Gohan's 7 Strongest Transformations, Ranked

Gohan has had an interesting journey throughout Dragon Ball. Gohan was introduced at the beginning of the Saiyan Saga and was presented as a shy, shy boy with incredible untapped potential. Unlike his father, who was an energetic, avid martial artist as a child, Gohan was never naturally drawn to fighting, but was often forced to rise to the occasion due to his incredible fighting abilities.

After being mostly sidelined in favor of Goku and Vegeta, Gohan looks like he's finally back to being one of the best Z-fighters in the series. We've seen Gohan achieve a variety of transformations, and thanks to his recent ascension, Gohan should play a big role in the future of Super manga when it returns. Beast might be all anyone can talk about right now, but let's take a look at some of Gohan's most popular transformations introduced throughout Dragon Ball.

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Big monkey

For most Saiyans, the great ape was their roof. It was an incredibly useful and devastating transformation, especially when Saiyans used to take over other planets. Gohan first became the Great Ape as a child, but he did not use the transformation too much, with the most notable use of the form for him during the battle with Vegeta.

The Great Ape form gave Gohan a huge power boost, but it came at the cost of him not having much self-awareness, instead acting on pure instinct. Like Goku as a child, Gohan had no training to help him control the transformation, and while it gave young Gohan a significant advantage in battle, it wasn't something he used very effectively.

Unlock potential

While on Namek, Gohan and Krillin got to meet Elder Guru, and they came out of it with the wise Namekian who had unlocked their latent potential. Guru could see that Gohan still hadn't tapped into what he was truly capable of, and gave the young Saiyan a much needed push forward.

Not only did Gohan get stronger, but as he encountered more and more hardships on Namek and was forced to fight powerful enemies, Gohan would grow as a fighter, far beyond what he otherwise would have been able to achieve at that point. Gohan was still nowhere near as strong as we would later know he was capable of being, but this served as an important first step to get him there and let him show what he could really do.

Super Saiyan Full Power

Gohan was the fourth Saiyan to reach Super Saiyan in the series, although it could be argued that he was technically the second if we look at Future Trunks' alternate timeline. Essentially, Gohan reaches Super Saiyan while training with his father in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber.

It is through this training with Goku that he becomes one of the earliest characters to achieve Super Saiyan Full Power, which is what he initially fights Perfect Cell in. This perfected form comes without the energy drain and strain that the regular SSJ transformation puts the user through. It was a practical step up from the original, but was quickly overshadowed by an even stronger transformation.

Super Saiyan 2

For many fans, Gohan turning Super Saiyan 2 and completely turning the tide in the fight against Cell is one of the most iconic moments of the series. Gohan was the youngest character to reach the new form, with his power at the time surpassing that of experienced fighters such as Goku and Vegeta.

The sudden increase in power not only made Gohan stronger, but it brought out a more arrogant and sadistic side of him that fans weren't used to seeing. It went away as he matured, although it's still something that slips out every now and then. Gohan was able to wipe the floor with Perfect Cell in this form, and although bruised and battered, he pushed through and took out Super Perfect Cell (with a little help from Goku and Vegeta), proving to be the stronger fighter. By the time the Buu Saga rolled around, SS2 was already outdated, but Gohan had another big power-up waiting.

Super Saiyan 2 (Enraged)

Super Saiyan 2 (Enraged) already requires strong emotions to achieve, is an upgraded form of the original transformation that occurs when the user enters an enraged state. We saw Vegeta use this in Battle of Gods After Beerus punched Bulma and gave him a temporary boost that made him strong enough to momentarily push back the God of Destruction.

Gohan does not use this transformation in the main series. Instead, he is shown using it in the Super Dragon Ball Heroes manga. When Bojack claims to have killed Pan, Gohan reaches his deranged state and receives such a significant power boost that he manages to destroy a fully powered Bojack in one punch.

Ultimate Gohan

Unlike the potential unlocking power he had experienced on Namek as a child, Gohan's ultimate form came as a result of Old Kai's unlocking ability. It could be considered a huge step up from what Guru was able to do, with the process taking much longer, but this time Gohan fully allowed himself to access his latent abilities without having to transform into a Super Saiyan.

This was Gohan's go-to for a long time, and represented the very peak of his potential. It was incredibly effective against Super Buu and even allowed Gohan to hold his own against Goku in Super Saiyan Blue for a while. But as everyone around him grew stronger, Gohan needed a new transformation that would allow him to rise to the same heights Goku and Vegeta had reached.

Beast

Gohan's latest and most powerful transformation has caused a lot of discussion among fans as to whether Gohan or Frieza is currently the strongest fighter in the series. Black Frieza took down UI Goku and UE Vegeta in one punch, but does that mean he could beat Gohan Beast just as easily?

Reminiscent of his iconic Super Saiyan 2 transformation, Beast makes the most of Gohan's rage without costing him full control of his power. We haven't seen much of it, but from what little has been shown, it's not something that will be easily surpassed.

Created by

Akira Toriyama

First TV show

Dragon Ball

Latest TV show

Dragon Ball DAIMA

Upcoming TV Shows

Dragon Ball DAIMA

Dragon Ball is a franchise by Akira Toriyama that follows the adventures of Goku, a mighty warrior who protects the Earth with his group of friends. A new title from the series is Dragon Ball: The Breakers, an action game where 7 players must survive being chased by Raiders.