by Jeremy Carden

Why didn’t Gohan go Mystic?

How come Vegeta doesn’t go Super Saiyan 3?

Was there a reason that Pan never went Super Saiyan?

These are some of the MANY questions that fans ask about the GT series. However there is one that baffles the minds of fans and makes them very angry due to the absence of one particular character in GT. What a lot of fans wanted to see was the adult version of Gotenks.

One of the most impressive things to me personally would be if Goten and Trunks got the Fusion Dance correct on their first attempt. There was a 10 year gap between Z and GT so Gotenks probably didn’t appear during that time.

They did use the Fusion Dance in the movie/special that took place 2 years after the defeat of Kid Buu, Yo! Son Goku and his friends return! However they got it incorrect on their first try and then got it right on their second try admitting that they were out of practice.

In the next movie Battle of Gods which takes place 3 years later, they get it down on their first attempt BUT a quick spanking from Bills takes Super Saiyan Gotenks out of the fight.

Well moving on 5 years later we see Goten and Trunks at age 17 and 18 but no sign of Gotenks most likely due to no major threat at the end of Z it is just them fighting in the World Tournament.

So, moving on 10 years later we arrive at the beginning of GT. Originally Vegeta and Chi-Chi were going to send the two slacker Saiyans into space with Goku to find the Blackstar Dragonballs. However due to Pan basically doing something that contributed to this series going down the toilet…

She pressed the start button to go into space leaving Goten behind so for a year there was no Gotenks in sight. The reason I say year is since they have a full year to find the balls and bring them back before the Earth explodes.

I’ll go on a limb and say what a lot of fans might just agree on; there were PLENTY of times when Gotenks could have or should have made an appearance!

I’m sure if Goten were in space with Trunks and Goku instead of Pan, Gotenks was going to throw down on some galactic monsters and robots!

Come on I could see Gotenks fighting against General Rilldo or Luud and those would have been some interesting battles instead of seeing a Kid Goku just beat every down like they were nothing.

Another reason I’m confident in Gotenks being seen during their travels in space is because Goten AND Trunks had not been training at all. Think about all of the time Trunks was EASILY taken down during battles.

Ledgic wiped him out with one punch Cardinal Mutchy Mutchy distracted him with a whip and threw him to the ground leaving it to Goku to finish him off Mutchy held off Trunks for awhile with a pile of bricks thanks to his psychic abilities and it was only after turning Super Saiyan was he able to get them off of him One mouth blast took him out of the battle with Luud again leaving it up to Goku to win (along with Pan’s help)

Just a few examples of how Trunks’ lack of training didn’t do anything positive while traveling with Goku. It pretty much proves that Vegeta was right with him and Goten being way too soft during the times of peace.

Moving on to later in the Baby Saga, Gotenks should have appeared during the fight with the giant Golden Ape Baby. However, Goku said that Gotenks would not be enough even if Gohan, Gotenks and himself fought.

He then opted to take their energy to recharge himself to a full power Super Saiyan 4. The flaw I see in this is that Gotenks most likely could have offered more Ki to Goku than Goten and Trunks separately. Not to mention they probably could have recharged Goku even faster than they did by doing the Fusion.

I would have loved to see Super Saiyan 3 Gotenks trying his hand at stopping that rampaging ape!

Then in the Super 17 Saga, even though it would not have been necessary (except against General Rilldo most likely) to take out all of the returning villains Gotenks could have been used to take them out with ease.

Alright now here is where we get to the point that it was outright ridiculous for Goten and Trunks to have not fused! The 2 Android 17s fused into Super 17 but Goten and Trunks opted to fight solo…

Seriously, the two Androids fused to become a much stronger being but Gotenks did not appear to fight? Really the writers screwed up on that one! I know with Gotenks being as cocky as he is, I’m sure he’d get in some massive Ki attacks that would have just made Super 17 stronger but still it would have been cool to see.

Finally we get to the Shadow Dragons Saga when all of the Z Fighters unite to help Goku against Syn/Omega Shenron. Again the Saiyans are used as “batteries” to recharge Goku so he could surpass his limits as a Super Saiyan 4.

Gotenks should have appeared to help charge up Goku faster but again…oh well you know what happens!

When trying to stall Omega for Goku and Vegeta to fuse, it makes sense that Goten and Trunks don’t fuse because those two and Gohan gave their Super Saiyan powers to Goku so them not even going Super Saiyan to stall Omega was understandable since their powers probably hadn’t returned yet.

After Super Saiyan 4 Gogeta makes the scene, Majuub (who everyone seemed to forget about after he got blasted in the face by Syn) appears saying that they should fuse to help out. However Gohan points out that their power levels wouldn’t be equal since Majuub got injured so badly and that he should heal first.

Then in the final stand against Omega before his defeat by the Universal Spirit Bomb, Gohan/Trunks/Goten return to help Vegeta fight off the dragon but are quickly defeated. Again I was another chance for Gotenks to appear to help give them a better chance even if it was a slim one.

It is a shame Gotenks had multiple opportunities to appear in GT but the writers just didn’t deliver. What I would have loved to see more than anything else was if Gotenks would have any new or crazy attacks in his arsenal. Remember Goten and Trunks were not even 10 and they had deadly attacks like the Super Ghosts and Galactic Doughnut! I think that is what would have made me laugh the most seeing Gotenks goofy around with dangerous opponents like Omega or Super 17.

However in the Japanese Arcade Game Dragonball Heroes we are finally given an Adult Gotenks!

What a lot of fans question is the change in Gotenks outfit; black undershirt, Capsule Corp. boots and Trunks’ gloves instead of the traditional Fusion Dance outfit. I think it is an interesting change so they would not look like another Gogeta after fusing but that is just my opinion.

This seriously would have been one of the things that could have improved GT. In the trailer for DB Heroes, Adult Gotenks appears fighting Oceanus Shenron along with other characters in the game. Not to jump off topic but I think that if the Shadow Dragon Saga did not just focus a majority of time on Pan and Goku it would have been a lot better than it was.

Something I might cover in another blog is my opinion on how the Shadow Dragon Saga should have been Goku, Vegeta, Gohan, Majuub, Goten and Trunks going off to different locations to fight individual Shadow Dragons before coming up against Syn Shenron before a final showdown with Omega. That again would have been a chance for Gotenks to fight in the GT series!

What are your thoughts on the absence of Gotenks in the GT series? And do you feel that his appearance in DB Heroes is a hint of things to come in future DB games?