Five Fictional Characters Who , Quite Literally, Were Too Cool For School

5.

Gohan - Dragon Ball Z

Though he eventually matured into a very well read adult, Gohan's formative years were spent avoiding study in favor of some good old-fashioned laser beam martial arts. This didn't sit well with his mother, the short tempered Chi-Chi, whose greatest wish was that her son grow up to be a scholar (Which is a bit ambitious to begin with... High School Algebra teacher may have been a more reachable goal.)   In a logical world, you couldn't help but feel for the woman. Defending the planet with laser beam martial arts, which is essentially  superheroing without the costume (Though he did that too), is by definition an incredibly dangerous hobby. It didn't help things that his father, a jobless exercise addict who presumedly supported the family on his tournament prize money, had died twice before his boy had even married. Thankfully, Gohan managed to grow to adulthood without a single mortuary experience under his belt. The same cannot be said, however, about his closest childhood friend.


4.

Finn - Adventure Time

When we are first introduced to the land of Ooo, the magical planet built over the ashes of our own Earth, no mention is made of any Oooian Public Education System. This makes the idea of Finn the Human, a 12-year-old adventurer and last of his race, seem peachy keene. What else is a kid supposed to do on a planet with no school? (And with no parents to speak of, he doesn't have the burden of any Chi-Chi like obstacles.) When the story picks up, however, we learn that one of Finn's friends, Princess Bubblegum, has an advanced scientific education. In that same episode, we also learn that schools, much like our own, do exist in Ooo, though they are assumedly not mandatory, as Finn doesn't understand a lick of the fancy talk these scholars throw at him. After about five minutes, Finn gives up on conventional education, preferring to study his Biology by smashing open the craniums of some baddies as opposed to through a book. Luckily, adventuring seems to be a viable, no degree required profession in Ooo, one that is far more glamorous, if not just as messy as a career at McDonald's.


3.

Red- Pokemon

A whole year before Ash Ketchum was dodging truancy, Red of Pallet Town set out on an adventure with nothing more than a Poliwhirl (pictured above) and a bag of futuristic animal traps called Poke Balls... And only about a 5th Grade understanding of the Liberal Arts. Seeing as Red managed to be far more successful than Ash in far less time, I've always had a theory that, when no one is around, Ash spends his time crying and verbally abusing his Pikachu, shouting things about how he'll never be as good a trainer and that Pikachu should just suck it up and evolve already. Maybe if Ash didn't release all his good Pokemon after a couple good battles, he and Red would be on more equal terms.

2.

Sora- Kingdom Hearts Series

Nowadays, the lead hero of the Final Fantasy/Disney crossover game is all grown up, but he's been hacking baddies for a while. Though he and his friends are never given ages, Sora first appeared looking undeniably pre-teen (Anywhere between 10 and 13) and therefore in need of some proper schooling. His earliest home we know of was Destiny Island, which had no educational system to speak of, but instead sported a beautiful beach where Sora and his friends could laze around all day, wasting their formative years and eating some sort of aphrodisiac love fruit. We also know that he only arrived here shortly before his first adventure, so God knows how long he's been living this truant lifestyle. The only book this kid is ever seen with is The 100 Acre Wood, and even then he doesn't even read the thing, he just sort of jumps inside to dick around with Whinnie the Pooh and his friends. That's worse than a book on tape!

1.

Goku- Dragon Ball/ Dragon Ball Z

It seems the apple doesn't fall far from the tree. This lifetime offender, who was even born on a planet where the only education was how to conquer planets, spent his whole lives (both of em) without even looking at a book. I'll give him some credit, as he didn't even know the concept of school until he was ten, but there's no excuse for not hopping on the education bandwagon once the tools were presented to him. At least his son eventually got with the program, where as this guy's only Astronomy lesson was traveling to other planets and astral planes. Sheesh!