Best Version of Gohan?

[BootyCheeksJohnson]

Gohan is a character that a lot of fans are quite conflicted about when it comes to his portrayal across the series, and there's a lot of back and forth on how he SHOULD be handled. We're putting hypotheticals aside for this conversation. I want to know which portrayal of Gohan across each anime and manga is your favorite.
Personally my favorite take on Gohan is his portrayal in the Super Hero film (specifically the first 2/3's of the movie before they rehash the Cell Games transformation scene) where he's just a dorky dad who wants to study bugs and enjoy life with his friends and family. I think that's where he's shown the most personality and was able to best stand out from Goku.

[Cure Dragon 255]

Cant go wrong with the origina Z run. It did a lot of Good for him. He's barely a character in the Manga. And people need to accept Toriyama can do wrong stuff and NOT EVERY SINGLE MANGA thing is always better than the anime.

[Vhanos]

His best version was against Cell in SS2 form as a teen, and movie 9 when he fought Bojack and his crew.

Mystic Gohan had unrealized potential. And when I say that, I don't mean the power he had to unlock with the elder kai.

[Caulifor]

I love Super Hero Gohan (minus the Beast transformation and design), though I do wish they had taken a page from Dragon Ball Online and made him study ki instead of bugs. Him applying his scientific mind to martial arts seems like the natural path for the character, the perfect blend of his two realities, and even could've given us an actual explanation for his new form. It was a missed opportunity, if you ask me.

But I can't deny his base design isn't just perfect. That messy hair, the glasses... that's the perfect adult Gohan in my opinion. A HUGE step up from his RoF design, a lot better than the Ultimate design they kept going back to in the anime, and also much more charismatic than EoZ and GT Gohan.

[PowerPhantom245]

This is an interesting topic.
I like Gohan from Saiyan to Cell arc the most.
If I really have to be more specific, it would probably Frieza arc.
Coming off from battle with Vegeta, Gohan went on journey with planet far away, with only 2 ally (Krillin and Bulma), facing a threat far bigger and dangerous, where Gohan had significant amount of character development that time.
Gohan was pretty much the main character in that arc and stood out the most.
I even like his haircut for this arc, despite made fun of by Krillin and audience/viewer at the time.

[AliTheZombie13]

I have a fondness for High School Gohan, reminds me of Sailor Moon.

[BootyCheeksJohnson]

His best version was against Cell in SS2 form as a teen, and movie 9 when he fought Bojack and his crew.

Mystic Gohan had unrealized potential. And when I say that, I don't mean the power he had to unlock with the elder kai.

He was 9 during the Cell Games in the manga and Japanese version of the anime. I think the "teen Gohan" monicker comes from the video games. They needed something to differentiate his appearance from the Cell Games with the earlier arcs. Although I guess being 9 years old and being ripped probably adds to the confusion.

[Dragon Ball Ireland]

I think Super Hero found that sweet spot. You get the dedicated husband/father/scholar Gohan but when he's needed he will fight to protect his family too.

[90sDBZ]

His best version was against Cell in SS2 form as a teen, and movie 9 when he fought Bojack and his crew.

Mystic Gohan had unrealized potential. And when I say that, I don't mean the power he had to unlock with the elder kai.

He was 9 during the Cell Games in the manga and Japanese version of the anime. I think the "teen Gohan" monicker comes from the video games. They needed something to differentiate his appearance from the Cell Games with the earlier arcs. Although I guess being 9 years old and being ripped probably adds to the confusion.

Wasn't he actually 11 though?

He was 4 and a half when Raditz arrived, 5 and a half vs Nappa/Vegeta, 7 by the time Mecha Frieza showed up, 10 when the Androids appear, and then 11 after spending a year in the Time Chamber.

I think he has a lot of great moments throughout the series. His stand against Vegeta while Goku gives Krillin the Spirit Bomb was awesome, as was his beatdown of Frieza. SS2 and Mystic are both awesome when he first achieves them.

[SupremeKai25]

Super's Gohan. He finally became what he always wanted to be, a scholar studying the natural life. That is Gohan's calling, what he always wanted to be. He has a loving wife, a healthy and strong child, and a luxurious mansion. What more could any man ask for? He's living the dream life.

Yet, when his loved ones are under threat, he doesn't hetitate to get into the fight, as shown in the ToP, Moro arc, and Super Hero movie.

The worst version of Gohan has got to be the Cell saga. Unbearably edgy and emo just for the sake of the "cool" factor.

Cell saga Gohan is Not My Gohan.

[MasenkoHA]

His best version was against Cell in SS2 form as a teen, and movie 9 when he fought Bojack and his crew.

Mystic Gohan had unrealized potential. And when I say that, I don't mean the power he had to unlock with the elder kai.

He was 9 during the Cell Games in the manga and Japanese version of the anime. I think the "teen Gohan" monicker comes from the video games. They needed something to differentiate his appearance from the Cell Games with the earlier arcs. Although I guess being 9 years old and being ripped probably adds to the confusion.

Wasn't he actually 11 though?

He was 4 and a half when Raditz arrived, 5 and a half vs Nappa/Vegeta, 7 by the time Mecha Frieza showed up, 10 when the Androids appear, and then 11 after spending a year in the Time Chamber.

I think he has a lot of great moments throughout the series. His stand against Vegeta while Goku gives Krillin the Spirit Bomb was awesome, as was his beatdown of Frieza. SS2 and Mystic are both awesome when he first achieves them.

The "and half" was dub only but yes.

Even in the Japanese version of the birthday episode Chi Chi said something about Gohan turning 11 in the Room of Spirit and Time.

The beginning of the Buu saga states Gohan is 16, where the "he was 9 in the Cell Saga" comes from but he was probably 16 turning 17 since he should have been 10 in the Cell Saga, not counting the RoSaT.

Or Toriyama didn't bother with the math. Either/or.


But going back to BootyCheeksJohnson point Teen Gohan will always be a stupid moniker for Cell Games Gohan because be it 9,10, or 11 he's not a teenager. And younger than Goku at the point fans call him "Kid" Goku

[Majin Buu]

Not Future Gohan. That's the most boring version of him for me, and mainly because he isn't very Gohan-like. He's just a generic "badass".

Other than that, I concur with SuperHero Gohan. That more than any other version feels like Gohan having reached his "final form" as a person. That's Gohan living his best life.

[TheGreatness25]

I like Gohan a lot. I appreciate that he just wants to have a normal life. He's criticized for not wanting to be a fighter, which is crazy to me. Yes, it sucks that they keep making him weaker then stronger then weaker then stronger, but I appreciate his priorities.

I thought he was the coolest when he came back to fight Boo.

[90sDBZ]

As far as Super goes, I actually mostly liked how Gohan was handled.

The episodes with him training with Piccolo, and his performance in the ToP were very satisfying. The only thing I'd change is to make it more clear he'd been training offscreen the whole time, rather than implying he got stronger overnight.

Super Hero was kind of weird in how it handled him though. It strongly implies he's slacked off yet again, after all the development he went through in Super. Then he just gets given the Beast form anyway, which feels unearned. It's like the movie wants to simultaneously piss off Gohan fans, while at the same time giving them what they want.

[Skar]

I think GT Gohan was the most consistent adult Gohan. He became a scholar and stopped training but helped out when he could. I recall in an interview for GT they said there was an episode planned to have Gohan train again. I'm not sure if it was cut for time or they decided against it since it was already done in the Buu saga.

In Super, he went through the same development a few times depending on the continuity. The manga implied he didn't train again until the ToP and occasionally trained after that. The anime had him train after RoF but I remember a scene in the Future Trunks arc with Piccolo saying Gohan no longer trains so those earlier scenes might not have counted. We know Toriyama originally didn't plan for Gohan to appear in Super Hero. I think that was more of a last hurray for Gohan and he'll most likely slack off again by EoZ which would end up being the same as GT Gohan.

[AliTheZombie13]

I think GT Gohan was the most consistent adult Gohan. He became a scholar and stopped training but helped out when he could. I recall in an interview for GT they said there was an episode planned to have Gohan train again. I'm not sure if it was cut for time or they decided against it since it was already done in the Buu saga.

There was indeed an interview about that, yes. They said they'd have Videl get hurt and then Gohan get angry. I'm not sure whether I should be frustrated or relieved, since I'm very against my girl Videl being used as a damsel and can probably predict they would have Gohan get beaten the shit out of, before Goku arrives to save the day.

[tonysoprano300]

I think GT Gohan was the most consistent adult Gohan. He became a scholar and stopped training but helped out when he could. I recall in an interview for GT they said there was an episode planned to have Gohan train again. I'm not sure if it was cut for time or they decided against it since it was already done in the Buu saga.

There was indeed an interview about that, yes. They said they'd have Videl get hurt and then Gohan get angry. I'm not sure whether I should be frustrated or relieved, since I'm very against my girl Videl being used as a damsel and can probably predict they would have Gohan get beaten the shit out of, before Goku arrives to save the day.

Ah, so that must be where the fanfic writers for Gohan got their inspiration

[tonysoprano300]

I would say in general its probably Gohan in both the saiyan and namek arcs.

Gohans characterization in general is odd, I don’t even think the whole thing about him being an extreme pacifist who absolutely hates the idea of battle was even that prominent of a character trait prior to his fight against Cell. He started out being a scared toddler who developed into a fearsome warrior by the end of the Saiyan Saga alone, there were certain creative choices that implied Gohan loved Piccolo, and wanted to follow in his footsteps. Mainly His willingness to lash out against Chi Chi, the decision to change into Piccolo’s Gi instead of the more nerdy outfit Chi Chi picked.

Gohan on namek had zero qualms about throwing down if need be, he used every fibre of his being to battle Recoome until the final second even when he knew he couldn’t win, he killed those 2 henchmen as soon as he arrived on Namek without any hesitation, he fought fearlessly against Freeza, was about to fight Vegeta outside of Gurus home etc.

The idea he was such an extreme pacifist to the point where he thought diplomacy with Cell was an option and that he would just give up without a fight if Goku wasn’t there to coach him definitely felt somewhat like a character regression for me. He was acting more like he was in the beginning of the saiyan arc(prior to the death of Piccolo).

[nineko]

11 he's not a teenager.

I know, I know, I'm just kidding, but I just couldn't resist

[BootyCheeksJohnson]

I would say in general its probably Gohan in both the saiyan and namek arcs.

Gohans characterization in general is odd, I don’t even think the whole thing about him being an extreme pacifist who absolutely hates the idea of battle was even that prominent of a character trait prior to his fight against Cell. He started out being a scared toddler who developed into a fearsome warrior by the end of the Saiyan Saga alone, there were certain creative choices that implied Gohan loved Piccolo, and wanted to follow in his footsteps. Mainly His willingness to lash out against Chi Chi, the decision to change into Piccolo’s Gi instead of the more nerdy outfit Chi Chi picked.

Gohan on namek had zero qualms about throwing down if need be, he used every fibre of his being to battle Recoome until the final second even when he knew he couldn’t win, he killed those 2 henchmen as soon as he arrived on Namek without any hesitation, he fought fearlessly against Freeza, was about to fight Vegeta outside of Gurus home etc.

The idea he was such an extreme pacifist to the point where he thought diplomacy with Cell was an option and that he would just give up without a fight if Goku wasn’t there to coach him definitely felt somewhat like a character regression for me. He was acting more like he was in the beginning of the saiyan arc(prior to the death of Piccolo).

I think a lot of that inconsistency comes down to Toriyama treating Gohan as a prop or plot device throughout the original manga run. Gohan's personality was never as consistently defined as Goku's. A lot of Gohan's best moments came from filler sequences or episodes. The robot in the cave, the orphans in the forest, the majority of his training with Goku in the Room of Spirit and Time. Toriyama never really wrote Gohan as a character. I think that's where a lot of the disagreement and arguing amongst how he should be handled comes from.