Gohan
Personality
Gohan, being only half-Saiyan, is unusual in his values and personality. These unique values and personality separate him from pure Saiyans; as powerful as he is, he does not like fighting much. But when he is forced to fight, he shows special interest in protecting his family and friends. Like his father, Son Goku, Gohan has a pure and gentle heart. Besides concerning himself with his family (and his studies), Gohan has a strong attachment with his mentor: his father's former archrival named Piccolo. Piccolo was forced to train Gohan after the death of Goku when Gohan was four. At first the relationship with Piccolo is a frightening one, but after just one year Piccolo admits his change because of the gentle Gohan and even sacrifices himself to save the boy. He can be considered as a surrogate father for Gohan. Kuririn also has influence on Gohan, mainly because Kuririn is Goku's closest friend.
Hidden power
Gohan's hidden power
As a child, Gohan is known to have within him a seemingly limitless dormant power, which at first only revealed itself when he experienced fierce rage.As he got older, he trained hard and gained access to a large portion of his power, and it was not until he was a young adult that his power was fully awakened and he was able to use it all at his own will. He displays exceptional power at a very young age, even surpassing his father Goku and saving the world from the evil Cell at only ten years old. Gohan's latent power is finally released to its fullest extent in the Buu Saga, making him the strongest single character in the series.
Appearance
Gohan's appearance changes drastically through Dragon Ball Z, due to the fact that the series starts out with him as a child and ends when he is fully grown. But Gohan's basic physical appearance pretty much stays the same through the course of the series. Gohan has black hair, black eyes.Gohan has his mother's light peach complection, rather than his father's light tan.
When Gohan is first introduced, he wears a child's outfit and his hat has the four star Dragon Ball attached to it, the same Dragon Ball in which Goku believes that his grandpa's spirit resides. The character on the front is his surname, Son (孫).
Gohan's original appearance While training with Piccolo, he wears an outfit similar to Goku's original. After training with Piccolo he has a bowl-type haircut and dons similar attire to the Namek warrior which he continues to wear until the end of the Namek saga, after which he wears Saiyan-style armor. Afterwards he still wears the Piccolo clothing though his hair is styled in a more wild way due to it being self-cut. While training in the Room of Spirit and Time, he begins wearing Saiyan training gear but again reverts to Piccolo's clothing before facing Cell.
As a teen/young adult, he alternates between a school uniform, his Great Saiyaman costume, the Piccolo clothing (except larger in size), a replica of the gi his father Goku wore while he was alive, prior to the Buu Saga, and the Kaio clothing given to him by Kibito. His hair is much shorter and stands on end in a spiky formation.
In Future Trunks' alternate timeline, Gohan is always seen wearing a gi very similar to Goku's, except that the sleeves on the blue undershirt are longer. After an encounter with the Androids, Future Gohan only has one arm and also has a scar going down his right eye.
In Dragon Ball GT he is usually seen dressed as like a professor or a businessman, in a suit and a tie. He also wears eyeglasses, even though he shows no sign of actually needing them, due to the fact that he doesn't need them to fight.
History
Son Gohan's early childhood was a pampered one, unlike his father's. His life was relatively well-balanced with a loving family and a nice home. Gohan was well-adjusted and intelligent, but unlike his father as a child, he lacked any affection for fighting and was easily scared at a level that most normal children would be. However, he still possessed a strong urge to protect those he loved and in desperate times was able to unleash an incredible level of power that outclassed even experienced Saiyan warriors like his uncle Raditz. His childhood ended quickly as he was drawn into training with Piccolo and forced to battle against Nappa, Vegeta, Freeza and Freeza's forces.
Dragon Ball Z
Saiyan saga
Despite Goku's protests, Chi-Chi home-schooled Gohan to be a scholar until he was four, before Goku took him to Kame Island to introduce him to Muten-Rôshi (Master Roshi), Bulma and Kuririn. At this time he is shown as a shy but very smart boy who also has a tail like Goku once had. Goku's brother Raditz soon arrived looking for his brother Goku, and kidnapped Gohan. It was during this time that Raditz discovered that Gohan was potentially far stronger than Goku himself.
During the battle between Goku, Raditz, and Piccolo, Gohan became angry and broke free of the space pod he was being held captive in. He delivered a devastating blow to Raditz, giving Goku and Piccolo time to kill Raditz, though Goku died in the process as well.
After the battle with Raditz, Piccolo, having seen Gohan's power first hand, decided to take Gohan out training in the wilderness. He left Gohan alone to survive against dinosaurs and other dangers for the better part of a year, though during this time he watched Gohan carefully. The rest of the year, Piccolo showed no mercy as he taught Gohan how to fight. Soon Gohan's bright and cheerful nature made Piccolo protective over the young boy. When the time came for the Z Fighters to take on the remaining two Saiyans, Vegeta and Nappa, Gohan was able to control his fear but at times his age caught up with him, and he became frightened.
When Nappa fired a lethal energy blast at Gohan, Piccolo threw himself in front of Gohan and took the impact. Gohan was deeply angered by Piccolo's death and in turn fired a powerful Masenko at Nappa, which did some damage to his arm.
Son Gohan, transformed into an Oozaru.
Later on, after Vegeta turns into an Oozaru and injures Goku, Gohan himself transforms into the Oozaru form, defeating Vegeta by landing on him after his tail is cut off.
Freeza saga
Gohan chooses to go to the planet Namek to gather the Namekian Dragon Balls to resurrect his friends, because Piccolo's death causes the Earth's Dragon Balls to turn to stone. One of Gohan's main goals is to wish back Piccolo; he even wears a copy of Piccolo's dōgi to honor him.
In the Z Fighters' battle against Freeza's second form, Kuririn is injured by the tyrant and is cast into the depths of the water below. Gohan rushes to save his friend from drowning, but Freeza stops him. This enrages Gohan, and his hidden power is unleashed once again as he attacks Freeza savagely, bringing the villain to his knees.
After Freeza's defeat, there is a momentary period of peace while the Z Fighters wait for Goku to return to Earth. During this period, with Piccolo ensuring the safety of Gohan and his mother, Gohan goes back to his studies.
Garlic Jr. saga
After Garlic Jr. escaped from the Dead Zone and enslaved most of humanity with the Black Water Mist, Gohan, who was unaffected due to hiding in a cave, is forced to travel to the lookout point to save his mother and friends, together with Kuririn and Piccolo. He had to do battle with Garlic Jr.'s henchmen, the Spice Boys, and after taking them down, he had to face his friends: Kuririn and Piccolo. Luckily it turned out that these two were only pretending to be evil so they could free Kami and Mr Popo. While outmatched at first, after a reunion with his friends Gohan eventually manages to overcome and send Garlic Jr. back to the Dead Zone by blowing up the Makyo Star that was powering the villain. This would be the first time Gohan had saved the world without his father's help.
Cell saga
At the age of 6, Son Gohan trained with Piccolo and Goku (who had recently returned to Earth) for three years to fight Android 18 and Android 17, which Future Trunks had warned them about. He spent a further year with his father in the Room of Spirit and Time (known as the Hyperbolic Time Chamber in the English dubs) where he spent some quality time with his father whom he was rarely with, spending a whole year in one day's time.
At the age of 9 (10 if you consider the year spent in the Room of Spirit and Time) he emerged from the room as a mastered Super Saiyan. After the Cell Games began, Goku was the first Z Fighter to battle Cell. However to everyone's surprise, Goku forfeited his match with Cell, choosing Gohan to continue the fight. It was then revealed that Gohan was stronger than Goku, and Goku had counted on Gohan's hidden power to be used as the primary tool to defeat Cell. Gohan did not want his power unleashed, and he refused to get angry enough for it to awaken. Desperate to see this power and test his own limits, Cell began tormenting Gohan, and created seven miniature versions of himself (Cell Juniors) to kill the Z Fighters.
Gohan as a Super Saiyan 2
Gohan's fear of his own power inhibited him from helping the Z fighters, and Gohan doubted his own abilities. It was then that Android 16 told Gohan that Gohan had to fight to protect the life that he loved. Cell killed the android, and upon seeing this, Gohan's hidden power exploded, transforming him into Super Saiyan 2. With his new power, Gohan easily obliterated all seven of the Cell Jr.'s, and when he finally fought Cell, he pulverized the perfect organism to a point that made him revert back to his imperfect state. In desperation, Cell began a self-destruction technique, planning to blow up the Earth. However, Goku used Shunkan Idō to transport Cell away from Earth, to North Kaio's planet, sacrificing himself in the process.
Unfortunately, Cell survived the explosion, regenerating from a lone cell in his core to his perfect form. Due to Cell's Saiyan genes, this attempt at suicide effectively increased his power from his previous state to a point that matched Gohan's. Cell had also learned Goku's teleportation technique. Cell returned to Earth to destroy Gohan and the remaining Z-Warriors.
Wanting to end the conflict, Cell prepared to destroy Gohan with a massive Kamehameha. Gohan, seeing no hope after he was injured from trying to save Vegeta from Cell, did not fight back. Goku (now in the Other World) telepathically urged Gohan to fight back, and fire a Kamehameha to combat Cell's. Gohan did as his father told him, but would not release all his power in fear of destroying the Earth. In the end however, Vegeta distracted Cell, and Gohan was able to unleash all of his power, obliterating Cell completely.
Buu saga
Seven years after the events of Cell, Gohan is living at home with his mother and his seven year old brother named Son Goten. Chi-Chi decides Gohan needs to go to high school to finish his education. On his first day, he turns Super Saiyan (in order to conceal his identity) to stop a robbery, and by the time he arrives at Orange Star High tales of the newest hero, "Gold Fighter", have already spread (which name was actually given him after two previous incidents while going to the school to take entrance exams). In class he meets another crime-fighter and the most popular girl in school, Videl. She is the daughter of Mr. Satan, who got rich and famous for stealing Gohan's credit over the defeat of Cell.
Videl is highly suspicious of Gohan and spies on him to see if he's the Gold Fighter. Videl confronts Gohan several times to voice her suspicions but Gohan nervously denies them. Son Gohan decides to use a disguise when fighting crime and goes to Bulma to make him a costume. He becomes the Great Saiyaman to hide his identity so that the media will not bother his family. But while trying to convince Videl to let him return a stolen dinosaur he and Goten knew well to its two pterodactyl parents, he accidentally reveals his identity to Videl. In the Manga, the arc with the stolen dinosaur never occurs, and Videl discovers Gohan is the Great Saiyaman by recognizing his voice. Videl then blackmails Gohan to compete against her in the newly revived Tenkaichi Budokai in exchange for her silence. Gohan, having no experience with kids his own age, especially girls, is helpless against the confident Videl. She also makes him promise to teach her to fly.
When Gohan tells Bulma about the tournament, Son Goku, listening in from the Other World, contacts them and tells them he'll come too, using his one-day pass to the human world. Hearing this Vegeta also decides to compete. To make it more interesting, and to give them a chance to meet Goku again, Gohan tells all his friends about the tournament, and they all decide to compete, either to meet Goku, or to get the prize money, or simply to have a good fight. Gohan also trains with Goten and is shocked to see Goten become a Super Saiyan.
When Videl shows up at the Son home to learn, Son Gohan learns that she has no knowledge of ki, since her father believes it to be just a trick. Son Gohan then has to start her training from scratch, though she picks it up pretty quickly. Videl, like the rest of the world, believes her father is the strongest fighter on Earth and he laid down a rule she was not allowed to date anyone unless they were stronger than him. During his training of Videl as well as his brother Goten, Videl learns more about Gohan and grows closer to him. Goten lets it slip that their dad is coming back from the dead to compete, but Videl brushes it off, assuming that their father left them.
During the Tournament Picollo is matched against the mysterious Mr Shin. Seemingly terrified Picollo withdraws from the match telling Goku and the others that he believes Mr Shin is actually the Supreme Kai. Videl steps up to fight the muscle bound Spopovich next who brutally beats her, nearly to death. After rushing her to the hospital Gohan steps into the ring against Kibito who demands that he transform into a Super Saiyan 2. Upon doing this Gohan is assaulted by Spopovich and Yamu who drain his energy and then fly off. Shin reveals himself as the East Kai (although he is now the Supreme Kai due to the deaths of all the others) and tells them of the wizard Babidis plan to resurrect the evil Majin Buu. Yamu and Spopovich were two of his minions and in order to restore Buu they must collect large amounts of energy. Supreme Kai intended to give them just that so that they would lead him to Babidis ship. Kibito heals Gohan and they (along with Picollo, Vegeta, Goku, Supreme Kai, and Krillin) fly off after Yamu and Spopovich.
Later on, Majin Buu is resurrected by Babidi and Dabura. Gohan is beaten severely after he tries to defend East Kaioshin. Kibito (East Kaioshin's bodyguard and friend) finds East Kaioshin and is told that Gohan is their only hope against Buu. They bring Gohan to the Kaioshin homeworld and inform him that he must master the use of the Z-Sword in order to defeat Buu. During his training with it, Gohan accidentally breaks the sword, releasing Rou Dai Kaioshin from the Z Sword which he had been sealed in. Rou Dai Kaioshin tells Gohan that he can defeat Buu if he releases his potential power. After a 20 hour ritual is performed, Gohan's latent power is released, granting him incredible strength.
Gohan is taken back to Earth by Kibito, and he makes it in time to save Piccolo and Gotenks from Buu. He easily overpowers Buu, but before Gohan delivers the finishing blow, Buu blows himself up, and flees. Buu later returns and taunts Goten and Trunks to fuse, Gohan with his guard down allows it and Gotenks is formed again. Buu then uses the opportunity to quickly absorb Gotenks and Piccolo, gaining Gotenks' immense power and Piccolo's knowledge.
Gohan and Buu initially match each other blow for blow, until Buu uses his newly acquired knowledge of Gohan's attacks to gain the upper hand. Just as Buu is ready to launch an attack toward a wounded and exhausted Gohan, Tenshinhan appears and stops the attack with his Kikoho. Afterwards, Buu then charges an attack that can destroy the Earth. At this time, Goku appears with his instant transmission, alive again, and attacks Buu by cutting him in half. With Potara earrings he obtained in the afterlife, Goku plans to fuse with Gohan to defeat Buu.
Goku throws one earring to Gohan who misses it and goes looking for it. Goku stalls for time by fighting Buu. When Gohan finds the earring, Goku realizes that there is no need to fuse as Buu lost quite a lot of power when Gotenks' fusion time limit ran out. Buu was weak once again, but manages to absorb Gohan from behind. After Gohan is released from Buu and subsequently killed when the Earth was destroyed, he is then brought back to life with the Dragon Balls. He makes the most significant contribution to Goku's Genki Dama during the climax of the final battle with Kid Buu.
Finally, a few years later, Gohan and Videl are married and have a child, Pan. According to the manga, when Pan was 4, it's alleged that Gohan became a scholar.
History of Trunks
Gohan trains Trunks to help fight the androids.
In Future Trunks's original timeline, Goku has died from his viral heart disease. Android 17 and Android 18 have been awakened by Doctor Gero, and have turned Earth into a desolate wasteland. Piccolo, Vegeta, Kuririn, and the rest of the Z Fighters team up to fight the Androids, but they are no match. Piccolo is the first to be taken out, dropped by a powerful kick to the gut. Next is Vegeta, incinerated by a blast from 17. Kuririn is mercilessly blown to bits by a team attack from the Androids. The rest of the Z Fighters are all penetrated through the chest by energy waves. Gohan, one of the few survivors, has grown up after 13 years, managing to transform into a Super Saiyan and continues to fight the Androids to the best of his ability. It seems that Gohan is at least equal in strength to Android 17 and 18, but he is unable to ever defeat the Androids together, as they always escape. Trunks, wanting to help, joins Gohan in the fight against the Androids. Gohan takes Trunks under his tutelage, hoping that as a Saiyan and the son of Vegeta, he will one day also be able to become a Super Saiyan and help Gohan finally defeat the Androids.
Gohan and Trunks fight the androids until Trunks' inexperience leads to him being at the mercy of #18. In an effort to save Trunks, Gohan manages to buy enough time for the two of them to hide, only to have the Androids blow up the entire area, severing Gohan's arm and severely injuring both him and Trunks. The Androids left them for dead.
Gohan continues to train with Trunks when he can, desperately trying as best he can to help Trunks ascend into a Super Saiyan. Gohan admits the difficulty of being a teacher when he never really had the chance to be taught, his mentors all being murdered fairly early on in his life.
As another attack occurs, Gohan prepares to fight the Androids, and Trunks desperately wants to help. Gohan knows that there is no way to talk Trunks out of it, so he misleads him into thinking he will accept the help, then quickly knocks Trunks out before setting off towards the Androids. Gohan manages to hold his own in the fight even with one arm, but in the end he cannot defeat the pair together. After a valliant battle, Gohan is killed by the Androids. After Trunks awakens, he finds Gohan's lifeless body. The death of his only friend gives Trunks the motivation to finally become a Super Saiyan, an action which leads to him eventually saving their future. Ultimately, in this future timeline, Gohan dies a hero.
Dragon Ball GT
Ten years after the end of Dragon Ball Z, Gohan works for Capsule Corporation as a researcher, and like Goten and Trunks, does not consider training a major priority. Gohan's involvement in battles is minimal, which ultimately turns him into a minor character. This is unlike his character in Dragon Ball Z, where he was made the main character for brief periods of time in the series. During DBGT, Gohan is much more focused on being a husband to Videl and father to Pan than fighting and has embraced, to his mother's joy, a more educated and job-oriented lifestyle.
With Goku being exclusively the main character in Dragon Ball GT, his presence overshadows the other characters. Gohan's only major contribution to Dragon Ball GT was that the evil alien Bebi, possesses him and he becomes a disciple of his. Gohan is also seen at the end of the series battling Omega Shenron with Goku, Vegeta, Goten, and Trunks.
Transformations and power ups
Oozaru
Also referred to as "Great Ape" or "Saiyan Ape", this transformation occurs when a person with Saiyan heritage (and with a tail) looks directly at a full moon. The result is the waves from the moon stimulating a gland in their tails, enabling an unavoidable transformation. This is a complete transformation, so it completely affects their mental state. But some Saiyans are able to control this primal mind through training. Gohan only appears as this twice in the series, first while training with Piccolo and again when fighting Vegeta. However, he transforms several other times in filler episodes and movies.
Unlock potential
This in truth is not a form of Gohan, it is simply an enhancement that he acquires during the Namek Saga. This term is only used in the Budokai games. Gohan acquired this when he visited the Namekian Elder Saichourou (Guru in the English dub) during his trip to Planet Namek. Saichourou placed his hand on top of Gohan's head and using his own powers released Gohan's latent ki. This however did not release Gohan's hidden power, since he was still only able to unleash his hidden power through fierce rage. Gohan's abilities were enhanced.
Super Saiyan
The Gohan most associated with the main time line of Dragon Ball became a Super Saiyan at 9 years old, during the intense training he endured with his father in the Room of Spirit and Time. However, it is not exactly clear at what age and how he became a Super Saiyan in the alternate time line (Trunks' Time Line). But it is suggested that he became a Super Saiyan after seeing his friends killed by Android 17 and 18, due to his rageful hatred towards them. Gohan is the fourth character in the series to appear as a Super Saiyan, and he was also the youngest until the appearance of Goten and Trunks.
Super Saiyan, Full-Power
Gohan is one of the first people to display full mastery over the Super Saiyan. Gohan had learned to perfect the Super Saiyan form with his father, when his father suggested that they remain transformed for extended periods of time so that they could master Super Saiyan, including all the unwanted behavioral effects. This mastery of the Super Saiyan enables full control over the energy output and consumption, completely diminishing strain on the body.
Super Saiyan 2
Gohan was the first and the youngest character in the Dragon Ball series to reach Super Saiyan 2. Of course this occurred when his dormant power was fully awakened through his rage at Cell for hurting his friends and killing the peaceful Android 16. One thing is quite noticeable when he in particular manifests this transformation: his nature is prone to complete change, giving him an almost sadistic sense of mind. This is completely opposite of his natural reluctance and innocence when he is not transformed. The most noted example of this happening is his desire to watch Cell suffer before he was going to kill him; while prior to his Super Saiyan 2 transformation, he made it quite clear that he didn't want to hurt or even fight Cell. Later in the series, Gohan only transforms into Super Saiyan 2 a second time simply to display the transformation at the Tenkaichi Budokai to Kibito. It is unknown why he didn't use this transformation again after his final second time at the tournament. He does use this transformation in the movie, Bojack Unbound, to defeat Bojack and his crew.
The Great Saiyaman
Great Saiyaman is Gohan's alter ego and an attempt to hide his true identity from his classmates when he attended school in Satan City.
Gohan's idea for a costume and alter persona came when he had transformed into a Super Saiyan in order to disguise himself as he fought some bank robbers on the morning of his first day of school. But his classmates had seen the resemblance between Gohan and the mysterious "Gold Fighter" (Super Saiyan) so he decided that a secretive costume developed by Bulma would be more effective. Thus, he became the crime fighting super hero of Satan City: "The Great Saiyaman".
Latent power released Gohan's ultimate power up when the full extent of his dormant power is released during the Buu saga. This power up was achieved by a special "ki unlocking" ceremony performed by Rou Dai Kaioshin. Although technically this ability is not exclusive to Gohan alone as the ceremony can be used to unlock anyone's sleeping powers, his was unusual in the amount of time it took to unlock. When the power is first acquired, he is told to go Super Saiyan, however when Gohan attempts to transform into a Super Saiyan, his hair, aura, and eyes stay his natural color. Only subtle changes in his appearance occur, including more pronounced facial features and more upright hair. This power up is referred to as "Elder Kai Unlock Ability" in the Budokai series of video games and "Ultimate Gohan" in the Budokai Tenkaichi series. The more common term: "Mystic" was first coined by fans of the Dragon Ball Series.
Techniques and special abilities
Bukuu Jutsu The power of flight. It literally means "lighter than air skill". Most warriors in the Dragon Ball universe can do this. Bakurikimaha (Exploding Powerful Demon Wave) A very powerful blast shot from one hand, with the other arm supporting the one that is firing the attack. During the battle against Freeza on Namek, Gohan uses this technique when he comes to help Piccolo after Freeza transforms into his second form. As Piccolo is the creator of this technique, it is likely he taught it to Gohan. Called Destructive Wave in English releases. Masenko (Demon Blast) Gohan's first and most used attack. Its origins are from Piccolo (hence the Ma or demon beginning of the word) who presumably taught the attack to Gohan while training together in the wilderness, although this is never shown. He holds his hands crossed with the palms facing forward above his head, creating a yellow-colored energy ball. Then he throws his hands forward and fires the yellow beam, with the beam's pattern almost similar to the Kamehameha.
Renzoku Kikou Dan (Continuous Energy Bullets)
A combination of many small ki blasts fired at a very rapid rate, which causes a machinegun like effect. Useful for quick and widespread damage, but is very draining on ones energy level. Almost any fighter in Dragon Ball Z can perform this attack. Kamehameha (Turtle Destruction Wave) After training with Goku in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber, Gohan masters this attack, along with the Super Saiyan levels. He holds his hands near one of his sides (usually right), creating a shiny, blue energy ball. Then he throws his palms forward to fire the beam.
Chou Kamehameha (Super Turtle Destruction Wave)
An upgraded version of the Kamehameha. The hand movements to perform the attack is the same as the Kamehameha, however the charging time takes longer due to more ki energy being put into it. Seeing as how Goku was the inventor of the upgraded version, it is likely Gohan learned it from his father. In the Dragon Ball Z Budokai games on the PS2 and PSP, it is placed as Gohan's Ultimate Move. Also called the Super Kamehameha in the English release.
Father-Son Kamehameha (Oyako Kamehameha)
Gohan uses this attack only once during the entire series. When Gohan uses his Kamehameha to counter Perfect Cell's own, he is helped spiritually by Goku. This attack helps Gohan overpower and defeat Cell with a little help from Vegeta. The name was coined by the Budokai videogames, but was not mentioned as a separate attack in the anime. This is also call the "Family Kamehameha" in the game Dragon Ball Z: Super Sonic Warriors 2. Goku assists Gohan and Goten in the same manner while fighting Broly in the movie Broly: Second Coming.
Combined Kamehameha
Gohan uses this attack only in the movie Broly: Second Coming (The Dangerous Duo! Super-Warriors Never Rest). This attack is used by Gohan and his younger brother Goten together. They use their combined Kamehameha attacks to hold off Broly's giant energy ball attack. The attack a short time later in the movie becomes a similar move to the Father-Son Kamehameha with the arrival of Goku to help coach his sons to victory. This attack is also seen in Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 2 video game. It is the ultimate move for Gohan and Goten's Super Saiyan forms. The name "Bros' Kamehameha" was only used in the video game Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 2 and not given a name in the actual movie or series.