Gohan and Piccolo’s Relationship, Explained

Piccolo is one great example of character redemption. He is the reincarnation of King Piccolo, the main antagonist in Dragon Ball, but later becomes an important ally and part of the “Z warriors”. While he may still be a bit grumpy, he’s not evil anymore – and one key character in his development was Gohan.

After Goku dies for the first time in Dragon Ball Z, Piccolo decides to train the young Gohan, against the boy’s will. The series never explicitly explains why Piccolo decided to do that – he probably understood Gohan’s potential as a warrior during the battle with Raditz, and feared stronger enemies would come. However, some people that think Piccolo had a more personal reason to train – and, in some way, help to raise Gohan. Some fans argue that Piccolo saw it as an opportunity to leave a legacy behind.

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Gohan Likely Sees Piccolo As His “Second Father”

While Gohan has always preferred studying to training, and certainly didn’t enjoy Piccolo’s training methods when he was a kid, he has never seen Piccolo as a villain or a monster. In fact, the harsh training helped him to form a strong bond with Piccolo.

Some fans jokingly say that Piccolo is more of a father to Gohan than Goku is, because he clearly cares for the boy and takes great pains to raise him when Goku is not around. While this may be harsh on Goku, who loves his sons in his own way, it’s likely that Gohan sees Piccolo as a second father or a close uncle – after all, he wears Piccolo’s signature outfit both when he’s a kid and as an adult (in Super Hero, for example).

Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero makes it very clear how much Gohan cares about Piccolo, as he inadvertently unleashes his true powers when he watches Cell Max attacking Piccolo, and he gets angry thinking Piccolo is dead. This is similar to when he awakens his Super Saiyan 2 form after Cell kills Goku in Dragon Ball Z. He is also the one who named Piccolo’s transformation as “Orange Piccolo” in Super Hero.

Piccolo May Not Say It, But He Loves Gohan Too

Piccolo is not the kind who openly shows affection towards the people he cares about, but it’s clear that he also developed a bond with Gohan. He taught Gohan how to fly, and also his special move, Masenko – they even perform the Masenko Beam Cannon together in Dragon Ball Super manga. Fans discuss whether Gohan’s final move should be based on Goku’s or on Piccolo’s moves. In one game, they fused into Kallohan – it would be nice to see this fusion form in canon media as well.

Dragon Ball Super reveals that Piccolo was not only invited to Gohan’s wedding, but he actually attended it – a canon proof that he cares about the boy. In Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero he helps Gohan to take care of his children – he even picks them up at school.

Even the underrated spin-off Dragon Ball GT recognizes the strong bond between them – he sacrifices himself, but only after telling Gohan that everything would be fine. It’s also likely that he sees Gohan as his adoptive son, or something like that. In the end, they have a sweet relationship.

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  Dragon Ball
  

  Dragon Ball is a franchise by Akira Toriyama which follows the adventures of Goku, a powerful warrior who protects the earth with his group of  friends. A recent title from the series is Dragon Ball: The Breakers, an action style game where 7 players have to survive being hunted by the Raider.