I understand that Gohan was
super badass during the Cell Games (at that moment in particular, as a Super Saiyan 2, he's bar none among my favorite DB characters):
[spoiler]
[/spoiler]
However, I don't understand where the expectation that he would continue to have relevancy after all this time (which then causes the immense backlash, outcry, and disappointment of these expectations being unmet) comes from. I
really don't.
We get the first glimpse of Gohan's hidden potential in Chapter 202, which premiered on November 22nd, 1988. Chapter 500, which premiered on December 20th, 1994, essentially marks the last time that Gohan is fighting as
the hero,
the strongest guy,
the one to root for. By the end of the chapter, Goku's back to life and about to return to Earth.
Unless I'm remembering incorrectly, this marks the beginning of the end for Gohan as a relevant powerhouse. After this, it's all about Goku again.
Goku's the big main hero at the end of the arc, and the epilogue focuses on what
Goku's doing. Then Dragon Ball GT happens, and runs for roughly two years, and it's once again, pretty much all about
Goku, with Gohan really not amounting to much. Series takes a hiatus for roughly 15 years, and we get a new film, in which Goku is the focus, and Gohan once again doesn't amount to much. Then Revival of F, and now Super. All the same story.
Gohan had 6 real years of relevancy, in the eyes of the creators of Dragon Ball's stories. That can look bad or worse for Gohan, depending on how you want to look at it. You can look at it from the perspective of how long the stories have been being made. The manga ran for roughly 10.5 years, and Gohan was relevant for over half of that. By the end of it, Goku was back at the forefront, and Toei maintained that last-minute-corrected status quo for GT (canon debates not withstanding). Now we have 6 out of 12.5 years for Gohan. Down to under half. Once the franchise gets its revival (could be seen as early as 2008, but I'll look at it as 2013 to be generous), we now have 3 more years of non-relevancy on Gohan's part. 6 out of 15.5 years. That's 40%, if I'm being generous.
Now, if we want to look at things at their worst for Gohan, we can factor in the hiatus as well, since Toriyama set the stage for Gohan's treatment
before the hiatus began. If we factor that in, then Gohan was only relevant for 6 out of roughly 30 years of the franchise's life. That's 20%. 1/5.
This character, while a fan favorite, was only relevant in the eyes of those creating the stories, for only 20-40% its life. This relevance ended prior to Toriyama's personal hiatus, continued for Toei's brief stint during it, and has only continued
still after it. Where does the expectation then come from (that which is so high as to elicit immense disappointment) that this would
change? Is it extreme wishful thinking that Toriyama would subvert one of the most obvious and given expectations imaginable? I feel like expecting Toriyama to write Gohan as a relevant character is like expecting him overhaul the series into a romance story, and draw it all himself.
