10 Dragon Ball Characters You Totally Forgot Existed
Only real fans remember the REAL Gohan.
First premiering in 1986, the Dragon Ball anime franchise has endured for more than thirty years.
With 674 unabridged episodes, twenty movies and a handful of specials and OVAs, it's understandable if there are some great characters who fall through the cracks of our collective memories.
Series creator Akira Toriyama is great at developing loads of entertaining, colorful and compelling characters, but not always so great at keeping them around.
Not just throwaway characters either, but often truly prominent ones with memorable arcs or notable scenes find themselves being left behind.
With so much Dragon Ball, it's easy to forget about certain characters but there are some who always deserve a mention.
10. Gohan (Not That One)
When most Dragonball fans hear the name Gohan they think of Goku's kid, the lovable Half-Saiyan baby berserker who grew up to be a big nerd. But that's not the Gohan we're talking about. Before he was even conceived of there was another guy using that name, and he was pretty darn important too.
Gohan was the name of the man who found Goku in his space pod and raised him as his own grandson.
A disciple of Master Roshi, he is the one who originally taught Goku martial arts and was the owner of the four star dragon ball. Unfortunately he died prior to the events of the original series because Goku took a peek at the full moon and well ... accidents happen.
However, being dead didn't keep him from being a pivotal character. His presence is felt all through the original series. Not only is he a vital connection that leads Goku to train with Master Roshi but it's through his connection to the four star ball that Goku is drawn into the fight against the Red Ribbon Army.
Gohan also puts in a couple of major appearances after his death. The first being when he fights Goku in the Baba Tournament, and the second being at the very end of the original series, when Goku and Chichi are hunting for the Bansho fan.
Unfortunately, even with the many trips to the afterlife in the later shows, the elder Gohan never quite makes another appearance outside of flashbacks. This of course makes it all the more likely that newer fans won't know about him at all.