Gohan

Son Gohan is one of the central characters in the Dragon Ball anime (particularly prominent in Dragon Ball Z), serving as the eldest son of Son Goku and Chi-Chi.

In the anime version, Gohan starts as a young, timid child (around 4–5 years old at the beginning of DBZ) with a gentle, kind-hearted personality. He's highly intelligent, a brilliant scholar by nature, and has little interest in fighting—unlike his Saiyan father. He often cries easily, fears danger, and prefers peaceful activities, strongly influenced by his protective mother who wants him to focus on studies rather than battles.

Physically, he resembles Goku with spiky black hair (which grows longer as a child), dark eyes, and a Saiyan tail (brown-furred and prehensile), but he has his mother's lighter peach skin tone.

What defines Gohan in the anime is his incredible hidden potential as a half-Saiyan, half-human hybrid. When pushed to extremes—especially when protecting loved ones or in moments of intense anger—he unlocks massive bursts of power far exceeding even Goku's at times. This leads to key moments like his rage-fueled outbursts against Raditz, Vegeta, Frieza, and especially his iconic Super Saiyan 2 transformation during the Cell Saga, where he becomes temporarily the strongest character in the series.

Despite his reluctance to fight, Gohan repeatedly steps up heroically when it matters most, showing growth from a scared kid into a powerful (if reluctant) warrior. Later in the series (like the Buu Saga), he takes on a more mature, studious persona, even adopting a secret superhero identity as the Great Saiyaman.

Overall, the anime portrays Gohan as a peaceful, intellectual contrast to the typical Saiyan love of battle, with his strength emerging from emotion and duty rather than enjoyment of combat.