"Fight you? No...I'm going to kill you."
-Gohan
Similar to Kittan, Gohan resides in a universe in which beings with enough energy to nuke an entire planet all by themselves all exist. Unlike, Kittan however, Gohan certainly isn't an underrated character in his universe. In fact he's one of the most popular characters in his universe. Of course, theres certainly reason for why Gohan has become such a popular character. (other than just being a straight up badass that is) Gohan is such an important character in the grand scheme of things because in a universe of beam-spamming aliens, Gohan was easily the most developed and complete character in the cast.
 |
| Kid Gohan |
As a child, Gohan was definitely thrust into what can only be described as an "interesting" childhood. Let's be honest, Goku is hardly father of the year material. What makes Gohan's character so interesting is how different he is from his father. Unlike Goku, Gohan is a Saiyan/Human hybrid. Because of this he inherited Saiyan powers with human compassion. Even as a kid, all Goku wanted to do was fight and train, always excited to test his strength against his opponents. Luckily for Goku, his opponents were usually just other martial artists. Gohan on the other hand was forced into much more dangerous battlefield.
Dragonball Z introduced the series to ultra-powerful aliens and more dangerous and evil opponents than any that the team had encountered before. Gohan was thrown into the fray as a very young child. Unlike Goku, Gohan wasn't as willing to train and become a fighter in his young age. He wasn't as interested in unlocking the massive potential he had. Later on however, as the threats against Earth and the other Z Fighters mount, he takes his training much more seriously. Considering he was an infant at the series beginning, this really isn't surprising. Gohan however, provides a contrast to most of the other characters in the story. He's the first in his family to grow up on Earth with a somewhat normal life. Goku was raised by his adopted grandfather in the woods therefore never learning social skills and had never seen a girl until he met Bulma. Gohan's teen years are spent trying to blend into normal society while keeping his Saiyan side hidden (he fails at this). Gohan, unlike Goku, doesn't always see the need to fight either. As his hidden powers begin to show themselves Gohan worries about how his incredible powers will only hurt people. Unlike Goku, Gohan doesn't just fight for the hell of it. He only fights when there is a need or if people will be hurt. When he reaches this messianic power level of Super Saiyan 2 it's scary to see the innocent and playful Gohan turn into a merciless killing machine. (a badass killing machine...but a killing machine nonetheless)
Gohan certainly isn't lacking in the badass category either. The kid was able to hold his own against some of the galaxy's biggest baddies such as Frieza and the Saiyans when he was barely out of diapers. He's the first to reach Super Saiyan 2 in which he makes Cell ( a character who had already established himself as even stronger than Goku) his personal chew toy. In Buu Saga
he returns as Ultimate Gohan and single handedly beats the crap out of Buu for two episodes without even firing a single energy blast. It's clearly stated that Gohan is the strongest character in a show where even minor mooks are able to blow up planets with ease. That alone just tells you that the guy is not to be messed around with.
 |
| Adult Gohan in all his forms |
So why isn't Gohan higher on this list? You'll have the blame the fans and Toei Animation on that one. Akira Toriyama'a original storyboard for
Dragonball Z was for it to end at Frieza saga. However, Toei Animation realized the show was too popular for it to end so early into it's run. Toriyama then adjusted the story for it to end at Cell Saga, with Gohan taking his father's place as the defender of Earth. Neither Toei or the fans were very pleased by this. Toei of course wanted the series to continue onwards and the fans didn't want Goku to remain dead. This led to Buu Saga and a 7 year timeskip in which Gohan didn't train at all and as a result was relegated to sidelines because his power was no longer special. Not to mention the fact that teenage Gohan was kind of a dork in comparison to his badass and uber-powerful younger self. Of course, he still returns later in Buu Saga as the most powerful unfused character in the entire series. Unfortunately, Goku is the only character allowed to defeat anybody in the series and so Gohan's run of being badass once again comes to a close rather quickly. Yes, Gohan was an awesome character and if not for certain parts of Buu Saga he would probably rank closer to the top ten of this list. Unfortunately, I can't overlook those parts. Still, Gohan makes the list and nothing should take away from how cool he was for most of the series.
Gohan is by far the most developed and complete character throughout the run of
Dragonball Z. His character development throughout the series is probably the best out of any other character. That added to the fact that the guy has been kicking ass and taking names since he was barely out of diapers. The fact that we see Gohan mature from a shy and whiny little kid into a badass Super Saiyan 2 throughout the course of the series is awesome. We see Gohan's ideals mature and he eventually becomes the guardian of Earth that he always had the potential to be. For that Gohan is #19
No comments:
Post a Comment