Interestingly, Gohan actually is a protector first and a fighter second like many Western fans mistook Goku for. Saiga and I have had a lot of arguments in the past over in the manga thread about whether that makes him more qualified to take up Goku's torchHey! or lessListen! .
edited 19th Apr '17 5:32:22 AM by TobiasDrake
My Tumblr. Currently side-by-side liveblogging Digimon Adventure, sub vs dub.Their disappointed in Gotendo's wasted potential...
Or something like that...
Rules of the Internet 45. Rule 45 is a lie. Check out my art if you notice.Judging by Saiga's response, the latter.
I agree though; even if Gohan's goal isn't to simply fight stronger foes like his dad, you'd think he's at least train to protect his family. Hell, it's not even like he hates fighting (fuck that shit from the Cell saga) because he clearly enjoys it as a hobby at least, something Super finally remembered after brushing him aside for months.
But alas, gotta keep Goku the center of attention I guess.
A lazy millennial who's good at what he does.You don't even need to enjoy fighting...
"So, hotshot, you want to fight Majin Boo?"
"Fight you? No... I want to kill you". :^)
This along with Trunks' line “Come at me at full power right from the start. I’m not soft like Son Goku…” and his efficiency in dispatching Freeza/the Androids would have really worked for showing how it isn't a drawback to dislike fighting, if Toriyama hadn't decided he wanted to go back to Goku as the hero.
edited 19th Apr '17 7:12:17 AM by Saiga
Everything that happened in the Buu arc is a one-time thing. That's what happens when the series ends.
And yes, my position was the latter. I can understand Gohan trying to keep in shape where he can fit it into his busy life schedule, but without that passion, I just don't see him going home every day to spend seven hours pumping iron in 500x gravity, going out of his way to explore and discover new levels of Super Saiyan, dedicating himself to inventing new techniques and discovering new ways of using old ones, etc. etc.
Even if he didn't actively degrade his battle power out of apathy, the serial escalation would eventually leave him behind because without an active threat in his face right now, he's not going to be actively trying to increase his battle power. Just maintain it where it is.
My Tumblr. Currently side-by-side liveblogging Digimon Adventure, sub vs dub.I've been saying that since before Super was a thing. Gohan's already among the most powerful things in the entire universe at a time when the series had to introduce a god-killing eldritch horror to challenge its protagonists. For someone who isn't really that invested in being the strongest, that's reason enough to go, "You know what? I think I won at martial arts. I think I can be done now."
My Tumblr. Currently side-by-side liveblogging Digimon Adventure, sub vs dub.Unfortunately that's not how it works in Dragonball.
No matter how strong the main characters get, the next guy to come along with always be even stronger. It's not really fair, since now they are even dipping into alternate universes in order to keep challenging them, but what can you do?
I agree with you that Gohan shouldn't have to keep training beyond maintaining his strength. That the power he had should have been good enough, but Toriyama will always insist on raising the bar and Moving the Goalposts in terms of how strong you have to be to be able to beat the next guy.
One Strip! One Strip!There's every point in training hard to improve without any particular foe to overcome if you are Goku. His identity is wrapped up in pushing his limits, finding new levels, etc. Getting stronger and seeking out challenges to match his strength against is his passion. That's why he's the main character.
He doesn't need the meta-understanding that there's another season and another deadly foe around the next corner. He just needs his own drive to reach new heights for its own sake. Goku should always be the strongest fighter around because he's the one who would still be doing this even if the Earth was never threatened again.
edited 19th Apr '17 8:44:30 AM by TobiasDrake
My Tumblr. Currently side-by-side liveblogging Digimon Adventure, sub vs dub.That's called Sorting Algorithm of Evil, something that occurs in the majority of works you consume, especially in Action Manga. It generally happens because there's no story without conflict,and naturally newer conflicts have to arise if you plan on continuing a series. I get complaining about Gohan, but try not to blame storytelling concepts like this for the things you dislike.
The issue is whether Gohan should be aware of the Sorting Algorithm of Evil. On the one hand, it's entirely reasonable to think that, after becoming one of the five strongest people in the universe (and having the rest of the strongest people in the universe as close friends or family), there's no real need to become even stronger; presumably you'll be able to deal with any threat that pops up. On the other hand, the Main Characters have seen new, exponentially stronger villains pop up to replace the defeated villains so many times, that maybe they should be aware of the pattern.
edited 19th Apr '17 10:07:32 AM by RavenWilder
Basically, yes.
Gohan is better suited to protecting the Earth. Goku is better suited to defeating the newest, strongest bad guy. There doesn't have to be a conflict here, but there is because the villain is typically a newer, stronger bad guy who threatens the Earth, and Dragon Ball is a series where there's only room for one protagonist and his gaggle of useless sidekicks.
edited 19th Apr '17 11:32:20 AM by TobiasDrake
My Tumblr. Currently side-by-side liveblogging Digimon Adventure, sub vs dub.![]()
Nothing so complicated really.
Toriyama liked writing Goku more, so Goku ended up more effective at fighting villains despite it only being incidental to his goal of fight strong dudes. Gohan is more peaceful, so often doesn't feel the need to train (he never really had the opportunity to fight for fun like Goku did because all the battles he was involved in were to the death). It's just that the plot demands that Gohan's like of an impetus to fight unless a threat is directly in front of him tends to bite him in the ass far more than his father's strong desire for fights tends to (not to say that it doesn't however).
I'm not trying to complain about Gohan. Hell, I'm not unfamiliar with the Sorting Algorithm of Evil either. I just think it's unfair for the kid to be punished for thinking it's ok to maybe not train every moment of every day.
edited 19th Apr '17 11:32:47 AM by HandsomeRob
One Strip! One Strip!I still maintain that the easiest way to deal with the conflict is for Gohan to be the protagonists' shield while Goku is their sword. When a new threat emerges to threaten the Earth, Gohan focuses on protecting people from harm while Goku focuses on beating the new threat into submission.
This, to me, seems a better compromise than Gohan constantly getting shit on 'cause he's not Goku.
edited 19th Apr '17 11:34:05 AM by TobiasDrake
My Tumblr. Currently side-by-side liveblogging Digimon Adventure, sub vs dub.
That's a good idea, but unfortunately, the mangaka prefers leading with the sword at all times.
I like Goku and all, but it's a shame. Fortunately, even if there are some questionable choices in the process, he is letting Gohan strut his stuff in the both the Prelim matches and the Tournament of Power.
One Strip! One Strip!

I'm not saying Goku's an asshole lol. I'm saying that his heroics are like Luffy's, more incidental than anything else. He helps people because he likes them and obviously doesn't want to see them hurt, but helping people is not his primary motivation like it seemed like in the dub. It's more of a secondary goal that's a consequence of his actual goal, fighting strong people and/or going on adventures...to find more strong people.
Now granted, Toriyama has definitely kind of flanderized how fight obsessed he is...but Toriyama gonna Toriyama.
In short, Goku's a fighter first, and a protector second. The dub gave the impression that the inverse was his actual personality.
edited 19th Apr '17 4:42:58 AM by BlackYakuzu94
A lazy millennial who's good at what he does.