Son Gohan

Lore & Background

Akira Toriyama originally aimed for Gohan to succeed Goku as the series' protagonist, but that idea was scrapped in the manga's final arc. Nevertheless, Toriyama used him as a lead in the film Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero, to reuse his dynamic with Piccolo. The film reveals the full awakening of Gohan's power through yet another instance of pure rage. This "Beast" form (孫 悟飯・ビースト, Son Gohan Bīsuto) is a culmination of his history of volcanic awakenings throughout his life. Toriyama feared it would come across as scary due to his angry expression, but tried balancing it with the hair, ultimately settling on a more simplistic approach. The movie is meant to change the focus of overpowered characters like Goku and Vegeta against Broly in the previous film, and instead focus on Gohan and Piccolo as leads and thus bringing a change of pace. One of the main fights is between Gohan and Gamma 1, which takes place during the rain. Director Tetsuro Kodama found that this setting would be appealing. The narrative will further explore human drama, most notably the characterization of Gohan being a warrior as well as a scholar at the same time. Toriyama said that he wanted the plot to focus on the dynamic between Gohan and Piccolo due to how their close relationship is the one thing that motivates the former even more than his father, Goku, to be determined to fight.

In Their Own Story

Gohan possesses superhuman strength and durability, as well as superhuman speed and reflexes, as seen during his training with his younger brother Goten. As a child, Gohan is depicted with an immense amount of hidden potential, which at first only revealed itself when he experienced fierce rage or distress. The vastness of this potential is shown consistently throughout the series as he ages and learns to master his powers from constant training and battles, the earliest example was during his short fight with Raditz. Gohan's potential was unlocked twice in the series: first by the Namekian Grand Elder, and then further unlocked by the Old Kaiō-shin, which sees his power level rise to new heights, capable of easily overwhelming the seemingly invincible Majin Buu. As a Half-Saiyan, he can become an Oozaru, a gigantic ape-like creature, by absorbing waves from a full moon. He lost this ability after his tail was cut by Piccolo, and later Vegeta. He was the third youngest Saiyan to achieve the Super Saiyan transformation at the age of nine whilst training and surpassing his father Goku in the Room of Spirit and Time (Hyperbolic Time Chamber) and as a display of his hidden potential which he unlocked during his training with his father, Gohan becomes the first Saiyan in the series to become a Super Saiyan 2 during his battle against Cell. Though Gohan had gotten much weaker due to making the mistake of not training after the Cell Games, he became stronger than he ever had after his potential was unlocked from Old Kaiō-shin. Gohan, with this power up, was stronger than Super Saiyan 3 Gotenks since he was able to dominate Super Buu with ease without transforming. Ever since this fight, Gohan has given up on fighting and has continually gotten weaker to the point that he can't use his Super Saiyan transformations without straining himself, while his Ultimate form was locked. Gohan can still hold his own against Frieza's soldiers, Shisami, and Tagoma in his base form and overpower them when he transforms into a Super Saiyan. After Frieza attacked Earth, Gohan returned to training with Piccolo. During his training with Piccolo before the start of the Tournament of Power, Gohan is pushed beyond his limits and manages to unlock his hidden power once again, becoming stronger than ever before. After this, he has shown that he is now able to combat foes of God-level might, having been able to hold his own in a sparring match against his father Goku in his Super Saiyan Blue form, and hold his own against Frieza in his Golden Frieza form. In the manga, Gohan manages to stalemate the fused sayian fighter, Kefla. Once again awakening his power through immeasurable fury, upon unlocking the so-called "Beast" state (ビースト, Bīsuto), Gohan was completely unaffe

Reader's Guide

Gohan is the eldest son of Goku and Chi-Chi, evolving from a timid child into a powerful scholar-warrior. His arc in Dragon Ball Super focuses on reclaiming his martial arts prowess after years of academic focus, proving that intellect and strength can coexist. His defining power is his ability to access Super Saiyan 2 with ease and later unlock the mysterious Beast form, characterized by wild white hair and red eyes. This transformation represents his emotional intensity and raw potential, allowing him to contend with god-level threats. Key moments include his childhood victory over Cell, his participation in the Tournament of Power as a crucial Z Fighter, and his final battle against Moro where he fully embraces his hybrid heritage to save the universe.

Did You Know?

• Gohan's name comes from the Japanese word gohan (ご飯, lit. "cooked rice" or "meal of any sort"), a continuation of the naming scheme of foods by Toriyama.
• Masako Nozawa, who also voices Goku, revealed that she did not know she would be playing Gohan until receiving the script on the day of recording his debut episode.
• Gohan was the third youngest Saiyan to achieve the Super Saiyan transformation at the age of nine.
• Gohan becomes the first Saiyan in the series to become a Super Saiyan 2 during his battle against Cell.
• In the English dub of Dragon Ball GT produced by Blue Water Studios, distributed in Canada, he was voiced by Scott Roberts.