'Dragon Ball Super' Manga Introduces a Milestone Gohan Moment

Dragon Ball Super is known for being an inspirational story of self-empowerment - not for being the inspirational story of parenting goals. Fans always joke about franchise hero Goku being one of the worst examples of fathering around - but this panel from the Dragon Ball Super featuring Goku and his son Gohan all but confirms it:

Is this Gohan's first interaction with his father in the DBS manga version? pic.twitter.com/P0aCcrcRqh

— Erren Van Duine (@ErrenVanDuine) June 19, 2018

As you can see in the responses below, this small Goku and Gohan interaction is one of the only father/son moments in the entire Dragon Ball Super manga:

Aside from the god ritual I’m pretty sure it is, god I hate toyo

— OwOhisoka (@owohisoka) June 20, 2018

Aside from the Super Saiyan God ritual and when Goku reaches Earth with Vegeta in the RoF promotional manga, yes.

— Pu'er Rage (@Pure_Rage136) June 19, 2018

Probably, to be fair I think there is a gap in the anime from around the start of the U6 tournament to around Hit vs Goku round two where they don't speak.
Either way it's bad.

— Brandon George (@marvelhero93) June 19, 2018

While normally, the lack of Goku's interest in his two sons (Gohan and Goten) is just fodder for jokes, but this moment between the two, and the fan reaction puts the spotlight on a very odd storytelling approach. Considering how important family is in Japanese culture (and subsequently its art), this is an especially odd occurrence. Sure, Gohan has semi-retired from fighting when Dragon Ball Super begins, but considering his appearances in the series, there could easily have been more scenes between him and Goku - even if it was just dialogue in slower moments.

The problem is even more flagrant when you consider that even Vegeta got in some more meaningful interaction with his own son, Future Trunks, during the series' "Future Trunks Saga" arc. Considering how emotionally stunted Vegeta is, him being a bigger example of #FatherGoals than Goku pretty much says it all. Pursuits like being the best fighter are great, but you also need to take care of your kids, man! Thankfully, Gohan does have a father who actually cares:

inb4 "but he already interacted with Piccolo" jokes.

— Bob Blackie (@bonyzz1) June 19, 2018

We here at Comicbook.com/anime has already broken down why Gohan got screwed over in Dragon Ball Super, and why the next anime needs to find a way to bring him back into the spotlight. This manga example is just another example of how badly that restoration needs to be done.

Dragon Ball Super is currently airing its English dub on Adult Swim during the Toonami programming block Saturday evenings at 9:30 p.m. It is also available to stream on Funimation and Amazon Video. The Japanese language release of the series is complete, and available to stream on Funimation, VRV, and Crunchyroll.

If you want to catch up with the English dub, the first 52 episodes of Dragon Ball Super are now available to stream on FunimationNOW, VRV, and available to purchase on Amazon Video as well.