Incredible father-son fanart has Dragon Ball fans saying they "need Goten to be relevant" again

Dragon Ball fans were recently treated to a fanart illustration made by X user named @DBSKAKERU1, known for his art of the franchise, featuring Beast Gohan, Ultra Instinct Goku, and Super Saiyan God Goten. This tribute to the Son family resonated deeply with the community, especially with a section of the fandom that they "need Goten to be relevant" once more in the series.

There is a strong argument to be made that Goten is the most underutilized Dragon Ball character when considering he is one of the sons of the protagonist and has Saiyan heritage. Therefore, he has the narrative connections and the potential to grow stronger, but this era of the franchise has made very little use of him, which is something that seems quite bizarre, all things considered.

Disclaimer: This article contains spoilers from the manga/anime and reflects the opinions of the writer and the people quoted.

Dragon Ball fanart has the fandom wanting Goten to be relevant again in the franchise

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This illustration featuring Ultra Instinct Goku, Beast Gohan, and Super Saiyan God Goten received a lot of positive comments on X, with a good percentage of the community wanting to see more of the latter in the franchise.

Despite being the protagonist's son and having shown the potential to reach the first Super Saiyan transformation at just seven years of age, the character has been mostly sidelined during this new era.

The fanart highlights Goten's potential since he could realistically achieve Super Saiyan God through the ritual Goku went through, and also through sheer training like Vegeta, which adds to the frustration of the fandom. That is even more telling in this modern age, where the people in charge have given Gohan and Piccolo power-ups to keep up with the protagonist and Vegeta.

More reactions online

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The desire to have Goten as a more relevant character in Dragon Ball is not only something that would please the fandom but would also make a lot of sense from a narrative perspective. This franchise's ever-increasing power scale has reached a point where it needs to find some stability and give other characters that aren't Goku and Vegeta the opportunity to compete in several arcs.

The Super Hero arc, focusing on Gohan, Piccolo, and Pan, was a step in the right direction in that regard, and the likes of Goten and Trunks are the sons of the main two characters and also have the Saiyan hybrid potential, which means they could grow a lot stronger. It seems to be a logical progression for them to make, but they have been ignored for the vast majority of the Super era.

"OMG LOOK AT GOTEN!" someone said.

"Why does Goten actually look the cleanest here," another person said.

"Goten need his time to shine next," someone else said.

It has been a running criticism in the Dragon Ball community that other characters need their time to shine, with Goten and Trunks often being a part of this discussion. This is especially telling when considering they were involved in the Buu saga, fighting against the titular villain, but haven't gotten involved with any major Super threat.

"You’re so real for this, KAKERU!!!! This honestly is my new favorite piece from you now. Also Goten looks so clean in Ssj God. Definitely need him to get Ssj God eventually in the manga as well as possibly in the next DBS movie," another person said.

"Goten as Super Saiyan God looks wild," someone else said.

The people in charge of the franchise should know that they have a lot of popular characters who should get more screen time, and Goten is certainly one of them.

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About the author

Kevin is an expert anime writer at Sportskeeda who endeavors to keep readers apprised with the latest news and trends in the genre via his content. The groundbreaking Dragon Ball series captured a young Kevin's imagination, introducing him to the entrancing world of Japanese animation. Since then, he has been a staunch follower of the works of many artists, including Berserk's creator, Kentaro Miura, who he admires greatly for his unparalleled work quality.

With a BA in Public Accounting, Kevin’s dip into the world of content began 7 years ago when he took up writing. Since then, he has written for numerous websites, including Nerdgenic, Stretty News, MusikHolics, and BookNerdection.

He maintains very high ethical standards in his content by placing a strong emphasis on transparency, and obtaining comprehensive information off the web to fully capture nuances.

Kevin has has had the privilege of interviewing several musicians, including metal band Stryper’s Michael Sweet, Bobby Blitz of Overkill, and Saxon’s Biff Byford.

When not immersed in the anime world, Kevin writes comic book scripts and books for his own projects. He also enjoys reading and watching football.

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Edited by Tiasha