NitroEX wrote: ↑Mon Aug 30, 2021 8:38 am
The Good
Future Gohan
- My personal favourite. I think it's pretty self-explanatory as to why but aside from the obvious, I've always found his design quite fascinating as he represented Toriyama's earliest idea of an adult Gohan, so in a sense, he's more of a prototype with a personality closer to the heroes he idolized (Piccolo and Goku). As a one-off with a clear ending to his story, he also has the added benefit of never being compromised or lessened (as far as his character goes) by future material.
Saiyan arc Gohan
- Overall, probably the best defined character arc Gohan had in the manga/anime, it's a great evolution from a whining toddler to a promising new warrior. Bonus points for Piccolo's death being one of the best emotional moments in the series.
Cell Games Gohan (post RoSaT)
- Definitely the most iconic version with the SS2 design being a favourite for many. Only problem is the weaker character arc not being as defined as it should have been, but the father-son bond is decent and the payoff to the battle is great.
Z Movie Gohan 3 (movie 10)
- Toei threw us a bone here, we get a decent fight featuring Boo arc Gohan in arguably his best outfit. The family Kamehameha was also a nice touch.
The Flawed
Early Boo arc Gohan/Great Saiyaman
- A decent beginning to a new version of the character. He had some good moments at the tournament and with Dabura but ultimately gets no payoff and ends up feeling like everyone's punching bag. In the case of Spopovich, not getting redemption was particularly damning as the story failed to justify the beating Videl got. The Saiyaman persona was a bold and unexpected addition but is quickly abandoned and forgotten about. It just ends up feeling somewhat pointless by the end as it was never revisited in any way for the rest of the arc.
Ultimate Gohan
- A unique transformation for Gohan, and while I like this on paper it's lacking in a few ways, specifically, I think a new technique would have helped him stand out and breathe life into his upcoming fight. Toriyama clearly intended for this to be Gohan's coming of age moment and I think this could have worked if there was at least more of a personal feud between him and the Boo he was facing but there just wasn't enough of a build-up. Videl was underutilized in this area too and could have made this more personal had she gotten more involved rather than put in the sidelines. On the positive side, I did enjoy the Piccolo side of Boo being used against him and his Goku gi was cool... Until it became his default look and lost most of it's significance as a result.
Garlic/Android arc Gohan (pre-RoSaT)
- One of my favourite versions but mostly for superficial reasons. I like the look and appreciate that he still had less of a pacifistic personality as it helped to make him feel driven. I do feel there might've been a missed opportunity to delve more into his reaction to Trunks' revelation about him from the future, that should really have been a catalyst to affect his personality moving forward. Also, it would have been better if there was some foreshadowing of his eventual meeting with Cell.
Z Movie Gohan 4 (movies 12 to 13)
- A bit too much overreliance on Saiyaman for my liking but the Videl/Saiyawoman pairing is a nice touch. At least he gets to keep the Ultimate power up and look strong, though he's strangely weaker than SS3 Goku it seems.
Namek Gohan
- Wasn't a fan of the haircut or the Saiyan armour. I mostly remember him as a perpetual victim here. Not a good time for Gohan but the character growth was necessary.
End of Z Gohan
- Acceptable endpoint with most of it kept vague enough to infer whatever we want. Basically amounts to a more mature and nerdy version yet retains a sense of dignity at least, and he doesn't seem to be robbed of Ultimate (yet). His outfits balanced the fine line of nerdy yet stylish while not falling into the trap of all-business like the suit look from GT. The colour scheme was also just all-around better than that of his casual DBS outfits.
Z Movie Gohan 1 & 2 (movies 1 to 9)
- Gohan at his most generic, essentially just the character on autopilot. It was a nice change to see him in Goku's gi for the Bojack movie but largely forgettable otherwise. At least he was still kept a prominent member of the team.
The Ugly
BoG Gohan
- Demoted to mostly a one-note character. It's unclear if Ultimate was forgotten about as he chooses to battle without Super Saiyan yet uses it later (the first instance possibly being a last-minute animation fix). No effort was put into the outfit this time but that's more acceptable given the nostalgic nature of the film. More Saiyaman shoved in but doesn't really serve a purpose and feels like a pointless retread. Overall, a step back as a character.
GT Gohan
- Gohan at his blandest. He's really just a guy in a suit now but at least he wasn't used mostly for comedy (yet). Also had Ultimate form seemingly forgotten as Super Saiyan was used early on again. The demotion here does admittedly feel more acceptable because of the time skip and introduction of SS4 but it's still a total waste of a character as he gets barely any interaction with his own daughter.
DB Super Gohan
- Same issues as BoG and RoF but with more silly father and nerd comedy thrown in, basically a Flanderization by this point. The character's lowest points in battle are drawn out for dramatic effect compared to the films which increase the sense of dignity loss, although at least in this case it does lead to a revelation for improvement. Ultimately though, it's short-lived and hollow as there's no grand redemption, the story just resets to the status quo. As far as looks go it's mostly bad too, bland work clothes for the most part.
RoF Gohan
- Tracksuit outfit, a definite contender for his worst look. Given a slightly more prominent role than BoG yet he's further depowered and seems to lose SS2 on top of Ultimate. Also needlessly gets crapped on by first form Freeza. Totally irredeemable version of Gohan which verges on character derailment. I'm sure the haters loved this version.