Dragonball Z and the Hero Monomyth (Joseph Campbell)

[Aoi]

I have been interested in Joseph Campbell's "Hero with a thousand faces" book as of late. He argues that most "Hero" myths/stories exist as a metaphor for growing up. A coming of age story, including the protagonists's inevitable loss on innocence usually being a main topic.

Lately, many fan websites have dedicated their time in associating their shows/movies to the monomyth structure of story telling. (Star wars, LOTR, Matrix to include some contemporary examples).
I was fascinated by these articles, in how each protagonists story is an author's attempt at creating a metaphor for life .

I wonder how we can associate this with DB. In my view, Akira Toriyama clearly had this intention with Gohan more than Goku (at least after Gohan's introduction).
The first 3 major arcs of Gohan's story detail and conclude this story perfectly, coming full circle at the end of the Cell Arc.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monomyth

Monomyth Stages and Gohan:
Call to Adventure: "The hero's journey begins when the hero becomes aware of the world outside his home or town where he/she has lived for his entire life. His journey is usually given to him by a herald who helps the hero by acting as a guide."
--- Piccolo is the "herald/mentor" (like Gandalf, Obi Wan). Gohan's story at the start of "Z" follows this exactly.

Refusal of the Call: "The hero may actually refuse the initial call to adventure, usually from their fear of change."
--- At first, after hearing of his father's death, Gohan wants nothing to do with Piccolo. In the anime, they emphasize this further by having Gohan almost return home before realizing that he should go and fulfill his duties.

Supernatural Aid: "As the hero travels on his journey, he may meet with an old man, a god/goddess or a messenger who gives the hero a weapon or some magical powers."
--- For the English viewers, this could be his encounter with Guru. (unlocking his potential)

Crossing the First Threshold: "This "threshold" the hero must cross is what separates the hero from the comforts of his home to the adventurous new world filled with mystery and danger. Sometimes the threshold is guarded by a gatekeeper whom the hero must defeat."
--- First time: This one is easy and clearly pointed out by Piccolo when he first brings Gohan to the wild, even when he first leaves Gohan on his own for the first time.
--- Second time: This would be Gohan's arrival to Namek. "new world filled with mystery and danger". . The gate keepers would be Freeza's 2 henchmen who blow up Kami's ship.

"Belly of the Whale: As the hero crosses the threshold, he finds himself alone in the darkness of new world. In the darkness, the hero may find his purpose to go on the journey and can emerge from the "belly of the whale" as a new person."
--- This one is hard to pin point. Not all stories include all of the "stages" of a monomyth. But I guess this would be expressed with the anime's depiction of Gohan's loneliness after Piccolo leaves him in the wild. He does change profoundly as a character, especially after his interaction with the orphans. (though this can arguably be ignored)




.....continued

[Aoi]

......part 2
"Road of Trials: In the new world, the hero must confront a series of challenges and tests to help the hero improve his character and skills to become more self-reliant."
--- basically the point of any hero myth. Gohan goes through many challenges.

"Meeting with the Goddess: During the Road of Trials, the hero may encounter the goddess of the new world, who could be viewed as a beautiful, motherly figure or as a queen. The goddess can bring complete fullness to the hero's character, helping him realize what awards await him when he finishes his quest."
--- Um, can't think of anything in the show having to do with this.

"Woman as the Temptress/Temptation from the True Path: Women in a hero's journey can sometimes be represented as a temptress, rather than a goddess, and also acts as another step in the Road of Trials. The hero must overcome his selfish desires to return to the rightful path and also build his character."
--- Gohan being selfish? Hmm. I can only think of Goku in Snake Way (anime only). But Gohan rarely faces any form of temptation as far as I know.

"Atonement with the Father: Eventually in his journey, the hero may encounter a fatherly figure with much authority. The father figure (like the goddess) can be portrayed as a man who feels threatened by the hero or as a man who helps the hero in his journey. Either way, the hero must reconcile with the father to understand him and himself."
--- I think this is a good description of Gohan and Piccolo's initial relationship. Piccolo fears that Gohan will become a potential rival in the future, but reluctantly accepts to train him............both reconcile their differences (or Piccolo's differences) during the whole Saiyan invasion.

"Apotheosis: A hero's apotheosis is achieved when he comes to a realization about the purpose of life and himself. With an expanded consciousness, he views the world in an entirely different way than when he first started his journey. Usually, the hero at this point becomes a selfless person who always cares for others before himself."
--- I think Gohan achieves his apotheosis during the SSJ2 transformation, or really, his conversation with Android 16. This, in my opinion is the culmination of Gohan's character. He goes from an innocent child, goes through the harshness of life, loses some of his innocence seeing his friends, Piccolo, and later the Namekians be killed off by Freeza. As in every hero story, the protagonist notices that the world isn't as friendly as he had once imagined. In the 3rd arc, Gohan becomes the focus near the end, as he now must venture inwards and face his fear of becoming part of this world's destructive cycle. He finds his place in life, through his compassion and love of his friends, that there is value in fighting in order to protect his family/friends.

"The Ultimate Boon: With the new knowledge the hero acquired in his apotheosis, he now wishes to share it with the rest of mankind."
--- I guess we can include the Dragonball online sub plot about Gohan publishing a book on ki . But there is no mention of this in the manga. Gohan just goes on with his life after saving the earth.
---


I think Gohan's story is fairly basic up until the end of the Freeza arc. This is the one where he really does see the nature of the universe after witnessing how cruel and brutal Freeza's empire can be. Gohan's burial of the namekians is probably his most defining moment up until this point. Gohan is torn appart by the Ginyu Force (Well , vs. Recoome) , which is also a common theme in the hero's myth. The scarring of the hero. Where the hero thinks that he can take on the world.

The best writing in Dragonball, IMO, comes during the Cell Arc. Gohan resents his mother throughout the TV show because he resents himself for being the way he was before Piccolo found him. He blames himself for Piccolo's death because he wasn't ready enough. He keeps this trait during the training with Goku. He doesn't want to be taken lightly and eventually becomes a Super Saiyan. For some reason, the horror of Cell overwhelms him. He feels like he can't really face up to this reality, face up to his family and friends being killed and just wants everything to just stop and go away.

Of course, he finally realizes that this type of evil does exist on earth, and finally takes it upon himself to fight Cell. Though it's Goku's death that finally does it as he takes full responsibility for his father's death. After this Gohan finally comes full circle to replace Goku as the savior of the earth.

[Aoi]

PART 3
(oops forgot part 3)
--
Most of the categories are more about the journey story (lord of the rings). So leaving home for a long time. Gohan never really goes through this as much as the stages suggest. But these are the only 2 stages i found to be relevant.

"Master of Two Worlds: Once the hero crosses the threshold, he comes to realize that there really is nothing separating his home from the new world. He now understands the differences and the balance between the comfortable safety of his home and the new world. With this understanding, he has also balanced his character and mind."
--- I guess the "threshold" seperates Gohan from his comfty house with his mother, and his battles with Aliens/Androids. Gohan seems to go through this more in the Buu saga. It seems like Gohan has the fighting part "down", but is socially inept. He eventually, through meeting with Videl and Old Kai's power up, gains the confidence to tackle any situation, whether foreign or "domestic" (his school life)
***always felt this wasn't studied as much as it should have by Akira Toriyama. He seems to suddenly forget Gohan's story altogether in order to focus on Goku and Vegeta's stories.

"Freedom to Live: Now with the journey complete, the hero has reached an understanding with himself and can now live freely between his home and the new world. With his newfound knowledge, he can now be beneficial to the world."
--- Gohan at the end of the manga.

I'd love to have something like but instead using Goku as the protagonist. I find his subtle transformation throughout the series is as unique as Gohan's.

[Big Momma]

Wow...this is really interesting! Good research!

[Aoi]

Thank you But really it's Joe Campbell's work , and I put a + b together based on what he already gave us.

But I find it fascinating that using his work, we can see what Akira Toriyama's stance on many issues was when writing the manga. (through the evolution of the protagonist). I find Goku's journey from innocence to be another big indication of what Akira Toriyama must have gone through in his experiences.

[Anonymous Friend]

For Supernatural Aid, Guru may have awakened some latent potential but Piccolo is the one who formed his abilities.

And the Temptress/Temptation could be his desire to return to his mother and home. But he decides to go back to his training at the last moment.

[Vision]

I also am a big fan of Campbell's work, as it is probably my favorite book of all time. And while I agree with many of your points, I would just like to add my 2 cents.
In terms of Gohan, since he is such an expansive character, we should look at each saga individually, because each is a series of birth/death/rebirth cycles concerning each characters personalities, which is what the hero's journey is all about.

The supernatural aid in the Saiyan saga for Gohan is his bloodline giving him incredible powers. It doesn't necessarily need to be a physical deity that guides the character, just some type of help from an outside force. Gohan's awakened power, IE when piccolo launches him at that large rock, is a type of supernatural aid.

The thresholds could be multiple instances, Gohan in the wilderness, Gohan when he actually receives training from Piccolo, Gohan facing Vegeta.

Also, the whole "Meeting with the Goddess" phase is the hero's recognition of what the character desires or strives for, or what the character thinks he needs in order to become complete. In the case of Gohan, it would be to make Goku, or Piccolo proud, as far as I can tell. Gohan is always concerned about his dad, and becomes enraged after his dad is hurt by Vegeta. He also wants to live up to Piccolo's training, especially after Piccolo is killed.

The Atonement with the father phase is a way of coming to terms with the enemy, which in the human subconscious mind is represented by the father according to Freud/Campbell. Like you said, Gohan survives Piccolo's training, and in that way "defeats" his enemy, which was the grueling training Piccolo set before him. Because of his accomplishment, the hero is entitled to a type of realization, or boon, which is his reward for his struggles. This is Gohan's eventual bravery that he develops while facing the Saiyans. He thereby shares his boon with the rest of mankind by helping to prevent their destruction, alongside his father figures Goku and Piccolo, who embody the type of strength he strives for.

Anyway, those were just my thoughts regarding Gohan and the Hero's journey. Take em for whatever they may be worth.

[Aoi]

thank you so much for posting this. I completely misinterpreted Campbell's work in more than a few of the stages.
I really enjoyed reading that.
What do you think Gohan's SSJ2 transformation means in the grand scheme of things?

[MCDaveG]

George Lucas was using this book for character of Luke Skywalker.

[Vision]

I think SSJ2 is the rebirth cycle that Gohan (the hero) goes through at the end of the Cell Saga, and SSj2 is his boon that he brings to humanity. He faces the trials of training in the hyperbolic time chamber, watching android 16 get killed, and through those specific trials he is able to save humanity. He is essentially enlightened into the "last minute power up/save the world move" that Goku has been privileged too so many times in the past, in turn surpassing his father and becoming a powerful force on his own.

He becomes androgynous, which is another chapter in Campbells book, because he combines his compassion (femininity) with a desire to surpass his farther (IE beat cell, save the planet). It is his compassion, and feelings of sympathy that allow him to get so ridiculously pissed after 16 dies, that make him go J2, and therefore combines both the father and mother figure to receive the boon.

Again, just my speculation.

[Aoi]

I was wondering what you thought about Gohan's story during the Buu arc. It seems to me that the story is oddly rushed at certain points, as if Akira Toriyama decided half way through to scrap Gohan's story entirely in order to focus on Goku and Vegeta.
I always thought that "unlocking Gohan's powers" again was the laziest writing Mr. Toriyama ever did. But in the scheme of things, how do you think Gohan's return from grace (going from awkward teenager to confident warrior) associates with the monomyth?

[Vision]

Well if you analyze the show according to sagas, then Gohan essentially starts out as a weak college student who has lost sight of the "saving the universe" goal in exchange for short time popularity. Gohan has essentially returned to the world which we found him in at the beginning of DBZ, that of the scholar, and therefore mundane. He receives his calling once Videl gets the shit kicked out of her, and goes after Bibidi in order to stop Buu. He receives his other worldly guidance in the form of the Kai's help and training, receiving the ultimate boon which is his mystic form. I don't think Gohan was as central to the story as he was in the Cell saga, therefore I feel Toriyama used him as a secondary hero and re-focused on Goku and Vegeta, which is what the saga is REALLY about imo. The whole Buu disaster was just a setting against which Goku and Vegeta could finally make their peace.