Goku is the unquestioned lead character in the universe of Akira Toriyama’s Dragon Ball, but his son Gohan has developed into one of the most recognizable and important characters in his own right. The son of Goku was at one time projected to become the lead character during Dragon Ball Z and has had a number of important storylines explored with him in mind.
While he has never quite lived up to his father’s stature within the Dragon Ball world he is a well-liked and well-known character to many fans of the series. With Gohan appearing in every iteration of the franchise since the first Dragon Ball Z episode aired in April 1989 (in Japan), he has developed deeply as a character along the way.
Starting off as an infant that showed some of his father’s power traits, to his time training with Goku’s former enemy Piccolo right up to meeting Videl and starting his own family, Gohan has been ever-present in the Dragon Ball universe. He might be best-known for his accomplishments during the Cell Games, where he defeated the evil Perfect Cell after his father’s passing – showing himself to have untold potential that early on in the show’s run would have been unthinkable. With Toriyama’s world returning in the form of Dragon Ball Super, we thought it was high time to take a look at Gohan in a much deeper way.
Here are 20 Weird Details About Gohan’s Anatomy.
Gohan was named after Goku's adopted father
The introduction of Gohan in Dragon Ball Z helped bridge the five-year gap since the original series – with his own name linking back to Toriyama’s original stories around a young Goku. Gohan, son to Goku and Chi-Chi, was originally called Einstein by his mother – though this name was never made official.
He remained nameless for a brief period during his infancy until Goku mentioned the name of his own grandfather – also called Gohan. The baby Gohan responded happily to this name and both his parents felt that it would be fitting to name him after a man that had so positively impacted Goku’s life growing up on Earth.
He was born with a tail
Gohan is a special character in many ways, but one of the earliest details of his life could be one of the most significant. Being a half-human, half-Saiyan offspring, Gohan was born with a tail, just like his Saiyan father was. This tail allowed Gohan to tap into the famed Great Ape ability until Vegeta severed his tail once and for all.
While this might not seem to be overly interesting, it should be noted that Gohan is the only human/Saiyan hybrid that has been born with a tail, with neither Goten nor Trunks having a tail. While this might have been an oversight by Toriyama, it is nice to imagine that this makes Gohan a special case among his fellow hybrids.
He looked more like his mother as a child
As he grew up, Gohan began to resemble his father in a number of ways. He has the same eyes and expressions as Goku at various times of his life and has even grown hair similar to that of his father. However, in his early life, he appeared to resemble his mother, Chi-Chi, far more than his father.
His large eyes and paler complexion made him look far closer to his mother in comparison. After Goku’s passing during the battle with Raditz, Gohan’s appearance began to change and he began to grow to look more like his father with each passing season.
As a child, he was a coward
Gohan is an ace fighter and is far stronger than the majority of characters in the Dragon Ball universe, but he wasn’t always so attuned to that way of life.
Early on in Dragon Ball Z, Gohan was shown to be one of the most cowardly characters going – often running away from conflict even during his days training with Piccolo. When Goku was shown to have natural strength and interest in fighting during his childhood in Dragon Ball, it was somewhat of a surprise that his own son would be almost a polar opposite at the same stage of his life.
His potential was seen very early in his life
Gohan inherited his father’s strength and Saiyan powers and this was evident very early on in his life. In the very first episode of Dragon Ball Z, Gohan fell into a river and appeared to have fallen off a waterfall, only for Goku to see his son holding on to a branch of a tree – despite him being just an infant.
During the battle with Raditz, Gohan got angry and tapped into his own potential to charge headfirst into his uncle’s chest, causing his Saiyan armor to crack. This show of strength led to Piccolo taking Gohan out into the wilderness to train the young boy in anticipation of Vegeta and Nappa’s arrival.
Being half-human, he doesn’t like fighting much
Being a human/Saiyan hybrid comes with many unique traits, one of which is their ability to grow more powerful than ordinary Saiyans – as evidenced by the likes of Gohan, Goten, and Trunks, who achieved Super Saiyan far earlier in their lives than their fathers. Another interesting trait is their lowered hunger for battle, with Gohan and Trunks being very similar in this regard.
Gohan has always had a keen interest in knowledge, growing up to become a scholar, and isn’t so readily willing to fight. It took a whole group of Cell Jrs beating on his friends and father to push Gohan over the edge and battle Perfect Cell and Gohan has given up on his fighting career numerous times throughout his life.
He has a true Saiyan appetite
The fighting that occurs in the Dragon Ball universe must take up a lot of energy. Goku is famed for his large appetite, especially after a battle, and his son is no exception. Gohan has been seen eating numerous times throughout the show and has always been shown to have a large appetite.
Even as a young child Gohan was seen slicing up the tail of a large dinosaur, only to eat it as if it was a steak. His father, a fully-fledged Saiyan, has arguably the biggest appetite in the whole series but this is one trait that his son has certainly inherited.
He is far smarter than Goku
Gohan has been shown to lean towards a life of knowledge rather than combat, going through high school and growing up to become a scholar before being pulled back into his saving the world side project. His father Goku had no formal education growing up and focused more on improving his fighting skills.
This makes Gohan arguably the smartest member of his family, with Chi-Chi fully encouraging her son’s career choices – moving him to a different high school after the Cell Saga to ensure her son grew up to have the best possible education. This does not take anything away from Goku’s own personal knowledge, but Gohan’s structured education and upbringing has helped him greatly in this department.
He has his mother’s temper
Gohan is often seen as a paragon of calm throughout his whole life, but there are times that his temper comes out – something that he has inherited from his mother. He is often angered when those close to him are hurt and he lashes out in a variety of ways. When Raditz continually kicked Goku’s broken rib, Gohan exploded out of his space pod prison to headbutt his uncle in retaliation.
The most notable moment that demonstrated Gohan’s temper is when he snapped at his own father. Goku suggested using Videl, Gohan’s future wife, as a way to bribe the Elder Kai to help unlock Gohan’s true potential. Gohan snapped in anger as his father’s suggestion, much to Goku’s surprise, showing that his temper can come out in the same way his mother does – though far less frequently.
Gohan was strong enough to fight the Androids for over a decade
Gohan’s strength has been shown growing at a steady pace throughout his life, at times looking as if he could overtake his father in this regard. When Trunks appeared from the future, the one where the androids had effectively destroyed most of humanity, he said that all of the Z fights had been eliminated – except for Gohan.
Trunks explained that Gohan fought the androids solo for around 13 years after all others had been eliminated, unlocking his super Saiyan powers in the process. Being able to fight against the androids alone for so long shows how strong Gohan could become once he truly started to realize his own potential. Gohan eventually passed away in the alternate future, but only after fighting for some time with just one arm.
He had a vision of Perfect Cell before he existed
Before the Cell Games, Goku and Gohan trained together in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber – helping to unlock their perfect Super Saiyan form. During his time training in the chamber with his father, Gohan had a vision of Perfect Cell. He imagines his mother and Piccolo entering the Hyperbolic Time Chamber, only to be eliminated by Perfect Cell.
What makes this vision interesting is the fact that Gohan had never met Perfect Cell at this point and Cell himself had not even accomplished this form either. Gohan’s power of foresight is impressive as Cell himself had never been seen in this form, at any point beforehand.
His perfect Super Saiyan hair matches Goku’s regular hairstyle
Gohan's hair has had a number of different styles over the years, but one looked rather familiar when it was first seen. During his time training in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber with Goku, Gohan and his father achieved the 'perfect' Super Saiyan form - allowing them to maintain full power as an SSJ without expending energy or glowing due to the strain the power originally put on their bodies.
The pale yellow hair that Gohan emerged from the chamber with looked almost exactly the same as Goku's default hairstyle, further making Gohan look closer in appearance to his father - moving away from his appearance as a young child, where he looked more like Chi-Chi.
The First Super Saiyan 2
Few fans can forget the moment Goku first turned into a Super Saiyan. It was the first time the famed super-powered version of a Saiyan had been seen and it came shortly after an extremely emotional moment (Krillin's passing at the hands of Frieza). However, it might surprise many that Goku's son was the first person in the Dragon Ball universe to achieve the next level of Super Saiyan - Super Saiyan 2/SSJ2, surpassing his father's own level of power.
With his friends being beaten at the hands of Perfect Cell's 'baby' creations, Cell Jrs, and Perfect Cell eliminating Android 16 in front of him, Gohan unleashed his next level of power and achieved something that had not yet been witnessed. Gohan has been surpassed by others in terms of his Super Saiyan level, but he will always go down as the first person to achieve this power.
He defeated all Cell Jrs before defeating Perfect Cell
Before facing off against the title villain of the Cell Saga, recently-achieved Super Saiyan 2 Gohan defeated all seven of Cell's 'babies' - known as Cell Jrs. The Juniors were strong adversaries for the Z Fighters, being seen beating up on them prior to Gohan's ascendancy to Super Saiyan 2. However, with Gohan unlocking his new level of power, they were no match for Goku's son - who took them out with ease.
The seven Cell Jrs were noticeably afraid of Gohan in his new state and all attempted to flee the field of battle, with the Saiyan's new power allowing him to simply catch up to them and crush them in front of their creator. Perfect Cell was fuming once Gohan was finished, with Goku's son staring him down before passing a bag of senzu beans to Trunks before preparing to battle the saga's big bad.
Gohan avoids taking credit for defeating Cell
Gohan is credited with being the person that defeated Perfect Cell, avenging the passing of his father and saving the earth from total destruction. However, after the battle, he acts humble and refuses to accept all of the praise despite dealing with the deadly blast that disintegrated the evil android.
In the final seconds of the battle, Vegeta knocked Cell's focus with a ki blast directly from above, with the spirit of Goku encouraging his son to take his opportunity to strike. Gohan's energy wave completely took over Cell and ended the Cell Saga in style, but it might not have happened had it not been for the combined efforts of the other Z Fighters and Vegeta in those final moments.
He was a superhero called Great Saiyaman
Seven years after defeating Perfect Cell, Gohan is in high school and working towards a higher level of education. His fighting days are all but over and he now spends his spare time fighting petty criminals in his Super Saiyan form - thus concealing his identity, at least for a brief time.
Videl, his future wife, meets him in Orange Star High School and immediately believes he is the Golden Fighter, as he has become known, due to his resemblance to the popular local hero. In an attempt to conceal his identity further, Gohan creates a new persona called the Great Saiyaman, complete with a new outfit made from Bulma. Videl tricks Gohan into confessing who he really is and forces him to teach her how to fly in return. Despite his identity being discovered, Gohan kept up the character and continued to fight crime for an entire saga.
Gohan gives up fighting several times and even becomes a scholar
Gohan's mother had a strong influence on his life during the seven years that Goku was 'gone', leading to him to give up fighting on a regular basis. His general nature leaned more towards studies anyway and with the world seemingly safe from harm, there was no reason for Gohan to continue training.
He fought petty criminals for a time as the Great Saiyaman, but he eventually lost the ability to tap into his Super Saiyan 2 powers due to him becoming rusty. Later on in his life, as seen in Dragon Ball Super, Gohan has grown up to become a professor after once again taking the route of education, with a young family to think about until he is eventually drawn back into action.
Videl helped him regain Super Saiyan 2
After ascending to Super Saiyan 2 in order to defeat Perfect Cell seven years earlier, Gohan does not reveal this level for quite some time - leading many fans to believe that he no longer could achieve that level of power again. After Videl was heavily beaten by Spopovich at the World Tournament, Gohan came face to face with Kibito.
Videl's earlier beating had unleashed some of Gohan's anger, prompting him to reveal his Super Saiyan form to Kibito. Gohan then stuns the audience by revealing that there is a level above Super Saiyan, unlocking his Super Saiyan 2 form once again. This show of power undoubtedly came as a result of Gohan's secret feelings for Videl at the time and allowed him to have a reason to unlock his ascended power once again.
His Ultimate Form is stronger than Super Saiyan 3
Super Buu was one of the most powerful 'big bads' of any Dragon Ball saga, requiring the likes of Goku and Vegeta to fuse together in order to combat his own level of strength. With Gohan once again being pushed towards being a lead character in the series, he unlocks a level that has been referred to as his 'Ultimate Form'.
This form could arguably be more powerful than a Super Saiyan 3, due to him being able to knock Super Buu around with relative ease upon first revealing the power to the signature villain. With some of the most powerful characters in the show needing to combine power, whereas Gohan is able to overpower him on his own, it is clear that the young human/Saiyan hybrid's power is something truly remarkable.
Arguably hasn’t reached his full potential
Gohan was at one stage expected to become the lead character in the Dragon Ball series, taking over from his father on a full-time basis after his passing in the Cell Saga. Unfortunately, the popularity of Goku is hard to overcome and the younger Saiyan was once again reduced to being a second-tier player.
Gohan has been shown to achieve a level of power above all others on two occasions in Super Saiyan 2 and Ultimate Form, but with Goku still being powered up, achieving the power of Super Saiyan God, it is likely that Gohan has still not truly achieved his full potential. Years of studying instead of training have also likely hampered his progress in this regard and it would be truly something if he is able to achieve his full potential by the time the Dragon Ball series is ended once and for all.
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Do you know of any other weird details about Gohan's anatomy in Dragonball Z? Let us know in the comments!