There are a handful of evergreen anime series that have practically become synonymous with the medium, but the love that’s associated with Akira Toriyama’s Dragon Ball is on a whole other level. Dragon Ball has been around since the 1980s, but every decade it grows more popular and finds inspired ways to revise its formula and keep its audience engaged.
Dragon Ball is full of hundreds of unique and lovable characters who have helped the series become as popular as it has, but some individuals draw a greater reaction than others. Gohan, Goku’s son, is a major player in the franchise, yet he’s far from infallible. Gohan is prone to behavior that’s not exactly becoming, even if he’s still a force of good throughout Dragon Ball.
10 He Abandons Fighting For So Long
It’s not easy to always increase the stakes and push individuals to new plateaus of power. However, right from the start of Dragon Ball Z, there’s a heavy focus on Gohan’s inner strength. Gohan spends 90% of Dragon Ball Z on the upward track to replace his father, but then Goku remains at the forefront of everything, and Gohan regresses as a result. It’s admirable that Gohan focuses on his family, but it’s possible to find a middle ground where he doesn’t just throw out his decades of training. He begins Dragon Ball Super in a very regressive state.
9 He Never Outgrows His Great Saiyaman Schtick
The shift from Gohan’s adolescence into adulthood in Dragon Ball Z is marked by a number of changes in the Saiyan. One of the most notable shifts is that Gohan begins to moonlight as a lighthearted street-level superhero, the Great Saiyaman. Gohan’s tenure as the Great Saiyaman either works for fans or it doesn’t, but it remains a permanent aspect of his character. This might be explainable as a phase from Gohan’s past, but even when he’s an adult, with a wife and kid, he still patrols as this goofy figure. It’s time that he hangs up the attire.
8 He's Nearly As Obtuse As Goku When It Comes To Romance
The characters in Dragon Ball grow older, begin new chapters in their lives, and even start their own families. However, there’s a strange level of obliviousness that’s reserved for many of the Saiyans in Goku’s family. Goku seems to be completely clueless over any romantic endeavors, including kissing.
Gohan isn’t this much of a remedial case, but he demonstrates comparable ignorance during Barry Khan’s blackmail attempt on him. Another woman kisses Gohan, and he’s fully oblivious and gullible regarding this plan, as well as how Barry’s sights are set on Videl.
7 He Eliminates Universe 10 In An Especially Callous Manner
Dragon Ball Super concludes in the Tournament of Power, an epic battle royale among the likes of which the anime has never before seen. The strongest of the multiverse are pit against each other with the erasure of their universes being the consequence of failure. Plenty of Universe 7’s fighters eliminate other universes, but Gohan engages in a particularly morbid example of this. Gohan eliminates Obuni, the last fighter from Universe 10, but before he’s erased he drops a locket of his family, which includes a newborn baby. Gohan’s work is necessary, but he doesn’t seem remotely sad over it.
6 He Inadvertently Encourages Gun Violence
The characters in Dragon Ball have access to such powerful blasts of energy that very early on in the franchise it’s established that guns are largely useless. This means that automatic weapons aren’t typically featured in the anime, but there’s a strange use of them in the Battle of Gods movie. Gohan, in Great Saiyaman mode, tries to teach Mai a lesson by allowing her to fire bullets at him, which he deflects. Gohan assumes the gun is a fake, but this still sets an awful precedent, and one of the deflected bullets even injures his pregnant wife’s leg.
5 He Freezes Up Against Nappa
Dragon Ball reaches such heights after its introductory Saiyan Saga, but these early episodes still contain some of the series’ most exciting moments and properly establish what’s to come. Nappa is a threat unlike anything the heroes have ever previously encountered.
He seems like an impossible enemy until a three-pronged attack is launched by Piccolo, Krillin, and Gohan. Gohan is supposed to finish off the assault, but he freezes in the moment, which allows Nappa to regain his composure. To be fair, Gohan is just a child in this amount, but it reflects how he can grow in many ways.
4 He Gets Absorbed By Super Buu
The majority of Dragon Ball’s villains understand how to prolong a showdown through the use of either multiple transformations or various forms that the villain can adopt. Buu pushes this concept to the extreme and many variations on the villain come into play based on who he absorbs. Gohan accomplishes incredible things with his training alongside Old Kai, and his return to Earth makes it seem as if he’ll be the end to Super Buu’s danger. Sadly, Gohan doesn’t properly take advantage of his power. He gets absorbed, which gives the heroes more trouble to worry about.
3 He Bides His Time With Cell, Which Leads To His Father's Death
Admittedly, many of Dragon Ball's strongest characters suffer from inflated egos that cause them to unnecessarily draw out a battle to better determine the enemy's full potential. Gohan's Super Saiyan 2 strength is enough to take out Cell, and Goku even tells his son to finish him off and not waste any time. Gohan ignores this advice, which ultimately gives Cell the opportunity to finish off Goku and cause considerable harm. It's exciting to have a strong version of Gohan, but it's hard not to resent him at this moment.
2 He's Responsible For The Destruction Of The Moon
Gohan grows a lot as a fighter, but some of the most important lessons that he learns are during his youth. Gohan and his tail result in some unexpected Great Ape transformations, one of which results in Piccolo needing to destroy the moon to resolve the situation. This disaster is brushed aside, but Gohan exhibits zero empathy for this or attempts to later rectify the problem. There are presumably a myriad of problems caused by this, not to mention the other frantic occasions when Gohan’s Great Ape side gets the better of him. Luckily, his tail is now removed.
1 He Squanders His Mystic Upgrade
One of the most frustrating developments that Gohan experiences in Dragon Ball is that the Buu Saga repeatedly sets him up to be the big hero who will save the day. Gohan's training with Old Kai to become Ultimate/Mystic Gohan is a major component of his growth. It's implied that this upgrade surpasses his Super Saiyan strength and a true rarity in the universe. In the end, Ultimate Gohan feels like an afterthought, and it's just frustrating that such an important transformation feels irrelevant.