It’s very difficult to engage in a conversation about popular anime series without paying service to the Dragon Ball franchise. Akira Toriyama’s Dragon Ball has been a successful fixture of the shonen genre ever since its debut in the 1980s. Dragon Ball showcases characters that are all incredibly powerful, but they’re frequently pushed to greater heights as new villains present themselves.
There is no shortage of heroes to help defend the Earth in Dragon Ball, but Goten is a later addition during Dragon Ball Z’s Buu Saga. Goten achieves amazing power at a young age, and he’s often left to train alongside Trunks, Vegeta’s son. Goten and Trunks are a valuable combination, but they’re not identical, and Goten has several skills that his best friend lacks.
10 He Can Spar With His Mother
One of the most compelling components of the Dragon Ball series is how characters change as they mature in life and start families of their own. Chi-Chi is introduced in Dragon Ball as a female warrior with a strong fighting spirit, but she progressively accepts the role of mother and caregiver in Dragon Ball Z.
Nevertheless, Chi-Chi still knows the fundamentals of combat, and there’s a flashback in the anime where she even helps Goten train. Trunks has a fantastic mom, but combat is one area in which Bulma is very much lacking in.
9 He Can Perform The Kamehameha
Dragon Ball is full of unique and powerful energy attacks, but the Kamehameha has become the unofficial technique that’s associated with the anime. Goku doesn’t invent the Kamehameha attack, but he does it justice and steadily exposes it to the heroes that fight alongside him.
It’s quite touching that Goku passes on his signature attack onto his children, and it becomes one of Goten’s most valuable abilities. Goten even gets to perform a generational Kamehameha with both his father and his brother. Trunks knows many strong energy attacks and has encountered the Kamehameha, but it’s Goten’s specialty, not his own.
8 He Gains A Steady Girlfriend
Goten and Trunks largely come as a pair and are almost interchangeable in many respects, but Dragon Ball GT does some interesting work to delineate the two Saiyans. Dragon Ball GT offers an appreciated glimpse at Goten and Trunks as teenagers, which evidently produces a version of Goten that’s more of a ladies' man than Trunks.
Goten is regularly seen with Valese, his girlfriend, in Dragon Ball GT. It’s worth pointing out that Future Trunks seems to find love with Future Mai, but the same isn’t true for Kid Trunks. His interactions with a young Mai are much more awkward.
7 He Doesn't Exist In The Future Timeline
A major shift in Dragon Ball occurs when Future Trunks arrives from the future and introduces the idea of a fractured timeline where the Androids successfully complete their mission. Future Trunks’ timeline is steeped in darkness and most of Dragon Ball’s strongest warriors are deceased, including Goku.
Goku’s death means that Goten never gets a chance to be born and he never exists in this dark version of the future. Alternatively, Future Trunks gets to spend time with his younger present timeline self. There’s no Future Goten that’s able to give Goten a comparable experience.
6 He's The Youngest To Become A Super Saiyan
One of Dragon Ball’s more controversial topics is how the process to become a Super Saiyan becomes increasingly easy to accomplish. It’s extremely difficult for Goku, Vegeta, and Future Trunks to first accomplish this feat, but it’s practically an afterthought for both Goten and Trunks.
Goten doesn’t undergo some form of terrible loss or anger to trigger his transformation, which makes the process almost seem innate to him. Goten is only seven years old when he first becomes a Super Saiyan. Comparatively, Trunks is eight years old when he first achieves this. It’s comparable power, but Goten’s milestone is significant.
5 He Adopts The Great Saiyaman Persona
Dragon Ball gets progressively serious as it goes on, but there are still doses of levity that help balance out the deadly battles. The Great Saiyaman is a crimefighting superhero persona that Gohan adopts, which even gets extended over to Videl.
The video game Dragon Ball Online makes some bold predictions about the universe’s future, one of which states that Goten eventually takes over the Great Saiyaman mantle. Hercule Satan’s death inspires Goten to become the new Great Saiyaman, even though he’s in his fifties at the time. It’s implied that Trunks is also interested, but it’s not as genuine.
4 He's Proficient In The Rock, Scissors 'N' Paper Style Attack
It’s incredibly important in Dragon Ball for fighters to be able to surprise their opponent. There’s a clear advantage to powerful transformation and energy attacks, but, sometimes, simpler techniques can lead to victory in unexpected ways.
One of Goten’s sillier techniques is the “Rock, Scissors ‘N’ Paper” attack, where he advances on his opponent in a very slapstick manner. Goku could also perform this silly attack, but it largely seems limited to their family. This unconventional attack becomes a common maneuver for Gotenks, but this knowledge obviously comes from Goten and his contribution to their fusion.
3 He Values His Studies
A constant struggle that Goku’s family faces is the push and pull of how Chi-Chi is eager for her children to not just be strong fighters, but also brilliant scholars. It’s compelling to see how parents can push their own strengths onto their offspring or allow them to develop their own interests and personalities.
Chi-Chi hammers in the studious philosophy with Gohan, but it’s likely that this also rubs off on Goten to some extent. Goten studies more than Trunks does, and Goten is even prominent in Dragon Ball Z school supply commercials, whereas Trunks is absent.
2 He Defeats Babidi’s Demonic Forces
Death is only a temporary setback in the Dragon Ball universe, and it’s surprising how many times the barrier between the worlds of the living and the deceased gets breached. The 12th Dragon Ball Z movie, Fusion Reborn, showcases a major escape from Hell, but there’s even worse damage done during Dragon Ball GT.
Goten and Trunks both do their part to eliminate these return threats, but Goten specifically takes out Pui Pui. Initially, Goten and Trunks don’t get to experience Babidi’s lackeys. Trunks does help Goten defeat Yakon here too, but it’s mostly Goten’s victory.
1 He Trains Under His Brother
Many of the characters in Dragon Ball are blessed with natural strength, but training under the right mentor is usually a crucial factor that can push individuals to important places. Goten and Trunks are both fortunate enough to have powerful fathers that take an interest in their development and aren’t afraid to push their boundaries.
However, Goten also benefits from an older brother who, in some ways, is even more skilled than Goku. Gohan generously helps out his brother and teaches him more about Saiyan strength, which Trunks must experience through different means.