Fans have gotten the chance to watch Goku, the iconic protagonist of the Dragon Ball franchise, grow from a young boy to a man, creating a growing family of his own with his wife Chi Chi. This includes two sons in Gohan and Goten, each of whom achieved the powerful Super Saiyan transformation to defend Earth from escalating threats. And while Goku's parenting skills have certainly faced scrutiny before, a new fan theory suggests the Saiyan hero may quietly favor one of his sons far more than the other: Gohan.

Dragon Ball Z ended with Goku resurrected by the Elder Kai and reunited with his family on Earth seven years after being killed by Cell. Back at home, Goku really never got the chance to know Goten, who was born shortly after his death, and the two only met briefly when his father returned to Earth for one day to battle Majin Buu. This domestic status quo continued into Dragon Ball Super, with Goten helping his father start a career as a farmer while Gohan started his own family with Videl and their daughter Pan.

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However, as the Z Fighters prepared for the climactic Tournament of Power in Super, Goku would instead favor training Gohan over Goten, despite the martial arts competition allowing up to ten competitors from each universe to participate. A fan response by Dakar Thomas on Quora noted this was because Goten didn't have the commitment and drive to grow stronger like his older brother and father while speculating Goten achieving the Super Saiyan transformation at the age of seven -- years before Gohan and well over a decade before Goku -- indicated he possessed far more raw potential than the rest of his family.

The latter fan point makes considerably less sense: Goku always strove to help Gohan unlock his greater potential before his second death, training with him in preparation for the Androids' prophesied arrival and inside the Hyperbolic Time Chamber to match Cell's combat strength. Even during his brief stay on Earth, Goku instructed Goten and Trunks how to perform the Fusion Dance to merge into the composite warrior Gotenks. While Goku may not have trained as often with Goten, this isn't due to him noticing his younger son was already on track to surpass him.

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Goku and Vegeta themselves both indicated they omitted Trunks and Goten from representing Universe 7 in the Tournament of Power due to their relative inexperience compared to other members of the final team. While the two Super Saiyans were presumably stronger than several other martial artists representing Universe 7, Tien and Master Roshi's participation revealed years of combat experience and training made them more than capable of facing physically superior opponents. Goten and Trunks' relative unfamiliarity would make them easy targets for more seasoned warriors, resulting in both being sidelined from the contest of champions.

Goku got the opportunity to really get to know Gohan for much of the first eleven years of his elder son's life -- minus a year Goku spent deceased and training in the afterlife under King Kai. Goku and Goten have had considerably less time together, but it is clear Goku still cares for his youngest child. As Goten grows older, perhaps Goku will train him to unlock more and more of his full potential, but in the meantime, the Super Saiyan God is focused on taking on high stakes missions himself or with his older, more capable son rather than risk Goten's life.

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