Dragon Ball Super isn't quite back to serialization just yet, but it's already found a way to tie itself to Dragon Ball Daima with its recent volume 24 of the manga. The new volume references a key element of Dragon Ball Daima's canon, suggesting the anime is canon to Super.

Dragon Ball Daima was relatively popular during its run, but it made some controversial decisions in its final episodes, which had some fans questioning whether it could possibly fit into canon with Dragon Ball Super. These points of confusion largely have to do with Super Saiyan 4, which Goku was able to use in Daima but has never demonstrated the capacity to do in Super, despite Super being set after Daima. Goku even explicitly states that Super Saiyan 3 is the strongest form he has while fighting Beerus, which seems pretty definitive to some fans.

Dragon Ball Super Adopts Daima's Mr. Popo Changes

Mr. Popo's Demon Realm Origins Are Acknowledged

In Daima, it was established that Mr. Popo was at least descended from beings who came from the Demon Realm, if not from there himself. Mr. Popo was shown in Daima without his turban for the first time, revealing that he has a pair of small horns on his head. Dragon Ball Super volume 24's table of contents acknowledges this fact by showing Mr. Popo without his turban alongside Dende and Korin, revealing the same two horns seen in Daima. While it's a small connection, it's obviously a very deliberate one, spotted by @Venixys on X (formerly Twitter).

The small reference is enough to show that Dragon Ball Super artist Toyotaro does respect Dragon Ball Daima as canon to Dragon Ball Super, despite fan complaints about continuity errors between the two series. It only makes sense; Daima was worked on extensively by Akira Toriyama prior to his death, as was Dragon Ball Super. Aside from the continuity issues, there's no reason to think that Daima and Super aren't meant to be in canon with one another, even if the issues are a bit difficult to brush aside from a fan's perspective.

Could Dragon Ball Super Explain Some of Daima's Inconsistencies?

Dragon Ball Super Could Attempt to Repair the Continuity Problems

As a Dragon Ball super-fan himself, Toyotaro is no doubt aware of the inconsistencies between Daima and Super. He's also the one in the perfect position to attempt to offer an explanation for these issues, as there's no other ongoing Dragon Ball content besides Super that could address them. While Dragon Ball Super does have its own story to worry about, particularly with the return of Black Frieza, it could take a little time to potentially patch up these issues. Goku could use Super Saiyan 4 briefly, for example, or offer an explanation as to why he hasn't used it since.

While it's not necessarily Toyotaro's job to clean up mistakes made in other series, he clearly cares about Dragon Ball greatly, and offering an explanation wouldn't take up too much time that could be spent on other things. Regardless, Dragon Ball Super has now made it clear that it won't simply be ignoring Daima, and hopefully that means some continuity fixes are in store to satisfy critical fans.