Forget about Gohan, what remains are only memories

[Baggie_Saiyan]

The writers of Super and Toriyama are out of their minds with the demotion of good cast members as there's seemingly no logic to any of it.

In the end they're only shortening the longevity of their own franchise by dismantling what few interesting characters they had in favour of an old, dying act.

The logic is simple, who sells toys and cards get screen time and who don't end up on the side.

The franchise's longevity completely depends on merchandise sales, not interesting characters and stories.

The only problem I have with that is shouldn't Gohan be able to sell toys? I mean he would need to have his design changed back but still. Toriyama must be bored of him. I'm assuming If Toei had it their way every saiyan would be ss platinum by now and there would be tons of fusions between saiyans. Dragon ball super would become dragon ball heroes on crack.

Exactly Gohan being the way he is, is a creative decision. Toriyama and co seem content on giving him a peaceful life of a scholar.

[sintzu]

It must be better to have 5 characters to sell merchandise than just 2.

I completely agree but they don't want to put in the work or take a chance so they're just sticking with what they know will sell.

The same thing has been happening with the stories, ever since BOG they've been playing everything extremely safe for some reason, it's like they lost all confidence in themselves and the franchise even though BOG was a completely new thing and it was very successful.

[namekiansaiyan]

The writers of Super and Toriyama are out of their minds with the demotion of good cast members as there's seemingly no logic to any of it.

In the end they're only shortening the longevity of their own franchise by dismantling what few interesting characters they had in favour of an old, dying act.

The logic is simple, who sells toys and cards get screen time and who don't end up on the side.

The franchise's longevity completely depends on merchandise sales, not interesting characters and stories.

The only problem I have with that is shouldn't Gohan be able to sell toys? I mean he would need to have his design changed back but still. Toriyama must be bored of him. I'm assuming If Toei had it their way every saiyan would be ss platinum by now and there would be tons of fusions between saiyans. Dragon ball super would become dragon ball heroes on crack.

Is Gohan a big seller? I always see more Goku, Vegeta, Piccolo, Future Trunks, Cell, Frieza and Majin Buu than him. He can sometimes be about even for figures but for everything else the characters I listed I see way more.

[MozillaVulpix]

I mean, Heroes DID put in SSJ3 Teen Gohan and SSJ4 Gohan as special cards. That's got to mean something. It's pretty much all they COULD do with him, given that he didn't get any new forms like Goku and Vegeta did. And I've seen a lot of SSJ2 Gohan figures recently.

It feels like the whole “They’re not making Gohan do anything in Super because he doesn’t sell” idea is more of a self-fulfilling prophecy than anything. Gohan doesn’t sell because he’s not a popular character. Gohan isn’t a popular character because he hasn’t done anything relevant to the plot since about 1995. And they haven’t made Gohan do anything cool since then because they don’t think he’ll sell. And so on and so forth.

If someone decides to make Gohan ‘badass’ and strong again, I’m pretty sure fans will eat that stuff up. And buy all the related merchandise. That's what happened with Vegeta in RF.

[dbzfan7]

I don't think it has to do with merchandising. Goten and Trunks have done like nothing at all, ever. Gotenks is the closest to really doing anything, and that didn't pan out. Pilaf Gang I doubt was ever very popular either. I highly doubt fans are excited about them at all. I think it's just creative interest and nothing more. Goten and Trunks are easy attention grabber surrogates for the young kids, the Pilaf gang are for easy cheap gags for jokes, and Goku and Vegeta are for the cool stuff.

[Miracles]

There is no place for Gohan. He would only be a tag along on tournaments but his impact will be side kick level.
Beerus and Whis deal with Goku and Vegeta. The show is pretty much based on these four.

[Muffin Man]

There is no place for Gohan. He would only be a tag along on tournaments but his impact will be side kick level.
Beerus and Whis deal with Goku and Vegeta. The show is pretty much based on these four.

Yeah, Gohan's problem is that he doesn't fit with Super's current "sitcom setup". In DB and DBZ relationships and character dynamics were always changing, you didn't always have the same sets of characters interacting with eachother and the plot in the same way each episode, and this made it so different characters could organically flow in and out of focus. But with Super its become static, with each major character having a permanently defined role. They couldn't think of a good role for Gohan (much less Videl...), or there just plain wasn't room for him since characters aren't allowed to flow in and out of focus anymore, so he got reduced to a permanent background character.

[fadeddreams5]

You could apply that to several characters in Dragon Ball.

Like who? I can only think of Piccolo.

Master Roshi, Piccolo, Freeza (twice!) and Android 18 are the worst cases.

Master Roshi formally retired and passed on his knowledge and abilities to a new generation. Unlike Gohan, however, he actually, somehow, became stronger in his retirement (see: F).

Frieza's downfall to a SSJ was foreshadowed throughout his reign. Even though sooo many stronger beings appeared later on, they were either artificial, gods, or from other dimensions, so Frieza's position in the universe was still respectable. Also, of course, F came, in which Frieza trained for 4 months and became stronger than a SSJ3, Mystic Gohan, Super Vegito, SSJG Goku, and even SSJB Goku. Had he trained more intelligently, he would have won. If anything, Frieza's case is the opposite of Gohan's.

Android 18 was never the main threat. She formed part of the androids, and it's implied that if they didn't gang up on Future Gohan and Trunks, either/or could have been defeated.

Piccolo and Gohan are the most shitted characters. The latter much more than the former. =P

[sintzu]

If someone decides to make Gohan ‘badass’ and strong again, I’m pretty sure fans will eat that stuff up. And buy all the related merchandise. That's what happened with Vegeta in RF.

Vegeta was a $$$ maker long before RF which is why he got a main role in the movie and in Super.

Even GT couldn't completely sideline him which should give you an idea about how much $$$ he brings in.

[sintzu]

Had he trained more intelligently, he would have won. If anything, Frieza's case is the opposite of Gohan's.

He beat Goku through Sorbet and blew up earth on Vegeta, killing him and everyone else so he did win at first but couldn't keep it because the heroes had Whis on their side which was completely unfair to him.

Even if he trained right it wouldn't have made much of a difference due to how much was against him.

[TekTheNinja]

Thing is even though now I doubt it will happen, I WANT Gohan to be shamed in the episode. I don't want trunks to just be happy for him. I want Trunks to be disappointed at what Gohan has become like the fanbase is. He learned his lesson with Frieza, but then immediately forgot about it, making that arc ENTIRELY pointless because nothing came of it. No one learned ANYTHING.

For a smart guy, Gohan sure is stupid.

[namekiansaiyan]

Thing is even though now I doubt it will happen, I WANT Gohan to be shamed in the episode. I don't want trunks to just be happy for him. I want Trunks to be disappointed at what Gohan has become like the fanbase is. He learned his lesson with Frieza, but then immediately forgot about it, making that arc ENTIRELY pointless because nothing came of it. No one learned ANYTHING.

For a smart guy, Gohan sure is stupid.

If Trunks says he his happy with the way Gohan is living then Gohan will be less likely to train as he will have more support for living the way he currently is.

[TekTheNinja]

Thing is even though now I doubt it will happen, I WANT Gohan to be shamed in the episode. I don't want trunks to just be happy for him. I want Trunks to be disappointed at what Gohan has become like the fanbase is. He learned his lesson with Frieza, but then immediately forgot about it, making that arc ENTIRELY pointless because nothing came of it. No one learned ANYTHING.

For a smart guy, Gohan sure is stupid.

If Trunks says he his happy with the way Gohan is living then Gohan will be less likely to train as he will have more support for living the way he currently is.

Yeah that too, but also I just don't think it would make sense for Trunks. He lost everyone and everything because he wasn't strong enough, so you'd think he'd be a little peeved that Gohan ISN'T EVEN TRYING TO PROTECT HIS FAMILY.

[Shinomori]

Thing is even though now I doubt it will happen, I WANT Gohan to be shamed in the episode. I don't want trunks to just be happy for him. I want Trunks to be disappointed at what Gohan has become like the fanbase is. He learned his lesson with Frieza, but then immediately forgot about it, making that arc ENTIRELY pointless because nothing came of it. No one learned ANYTHING.

For a smart guy, Gohan sure is stupid.

If Trunks says he his happy with the way Gohan is living then Gohan will be less likely to train as he will have more support for living the way he currently is.

Yeah that too, but also I just don't think it would make sense for Trunks. He lost everyone and everything because he wasn't strong enough, so you'd think he'd be a little peeved that Gohan ISN'T EVEN TRYING TO PROTECT HIS FAMILY.

Trunks doesn't have Goku and Vegeta in his timeline. He is the only one to protect the earth, so he has to train. Gohan has his father and all his friends. Plus he could bribe Beerus with food to protect the earth if need be. Ultimately, Gohan doesn't have to protect his family against any major threats. (And I'm sure he can still beat down any normal crook who wish to do his family harm. Even Videl could take down someone trying to break into their home. Shoot, Pan could take on most enemies if need be. Gohan is set!)

[UpFromTheSkies]

I wonder how all the Gohan whiners will react when they finally have him step up in Super and take out a main villain. It's gonna happen eventually, and everyone is going to lose their minds.

[Krillin1994]

Can this forum make polls? because I'd really like to see who thinks Gohan will be retired from this arc with this episode and those who feel he will regain his resolve.

[Kagari]

Can this forum make polls? because I'd really like to see who thinks Gohan will be retired from this arc with this episode and those who feel he will regain his resolve.

I'm still wondering where this whole "he's going to retire" narrative is coming from because I definitely didn't get that from the episode preview.

[Krillin1994]

Can this forum make polls? because I'd really like to see who thinks Gohan will be retired from this arc with this episode and those who feel he will regain his resolve.

I'm still wondering where this whole "he's going to retire" narrative is coming from because I definitely didn't get that from the episode preview.

Same, if anything the stern look on his face in the sunset talking to Trunks with pan playing in front of the swing, makes me hopeful Trunks got through to him about losing loved ones due to weakness.

[MozillaVulpix]

Can this forum make polls? because I'd really like to see who thinks Gohan will be retired from this arc with this episode and those who feel he will regain his resolve.

I'm still wondering where this whole "he's going to retire" narrative is coming from because I definitely didn't get that from the episode preview.

There's no indication so far from previews and promotional material that Gohan is going to play a role in this arc. If he's not going to play a role in this arc, this episode will be dedicated to explaining why. Plus, this is one of the last times they can realistically use the "He started training after RF" plotline and still have people remember it, considering it lead to absolutely nothing in Universe 6.

[dbzfan7]

Oh boy just under 2 hours til the Gohanpacalypse erupts. So many people are gonna be so mad after this episode I just know it.