It’s the End of an Era for Gohan & Piccolo

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Goku remains the central character and we typically experience the story through his eyes. Vegeta has consistently proven to be a dependable ally, often playing a crucial role in the final stages of any major conflict due to his considerable power. However, while Goku and Vegeta often take on the biggest challenges, particularly in Dragon Ball Super, Piccolo and Gohan form an equally inspiring team with a connection that genuinely matches the strength of Goku and Vegeta’s relationship.

Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero, the newest movie in the anime series, captivated viewers with a fresh approach, focusing on Gohan and Piccolo rather than the usual spotlight on Goku and Vegeta. The Dragon Ball Super Super Hero Saga gave much-needed attention and improvements to characters who hadn’t been developed in a while. Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero definitely marked an exciting new chapter for Piccolo and Gohan. However, it now appears this might have been the peak of their importance in the series.

Dragon Ball Super’s Super Hero Saga Was Gohan & Piccolo’s Time To Shine

Epic, large-scale events aren’t unusual for Dragon Ball, but Dragon Ball Super has made them feel more significant because they officially become part of the story’s continuity. Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero deliberately sidelines Goku and Vegeta. This allows the film to focus on Piccolo and Gohan, telling a story specifically about them rediscovering their fighting spirit and achieving new levels of power through teamwork. As a result, this official film puts Gohan and Piccolo front and center, making them the ones who ultimately defeat Cell Max.

Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero significantly boosted the strength of Piccolo and Gohan, and the film even suggested that Gohan’s Beast form is more powerful than Goku, Broly, and Vegeta in their True Ultra Instinct states. Because of these impressive new transformations, many Dragon Ball fans expected a new storyline focusing on Gohan and Piccolo. However, over three years have passed since Super Hero came out, and Dragon Ball hasn’t built upon these developments.

Things would have flowed more smoothly if Dragon Ball Super had continued directly from the Super Hero Saga into its next story arc. Instead, the Super Hero Saga now feels like a pause in the series, especially after Akira Toriyama’s passing. After three years, Gohan Beast and Orange Piccolo seem like ideas from a previous era that the franchise has largely moved on from. What initially appeared to be the beginning of a new storyline for Gohan and Piccolo might actually have been a way for Dragon Ball Super to give some attention to characters who hadn’t been featured much before the series concludes.

Dragon Ball Super has successfully developed Gohan and Piccolo’s power, and now it’s time to focus on raising everyone’s strength to a similar level for the upcoming battle with Black Frieza. Dragon Ball Super isn’t aiming for a conclusion where only Gohan and Piccolo are the heroes, as they were during the Cell Max fight. Instead, they will be part of a powerful team attack that highlights everyone’s contributions – something Dragon Ball has emphasized more and more over the years. This would create a satisfying and moving ending where all the characters play a role in defeating Dragon Ball’s greatest enemy. Frieza is such a significant villain that he deserves to be defeated by a large group of heroes, not just one.

Dragon Ball Super’s Goten & Trunks Are Due For Their Moment

Gohan and Piccolo receive significant assistance during their final attack on Cell Max, including help from Goten, Trunks, and their combined form, Gotenks – though this version of Gotenks isn’t a perfect fusion. Goten and Trunks are a welcome addition to Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero because they now have updated, teenage character designs. Their crime-fighting adventures as Saiyaman X-1 and X-2, originally from the High School Saga, continue in the Super Hero Saga, as they wear their hero costumes while battling Cell Max.

Dragon Ball Super’s Super Hero Saga finished airing in 2024, two years after the movie Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero came out. This gave Akira Toriyama and Toyotarou plenty of time to plan the future of the series. The significant role given to Goten and Trunks suggests the story will likely center around them next. These characters really need to move past being seen as just comic relief, a perception that was still apparent in the scenes after the main story on Beerus’ Planet.

It seems these mentions aren’t meant to belittle the characters, but to hint at future developments in their storylines. The Dragon Ball Super manga also revisited Goten and Trunks in Chapter 104, instead of using a one-off character to explain what Goku, Vegeta, Gohan, or Piccolo were doing. It’s also worth noting that Piccolo has always been a favorite character of Akira Toriyama, and his significant role in Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero reflects Toriyama’s affection for him. At one point, Super Hero was even conceived as a story focused primarily on Piccolo, without involving Gohan.

If Akira Toriyama were still involved in planning the future of Dragon Ball, Piccolo and Gohan’s roles as the series’ new strongest team likely would have been further developed. However, Toyotarou has different preferred characters, which could mean we’ll see a focus on Goten and Trunks before Dragon Ball Super ends. This would advance Dragon Ball‘s story to a new generation of heroes. This approach makes sense considering Dragon Ball‘s fanbase now includes original fans who are adults with children, and Dragon Ball DAIMA successfully appealed to this audience.

The Possibility Of More Dragon Ball DAIMA Leaves Gohan & Piccolo Further Left Behind

Dragon Ball Super followers have been eagerly awaiting new episodes for over a year. Following Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero, Dragon Ball DAIMA emerged as a significant new piece of Dragon Ball content. This original anime series, taking place between the defeat of Kid Buu and the arrival of Beerus, has both met and exceeded expectations for its 20 episodes.

Dragon Ball DAIMA is quite careful about which characters help Goku during his journey in the Demon Realm. Piccolo and Gohan aren’t featured much in Dragon Ball DAIMA, suggesting that plans to make 2024 or 2025 their year have been abandoned. DAIMA would have been an ideal setting to develop these characters further and perhaps hint at their future transformations in the Super Hero Saga.

Instead, Gohan is entirely missing from DAIMA and isn’t even seen at the party before the journey to the Demon Realm. Piccolo *is* included in the exploration of the Demon Realm, but he isn’t given the chance to defeat any enemies and receives far less attention than Goku and Vegeta, who both unlock new forms in Dragon Ball DAIMA. While Piccolo discovers some interesting information about his people’s history, his role feels easily replaceable.

If Dragon Ball returns in the near future, it’s likely to be through more of DAIMA. If that happens, Gohan and Piccolo might become less central to the story. While a new season or movie of Dragon Ball DAIMA could change things, continuing the story directly after the first season would probably still mean limited roles for Gohan. He and Piccolo aren’t vital to the overall plot. Dragon Ball DAIMA is just one part of the larger Dragon Ball universe, but the way Gohan and Piccolo are being handled suggests that Dragon Ball is moving towards focusing on characters other than this pair.

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2025-10-03 01:44