The world of Dragon Ball is constantly growing and adding new characters with every new arch, whether they are an ally or foe. Dragon Ball has been able to captivate its audience by developing specific personalities, abilities, and storylines for each of its characters. Aside from the two main protagonists, Goku and Vegeta, the Z Fighter who has had the most intense roller-coaster ride regarding his powers is none other than Gohan.
Being the child of arguably one of the strongest characters in the universe comes with certain expectations, and for the most part, Gohan seemed to look like he was going to surpass those expectations. His upbringing was not straightforward, and there are many secrets fans are unaware of when it comes to Gohan.
Gohan's Untapped Potential Was Limitless
Gohan is one of the few characters to use his own weakness as fuel to awaken his inner strength. During the Cell Games, he was able to neutralize the threat of Cell, with the help of a spiritual Goku, and his power seemed to continue to grow. After his devastating annihilation of Bojack and his crew in Dragon Ball Z: Bojack Unbound, the sky was the limit for Gohan. The only true question was where this power came from, but it really didn’t matter given the fact that Gohan was representing what Saiyans were capable of.
Gohan developed an arrogant persona when he'd transform into Super Saiyan 2, a complete 180 from his regular demeanor. Vegeta is the most notorious for his cockiness, and even Goku has had his moments, but for Gohan to become so poised and focused on the task of winning only elevated his status as a powerful Saiyan. Gohan does learn new techniques over the years and has now developed his Ultimate Form, but it almost feels a little too late. If Gohan’s journey would have taken off from the moment of his powers awakening, his journey would have been more satisfying.
Gohan Is The Only Half-Saiyan With A Tail
Continuing with Gohan’s reappearing tail, he is the only new generation Half-Saiyan to ever grow a tail. Transforming into a Great Ape was a rite of passage for all Saiyans, but after Gohan’s transformation, the younger generations didn't develop tails to reflect their affinity with the transformation of Saiyan culture. Trunks and Goten are both Half-Saiyans like Gohan, but they are not shown with their own tails since they haven’t transformed into Grate Apes.
It is argued that the younger generation is strong, and doesn’t need to transform, but the reason behind the absence of tails could be that Toriyama just never got around to fixing that little miss-up. Regardless, at this point in the series, it seems like the lore of Great Apes and tails are a thing of the past.
Gohan’s Tail Grew Back At One Point
In one of the filler episodes of Dragon Ball Z, Gohan and Piccolo are training, and Gohan turns into a Great Ape after looking at the full moon. The rampaging ape was more trouble than Piccolo signed up for, and after the mess was resolved, Piccolo removed Gohan’s tail after noticing that it was the source of the issue.
Later, in the Saiyan Saga, there is a moment when Gohan transforms into a Great Ape, and the animators had to just include his tail without giving a proper reason for its reappearance. Quite frankly, the tail could have manifested from the initial transformation, but without a proper explanation, we’ll just have to live with the fact that Gohan can regrow his own tail when he becomes a Great Ape.
Gohan's Inconsistent 20/20 Vision
Gohan's glasses are for more than just looks. None of the other Saiyans have ever needed the assistance of eyewear to carry out daily activities, but Gohan seems to be the exception. It's hard to believe that the descendant from an elite warrior race has bad eyesight, especially if he's the only one. Not only does he adopt the geeky look for when he starts attending school, but he also keeps them on when he returns to battle after a brief hiatus in Dragon Ball Super. Needless to say, when Gohan transforms into Super Saiyan, he loses his cool bifocals and is able to dominate as he usually does.
That fact that he ditches the glasses after turning Super Saiyan means that he probably doesn't need them in the first place. Otherwise, turning Super Saiyan enhances his vision, or he might be relying on his instincts much more. After reverting from Super Saiyan, he is shown wearing his glasses once more, so there must be something going on with his eyesight. Either that or the character designers are just enjoy changing Gohan's look consistently.
Gohan Is A Math Genius
Most don’t realize that Gohan’s abilities are not only a result of his training, but stems from his high IQ. At the age of four, Gohan was already able to master the complexities of trigonometry. Most children are barely starting school at the age of four, but Gohan was always many steps ahead of the crowd. Gohan's high IQ has been praised by Chi-Chi, and it is one of the characteristics that makes him a worthy adversary. His intelligence doesn’t get called out much, but it’s no surprise that he is able to master many abilities relatively quickly.
Aside from fighting, he actually puts his knowledge to the test by going to school and implementing himself in the working world. Maybe if Gohan applied himself more to training like Goku, he might have achieved power superior to his own father’s!
