Do you think Gohan would have made a good main character?

[ABED]

I meant the everything before Gotenks. It was being built up great with both comedy and a good set up (the tournament and Boo). Gokuu could still have been in the story but why does he have to be the main focus? It was already building up to Gohan.

Gohan allowed himself to go soft in the 7 years after the Cell games. Clearly, he's not up for the role of protector.

Which makes him all the more interesting as a protagonist as he's a flawed hero with very human desires and needs. Plus, it could've been written in the story that he "learns" his lesson and starts to train in peace time.

Clearly, Toriyama felt there was something missing with Gohan during the set up, so we never got the pay off. I was never excited about the idea anyway. Yeah, the joke where Goku says Kaioshin's ability to draw out dormant power wasn't unique is very funny, but it's still another power up.

Goku has his own unique flaws, but his passion for life is one of the reasons he's one of my favorite fictional characters. Gohan's happy but still a bit more somber. Goku has his own goals and passions and goes after them full force. I don't think Gohan ever truely does. He wants to study but I never got the feeling he was driven to do it. It seems more like something his mother pushed on him. I also disagree with the idea that seems so prevalent is that the way to make a hero either more interesting or relatable is to make them flawed.

[DBZAOTA482]

Gohan allowed himself to go soft in the 7 years after the Cell games. Clearly, he's not up for the role of protector. Goku thought Gotenks would've been able to defeat fat Buu, and probably with ease as a Super Saiyan. How could anyone have forseen the transformation?

I let Goku off the hook for holding back. For all the audience knew, he wasn't. Toriyama makes it up as he goes along, so I don't think he anticipated Super Saiyan 3 by that point, which lead to large leaps in logic.

Gohan not being a fighter by heart was supposed to be one of the struggles he overcomes (as demonstrated by Vegeta berating him for slacking off as well as himself), and it could have worked if Toriyama-sensei went through with it. The problem with Goku leaving the fate of all creation to Gotenks is that fusees Goten and Trunks had no serious combat experience beforehand. They're not gonna learn to be self-reliant that way. Goku should know by now to take enemies down as quickly as efficiently possibly but for what it's worth it at least proves Dragon Ball isn't a series full of cardboard cut-out character because he did at least put some thought into it. Can't say the same for Gotenks and Mystic Jackass though.

Also, it doesn't matter that Toriyama wrote at the seat of his pants. All that matters is that it makes Goku look like a douche because he's lying out of his ass about his powers.

[DBZAOTA482]

Gohan allowed himself to go soft in the 7 years after the Cell games. Clearly, he's not up for the role of protector. Goku thought Gotenks would've been able to defeat fat Buu, and probably with ease as a Super Saiyan. How could anyone have forseen the transformation?

I let Goku off the hook for holding back. For all the audience knew, he wasn't. Toriyama makes it up as he goes along, so I don't think he anticipated Super Saiyan 3 by that point, which lead to large leaps in logic.

Gohan not being a fighter by heart was supposed to be one of the struggles he overcomes (as demonstrated by Vegeta berating him for slacking off as well as himself), and it could have worked if Toriyama-sensei went through with it. The problem with Goku leaving the fate of all creation to Gotenks is that fusees Goten and Trunks had no serious combat experience beforehand. They're not gonna learn to be self-reliant that way. Goku should know by now to take enemies down as quickly as efficiently possibly but for what it's worth it at least proves Dragon Ball isn't a series full of cardboard cut-out character because he did at least put some thought into it. Can't say the same for Gotenks and Mystic Jackass though.

Also, it doesn't matter that Toriyama wrote at the seat of his pants. All that matters is that it makes Goku look like a douche because he's lying out of his ass about his powers.

[Saiga]

Gohan isn't "lazy" because he doesn't train. He used that time to study, and that's perfectly fine. As far as he knew, he was the most powerful person in the universe and there were no looming threats to prepare for. He doesn't just train for the sake of training, and he shouldn't be expected to. However, he's perfectly okay with training in preparation to combat a threat.

It'd be a very easy part of his character development for him to decide that he should keep up some form of training even in times of peace, in case future enemies threaten the planet.

[sbk]

Yes, but only for the Buu arc.

[ABED]

I wasn't implying that he was lazy overall, just lazy in regards to his training. Yes he was the strongest, but it would still be a good idea to keep his skills sharp just in case. Given what his life was life to that point, it wasn't out of the ordinary to expect another great danger down the road, plus his father isn't there to protect people. If he's the protector, he shouldn't allow himself to go soft. Vegeta said Gohan lost his fighting sense when he saw him battling Dabura.

I'm not saying he's a bad character, just that I don't like him as the hero of the story. Even when he was the strongest against Cell, he needed his father to help him.

[DBZGTKOSDH]

Yes. Once he got Rou Kaioshin's power-up, his personality changed to the best. He turned into a merciful fighter, yet not blinded by rage. His power was also the mightiest we had seen.
I believe that finding a way to make Boo stronger than Gohan without absorbing Gohan or Gotenks (like, by getting extremely angry and unleashing his sealed powers by the Kaioshin influence), and then having Boo getting defeated by the combined powers of Ultimate Gohan & Super Saiyan 3 Gotenks would have been a great ending. Goku & Vegeta would stay dead in the end, and Vegeta would finally find a way to go to Heaven (maybe if Dende, or Kaio, or Kaioshin, or even Goku had found a way to persuade Emna Daio). He would challenge Goku, he would make Goku go Super Saiyan 3, and finally, he would admit that Goku really is #1, after witnessing Super Saiyan 3. Then both of them would start training in Heaven to surpass each other, while the Earth would be left in the hands of Gohan, Goten, and Trunks.

[JulieYBM]

I feel like the Gohan from the Namek arc was a good fit as a character, but it became clear after it that with the introduction of and focus on Trunks, Vegeta, and Piccolo throughout the Artificial Humans arc that Toriyama really had no idea what to do with Gohan. This becomes even more evident when Toriyama decided to throw the fans for an ill-planned loop in having Gohan take over the fight with Cell. The lack of hinting throughout the arc really hurts the surprise climax, to say nothing of how Gohan--who just spent four-plus years training to fight--suddenly no longer wants to. It's Toriyama's greatest flaw in an arc that is otherwise keenly written for being done so on the seat of his pants.

[DBZ Mick]

I feel like the Gohan from the Namek arc was a good fit as a character, but it became clear after it that with the introduction of and focus on Trunks, Vegeta, and Piccolo throughout the Artificial Humans arc that Toriyama really had no idea what to do with Gohan. This becomes even more evident when Toriyama decided to throw the fans for an ill-planned loop in having Gohan take over the fight with Cell. The lack of hinting throughout the arc really hurts the surprise climax, to say nothing of how Gohan--who just spent four-plus years training to fight--suddenly no longer wants to. It's Toriyama's greatest flaw in an arc that is otherwise keenly written for being done so on the seat of his pants.

Exactly my thoughts.

It's bascially like this...from my Tumblr

http://bigmick284.tumblr.com/post/35891 ... during-the

[DBZGTKOSDH]

http://bigmick284.tumblr.com/post/35891 ... during-the

The shots from the RoSaT are filler. In the manga, the scene started with Gohan transformed into a Super Saiyan for the first time. The anime usually portrays Gohan with a bigger fighting spirit compared to the manga.

I'm starting to think that the reason Gohan didn't want to fight Cell was because he had just realized that he was stronger than Goku, which would mean that if he were to get angry and unleash his true power, he would loose control of his power (since he would be blinded by rage) and there was the possibility that he would accidentally hurt the Earth, or even his friends.
Also, Gohan wasn't preparing himself to kill Cell (or any other main villain in the past). He was only 11 years-old, and he suddenly had the responsibility to protect the Earth and kill Cell. It's not like killing is something simple.

[DBZAOTA482]

http://bigmick284.tumblr.com/post/35891 ... during-the

The shots from the RoSaT are filler. In the manga, the scene started with Gohan transformed into a Super Saiyan for the first time. The anime usually portrays Gohan with a bigger fighting spirit compared to the manga.

I'm starting to think that the reason Gohan didn't want to fight Cell was because he had just realized that he was stronger than Goku, which would mean that if he were to get angry and unleash his true power, he would loose control of his power (since he would be blinded by rage) and there was the possibility that he would accidentally hurt the Earth, or even his friends.
Also, Gohan wasn't preparing himself to kill Cell (or any other main villain in the past). He was only 11 years-old, and he suddenly had the responsibility to protect the Earth and kill Cell. It's not like killing is something simple.

I don't recall Gohan saying he was afraid of his latent powers, just that he didn't want to fight or kill Cell and he wasn't sure how to tap into his latent powers.

[DBZGTKOSDH]

I don't recall Gohan saying he was afraid of his latent powers, just that he didn't want to fight or kill Cell and he wasn't sure how to tap into his latent powers.

I know he didn't say it. I just say that this could also be a reason.

[DBZ Mick]

The shots from the RoSaT are filler. In the manga, the scene started with Gohan transformed into a Super Saiyan for the first time. The anime usually portrays Gohan with a bigger fighting spirit compared to the manga.

I know they are filler but it still felt true to Gohan's character at that point. Gohan's transformation to SSJ was poor in the manga.

Also, Gohan wasn't preparing himself to kill Cell (or any other main villain in the past). He was only 11 years-old, and he suddenly had the responsibility to protect the Earth and kill Cell. It's not like killing is something simple.

He prepared for a fight to the death with ReaCoom, with Freeza even (going so far as to scream to Freeza when attacking him-why don't you just die- although that's likely his anger and adrenaline). Yet with Cell... I don't want to fight you.

[Marco Polo]

Maybe in the Cell Saga he was just sick of all the horrors and violence he saw on Namek. He was just a kid back then...

[DBZAOTA482]

Also, Gohan wasn't preparing himself to kill Cell (or any other main villain in the past). He was only 11 years-old, and he suddenly had the responsibility to protect the Earth and kill Cell. It's not like killing is something simple.

He prepared for a fight to the death with ReaCoom, with Freeza even (going so far as to scream to Freeza when attacking him-why don't you just die- although that's likely his anger and adrenaline). Yet with Cell... I don't want to fight you.

That's because he wasn't in it alone and had an undying trust his daddy would come, be the hero, and defeat the baddie. Maybe he was breaking down from all the drama in his life.

[ABED]

Except that Goku wasn't there at all and there's no intimation that's at all what he's thinking when fighting Reacoom. His father is there at the Cell Games, and assured him that he could defeat Cell.

Gohan has killed before. He killed two of Freeza's lackies for destroying his ship on Namek. Killing may not be easy but he has to know that Cell can't be reasoned with. The only thing he can do at that point is destroy him.

[DBZAOTA482]

Except that Goku wasn't there at all and there's no intimation that's at all what he's thinking when fighting Reacoom. His father is there at the Cell Games, and assured him that he could defeat Cell.

Gohan has killed before. He killed two of Freeza's lackies for destroying his ship on Namek. Killing may not be easy but he has to know that Cell can't be reasoned with. The only thing he can do at that point is destroy him.

Regardless of which Gohan was more motivated to fight while at Namek (revive Z-Senshi; specifically Piccolo). Goku bailed him out twice there. He's there for the Cell Games however isn't not gonna help out.

Even if Gohan tried it would be of no avail at his current state (as he tried initially).

[ABED]

You keep using pronouns so I have a hard time following your argument.

[Michsi]

I'm on the fence about this.

On one hand, we have this nice idea of father-to-son succesion, Gohan being different enough from Goku to see the change, but not so much that it's jarring and maybe try to refresh the story by having another MC.

On the other hand, we have the original main character, something of a symbol for the franchise and beyond ,been the main character for years and years and was generally well liked by the fans.


I prefer Goku over Gohan simply because I think he is more interesting as a character even if he becomes maybe a little unsettling as time goes on. Not to mention that I kinda had my fill of "highschool shenanigans" and while it was nice to see the story take a break from fighting and focus a little more on the characters , I'm pretty sure I would have lost my patience with if it had been longer than that. The Saiyaman arc is actually the only part where I consider Gohan to actually be the MC, not first half of the Buu Saga like some say.