Gohan and Videl's ages when they meet

Teclo · Post by **Teclo** » Mon Oct 08, 2007 9:23 am

I haven't watched the Buu Saga for years (I'm getting there slowly but surely, I'm at the end of the Frieza Saga at the moment) so I may have missed out some obvious things here but I've read on certain sites that Gohan was 18 at this point. Now, I know nothing about the Japanese educational system but here in the UK it goes like this:

4-11 - Primary School
11-16 - Secondary School (for which you get GCSEs)
16-18 - College (optional) (for which you get A-Levels)
18-varies - University (optional) (for which you get a degree)

Well the point is that in my mind, if he was 18 he'd either be at the end of college or about to start uni. However, isn't his school described as a "high school"? Since that's in the US dub it's obviously the US equivalent of whatever the original Japanese word was. I always thought in the US, high school was the equivalent to our secondary school?

Eh well, my meandering thoughts aside, can anyone fill me in on what their ages are and indeed what level of school they're at?

Edit Or maybe whatever I read said he was 19... My question still stands though. Also, by extension, what age does that make him when he fights Cell?

Post by **VegettoEX** » Mon Oct 08, 2007 9:39 am

Here's an old thread where we went over his exact age at certain points in the series:

http://db.schuby.org/daizex/viewtopic.php?t=5195

Teclo · Post by **Teclo** » Mon Oct 08, 2007 9:57 am

Thank you. So just to clarify, he's physically 17 years old but his last birthday was his 16th due to his training in the Room of Spirit and Time? Is Videl the same as his actual age (17) or the same as his "recorded age" (16)?

Also I noticed that you said that Gohan's birthday is on the 11th of May; would you happen to know the birthdays of the other characters?

Adamant · Post by **Adamant** » Mon Oct 08, 2007 1:15 pm

Teclo wrote:However, isn't his school described as a "high school"? Since that's in the US dub it's obviously the US equivalent of whatever the original Japanese word was.

It was called "high school" in Japanese as well, though I really doubt Toriyama had the American school system in mind when he used that word.

Shenron · Post by **Shenron** » Mon Oct 08, 2007 1:40 pm

Teclo wrote:Thank you. So just to clarify, he's physically 17 years old but his last birthday was his 16th due to his training in the Room of Spirit and Time? Is Videl the same as his actual age (17) or the same as his "recorded age" (16)?

Well, I doubt Chichi would have falsified Gohan's identity papers, so since he's supposed to be 16, and they're in the same class, Videl must be 16 too. Unless if she's repeated a schoolyear. Or skipped a class.

Post by **TripleRach** » Mon Oct 08, 2007 1:55 pm

He's flat out stated to be age 16 and in high school in the Japanese dialogue.

16 does happen to be the age for the first year of high school in Japan, but we don't really know what kind of school system exists in the Dragon World, since this is basically the only example.

Rocketman · Post by **Rocketman** » Mon Oct 08, 2007 2:01 pm

Teclo wrote:4-11 - Primary School
11-16 - Secondary School (for which you get GCSEs)
16-18 - College (optional) (for which you get A-Levels)
18-varies - University (optional) (for which you get a degree)

I always thought in the US, high school was the equivalent to our secondary school?

It probably is, but here, high school is 14-18 and there's a 'middle school' from 12-14.

Teclo · Post by **Teclo** » Mon Oct 08, 2007 2:42 pm

Shenron wrote:
Teclo wrote:Thank you. So just to clarify, he's physically 17 years old but his last birthday was his 16th due to his training in the Room of Spirit and Time? Is Videl the same as his actual age (17) or the same as his "recorded age" (16)?
Well, I doubt Chichi would have falsified Gohan's identity papers, so since he's supposed to be 16, and they're in the same class, Videl must be 16 too. Unless if she's repeated a schoolyear. Or skipped a class.

Well you can be one of two ages in any given school year depending on when your birthday is. Here school starts in early September (well college does anyway) so if your birthday was in December you'd "gain a year" after a few months of being there. As such you could have people in your class that are either a "year" older or younger than you. One of my friend's birthdays is in August - if he was so much as a month younger he'd have actually been in the year below me at school.

Shenron · Post by **Shenron** » Tue Oct 09, 2007 2:27 pm

Teclo wrote:
Well you can be one of two ages in any given school year depending on when your birthday is. Here school starts in early September (well college does anyway) so if your birthday was in December you'd "gain a year" after a few months of being there. As such you could have people in your class that are either a "year" older or younger than you. One of my friend's birthdays is in August - if he was so much as a month younger he'd have actually been in the year below me at school.

That occured to me, but I thought it would be a little...fussy to go this way

Anyway, if I'm correct the schoolyear begins in April in Japan, so Videl could even be 15 if she was born in May or after.
Actually, if school starts in April in Dragonball, Gohan is legally 15 too. Except if the schoolyear has already begun when he enters.

mister yummy · Post by **mister yummy** » Tue Oct 09, 2007 3:58 pm

As another poster said, Gohan doesn't live in Japan. His example is the only one of the school system where he lives. As for his age, that's easily figured out.

He was 4 when Radditz kidnapped him. He was 5 when he fought Vegita and Nappa a year later, 6 or nearly so when Trunks killed Freeza moths after that, and either nearly 9 or nearly 10 when the Androids showed up(I think he was 9 and almost 10). Gohan then spent a year in the Room of Spirit and Time, making him 10. He had his 11th birthday in the 10 days before the Cell Games. 7 years later, when he entered highschool, he was 18 years old, but 17 years had passed since his birth.

You can make the 16 years old figure fit by saying he hadn't had a birthday between fighting on Namek and Freeza showing up on earth, but I'm pretty sure thay say he turned 11 at his pre-Cell Games birthday. Of course, that's filler, so take it with a grain of salt.

On another tangent, we don't know how old Gohan's classmates are. He had never been to school before, so his age wouldn't matter so much in his grade level. He'd be a first year student no matter how old he was. I may be wrong about that though.

Teclo · Post by **Teclo** » Tue Oct 09, 2007 8:30 pm

While DB isn't set in Japan it is clearly written from a Japanese perspective and has inherited many elements of it to such a point that it's more of an alternative Japan than anything else. Whether it be things like the emphasis on martial arts, the Tenkaichi Budokai tournament (complete with kanji on the large sign), the fact that it always seems to be Japanese food that's eaten, any religious elements are eastern such as the style of the afterlife and Krillin being a Buddhist monk and even the style of dress (the karate gi of many of the characters).

Having said that, I've always loved DB for having a real multicultural feel; ranging from Chinese with characters like Shenlong, Grandpa Gohan, Chaotzu and Tenshinhan amd the look of the afterlife (and indeed the notion of it) to an Arabian thing with Buu, an Indian feel with Piccolo's turban and Uub and even the fact that you have western style buildings mixed with traditional eastern buildings (though you could say that's another Japanese thing anyway).

Back to the topic, apparently Gohan's birthday is the 11th of May so that helps pin down his age at various points but does anyone know Videl's birthday?

Kanzenshuu

Gohan and Videl's ages when they meet

Gohan and Videl's ages when they meet

Re: Gohan and Videl's ages when they meet

Re: Gohan and Videl's ages when they meet