Summary

• Gohan has had many memorable fights throughout Dragon Ball, showcasing his growth as a character and his incredible power.
• Some of Gohan's fights work because of how they highlight his character development.
• Other fights work for highlighting how powerful Gohan has grown as a fighter.

Gohan is the character with the most significant growth as a fighter in all of Dragon Ball. Initially introduced as a timid child too afraid to tap into his full potential, Gohan gradually becomes more confident with every story arc he’s involved in, and sure enough, his power always grows in tandem with that to an incredible degree.

Son Gohan has had incredible growth as a fighter in Dragon Ball, which has led to him having some great fights. It took a while for Gohan to become one of the major fighters among the Z Warriors, but once he did, Gohan ended up at the center of some of the best fights in all of Dragon Ball, whether it was him by himself or fighting in tandem with some of the other heroes.

A few of Gohan’s fights particularly stand out for their character writing and great direction, and each one is more than worth highlighting.

10 Gohan & Seven-Three’s Fight Excellently Showed Off Gohan’s Talent

Dragon Ball Super chapter 54

In the Galactic Patrol Prisoner saga, while Goku and Vegeta were training for their rematch against Moro, Moro led his team of Galactic Patrol prison escapees to Earth to harvest its energy. Naturally, the Z Warriors were there to stop him, and Gohan fought against Seven-Three, a powerful cyborg with the power to copy the abilities of anyone he touches.

Gohan’s fight with Seven-Three excellently showed off Gohan’s strength and the strengths of the Dragon Ball Super manga, overall. From start to finish, Gohan did a great job of overcoming Seven-Three’s various tricks, something further enhanced by the artwork and choreography of the manga, and it got to the point that Seven-Three needed to use a copy of Moro’s powers to defeat Gohan. It was a great showing for Gohan in the manga, and it was a definite highlight for the manga’s first original story arc.

9 Gohan & Frieza Made For An Excellent Team Against Dyspo

Dragon Ball Super episode 124

In the Dragon Ball Super anime’s take on the Tournament of Power, the remaining fighters eventually whittled down to Goku, Vegeta, Gohan, Frieza, and Android 17 for Universe 7 and Jiren, Toppo, and Dyspo for Universe 11. Dyspo, known for his incredible speed, forced Gohan and Frieza to work together to defeat him, with Gohan ultimately sacrificing himself to make it happen.

The Tournament of Power didn’t always do a good job of capitalizing on the element of strategic fighting, but that was on full display in Gohan and Frieza’s fight against Dyspo. The creativity with which Gohan and Frieza dealt with Dyspo’s speed was great to watch, and to cap it all off, Gohan’s willingness to sacrifice himself to defeat Dyspo showed why he was made the leader of Universe 7’s team. Gohan might have lost the fight, but his contributions made it a good one, nonetheless.

8 Gohan & Piccolo’s Bond Was Revitalized Against Saonel & Pilina

Dragon Ball Super episodes 111-119

As the universe that most directly parallels Universe 7, Universe 6 also has its own Namekians. Universe 6’s team for the Tournament of Power featured Saonel and Pilina, two Namekian warriors who had each fused with half of their race to bolster their power, and they ended up being the last of Universe 6 who were ultimately taken out by Gohan and Piccolo.

Gohan and Piccolo’s fight against Saonel and Pilina was good on a technical level from start to finish, but more than that, the way Gohan and Piccolo worked together to defeat Saonel and Pilina perfectly showed off the master-student relationship they’ve developed over the years, their constant and teamwork always being made out as essential to their victory. The fight did a great job of highlighting their bond, and it’s plenty deserving of praise because of that.

7 Gohan’s Defeat Of Obni Highlighted The Tragedy Of The Tournament Of Power

Dragon Ball Super episode 103

Gohan’s first major fight in the Tournament of Power was against Obni, the last remaining fighter of Universe 10. Despite Obni’s skill, Gohan greatly outclassed and defeated him, thus leading to Universe 10’s elimination from the Tournament of Power and their erasure from existence by Zeno.

Gohan and Obni’s fight is another one that’s great because of the narrative beats associated with it. The fact that Gohan didn’t have that hard a fight against Obni made it all the harder for Gohan and the audience to watch him lose, and the last-minute reveal of Obni being a family man like Gohan further heightened the tragedy of Obni’s loss as it showed that Gohan was essentially killing someone just like him. It had been a while since Gohan had to deal with anything so emotional, and the anime managed to get a lot out of it.

6 Gohan’s Spar With Goku Solidified Him As One Of Dragon Ball’s Strongest Fighters

Dragon Ball Super chapters 102-103

Following the defeat of Cell Max, Goku, learning about Gohan’s powerful new Beast form, invited him to Beerus’ planet so he could psee how strong he had become. Not wanting to waste any time, both of them went all out from the very start, with Gohan jumping straight into Beast and Goku Mastered Ultra Instinct, Goku’s most recent training session helping him overcome the emotional issues he had with it.

While Gohan and Goku’s fight ended inconclusively, the artwork and writing did a great job highlighting how strong the two of them had become and how, unlike Gohan’s other power boosts, Beast wouldn’t go away anytime soon. Gohan and Goku’s fight secured Gohan’s position as one of the strongest characters in Dragon Ball, and in light of the manga’s hiatus following Akira Toriyama’s death, that was a perfect note for it to go out on.

5 Gohan Reminded Everyone Of His Power In The Fight With Gamma 1

Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero

In Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero, to both get help with the revived Red Ribbon Army and bring Gohan back to fighting shape, Piccolo tricked Gohan into thinking that Pan had been kidnapped, forcing him to launch an attack against the Red Ribbon Army. There, Gohan initially struggled against the powerful Gamma 1, but after Piccolo added more to the ruse, Gohan regained his Ultimate form and gained the advantage in the fight.

Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero did a great job of building up to Gohan’s return to his Ultimate form, and once that happened, every moment of Gohan and Gamma 1’s fight perfectly showed off Gohan’s power, especially with the gorgeous and inventive 3D animation of the film. Super Hero is the biggest Dragon Ball film to date, and Gohan’s fight with Gamma 1 perfectly played into that.

4 Gohan Finally Achieved His Full Potential Against Cell Max

Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero

The Red Ribbon Army’s final gambit against Gohan and Piccolo was Cell Max, a giant-sized copy of Cell and one of the strongest villains in the franchise. Even with Piccolo’s new Orange Piccolo form and him and Gohan working with the Gammas, Gotenks, Krillin, and Android 18, Cell Max was still nigh-unstoppable, but everything changed when the sight of Piccolo’s near-death state brought out Gohan's brand-new and all-powerful Beast form.

The appearance of Beast form was everything Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero was building up to, and it perfectly lived up to the hype. It was one thing for Gohan to get a new transformation, but the music and overall direction of Beast’s debut perfectly sold how powerful Gohan had become and how outclassed Cell Max had become. It wasn’t the longest of Gohan’s fights, but the incredible care put into it easily made it one of his best.

3 Gohan & Bojack’s Fight Is One Of Dragon Ball’s Best, Despite Being Filler

Dragon Ball Z: Bojack Unbound

Dragon Ball Z: Bojack Unbound is the ninth Dragon Ball Z movie and served as an epilogue to the Android saga, despite being non-canon. Sometime after Goku’s death, a group of aliens released from imprisonment after Cell blew up King Kai’s planet invaded Earth, and with their leader, Bojack, being someone on par with Cell, it was up to Gohan to save the world again.

Gohan, with help from Goku, finally accepting his role as the new protector of Earth made for an incredibly cathartic moment for the franchise, and the direction paired with the revival of Super Saiyan 2 and Gohan’s complete beatdown of Bojack managed to take that even further. Dragon Ball Z: Bojack Unbound might not be canon, but everything it does for Gohan is still great for his character, especially its finale.

2 Gohan Almost Perfectly Closed Out His Arc When He Fought Super Buu

Dragon Ball Z episode 262-264

Just as Gotenks was about to finish off Super Buu, he lost the power to maintain Super Saiyan 3, and the Fusion, itself, ended quickly after. It appeared to be the end for Goten, Trunks, and Piccolo, but Gohan, finally finished having Elder Kai unlock his potential, returned to Earth and took up the fight against Super Buu with his new Ultimate form.

Seeing Gohan show up to save the day as a hyper-confident fighter was the perfect bookend to his history as a timid child always needing to be saved, and sure enough, Ultimate Gohan utterly humiliating Super Buu to the point that he blew himself up was nothing but cathartic to watch. Ultimately, Gohan still couldn’t be the one to save the day, but it was still an incredible fight for his character and Dragon Ball, as a whole.

1 Gohan Vs. Cell Is Still One Of Dragon Ball’s Most Iconic Fights

Dragon Ball Z episodes 181-191

In the climax of the Android saga, not only did Goku abruptly give up the fight against Cell, but he suddenly declared that Gohan was the only one who could defeat him. Sure enough, Gohan’s lack of power and confidence made him easy picking for Cell, but after Android 16 gave him a final push at the cost of his life, Gohan finally tapped into his hidden potential and unlocked Super Saiyan 2.

Between the intensity of Gohan’s transformation into Super Saiyan 2, the drama of Goku’s sacrifice, and the execution of the iconic Father-Son Kamehameha to finally defeat Cell, Gohan and Cell’s fight was one of the best-written and best-directed fights in all of Dragon Ball. Gohan and Cell’s fight is often regarded as one of the best moments in Dragon Ball, and that makes it easy to call it Gohan’s best fight in all of Dragon Ball.