Dragon Ball DAIMA: Where is Gohan?

Summary

Warning: The following contains minor spoilers for Dragon Ball DAIMA up to Episode 7, “Collar”, now streaming onCrunchyroll.

Dragon Ball DAIMAbegan with a bang as new villain Supreme Demon King Gomah used the Dragon Balls to shrink anyone who fought Majin Buu andall their friends into children. Freshly miniaturized Goku, Vegeta, and Piccolo have taken the lead in venturing to the Demon Realm to rescue Dende and return everyone to normal size. With powerful enemies continuing to appear inDragon BallDAIMA, where is Gohan?

WhileDragon Ball DAIMAis a new series, it actually falls betweenDragon Ball ZandDragon Ball Superin the largerDragon Balltimeline. On top of that, the last few episodes ofDragon Ball Zaren’t canon and were retconned in the beginning ofDragon Ball Super. The closest estimate for the time betweenZandSuperis about four years. That’s based on the approximate year Kid Buu is defeated, fromDaizenshuu 7: Dragon Ball Encylopedia (1996),and details about Gohan and Videl’s eventual marriage from traveling exhibitionThe World of Dragon Ball.Three cities in Japan hosted that exhibition in 2013 as a tie-in for the movieDragon Ball Z: Battle of Gods, andBattle of Godsultimately got retold in the opening arc ofDragon Ball Super.

Will Gohan be in Dragon Ball DAIMA?

At the canon end ofDragon Ball Z, Gohan is fresh off helping the others in a grueling and lengthy battle with Super Buu that led to the eventual defeat of Kid Buu. Six months pass before the Dragon Balls are used to wish away the world’s memory of Majin Buu and allow him to live peacefully with Mr. Satan. WhenDragon Ball DAIMAbegins, everyone is celebrating at Trunks' birthday party asSupreme Demon King Gomah secures the Dragon Balls. Since they had been used less than a year earlier, Neva had to use his powers to restore the Dragon Balls to a functioning state earlier than usual.

Before Gomah’s wish is made, Supreme Kai actually notices that Gohan isn’t at Trunks' party. As Goku explains, “Gohan’s bein' a little distant. He said he’s busy studyin'”. This is the only mention of Gohan as ofDragon Ball DAIMAEpisode 7, but that doesn’t necessarily mean he won’t show up. At the end ofDAIMA’s first episode, Gomah wishes for Shenron to specifically shrink everyone who fought Majin Buu and their friends back into children. Everyone present at the party, from Goku and Vegeta to Ox King and Mr. Satan, revert to being roughly the size of first graders, and children like Trunks and Goten get turned into babies.

Gohan’s bein' a little distant. He said he’s busy studying.

Since Gohan and his future wife Videl aren’t at the party,DAIMAdoesn’t include any shots of them being shrunk down to children in that episode or in the opening sequence ofDAIMA. By the timeSuperbegins, Gohan and Videl have only just gotten married, Gohan is almost a full-fledged scholar, and Videl has recently become pregnant with their daughter Pan. With just four years betweenZandSuper, it makes sense that Gohan would focus on schoolwork and his relationship with Videl during that time. EarlyDragon Ball DAIMAleakssuggested the full series will only have about 20 episodes, so not much time will pass unlessDAIMAhas a significant time jump in a future episode.

At this point, there are only two likely paths that could make Gohan a central character inDAIMA. If both Gohan and Videl were miniaturized, they may find a way to The Lookout where Kibito and Mr. Popo remain. Should that happen, fans could see the return of Kid Gohan with many more years of experience under his belt. If Gohan and Videl’s distance from the party kept Shenron’s wish from affecting them, an adult Gohan may even become a much-needed savior should Goku and Vegeta fall short of victory inthe Demon Realm. In either case, it’s also possible that Gohan and Videl got word of what’s happening and believed Goku and the others could handle it while Gohan focused on studying. With more than half the series still on the way, there’s plenty of time for Gohan to make his presence known inDragon Ball DAIMA.