Son Goten. Second born of Goku and Chichi. Gohan’s little brother. Trunks’ best friend. The other guy that makes Gotenks. And that’s about all people usually have to say about the young Goku look-a-like. But, in my opinion, this kid is great! I would want him as my kid or as a best friend when I was one.
People often forget, Goten was (so far) the youngest Super Saiyan. I can already hear, “But Trunks turned super saiyan around the same time.” True. But you must remember, Goten is a whole year younger than Trunks. “Big deal, it’s only a year” A year is a big deal when we are talking about kids the age of 6 and 7. Not only that, but we don’t get a flashback to when Trunks turned Super, but we did with Goten; he gained this awesome power-up in a heated sparring match against his mom, and if you know Dragon Ball you know Chichi don’t play around! Of course, she felt like she was losing her baby boy (again, who was 6), so he made a promise to her he wouldn’t transform, which he just couldn’t keep (seeing as he at least showed Trunks and Gohan).
This goes straight into Goten’s style. No, not his gi similar to his dads with a long shirt and Chinese footwear; his fighting style. Goten was taught to fight by his mother, trained a little by Gohan, and sparred frequently with Trunks (who was solely taught by Vegeta). You’ll notice, Goten likes to use kicks and up close punches, like his mom. But besides the Kamehameha and generic ki blasts, Goten doesn’t know any ki attacks. Not even flight! So what we end up with is a 6 year old Super Saiyan brawler who can keep up with the older, stronger, and arguably better trained Trunks. This is one scrappy kid!
Goten is also just a super sweet little boy. He makes promises so his mom will stop crying. He’s nervous when first meeting his dad. He’s personable. He fights honorably until his best friend decides to cheat to try winning a tournament. He yells at Vegeta (who is deranged, just murdered dozens if not hundreds of people, and is now a Super Saiyan 2) because his friend was hurt by the Prince. He was ready to fight Buu 1v1 after Chichi was killed, taking several months in the Time Chamber of nonstop fighting to return to normalcy.
In DBSuper, Goten tries his best to find the perfect present for Videl, even turning down Trunks’ offer to pay because his family has unlimited money apparently, eventually finding what he believes is magic water for her. He helps his father tend their crops and has to remind Goku how to act in normal social standards. He helps his brother find out what their dad is trying to keep secret. And even though he really wanted to fight in a multi-Universal free-for-all “tournament”, he, Trunks, and Marron defeated all the poachers after a magic cow on an island so Android 17 could attend (who went on to win the whole thing!).
Even in the infamous GT (which I personally like), Goten is shown to be a different person: Slacking on training and going on *gasp* DATES??? He’s a teenager with a hot girlfriend, what do you want from him? He pays no mind to his family’s typical goings on, he’s a busy man, trying to get busy. But when there is danger in the city, he springs into action. Even entertaining Mr. Satan’s showboating about being Goten’s master. And he easily defeated Baby! Sure he got possessed, but he did alot better than anyone else did.
This version of Goten even shows up in Dragon Ball Heroes as a Time Patroller and (so how) friends with the fan favorite Future Trunks. Oh, and you better believe there’s an Adult Time Patroller Gotenks with a sword!
So in short, Goten may not be a great character, but he is a good one and a good-hearted one at that. Perhaps you shouldn’t look at his standing in the company he keeps, but instead look at the actions that make him who he is.
Texan, y’all! Cinema glutton, horror enthusiast, sci-fi nerd, comic lover, and I like Japanese stuff too (the culture, kaiju, martial arts, samurai, some anime). Love me some Mario, Sonic, and Pokemon.
