Gohan is a beloved fan favorite character. His epic journey from the beginning of Dragon Ball Z all the way to the destruction of Kid Buu showed how the son of Goku was always meant for greatness both on the field of battle and in the class room. We saw that how he evolved from a shy and socially awkward boy into a protector of the planet and then into a superhero. So while we got a massive character arc from Goku's first child, we didn't get the same thing from his second offspring: Goten.
Goten, by comparison, is a whole lot less interesting than Gohan. Introduced in the Majin Buu saga, Goten is a prodigy among the Z fighters. While it took other Super Saiyans a minimum of 10 years to reach their forms, Goten was able to hit that benchmark by age seven. And he didn't even need anybody to get destroyed to do it, all he needed was for his mom to hit him! Well, that's pretty messed up if you think about it... moving on.
So while Goten may seem like a simple character on the surface, I've dug deep into research to come up with some crazy facts about this son of Son Goku. I'm going to delve into his fighting history, his career as a television star (outside of the Dragon Ball franchise, you wise guy) and even the icky details about when he was created. Oh yeah, I'm going there. So here are sixteen crazy things you didn't know about Goten.
16 He Has Barely Fought
For being an anime about fighting, it seems as if Goten ought to follow the format of the show and start fighting, because he doesn't do much of it in the series.
Keep in mind that we aren't counting the movies, because they aren't in continuity (canon). If we were, than this slide wouldn't be here. But in the actual anime of the show, the amount of fights where Goten fought on his own could be counted on two hands. We have his duo of solo fights in the 25th World Martial Arts Tournament, his performance in the battle royale of said tournament, and his pair of fights as Gotenks versus Super Buu. When we get to Super, we have his fight with Beerus, his fight with Tagoma and his skirmish on the planet Potaufeu. If we discount his fused fights, we got four fights! Pretty sad for a son of Goku.
15 We Know When He Was Conceived
Due to the time jump between the end of Dragon Ball and the start of Dragon Ball Z, we don't know the exact time of when Gohan is conceived. Not that we really needed to know that, but I only bring this up because in the case of Goten, we know exactly when Goku and Chi Chi made it happen.
Goten was born roughly nine months after the defeat of Cell at the hands of Goten's brother Gohan. This means that while Goku was potentially going to go off and pass away, Chi Chi had the foresight to get her husband one last time and get a child out of him. We bet casual fans of Dragon Ball didn't think that the Abridged series was so close to the actual story, eh?
14 He Used To Like The Great Saiyaman
The Great Saiyaman gets a bad rap from a lot of fans due to how it turned their beloved Teen Gohan into a comedic character for a brief period of time. However, there was somebody in the Dragon Ball world that actually thought the Great Saiyaman was the coolest thing since sliced bread. That, of course, would be Gohan's brother Goten.
In the Buu saga when Gohan comes home, Goten notices his outfit and tells him that he thinks it looks really cool! Aww, what a nice moment between the two brothers... now flash forward to Dragon Ball Super where Goten tells his brother that he'll only wear the sunglasses because he thinks the outfit is lame. Personally I blame the rap music, also Trunks. That kid is a negative influence, man.
13 Unlike Goku, He Has A Favorite Food
Spoiler alert: Goku and the rest of the Saiyans like to eat. Most of them aren't picky with what they eat, as you could probably put a fried raccoon in front of them and they'd probably chomp down on it in a blind blond haired fury. But Goten is a little bit different in the sense he actually does have a favourite food that he reaches for.
For those who have never tried its majestic tastiness, Pocky is a snack treat based out of Japan. It's simple really: just biscuit sticks that have been coated in various flavours like strawberry, matcha, chocolate, and so on. But hey, Goten is a kid of simple taste. He also loves Daifuku, but that's not as popular with people, so let's just go with Pocky, mmmkay?
12 Goku Has No Faith In Him
Despite being in his teens at the current time of Dragon Ball Super, Goten still acts like somebody way younger than his age. Fans have noticed because of Trunks' growth by comparison, not to mention his static wardrobe. But fans aren't the only ones who have noticed Goten's immaturity; his father has as well.
When it came to picking fighters in the Tournament of Power, it seems like Goten would be a decent choice. However when Supreme Kai recommends him, Goku refuses saying that he's too inexperienced and too straightforward (nice way of saying stupid) to do well. This coming from the guy who put Gohan (who was younger at the time) in the Cell games. Clearly this shows that Goku doesn't see Goten in the same way he does his brother.
11 He Has One Of The Worst Win-Loss Records In The Franchise
We already mentioned above how little Goten actually fights inside a show all about fighting. That could be forgiven to a point if Goten actually won most of the fights he was in. Sadly, that is far from the case.
Once again we're not counting the movies in this slide. If we did, Goten would actually have a decent record. But in Z and Super, Goten's win/loss record is an appalling. He holds a grand total of three wins and one of those wins came in the form of Gotenks. Aside from those three wins, Goten has lost to Trunks, a bunch of people in a battle royale, Beerus and Super Buu. His final record is a measly 3-5, a measly stat considering his father and Gohan's great records.
10 He Has An Odd Encounter In DBZ
The conclusion of Dragon Ball Z has been called back in question thanks to the creation of Dragon Ball Super. With all these Gods of Destruction and new forms flying around, the ending of Z wouldn't much make much sense. This causes this awkward moment to be erased from continuity.
In the epilogue of DBZ, we flash forward to the 28th installment in the World Martial Arts Tournament. Both Goten and Trunks are competing in the tourney and they are 17 and 18 respectively. Despite being underage (in fairness, the bare chested dude doesn't know that), this adult gay man flirts with Goten before the tournament begins. Trunks laughs at him, but Goten laughs back when Trunks finds out HE is fighting the man. Just another bizarre moment in a bizarre franchise.
9 He Goes Into Business With Trunks
The short lived Dragon Ball Online MMORPG might not have made much of an impact on the gaming world, but it did give DBZ fans a fun look at a potential future for all of its favourite characters. This includes those rascally little brats Trunks and Goten.
It may seem like they will always be immature pranksters, but due to the defunct game flash forwarding into the future, we can see what they grow up to do. It turns out that Trunks went down the path of teaching and decided to open a sword fighting school. This sort of makes sense seeing as how swords and Trunks have been associated. But where it gets a little odd is that Goten also becomes a teacher alongside his best bud. We suppose that Trunks could have taught Goten, but who taught Trunks then? So many questions...
8 He Doesn't Really Have A Signature Attack
The number of techniques in Dragon Ball are so numerous that it would take a Shenron wish for someone to list them all. While some techniques like the Kamehameha are shared among several different people, most characters have a couple of attacks which are unique to them alone. This would be moves like Piccolo's Light Grenade or Vegeta's Final Flash. There's one problem though, Goten doesn't have one.
This problem is probably due to him not having many fights on his own , but for the most part Goten relies on the Kamehameha like several others on the show. He does have an attack called Assault! that he uses against Trunks in DBZ, but it's never seen again. Be original, kid!
7 He Stopped Training For Years
It's easy to fall behind on workouts when you feel as if you have no reason to go to the gym. For us, it might be because you finally feel comfortable with your weight so you decide to slack off. Or in the case of DBZ, it might be because the world was saved from the pink personification of all evil. That would do it.
In Dragon Ball Super, we learned that Goten and Trunks both had stopped training since the defeat of Majin Buu. It was only when they heard about the Tournament of Power that they started to take up training once again. That means for about seven years, Goten could have been training but instead grew weaker (it wasn't as bad as Gohan's drop but nonetheless). Just keep on being a disappointment to your fans and family Goten.
6 He Has Done Nothing Of Importance In Super
Don't give me that cheeky look, Goten, you know the misdeeds you've done! Actually you don't because you haven't done a thing of importance inside of the Dragon Ball Super show!
Super isn't nearly as bad as Dragon Ball GT in terms of focusing exclusively on Goku, but there are some characters who are certainly getting the shaft. It's even more of a shame that it's a son of Goku. That's not to say he hasn't done anything, but most of the stuff he's done are meandering tasks that have no real bearing on the plot. His character development has also reached a stand still, making him even more irrelevant. At least Trunks was able to interact with his future self and has sort of a relationship, creepy as it is.
5 His Point Was To Return Humor To Dragon Ball
I've yammered on and on at various points in this article about how Goten is largely a useless character throughout the series, but the point of him in the first place was never that. To be fair, Akira Toriyama's intention with creating Goten wasn't to have him replace Goku like Gohan was meant to. He was supposed to lighten the mood.
By the time Dragon Ball Z had reached the end of the Cell Saga, it had gotten pretty dark. Toriyama was beginning to feel stressed out by all the destruction and chaos that he wanted to inject some humor back in. This would account for Trunks and Goten's prankster personalities. Whether anybody found their humour of mooning people funny is another matter entirely.
4 He Fought Off An Army
Speaking of creepy, here's one of the oddest appearances by history's most vile villain you will ever see. In the second to last DBZ movie titled Fusion Reborn, the antagonist of the film opens up a portal which brings back a bunch of DBZ villains like Frieza and his army. But they also bring back history's despised force, the leader of the Axis Powers.
His actual identity was censored in most versions of the film, but anybody with two brain cells to rub together would know exactly who that is. It's not like he lasted long, because while tanks are effective against humans, Saiyans are a different matter. Trunks and Goten easily destroy their foes and finish them as Gotenks with their Super Ghost Kamikaze Attack.
3 Super Saiyan Age 3?
What are some things you remember doing when you were three years old? Were you watching Saturday morning cartoons? Playing with your action figures? We're quite certain that nobody remembers transforming into a Super Saiyan. That because it didn't happen to anybody, despite what a video game manual says.
For some inexplicable reason, the final entry in the Legacy of Goku series titled Buu's Fury made a giant mistake in its manual. If fans weren't pissed off enough about Trunks and Goten becoming Super Saiyans at such young ages, the manual says Goten achieved the signature form at three years old. I like to think that the developers knew what they were doing and just decided to troll some fans. If that's the case, props to them.
2 He's Been In Some Weird Commercials
It seems that everybody tries to attach itself to the Dragon Ball brand in order to make a buck (believe me the irony is not lost on myself). But with some companies you really have to wonder how the pitch meetings went.
Japanese companies have used Akira Toriyama's creations to sell anything you can possibly think of. School supplies, food, eye drops you name those fighting freaks have endorsed it. But for my money, the oddest one was when Trunks and Goten sold a desk... by dancing.
I'm not making this up. The entirety of this commercial consists of Goten and his pal performing the fusion dance three times. Each time it works it shows off the features of a desk. I don't think that was ever canon...
1 Adult Gotenks? Yes
Dragon Ball Heroes is a ridiculous game exclusively available in Japan. Essentially, its existence is to bring every ridiculous version of a character that you ever wanted to exist into reality. Super Saiyan 4 Broly, anyone? Compared to that ridiculous creation, this one is relatively tame.
A sticking point of Dragon Ball GT for a lot of fans (boy were there a lot of those) was the fact that we never saw a fusion of Gotenks as an adult. Well, Heroes filled the hole in their hearts and gave them what they always wanted, delivering them Gotenks in an adult body. You can see him in his base form, Super Saiyan form, or finally his Super Saiyan 3 form which you see above.