Goten as Goku's reincarnation: why the Screen Rant theory fails

I've spent a long time debunking bad articles and bad fan theories. If you're going to write an article or put a theory out there, you should think it through instead of publishing whatever comes to mind. Rarely, though, have I been as stunned and speechless as I was by a Screen Rant article claiming Goten, Goku's second son in Dragon Ball, is really Goku's reincarnation. In my view, the theory has nothing behind it.

When Dragon Ball Super ended, many trolls said that people like me who cover the franchise would run out of material and that the well had run dry. About two and a half years later, that still hadn't happened. You never run out of content if you're creative. I can say with confidence that Screen Rant may have drained that well completely. Screen Rant has never been creative, and it has done many things I consider complete nonsense, but this one tops them all.

Why the Goten reincarnation theory is worse than an ordinary bad fan theory

My usual problem with bad fan theories is that they aren't well thought out. Often the fan behind the theory forgets a specific detail. Sometimes there's a misunderstanding of a thematic element of Dragon Ball, or a mistranslation, and that leads to a half-baked idea. These fans don't think before they speak, or at least before they write their theory down.

This one is something else entirely. The article, written by Craig Elvy, explains the theory that Goten is Goku's reincarnation. I don't know whether he came up with it himself or someone else did. I don't remember him crediting anyone for it. The idea is that Goten isn't Goku's second son at all, but Goku reborn.

Screen Rant gets the timing of Goten's conception wrong

The article lays out how Goku saved the Earth by teleporting Cell away from the planet and sacrificing his life. It then says Goten was conceived in the period before the Cell Games, when Goku and Gohan were resting after training in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber, the Room of Spirit and Time.

That isn't true, and many fans get this wrong. Based on Goten's actual birth date, he could not have been conceived during the ten days before the Cell Games. Even Team Four Star got this point wrong. Goten was conceived shortly before the androids appeared. Remember that the Cell saga before the Cell Games lasted only a few days. I've laid out the proof that Goten wasn't conceived during that window elsewhere, but the writer gets that point wrong here.

It doesn't matter much for the bigger argument. The article's story is that Goten was conceived before Goku died, and that Goku returned in the Buu arc to see Goten for the first time. The writer calls it a great theory. That isn't the word I'd use, and I can't say the word I would use. The theory suggests Goten isn't Goku's son in a literal sense, but an embodiment of his soul. Because Goten was born after Goku died, Goku's soul supposedly passed into him.

How reincarnation works in Dragon Ball: Piccolo and Kid Buu

There are several problems with this. First, look at how reincarnation actually works in Dragon Ball. It has happened only twice, with Piccolo and Kid Buu, and in neither case does someone have a child the usual way. Piccolo laid an egg that became his son, and that son was also an embodiment of his soul. That isn't the conventional way to have a child. We all know the facts of life and how living things reproduce.

Kid Buu was killed, and Goku then asked King Yemma to have him reborn as a good person. He became Uub, and that wasn't a revival but a reincarnation. Based on the Dragon Ball manga and the Dragon Ball Z anime, Uub has no memory of being Majin Buu. For most of his life he doesn't know he was Majin Buu. That's a true reincarnation, and the writer even points this out himself.

The theory's evidence: Goten looks like Goku and was born after his death

Brace yourself for this. The writer says the reason this fan theory has some truth to it is that Goten looks a lot like Goku, and that Goten was born after Goku died. So the logic is that because a son resembles his father, and because the son was born after his father's death, Goten must be Goku's reincarnation. That holds even though we know he was conceived before Goku died. When sperm meets egg, the child starts to develop. We learned that in biology as kids, or at least as teenagers.

Consider everything the theory has to ignore. Goku has a spirit body. Goku shows up and meets Goten for the first time at the World Tournament at the beginning of the Buu saga. The two have completely different personalities. Goku eventually comes back to life and exists separately from Goten. Yet the writer's case is that Goten is Goku reborn because he looks like him and was born after him.

By that logic, if we look a lot like our parents, we're their reincarnations. I'm stunned that someone wrote this article and decided it was a good idea to publish it.

Screen Rant admits the Goten theory is very unlikely

In the article's final paragraph, the writer says that, given how many Dragon Ball theories there are, it's very unlikely Toriyama intended Goten to be Goku's reincarnation. He uses the words very unlikely, and nothing in the anime or manga comes anywhere close to confirming this.

That gets at my core problem with fan theories. If your theory has nothing at all supporting it in the anime or manga, not even the slightest hint, why would you consider it in the first place? That isn't a fan theory. It's fan fiction.

The writer then says the possibility is still fun to consider, that the timing of Goten's birth seems very coincidental, and that the boy resembles his father more than Gohan did. Then he jokes that Goku is naive enough about the finer points of reproduction not to ask any questions. I find it remarkable that he calls Goku naive about reproduction when his own theory rests on a child resembling his father and being born after his father died, despite being conceived before that death, and despite a pregnancy taking nine months. Anyone who learned in school how DNA works would see the problem.

So, according to this logic, if you have a child with someone and you die during the nine months of the pregnancy, you might be reincarnated as your son. That's essentially what this writer is saying. I've never been this shocked.

Why I've never trusted Screen Rant

I know some people will say this is just Screen Rant, and it's true that Screen Rant has done many dumb things. It even has a Star Wars article explaining why Anakin's eyes turn yellow, which is extremely obvious. What's the next article going to be? Why do humans wear clothes in Dragon Ball? Why does Goku eat food? Has it really come to this?

I've always disliked Screen Rant. To me, it's the embodiment of a site that doesn't care about anything it covers and is only chasing ad clicks. Those of us who cover Dragon Ball full time and make a living from it at least care about the series. We care about the fans, we care about the characters, and we care about talking about them because we enjoy it. It isn't just a way to make money.

I'm amazed that it has gotten this bad. In Dragon Ball, Goku and Goten both exist at the same time once Goku is brought back to life. Reincarnation doesn't work that way.