Son Gohan

Son Gohan
MangaAnime
Japanese Name	孫悟飯
Romanized Name	Son Gohan
Alias	Great Saiyaman (superhero alter-ego) Golden Warrior Super Son Gohan Ultimate Gohan Strongest Warrior
Namesake*	Son Gohan (in-universe) Rice (ご飯, gohan)
Profile
Age	27
Birthday	May 18, Age 757
Birthplace	Earth, Milky Way Galaxy, North Area, 7th Universe
Gender	Male
Height	176 cm (5 ft 9 in)
Weight	61 kg (134 lbs)
Race	Saiyan-half
Occupation	Superhero (formerly) Kaiōshin Disciple (formerly) Scholar
Favorites
Food	Will eat anything
Woman Type	Strong-willed women
Hobbies	Reading, fishing, research
Other Information
Hair Color	Black Golden (Super Saiyan) Light Gray (Beast)
Eye Color	Black Teal (Super Saiyan) Red (Beast)
Academic Major	Entomology
Marital Status	Married
Etymology	悟 = To understand 飯 = Cooked rice; meal of any sort
Relationships	Son Gohan (adoptive paternal great-grandfather; deceased) Bardock (paternal grandfather; deceased) Gine (paternal grandmother; deceased) Gyuumao (maternal grandfather) Son Goku (father) Chi-Chi (mother) Raditz (paternal uncle; deceased) Son Goten (brother) Videl (wife) Pan (daughter) Mister Satan (father-in-law) Miguel (mother-in-law; deceased)
Affiliation	Dragon Team
Status*
Status	Alive
Date of Death	May 8, Age 774 (revived)
Cause of Death	Incinerated by planetary explosion
Media
Manga Debut	Chapter 196
FinalAppearance	Chapter 519
Anime Debut	DBZ Episode 1
OVA Debut	Dragon Ball Z Side Story: Plan to Eradicate the Saiyans
Game Debut	Dragon Ball Z: Ganbare! Son Gohan
Japanese Voice Actor	Masako Nozawa
Dub Voice Actor	Kyle Hebert (English Dub, Teen/Adult) Colleen Clinkenbeard (English Dub, Child)

“

You retard... (ウスノロ…, Usunoro...)

”

—Son Gohan, Chapter 497: Son Gohan's Grand Counterattack!!

Son Gohan (孫悟飯, Son Gohan) is a main character in Dragon Ball.

A Saiyan-hāfu, Gohan is the first-born son of Son Goku and Chi-Chi and is introduced as a spoiled toddler with an unfathomable amount of hidden potential. Unlike his father, Gohan is a brilliant scholar and lacks a passion for fighting, but due to the various threats to the Earth, he spends much of his life participating in its defense, often helping to turn the tides when the dormant depths of his power are unleashed.

Gohan is initially trained by his father's former nemesis Piccolo, before training together with Goku in the Room of Spirit and Time, and later under the Eastern Kaiōshin in the sacred Kaiōshin Realm, having his latent capacities unlocked twice and ultimately becoming one of the strongest characters in the series.

Possessing a bottomless amount of hidden potential awakened by his rage, Gohan is the first to unlock a level beyond Super Saiyan and is among the most well-known characters of the series. He is the brother of Son Goten, husband of Videl and father of the quarter-Saiyan Pan.

Abilities

Transformations

Great Monkey

Ōzaru Gohan

The Great Monkey (大猿, Ōzaru) transformation occurs when a person with Saiyan heritage and a tail absorbs enough Bruits Waves through the eyes, usually from looking at a full moon (or an equal substitute, such as Vegeta's "Power Ball" technique, which mixes with the planet's oxygen). This stimulates a reaction in the tail, enabling a seemingly unavoidable transformation. Due to his own Saiyan blood inherited from his father Goku, Gohan was born with a tail, the only known half-Saiyan in the series shown to be born with one, and as such, he possessed the ability to transform into a Great Monkey. When transformed, his power was multiplied tenfold, but because the boy had never received any proper training, Gohan lost all form of mental control, becoming a primal beast. However, during the fight against Vegeta, Goku and Kuririn's words were able to reach Gohan enough to regain some rational thought and focus solely on Vegeta.

This form is Gohan's least utilized transformation, and he has only been seen transforming twice as ultimately, his tail was permanently removed.

Super Saiyan

Super Saiyan (超(スーパー)サイヤ人, Sūpā Saiya-jin) is a legendary transformation achieved through rage by individuals with a sufficient amount of S-Cells, tied to an over one thousand-year-old legend.

Super Saiyan Full Power Gohan

Gohan became a Super Saiyan at nine years of age (ten if including the months spent in the Room of Spirit and Time), during the intense training he endured with his father to help him ascend. Gohan obtained the form with more ease than his Saiyan peers at the time due to inheriting a large number of S-Cells from Goku, as well as his prodigious nature. At the time, he was the youngest to appear as a Super Saiyan until the appearance of his brother, Son Goten, who accessed the state effortlessly at the age of seven. In this state, Gohan's capacities are increased either 10-fold or 50-fold, his musculature grows more defined, while his eyes become sterner and green, his hair turns blond while standing up more with no loose strands, and energy is manifested as a golden aura.

When he first attained the form, Gohan had notable trouble sustaining it and quickly reverted to his base state, physically drained. Sometime later in the Room, Gohan was seen freely transforming into the Super Saiyan form and utilizing it to train. However, when he reverted back to base state, he was still notably tired. Gohan would later go on to master the Super Saiyan form alongside his father, resulting in Super Saiyan Full Power (超(スーパー)サイヤ人フルパワー, Sūpā Saiya-jin Furu Pawā), which enables full control over the energy output and consumption, completely diminishing strain on the body, even while constantly maintaining maximum power for. It also does not affect Gohan's emotional nature. If Gohan does not continue to regularly train, it will become more difficult to transform.

In the original manga and Dragon Ball Z anime, it is left uncertain whether Gohan still has access to the form after having his potential unleashed by the Elder Kaiōshin, due to his power already being well beyond the previous limits that Super Saiyan alone would provide via his new Ultimate form; additionally, the Elder Kaioshin's instructions to Gohan on tapping into the Ultimate form and Ultimate Gohan's subsequent battle with Super Boo seemingly suggest the replacement of Super Saiyan.

Super Saiyan 2

Super Saiyan 2 (超(スーパー)サイヤ人2, Sūpā Saiya-jin Tsū), initially referred to as Super Saiyan Stage Five (超(スーパー)サイヤ人第五段階, Sūpā Saiya-jin Dai-Go Dankai) at the time of its debut, is the direct successor of the regular Super Saiyan transformation, first obtained by Gohan at the tender age of 9.

Super Saiyan 2 Gohan

He awakened this transformation for the very first time when a larger portion of his dormant power was awakened during his battle with Cell, as the villain had plunged him deep into a corner he would have been unable to escape from otherwise, slowly working Son Gohan to his last nerve by assaulting the rest of the Dragon Team. However, what ultimately drew the boy to the brink was the destruction of Artificial Human No. 16. In this form, the most obvious alteration in comparison to his first transformation is his hair, which lengthens considerably and stands up straight, with all but a single long lock of hair hanging down and framing one side of his face. Gohan also develops a greater muscle structure and gains an explosive aura that is also present with consistent surges of electricity.

In the form's debut, Gohan is seen to have undergone a significant alteration in terms of his overall personality. While otherwise a pacifist, he garners incredible confidence in his battle with Cell, to the point where he even begins to ignore the advice of the members of the Dragon Team, who had instructed him to finish off the bio-artificial human swiftly; instead, he opts to draw out the battle for as long as possible, so as to make Cell suffer for his past actions. Thereafter, Gohan shows greater control over his emotions while encompassing the form in his later usages of it, as seen during his battles with Dabra and Majin Boo, respectively. If Gohan does not continue to regularly train, it will become much more difficult to transform.

In the anime, Gohan had already instinctively stumbled upon this power while training with Goku in the Room of Spirit and Time, leading him to believe that Gohan was the only one who could defeat Cell. In the Dragon Ball Super anime, after retraining under Piccolo, Gohan regained access to Super Saiyan 2 and could fight his master evenly despite Piccolo's own increase of power.

Ultimate

Ultimate (アルティメット（究極), Arutimetto) is a distinct transformation achieved after having his potential unleashed by the Elder Kaiōshin through his potential unlocking ritual.

By powering up as if going Super Saiyan, but with the inclusion of a kiai, Gohan successfully taps into this new power. When accessing this form, Gohan experiences subtle differences, looking mostly identical to his normal base state but with slightly more upright and rigid hair, sterner, fully-outlined eyes, and the addition of a lock of hair hanging down over his forehead in Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Gods and the Dragon Ball Super anime. In Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero, when transforming into Ultimate Gohan, the form is visually distinguishable from his base state, his messy hair spiking upwards like a Super Saiyan's and featuring the singular lock of hair upon transforming.

Ultimate Gohan

In the original Dragon Ball manga and Dragon Ball Z anime, the power-up is introduced as a permanent transformation that allows Gohan to use the power of Super Saiyan 2 in tandem with his unlocked latent potential at their highest level without placing limitations on Gohan's body, and, most importantly, without the anger or the loss of energy typically required to sustain his forms, thus eliminating the need for the Super Saiyan forms. In addition to the Elder Kaiōshin's unlock ability granting Gohan full access to all his developed capacities, Gohan is capable of pushing his power well past those levels, as in this transformation, the full extent of his dormant capacities are fully released for him to use at his fingertips by simply raising his ki. As Ultimate is a harnessed manifestation of his natural power, Gohan can maintain this form indefinitely throughout his daily life unhindered.

Ultimate Gohan demonstrated his incredible new power by easily overpowering Super Boo, a stronger version of the Boo that had nearly killed him earlier, and a foe that the incredibly powerful Super Saiyan 3 Gotenks was near even with. However, Gohan was soon overpowered by the Majin with Gotenks and Piccolo's absorbed might due to his superior combat skills inherited from the latter, and his use of mind games to systematically wear him down. In the anime, Ultimate Gohan was able to compete much better against the Gotenks and Piccolo-absorbed Super Boo. After Gotenks' fusion ran out from within Boo, the Majin's loss in power was enough to allow Ultimate Gohan to handle him.

Starting with 2013's Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Gods and its sequel Dragon Ball Z: Resurrection 'F', the Ultimate form is seemingly depicted as a non-permanent transformation that Gohan can access when needed. If he does not continue to keep up his peak performance after the initial release, he is susceptible to losing his battle instincts, and thus, losing access to the Ultimate form and resulting in a gradual weakening over time. However, they can be regained either through proper training or quickly through enough rage.

In Battle of Gods, Gohan initially appeared in his normal base state before transforming into Ultimate Gohan in an attempt to restrain God of Destruction Beerus. Curiously, he remains in the form for the rest of the film, although he is briefly shown being able to transform into a Super Saiyan and revert to Ultimate when performing the Super Saiyan God ritual. In Resurrection 'F', having since retired from fighting completely and slacked off in his training, Gohan became unable to use Ultimate and instead was forced to rely on Super Saiyan.

In Super Hero, it is revealed that despite keeping himself physically fit to fight, Gohan's lack of warrior drive made him unable to properly use his Ultimate form. However, when Piccolo pretended that Pan was in danger, Gohan regained his battle instincts and transformed into Ultimate Gohan once again, releasing enough force to split the clouds and allowing him to physically overpower Gamma 1, who, according to Piccolo, possessed power comparable to that of Goku/Vegeta in their Super Saiyan Blue forms. While in this form, his senses were improved, as he no longer required his glasses to properly see. While fighting Cell Max, he could only access this form when he maxed out his power, requiring a significant amount of energy due to his diminished state.

In Dragon Ball Super, through training with Piccolo, Gohan regained his battle instincts and access to Ultimate, allowing him to go toe-to-toe with god-level opponents such as his father, Toppo, the fusion Kefla, and Gamma 1.

Beast

Son Gohan Beast

Son Gohan Beast (孫悟飯・ビースト, Son Gohan Bīsuto), or simply Beast, is an evolution of the Ultimate form unique to Gohan awakened through rage as a result of witnessing Piccolo's apparent death at Cell Max's hand. It is based on the awakening of his powers and is the final culmination of his history of volcanic awakenings throughout his life (the "wild beast", per Toriyama). Whis refers to Beast a singular talent Gohan achieved on his own, without the use of Super Saiyan or divine energy. In this form, Gohan's eyebrows turn white, while his hair turns light gray and lengthens and lengthens considerably, bearing a resemblance to his old Super Saiyan 2 hairstyle as a boy. His eyes become fully red with black pupils. Gohan's power is such that he effortlessly withstands a full power punch from Cell Max and defeats him without much difficulty.

Through further training with Piccolo, Gohan learned to better control himself while in the form, molding his near limitless potential into Beast. The full potency of this form can only be achieved by using rage to swell the user's ki, and then retaining control.

Creation and Development

Gohan's name comes from the Japanese word "gohan" (ご飯, lit. "cooked rice" or "meal of any sort"), a continuation of the naming scheme of foods by Toriyama. Rice, being a grain, is not normally considered a vegetable, even though it is a common food. However, as the word "vegetable" is a culinary term and not a botanical term, the name can also continue the naming scheme for Saiyan characters, which derives names from puns on vegetables. With the ending of the Cell arc, Gohan was meant to replace his father as the protagonist. However, Toriyama later decided against it, finding the character unsuited for the role in comparison to his father. In conceptualizing Gohan's design for the Majin Boo arc, Toriyama originally included glasses, a hat, or a jacket to his apparel.

In contrast to Goku and Vegeta in Dragon Ball Super: Broly, Gohan and Piccolo are the main focus of the film Super Hero. The film is meant to change the focus of overpowered characters like Goku, Vegeta, and Broly from Broly and instead focus on Gohan and Piccolo as leads to bring a change of pace. The narrative further explores human drama, most notably the characterization of Gohan being a warrior as well as a scholar at the same time. Toriyama stated that he wanted the plot to focus on the dynamic between Gohan and Piccolo due to how their close relationship is the one thing that motivates the former even more than his father, Goku, in order to be determined to fight. Toriyama attempted to draw Gohan Beast with a "scary face" and pale skin, but finding this did not fit his character, tried balancing it with the hair, ultimately settling on a more simplistic approach with upturned hair.