Goku finding Grandpa Gohan's body

[FindKenshi]

The above exercpt I posted was from the 2nd Kanzenban volume, I believe the 7th chapter of that book, making it Chapter 21 of the manga?

[TheDevilsCorpse]

We don't need any interview to explain that, it's right in the manga!

True, but it can be interpreted a multitude of ways regardless, as the first couple of posts in this thread prove.

[Kiddo626]

As for why he wasn't traumatized--he was. It's not normal for a little kid to cling to an inanimate object like that four-star Dragon Ball. It was the last thing of his Grandpa he had left, so he basically kept care of it and even believed his Grandpa was still watching over him through that ball.

I wonder if Goku believing his grandpa was in the four-star Dragon Ball was something he subconsciously came up with as a coping mechanism, or if it was something his grandfather had told him to do once he passed. Sort of like, "Goku, I won't be around forever, but my spirit will still live on in this ball. Take good care of it," or something like that, and Goku, being the innocent little tyke he was, just did as he was told.

[Kingdom Heartless]

Since Gohan was a tough guy, I wouldn't imagine him to be too messed up.

You'd have to think that Oozaru Goku's power wouldn't be that much greater than Gohan's, and Goku was fine when he was stepped on by Giant Piccolo, so I would guess it to not be so much like a crushing, but more of a seriously heavy blow when he was stepped on. Kind of like when Piccolo was hit by Nappa's blast. Too much force to survive, but physically he didn't look too damaged.

[Kiddo626]

Since Gohan was a tough guy, I wouldn't imagine him to be too messed up.

You'd have to think that Oozaru Goku's power wouldn't be that much greater than Gohan's, and Goku was fine when he was stepped on by Giant Piccolo, so I would guess it to not be so much like a crushing, but more of a seriously heavy blow when he was stepped on. Kind of like when Piccolo was hit by Nappa's blast. Too much force to survive, but physically he didn't look too damaged.

How much stronger was Goku from Grandpa Gohan by the time he got stepped on by Giant Piccolo? If the power gap was pretty significant, then it stands to reason that Goku could withstand a crushing blow at that time. Was Gohan that strong as well, enough to be able to withstand a similar flattening blow like that without at least something splattering?

[Kingdom Heartless]

Thinking it through, my logic was flawed... I was thinking in terms of the comparison between Oozary Goku and Gohan being a factor, but I guess it wouldn't be.

Still, Gohan's strength wouldn't be that far removed from Roshi's, so I would imagine his body to be pretty tough. I still think he would have avoided getting annihilated, just not avoiding enough damage to survive.

[Piccolo Daimao]

As for why he wasn't traumatized--he was. It's not normal for a little kid to cling to an inanimate object like that four-star Dragon Ball. It was the last thing of his Grandpa he had left, so he basically kept care of it and even believed his Grandpa was still watching over him through that ball.

And when he finally put two and two together during the Vegeta fight, he was pretty shaken up. But he was in a life-or-death crisis at the time, so it's not any time to start being all melancholy. Though I remember him saying "Oh grandpa, I'm sorry.." about it.

Yeah, people deal with grief in different ways, perhaps especially if you're a child.

I don't think Gohan's body would've been that roughed up, since he was superhuman, so being flattened by the Oozaru could've just made his body look severely injured, rather than as flat as a pancake. Like, as someone else said, Piccolo being hit by Nappa's blast. He wasn't instantly disintegrated, but still couldn't survive from it. Physically, some of his clothes had been burned off, but he mainly just looked scarred.

I wonder if Goku believing his grandpa was in the four-star Dragon Ball was something he subconsciously came up with as a coping mechanism, or if it was something his grandfather had told him to do once he passed. Sort of like, "Goku, I won't be around forever, but my spirit will still live on in this ball. Take good care of it," or something like that, and Goku, being the innocent little tyke he was, just did as he was told.

Agreed.

[matt0044]

@matt
I thought Goku wasn't given any reason for not looking at the full Moon?
What does he say in your manga volume and which translation is it?

He said he had to pee so he went out a saw it by mistake. It says so in the Viz translation of Volume 2 right before Goku sees the moon and goes ape on Pilaf's castle. It says so in the Anime be it English or Japanese so I'm guess it's what Toriyama wrote.

But if you made a mistake at the cost of one's life, wouldn't you feel bad?

[Piccolo Daimao]

Perhaps he'd feel bad for some time, but he'd get over it after a while. It's Gokuu. When he actually learned that he was the one who personally killed Gohan, he felt bad about it and said he'd apologize to him when he dies, but then the matter's never covered again.

[Kiddo626]

Grr, now I'm annoyed that Toriyama didn't expand on this aspect of Goku's past any further. It could've added a whole new layer to his character, IMO.

[Piccolo Daimao]

Well, Toriyama's not that kind of author.

[Kiddo626]

*gulps nervously*

Okay, time for the real reason I made this thread. It's because I had a theory that the actual event of Goku finding and burying/cremating Grandpa Gohan's flattened corpse was really a repressed memory. I'm planning to write a DBZ fanfic, and one of the major plot points I had in mind was one of the main villains invading Goku's mind and unlocking that memory as a means of torture. The memory would then come back to Goku in a flash of vivid and gory detail, and that would eventually cause present-day Goku to shut down and go into what TV Tropes would call a Heroic BSOD. Then, Grandpa Gohan would come to him in a dream or something and tell Goku that he intentionally had that memory repressed in Goku's mind... somehow (I'm still working on that part), because he felt like doing so would protect the boy. They would then both come to the realization that while it worked when he was a child, it actually became somewhat of a hindrance in Goku's development as an adult. Then, Gohan would forgive his grandson, tell him he still loves him, etc. Goku, finally at peace with himself, snaps out of his BSOD, and the story will continue from there.

Along with the uncertainty of whether or not people would even LIKE this plot point, I was just a little nervous to see if this theory would hold any water. That's why I made this thread, so I can see if this plot point of mine would be plausible.

[FindKenshi]

We don't need any interview to explain that, it's right in the manga!

True, but it can be interpreted a multitude of ways regardless, as the first couple of posts in this thread prove.

The first couple posts more imply to me that they weren't aware of the manga scene I brought up, actually.

[DBGTNEO]

*gulps nervously*

Okay, time for the real reason I made this thread. It's because I had a theory that the actual event of Goku finding and burying/cremating Grandpa Gohan's flattened corpse was really a repressed memory. I'm planning to write a DBZ fanfic, and one of the major plot points I had in mind was one of the main villains invading Goku's mind and unlocking that memory as a means of torture. The memory would then come back to Goku in a flash of vivid and gory detail, and that would eventually cause present-day Goku to shut down and go into what TV Tropes would call a Heroic BSOD. Then, Grandpa Gohan would come to him in a dream or something and tell Goku that he intentionally had that memory repressed in Goku's mind... somehow (I'm still working on that part), because he felt like doing so would protect the boy. They would then both come to the realization that while it worked when he was a child, it actually became somewhat of a hindrance in Goku's development as an adult. Then, Gohan would forgive his grandson, tell him he still loves him, etc. Goku, finally at peace with himself, snaps out of his BSOD, and the story will continue from there.

Along with the uncertainty of whether or not people would even LIKE this plot point, I was just a little nervous to see if this theory would hold any water. That's why I made this thread, so I can see if this plot point of mine would be plausible.

That actually sounds like a good idea for a fanfic story.

[Goten Forever]

Yeah - go ahead and make it. Just follow all the rules of story context and grammar - don't throw these away like all Fanfic writers do.


Come to think of it... I guess, with Goku's attitude at the time, he would just look at it, bury it and carry on with his life in a no-nonsense approach.