“The plans of mice and men can often go awry.” In Akira Toriyama’s Dragon Ball Z, this is constantly proven to be true. The basic meaning of this phrase, first adapted from a Robert Burns poem from the 1700s, is the fact that no matter how well planned something is, it can still find ways to go wrong. Planning is a part of every protagonist’s life, even when that protagonist is not exactly the sharpest tool in the shed. Of course, the more complex the plan, the more opportunity for it to go completely sideways.
Plans in anime specifically can get more than a little convoluted as they tend to evolve into what TV Tropes has dubbed the “Batman Gambit.” These plans rely on everyone around the protagonist doing exactly what they would expect them to do based on manipulating their character flaws. The issues with a Batman Gambit should be painfully obvious though, as it relies on contrivance and on how knowledgeable the planner is regarding the pawns on the field. In DBZ, Goku, of all people, is the one to make such a plan during the Cell Saga. Goku has never been the smartest character in the cast, but he is a genius when it comes to fighting, and had a reason behind his actions in the Cell Games.
Gohan’s 10 Best Moments in Dragon Ball Z & Super
Gohan is one of Dragon Ball’s most popular characters and he’s responsible for some of the franchise’s best and biggest moments!
Goku Had Every Reason To Believe In His Plan
Gohan’s Latent Potential was on Display in Goku’s Presence Multiple Times
Goku’s Power Level in Every Dragon Ball Z Saga (In Chronological Order)
From Kaioken to Super Saiyan 3, Goku reaches some incredibly strong transformations in DBZ that can only truly be measured using their Power Levels.
Throughout the Cell Saga, the heroes are constantly being one-upped and taken down multiple pegs. The first round of androids, Androids 19 and 20 respectively, give the group a run for their money as Goku suffers through his heart disease, only for them to be trounced by a freshly awakened Super Saiyan Vegeta. The next round of Androids, 17 and 18, prove to be far too much for them to handle until Piccolo and Kami fuse into the Nameless Namekian once more, helping Piccolo hold his own in the fight. Then, Cell shows up and the conga line of terrible invoked by the hubris of Android 17 and Vegeta just continues on its merry way, with Perfect Cell being something far beyond their ability to handle. Graciously and stupidly in the way only an anime villain can, Cellgives the heroes some extra time to get ready for his grand tournament, which leads Goku to his revelation.
In the Hyperbolic Time Chamber, Goku is given time to better understand how Gohan’s abilities really work. Gohan isn’t the natural warrior that Goku is; he’s basically been forced into the situation from the time he was three years old due to the circumstances of his surroundings. He doesn’t have the same goals or desires as Goku. Until this point, Goku never had the chance to really see what Gohan could do as a fighter. He has an inkling, having seen Gohan almost punch a hole in Raditz by flying out of the pod he was trapped in as a child, but he only really got the chance to put the pieces together later on. Gohan’s abilities are very clearly tied to his emotional state. The angrier he is, the more powerful he is – and this is the crux of Goku’s plan against Cell.
Goku’s Batman Gambit was to rely on the fact that Cell would push Gohan over the edge, breaking whatever holds him back and making it so that Gohan would absolutely crush him. In a way, he’s right. He could rely on Cell’s unbridled evil and Gohan’s poorly repressed anger issues to give him, at least, half of the outcome that he wants. Of course, Goku didn’t count on Gohan having some of that Saiyan sadism and pride that would be unleashed by all this power, even though the other characters were very clearly pointing out the red flags to Goku from the moment he threw the senzu bean to Cell. The plan’s biggest failure came from Goku’s fundamental misunderstanding of Gohan’s personality being different from his own, and the lack of mental and emotional guidance available to Gohan in the Dragon Ball universe. Goku begs Gohan to go in for the kill, ultimately losing his life again when Gohan takes too much pleasure in ripping the wings off of the cicada.
Goku’s Sacrifice to defeat Cell (Clip)Gohan Knowing The Plan Would Have Ruined It
Due to the Circumstances Surrounding his Plan, Goku Had to Keep Quiet
Why Does Gohan Have So Much Potential in Dragon Ball Z?
Dragon Ball Z is full of incredibly strong characters, but there are some special reasons that explain why Gohan has such endless potential.
The biggest question surrounding Goku’s semi-successful gambit is: why wouldn’t he let Gohan in on the plan? It’s kind of easy to think that looping Gohan in would have allowed for some control of the situation from the top, possibly keeping a lid on the more sadistic elements in Gohan’s emotional state. It’s also easy to overlook the fact that telling Gohan the plan would have ultimately ruined it. Goku’s entire plan relied on Gohan’s emotional state being so frazzled and ripped to shreds that he would lose control in a way that made his power grow exponentially. Preparing Gohan would have lessened the impact of Cell’s actions and probably would have insulated him from the raw pain needed to make that magic happen. Telling the others would probably have triggered them to try and tell Gohan as well, especially Krillin or Piccolo, who were shown to disagree with Goku’s methods.
This is, without out a doubt, the worst parenting moment that Goku has in the entire series, and it is hard to justify it because it doesn’t even work out the way that he planned. From Goku’s perspective, however, it does make sense. His own experience of turning Super Saiyan was an uncontrolled moment of rage that evened out. Additionally, Goku doesn’t really have the same sadistic energy as other Saiyans in the universe, so it’s understandable if he thought he wouldn’t have to worry about that in Gohan. Goku, however, was also not there for some of Gohan’s more emotionally charged fights, like with the Ginyu Force or even Nappa. When pushed up against the wall, Gohan tends to go a little off the rails and look to cause pain rather than bring an end to the fight.
Gohan is not a martial artist like Goku. He didn’t grow up as a fighter with Master Roshi imparting the importance of learning over victory. He was being trained as a soldier by Piccolo to defend the Earth from total annihilation from the age of four. He wasn’t taught to fight as a sport, Gohan was taught to fight with a sense of bloodlust and that only became more prominent during the Namek Saga. Goku’s gambit does ultimately work out, but his own death and lack of understanding of Gohan is what sends it so firmly out of his control. He also underestimates Cell’s desire for victory as the villain tries to just wipe out the planet along with the rest of them. Goku’s hand was forced because he couldn’t see past his own moral system to understand that others may not share it. Telling Gohan about the plan would have ruined it far more than Goku’s own shortsightedness did, however, and it was ultimately needed to save the Earth from Cell’s tyranny.
