Goku finding Grandpa Gohan's body

[Kiddo626]

Okay, I apologize in advance for such a morbid topic, but as we all know, Goku knew that his grandpa had died in an Oozaru attack from the very beginning of Dragon Ball. Obviously, the primary way for someone to die from an Oozaru attack would be to have been directly trampled under the Oozaru's foot. My question is how did Goku come to that conclusion without coming across--and later burying/cremating--Gohan's body? And if he did, how could the kid NOT be traumatized by that? I mean, even as a child, Goku's always taken death pretty seriously. So, how could finding the corpse of his bloodied and mutilated adoptive grandfather not have any effect on his psyche whatsoever? That's really been puzzling me for some time now.

[NANLIT]

I'd imagine he did come across his grandfather's corpse and either bury it or cremate it. As to why he wasn't traumatized by it, it was probably because of the 4 star dragon ball. Didn't he, before Bulma explained the dragon balls to him, believe that Gohan's spirit resided in the dragon ball? Since he believed that, it probably helped him cope with it and by the time he learned the truth, he had moved on with Gohan's death so it didn't boher him that his assumption was wrong. Although I do wonder how old Goku was. I'm thinking 7 - 10.

[Piccolo Daimao]

I think Gokuu came across Grandpa Gohan's body in the morning after the full moon and buried/cremated him, but wasn't traumatized by it because he was emotionally underdeveloped and/or his belief that Gohan's spirit was in the 4-star Dragon Ball helped him cope.

[Kiddo626]

Yeah, I see your point, but crushed bodies are such a grisly sight. I mean, bones are flattened, faces are unrecognizable, and blood and insides are all over the place. I have trouble looking at pictures of crushed bodies for a long period of time, and I'm 23. I just have some trouble believing that a more impressionable 7-10 year-old boy could be fine with it, even if it's been years after the fact. I can see Goku not being so traumatized about it if his grandfather had been shot or stabbed or suffered any sort of "cleaner" death, so to speak. But something like this? Sorry, but I just can't see it.

EDIT: Sorry, I didn't see Piccolo Daimao's post.

[Piccolo Daimao]

Maybe Gohan's body had been so damaged within the rampage that he'd been mutilated beyond recognition, so Gokuu could only barely make out that it was his dead grandfather, or just realized that it was a flattened body and assumed that it was Gohan, since he didn't know where he was.

Or the out-of-universe answer: it's Dragon Ball. Toriyama doesn't think too much about things like that.

[Kiddo626]

Maybe Gohan's body had been so damaged within the rampage that he'd been mutilated beyond recognition, so Gokuu could only barely make out that it was his dead grandfather, or just realized that it was a flattened body and assumed that it was Gohan, since he didn't know where he was.

Unless he was naked at the time for some reason, I think Goku could've recognized Gohan's body from the clothes he was wearing. After all, the wilderness doesn't exactly provide room for high-fashion.

Or the out-of-universe answer: it's Dragon Ball. Toriyama doesn't think too much about things like that.

LOL That's usually the de facto answer nowadays, huh?

[Piccolo Daimao]

Maybe Gohan's body had been so damaged within the rampage that he'd been mutilated beyond recognition, so Gokuu could only barely make out that it was his dead grandfather, or just realized that it was a flattened body and assumed that it was Gohan, since he didn't know where he was.

Unless he was naked at the time for some reason, I think Goku could've recognized Gohan's body from the clothes he was wearing. After all, the wilderness doesn't exactly provide room for high-fashion.

Alternatively, perhaps by the time Gokuu had woken up, Gohan's body had already been taken to the afterlife, but his clothes had been left behind...for some reason. Or Gohan was naked at the time for whatever reason, but he had his clothes with him, dropped them and his body was taken to the afterlife, so Gokuu would've only seen Gohan's clothes, but not know where he was, and judging from the destroyed surroundings, assume that Gohan was dead.

Or the out-of-universe answer: it's Dragon Ball. Toriyama doesn't think too much about things like that.

LOL That's usually the de facto answer nowadays, huh?

Sometimes it's the only explanation for things like this.

[matt0044]

If we ever got an official story to answer this, I can imagine Gohan not being instantly killed but being heavily wounded and about to die. Like the sun came up just in time to have Goku revert to normal, meaning he saw the full moon a few hours before sunrise. He'd go to his grandson and be glad that he's okay. He'd wake up Goku to give him his final words before dying, telling the boy that though he might be dead, the Dragon Ball will keep his spirit alive in Goku's memory.

[Kiddo626]

If we ever got an official story to answer this, I can imagine Gohan not being instantly killed but being heavily wounded and about to die. Like the sun came up just in time to have Goku revert to normal, meaning he saw the full moon a few hours before sunrise. He'd go to his grandson and be glad that he's okay. He'd wake up Goku to give him his final words before dying, telling the boy that though he might be dead, the Dragon Ball will keep his spirit alive in Goku's memory.

Hmmm... I guess that could work, if only for dramatic purposes. Still, I would believe that being trampled would equate to an instant kill, especially with something as big and heavy as the Oozaru.

[FNF]

errr wouldn't his body have vanished after going to heaven or w/e?

[Kiddo626]

Then, how would he know that Gohan was dead? I mean, if Goku just woke up one morning and saw that his grandpa was gone, then I think he'd assume that Gohan had just left. Being as innocent as he was, I don't think Goku would immediately assume that his grandfather was dead; it'd probably only be after a LONG time had passed. Even then, I still wouldn't be sure. Regardless, Goku still knew that his grandfather had died from an Oozaru attack, so he probably had to have had some form of recollection in order to come to that conclusion.

[Saiga]

Gohan is superhuman, so it's possible he wouldn't die instantly from an Ozaru attack.

[CaBrPi]

errr wouldn't his body have vanished after going to heaven or w/e?

Piccolo says that Goku disappearing was Kami's doing.

Kami disappearing could either be due to his rank or his relationship with Piccolo.

So no.

[matt0044]

Plus, Goku knew that Grandpa Gohan died because he himself looked at the full moon when he shouldn't have. I suppose he got over the grief over time but that's still a pretty big weight to carry even if you're not a kid...

[dbgtFO]

Plus, Goku knew that Grandpa Gohan died because he himself looked at the full moon when he shouldn't have. I suppose he got over the grief over time but that's still a pretty big weight to carry even if you're not a kid...

Goku didn't know, he was the cause of Grandpa Gohan's death until he was an adult.

[matt0044]

Plus, Goku knew that Grandpa Gohan died because he himself looked at the full moon when he shouldn't have. I suppose he got over the grief over time but that's still a pretty big weight to carry even if you're not a kid...

Goku didn't know, he was the cause of Grandpa Gohan's death until he was an adult.

He knew he shouldn't look at the moon or the monster would come. Because he saw the moon, the monster came and killed Gohan. He may've felt somewhat responsible. Learning that he was the monster was just a bigger shock.

[Fox666]

Goku knew he shouldn't stay out-side because a monster would appear, not that looking at the moon would make the monster appear.

[dbgtFO]

@matt
I thought Goku wasn't given any reason for not looking at the full Moon?
What does he say in your manga volume and which translation is it?

[TheDevilsCorpse]

Q: Since Goku at first had never seen any humans beside his grandpa Son Gohan, how'd he find out his grandpa was killed by the monster (which was actually Goku himself)?
A: That's because Goku's grandpa had often told him about the monster, so when he found the house all smashed up and his grandpa dead, he figured it must have been the monster.

This interview, finally translated over at Kanzentai, answers a couple questions about this specific topic, though not all of them. Apparently Gohan had indeed lived through at least one previous Oozaru episode, and Goku did find his grandpa's corpse after the rampage that killed him.

[FindKenshi]

We don't need any interview to explain that, it's right in the manga!

Well, Goku said his Grandpa' told him the story about the monster that comes out in the full moon, so we can surmise that Goku became Oozaru and Gohan survived it at least once, and then made up that story to keep Goku away from the full moon.

But Goku is a mischevious child, and saw the moon again, anyway--and this time Gohan didn't fare so well.

As for Goku finding his body, he says such in the story, while they're locked up in Pilaf's dungeon

Goku: My grandpa' says that a monster comes out when the moon is full
Bulma: *you must be kidding, etc.*
Goku: No, it's true! My grandpa got squashed by its foot, and dies
Yamcha: What!? Son Gohan, the great martial artist was killed by it? That must be some monster!
Goku: Yeaah! It destroyed our house, the trees, everything!
Oolong: What!? What kind of monster was it?
Goku: Dunno. I was asleep.
Oolong: Your house was destroyed and you slept through that? What kind'a kid are you?
Goku: Grandpa always used to tell me "dont' ever look at the moon when it's full." But I don't think me looking at it has anything to do with it.
Goku: Wonder if monsters come out at the full moon here, too.
*everyone is backed up in the corner away from Goku*
Goku: Huh? What's the matter with you guys?

So, Goku woke up the next morning to find everything all wrecked, and his grandpa's crushed body.

As for why he wasn't traumatized--he was. It's not normal for a little kid to cling to an inanimate object like that four-star Dragon Ball. It was the last thing of his Grandpa he had left, so he basically kept care of it and even believed his Grandpa was still watching over him through that ball.

And when he finally put two and two together during the Vegeta fight, he was pretty shaken up. But he was in a life-or-death crisis at the time, so it's not any time to start being all melancholy. Though I remember him saying "Oh grandpa, I'm sorry.." about it.