Dragon Ballhas often been subjected to a recurring complaint, and that’s that the series introduces new transformations far too readily, ruining the specialness of a new form and often delivering them only because they’re expected. It just so happens that Beast Gohan, the last new form added to the series, happens to be a particularly egregious case.
New transformations for more power is a common trope in shonen anime in general, and especiallyDragon Ball, which pretty much created the trope. Ever since Goku first discovered Super Saiyan, there’s been a steady stream of new forms becoming available;there are 21 canonical levels of Super Saiyan, and that doesn’t count unrelated transformations like Ultra Instinct or Beast Gohan. While most fans can only name the major levels of Super Saiyan, the point remains thatDragon Ballhas become extremely reliant on introducing a new transformation to resolve plot problems, and Beast Gohan is no different.
What Makes Beast Gohan So Egregious
Beast Gohan Isn’t Even Hinted at in the Film
ThroughoutDragon Ball Super: Super Hero, there is never any indication that Gohan is about to unlock a new level of power. He hasn’t been training much, which is the main way new forms are granted.While Orange Piccolo is foreshadowed early on by Shenron, there’s no indication that Gohan is going to attain a new form until the time comes, and he actually transforms. There’s no build-up or pay-off to Beast Gohan; it merely exists at the end of the story to fulfill two simple purposes. The first is to resolve the plot, and the second is to give fans the new form they’re expecting.
This is quite disappointing, as the best and most exciting transformations inDragon Ballare those which are given adequate build-up beforehand.The original Super Saiyan transformation, for example, was preceded by dozens of episodes talking about the form, praising its power, and even some false starts, where characters think they have achieved the form when they actually haven’t.When Goku finally goes Super Saiyan, it’s an incredible moment that went down in anime history, and it’s become extremely iconic.
When Goku finally obtains Ultra Instinct during his fight with Jiren, it’s a moment of excitement that only comes second to the original Super Saiyan transformation in terms of hype.
The same could be said of Ultra Instinct inDragon Ball Super.Ultra Instinct is first mentioned, and then hinted at, and then Goku comes close to attaining the form with Ultra Instinct Sign, only to lose concentration and wind up back at square one. When Goku finally obtains Ultra Instinct during his fight with Jiren, it’s a moment of excitement that only comes second to the original Super Saiyan transformation in terms of hype. The fans are impressed, the other characters are impressed, and all the build-up finally pays off.
What Could Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero Have Done Differently?
The Movie Needed Some Changes to Foreshadow Gohan’s New Transformation
While it’s a little harder to build hype over the course of a single movie than it is over a dozen or more episodes, it can still absolutely be done. Beast Gohan is admittedly a bit difficult in this regard because it’s a “singular talent,” to quote Whis. No one knows about it or expects it to happen, so its appearance is something of a surprise. Even knowing that, though, it’s still possible to do some build-up and pay-off withthe origins of the Beast Gohan form.
The easiest way would likely be to make the transformation a little less of a surprise. Perhaps Gohan has been having dreams of new powers, or sees a beastly apparition tearing apart his enemies. That would give Gohan something to strive to understand, and it would only become clear in the moment when Cell MAX arises.The dramatic transformation would still pack a punch, but now there will be some major anticipation along with it, as fans wait to find out just what these mysterious images in Gohan’s mind might mean.
This wouldn’t do anything to make the reveal less exciting; if anything, the anticipation set up by these earlier hints would make it more exciting. Better still, it allows Orange Piccolo to remain a surprise, while still giving the mystery and set-up that Beast Gohan so desperately needed.
Beast Gohan’s Insane Power Means It Needs More Justification
As One of Dragon Ball’s Strongest Forms, Beast Gohan Must Be Explained
Generally,Dragon Ballhas always been good about explaining its transformations and what makes them so powerful. Super Saiyan is a rare power which Saiyans are capable of, but it has extremely specific triggers which are difficult for most to pull off. Ultra Instinct is the technique of the Angels, one which allows the user’s body to respond to attacks automatically, as if acting on its own. But Beast Gohan? There’s no explanation at all as to where this power came from, or why Gohan wasn’t able to access it previously.
Most fans believe thatBeast Gohan is an evolution of Gohan’s “Ultimate” state, in which he has greater power than Super Saiyan even without transforming, thanks to the power unlocked by Old Kai.However, this isn’t really stated directly in the movie, and was only confirmed by outside sources. Some attempt at explaining the form would’ve helped it a lot.Piccolo had his own latent abilities unlocked by Shenron, so perhaps he could recognize the new Beast transformation as something that also resulted from Gohan having his power unlocked.
In the end, Beast Gohan will never be as cool of a transformation asDragon Ball Super’s other unique transformations, despite being just as powerful. It simply wasn’t given enough build-up, and while the reveal was cool, that’s really all it had going for it. Hopefully, as Beast Gohan continues to be used in the manga, Gohan may come to understand the form better, and have some understanding of its origins. It would certainly be interesting to dive into this and find out if it’s something that others might be able to replicate or if it truly is unique to Gohan.
Hopefully,Dragon Ballwill learn from the mishandling of Beast Gohan and ensure that the next new transformation is given the build-up it deserves.
