dragon ball daima mr popo censored
TV & Film

Dragon Ball Daima Erases Mr. Popo in French Broadcast While Keeping His Voice

French broadcasts of the new anime series reportedly edited out the longtime character visually, but viewers can still hear him speak.

By Rae MitchellPublished Updated 2 min read

Anime viewers in France noticed something bizarre while tuning into the latest entry in the beloved saiyan saga. The French broadcast of *Dragon Ball Daima* has reportedly taken a digital eraser to Mr. Popo, scrubbing the familiar caretaker entirely out of the picture. Yet in an odd technical twist that has quickly spread across social media, the character's spoken lines remain completely audible on the soundtrack. The strange editing choice leaves characters seemingly chatting with empty space. While the visual presence of Mr. Popo has been cleanly wiped from the sequence, his vocal performance was left fully active on the broadcast audio track. The jarring juxtaposition of hearing a character talk while watching a completely vacant backdrop immediately caught the attention of sharp-eyed international viewers.

Why Was Mr Popo Removed From the Broadcast?

Mr. Popo has long stood as one of the most frequently modified figures across various global adaptations of the franchise. Originally created decades ago by manga legend Akira Toriyama, the character's physical design has frequently drawn controversy and critical discussion in international territories outside of Japan over uncomfortable racial caricatures. Previous foreign releases of older franchise installments handled the controversy in different ways. Some English-language television broadcasts famously recolored the character's skin tone to bright blue or altered other facial traits to bypass broadcast broadcast guidelines. In this French release, however, editors apparently opted for total visual erasure rather than attempting a cosmetic repaint or leaving the footage untouched.

How Did Viewers Notice the Ghostly Edit?

Because the auditory mix was untouched, the sudden disappearance of the character instantly became noticeable to fans following along with the French distribution. Viewers realized that other figures in the scene still interact with his direction and pause for his dialogue, creating an accidental ghost sequence where his voice rings out from thin air. Audience members quickly circulated clips pointing out the eerie contrast between the scrubbed visual frame and the intact audio track. The botched wipe has sparked widespread conversation about international localization decisions, leaving audiences amused and baffled by the half-finished censorship approach.

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People also ask

Is Mr. Popo completely gone from Dragon Ball Daima in France?
He is visually removed from the scenes, but his voice is still present in the audio track of the French broadcast.
Has Mr. Popo been censored in the franchise before?
Yes, previous Western releases of earlier franchise series have altered his skin color to blue or modified his facial design for television.
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