Dragon Ball Z has plenty of legendary moments and battles. From the first Super Saiyan transformation to Vegeta’s character development, some moments simply make chills run down my spine as if they are happening for the first time. But apart from canon elements, the series also has some great fillers.
The filler in discussion today is the battle between Gohan and Frieza in Dragon Ball Z. In the Dragon Ball manga, Gohan never fought Frieza at Namek. However, it’s hard to remember that the battle was non-canonical due to the brilliance that was portrayed.
The Dragon Ball Z filler that stole everyone’s hearts
Episode 100 of Dragon Ball Z, titled ‘Gohan Returns‘, had a few canon elements which were mostly mixed with non-canonical developments. In the manga, Gohan never showed up to fight Frieza at Namek; however, in the anime, he faced Frieza after watching his father, Goku, suffer.
During Goku’s battle against Frieza, Gohan could feel Goku’s energy signal vanish completely, almost as if his father had died. While Bulma asked Gohan to flee Namek along with her, Gohan decided to confront Frieza instead. Frieza dominated Gohan initially, but as Gohan could start feeling Goku’s energy signal again, his newfound confidence propelled him.
After that, Gohan launched a frenzy of attacks on Frieza. Punches, kicks, ki attacks, you name it. He also launched an Ultimate Masenko, but it ultimately failed to cause any extensive damage to Frieza. But just as Frieza prepares to kill Gohan, Goku re-emerges, prepared to fight the villain again.
The filler gave Gohan a rare chance to develop
During this time in Dragon Ball Z, Goku was always the center of attention. Every enemy was defeated by Goku in the end. Gohan did not get much spotlight till this filler. He went against Frieza in an attempt to avenge his father, whom he considered dead. It was an episode that showed how much potential Gohan had.
Holding his own against Frieza at such a young age is a commendable act. At his age, Goku would not have been able to do the same, which sheds light on how much more powerful Gohan would become in the future. Of course, he didn’t stand a chance once Frieza began to go all out, but he still did his part in the story. In the future, Gohan would go on to attain far more complex transformations and fight battles that have higher stakes, and this filler episode in Dragon Ball Z perfectly showed his promise for the future.
But since it’s a filler episode, created mostly to pad out the anime, its plausibility is questionable. Gohan’s contribution is greatly appreciated, and his empowerment is popular amongst fans such as me. It was adorable to see tiny Gohan go against all odds because he believed his father was no more.
Dragon Ball Z anime is currently available to stream on Crunchyroll.
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