Dragon Ballhas often tried to place Gohan as a successor to Goku, and for a variety of reasons, it’s simply never worked out. While there is the fact that Gohan just doesn’t want to be fighting all the time like his father, there’s actually a deeper reason, and it has to do with how much more like Vegeta he is than Goku.
Gohan is certainly interesting as a character, as much like his father, fans have gotten to see him grow up. Going from a young crying boy, unprepared to fight, to a competent warrior who would rather lay down his arms and embrace a life of peace, Gohan has evolved along a very different path than most expected of him. Gohan has no doubt been traumatized by some of the horrible things he’s seen and lived through, so it’s understandable why he might shy away from fighting. When Gohan has the upper hand in a fight, however, a new side of the young Saiyan comes out.
New Power-Ups Make Gohan Overly Arrogant
Gohan Becomes Cocky And Makes Mistakes
Throughout Gohan’s life, he has obtained great power, with that power spiking at various points as he unlocks new abilities and transformations.These spikes in power had a tendency to go to his head, however, making him arrogant and dismissive towards his opponents, much like Vegeta. However, this kind of arrogance can be highly self-destructive for him, just as it is for Vegeta. This has been a pretty consistent trait of Gohan’s through the series, and there have been multiple occasions where his newfound cockiness led directly to disaster.
The first major incident is during the Cell Saga, whenGohan obtains Super Saiyan 2for the first time. Gohan is suddenly overflowing with power, and able to smack Cell around with ease. Gohan taunts Cell with phrases like, “is that all you’ve got?”, angering his foe. Piccolo explicitly tells Gohan to finish off Cell quickly, but Gohan refuses, stating that he wants to see Cell suffer for all that he’s done. Unfortunately, this arrogance gives Cell the time to pull off his self-destruct move, forcing Goku to use Instant Transmission and teleport Cell away. Gohan’s arrogance essentially forced Goku to die.
Gohan doesn’t seem to learn his lesson, however. When facing Buu, after being powered up by Old Kai, Gohan takes too long fighting Buu, despite having the advantage, which again gives him the chance to self-destruct. When Buu reforms, he requests a rematch with Gotenks, which Gohan allows, thinking he can always step in if needed, instead of taking care of Buu himself. That gives Buu the opportunity to absorb both Gotenks and Piccolo, granting him more strength and allowing him to overpower Gohan. Had Gohan stepped up, Buu might have been defeated then and there.
Gohan’s Arrogance is More Vegeta Than Goku
Gohan and Vegeta Share a Flaw
Of course, when it comes to arrogant characters inDragon Ball, you may’t go long without mentioning Vegeta. Vegeta’s arrogance, especially after attaining new power, has often led to his demise, even as recently as his Ultra Ego fight with Granolah inDragon Ball Super’s manga. It’s been said that cockiness is something of a Saiyan trait, but it’s not one that Goku ever really exhibits, as he typically shows his foes respect for their power.In that sense, Gohan is a lot more like Vegeta than he is like his father.
Gohan has yet to overcome this flaw, either. Even inDragon Ball Super: Super Hero, Gohan demonstrates some significant (if justified) arrogance against Cell MAX, extremely confident in his newfound Beast power’s ability to resolve the situation. He happened to be right this time, andsuccessfully defeated Cell MAXbefore he could kill everyone, but it could just as easily have gone sideways as his encounters with original Cell or Buu did.
To Master Beast Mode, Gohan Must Demonstrate Growth
Gohan Must Overcome His Tendency Toward Arrogance to Truly Grow
Gohan has matured a lot since his failures against Cell and Buu, but it’s clear that he has yet to completely conquer the cocky streak that runs through him. While Vegeta may not ever truly overcome his arrogance, Gohan definitely has the potential to do so, if he works towards it. It’s okay for Gohan to be confident in his power and abilities, but new transformations are completely untested, and may come with drawbacks that he’s not yet aware of.Gohan must learn to maintain his usual sense of caution when he exhibits new power, and test his limits carefully.
Now, admittedly, the situation inDragon Ballis sometimes dire enough that one must throw caution to the wind and give it their all. But in the instances where Gohan has let power go to his head, the problem has actually been that Gohan is holding back, toying with his foes or allowing them to toy with him. In dire situations, Gohan would be better off embracing an all-out attack strategy, doing whatever it takes to end the fight quickly before more people can be hurt. Underestimating one’s foes because of a new power-up is just asking for trouble, and Gohan should’ve learned that by now.
Gohan is Stronger Than Goku For a Reason, And the Answer Tees Up Dragon Ball’s Next Hero
Gohan has been officially declared stronger than Goku, and it says a lot about what the series is trying to be, and what’s next for Dragon Ball.
Gohan’s new Beast Mode transformationis certainly powerful, and it brings him up to the level of his father and Vegeta, making him a force to be reckoned with once again.But if Gohan is to fully and truly master his new form, the most important thing will be to keep the power from causing him to grow arrogant and make mistakes, like he has in the past. How Gohan achieves this is ultimately up to him–it could be through training, learning its limits and strengths, but it could just as easily come to him from meditating on himself and making a conscious choice.
Gohan certainly has a good head on his shoulders most of the time; it’s really only these few instances where his arrogance gets the better of him. If Gohan can get a hold of that and make it a problem of the past, then he could very well be the strongest fighterDragon Ballhas yet seen.
Dragon Ball
From the creative mind of Akira Toriyama, Dragon Ball is a mega multimedia franchise that spans back to the 1980s. Dragon Ball expanded quickly, starting as a serialized manga for Weekly Shonen Jump in Japan. It made its way overseas via manga and an anime adaptation that is enjoyed worldwide. Dragon Ball was the initial starting animated series that followed the adventures of the young Son Goku as he sought after the Dragon Balls. These mystical orbs would grant the wish of any who gathered them together. Then, the series would branch off into the immensely popular Dragon Ball Z, which followed Goku as an adult and featured high-intensity battles and Goku’s never-ending search to be the strongest. The series has also enjoyed several popular video game adaptations and continues to release several new animated series and theatrical films up to the recent popular Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero.
