‘Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero’: Why Goku Barely Appears in Promos for the Movie

In the anime Dragon Ball, Dragon Ball Z, Dragon Ball GT, Dragon Ball Super, and most movies, Goku has been the main character. However, in promo material for Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero, Goku has barely appeared. Even the second most prominent fighter, Vegeta, has not shown up much. After Dragon Ball Super: Broly, the team behind the series wanted to go in a new direction.

In ‘Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero,’ Goku is not the focus according to producer Akio Iyoku

In Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero, trailers, posters, and merch focused on Gohan and Piccolo. Producer Akio Iyoku talked about the shift in the latest movie. 

“It’s been almost 40 years since the start of the series, but never before has there been a work with so much heart,” Iyoku told ComicBook.com. “We are using a different approach to express the visuals this time. This time, the story is centered around the master-disciple duo of Gohan and Piccolo.”

While in Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero Goku takes a backseat to Gohan and Piccolo, he still appears in the new movie. However, the Dragon Ball Z Cell Saga set up Gohan to take over from his father as Earth’s protector.

After all, he was the first to go Super Saiyan 2 before even Goku himself.

With ‘Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero’ focusing on Gohan over Goku, the younger Saiyan

Gohan started down an exciting path. Some fans thought he might even surpass Son Goku. However, the series did not treat Gohan kindly. He fell into more of a supporting role as other Dragon Ball characters powered up more and more.

The Dragon Ball Super Tournament of Power arc teased Gohan jumping back on his powerful path. And fans also hope that Super Hero finals pay his story off.

“Up until now, everyone has been getting stronger and stronger,” Iyoku continued. “So, Earth is the stage this time. ‘How will the people on Earth stand up to this threat?’ is how we came up with this story. The title was decided after we had finished the story.”

Gohan can finally step up in 2022 in the Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero movie while Goku plays a supporting role.

The title of the Toei Animation movie references how everyone is a hero

Though the Dragon Ball series has dozens of fighters, it sometimes seems like the only heroes to save the world remain Goku and Vegeta.

However, Iyoku wanted to put the spotlight on others.

“There was a lot of discussion about having ‘Super’ in the title,” he said. “But we wanted to convey the idea that everyone is a hero, which is why we decided on this title. It may be a bit cliche, but that’s what we came up with.”

In Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero, Goku is not the main focus. However, his son Gohan could finally reach his potential in the movie.