Something I noticed in the "Piccolo Is Gohan's real dad" fanbase

[Cure Dragon 255]

They hate Goku for mistreating and overall not being there for Gohan... they conveniently forget that it was HIM and not Piccolo who got Gohan to Defeat Cell. Goku trains Gohan way better than Piccolo ever could because he ironically is more ruthless than him when training. Goku is the trainer Gohan needs to be strong.

And I'm not even a huge fan of Gohan. I just noticed that they complain that Goku is a terrible father, and then turn around and whine that Gohan is a weakling

[sintzu]

Let's see if Goku really is a bad father by going through his life with Gohan in the original manga :

He lived with Gohan and watched him grow up until he was 4-5 years old, after that he was dead for a year. Nothing wrong here.

After the battle with Vegeta it was Gohan who decided to go to Namek before Goku could so Goku not being there at first wasn't his fault. So far so good.

Next up was the one year Goku spent away from earth after the battle with Freeza which again, wasn't his fault as it most likely took him months to get back to earth with the space pod based on how long it took Nappa and Vegeta to get there.

Before the androids show up we know he spent 3 whole years with Gohan. After that he spent nearly a year training him to become Ssj so he got more than enough time with him.

The main issue people have comes with him deciding to stay dead as that's the one thing I question Goku's decision on, despite him doing it to keep him safe.

After that we know he spent a whole 10 years with him and everyone else before going with Uub and at that point he was an adult, married and had a kid so it didn't matter at that point.

Based on the above, Goku is by all means not a bad father. He may have made a questionable choice after Cell but that shouldn't take away everything else I mentioned.

[Logania]

It's mainly just a case where the meme starts to override the source. Kinda like Yamcha's existence.

Goku is by no means a bad father, and besides giving Cell a senzu bean before fighting Gohan like an idiot, always has Gohan's safety as a priority.

[Cure Dragon 255]

WOW! I'm glad this thread is going well then!

[ulisa]

I have never understood the meme of Goku being a bad father. While he's far from perfect, I'd say that he has got the most vital aspects of fatherhood down in that he obviously loves and cares for his kids. One thing that I think a lot of people overlook too is that Goku was there from birth until Gohan was four which are considered by many to be the most important years when it comes to bonding and attachment. Goku got those vital years with Gohan and I really think it's reflected in their relationship in contrast to Goten's.

He was there for Gohan for most of his life and his decision to stay dead after Cell could honestly be interpreted either way. Personally, I never really saw that as a bad decision. Would it have been better if he had stayed, given that the bad stuff kept coming? Well, yeah, but his motivation and reasoning behind it, at the time, made a lot of sense. There's a saying in counseling that we make the best decision in the circumstances we have. Can we look back on it in hindsight and say that it wasn't a good move, yes, but for the time, I can see how it made sense.

As for Goku giving a bean to Cell, again, I can see a side to this that is actually not a negative. Now, does it look absolutely horrible to power up the thing going to attack your child, yes but I also saw it as "I am so confident in what my child is capable of that I'm going to give you a handicap to go back to full power." Definitely not the wisest move Goku ever made but again, I see it as a demonstration of his utter confidence in his son.

Gohan's behaviors when he's around Goku really speak volumes to me too. When he's with Goku, alone, in the Time Chamber, Gohan's confidence just swells. He seems to let down his walls and just be who he is which is a great thing to see. I've mentioned it before but I'll bring it up again--I think Gohan feels he can be who he is around his father without having to worry about being accepted or ridiculed or anything like that. There's a genuineness when they're together that I've always loved.

[Doctor.]

The meme was always pretty stupid to me considering the first thing Piccolo does to Gohan is throw him at a mountain.

[PerhapsTheOtherOne]

The meme was always pretty stupid to me considering the first thing Piccolo does to Gohan is throw him at a mountain.

Looked more like a plate--

*GETS THROWN*

EEAAAAUUUUUU!!!!!!

[GigaDrill]

The meme was always pretty stupid to me considering the first thing Piccolo does to Gohan is throw him at a mountain.

Every father-son relationship has to start from somewhere

[Doctor.]

The meme was always pretty stupid to me considering the first thing Piccolo does to Gohan is throw him at a mountain.

Every father-son relationship has to start from somewhere

Preferably not from abuse.

[Bruma rabu]

I also think goku was watching Gohan from other world during the 7 years. I mean how would he have known about the World Martial Arts Tournament?

[Whatever]

Goku almost got Gohan killed,it was thanks to Satan and 16 that he made it alive and even then Gohan was lucky that Cell did not bother killing him before he turned ssj2.
Also i don't see your point about the 'training' stuff since it is entirely plot relevant,Gohan had better gains when he trained with Piccolo in Super anyways.

Next up was the one year Goku spent away from earth after the battle with Freeza which again, wasn't his fault as it most likely took him months to get back to earth with the space pod based on how long it took Nappa and Vegeta to get there.

It was his fault since he decided to decline coming back according to Porunga when he tried to teleport him to Earth.

I also think goku was watching Gohan from other world during the 7 years. I mean how would he have known about the World Martial Arts Tournament?

If he was watching Gohan then he would know about Goten.

[Robo4900]

If he was watching Gohan then he would know about Goten.

I think he did. He just, naturally, hadn't met him in person yet.

[ABED]

Goku almost got Gohan killed,it was thanks to Satan and 16 that he made it alive and even then Gohan was lucky that Cell did not bother killing him before he turned ssj2.

That's arguable. Gohan didn't suffer any actual damage beyond a superficial cut prior to his transformation. And it was Gohan's power that put him in that position, not Goku. We don't know how strong Cell was in relation to Gohan. The fight never got that far.

It was his fault since he decided to decline coming back according to Porunga when he tried to teleport him to Earth.

He was trying to learn to teleport. He only spent a year away from his family. Given how useful teleportation is, I think he can be forgiven the time away.

[Whatever]

If he was watching Gohan then he would know about Goten.

I think he did. He just, naturally, hadn't met him in person yet.

I don't know about that,he seemed pretty surprised that a mini version of him was there.

Goku almost got Gohan killed,it was thanks to Satan and 16 that he made it alive and even then Gohan was lucky that Cell did not bother killing him before he turned ssj2.

That's arguable. Gohan didn't suffer any actual damage beyond a superficial cut prior to his transformation. And it was Gohan's power that put him in that position, not Goku. We don't know how strong Cell was in relation to Gohan. The fight never got that far.

So was Gohan faking the pain?Was the reason he was screaming in pain to be dramatic?
Cell could kill him easily or else they would be no point on Goku betting on Gohan's hidden power(if Gohan could beat Cell without ssj2 then he still put him in danger by giving Cell a senzu).
Goku was still the one that put him out there just like Piccolo put Gohan in the Saiyan battle.

He was trying to learn to teleport. He only spent a year away from his family. Given how useful teleportation is, I think he can be forgiven the time away.

While IT is indeed very usefull,we don't know how long it took him to learn IT not that Goku knew he would learn IT,its pretty much implied that he wanted to stay on Yadrat because he simply wanted to train.

Preferably not from abuse.

Thats obviously because it was Piccolo version 1,he had not reached his final dad form yet,Goku being the low standard of the example does not help this meme either.

[ABED]

So was Gohan faking the pain?Was the reason he was screaming in pain to be dramatic?
Cell could kill him easily or else they would be no point on Goku betting on Gohan's hidden power(if Gohan could beat Cell without ssj2 then he still put him in danger by giving Cell a senzu).
Goku was still the one that put him out there just like Piccolo put Gohan in the Saiyan battle.

Being in momentary pain isn't the same as being near death. I never said Gohan could've defeated Cell as SSJ1, just that he wasn't nearly as easy to beat as you make it sound. Everyone was already in danger regardless. And Gohan needed the push from Cell to turn SSJ2 so if anything, Goku actually saved everyone.

Goku didn't put Gohan out there, and neither did Piccolo. Gohan was necessary both times, especially against Cell because only he had enough power.

While IT is indeed very usefull,we don't know how long it took him to learn IT not that Goku knew he would learn IT,its pretty much implied that he wanted to stay on Yadrat because he simply wanted to train.

We know it took Goku a while to learn it, so much that given how long it took him to learn a single attack, he would've rather gone home than spend the time to learn anything else. Of course Goku wanted to stay and train, but he also left of his own free will.

[majinwarman]

The meme was always pretty stupid to me considering the first thing Piccolo does to Gohan is throw him at a mountain.

I agree fully with that statement.

[Forte224]

Next up was the one year Goku spent away from earth after the battle with Freeza which again, wasn't his fault as it most likely took him months to get back to earth with the space pod based on how long it took Nappa and Vegeta to get there.

To be fair, they were going to warp him back with the Dragon Balls and he refused.

But, yes, I hate hate hate the "Goku is a bad dad" meme. And Goku staying dead to keep the earth safe actually had merit. Had he not been back on earth for that one day, Vegeta wouldn't have felt the need to give himself over to Babidi (to force Goku to fight him), and Vegeta and Gohan probably would've handled Dabra and Babidi on their own, never allowing Boo to be released in the first place.

Anyway, yeah, he's a good dad. Just look at how he is in Super too. Gohan for the most part has decided not to fight and he totally respects that. He never makes him feel guilty at all. It's like a father that lets his son choose his own passion instead of forcing him into the family business.

As usual, I blame TFS for taking a slightly well known meme and giving it so much exposure that the fandom considers it canon.

[Baggie_Saiyan]

Next up was the one year Goku spent away from earth after the battle with Freeza which again, wasn't his fault as it most likely took him months to get back to earth with the space pod based on how long it took Nappa and Vegeta to get there.

To be fair, they were going to warp him back with the Dragon Balls and he refused.

But, yes, I hate hate hate the "Goku is a bad dad" meme. And Goku staying dead to keep the earth safe actually had merit. Had he not been back on earth for that one day, Vegeta wouldn't have felt the need to give himself over to Babidi (to force Goku to fight him), and Vegeta and Gohan probably would've handled Dabra and Babidi on their own, never allowing Boo to be released in the first place.

Anyway, yeah, he's a good dad. Just look at how he is in Super too. Gohan for the most part has decided not to fight and he totally respects that. He never makes him feel guilty at all. It's like a father that lets his son choose his own passion instead of forcing him into the family business.

As usual, I blame TFS for taking a slightly well known meme and giving it so much exposure that the fandom considers it canon.

I did like how Goku had the courtesy and respect of ringing Gohan to ask if he could stay with them in the episode where Goku was suffering from onset ki disorder. I also liked the moment when Goku was working hard and Chichi invited Gohan to spar with him for a bit as reward that was a nice little family moment.

But yeah I don't watch TFS but apparently it is a running gag in that. /:

[Forte224]

Next up was the one year Goku spent away from earth after the battle with Freeza which again, wasn't his fault as it most likely took him months to get back to earth with the space pod based on how long it took Nappa and Vegeta to get there.

To be fair, they were going to warp him back with the Dragon Balls and he refused.

But, yes, I hate hate hate the "Goku is a bad dad" meme. And Goku staying dead to keep the earth safe actually had merit. Had he not been back on earth for that one day, Vegeta wouldn't have felt the need to give himself over to Babidi (to force Goku to fight him), and Vegeta and Gohan probably would've handled Dabra and Babidi on their own, never allowing Boo to be released in the first place.

Anyway, yeah, he's a good dad. Just look at how he is in Super too. Gohan for the most part has decided not to fight and he totally respects that. He never makes him feel guilty at all. It's like a father that lets his son choose his own passion instead of forcing him into the family business.

As usual, I blame TFS for taking a slightly well known meme and giving it so much exposure that the fandom considers it canon.

I did like how Goku had the courtesy and respect of ringing Gohan to ask if he could stay with them in the episode where Goku was suffering from onset ki disorder. I also liked the moment when Goku was working hard and Chichi invited Gohan to spar with him for a bit as reward that was a nice little family moment.

But yeah I don't watch TFS but apparently it is a running gag in that. /:

Yes, they have quite a few running gags. They were pretty innocent when TFS first started doing the parody, but since it's exploded in popularity fans have basically adapted what they say to canon, and TFS hasn't done anything to rectify the situation.

[Robo4900]

Yes, they have quite a few running gags. They were pretty innocent when TFS first started doing the parody, but since it's exploded in popularity fans have basically adapted what they say to canon, and TFS hasn't done anything to rectify the situation.

Eh, if TFS wanted to rectify it, it'd require a lot of pivoting around their existing characterisations... It'd be a lot of work about some fans taking the wrong idea from a running joke in a fan parody.