Without rewritting the Buu saga, could in either Super or Gt Gohan take back the lead role?

[Mad Swami]

Gohan was always special ever since he was first introduced, right? He’s the kind of character they can actually write to be some “chosen one” in-universe and I don’t think people would mind that (while the same thing would greatly diminish Son Goku’s character).

So, if I had to write Gohan to be the lead in one Super arc, I would write him to be the chosen one of a godly prophecy.
And I would like the arc being centered about the theme of fate or pre-destination.
I would introduce Zalama, the creator of Super DBs, as an omniscent God. Contrary to Zuno, who only has knowledge about past and present, Zalama would have perfect knowledge of the future too.

The Dragon God Zalama would go to Gohan to train him to fullfil his destiny of beating Zalama’s omnipotent counterpart - a being so potent not even Zeno can erase, and whom Angels can’t fight due to their laws. This Zalama’s counterpart would be a Dragon Demon who spent all his life slaughtering the exceptional cases of humans with mixed blood (explain that it’s incredibly rare, among all universes, for two different alien species to be able to produce off-springs) - such as Jiren, whom the Demon believes to be the chosen one.
His power would remove every being he kills from existence - no afterlife for them. People he kills can only be revived by the Super DBs which have Zalama’s power and which the Demon is not able to destroy.

Goku would be dismissed as being worthless for the task, as Zalama would tell him that his fate has already been determined and that he already reached his destiny.
In the end, Goku would beat his own fate and be the one kill the enemy, thus proving to Zalama that he can’t write other people’s stories.
Basically Goku would be sidelined and considered useless, while Gohan would be the one the plot is centred around. But when Gohan fails to be up to his destiny, Goku would step up and prove every God that destiny doesn’t exist.

Don't you think however that suffers a similar problem to Buu arc. Both stories (Buu arc and this one proposed) center Gohan to be the lead only for Goku to steal it back last moment. However this let's me know that you probably don't think Gohan as a lead could work or just prefer Goku

[emperior]

Gohan was always special ever since he was first introduced, right? He’s the kind of character they can actually write to be some “chosen one” in-universe and I don’t think people would mind that (while the same thing would greatly diminish Son Goku’s character).

So, if I had to write Gohan to be the lead in one Super arc, I would write him to be the chosen one of a godly prophecy.
And I would like the arc being centered about the theme of fate or pre-destination.
I would introduce Zalama, the creator of Super DBs, as an omniscent God. Contrary to Zuno, who only has knowledge about past and present, Zalama would have perfect knowledge of the future too.

The Dragon God Zalama would go to Gohan to train him to fullfil his destiny of beating Zalama’s omnipotent counterpart - a being so potent not even Zeno can erase, and whom Angels can’t fight due to their laws. This Zalama’s counterpart would be a Dragon Demon who spent all his life slaughtering the exceptional cases of humans with mixed blood (explain that it’s incredibly rare, among all universes, for two different alien species to be able to produce off-springs) - such as Jiren, whom the Demon believes to be the chosen one.
His power would remove every being he kills from existence - no afterlife for them. People he kills can only be revived by the Super DBs which have Zalama’s power and which the Demon is not able to destroy.

Goku would be dismissed as being worthless for the task, as Zalama would tell him that his fate has already been determined and that he already reached his destiny.
In the end, Goku would beat his own fate and be the one kill the enemy, thus proving to Zalama that he can’t write other people’s stories.
Basically Goku would be sidelined and considered useless, while Gohan would be the one the plot is centred around. But when Gohan fails to be up to his destiny, Goku would step up and prove every God that destiny doesn’t exist.

Don't you think however that suffers a similar problem to Buu arc. Both stories (Buu arc and this one proposed) center Gohan to be the lead only for Goku to steal it back last moment. However this let's me know that you probably don't think Gohan as a lead could work or just prefer Goku

I think Gohan as a lead can only work for one arc every once and then. Similarly to how Future Trunks had his spotlight in Super’s anime, or how Vegeta is seemingly having his in the current manga arc.

At best, in my case, Goku and Gohan could defeat the villain in a teamwork effort to still prove the point of the narrative.

But yes, I prefer Goku to be the lead. Although I really don’t mind it at all when some other character momentarily takes the lead spot.

[MasenkoHA]

Chosen one narratives are just lame as a rule. You’re special because destiny/an an ancient prophecy/birthright said so. One of the best parts of Battle of the Gods is fulfilling an ancient prophecy to attain Super Saiyan Godhood ultimately did jack shit.

Goku was born a write off and heck in hindsight it says something that many well trained humans were at certain points stronger than him but he keeps training to better himself. Gohan was born into greatness but would rather study. I dunno I like that dichotomy. Gohan just doesn’t work as a main where the series is about bettering yourself and getting stronger.

[Kuwabara]

The complaints I've seen are that it's too prententious for a shonen and that most of its villains/arcs are recycled from other works which, imo, are fair criticisms. Personally I love how navel gazy HxH is. Reading it, I really got the impression that Togashi is trying to work out his own feelings towards the genre he's made his trade. But I don't begrudge anyone not being into that. HxH has a very slow start and each arc ends in an anti-climax. All most people want is a good story and while I do think HxH is that, "a good story" isn't a high priority for Togashi.

What is pretentious or navel gazey about it? The only thing I can think of is the absurd amount of narration in the Chimera Ant arc. I would love to watch a cut of 2011's version that omitted most or even all if it entirely, so much of what is said seems so explicit that it's pointless. I believe that the arc would play out and resonate largely the same, if not better.

Otherwise, Hunter x Hunter is fairly straightforward if you ask me. It might just seem dense or complex because of strong characterization and a world that feels lived in, both of which Togashi's been good at since Yu Yu Hakusho.

[ABED]

Chosen one narratives are just lame as a rule. You’re special because destiny/an an ancient prophecy/birthright said so. One of the best parts of Battle of the Gods is fulfilling an ancient prophecy to attain Super Saiyan Godhood ultimately did jack shit.

Goku was born a write off and heck in hindsight it says something that many well trained humans were at certain points stronger than him but he keeps training to better himself. Gohan was born into greatness but would rather study. I dunno I like that dichotomy. Gohan just doesn’t work as a main where the series is about bettering yourself and getting stronger.

Thank you. My thoughts exactly.

Chosen One narratives work well when it's as much if not more of a burden than a blessing. Working hard is a far better lesson than nothing you do matters that much unless you were chosen to be special.

But Dragon Ball is more a franchise than it is a story, at least nowadays. Franchises don't stray far from their big names if they can helt it and if the series is selling just fine with Goku/Vegeta in the lead than there's no reason to change things. Furthermore the audience is invested in each threat being greater than the last one. It's many a Western fan's justification for not watching Dragon Ball. If the stakes become less than Earth shattering who's to say a chunk of the fanbase isn't put off?

I disagree with this assessment wholeheartedly. Franchises keep going even if the lead player leaves. DB is Goku's story. That's why he stays in the main spot. How many long running series can you think of that were as good when the lead is replaced? And pointing to Gohan on Namek as showing DB can work well when Goku isn't the lead misses the simple fact that that storyline didn't require anyone to be all that strong.

[emperior]

Chosen one narratives are just lame as a rule. You’re special because destiny/an an ancient prophecy/birthright said so. One of the best parts of Battle of the Gods is fulfilling an ancient prophecy to attain Super Saiyan Godhood ultimately did jack shit.

Goku was born a write off and heck in hindsight it says something that many well trained humans were at certain points stronger than him but he keeps training to better himself. Gohan was born into greatness but would rather study. I dunno I like that dichotomy. Gohan just doesn’t work as a main where the series is about bettering yourself and getting stronger.

I don’t disagree with you, in fact I would want the point of such a story to be “chosen one prophecies are bullshit”. It’s just a way I thought of forcing Gohan to take the lead role once again.
I remember when I first watched Z as a kid, and when the Z-Sword was introduced I immediately thought “oh guess Gohan is the chosen one or something like that” and I never thought such a thing would have been implausible.

[Dragon Ball Gus]

No. Gohan is a pacifist who doesn't like fighting. He'd rather just study and take care of his family. That's the reason why Toriyama dropped the "passing of the torch" thing and brought Goku back. The only way Gohan could honestly work as the main character in Super, GT, or even in the Buu Arc is if you were to completely rewrite his character from the moment he was introduced, and have him be someone who actually enjoys fighting, just like his father. Someone who has the Saiyan drive for a challenge. Basically 50% of his personality coming from his dad, though I'd imagine he'd still have the politeness and the intelligence of his official counterpart. So yeah, that's pretty much the only way he could work as the main character.

[Mad Swami]

Gohan was always special ever since he was first introduced, right? He’s the kind of character they can actually write to be some “chosen one” in-universe and I don’t think people would mind that (while the same thing would greatly diminish Son Goku’s character).

So, if I had to write Gohan to be the lead in one Super arc, I would write him to be the chosen one of a godly prophecy.
And I would like the arc being centered about the theme of fate or pre-destination.
I would introduce Zalama, the creator of Super DBs, as an omniscent God. Contrary to Zuno, who only has knowledge about past and present, Zalama would have perfect knowledge of the future too.

The Dragon God Zalama would go to Gohan to train him to fullfil his destiny of beating Zalama’s omnipotent counterpart - a being so potent not even Zeno can erase, and whom Angels can’t fight due to their laws. This Zalama’s counterpart would be a Dragon Demon who spent all his life slaughtering the exceptional cases of humans with mixed blood (explain that it’s incredibly rare, among all universes, for two different alien species to be able to produce off-springs) - such as Jiren, whom the Demon believes to be the chosen one.
His power would remove every being he kills from existence - no afterlife for them. People he kills can only be revived by the Super DBs which have Zalama’s power and which the Demon is not able to destroy.

Goku would be dismissed as being worthless for the task, as Zalama would tell him that his fate has already been determined and that he already reached his destiny.
In the end, Goku would beat his own fate and be the one kill the enemy, thus proving to Zalama that he can’t write other people’s stories.
Basically Goku would be sidelined and considered useless, while Gohan would be the one the plot is centred around. But when Gohan fails to be up to his destiny, Goku would step up and prove every God that destiny doesn’t exist.

Don't you think however that suffers a similar problem to Buu arc. Both stories (Buu arc and this one proposed) center Gohan to be the lead only for Goku to steal it back last moment. However this let's me know that you probably don't think Gohan as a lead could work or just prefer Goku

I think Gohan as a lead can only work for one arc every once and then. Similarly to how Future Trunks had his spotlight in Super’s anime, or how Vegeta is seemingly having his in the current manga arc.

At best, in my case, Goku and Gohan could defeat the villain in a teamwork effort to still prove the point of the narrative.

But yes, I prefer Goku to be the lead. Although I really don’t mind it at all when some other character momentarily takes the lead spot.

Fair enogh