Saiyan God/Blue were more powerful than Super Saiyan 4, so Goku used those instead, but there's really no explaining away the fight with Beerus. Fans have come up with explanations, like the form only works in the Demon Realm, but there's no canon evidence of this.
No matter how you slice it, Goku's Super Saiyan 4 antics in Dragon Ball Daima represent a major continuity error with Dragon Ball Super, and there's no easy way to justify it.
