Gohan – Dragon Ball Z
Although Akira Toriyama stated in Dragon Ball Z Chapter #421 that Gohan would be the main character in the future (at least for that arc), it never really came to fruition. When Goku died at the end of the Cell arc, Gohan was supposed to take over the mantle of head honcho. He didn’t and it feels like a missed opportunity.
Gohan’s personality has a lot more depth due to his desires being quite the opposite to Goku in that he doesn’t enjoy fighting. Gohan would much rather go to school, raise a family, have a good job, and do small-time hero work around the planet. He never has any crazy training arcs nor does he seek out new masters or techniques. Despite being incredibly strong, he can only go Super Sayian 2, which is nothing compared to the gods of Dragon Ball Super.
However, even with this lack of passion, Gohan is constantly thrust into battle to defend his friends and family, often losing due to a lack of training, unlike his father. Piccolo even has to drill it into Goku’s head that Gohan doesn’t like fighting and he isn’t passionate about it like Goku is.
Gohan is also very invested in his relationships, like with Piccolo, Videl, Chi-Chi, and even Goku himself. We get more down-to-earth moments with him and actually see him talk to other characters about more things than just fighting. He’s just a much more human character compared to the rigid, apathetic characters in the Dragon Ball world who only care about fighting.
