Why was Adult Gohan drawn differently from Future Gohan?

[SSJGoku93]

This is something I never quite understood. When you compare Gohan from the Buu Arc. with Future Gohan from both Trunks' flashback and in The History of Trunks, there are noticeable differences in their physical appearances. Most notably, at least to me, is Future Gohan seems bigger, as in more buff and taller; whereas Gohan seems more slender and less muscular. Second, their faces appear a bit different, Future Gohan's seems wider and looks a whole lot more like Goku's; whereas Gohan's is longer and doesn't look as much like Goku. Now of course I could mention their hair, but one could argue Toriyama just wanted to change it up, or from an in-universe perspective, he cut it differently.

So, what I'm getting at is, why do Future Gohan and "Adult" Gohan differ physically? Was it because Toriyama wanted to change it up, or did he simply forget about his previous adult Gohan designs?

[Herms]

I think it's probably just due to Toriyama's art style changing between the time he drew the two. Or from an in-universe perspective, the two had very different lives, so it's not so strange that they'd end up looking a little different beyond the obvious stuff like scars and number of arms.

[Fox666]

I agree, most of it is because of the style of art.

But besides that the future Gohan seen is 7 years older than the one in the Boo saga, their life style is different. Gohan in the present is a teenager, while the future one is part of resistence.

[falle]

First of all, the "Future" Gohan was older than the Gohan we saw during Boo-arc.

Secondly, when Gohan finished off Cell, there was peace up until Babidi showed up. His father died and his mother wanted for him to become a scientist, so instead of training with this father, he turned to the books, which was the initial plan for him.
With this in mind and looking at the alternate timeline, all the heroes died and Gohan was the only one left, so he had to continue his training to fight the cyborgs of the future. That would be the answer to why looked more muscular than the Boo-arc Gohan. That and the age difference

[TheDevilsCorpse]

First of all, the "Future" Gohan was older than the Gohan we saw during Boo-arc.

Secondly, when Gohan finished off Cell, there was peace up until Babidi showed up. His father died and his mother wanted for him to become a scientist, so instead of training with this father, he turned to the books, which was the initial plan for him.
With this in mind and looking at the alternate timeline, all the heroes died and Gohan was the only one left, so he had to continue his training to fight the cyborgs of the future. That would be the answer to why looked more muscular than the Boo-arc Gohan. That and the age difference

The age difference really doesn't matter though. Even after the 10 year skip to Uub, the only thing about Gohan that changed from his teenage self was him gaining glasses and losing his bang. For an in-universe answer, all the changes probably need to be attributed just to the different lifestyles they had.

[Ahiru77]

I guess Toriyama deliberitly wanted to show the difference due to the character's circumstances.

[Piccolo Daimao]

Boo arc Gohan was a 16-year-old nervous high-school student who'd grown up in peace for 7 years.

Future Gohan was a 23-year-old first and foremost warrior who'd grown up in an apocalyptic world where he constantly trained and fought city-destroying Androids and, as a result, gained scars and lost an arm.

It's not a surprise that they'd look so much different.

[Savage68]

I don't see how living a drastically different lifestyle is supposed to account for a discrepancy in facial structure. One thing has absolutely nothing to do with the other.

[Piccolo Daimao]

I don't see how living a drastically different lifestyle is supposed to account for a discrepancy in facial structure. One thing has absolutely nothing to do with the other.

Their different character designs was to emphasize the differences in their circumstances. One grows up as nervous high-school nerd; the other last hero of Earth fighting Androids who's made his life a living hell. That's why Future Gohan doesn't look as much of a wimp as Boo arc Gohan (which is what you hear Boo arc Gohan-haters always saying, "future gohans way more badass than gay adult gohan dint train lol")

[VegettoEX]

I don't see how living a drastically different lifestyle is supposed to account for a discrepancy in facial structure.

Maybe Future Gohan got punched a crapton more in the face over those many years of difference...?

[SSJGoku93]

I can definitely understand the in-universe physical differences, as Future Gohan was older and trained all the time (thus buffer etc.). But I was simply wondering if Toriyama had forgotten about his designs for Future Gohan, or if it was just the change in his art style. To me, Future Gohan looks a heck of a lot more like Goku, and in some retrospects looks like he could be a different person all together. Personally, I would of loved to see the Future Gohan design (or similar) in the Buu Arc, despite the fact that Gohan was only 16 (17 physically).

[CODii]

I doubt we'll ever get a firm answer, but when you consider how forgetful Toriyama is, I wouldn't be surprised if he simply forgot. As for an in universe answer it makes total sense to me that they would look different. They are after all two very different people.

[Kingdom Heartless]

He would definitely look a lot different. Not only would his face be more hardened from stress and such, it's also likely he wouldn't have been able to eat as well, which can also affect physical appearance.

[Justusf]

Probably just changed as the series developed...
---

His more bulky body could be explained by his continued (underground) training whilst the androids were destroying the earth. The amount of CONSISTENT physical training Gohan obviously goes through during Trunk's future is not taken into account in "real time," only during his training in the hyperbolic time chamber which is a relatively short stint.

Vegeta comments on Gohan's "laziness" during "these peaceful times" more than once, even saying that Gohan "has gotten weaker."


This is all assuming power level doesn't equal rock-solid physique.

[MCDaveG]

Maybe because it's alternate universe? These questions are really weird, because other then pulling up something from my nose, there is nothing like official info on this.....

I should explain it then: Gohan is different then in alternate future, because he participated in TV show to underwent plastic surgery, so he got this slick and smooth skin with that cool spike of hair hanging down his forehead.

[TheGreatness25]

The adult Gohan that we see in Future Trunks's timeline is a lot older than the Gohan we see in Z. The Boo arc is seven years after the Artificial Human arc, while the Gohan we saw in Future Trunks's timeline is twenty years after. Plus, he looks pretty much the same, just different hair, and a scar. The scar is obviously from years of fighting. As for the Gohan that appears LATER after the Boo arc, he has settled down and is at peace (plus the shadowed eyes come from the elder Kaioshin power-up), so he would obviously have a totally different demeanor than the Gohan that has been fighting for seventeen years.

[Godo]

Future Gohan has around 5% in body fat, whilst Present (yet somewhat future too, although somewhat less than Future Gohan) Gohan has around 10% of body fat. This is the reason why their facial structures differ. And that's why Future Gohan seems more muscular (better definition).
Future Gohan got his scars from shaving. Being angry and a Super Saiya-jin, he accidentally cut himself. Present Gohan hadn't got beard growth yet, so he didn't have to shave and get scars. And he was much less angry, and avoided becoming a SSJ.
Present Gohan didn't do any risky training or activities, so he kept his arm. Future Gohan went on a ride on his Harley, with Van Halen on the maximum volume, and didn't see the truck on the other side of the road. So he crashed and the doctors couldn't save his arm.

[Kingdom Heartless]

The adult Gohan that we see in Future Trunks's timeline is a lot older than the Gohan we see in Z. The Boo arc is seven years after the Artificial Human arc, while the Gohan we saw in Future Trunks's timeline is twenty years after.

Isn't it fourteen years later?

[TheGreatness25]

Oh right, it may be fourteen years later (I was thinking of 17 year old Trunks, my bad). But still... a seven year difference is nothing to take lightly. Plus, Gohan's been fighting that entire time, constantly, non-stop. So it would be logical for him to be bigger and have a different demeanor. Teenage Gohan was pretty much peaceful and didn't do much after the Cell Games. Even though this could very well be an instance of Toriyama being inconsistent, I honestly don't see this as a mistake that can't be explained.

[Travis Touchdown]

I'd just chalk it up to changes in art design. Gohan's face is obviously different from Future Gohan because when Gohan got his "mystic" powers, his face took on the properties of his Super Saiyan appearance (closed lines around the eyes, bigger pupils, angry eyebrows, etc.)

But as for the physique, art style changes. Look at Trunks & Future Trunks. Toriyama drew Future Trunks in his 20s as having a very manly jawline, but years later the Trunks in his 20s that he drew for GT & DBO lacks this jawline. (And no, I'm saying this now cuz I know it's coming; I refuse to believe Toriyama purposely left it out because of some obscure hidden message to fans not to take either as canon. Those theories are ridiculous.)