Summary
Gohan's “Beast Mode” is confirmed to stem from his natural talent and is not a form of Super Saiyan. The true nature of Beast Mode completes the process of properly harnessing Gohan's potential and becoming as strong as a human. Beast Mode forcing Gohan to train his powers also gives him similarities to Frieza and his Black Frieza form.
Warning: spoilers for Dragon Ball Super chapter #103.One of the biggest mysteries in Dragon Ball Super Super Dragon Ball was the nature of Beast mode, Gohan's powerful new technique from Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero. Beast Mode shares many similarities with Gohan's original Super Saiyan 2 form, its debut was even a deliberate homage to the iconic scene, but was never clarified whether Beast Mode is a form of Super Saiyan or not.
The true nature of Beast Mode has been a huge mystery for the past two years, but Dragon Ball Super's manga has finally explained it. Chapter #103 continues the fight between Goku and Gohan, and near the end of the fight, the Super Dragon Ball The manga finally confirms the true nature of Gohan's Beast Mode.
It's true that the full nature of Beast Mode has yet to be explained, but what was revealed about it took full advantage of Gohan's character's backstory and gave him a surprising resemblance to a One of Dragon Ball's biggest villains.
Dragon Ball Super officially turns Gohan's beast into its own power
Original story created by Akira Toriyama and Toyotarou
Dragon Ball Super hasn't revealed everything about Beast Mode yet, but it does explain what it is at a basic level. In chapter #103, after Gohan hits Goku so hard that he loses Ultra Instinct, Whis comments that Gohan does not use Super Saiyan or Divine techniques, but “a unique talent, completely is his own.” That means Gohan's Beast form is officially an extension of Gohan's personal talents, as opposed to his Saiyan abilitiesthus making it much more unique than if it were just another Super Saiyan form.
The true nature of the beast form completes Gohan's arc in Dragon Ball
Gohan's Monster form gave him a completely separate identity and a huge leap in development
That Gohan's Monster form is an extension of his personal talents is a great reveal, and that's especially since it ties into Gohan's character arc in Dragon Ball. A recurring problem with Gohan over the years is that he always asks others to do things to reach his potential, but then quickly neglects his training and becomes too weak. However, now, Gohan's current use of Beast Mode is noted by Goku to stem from Gohan's efforts to exploit his potential.so he clearly accepts that he needs to keep up his training to stay as healthy as possible.
Confirming the true nature of Beast Mode also contributes to Gohan's character arc in the Dragon Ball Super manga. In the manga version of the Tournament of Power, Gohan told Kefla that he wanted to evolve into a human instead of a Saiyan, but that idea was not elaborated upon in the following years. However, with Beast Mode clearly not being a Super Saiyan form, most recent events of Super Dragon Ball finally completing Gohan's evolution arc into a human instead of a SaiyanAnd that is the best direction for his character right now.
Gohan's true power transforms Frieza into his Ultimate Leaf
However, one of the most interesting things about the reveal of Beast Mode's true nature is how it connects Gohan and Frieza. Both Gohan and Frieza are characters with a lot of raw power that they never make the effort to master, and similarly, they both have character arcs that force them to eventually train seriously, leading to to powerful Beast Mode forms and black Frieza. Do not know when Super Dragon Ball will continue, but when that happens, hopefully the story will further explore the true nature of just how much Gohan parallels Frieza.