Dragon Ball Daima has completely removed Mr. Popo from the screen in France, with the character being edited out of scenes despite his voice remaining in the anime.
The latest installment in Akira Toriyama’s iconic franchise originally debuted in October 2024, following Goku and his allies as they’re transformed into children and forced to venture into the Demon Realm.
On November 4, 2026, Daima made its French television debut on Gulli, but viewers quickly noticed that one familiar character was nowhere to be seen.
As reported by Journal du Geek, Mr. Popo, the longtime attendant of Kami and later Dende, had been completely erased from the screen.
Rather than simply cutting his dialogue, scenes featuring the character were removed, cropped, or edited to ensure he never appeared on camera.
Strangely enough, however, his voice can still be heard in certain scenes, meaning the character technically still exists in the French version.
“Mr. Popo has been removed from Dragon Ball Daima in France! He speaks, but doesn’t appear on screen!” one furious fan wrote on X.
Another report indicated that Episode 2 received similar treatment, with scenes heavily re-edited and zoomed in to hide Mr. Popo.
Why was Mr Popo censored in Dragon Ball Daima?
The character’s design has been controversial for decades, with critics arguing that his dark skin, exaggerated red lips, and other features resemble racist caricatures.
However, defenders of the design argue that Mr. Popo was never intended to represent a black person.
Fans have pointed to similarities with Mahakala, a dark-skinned guardian deity in Buddhist and Hindu traditions, suggesting his appearance draws from religious imagery rather than racist stereotypes.
This isn’t even the first time Dragon Ball has censored him. In the American CW broadcast of Dragon Ball Z Kai in 2010, Mr. Popo was famously recolored blue.
France also isn’t the first country to remove him from Daima. Germany’s broadcast received similar edits when the anime premiered on Toggo Plus in August 2026.
It’s currently unclear whether the French censorship was ordered by Gulli or Toei Animation Europe, and neither has publicly confirmed the reason behind the changes.
The controversy is particularly notable given Toriyama’s involvement in Daima’s story and character designs, with the anime even offering new clues about Mr. Popo’s mysterious origins.
For fans wanting to see the original version, all 20 episodes of Dragon Ball Daima are available uncensored with subtitles on streaming services including Crunchyroll and Netflix in France.
I’m Abhishek Sharma, an author at TigerJek.com. I enjoy exploring games, testing different strategies, and turning what I learn into clear, useful guides. My goal is to help players understand the game better and improve without the usual confusion.
