Gohan is one of the most important characters in the classic anime Dragon Ball Z for many different reasons. Being the literal son of Goku certainly helps, but Akira Toriyama originally wanted Gohan to become his father’s successor, even though that plan did not fully work out in the end.

Gohan had a pretty tough life growing up because when he should have been playing with toys, he was forced to fight off alien warriors who wanted to blow up the planet. Despite being born with immense hidden power fueled by rage, he was always very scared and timid, unlike his father at the same age.

Things do NOT get much better for him just a year later. He nearly gets massacred by the universe’s most elite killing force, and then he is forced to fight the literal emperor of the universe.

During the Cell Saga, he unexpectedly becomes the most powerful character in the series, not counting later characters like Majin Buu, Beerus, and Whis. At the time, it seemed like Toriyama wanted Gohan’s power to come from his rage being controlled rather than treated as a separate Super Saiyan level. He ultimately becomes the first character to reach Super Saiyan 2, which does not have many obvious visual differences aside from the small lightning bolts surrounding him.

By the time of the Majin Buu Saga, he is practically a man. He goes to college, becomes a somewhat goofy superhero in his free time, and is overall seen as a bit of a disappointment. Vegeta even realizes that Gohan as a teenager is weaker than he was when he fought Cell, despite still technically being able to reach Super Saiyan 2.

After being completely overwhelmed by Dabura and Fat Buu, Supreme Kai rescues him and takes him to the Planet of the Kais, stating that Gohan may be the last hope. This is another sign that Toriyama was still considering making Gohan the true hero of the story instead of Goku.

I will admit that Ultimate Gohan was pretty cool, even though he did not have any major visual changes, not even the Super Saiyan hair. In hindsight, it would have been nice to see some kind of transformation or change in his appearance, but it is what it is.

Toriyama eventually changed his mind about Gohan, and the character ends up being absorbed by Majin Buu in a strange fusion. Goku and Vegeta manage to separate them from the pink demon, but Gohan suffers his only on-screen death in the series when Kid Buu destroys the Earth in an instant.

While heavily retconned in Dragon Ball Super, by the end of Dragon Ball Z, Gohan’s time as a warrior has mostly come to an end. He becomes a father to a daughter named Pan with his wife Videl, and during the final World Martial Arts Tournament, he has largely stepped away from protecting Earth and settled into a more academic, quiet life. Pretty lame.