Summary
- Future Gohan is a sad version of Gohan, who never wanted to become a warrior.
- Future Gohan is what many fans wanted Gohan to be, but he represents a path Gohan would never willingly chose.
- Gohan was supposed to be the protagonist after the Cell Saga, but Toriyama changed his mind.
For many fans, Gohan should have become the protagonist of Dragon Ball following the Cell Saga. Well, indeed, that was the original plan, according to Toriyama himself. But he later changed his mind, and Goku remained as the protagonist of Dragon Ball.
The Cell Saga introduces Future Gohan, an alternate version of Gohan who had no option but to become a fighter. But while many fans feel that this is the "ultimate version" of Gohan, Future Gohan is actually a sad version of a character who has never wanted to become the warrior that the audience expected him to be.
Dragon Ball: Every Time Gohan Surpassed Goku
Gohan has surpassed his father, Goku, several times throughout Dragon Ball's history, as these examples illustrate.
Who is "Future Gohan" in Dragon Ball Z?
Future Gohan is what fans call the counterpart of Gohan who lives in the timeline where Future Trunks came from in the Cell Saga. When Future Trunks traveled to the past, Gohan was already 23 years old and, according to Trunks, he was the one who had trained him. He also had scars and had lost his left arm.
In that timeline, Goku succumbs to a heart virus years before and, as his death was a natural one, he cannot be resurrected by the Dragon Balls. Furthermore, the androids later kill almost the entire Dragon Team, leaving Gohan as the last hope for the humans.
Future Gohan is then forced to follow the path of a warrior trying to defeat the androids — he trains Trunks, hoping that he can eventually help him to defeat them. Goten does not exist in this timeline, which means that he was probably conceived during the break before the Cell Games.
In the TV special Dragon Ball Z: The History of Trunks, we learn more about Future Gohan and follow his journey in trying to defeat the androids, from his childhood until his tragic death — the emotional stress of seeing his dead body is what triggered Future Trunks to unlock his Super Saiyan form. The life of Future Gohan before Goku's death is supposed to be the same as "normal Gohan".
Dragon Ball Super Showed More of Future Gohan
Dragon Ball Super shows a little more of him and his timeline in a bonus story featured in Volume 2 titled "The Winning Universe is Decided."
This special story shows Future Gohan when he was still a kid, but after the androids started acting and after Goku's death. Gohan is looking for the Dragon Balls, and Bulma tells him that someone else has apparently gathered them — it was the Pilaf, who wishes for him and his gang to have their youth restored, and Shenron then turns them into babies (which actually seems somewhat inspired by Dragon Ball GT). The Dragon Balls then turn into stones, which means that Piccolo and Kami are dead.
Luckily, this timeline is later erased by Future Zeno in order to eliminate Infinite Zamasu, the final incarnation of Zamasu.
Future Gohan Is What Many Fans Wanted Gohan to Be in DBZ
As Future Gohan follows the path of a warrior, many fans see him as what Gohan should have become in the series. It is no secret that Toriyama actually planned to make Gohan the main character of the story — and that's why it feels like he is becoming the protagonist in the Cell Saga —, but he later changed his mind.
I intended to put Gohan into the leading role. It didn’t work out. I felt that compared to Goku, he was ultimately not suited for the part.
— Akira Toriyama in an interview
For this reason, a good portion of the audience was disappointed to see Gohan doing stuff like becoming the Great Saiyaman and going to high school and college instead of focusing on training. For some, Future Gohan is the "most legitimate" version of Gohan.
Future Gohan Is A Sad Version of Gohan
While Future Gohan may be what many fans were expecting to see following the Cell Saga, he is not who Gohan has always been. Gohan was never into fighting, and he was always interested in studying.
What we actually learn in the Cell Saga is that Gohan would have become a warrior, but only against his own will, if the situation forced him to do so. In this sense, Future Gohan is actually a sad version of him — he is what happens when Gohan is not allowed to follow the path he wants. And that may be one of the reasons why Future Gohan fails to unleash the powers that we have seen "normal" Gohan unlock — instead, he failed and was defeated.
Without being forced to strictly follow the path of deadly battles, Gohan is able to unlock Ultimate and, later, Beast — Beast is probably the most powerful non-divine transformation shown in the series. Gohan is mostly a "defensive" character, in the sense that he only awakens his true powers when people he loves are in danger.
However, the fact that he wasn't able to unleash enough power to kill the androids in the alternate timeline also suggests that Gohan needs to have his mind in the right place to push his limits — that is, he unleashes his powers when he is angry, and not when he is succumbing to despair. There's actually something really cool about Gohan being potentially the strongest man in the entire universe, but who has never unlocked his true powers simply because he doesn't want to.
Future Gohan is a lone warrior who has to deal with the burden of saving the Earth from danger, and he only accepts it because he is forced to, since there is no one else left to help him. He is not happy with it, and he is not what Gohan would ever want to become.
Dragon Ball Super is officially available on MANGA Plus in both English and Spanish. While a few chapters can be read for free, only those with a regular or deluxe subscription can read all the chapters released so far.
- Created by
- Akira Toriyama
- First TV Show
- Dragon Ball
- Latest TV Show
- Dragon Ball DAIMA
- First Episode Air Date
- February 26, 1986
- TV Show(s)
- Dragon Ball, Dragon Ball Z, Dragon Ball GT, Dragon Ball Super, Dragon Ball DAIMA
- Upcoming TV Shows
- Dragon Ball DAIMA
Dragon Ball is a franchise by Akira Toriyama which follows the adventures of Goku, a powerful warrior who protects the earth with his group of friends. A recent title from the series is Dragon Ball: The Breakers, an action style game where 7 players have to survive being hunted by the Raider.
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