Why Was Gohan Handled So Poorly In The Cell Arc?

[DBZGTKOSDH]

Not characterization that we ever saw. We didn't see him develop a distaste for killing (even in self defense).

Yes, because we barely saw him doing anything until the Cell Games.

[rereboy]

Not characterization that we ever saw. We didn't see him develop a distaste for killing (even in self defense).

Yes, because we barely saw him doing anything until the Cell Games.

He was in almost in every chapter of the "DBZ" portion until the Cell saga...

[DBZGTKOSDH]

Not characterization that we ever saw. We didn't see him develop a distaste for killing (even in self defense).

Yes, because we barely saw him doing anything until the Cell Games.

He was in almost in every chapter of the "DBZ" portion until the Cell saga...

I mean in the Cell arc. ABED said that we didn't saw any development in Gohan from Freeza arc to the Cell Games.

[Duo]

I mean in the Cell arc. ABED said that we didn't saw any development in Gohan from Freeza arc to the Cell Games.

Agreed. The most we really see of him that involves character development is from his future counterpart in The Lone Warrior: Trunks' Story.

Based on the way the arc went, it honestly seems a lot more suitable to have Trunks take center stage at the end, since he's the crux of the entire story in the first place.

[ABED]

I didn't say Gohan got no development. I pointed out that Gohan having a distaste for killing is a trait that was never developed or stated for that matter.

[jjgp1112]

It doesn't matter if Gohan likes to fight or not, he will fight to protect people he loves.

Yes, but he doesn't want to kill if there is no reason to do so by the time of the Cell Games. He killed a soldier from Freeza and didn't care, but he was 5 years old.

In the Cell Games, he was 11, and more mature than before. What he was asked to do wasn't just to fight, it was to kill Cell. Gohan knew that if he had fought, he would eventually get angry and kill Cell for sure. He tried to convince Cell that their fight was pointless, because he would eventually win for sure. So, he tried to avoid fighting and solve it through words, because he didn't like fighting, and didn't want to kill anyone.

That's the biggest difference to me. On Namek and against Nappa, Gohan knew he was outmatched, but he was gonna leave it all on the table, fight for his life and hope something would happen. This time, Gohan knew he could kill Cell if he got angry, so instead he wanted to solve things without violence.

[ABED]

But that's incredibly naïve to think he could solve it with words. Even Gohan was around long enough to know someone as evil as Cell wasn't going to be swayed.

[Michsi]

I don't mind that he is nervous and lacks confidence and the like. That seems in character.

But being afraid of his power? A totally half-assed fight agaisnt Cell mainly made of dodging and not trying to hit back? Just watching his friends and family being killed? Hmmm, doesn't seem right to me

Personally, I never got the impression that he was afraid of his power and he couldn't fight properly because of that. To me it has always been because of what Goku did. In fact, his realization that he isn't that much into fighting might seem sudden because it was a direct reaction to Goku's decision earlierto send him to fight and giving Cell a senzu . He knew his father did what he did because of his love for battle and assumed Gohan would feel the same about a fair fight and have fun, except all it did was make Gohan realize just how much he wasn't like that. Maybe for the first time.

But that's incredibly naïve to think he could solve it with words. Even Gohan was around long enough to know someone as evil as Cell wasn't going to be swayed.

Experience or not, he was still a kid. In any case , to me it seems more like Gohan is trying to warn Cell, rather than try to reason with him. He believed in his father's plan and knew he had the power to defeat him.

[DBZGTKOSDH]

But that's incredibly naïve to think he could solve it with words.

You do realize that Gohan is an 11 year-old kid, right?

[Kid Buu]

And a socially-awkward one.

[ABED]

But that's incredibly naïve to think he could solve it with words.

You do realize that Gohan is an 11 year-old kid, right?

But not a naïve one. He's seen it all when it comes to villainy.

If he was trying to warn Cell, he comes off as very meek.

[RandomGuy96]

But that's incredibly naïve to think he could solve it with words.

You do realize that Gohan is an 11 year-old kid, right?

An 11 year old boy who witnessed a genocide, and whose father probably told him about what happened with Freeza. No, he was an OOC wuss who deserved to get beaten up by Cell.

[thatdbzguy]

Its irrational because Gohan has never become anything other than enraged with his boosts, he has never hurt anyone he didn't want to hurt with his boosts, and he has never done anything that he didn't want to do during his boosts.

So, why he is suddenly afraid? And of what? He has nothing to base his fear on... Even if he looks at the other characters all he can find is examples of people becoming excessively confident or cocky whenever they have a overwhelming power. And why should he be afraid of that when his friends and family are about to get killed?!

That's because Gohan never released his power like he did as a SSJ2 before. Like you said, they were just short boosts that didn't stick around long enough to actually affect his personality other than getting angry.

Looking at other people isn't exactly a good judgment, because they don't have hidden power like Gohan has due to his half-human/half-Saiyan traits. Trunks was the only one he could've made a fair judgment on, but Trunks never released any kind of hidden power like Gohan's, so there goes that.

And he's afraid because, once again, he has no way of knowing what he will become. Since Gohan never went SSJ2 before, for all he knew he could turn into some uncontrollable beast that could end up doing Cell's job for him. The fact that he had nothing to base what he could become after he released his hidden power is what scared him.

I didn't say Gohan got no development. I pointed out that Gohan having a distaste for killing is a trait that was never developed or stated for that matter.

It didn't even need to. It was already established that he didn't care for fighting. No shit he wouldn't like killing.

But that's incredibly naïve to think he could solve it with words. Even Gohan was around long enough to know someone as evil as Cell wasn't going to be swayed.

Like someone else said, I think Gohan was trying to warn Cell more than reason with him. Most of Gohan's speech was dedicated to his hidden power, after all.

[rereboy]

That's because Gohan never released his power like he did as a SSJ2 before. Like you said, they were just short boosts that didn't stick around long enough to actually affect his personality other than getting angry.

Like I said before, he released his full power AT THE TIME. For example, agaisnt Nappa, he released all the power he had at the time. He had more power in the Cell games simply because he became stronger, not because he was able to use more hidden power.

The only difference is that on the Cell games, his boost made him achieve SSJ2, while on the other occasions his boosts didn't actually allowed him to trigger a SSJ transformation. But reaching SSJ2 and using SSJ2 is something different than his hidden power boosts.

And he's afraid because, once again, he has no way of knowing what he will become. Since Gohan never went SSJ2 before, for all he knew he could turn into some uncontrollable beast that could end up doing Cell's job for him. The fact that he had nothing to base what he could become after he released his hidden power is what scared him.

Do you really think that makes sense? Why would he be afraid of something that has no basis in anything that he knows of? Where is he basing his fear? Why is he assuming that he will become anything else than more powerful and enraged like usual? That's just irrational. He has no reason, no basis, for that fear.

[thatdbzguy]

That's because Gohan never released his power like he did as a SSJ2 before. Like you said, they were just short boosts that didn't stick around long enough to actually affect his personality other than getting angry.

Like I said before, he released his full power AT THE TIME. For example, agaisnt Nappa, he released all the power he had at the time. He had more power in the Cell games simply because he became stronger, not because he was able to use more hidden power.

The only difference is that on the Cell games, his boost made him achieve SSJ2, while on the other occasions his boosts didn't actually allowed him to trigger a SSJ transformation. But reaching SSJ2 and using SSJ2 is something different than his hidden power boosts.

And like I said before, that was never established. Gohan could've been using all of his power, or he couldn't have been. We were never given a clear answer. You may be right, I may be wrong, and vice versa. I don't think Toriyama even knows.

Do you really think that makes sense? Why would he be afraid of something that has no basis in anything that he knows of? Where is he basing his fear? Why is he assuming that he will become anything else than more powerful and enraged like usual? That's just irrational. He has no reason, no basis, for that fear.

The fact that he has no basis of what to expect is what scares him. Don't tell me you've never heard of someone having fear from not knowing what to expect of something.

[DBZGTKOSDH]

An 11 year old boy who witnessed a genocide, and whose father probably told him about what happened with Freeza. No, he was an OOC wuss who deserved to get beaten up by Cell.

So, that makes him as smart as an adult, and old enough to take the correct decisions? I don't think so.

[rereboy]

And like I said before, that was never established. Gohan could've been using all of his power, or he couldn't have been. We were never given a clear answer. You may be right, I may be wrong, and vice versa. I don't think Toriyama even knows.

You are the one that is arguing that it was different to justify the changes in Gohan's behavior and attitude. I'm simply arguing that his attitude and behavior in the Cell games is incoherent with what we had previously seen and that the changes and the justifications for those changes appear suddenly out of nowhere, and thus are noticeably more for the sake of the tension and drama than for actual coherence in the character of Gohan.

By saying that it was never established and that it was never clear or explained, you are basically agreeing with what I'm saying, that it appears out of nowhere.

The fact that he has no basis of what to expect is what scares him. Don't tell me you've never heard of someone having fear from not knowing what to expect of something.

He has used his hidden power LOTS OF TIMES. It isn't the first time he has ever used it. You are arguing that he is afraid of using it THIS TIME, when he has used it lots of times before, because, for some unexplained reason, this time it might be different. Why does he think that this time it will be different? Where is he basing it?

[ABED]

It didn't even need to. It was already established that he didn't care for fighting. No shit he wouldn't like killing.

I said that it wasn't an issue of him not enjoying fighting or killing. You don't have to enjoy killing to be able to do so, in fact it's a good sign that you don't. Hell, Goku doesn't enjoy killing, but he does it if it protects himself and people he cares about. If anything, he probably should've killed a few more villains.

So, that makes him as smart as an adult, and old enough to take the correct decisions? I don't think so.

Gohan acts more like an adult than you give him credit for, especially by that point.

I think Gohan was trying to warn Cell more than reason with him. Most of Gohan's speech was dedicated to his hidden power, after all.

Then he's acting very meek and unsure for someone giving a warning.

[DBZGTKOSDH]

Gohan acts more like an adult than you give him credit for, especially by that point.

I'm aware that he is more smart & mature than his age, but he is still not even a teenager. He isn't an adult, he doesn't have the brain of an adult, no matter how you look at it.

[DBZAOTA482]

He has used his hidden power LOTS OF TIMES. It isn't the first time he has ever used it. You are arguing that he is afraid of using it THIS TIME, when he has used it lots of times before, because, for some unexplained reason, this time it might be different. Why does he think that this time it will be different? Where is he basing it?

But his hidden powers were only shown in sort bursts of emotion which is beyond even his control, and he's so much more powerful at the Cell Games than he was on Namek so it's not like anything negative won't come of him using this time.