Gohan's age in the Buu and Cell arcs

[Ozma15]

The 'Bra's age' question got me thinking about this, and I didn't want to clutter that thread...

I thought Gohan was supposed to be 11 during the Cell Games (with the RoSaT year) and 18 seven years later. But the Viz manga and other sources say he's 16 in the Buu arc... and normally I'd believe the manga, but I just don't trust Viz as a good translation. (Not after they stuck things like 'Holy cheese on rye!' and 'you pug-uglies!' in Yu Yu Hakusho...)

So is he 9 during the Cell Games? Because if he was 11, there's all kinds of fun symbolism with him being the same age Goku was at the beginning of DB (yeah, he states he's 12 once he's learned to count, but the DBs are viable again by that time. So it's been a year.).

I'm not sure how well it adds up... he's definitely 4 at the start of Z, and 5 during the Saiyajin/Namek arc, but if he's 9 with the RoSaT by the Cell Games, he's only been alive 8 years on the 'outside.' So it's only been 4 years since Z started, and we know three of those were from Trunks' warning to the day the Jinzouningen appeared. And another one was the time it took for Vegeta and Nappa to reach Earth, give or take a few months. Then add the month to get to Namek (give or take a few days to get ready), plus a couple Namek years (130 days?) for their dragon balls to be used to make the ressurrect/new planet wishes... I don't think the entire point of time from the beginning of Z to the arrival of Trunks and Freeza fits into a year, basically. But I could easily be missing something. I'm terrible at math.

So... how old is the stupid kid supposed to be?! The fanfic overanaly--I mean, writer in me needs to know, on the off chance I ever write a fic where Gohan's age is important.

[caejones]

11 came from the Funi dub, if I recall, since the version back in the Saban days had Gohan as 5.5 at the beginning of Z when he was supposed to be 4.

Lezee.... 5 vs Nappa and Vegeta... not yet 6 by Freeza if I remember correctly... three Parungas pass between then and Trunks at least, so that puts him at at least 7, maybe 8 by Trunks.... three more years... yeah... still don't know for sure.

*checks fanfic-with-minimal-daizenshuu-references timeline*

Hmm, I'll post what I have here ... though I'll probably remove certain things since they're there to reconcile confusing criss-crossing fanfics...

• 4BS - Gohan is born. (He is decidedly not 5 and a half in Raditz Saga).
• 1SJ - Raditz arrives.
• 2SJ - Nappa and Vegeta arrive and kill people. (13 months, plus unexpected boost).
  - (Later that year) Namek trip. Suggested by various sources that it was around Dec25 when Goku fought Freeza. Note that Gohan didn't change much physically (though he is part saiyan, and Saiyans don't grow the same way humans do...), and that Goku was still injured well after Bulma and Co left for Namek. Karin needed time to grow more Senzu beans, as he only had two during the fight with Nappa. Other time related things are hard to determine other than a few numbers mentioned about the length of the voyage.
• 3SJ - First and second Parunga summonings on Earth.
• 4SJ - Final Parunga summoning on Earth, under two months into the year. (Could have been earlier if the Freeza battle was earlier in the year).
  - Trunks probably arrived later in this year given Gohan's age in the Cell Games.
• 7SJ - Battle with Dr. Gero's creations.
• 14or15SJ - Battle with Buu. We know that the Cell Games were in May; we don't know when the Buu fighting occured, but it's been suggested that the tournaments are held in May, so it is likely that the Buu fight was in May. We don't know when Goten was born, though (Either immediately after the Cell saga, or 9 months after), so we don't know which year the Buu Saga falls into. He would turn 7 either in 14 or 15; so it is possible for the Buu fight to be either year. (I'm sure the Daizenshuu settles this, but hey, I'm having fun. .). We'll go with 15, I guess, for all entries based on this battle.

Yah, like I said this timeline was made to figure out if a bunch of fanfics that were used in a couple RPGs could coexist, so don't take it as more than what I was thinking at the time...

[Kaboom]

The year Gohan spent in the RoSaT does kinda throw things off. He's actually physically a year older than he is chronologically.

[ultimate-saiyan]

Well he was 9 because of the 7 year gape when he was 16, but if yiu add everything up inclduing rosat he is about 10 going on 11.

[Duo]

I know the question is more-or-less answered, but I'm in a writing mood.

4 - Raditz arrival
5 - Nappa and Vegeta arrive about 10 and half months later. A couple of weeks later, he leaves for Namek. It takes a month to get there, so he's probably still 5, and they are only there for 6 days.
5 or 6 - 260 days later, Tenshinhan and Chaozu are resurrected and the Namekians leave Earth. Unless his birthday was really late in the year and he had recently turned 4 at the beginning of Z, he is 6.
6 or 7 - One year later, Cold and Freeza come to Earth.
9 or 10 - Three years later, he enters the Room of Spirit and Time. However, this "day" only goes into his physical age, and he is still considered whatever age he was prior to this.

Since Viz says he's 16 in Volume 20, and I've never known them to mis-translate numbers nor heard this contradicted anywhere, I'll assume his birthday was late in the year and/or it wasn't a full, exact 7 years since the Cell Game, and that he was going to turn 17 with a month or two.

Ya.

[caejones]

In any case, he definitely isn't a "teen" in the Cell saga, contrary to what every PS2 title tells you.
... Granted I'm the one who takes the label "teenager" as an insult...

[Duo]

In any case, he definitely isn't a "teen" in the Cell saga, contrary to what every PS2 title tells you.
... Granted I'm the one who takes the label "teenager" as an insult...

And to top it off, the actual teenager Gohan is often referred to as adult Gohan. The heck?

[Kaboom]

In any case, he definitely isn't a "teen" in the Cell saga, contrary to what every PS2 title tells you.
... Granted I'm the one who takes the label "teenager" as an insult...

And to top it off, the actual teenager Gohan is often referred to as adult Gohan. The heck?

So what does that make GT-age Gohan?

[Duo]

Washed up and no longer useful Gohan?

[DNA]

And Tenkachi 2 considered Pan a kid (in the kid's battle tower) although she was 14 or something =P and does a teenager, contrary to "teen" Gohan. Nicely done :D

[Xyex]

Since Viz says he's 16 in Volume 20, and I've never known them to mis-translate numbers nor heard this contradicted anywhere, I'll assume his birthday was late in the year and/or it wasn't a full, exact 7 years since the Cell Game, and that he was going to turn 17 with a month or two.

Well, actually, we learn during the 10 day wait for the Cell Games that Gohan's birthday is sometime between May 17th and May 27th when the Cell Games were held. He was born in Age 757, Raditz came in 761. Nappa and Vegeta in 762. Freeza was almost two months later. Trunks appears in 764 (in August, so Gohan's 7 at this point). And then the Androids appear in 767. So he was actually 9 when he went in the RoSaT, and just over 10 when he fought Cell. 11, if you count physical age. (Hence why the dub said he was 11/12, since it made him a year older.)

Thus making him 16(17) in the Buu Saga. Yes, that's right. He's still only 16. The Budokai is always held on May 7th, which is decidedly before his birthday. So, yeah. 16 in the Buu Saga. Turns 17 not long afterwards.

[Duo]

As I often operate, all the information I presented was only from the Manga, so I was aware of the filler of his birthday before the Cell Game - but my post somewhat reinforced the idea of it being then anyway, heh.

[Ozma15]

Aha. I get it now. I tend to count the RoSaT year, and that was throwing me off. Thank you, everyone!

[Undercooked Sausage]

Also, don't they say Goten is 7 years old 7 years later even though Chichi didn't look preggers at the end of the Cell Arc at all?

It's frustrating.

[caejones]

I remember the oh-so-accurate Pojo claiming that Goten reached SSJ at 6. Though I don't know if that referred to the training-with-Chichi flashback, something before that, or when he first showed it to Gohan, so... yeah... doesn't really help much...

[Conan the SSJ]

Also, don't they say Goten is 7 years old 7 years later even though Chichi didn't look preggers at the end of the Cell Arc at all?

It's frustrating.

Well, bottom line is Chichi was pregnant in the Cell arc. It's implied when Goku is seeing Goten for the first time on the day of the 25th Budokai is made such a big deal, as well as being confirmed by Goku in a short dialogue exchange with Goten in episode 288 that he was born after he'd already died. If you wanna take movie 11's ending credit original animation into anime canon also, only Gohan, Ox King, and Chichi are present right after Goten is born. While Toriyama obviously didn't have the Buu arc and Goten planned out while making the Cell arc, I tend to notice subtle things like Chichi wearing full pants rather than dress w/t stockings and not running around nearly as much as usual, as well as a slightly curvier design to me. I view Chichi as at least 5 months or so pregnant during the Cell arc, already haven given birth and at least 6 weeks gone by since during the events with Bojack, bladiddy bla bla. While 7 years have gone by, Goten couldn't be exactly 7 during his first appearance, one of those mysterious circumstances like the Dragon balls becoming detectable on the Dragon Radar after the 21st Budokai when a full year hasn't even passed yet.

[BrolytheLSSJ]

Gohan is 11 in the Cell Saga which makes him a pre-teen and hes 18 in the Buu Saga which makes him a young adult.

[Magica]

Gohan is 11 in the Cell Saga which makes him a pre-teen and hes 18 in the Buu Saga which makes him a young adult.

Are you going by FUNI/Ocean/Whoever dub standards? If I remember right he is 9 during the Cell Games in the original Japanese.

(oh hell I guess it helps to fully read the topic sometimes).

[DemonKingPiccolo]

Gohan is 11 in the Cell Saga which makes him a pre-teen and hes 18 in the Buu Saga which makes him a young adult.

Are you going by FUNI/Ocean/Whoever dub standards? If I remember right he is 9 during the Cell Games in the original Japanese.

(oh hell I guess it helps to fully read the topic sometimes).

I agree, he was nine, 10 if you count the year spent in the ROSAT. Which if I recall correctly, Goku and Gohan actually didn't spend an entire day in there, so he still possibly could've been 9.

DBZ open: 4
Vegeta fight: 5
Freeza fight: 5 (only about 2-3 months had passed)
Trunks arrival: 6
Android/Cell arrival: 9 (10 Post ROSAT)
Boo saga: 16 (17 from ROSAT)
DBZ end: 26 (27 from ROSAT)

Someone stated something about Goten's age (forget who it was), I think in the manga Goten was six, not seven.

I always found it humorous how they call Cell arc Gohan "teen" when he clearly isn't, not even in the English Dubs. I never thought of an eleven year old to be a teen, or more originally, a 9 year old. "Adult Gohan" isn't "adult" either, he's only 16/17. It was obviously to differentiate between his younger character in the video games. Me, I've just always called them: "Kid Gohan", "Cell Era Gohan", "Teen Gohan", "Adult Gohan", and then "GT/ Mid-life Crisis Gohan".

[Super Sonic]

I think it's because of that filler birthday party that says he's 11, people think that.

As for the Goten thing, as the the Androids/Cell saga took place over a few weeks, I always figured Goku knocked Chi Chi up during that wait for the Cell Games or a little bit before they went to face the Androids.