Dragon Ball’s Cast Explains Why Gohan’s Ties to Piccolo Are More Important Than Ever

Since the fateful day in Dragon Ball Z‘s history when Goku fell in the fight against his brother Raditz, Piccolo and Gohan have shared a bond that has just grown stronger over time. With Gohan increasing his strength many times over thanks to the Namekian’s training, the former Demon King was able to become one of Earth’s mightiest heroes thanks to Gohan’s influence. Now, the two actors behind the shonen heroes have taken the opportunity to chat about their bond as Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero rages in theaters.

Kyle Herbert, the voice actor that has been playing the role of Gohan for English-speaking audiences for years, took the opportunity to dive further into the special bond shared between Gohan and Piccolo: 

“I would say the pair are like peanut butter and jelly. You got one, so you need to have the other. Two great taste that taste great together. It’s just one of those essential things. Piccolo is very much the quintessential father figure to Gohan and he needs him in a way that Goku hasn’t been able to be there for him. And that symbiotic relationship is explored further finally, it’s great to see that.”  

Chris Sabat, who takes on both the roles of Piccolo and Vegeta, had this to say when it came to meeting fans of Gohan and Piccolo, while also making it quite clear that the Namekian is the foster father for Goku’s son:

“There’s a lot of people who come to me who are Piccolo and Gohan fans and they are for a reason that they… well, first of all, they like the underdog story, they don’t like the obvious choice in a lot of ways. But a lot of people relate to Piccolo and Gohan because they had an uncle that really cared for them or really helped them during a time when they needed help and their dad wasn’t available or their dad was not there for them.

I know it gets pretty sad to think about that, but I love the fact that Piccolo has adopted Gohan in a way that… nurtured him in a way that Goku just wasn’t able to. I mean, good. And it’s not necessarily that Goku doesn’t like his son or doesn’t love him as much as he should, it’s just Goku comes from a different universe. He literally was born into a fighting universe. He was basically abandoned as a child, raised by a grandfather. He just didn’t have a father figure, a father model himself, and Piccolo comes from a race of warriors where they all seem to kind nurture one another, they come from families. And it seems like that would be a natural thing for Piccolo to do.”