Son Gohan

This page is part of the universe of Dragon Ball R.

Son Gohan (孫 悟飯, Son Gohan) is the first born child of Son Goku and Chi-Chi — the elder brother of Son Goten. He is married to Videl. Gohan is the first in a series of Saiyan-Human hybrids born on Earth. He is one of the primary protagonists of the Dragon Ball franchise, including Dragon Ball R. He is one of the most powerful Saiyans in existence next to his father, Vegeta, and his younger brother Goten. He is famous as the hero who saved the world from Cell during the Cell Games.

Overview

Appearance

Gohan is the same height as his father, Goku, and is average in height for most humans and Saiyans. He greatly resembles his father, and slightly his mother. He has short, raven-black hair which is slightly spiked up. His outfit varies between the one based on Piccolo’s own outfit (a purple gi with a red obi and red armbands) and a replica of his father’s outfit (an orange gi, blue undershirt, blue obi, and blue boots).

Personality

Gohan is a gentle being, far more so than either his father or his younger brother. Like Goku, he does not fit the traditional conventions of a Saiyan warrior, due to the fact that he doesn’t enjoy fighting in any sense; though he will participate in battle when necessary. This has earned the criticism of his mentor, Piccolo, and the Saiyan prince, Vegeta. Due to the early pushing of his mother, Gohan is a more studious individual than most Saiyans, desiring and eventually succeeding in becoming a great scholar.

Despite despising fighting, Gohan is extremely protective of his family, the animals surrounding his home, and the innocents of planet Earth, often forcing him to go against his own wishes and fight for their sake.

One of Gohan’s defining traits is his fanatical loyalty to both his father, Goku, and his mentor, Piccolo. Gohan shows great partiality towards them and is more protective of them, even when compared to other members of his family. Gohan is considered by Piccolo himself to be the reason why the Namekian changed from a being of pure evil into one of the Z Fighters.

History

Gohan was born a year after Goku and Chi-Chi’s marriage, following the defeat of Piccolo Jr. in the World Martial Arts Tournament. From a young age, Chi-Chi instilled the value of a proper education in Gohan, making him study shortly after he learned how to walk and talk. Goku also took an interest in training Gohan after discovering his latent power, also at this young age, though Chi-Chi strongly discouraged such training.

Biography

Apollyon Saga

Power Level

Despite his dislike of fighting, Gohan has extraordinary power and has from a young age, been considered one of the most powerful fighters in the universe. As a child, he was known to have an immense amount of hidden power, which caused Piccolo to train him for confronting the Saiyans. His latent power even surprised Frieza in both his second and third transformations. Gohan eventually becomes a Super Saiyan while training to fight Perfect Cell in the Cell Games. During the Games, he easily overwhelms Cell after becoming a Super Saiyan 2, saving the Earth. The full amount of his hidden power is unlocked by Old Kai, allowing Gohan to surpass even Super Buu in strength.

Transformations

Base Form

Gohan’s base form has been the subject of debate throughout the Dragon Ball franchise as it goes through numerous changes. During the Namek Saga, Gohan received a powerful boost in strength from the Grand Elder of Namek, Guru. After a ritual ceremony meant to unlock his hidden power once again by Old Kai, Gohan receives a tremendous boost in power, allowing him to easily defeat Super Buu and, by some estimates, surpass a Super Saiyan 3 in power. This powered-up version of Gohan is often referred to as Ultimate Gohan (究竟悟飯, Kyūkō Gohan). Despite the dramatic increase in power, Gohan is still considered to be in his base state, therefore it is not an actual transformation.

Great Ape

Twice as a child, Gohan transforms into a Great Ape, due to his Saiyan tail — a trait his younger brother never had. Whenever Gohan would look at a full moon, he would immediately become larger and ten times more powerful than in his base form. Like Goku, however, Gohan never received proper training in how to control the form, and thus, Gohan would go berserk whenever transforming into the monster. In this form, Gohan was stronger than even Vegeta during the Saiyan Saga. After Vegeta cuts off his tail during this battle, he loses the ability to become a Great Ape, as his tail never again grows back.

Super Saiyan

Gohan first becomes a Super Saiyan while training to fight in the Cell Games. Soon after, he immediately begins to look for ways to surpass the Super Saiyan alongside his father, Goku, but learns quickly the impracticality of the Ascended Super Saiyan and Ultra Super Saiyan forms. Instead, he trains to make the Super Saiyan state as easy to maintain as his normal state — resulting in the Full-Power Super Saiyan. As a Super Saiyan, he proved to be equal to that of Perfect Cell, and even stronger than Goku in his own Super Saiyan form. He also surpassed Vegeta and Future Trunks in their Ascended Super Saiyan forms. The form also allowed him to fight on par with Dabura.

Super Saiyan 2

Gohan is the first to become a Super Saiyan 2 in the wake of Android 16’s death at the hands of Perfect Cell. The upheaval of rage, combined with the boy’s latent power, allowed Gohan to finally ascend the level of Super Saiyan and become a Super Saiyan 2. In this form, his speed, strength, and energy are all proportionately increased by tremendous amounts, allowing him to completely eradicate Perfect Cell. As a Super Saiyan 2, his hair grows slightly longer, and stands up straight. Bio-electricity also begins to dance around his body in his energy aura.

Super Saiyan 2 Gohan was strong enough to put Dabura on the ropes, though, due to not training, he wasn’t as strong as he was when he beat Cell. It later allowed him to fight against Majin Buu, though, due to having expended most of his energy fighting Dabura, Gohan was easily defeated.

Trivia

• Gohan is technically the second most powerful Saiyan in Dragon Ball Z, next to his father Goku, however, in Dragon Ball R, he is fourth most powerful; as Goten and Vegeta have both surpassed him by this point.