Despite the popularity of newer series likeSolo Leveling,Dragon Ball Daimahas come back to prove that the old hit franchise still has legs by winning the “Best Anime” category at the 2025 Astra awards. The winners of the award were announced on Tuesday, shocking anime fans.
The Astra TV Awards, once known as the Hollywood Critics Association Awards, have been given out since 2016, making them relatively young in the awards department. The ceremony, hosted by the Hollywood Creative Alliance, awarded shows in many categories, including anime, animation, and live action. With the anime category limited to just the one major award, competition was relatively fierce this year, featuring nominees likeSolo Leveling,Dandadan,Lazarus,Fire Force,The Apothecary Diaries, andDragon Ball Daima, so a winner was far from a given.
Dragon Ball Daima Delivers a Major Win
Daima Beat Out Other 2024 Hits Like Solo Leveling and Dandadan
Dragon Ball Daimawas definitely a strong contender, withStephanie Nadolny, the voice of young Goku, also being nominated for Best Lead Voice-Over Performance, but so wasSolo Leveling, which had Aleks Le nominated in the same category, as well as Justin Briner nominated for Best Supporting Voice-Over Performance. These categories also saw competition from other animated series, likeStar Trek: Lower DecksandInvincible,making the winner all the more uncertain.Fans were surprised to learn thatDragon Ball Daimahad emerged victorious on Tuesday.
…the series was overall very well-received, and considered an excellent adventure, the likes of which evenDragon Ballhasn’t known for decades.
Given that the Astras aren’t primarily an anime awards show, the performance by anime series overall was fairly impressive, proving that the medium is making major in-roads into American culture. WhileDragon Ball Daimawas moderately controversial with fans due to playing fast and loose with continuity, the series was overall very well-received, and considered an excellent adventure, the likes of which evenDragon Ballhasn’t known for decades.Solo Leveling, of course, has its own rabid fanbase, who were no doubt disappointed by the loss toDragon Ball Daima.
What Helped Dragon Ball Daima Win
Daima Told a Fun, Adventurous Story Well
Dragon Ball Daimawas approached with some hesitancy when it first debuted, due to its basic premise of Goku being turned young again being all-too-similar to the infamously bad first attempt at a sequel,Dragon Ball GT.However, the series quickly won over fans with its generally high-quality animation and fun, adventurous tone, throwing back to the originalDragon Ball.Daima’s new characters were also quite enjoyable, and made for fun additions to the cast of familiar faces thatDragon Ballis known for. While it causedcontinuity issues in the widerDragon Ballfranchise, it was consistent within itself.
Solo Leveling’s more serious and gritty tone marked a distinct difference fromDaima’s more cartoonish feel, and given thatInvincible, another darker show, won the Best (non-anime) Animation award, it seemed like that might have been more of what the committee was looking for. Ultimately, though,Daimaproved to be a little more well-rounded.Solo Levelingdidn’t walk away empty-handed, however: Aleks Le won for Best Lead Voice-Over Performance.
Dragon Ballfans can rejoice in knowing that Akira Toriyama’s last project is being honored for its quality. For any fans who have yet to giveDaimaa watch, now is definitely the time to do so; the dub is completely finished, so the series is ready to be binge-watched in either sub or dub format, depending on preference. It will be interesting to see ifDragon Ball Daimais on a hot streak and will continue to win awards, or if this turns out to be all the recognition the series gets in the awards department.
