Summary
Dragon Ballis no stranger to powerful transformations. In fact, one of the most recognizable trends of the series is whenever the heroes are unable to stop a threat, they get angrier to unlock a new form that’s stronger than everything that has come before and just so happens to be far stronger than their enemy. Even the villains themselves undergo various transformations throughout the series.
There is perhaps no better example of how transformations inDragon Ballgo than Gohan Beast. Despite his father and Vegeta training their whole lives and dedicating most of their time to improving themselves to unlock their most powerful Divine Forms, Gohan was able to close the gap in a mere momentwhen he unlocked his Beast form. Although this has always been chalked up to his limitless potential, let’s see if there’s more to this form than thought.
Story Arc
Super Hero Arc
Gohan’s brand-new form is the strongest in his entire arsenal and it was achieved during the events of theSuper Heromovie after Gohan felt rage like never before after thinking Piccolo was killed inhis battle against Cell Max. It has always been an open secret that Gohan’s potential is far greater than even Goku and Vegeta’s, which allows him to tap into his latent power much more easily than them.
So, throughoutDragon Ball Z, it was shown that while Goku and Vegeta had to train extensively to achieve a certain level of strength, Gohan could easily bridge that gap by putting in less than half of the work. Though many were skeptical about Gohan Beast being on par with Goku and Vegeta’s Divine Techniques, this suspicion was confirmed in chapter 103, where Gohan spars on equal footing as Goku in his Ultra Instinct form.
Could It Be A Divine Transformation?
Gohan Beast May Hold a Secret
Goku and Vegeta finally have alternating paths to reach their strongest states inDragon Ball Super. Goku represents the Angelsin the Divine Hierarchy, with his pursuit of perfecting Ultra Instinct, whereas Vegeta represents the Gods of Destruction with his brand-new transformation housing the energy of Destroyers and using their techniques. Both of them seek to be as strong as possible, but instead of chasing one another, they now do this through their separate journeys.
This is where Gohan comes in. Currently, Goku and Vegeta are stronger than they have ever been, and thematically, this also makes sense, since there are no beings stronger than Angels and Destroyer Gods, which means that they shouldn’t get forms that surpass the ones they have. So, the mere fact that Gohan exists on the same level as them seems to imply that Beast has more behind it than what fans currently understand.
With Goku and Vegeta having very clear connections to who they represent from the Divine Hierarchy, fans have always wondered about Gohan’s role in this. The most probable explanation here is that Gohan represents the Kai path. This has many parallels throughout the story, especially having to do with the fact that Kai arethe gentler and kinder deities, tasked with creation and peace, something that Gohan fits with perfectly.
Gohan also donned the attire of the Kai back in the Buu Saga during his brief training with them, which could be seen as even more evidence for this. AlthoughDragon Ballisn’t exactly known for its foreshadowing, it could be that Gohan’s assimilation of Kai attire is something that could have paid off here. If Gohan does not have any such connection to the Divine Hierarchy, then it would greatly decrease the impact of the hard work that Goku and Vegeta put in, since it is essentially meaningless if Gohan can achieve the same level by doing barely any work.
Power comes in response to a need, not a desire. You have to create that need.
Should Gohan Beast be a Divine Form
As for how the story is being told now, Gohan Beast ending up as a Divine Transformation would likely be the best explanation for how powerful it is. However, even this would only really make sense thematically, since the Kai are a race and not a rank that one can achievelike Gods of Destruction. Conversely, if this is not the case, then it would be even more nonsensical.
The fact of the matter is that Gohan even being on the level of Goku and Vegeta is highly illogical and is bad for the overall world-building of the series. While two characters have devoted their entire lives to training, they finally received God Ki and trained some more to use techniques that the Angels and Gods do; beings who sit at the top of the power rankings in the series. Despite this, Gohan can close this gap just by getting angry and yelling. In that sense, Gohan should at least have a Divine Technique to exist on their level.
