When Does Black Gohan First Appear In The Manga?

If someone wrote 'black gohan' they might mean different things, so I usually check context: in official material the dark/evil figure linked to the 'Black' label is 'Goku Black', and his first appearance in the printed manga is at the opening of the Future Trunks arc in chapter 17 of 'Dragon Ball Super'. The anime counterpart turns up around episode 47, which is why discussions often reference both formats.

There are also fan-made characters and spin-offs — for example, doujinshi and some game-only variants sometimes show an evil or corrupted Gohan, and those get called 'Black Gohan' by the community. Those versions aren’t part of the main manga continuity, though, so they can confuse people hunting canonical first appearances. Personally, I prefer tracking the manga chapters for premieres because the artwork by Toyotarou gives small clues and mood lines that the anime sometimes smooths over; that first creepy appearance still gives me goosebumps.

Okay, short and direct: the official manga introduction of the 'Black' character happens when the Future Trunks arc begins in 'Dragon Ball Super', commonly cited as chapter 17. That’s where the narrative pivots from tournaments and gods into a darker time-travel story, and the manga panels present the menace with tight, cinematic framing. If you’re comparing media, the anime shows the same event around episode 47, but the manga timing and beats are what canon readers usually reference.

People often mix up names — some fans say 'Black Gohan' because of fan comics, modded game sprites, or crossover card-game variants that show a villainous-looking Gohan. Those are mostly non-canon spin-offs or fan interpretations. The proper in-universe figure called 'Goku Black' is central to the Future Trunks storyline and is essentially Zamasu using Goku’s body; that twist unfolds across the subsequent manga chapters. For collectors or re-readers I’d recommend reading chapter 17 onward in one sitting so the mystery and the reveals land stronger than when you jump between anime and manga.

From a reader’s point of view, the arc works best when you let the manga build its atmosphere — the artwork and panel composition really sell how wrong the future is, and that lingering sense of dread is why I keep coming back to this arc.

If you mean the villain usually called 'Goku Black' (the dark version of Goku that shows up in the Future Trunks timeline), his first canonical appearance in the manga is at the start of the Future Trunks arc — specifically chapter 17 of 'Dragon Ball Super'. The manga drops him into the story right as Future Trunks returns to the present timeline with news of a mysterious Goku-like enemy wrecking his future. In the anime the debut lines up with episode 47, so if you’ve seen the show you’ll recognize the beats, but the manga’s panels deliver a slightly different pacing and some crisp visual touches that I personally love.

A lot of the confusion comes from fan jargon and non-canon works: people sometimes say 'Black Gohan' or refer to shadowy/evil versions of Gohan from doujinshi or card games, and that mixes conversations up online. But in official canon the character tied to the 'Black' name is Goku Black — later revealed to be Zamasu inhabiting Goku’s body — not a corrupted Gohan. If you’re hunting panels, chapter 17 is where Toyotarou and the V Jump/Yoshitaka team first show that timeline’s dark threat, and reading it back-to-back with the anime gives you a neat comparison of how the reveal is handled.

I still get chills from that first reveal in the pages — the juxtaposition of Trunks’ desperation and that calm, sinister Goku face is a huge mood, and for me it’s one of the most memorable entrances in recent Dragon Ball storytelling.