One of the stickier aspects of Akira Toriyama’s Dragon Ball franchise has always been the relationship between Goku and Gohan. Ever since we were introduced to Goku’s son in Dragon Ball Z, we’ve also seen this son have a whole life of fighting thrust upon him. It’s Goku’s main language, so he was often seen as a bad father because his way of communicating with his son was through harsh training. It’s why when Piccolo started to soften up on Gohan and the two started working together as equals, that in-joke of Piccolo being Gohan’s “real” father started to pop up.
It’s not like Goku had been completely ignoring his son through the years, however, as he’s shown how much he’s been watching Gohan at some pretty pivotal moments. The latest chapter of the series features a new example of this as Chapter 58 of the series had quite the wonderful moment between Gohan and his father.
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Chapter 58 of the series debuted a cool new set of tag team moves between Gohan and Piccolo, but it’s not before long that it’s interrupted by just how strong Saganbo had become after being infused with Moro’s magic. Thankfully Goku showed up to save the duo just in time, and while it might seem like it’s a result of his increasing hero complex, it turns out that he wanted to keep Gohan from fighting because he knows Gohan hates it so much.
Gohan’s happy to see his father arrive, but Goku apologizes to him as he mentions that Gohan had to start fighting again. Gohan apologizes to his father instead for not being able to save the Earth on their own, but Goku instead brushes him off and compliments on how strong he’s gotten. While Goku has never been the most emotionally available father, it’s moments like these that prove that he truly cares about his son.
After seeing how Gohan hated joining the Tournament of Power to keep the universe from its erasure, it seems like Goku has kept this close to his heart. Over the years he’s understood that Gohan hates his way of life so much (especially after the fight with Cell), and it goes to show that there’s still that history between the two of them. But what do you think of this moment?
Do you think it’s a showing of how far the two of them have come or is it just the base of what Goku can do for his son? Let us know your thoughts in the comments or talk to me directly about all things anime and other cool things @Valdezology on Twitter!
