Dragon Ball is famous for its form transformations, with every major fighter getting at least one transformation during the story. However, despite being one of the most crucial forms in Dragon Ball history, Gohan's final form in Dragon Ball Z has been the source of many arguments within the fan community, with many people passionately debating what the form is called. But which of the form's many titles is correct, and why is there so much confusion surrounding it?
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The build-up to Gohan's final form is one of the longest in Dragon Ball history. During the Buu Saga, Gohan goes to the Sacred World of the Kai to train with the Z Sword. When Goku arrives on the planet, he decides to test Gohan's skills by throwing a boulder at him. But, before he can launch it, Shin suggests they test Gohan with something heavier, producing a cube of Kattin Steel. However, when Gohan hits the steel, the sword shatters and Old Kai appears.
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The Birth Of Gohan's Final Form
Gohan's Form Gets A Lot Of Build Up in The Buu Saga
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Old Kai explains that an evil person sealed him in the sword as they feared his ability to unlock any living being's hidden power. As Gohan freed him from the sword, Old Kai offers to use his powers to unlock Gohan's latent potential, something the warrior instantly accepts. Old Kai quickly gets to work, starting this process in "The Zeta Sword," the manga's 479th chapter, and "Out from the Broken Sword," the anime's 250th episode.
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However, Old Kai wouldn't finish the ritual, and the form wouldn't make its official debut until "Deep Trouble!!," the manga's 496th chapter, and "Unlucky Break," the anime's 262nd episode. However, the form quickly makes a massive impact, allowing Gohan to go toe-to-toe with Super Buu. In fact, the power gap is so immense that the Majin is forced to absorb Gotenks and Piccolo to even the odds.
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While this sequence was epic, it had one major issue: the form didn't receive an official name. While everyone present during the transformation praises Gohan and notes that he has surpassed his limits, none give the form a specific title. Even worse, due to Gohan arriving on Earth mid-way through the devastating battle with Buu, there isn't time for anyone else to name the form, meaning that it remains a mystery at the end of Dragon Ball Z.
However, this may have been intentional on Toriyama's part. Based on the wording used during the scene, it seems that Ultimate Gohan was never supposed to be a distinct transformation. Instead, it was a unique power-up that allowed Gohan to access all his power in his base form. In the original Japanese version of episode 262, Goku notes that despite Gohan's immense power, he hasn't become Super Saiyan and looks basically the same. Old Kai responds, "It's not as though he has to transform. That Super-whatever-thing is depraved," suggesting that in-universe, this power-up functions differently from the form transformations fans have seen previously, explaining why it didn't receive an official name in the script.
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What makes this form really fascinating is the fact that it was later named in the guidebooks and supplementary materials. However, unlike other overlooked forms and worldbuilding details, none of the books could agree on the form's name, leading to the form having a vast variety of names. In Daizenshuu 2, this form was labeled Saikyō no Senshi, which translates to The Strongest Warrior. However, this is presented less as a formal title and more as a direct reference to what Gohan says to Old Kai when asking him how to activate the form.
Fans who consulted the pull-out poster included with Daizenshuu 7 would encounter another name, as this poster dubs the form Super Son Gohan. Supplemental Daizenshuu, the 10th Daizenshuu book, features this form in its Super Saiyan chart. However, it breaks away from the past two books by referring to this form as "Gohan-type" Super Saiyan, with its placement suggesting it is equal to or a spin-off of Super Saiyan 2.
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The Weird History Of Mystic Gohan
Gohan's Final Form Has Had A Ridiculous Number Of Different Names
On top of this, many American Dragon Ball fans, especially those active in the online fan community during Dragon Ball Z's original television run, know this form under a different name: Mystic Gohan. Alas, despite being a massive part of American Dragon Ball Z fandom lore, the name's origins are unclear. We do know that Mystic Gohan has been used since at least May 1998, as fans can be seen using and understanding the term on archived posts from the alt.fan.dragonball message board:
ssj goku (May 6, 1998, 12:00:00 AM)
"Mystic Gohan is stronger than SSJ3 Goku, so unless you are including DBGT, Gohan is the strongest character."
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Some fans attribute the term to Curtis Hoffman. Hoffman was a massive figure in the early days of the American online Dragon Ball fan community, as he wrote summaries of Dragon Ball manga chapters and anime episodes soon after they were released in Japan. Due to this, his translations were the source of several popular fan terms in the pre-broadband era. Alas, it is hard to verify this claim today, as a good chunk of Hoffman's writing has been lost due to various websites and forums going offline.
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However, despite seemingly originating with the fan community, the term did make its way into several pieces of official dub media. Score Entertainment's Dragon Ball Z Collectible Card Game famously featured two Mystic Gohan cards, titled "Gohan, Mystic" and "Gohan, Mystic Empowered." On top of this, Funimation's 2009 Season 9 DVD box set came with a booklet that featured plot summaries and character biographies. Gohan's profile describes him by saying:
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"Though Gohan possesses the raw potential to be more powerful than even his father, Goku, his lack of training in recent years has significantly dulled his fighting skills. Sensing this untapped well of power within Gohan, the Elder Kai uses his magic to bring out Gohan's latent abilities. Gohan returns from the Kais' planet as Mystic Gohan, fully charged and ready to battle Majin Buu."
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The name also appeared on several American Dragon Ball toys. In 2004, Jakks Pacific released a line of Dragon Ball action figures, one of which was "Mystic Gohan (Battle Damaged)," which depicted Gohan near the end of the Buu fight. Later, in 2018, the sixth series of the Dragon Stars toy line featured Mystic Gohan alongside Jiren and Golden Frieza, with the toy also getting a special alternative color variant to promote the release of Dragon Ball FighterZ.
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Even more confusingly, the various Dragon Ball video games have also come up with different names for the form. For example, in 2002's Dragon Ball Z: Legendary Super Warriors, the form is dubbed "Strongest Warrior". Later, in the second and third Budokai games, as well as Shin Budokai, Shin Budokai - Another Road, and 2008's Dragon Ball Z: Infinite World, this form is titled Elder Kai Unlock Ability. Xenoverse and Xenoverse 2 partially follow this format, dubbing the form Potential Unleashed. Weirdly, Xenoverse allows the player to have their custom character undergo Elder Kai's ritual to get a power boost. However, the game refers to this as Unlock Potential rather than Potential Unleashed, adding even more confusion.
2015's Dragon Ball Z: Dokkan Battle and 2018's Dragon Ball Legends featured the form but dubbed it Power Awakening. Finally, 2020's Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot introduced another name for the form: Power Unleashed. This means that Gohan's final form likely holds the record for the Dragon Ball form with the most 'official' names, having at least six different names depending on the specific Dragon Ball media you consume.
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Dragon Ball Super Finally Ends The Argument
Ultimate Gohan Eventually Reigns Supreme
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Thankfully, Dragon Ball Super finally put the argument to bed by giving this form an official canon name. In Dragon Ball Super's 102nd chapter, "Son Goku vs. Son Gohan," Goku takes Gohan to Beerus' planet to train. Goku suggests that Gohan battle Trunks and Goten to show off what they've all learned while Goku and Vegeta have been away. After a few attack flurries, Gohan transforms into this form, only for Goten to shout:
"Using your Ultimate mode? No fair!"
Gohan is confused about this, but Goten quickly explains that:
"The name of that transformation! We never knew what to call it, so we came up with Ultimate".
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This exchange could be seen as Toriyama making a fourth wall-breaking joke, acknowledging that the form hadn't received an official name during its initial unveiling and that later spin-off media had called the form a multitude of different names.
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It should be noted that Dragon Ball Super wasn't the first media to call the form Ultimate Gohan. The first, second, and third Budokai Tenkaichi games (in both America and Japan), the PSP fighting game Dragon Ball Z: Tenkaichi Tag Team, 2010's Dragon Ball: Raging Blast 2, the 2014 3DS game Dragon Ball Heroes: Ultimate Mission, the often forgotten Dragon Ball Z For Kinect, as well as the 2011 arcade game Dragon Ball: Zenkai Battle all refer to this state as Ultimate Gohan. Plus, the newest Dragon Ball game, 2024's Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero also gave the form this title. This means the Ultimate Gohan name has been the default for several years, even if the manga didn't acknowledge it until early 2024.
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Gohan's final Dragon Ball Z form is one of the franchise's most fascinating elements. While Dragon Ball is no stranger to half-explained plot details or strange dubbing choices, few things are as tangled or confusing as Ultimate Gohan. This is especially strange when Ultimate Gohan's plot importance is factored in, as the form plays a massive role in turning the tables against Buu and is one of the final arc's biggest reveals, so it is fair to presume that the form, like the Super Saiyan forms before it, would be one of the most well-defined ones in the franchise. However, due to this weirdness, Ultimate Gohan is a fascinating look into the early American anime community, showing how fan terms were able to cement themselves as the "official" name, despite not being backed by the original creators.
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Dragon Ball
Dragon Ball tells the tale of a young warrior by the name of Son Goku, a young peculiar boy with a tail who embarks on a quest to become stronger and learns of the Dragon Balls, when, once all 7 are gathered, grant any wish of choice.
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Dragon Ball Z
With the help of the powerful Dragonballs, a team of fighters led by the saiyan warrior Goku defend the planet earth from extraterrestrial enemies.
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Dragon Ball Super
With Majin Buu defeated half-a-year prior, peace returns to Earth, where Son Goku (now a radish farmer) and his friends now live peaceful lives.
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