Which scene was better, Goku going SSJ or Gohan goes SSJ2

[ScoobsJoestar]

I think Gohan's was better foreshadowed, written and all around better...

...but I'll be damned if I didn't enjoy Goku's more. He just made me mark out more as a kid.

 

[nanskee]

I'm gonna go with Goku. The way Frieza killed krillen was legendary. Pop goes the weasel.

But it's a hard choice, both are pretty great

 

[Tagyhag]

I think in a vacuum, Gohan going SSJ2 is more epic.

But with context, and as someone who has followed Goku's journey since he and I were both kids, Goku going SSJ will always be better.

 

[Kain-Nosgoth]

i just voted, thus creating the perfect balance by accident :

 

[Noppie]

Goku's was really the culmination of his entire journey, discovering his roots and the story told around Freeza vs Saiyans. There's no contest, no matter how cool Gohan's was. Goku's is so much more impressive and story relevant.

 

[The Masked Mufti]

Goku's SS1 was better but Gohan's SS2 lead to the father-son kamehameha which is one of the best moments in DB history.

Goku going UItra Instinct and the build up to it - was 100x more memorable

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I loved that UI had a build up to it. More "why isn't this shit working properly" throughout the end of the tournament vs "wham bam thank you ma'am I just got a power up"

 

[Noppie]

Father-son kamehameha has nothing on Family Kamehameha by the way, don't @ me

Far superior <3

 

[sirap]

Goku.

 

[PhoenixAKG]

Father-son kamehameha has nothing on Family Kamehameha by the way, don't @ me

Far superior <3

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This was nonsensical and came from one of the worst DBZ movies.

 

[SgtCobra]

Goku all day

 

[Typhoon20]

Goku going UI.

 

[Shadownet]

Lol my vote straight up split it 50/50 so far. 117.

 

[BlueKaty]

Goku's because at that point being a Super Saiyan meant something. When Gohan became SSJ2 Dragon Ball Z had already jumped the shark.

 

[Disco]

Gohan SSJ2, complete with the Faulconer score and English dub. :D

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I voted Goku because that shit was huge the first time seeing it but i change my answer to this. The music got so hype when vegeta intervened and then goku pushed gohan to finish cell

 

[Eblo]

Goku was more shiny and new, but that moment basically amounted to him being upset by Krillin's death and Frieza being a general dickhead. Gohan's transformation had the emotional weight of being forced to be a fighter when he wasn't meant to be. If he didn't answer the call, his friends were going to be beaten to death in front of his very eyes and then his home planet destroyed. All because Cell was being a general dickhead and wanted a challenge from Gohan.

 

[Unkindled]

Goku going SSJ was much more significant.

 

[Kromeo]

The stages of SS are all meaningless after the first one.. the OG transformation was the moment I spent the whole first few seasons waiting for, I didn;t care much about 2 and even less about 3. Gohan being the savior was nice though and it's a shame that was the last meaningful thing he did

 

[Admiral Woofington]

OG transformation was legendary. It was a culmination of everything and a perfect way for the ending of the cell saga. The fact it didn't take much longer in the grand scheme of things to reach super Saiyan level 2 and that by that point everybody and their mums had already transformed to super Saiyan it just meant for me Gohans wasn't all that special.

By the buu saga when even the kids got the transformation that's when it became a joke.

 

[The Last One]

Gohan.

 

[Rats]

Gohan's story up to that point is a lot more interesting to me than Goku's ever has been.

 

[mrmickfran]

The song that plays when Gohan goes SS2 gives him the edge

 

[JahIthBer]

spirit vs spirit puts Gohans transformation over the edge for me.
edit: pretty much the same as above lol.

 

[Zyrox]

Nothing tops the first time Goku went SSJ. That shit changed the franchise forever.
Gohan's transformation and the resulting Father-Son Kamehameha was a cool moment but I'd still put stuff like Goku's UI transformations (both first UI Omen and MUI) over it.

 

[Imperfected]

I actually find the Goku SSJ3 transformation to be the most memorable/iconic in my mind, even though I basically hate everything about it as a story beat.

Like I could probably sit down and storyboard the entire scene with dialogue from memory, no problem, even though I hate the Buu Saga and forgot half the names of the characters from it.

 

[Quacktion]

Gohan's had better build-up I feel, you can only kill Krillin so many times before its old hat.

I actually find the Goku SSJ3 transformation to be the most memorable/iconic in my mind, even though I basically hate everything about it as a story beat.

Like I could probably sit down and storyboard the entire scene with dialogue from memory, no problem, even though I hate the Buu Saga and forgot half the names of the characters from it.

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Also this, yea. That whole scene was basically one giant flex by Goku and its amazing.

 

[TheDutchSlayer]

Gohan SSJ2 there is no question I love me some Freeza Sega but it feels like the entire series build up to Gohan SSJ2 moment like holy shit.

 

[Double 0]

I put SSJ over SSJ2 because at that point, I wanted to see Frieza get his asskicked SO badly. And that was the payoff. That's when you knew he was going to get humiliated.

And he did.

 

[BassForever]

Goku's, it's probably one of the most important scenes in the entire series and has seemingly inspired generations of authors.

 

[HStallion]

I prefer when Gon hit puberty like a run away freight train.

 

[HardRojo]

I like them both a lot, but the hype I felt as a kid when I first witnessed Goku going Super Saiyan is indescribable.

 

[CypherSignal]

The song that plays when Gohan goes SS2 gives him the edge

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If Funimation did one more take at the audio/music mix for DBZ, I would sincerely petition them to get the English cover of Unmei No Hei that Team Four Star put together and use that. AFAIC, that is now the "canonical" song for the English dub for that scene.

 

[SDBurton]

You never forget your first.

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This. The build up was so, so good.

 

[Vex]

Gohan ssj2 w/ dubs. It is well documented how much better and true to the source the dub was for this particular scene (og funi). Most people would agree the og funi dub is head and shoulders above the jp dubbing anyway as whole and it set the bar for western dubbing so high. One of the few anime with better dubbing.

Yuyu hakusho is in a close second.

Gohan SSJ2, complete with the Faulconer score and English dub. :D

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Yup.

 

[Mengy]

Goku. Such an iconic moment for anime overall.

 

[Vex]

I would have picked goku if i wasnt spoiled so hard about his transformation before it aired. By the time he did it, I already knew when, where, and how he was going to do it due to spoilers from word of mouth and watching specials (with him already transformed) elsewhere in Japanese.

The western audience had to wait forever iirc. I had little intel on gohan's transformation.. hell, i even knew about trunks and his transformation from a vhs promo video that came out YEARS before trunks' actual transformation. Hilarious.

It was this:

 

[NeonZ]

SSJ2 Gohan in both the anime and manga. It's pretty clear Toriyama didn't have a strong idea on how to make forms debut stand out yet when Super Saiyan first appeared, and in the manga the transformation ends up feeling rather muted due to that. The anime greatly improved on that though.
Later on, Toriyama had a better gripe on things and did a good transformation for SSJ2 even in the manga, but the anime staff surpassed themselves with SSJ2, with an unique theme song and the general directing of the scene.

 

[Sanka]

Goku's transformation changed manga and anime as we know it. Weird cause in concept it was quite simple.

The whole frieza plus saiyan saga is still peak shonen to me. So yeah the climax of that is definitely my favourite.

 

[henhowc]

Gohan cuz of the build up. Jp version of course.

 

[Advance.Wars.Sgt.]

Gohan's fight with Cell might be the most anticlimactic and underwhelming final fight of any of the classic Dragon Ball storylines.

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That's honestly what makes it great though. Cell lived up to the hype as being the deadliest and most destructive force the Z fighters have went up against at that point, so much so that even Goku realizes Cell wasn't anywhere near his limit during their fight after he powered up. And yet even he couldn't hold a candle to a Gohan finally tapped into his max potential.

Edit: and yes I just broke the tie 😈

 

[Supreme Leader]

So we are not going to speak on this?

 

[Phendrana]

Gohan turning SS2 (or the ensuing fight) probably wouldn't even be a top 5 DBZ moment for me tbh.

Don't get me wrong: it was cool for all of the foreshadowing to pay off with Gohan finally realizing his potential, but...he and Cell had barely interacted prior to that point. The dynamic between them was pretty flat imo, and the fight itself wasn't particularly memorable either. The father/son Kamehameha is a cool scene, but...it's nothing more than that.

I'd take Goku turning Super Saiyan 3 over this, let alone the OG transformation.

 

[Coyote Starrk]

Gohan was the better fight, but Goku was the better scene.

Also holy shit that poll lol

 

[LossAversion]

Goku. Probably the most excited that I ever got watching DBZ as a kid. It had a longer build up and it felt more impactful having Krillin's death be the catalyst. They're both great but for some reason the stakes felt higher on Namek. I guess Frieza was a bit more intimidating as a villain and the pay off of seeing him struggle against Super Saiyan Goku was cathartic.

 

[lunarworks]

Goku. His was a game changer. He fulfilled an ancient legend that no one had seen in thousands of years in the face of impending doom. Then all of a sudden there's further forms of it, and any Saiyan can do it if they try hard enough.

 

[Deleted member 7051]

Goku. His was a game changer. He fulfilled an ancient legend that no one had seen in thousands of years in the face of impending doom. Then all of a sudden there's further forms of it, and any Saiyan can do it if they try hard enough.

Click to shrink...

 

[lunarworks]

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Yep. Liked Super. Liked those characters. Still a total ass-pull.

 

[Deleted member 3208]

Can't decide which one. Goku beats it because the stakes were much more higher. If Piccolo died again, that would be the end of the Dragon Balls forever. Krillin died a second time, so he couldn't be brought back with the Earth Dragon Balls, and Frieza had his eyes set on Gohan. Then Goku finally snaps and goes SSJ. It is awesome...

But the presentation of Gohan going SSJ2 is better. Day of Destiny makes this scene so memorable.

 

[Legend of Aims]

For ever Gohan ssj2. Nothing beats it.

 

[NeoGold123]

Lol that perfectly even poll (at this point 181-181).

I chose Gohan. Great build-up to surpass his father and as others have mentioned, father-son Kamehameha is amazing.

 

[Kinggroin]

Is Frieza potentially the strongest non-deity character in the DB universe?