In Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero, we finally saw Gohan get his long-awaited new form. The last time we saw Gohan receive a new form was back in Dragon Ball Z when he was set to fight against Super Buu.
Since then, Gohan has remained on the sidelines until he received his Beast form in the latest movie. But did you know that this latest Gohan form was first teased during Dragon Ball Super a few years ago? Let's look at how the anime hinted at the new form.
Gohan’s new form was foreshadowed in Dragon Ball Super
After the Golden Frieza arc in the Dragon Ball Super anime, Gohan came to the realization that he had slacked off too much. He lost all of his battle instincts and was toyed around by Freeza. He realized that in the event that Goku and Vegeta weren’t there to protect the Earth, he was next to useless. So he again started training under Piccolo.
Later, during the Tournament of Power arc, when Goku came to recruit both Gohan and Piccolo for the Universe 7 team, he found out that Gohan was training again.
Goku decided to fight Gohan to test his strength. That’s when we came to find out that Gohan had regained his Ultimate form and was stronger than ever. However, Goku noticed that Gohan hadn’t turned into a Super Saiyan and asked him about the same.
Gohan told Goku that he had a new goal. He wanted to achieve a new Ultimate form that no Saiyan had ever achieved, and for that, he was going down a different path. Meanwhile, in the manga, when questioned about his transformation by Kefla, Gohan explains why he chose to pursue a new form on his human side.
Why does Gohan not turn Super Saiyan?
Gohan’s Ultimate form in Dragon Ball Super in itself was quite strong, as he was able to take on the likes of Goku Super Saiyan Blue, Toppo, and Dyspo in the anime, and Kefla in the manga.
Gohan gained access to all of his strengths after he had his potential unlocked by Elder Kai back in Dragon Ball Z. This implied that achieving Super Saiyan status would have added nothing to his strength since his Ultimate Form in itself was a unique form, achieved by no other Saiyan. The Ultimate Form was his greatest shot at achieving a new form.
Quite amazingly, Gohan was finally able to achieve this foreshadowed new form in Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero. Fans now know this form as Beast Gohan.
What do we know about Beast Gohan?
In Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero, when Cell Max attacked "Orange Piccolo," Gohan thought that Piccolo had been killed. This caused Gohan to unleash all of his strength, resulting in the creation of an entirely new form that was further down the line from his ultimate form.
In contrast to previous Dragon Ball transformations, Gohan's hair turns grey and his eyes turn red in "Son Gohan Beast." The form has been dubbed the "Son Gohan Beast," as it has Gohan unleashing his inner beast that we have all seen him display time and again, all the way back from Dragon Ball Z.
This is why the transition to Gohan's new form also looks familiar to the time he turned into Super Saiyan 2 against Perfect Cell.
Hopefully, Dragon Ball Super honors Gohan and does not let the form be easily surpassed.