Son Goku is a

fictional character In fiction, a character (or speaker, in poetry) is a person or other being in a narrative (such as a novel, play, radio or television series, music, film, or video game). The character may be entirely fictional or based on a real-life perso ...

and the main

protagonist A protagonist () is the main character of a story. The protagonist makes key decisions that affect the plot, primarily influencing the story and propelling it forward, and is often the character who faces the most significant obstacles. If a st ...

of the ''

Dragon Ball is a Japanese media franchise created by Akira Toriyama in 1984. The Dragon Ball (manga), initial manga, written and illustrated by Toriyama, was serialized in ''Weekly Shōnen Jump'' from 1984 to 1995, with the 519 individual chapters colle ...

manga Manga ( Japanese: 漫画 ) are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long prehistory in earlier Japanese art. The term ''manga'' is ...

series created by

Akira Toriyama is a Japanese manga artist and character designer. He first achieved mainstream recognition for his highly successful manga series '' Dr. Slump'', before going on to create '' Dragon Ball'' (his best-known work) and acting as a character des ...

. He is based on

Sun Wukong The Monkey King, also known as Sun Wukong ( zh, t=孫悟空, s=孙悟空, first=t) in Mandarin Chinese, is a legendary mythical figure best known as one of the main characters in the 16th-century Chinese novel '' Journey to the West'' ( zh, ...

(known as Son Goku in Japan and Monkey King in the West), a main character of the classic Chinese novel ''

Journey to the West ''Journey to the West'' () is a Chinese novel published in the 16th century during the Ming dynasty and attributed to Wu Cheng'en. It is regarded as one of the greatest Classic Chinese Novels, and has been described as arguably the most popul ...

'' (16th century), combined with influences from the

Hong Kong martial arts films Hong Kong action cinema is the principal source of the Hong Kong film industry's global fame. Action films from Hong Kong have roots in Chinese and Hong Kong cultures including Chinese opera, storytelling and aesthetic traditions, which Hong Ko ...

Jackie Chan Fang Shilong (born 7 April 1954), known professionally in English as Jackie Chan and in Chinese as Cheng Long ( zh, c=成龍, j=Sing4 Lung4; "becoming the dragon"), is a Hong Kong actor, filmmaker, martial artist, and stuntman known for ...

and

Bruce Lee Bruce Lee (; born Lee Jun-fan, ; November 27, 1940 – July 20, 1973) was a Hong Kong and American martial artist and actor. He was the founder of Jeet Kune Do, a hybrid martial arts philosophy drawing from different combat disciplines th ...

. Goku first made his debut in the first ''Dragon Ball'' chapter, ''Bulma and Son Goku'', originally published in Japan's ''

Weekly Shōnen Jump is a weekly ''shōnen'' manga anthology published in Japan by Shueisha under the '' Jump'' line of magazines. The manga series within the magazine consist of many action scenes and a fair amount of comedy. The chapters of the series that ru ...

'' magazine on December 3, 1984. Goku is introduced as an eccentric, monkey-tailed boy who practices

martial arts Martial arts are codified systems and traditions of combat practiced for a number of reasons such as self-defense; military and law enforcement applications; competition; physical, mental, and spiritual development; entertainment; and the preser ...

and possesses

superhuman strength Superhuman strength is a superpower commonly invoked in fiction and other literary works such as mythology. A fictionalized representation of the phenomenon of hysterical strength, it is the power to exert force and lift weights beyond what is ph ...

. He meets

Bulma is a fictional character featured in the ''Dragon Ball'' franchise, first appearing in the manga series created by Akira Toriyama. She debuted in the first chapter "Bulma and Son Goku", published in ''Weekly Shōnen Jump'' magazine on June 19, 1 ...

and joins her on a journey to find the seven wish-granting Dragon Balls. Along the way, he finds new friends who follow him on his journey to become a stronger fighter. As Goku grows up, he becomes the Earth's mightiest warrior and battles a wide variety of villains with the help of his friends and family, while also gaining new allies in the process. Born as a member of the Saiyan race on Planet Vegeta, under the name Kakarot, he is sent to Earth as an infant prior to his homeworld's destruction at the hands of

Frieza , also known and spelled as Freeza in Funimation's English subtitles and Viz Media's release of the manga, is a fictional character in the ''Dragon Ball'' manga series created by Akira Toriyama. He makes his debut in Chapter #247: "Dark Clouds ...

(ordered by Beerus). Upon his arrival on Earth, the infant is discovered by Son Gohan, who becomes the adoptive grandfather of the boy and gives him the name Goku. The boy is initially full of violence and aggression due to his Saiyan nature, until an accidental

head injury A head injury is any injury that results in trauma to the skull or brain. The terms ''traumatic brain injury'' and ''head injury'' are often used interchangeably in the medical literature. Because head injuries cover such a broad scope of inju ...

turns him into a cheerful, carefree person. Grandpa Gohan's kindness and teachings help to further influence Goku, who later on names his first son

Gohan is a fictional character in the ''Dragon Ball'' manga series, created by Akira Toriyama. Gohan is introduced as the first son of the protagonist Goku, and his wife Chi-Chi, in chapter #196 "Kakarrot", published in ''Weekly Shōnen Jump'' magaz ...

in honor of him. As the protagonist of ''Dragon Ball'', Goku appears in most of the episodes, films, television specials and OVAs of the manga's

anime is Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japane ...

adaptations (''

'', ''

Dragon Ball Z ''Dragon Ball Z'' is a Japanese anime television series produced by Toei Animation. Part of the ''Dragon Ball'' media franchise, it is the sequel to the 1986 '' Dragon Ball'' anime series and adapts the latter 325 chapters of the original ...

'') and sequels (''

Dragon Ball GT is a 1996–1997 Japanese anime television series based on Akira Toriyama's ''Dragon Ball'' manga. Produced by Toei Animation, the series premiered in Japan on Fuji TV and ran for 64 episodes from February 1996 to November 1997. Unlike the ...

'', ''

Dragon Ball Super is a Japanese manga series written by Akira Toriyama and illustrated by Toyotarou. A sequel to Toriyama's original ''Dragon Ball'' manga, it follows the adventures of Goku and friends during the ten-year timeskip after the defeat of Maji ...

''), as well as many of the franchise's video games. Due to the series' international popularity, Goku became one of the most recognizable and iconic manga/anime characters worldwide. Outside the ''Dragon Ball'' franchise, Goku has made

cameo appearance A cameo role, also called a cameo appearance and often shortened to just cameo (), is a brief appearance of a well-known person in a work of the performing arts. These roles are generally small, many of them non-speaking ones, and are commonly ei ...

s in Toriyama's

self-parody A self-parody is a parody of oneself or one's own work. As an artist accomplishes it by imitating their own characteristics, a self-parody is potentially difficult to distinguish from especially characteristic productions. Self-parody may be us ...

series ''

Neko Majin Z is a Japanese One-shot (comics), one-shot manga series written and illustrated by Akira Toriyama. Spanning eight total installments published irregularly between 1999 and 2005 in ''Weekly Shōnen Jump'' and ''Monthly Shōnen Jump'', they were ...

'', has been the subject of other parodies, and has appeared in special events. Most Western audiences were introduced to the adult version of Goku appearing in the ''Dragon Ball Z'' anime, itself an adaptation of ''Dragon Ball'' manga volumes 17–42, as opposed to his initial child form, due to the limited success of the first series overseas.Yadao, James S. ''The Rough Guide to Manga''.

Penguin Books Penguin Books is a British publishing, publishing house. It was co-founded in 1935 by Allen Lane with his brothers Richard and John, as a line of the publishers The Bodley Head, only becoming a separate company the following year.p. 117
. , 9781405384230. Available on

Google Books Google Books (previously known as Google Book Search, Google Print, and by its code-name Project Ocean) is a service from Google Inc. that searches the full text of books and magazines that Google has scanned, converted to text using optical ...

. Goku's critical reception has been largely positive, but he has also been criticized as being less heroic in ''Dragon Ball Super''.

Conception and creation

Goku, and ''Dragon Ball'' in general, evolved from one of Akira Toriyama's earlier

one-shot One shot may refer to: Film and television * One-shot film, a feature film shot in one long take with no edits, or manufactured to look like so * ''One Shot'' (2005 film), a Sri Lankan action film directed by Ranjan Ramanayake * ''One Shot'' (2 ...

series called '' Dragon Boy''. In this story, the protagonist looks a lot like Goku, but has a pair of wings. The original inspiration was

, including

films such as ''

Enter the Dragon ''Enter the Dragon'' ( zh, t=龍爭虎鬥) is a 1973 martial arts film directed by Robert Clouse and written by Michael Allin. The film stars Bruce Lee, John Saxon and Jim Kelly. It was Lee's final completed film appearance before his death o ...

'' (1973) and

films such as ''

Drunken Master ''Drunken Master'' () is a 1978 Hong Kong martial arts comedy film directed by Yuen Woo-ping, and starring Jackie Chan, Yuen Siu-tien, and Hwang Jang-lee. It was a success at the Hong Kong box office, earning two and a half times the amount o ...

'' (1978); Toriyama said he had a young Jackie Chan in mind for a live-action Goku, stating that "nobody could play Goku but him."

and Goku were the first pair of characters which were introduced in the manga and Toriyama stated that he subsequently introduced other characters in pairs because "that way, I’m able to explain the characters and their relationship to each other through their interactions. In my case, I feel that it isn’t good to insert too much narration. I suppose Goku and Bulma are representative of that." He further added that "as a child, Goku doesn’t know anything

f the world F, or f, is the sixth Letter (alphabet), letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the English alphabet, modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is English alphabet#Let ...

so without Bulma, he’d be a character who didn’t say anything." Toriyama also mentioned Torishima wanted Goku to form a relationship with Bulma, but this was never applied to the series.Toriyama, Akira (1986). '' Dr. Slump'', Volume 16.

Viz Media VIZ Media LLC is an American manga publisher, anime distributor and entertainment company headquartered in San Francisco, California. It was founded in 1986 as VIZ LLC. In 2005, VIZ LLC and ShoPro Entertainment merged to form the current VIZ M ...

. p. 130. . With the conclusion of the

Cell Cell most often refers to: * Cell (biology), the functional basic unit of life Cell may also refer to: Locations * Monastic cell, a small room, hut, or cave in which a religious recluse lives, alternatively the small precursor of a monastery ...

arc,

was intended to replace his father as the protagonist, but Toriyama later decided that Gohan was unsuitable for the role. According to Toriyama, Goku is more of a selfish person than a hero as his main interest in the story is to fight strong opponents rather than protecting the innocent. As a result, Toriyama was angered when the anime adaptations of ''Dragon Ball'' started portraying Goku as more heroic than his manga counterpart.

Design

The character Goku is based on

(Son Goku in Japanese), the central character of the Chinese novel ''

''. To be creative with the idea of Sun Wukong, Toriyama designed Goku as a human boy with a monkey's tail, rather than a complete simian, because the tail would give the character a distinguishing feature. He later stated that the tail was a pain to draw, hence why he had it get cut off early on. Toriyama did not initially plan to make Goku an

alien Alien primarily refers to: * Alien (law), a person in a country who is not a national of that country ** Enemy alien, the above in times of war * Extraterrestrial life, life which does not originate from Earth ** Specifically, intelligent extrater ...

, it was not until the introduction of fighters from other planets that he established him as a Saiyan. Goku was given the ability to teleport to any planet in seconds, so that Toriyama could increase the pace of the story. Wanting the series to have a Chinese appearance, Toriyama used the color of the robes worn by

Buddhist monks A ''bhikkhu'' (Pali: भिक्खु, Sanskrit: भिक्षु, ''bhikṣu'') is an ordained male in Buddhist monasticism. Male and female monastics (" nun", ''bhikkhunī'', Sanskrit ''bhikṣuṇī'') are members of the Sangha (Buddhist ...

for Goku's '' dōgi''. During the early chapters of the manga, Toriyama's editor,

Kazuhiko Torishima is a Japanese publishing executive and former manga magazine editor, who is currently serving as an advisor to Hakusensha. He formerly worked at Shueisha, where he began as an editor in 1976, before becoming a senior managing director (CEO), a ...

, commented that Goku looked rather plain. Toriyama had given him simple clothes on purpose because it was a fighting manga, so to combat this he added several characters like Master Roshi and

Krillin (known as Kuririn in Funimation's English subtitles and Viz Media's release of the manga, and Kulilin in Japanese merchandise English translations) is a fictional character in the ''Dragon Ball'' manga series created by Akira Toriyama. He is intr ...

, and created the Tenkaichi Budōkai to focus the storyline on fighting. To defy the assumption that Goku would win the tournaments, Toriyama made him lose the first and second but win the third. Toriyama's editor was initially against having Goku grow up, saying it was uncommon to have the protagonist drastically change in manga, however, he gave in when Toriyama threatened that he would not be able to continue the series if the character did not. Toriyama later stated he had him grow up as a means to make drawing the fight scenes easier. When Toriyama thought up the Super Saiyan concept during the

arc, he felt the only way to show Goku's massive power-up was to have him transform. Initially he was concerned that the facial expression looked like that of a villain, but felt it was acceptable since the transformation was brought about by anger. The Super Saiyan form also spared the trouble of coloring Goku's hair all the time for the standard black-and-white manga pages. This was the reason for the Super Saiyan form having blonde hair, because it was easier to draw for Toriyama's assistant who spent a lot of time blacking in Goku's hair. Goku's piercing eyes in Super Saiyan form were also inspired by Bruce Lee's paralyzing glare. For the ''

'' anime adaptation, character designer Tadayoshi Yamamuro also used Bruce Lee as a reference, stating that, when he "first becomes a Super Saiyan, his slanting pose with that scowling look in his eyes is all Bruce Lee." ''

'' chief character designer Katsuyoshi Nakatsuru said he agonized over designing Goku's Super Saiyan 4 appearance, which was the idea of the show's producers, questioning whether it was necessary to go further with the transformations. Because Super Saiyan 4 is brought about while in a Saiyan's ''Ōzaru'' form, he made the hair more "wild" and covered Goku's body in red fur. There was only a single final draft of the character, although Nakatsuru did consider making the hair blonde, he ended up choosing black as it provides more contrast with the red fur. During the plans of the final story arc of ''

'', it was decided that Goku should have another transformation: The Ultra Instinct. The concept was that the Ultra Instinct would be completely different from Goku's previous Super Saiyan transformations.

Voice actors

In the Japanese version of every ''Dragon Ball'' anime series and subsequent related media, Goku has been voiced by Masako Nozawa. Toriyama selected Nozawa upon hearing her audition sample, remarking that only Goku could sound like that. Nozawa stated that she was ecstatic when she got the role because she had always wanted to be in one of Toriyama's works. She said she had to be mindful of the fact that Goku grew up in the mountains and did not know much of the world. Despite having to voice Goku, Gohan,

Goten ''Dragon Ball'' is a Japanese media franchise created by Akira Toriyama in 1984. The franchise features an ensemble cast of characters and takes place in the same fictional universe as Toriyama's other work, ''Dr. Slump''. While many of the cha ...

and

Bardock , Burdock in Viz Media's English manga translation, is a fictional character from the ''Dragon Ball'' media franchise. Created by Toei Animation based on series protagonist Goku's visual design by franchise creator Akira Toriyama, he first appear ...

, Nozawa claims she is able to instantly get into the respective character simply upon seeing their image. Nozawa explained that she did not read the manga so that she would not know what was coming in the story until recording, making her reactions the same as Goku's. Nozawa said that she liked young Goku with his tail because he was cute, and stated that the character was still the same even at the end of the series. In the numerous English versions, Goku has been played by different actors because different companies produced the dubs, by reason of changes of ADR companies and recording studios, or due to actors quitting: *In Harmony Gold's very brief dub of the original ''

'' series, Goku was voiced by

Barbara Goodson Barbara Goodson is an American voice actress who has done voice-over work in cartoons and shows. Her best-known role was providing the English dub voice of the main villain Empress Rita Repulsa in the ''Power Rangers'' franchise, starting with ' ...

. *In

Funimation Crunchyroll, LLC, previously known as Funimation from 1994 to 2022, is an American entertainment company owned by Japanese conglomerate Sony as a joint venture between Sony Pictures and Sony Music Entertainment Japan's Aniplex that specializes ...

's initial dub of the anime, Goku was voiced by Saffron Henderson in the first 13 episodes of the original ''Dragon Ball'' series (produced in association with BLT Productions), and by

Ian James Corlett Ian James Corlett (born August 29, 1962) is a Canadian voice actor, animator, and author. He is the creator of Studio B Productions' animated series ''Being Ian'' and ''Yvon of the Yukon''. One of his best-known animation roles was the first En ...

and

Peter Kelamis Peter Kelamis (born December 11, 1967) is an Australian-Canadian actor, stand-up comedian and impressionist. He is known for playing Tail Terrier in ''Krypto the Superdog'', Dr. Adam Brody in ''Stargate Universe'', Goku in Ocean's English dubs ...

in the first 67 episodes of ''

'' (edited into 53 episodes, produced in association with Saban and

Ocean Productions Ocean Productions, Inc., is a Canadian media production and voice acting company based in Vancouver, British Columbia, that is part of the Ocean Group of businesses. Ocean Group is involved in intellectual property acquisition and development, ...

). *In

's in-house dub, Goku was voiced by Stephanie Nadolny as a child in both ''Dragon Ball'' and ''

'', and has been consistently voiced by

Sean Schemmel Sean Schemmel (born November 21, 1968) is an American voice actor, ADR director and screenwriter known chiefly for his work in cartoons, anime and video games. His most notable voice role has been the adult version of Son Goku in the Funimation ...

as an adult throughout the entire ''Dragon Ball'' franchise. Since ''

Dragon Ball Z Kai ''Dragon Ball Z Kai'' (known in Japan as ) is a revised version of the anime series ''Dragon Ball Z'', produced in commemoration of its 20th anniversary. Produced by Toei Animation, the series was originally broadcast in Japan on Fuji TV from Ap ...

'',

Colleen Clinkenbeard Colleen Smith Clinkenbeard (born April 13, 1980) is an American voice actress, ADR director, line producer, and writer working for the anime-dubbing company Funimation. One of her major starts was as the English voice provider for Rachel Moor ...

has voiced Kid Goku for Funimation. *In

AB Groupe Mediawan Thematics (formerly known as AB Groupe) is a French business group in the field of broadcasting. It was founded in 1977 by Jean-Luc Azoulay and Claude Berda as a music production A record producer is a recording project's creative a ...

's dub of the anime produced exclusively for Canadian and European broadcast (initially also in association with Ocean Productions and later with

Blue Water Studios Ocean Productions, Inc., is a Canadian media production and voice acting company based in Vancouver, British Columbia, that is part of the Ocean Group of businesses. Ocean Group is involved in intellectual property acquisition and development, ...

), Goku was voiced by Peter Kelamis again and later by the late

Kirby Morrow Kirby Robert Morrow (1973 – November 18, 2020) was a Canadian actor, comedian and writer. In animation, he was known as the voice of Miroku from ''InuYasha'', its four movies, and '' Inuyasha: The Final Act'', Van Fanel from the Ocean dub o ...

in episodes 123-291 of ''Dragon Ball Z'', by Zoe Slusar as a child in both ''Dragon Ball'' and ''Dragon Ball GT'', by Jeffrey Watson as an older teen in ''Dragon Ball'', and by Jeremiah Yurk as an adult and Super Saiyan 4 in ''GT''. *In Bang Zoom's dub of the first 27 episodes of ''

'' produced exclusively for Toonami Asia's broadcast, Goku was voiced by

Lex Lang Lex Lang (born November 12, 1965) is an American voice actor and voice director, who has provided voices and served as a director for a number of animations and video games. He is best known for voicing Doctor Neo Cortex in the '' Crash Bandic ...

Appearances

In ''Dragon Ball''

Goku first appears in ''Dragon Ball'' as a monkey-tailed child adopted by the hermit

martial artist Martial arts are codified systems and traditions of combat practiced for a number of reasons such as self-defense; military and law enforcement applications; competition; physical, mental, and spiritual development; entertainment; and the preserv ...

. Before the series' narrative begins, he accidentally and unknowingly kills Gohan when he temporarily transforms into the mighty ''Ōzaru'' after staring at a full

moon The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It is the fifth largest satellite in the Solar System and the largest and most massive relative to its parent planet, with a diameter about one-quarter that of Earth (comparable to the width of ...

. However, Goku loses the ability when his friends cut off his tail. Living alone with an item known as a Dragon Ball which he keeps as a memento of Gohan, Goku befriends a teenage girl named

. He joins her to find the seven Dragon Balls, which, when gathered, summon the wish-granting dragon

Shenron ''Dragon Ball'' is a Japanese media franchise created by Akira Toriyama in 1984. The franchise features an ensemble cast of characters and takes place in the same fictional universe as Toriyama's other work, ''Dr. Slump''. While many of the cha ...

. They encounter the desert bandit

Yamcha is a fictional character in the ''Dragon Ball'' manga series created by Akira Toriyama. He is first introduced as a desert bandit and an antagonist of Son Goku in chapter #7 "Yamcha and Pu'ar", published in ''Weekly Shōnen Jump'' magazine on ...

and two

shapeshifters In mythology, folklore and speculative fiction, shape-shifting is the ability to physically transform oneself through an inherently superhuman ability, divine intervention, demonic manipulation, sorcery, spells or having inherited the ...

named

Oolong Oolong (, ; (''wūlóngchá'', "dark dragon" tea)) is a traditional semi-oxidized Chinese tea (''Camellia sinensis)'' produced through a process including withering the plant under strong sun and oxidation before curling and twisting.Zhongguo ...

and Puar, who also join their quest. Goku is later trained by the martial artist Master Roshi, alongside a monk named

, who later becomes his best friend. It is Roshi who gives Goku the magic cloud ''Kintōun'', as a reward for saving his pet sea turtle, which becomes Goku's primary source of flight travel across the world. Goku's first shown martial arts attack as a child is ''Jan ken'', three physical blows modeled after the hand signs in

rock-paper-scissors Rock paper scissors (also known by other orderings of the three items, with "rock" sometimes being called "stone," or as Rochambeau, roshambo, or ro-sham-bo) is a hand game originating in China, usually played between two people, in which each p ...

. As a child, he also wields the '' Nyoi-bō'', a magic staff that extends and retracts on command, given to him by his late grandfather. However, Goku's signature attack is the ''Kamehameha'' (named after King

Kamehameha I Kamehameha I (; Kalani Paiea Wohi o Kaleikini Kealiikui Kamehameha o Iolani i Kaiwikapu kaui Ka Liholiho Kūnuiākea; – May 8 or 14, 1819), also known as Kamehameha the Great, was the conqueror and first ruler of the Kingdom of Hawaii. Th ...

of Hawai'i), which he learned from Master Roshi. The ''Kamehameha'' is a concentration of

energy In physics, energy (from Ancient Greek: ἐνέργεια, ''enérgeia'', “activity”) is the quantitative property that is transferred to a body or to a physical system, recognizable in the performance of work and in the form of ...

, released as a concussive beam. Roshi spent about 50 years developing and perfecting the technique, but, as a child, Goku is able to understand and copy the technique immediately after only one demonstration. After training with the Earth's Guardian,

Kami are the deities, divinities, spirits, phenomena or "holy powers", that are venerated in the Shinto religion. They can be elements of the landscape, forces of nature, or beings and the qualities that these beings express; they can also be the sp ...

, Goku learns to fly by virtue of the technique ''Bukū-jutsu'' and uses the Nimbus cloud less frequently for flight travel. While participating in the World Martial Arts Tournament that attracts the most powerful fighters in the world, Goku battles foes, later turned allies, such as Tien Shinhan and

Chiaotzu ''Dragon Ball'' is a Japanese media franchise created by Akira Toriyama in 1984. The franchise features an ensemble cast of characters and takes place in the same fictional universe as Toriyama's other work, ''Dr. Slump''. While many of the cha ...

, as well as the Namekian

Piccolo The piccolo ( ; Italian for 'small') is a half-size flute and a member of the woodwind family of musical instruments. Sometimes referred to as a "baby flute" the modern piccolo has similar fingerings as the standard transverse flute, but the s ...

. After becoming the runner-up champion of the 21st and 22nd tournaments, Goku finally wins in the 23rd with Piccolo's defeat, and marries Chi-Chi soon after to fulfill a promise he made to her years ago despite not knowing what marriage was. Five years later, Goku meets his evil older brother

Raditz ''Dragon Ball'' is a Japanese media franchise created by Akira Toriyama in 1984. The franchise features an ensemble cast of characters and takes place in the same fictional universe as Toriyama's other work, ''Dr. Slump''. While many of the cha ...

and learns about his heritage. Goku comes from a race of now nearly extinct extraterrestrials called Saiyans, himself having been sent from their home planet to prepare Earth for sale on the intergalactic market by destroying all its life. While Grandpa Gohan was taking care of him, Goku accidentally fell into a deep ravine and suffered a severe head injury, which caused him to forget his mission and drastically altered his personality. After Raditz kidnaps Goku's son,

, he forms a truce with Piccolo in order to defeat Raditz. After sacrificing his life during the battle, Goku trains with

King Kai ''Dragon Ball'' is a Japanese media franchise created by Akira Toriyama in 1984. The franchise features an ensemble cast of characters and takes place in the same fictional universe as Toriyama's other work, ''Dr. Slump''. While many of the cha ...

in the

Other World The concept of an otherworld in historical Indo-European religion is reconstructed in comparative mythology. Its name is a calque of ''orbis alius'' ( Latin for "other Earth/world"), a term used by Lucan in his description of the Celtic Otherwo ...

. He teaches Goku the ''Kaiō-ken'', which multiplies his energy and strength but with possible strain to the body. It is also from King Kai that Goku learns his most powerful attack: the ''Genki-Dama'', an energy sphere created by gathering energy from surrounding animals, nature and humans. After being revived by the Dragon Balls, Goku faces off with the Saiyan prince

Vegeta ( ), also referred as is a fictional character in the ''Dragon Ball'' franchise created by Akira Toriyama. Vegeta first appears in chapter #204 "Sayonara, Son Goku", published in ''Weekly Shōnen Jump'' magazine on November 7, 1988, seeking t ...

, who eventually becomes his greatest rival and another ally. On his journey to Planet Namek in order to aid his friends in gathering the Namekian Dragon Balls to revive those killed by the Saiyans, Goku fights the galactic tyrant

, who destroyed the Saiyans' home planet and nearly the entire race. During his epic battle with Frieza, Goku becomes the first Saiyan in a thousand years to transform into a fabled Super Saiyan. After defeating Frieza and escaping the destruction of Namek, Goku learns a

teleportation Teleportation is the hypothetical transfer of matter or energy from one point to another without traversing the physical space between them. It is a common subject in science fiction literature and in other popular culture. Teleportation is oft ...

skill called ''Shunkan Idō'', taught by the inhabitants of the planet Yardrat. However, Goku contracts a heart virus whereof the time-traveler Trunks warns him, but recovers after taking medicine provided by Trunks. Later, Goku trains Gohan to be his successor and sacrifices himself again during the battle against the evil bio-android

. Goku is temporarily resurrected on Earth seven years later and meets his second son

. Goku also battles Vegeta again after Vegeta willingly falls under the control of the wizard Babidi in order to gain power. Shortly after, he is drawn into a battle for the universe against the monster

Majin Buu , generally spelled Majin Boo in subtitles of the Japanese anime, and rendered as Djinn-Boo in the Viz Media manga, is the final antagonist in the ''Dragon Ball'' manga series created by Akira Toriyama, before the release of ''Dragon Ball Super' ...

. Despite having mastered two new Super Saiyan transformations, Goku prepares Goten and Trunks to take his place as Earth's defender. After his life is fully restored, Goku attempts to fuse with Gohan in order to defeat Buu, but this fails when the latter is temporarily absorbed by Buu and so he persuades the newly arrived Vegeta to fuse with him, creating Vegito. Eventually, Goku destroys Buu with a Spirit Bomb attack. Ten years later, during another World Martial Arts Tournament, Goku meets Uub, Buu's human reincarnation, and leaves with him, intending to train him as the new protector of Earth.

In ''Dragon Ball Super''

After defeating Majin Buu, Goku meets a new opponent known as Beerus, the God of Destruction in the film '' Battle of Gods''. An alternative, more innately powerful form known as the Super Saiyan God is reached by Goku during this film. Though the temporary transformation wears off, Goku manages to harness its godly powers. In its sequel film '' Resurrection 'F''', Goku manages to achieve a blue-haired evolution of Super Saiyan God under

Whis ''Dragon Ball'' is a Japanese media franchise created by Akira Toriyama in 1984. The franchise features an ensemble cast of characters and takes place in the same fictional universe as Toriyama's other work, ''Dr. Slump''. While many of the cha ...

's tutelage, known as the Super Saiyan God Super Saiyan, or "Super Saiyan Blue" for short, which Goku uses to battle the newly revived Frieza. These forms also appear in ''

'' and its manga tie-in, which expand upon the stories from the two films. Afterwards, Goku and his friends participate in a fighting tournament set between Beerus and his brother Champa,who is Universe 6's God of Destruction, facing the best warriors from Champa's universe. During this tournament, Goku reveals that he has learned to combine the perfect energy control of his Super Saiyan Blue form with his older technique, the ''Kaiō-ken''. After meeting with the omnipotent being known as Grand Zeno, Goku encounters an evil alternate version of himself called "Goku Black", who is terrorizing Future Trunks' timeline. Black is eventually revealed to be a rogue Supreme Kai in training named Zamasu, who has stolen Goku's body from yet another alternate timeline and teamed up with the Zamasu of Future Trunks' timeline to fulfill their "Zero Mortals Plan". After Zamasu and Black become even more dangerous by undergoing Potara Fusion during the battle in Future Trunks' timeline, Goku ultimately summons the future version of Grand Zeno who erases Zamasu. Later, Goku causes the Zenos to decide to hold a multi-universal martial arts tournament with the losing universes wiped from existence; the Tournament of Power. Throughout the tournament, Goku faces multiple opponents but finds his toughest in Jiren. It is during his fights with Jiren that Goku acquires a new temporary transformed state using a divine technique known as ''Migatte no Goku'i''. Ultimately, Goku and Frieza manage to work together to force Jiren out of bounds in a triple elimination, leaving

Android 17 ''Dragon Ball'' is a Japanese media franchise created by Akira Toriyama in 1984. The franchise features an ensemble cast of characters and takes place in the same fictional universe as Toriyama's other work, '' Dr. Slump''. While many of the ch ...

as the winner who uses his wish on the Super Dragon Balls to restore the erased universes. Goku's

origin story In entertainment, an origin story is an account or backstory revealing how a Character (arts), character or group of people become a protagonist or antagonist, and it adds to the overall interest and complexity of a narrative, often giving reason ...

from the ''Dragon Ball Minus'' manga chapter is retold in the film '' Dragon Ball Super: Broly''. His birth parents are

, a low-class Saiyan mercenary, and Gine, the owner of a butcher shop. Bardock has a strong suspicion that Frieza is up to something when he receives an order on his scouter for all Saiyans to return home, so he convinces Gine to send their infant son in a space pod to Earth. In the present, following the events of the Tournament of Power, Goku and Vegeta encounter another Saiyan survivor named

Broly is a fictional character in the ''Dragon Ball'' media franchise. Two different versions of the character exist: the original Broly, a major villain created by anime screenwriter Takao Koyama who appeared in a trilogy of 1990s ''Dragon Ball Z'' an ...

, whom Frieza has recruited to defeat them. When Broly proves to be too powerful for either of them to handle individually, Goku and Vegeta use the Metamoran Fusion Dance, which creates Gogeta. Gogeta almost defeats his opponent, but Broly's allies teleport him back to the barren planet he grew up on. Later, Goku teleports to this planet as well to provide Broly and his two friends with survival supplies, hoping to be able to spar with Broly again someday. In the manga, directly after the final scene of ''Broly,'' Goku and Vegeta meet Galactic Patrol by Jaco and a mysteriously highly skilled agent named Merus in order to help stop an ancient warlock called Moro. With Moro headed to New Namek to use the Namekian Dragon Balls, the two Saiyans travel to the planet to stop him, where they are defeated by him using his magic to drain their life essences until near death. Once recovered, they attempt to go after Moro again, but he escapes from them, Merus and (the also conscripted) Majin Buu with the help of his accomplice Cranberry (who he kills) in order to wish upon the Dragon Balls to free all the Galactic Prison prisoners. After a few days, Goku hears from Merus that Moro has grown even stronger and is unstoppable. This leads to Goku asking Merus to help train him to master the Ultra Instinct state so he can defeat Moro. Goku helps his friends take out Moro's forces before he comes face-to-face with Moro again. When Moro fuses with Seven-Three, he and his allies are soundly defeated and mortally wounded. Goku achieves the full power of Ultra Instinct, which he uses to debilitate Moro to near-death. Even after healing him with a Senzu bean, tanking his ensuing sneak attack, unsuccessfully attempting to convince him to reconsider his ways and go back to prison, and him using a stray severed arm with Merus's copied power to obtain Ultra Instinct for himself, Goku continuously outmatches Moro. Ultimately, with the help of his friends and family, along with a key assist from Buu/Grand Supreme Kai and Uub's divine power, Goku manages to finish off Moro and save the Earth once more. He, Vegeta, Buu and Jaco then reunite with a now-mortal Merus to be honoured as heroes by the Galactic Patrol.

In ''Dragon Ball GT''

In the anime-only sequel series, ''

'', Goku is transformed back into a child by an accidental wish made by his old enemy

Pilaf Pilaf ( US spelling) or pilau ( UK spelling) is a rice dish, or in some regions, a wheat dish, whose recipe usually involves cooking in stock or broth, adding spices, and other ingredients such as vegetables or meat, and employing some techn ...

using the Black Star Dragon Balls while Pilaf was about to wish to take over the world. Goku, Trunks and his own granddaughter Pan travel the universe to search for the Black Star Dragon Balls and return them to Earth to prevent its destruction. After acquiring the Super Saiyan 4 transformation, Goku battles the evil Tuffle

Baby An infant or baby is the very young offspring of human beings. ''Infant'' (from the Latin word ''infans'', meaning 'unable to speak' or 'speechless') is a formal or specialised synonym for the common term ''baby''. The terms may also be used to ...

, Super Android 17, and the evil Shadow Dragons. His final challenge is against Omega Shenron, whom he destroys using the Spirit Bomb. Goku leaves with the original form of Shenron, but not before saying his goodbyes to his friends on Earth. He then appears 100 years later at the next World Martial Arts Tournament as an adult, where he watches a battle between Goku Jr., his descendant, and Vegeta Jr., Vegeta's descendant. An elderly Pan sees him, but he quickly departs.

In other media

Goku has appeared in various other media including an unofficial Taiwanese live-action film and an unofficial Korean live-action film. He was portrayed by

Justin Chatwin Justin Chatwin (born October 31, 1982) is a Canadian actor. He began his career in 2001 with a brief appearance in the musical comedy ''Josie and the Pussycats''. Following his breakthrough role as Robbie Ferrier in the blockbuster '' War of the ...

in the 2009

20th Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm of Walt Disn ...

feature ''

Dragonball Evolution ''Dragonball Evolution'' is a 2009 American science fantasy superhero-martial arts film directed by James Wong, produced by Stephen Chow, and written by Ben Ramsey. It is based on the Japanese ''Dragon Ball'' manga series created by Akira Toriyam ...

''. Goku has also appeared in almost every ''Dragon Ball'' licensed electronic video game, including crossover games such as ''

Jump Super Stars ''Jump Super Stars'' is a 2D crossover fighting game for the Nintendo DS, based on ''Weekly Shōnen Jump'' characters. It was developed by Ganbarion and published by Nintendo. The game was released on August 8, 2005, in Japan and accompanied t ...

'', ''

Jump Ultimate Stars Jumping is a form of locomotion or movement in which an organism or non-living (e.g., robotic) mechanical system propels itself through the air along a ballistic trajectory. Jump or Jumping also may refer to: Places * Jump, Kentucky or Jump S ...

'' and ''

Battle Stadium D.O.N is a 2006 Japanese crossover fighting game for the GameCube and PlayStation 2. The "D.O.N." in the game's title is derived from ''Dragon Ball Z'', ''One Piece'', and ''Naruto'', the three manga series published by ''Weekly Shōnen Jump'' upon wh ...

''. In 1992, Goku was featured in the interactive game ''Dragon Ball Z: Get Together! Goku World'', in which Goku and his gang travel back in time to review events in the ''Dragon Ball'' timeline and interacts with his younger self. In December 2007, Goku made a guest appearance in avatar form in the MMORPG ''

Second Life ''Second Life'' is an online multimedia platform that allows people to create an avatar for themselves and then interact with other users and user created content within a multi player online virtual world. Developed and owned by the San Fr ...

'' for a ''Jump Festa'' promotion titled ''Jumpland@Second Life''. Goku also appears in the ''

Dr. Slump and Arale-chan is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Akira Toriyama. It was serialized in Shueisha's anthology magazine ''Weekly Shōnen Jump'' from 1980 to 1984, with the chapters collected into 18 ''tankōbon'' volumes. The series fol ...

'' video game for the Nintendo DS. Goku has been the subject of, and is mentioned in, various songs. "Son Goku Song" and "Gokū no Gokigen Jānī" feature Goku as a child singing about himself. During his adult years, the song "Aitsu wa Son Gokū" by

Hironobu Kageyama is a Japanese singer and composer prominent in the soundtracks for anime, video game and tokusatsu productions. He is sometimes called Kami (Kei) by his fans. Kageyama got his big break at age 16, as lead singer of the rock band Lazy. By the ea ...

, where Kageyama praises everything about Goku, and the duet "Ore-tachi no Energy" feature words spoken by the character. For the release of the single of the ''

'' international theme song "

Rule Rule or ruling may refer to: Education * Royal University of Law and Economics (RULE), a university in Cambodia Human activity * The exercise of political or personal control by someone with authority or power * Business rule, a rule pert ...

", Toriyama supplied CD artwork of singer

Ayumi Hamasaki is a Japanese singer, songwriter, record producer, actress, model, spokesperson, and entrepreneur. By 2002, Hamasaki had earned the nickname "Empress of J-pop" due to her popularity in Japan and throughout Asia. Due to her success and relevanc ...

dressed as Goku. Goku has been used in Japanese

public service announcement A public service announcement (PSA) is a message in the public interest disseminated by the media without charge to raise public awareness and change behavior. In the UK, they are generally called a public information film (PIF); in Hong Kong, ...

s aimed at children. In June 1988, Goku and other ''Dragon Ball'' characters were featured in two PSA short films. The first, in which Goku is taught the importance of obeying traffic safety by others, is entitled ''Goku's Traffic Safety''. The second is called ''Goku's Fire Fighting Regiment'', in which he teaches two children the importance of fire safety. Goku has made guest appearances in various Japanese television shows and manga. In 2005, Goku appeared in the Toriyama parody manga ''

'' where he is the

sensei Sensei, Seonsaeng, Tiên sinh or Xiansheng, corresponding to Chinese characters , is an East Asian honorific term shared in Japanese, Korean, Vietnamese and Chinese; it is literally translated as "person born before another" or "one who c ...

of the main character Z. On September 15, 2006, in celebration of the 30th anniversary of ''

Kochira Katsushika-ku Kameari Kōen-mae Hashutsujo , often shortened to , and known in English as ''KochiKame: Tokyo Beat Cops'', is a Japanese comedy manga series written and illustrated by Osamu Akimoto. It takes place in the present day, in and around a neighborhood police station ( k� ...

'', the special manga ''Super Kochikame'' was released. The chapter entitled ''This is the Police Station in front of Dragon Park on Planet Namek'' has Ryotsu Kankichi travel to planet Namek and try to issue Freeza a citation and scold both he and Goku for parking their ships illegally. Goku and other ''Dragon Ball'' characters join the cast of ''

One Piece ''One Piece'' (stylized in all caps) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Eiichiro Oda. It has been serialized in Shueisha's ''shōnen'' manga magazine '' Weekly Shōnen Jump'' since July 1997, with its individual chap ...

'' in the 2006 crossover manga '' Cross Epoch''. He also appears in a single panel of Toriyama's 2013 manga ''

Jaco the Galactic Patrolman is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Akira Toriyama. It was serialized in ''Weekly Shōnen Jump'' from July to October 2013, with the eleven chapters collected into a single volume by Shueisha. It follows Jaco, an extraterres ...

'', which is set before the events of ''Dragon Ball''. The collected

tankōbon is the Japanese term for a book that is not part of an anthology or corpus. In modern Japanese, the term is most often used in reference to individual volumes of a manga series: most series first appear as individual chapters in a weekly or ...

volume of ''Jaco'' features the bonus story '' Dragon Ball Minus: The Departure of the Fated Child'', depicting how and why Goku's parents sent him to Earth. Goku has been the subject of various parodies. In the episode ''Career Day'' of ''

Takeshi's Castle is a Japanese game show that aired between 1986 and 1990 on the Tokyo Broadcasting System (TBS). It features the Japanese comedian Takeshi Kitano (also known as Beat Takeshi) as a count who owns a castle and sets up difficult physical challeng ...

'', known in the United States as '' MXC'', the hosts

Beat Takeshi is a Japanese comedian, television presenter, actor, filmmaker, and author. While he is known primarily as a comedian and TV host in his native Japan, he is better known abroad for his work as a filmmaker and actor as well as TV host. With th ...

and Sonomanma Higashi dressed as popular anime characters, one as Goku as a child, the other as

Doraemon ''Doraemon'' ( ja, ドラえもん ) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Fujiko F. Fujio. The manga was first serialized in December 1969, with its 1,345 individual chapters compiled into 45 ''tankōbon'' volumes and ...

. ''Weekly Shōnen Jump'''s ''Gag Special 2005'' issue, released on November 12, 2004, featured a ''

Bobobo-bo Bo-bobo is a Japanese comedy manga series written and illustrated by Yoshio Sawai. It was serialized in Shueisha's ''shōnen'' manga magazine ''Weekly Shōnen Jump'' from February 2001 to November 2005, with its chapters collected in twenty-one ' ...

'' one-shot ''Dragon Ball'' parody manga, a retelling of the first fight between Goku and Vegeta. In chapter #179 of the ''

Yakitate!! Japan is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Takashi Hashiguchi. It was serialized in Shogakukan's ''Weekly Shōnen Sunday'' from December 2001 to January 2007, with its chapters collected in 26 ''tankōbon'' volumes. A sixty-nine ...

'' manga, Kawachi executes a ''Genki-Dama'' parody called a ''Shinrai-Dama'' on the character Katsuo. In the manga and anime series '' Blood Lad'', the character Staz performs the gestures for Goku's Kamehameha, having learned it from his favorite manga

superhero A superhero or superheroine is a stock character that typically possesses ''superpowers'', abilities beyond those of ordinary people, and fits the role of the hero, typically using his or her powers to help the world become a better place, ...

, but it has no actual effect. Goku regularly appears on

Fuji TV JOCX-DTV (channel 8), branded as and colloquially known as CX, is a Japanese television station based in Odaiba, Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Owned and operated by the it is the key station of the Fuji News Network (FNN) and the Fuji Network S ...

. In 2003, Goku appeared in the interactive feature ''Orb's Panic Adventure!'', which was featured exclusively at the Fuji TV headquarters in the orb section. In this, Freeza attacks a visiting tourist, blasting the orb section free from the rest of the Fuji TV building. Goku fights Freeza over the real life aqua city of

Odaiba today is a large artificial island in Tokyo Bay, Japan, across the Rainbow Bridge from central Tokyo. Odaiba was initially built in this area for defensive purposes in the 1850s. Reclaimed land offshore Shinagawa was dramatically expanded duri ...

. In 2004, a sequel called ''Orb's Panic Adventure Returns!'' was produced. On March 25, 2006, Goku and Freeza appeared in an original animated short film in the ''IQ Mirror Mistake 7'' segment of the Japanese game show ''IQ Supplement''. On April 7, 2007, Goku and Fuji TV announcer Masaharu Miyake were commentators on the anime segment in the ''Japan Great Man Awards'' titled ''Who is the Strongest Hero?''. The segment featured a special tournament to decide who was the greatest person in Japanese history. During the intermission, Goku promoted the coming release of R2 ''Dragon Ball'' DVDs. Since the U.S. debut of ''Dragon Ball Z'' in 1996, Goku has appeared in American pop culture. He was featured in an issue of ''Wizard'' magazine in which he and

Superman Superman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, and debuted in the comic book '' Action Comics'' #1 ( cover-dated June 1938 and pu ...

fought a hypothetical battle and won. In the '' Codename: Kids Next Door'' episode " Operation: R.E.P.O.R.T", Numbuh Four's version of the story is a parody of the Goku and Freeza's battle in ''Dragon Ball Z''. Goku appears in ''

Robot Chicken ''Robot Chicken'' is an American adult animated stop motion sketch comedy television series, created and executive produced for Adult Swim by Seth Green and Matthew Senreich along with co-head writers Douglas Goldstein and Tom Root. The write ...

'' in a sketch entitled ''A Very Dragon Ball Z Christmas'', where Goku and Gohan fight an evil Mrs. Claus with

Santa's reindeer In traditional festive legend and popular culture, Santa Claus's reindeer are said to pull a sleigh through the night sky to help Santa Claus deliver gifts to children on Christmas Eve. The number of reindeer characters, and the names given ...

, in an attempt to save Christmas. The ''

Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (often abbreviated to ''SNL'') is an American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC and Peacock. Michaels currently serves ...

'' sketch '' TV Funhouse'' titled ''Kobayashi'' depicts real-life hot-dog-eating champion

Takeru Kobayashi , also known as Takeru "Tsunami" Kobayashi, is a Japanese competitive eater. Described as "the godfather of competitive eating", Kobayashi is a six-time champion of Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest and is widely credited with popularizing the spor ...

as able to transform into a Super Saiyan as he prepares to eat hot dogs; Goku appears briefly near the end. Goku is referenced in the songs "Goku" and "Anime" by

Soulja Boy Tell 'Em DeAndre Cortez Way (born July 28, 1990), known professionally as Soulja Boy (formerly Soulja Boy Tell 'Em), is an American rapper and record producer. He rose to prominence, after his self published debut single " Crank That (Soulja Boy)" peak ...

, where he brags that he looks and feels like Goku. Goku appears in a parody of the film ''

Moneyball ''Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game'' is a book by Michael Lewis, published in 2003, about the Oakland Athletics baseball team and its general manager Billy Beane. Its focus is the team's analytical, evidence-based, sabermetric appro ...

'' on an episode of '' Mad'' entitled ''Money Ball Z'', in which

Billy Beane William Lamar Beane III (born March 29, 1962) is an American former professional baseball player and current front office executive. He is the executive vice president of baseball operations and minority owner of the Oakland Athletics of M ...

drafts Goku and a couple of other ''Dragon Ball'' characters into the Oakland A's. In 2013, he and Superman fought in a "Death Battle" episode of the

Rooster Teeth Rooster Teeth Productions, LLC is an American digital media company headquartered in Austin, Texas. Founded in 2003 by Burnie Burns, Matt Hullum, Geoff Ramsey, Jason Saldaña, Gus Sorola, and Joel Heyman, Rooster Teeth is a subsidiary of W ...

web series ''ScrewAttack'' and lost. The episode "Goku vs. Superman" in the web series '' Epic Rap Battles of History'' won a

Streamy Award The YouTube Streamy Awards, also known as the Streamy Awards or Streamys, are presented annually by Dick Clark Productions and Tubefilter to recognize excellence in online video, including directing, acting, producing, and writing. The formal ...

for Best Music Video. The use of the ''Kamehameha'' attack became an

Internet meme An Internet meme, commonly known simply as a meme ( ), is an idea, behavior, style, or image that is spread via the Internet, often through social media platforms. What is considered a meme may vary across different communities on the Internet ...

which started with Japanese schoolgirls photographing themselves apparently using, and being affected by, this attack. It has also attracted considerable media attention in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...

, as well as in many Spanish-speaking countries in

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the sou ...

Cultural impact

NYCC 2016 - Super Saiyan Blue Goku (30227483945)

A number of notable public figures have commented on their feelings towards Goku or his status in popular culture. For example,

has gone on record stating that Goku is his favorite ''Dragon Ball'' character. The German rock band Son Goku takes their name from the ''Dragon Ball'' protagonist. The band's lead singer Thomas D chose the name because Goku embodies the band's philosophy, saying he was "fascinated by Goku's naïveté and cheerfulness, yet, at the same time, a great warrior saving the world." In 2010, a fiberglass statue of Goku was created by Canadian-born Hong Kong artist

Edison Chen Edison Chen Koon-hei (, born Chen Hing-wah on 7 October 1980) is a Canadian-born Hong Kong actor, singer, rapper, fashion designer and entrepreneur. Chen is the co-founder of CLOT, a Hong Kong-based streetwear and fashion label. Debuting in 19 ...

, with Chen's facial features instead of Goku's, as part of Chen's collection that was displayed at the "Treacherous Treis" exhibition in Singapore's Museum of Art and Design. CNN released an article explaining how Goku was Spanish professional tennis player

Rafael Nadal Rafael Nadal Parera (, ; born 3 June 1986) is a Spanish professional tennis player. He is currently ranked world No. 2 in singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP). He has been ranked world No. 1 for 209 weeks, and has finish ...

's childhood inspiration, and called Nadal "the Dragon Ball of tennis" due to his unorthodox style "from another planet." Carnalval SP 2013 - 0036 (8478410082)

'' creator

Eiichiro Oda is a Japanese manga artist and the creator of the series ''One Piece'' (1997–present). With more than 516.5 million ''tankōbon'' copies in circulation worldwide, ''One Piece'' is both the best-selling manga in history and the best-se ...

and ''

Naruto ''Naruto'' is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Masashi Kishimoto. It tells the story of Naruto Uzumaki, a young ninja who seeks recognition from his peers and dreams of becoming the Hokage, the leader of his village. T ...

'' creator

Masashi Kishimoto is a Japanese manga artist. His manga series, '' Naruto'', which was in serialization from 1999 to 2014, has sold over 250 million copies worldwide in 46 countries as of May 2019. The series has been adapted into two anime and multiple films, v ...

said that Goku inspired their protagonists as well as series structure, with ''

Tekken is a Japanese media franchise centered on a series of fighting video and arcade games developed and published by Bandai Namco Entertainment (formerly Namco). The franchise also includes film and print adaptations. The main games in the series ...

'' Lars Alexandersson also showing traits of a hero through his design inspired by Goku alongside Marvel Comic's Thor. Commenting on Goku's popularity, Kishimoto stated that when people hear the name "Son Goku", no longer do they think of the ''Journey to the West'' character, but instead ''Dragon Balls protagonist comes to mind. Additionally, for the second half of the series, Kishimoto created an ape named Son Goku in reference to Toriyama's character to the point the ape has four tails just like the four-star Dragon Ball Goku earned from his grandfather. In his book about Akira Toriyama published in 2004, Julius Weideman said Goku's journey and ever-growing strength resulted in the character winning "the admiration of young boys everywhere." Jason Thompson stated that unlike the " manly" heroes of other popular

shōnen manga is an editorial category of Japanese comics targeting an audience of adolescent boys. It is, along with manga (targeting adolescent girls and young women), manga (targeting young adult and adult men), and manga (targeting adult women), ...

of the late 1980s and early 1990s, such as ''

City Hunter is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Tsukasa Hojo. It was serialized in ''Weekly Shōnen Jump'' from 1985 to 1991 and collected into 35 ''tankōbon'' volumes by its publisher Shueisha. The manga was adapted into ...

'' and ''

Fist of the North Star is a Japanese manga series written by Buronson and illustrated by Tetsuo Hara. It was serialized in Shueisha's ''shōnen'' manga magazine ''Weekly Shōnen Jump'' for 245 issues published from 1983 to 1988 and initially collected in 27 ' ...

'', Toriyama made his protagonist (Goku) cartoonish and small, thus starting a trend that Thompson says continues to this day. In 2015, the Japan Anniversary Association officially declared May 9 as "Goku Day". Goku is the first manga character to have a balloon at the

Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade is an annual parade in New York City presented by the U.S.-based department store chain Macy's. The Parade first took place in 1924, tying it for the second-oldest Thanksgiving parade in the United States wit ...

, with his first appearance at the 2018 parade.

Merchandise

Several pieces of merchandising based on Goku have been released, including

action figure An action figure is a poseable character model figure made most commonly of plastic, and often based upon characters from a film, comic book, military, video game or television program; fictional or historical. These figures are usually mar ...

s, plushes, and

keychain A keychain (also key fob or keyring) is a small ring or chain of metal to which several keys can be attached. The length of a keychain allows an item to be used more easily than if connected directly to a keyring. Some keychains allow one or bo ...

Reception

Goku has appeared in innumerable "top" character lists. He was ranked number one in IGN's 2009 list of Top 25 Anime Characters of All Time and reappeared on the same list in 2014, however, on this occasion they ranked him third, with '' Cowboy Bebop''s

Spike Spiegel is a fictional character introduced as the protagonist of the 1998 anime series '' Cowboy Bebop''. Spike is a former member of the criminal Red Dragon Syndicate, who left by faking his death after falling in love with a woman named Julia. He is ...

and ''

Neon Genesis Evangelion , also known simply as ''Evangelion'' or ''Eva'', is a Japanese mecha anime television series produced by Gainax and animated by Tatsunoko, directed by Hideaki Anno and broadcast on TV Tokyo from October 1995 to March 1996. ''Evangelion ...

''s Shinji Ikari placed above him, saying that "He was, in many ways, a character that bucked the trends of his time and defined the direction of shonen manga/anime for decades." In Mania Entertainment's 10 Most Iconic Anime Heroes, Thomas Zoth commented that "Goku and ''Dragon Ball'' completely revolutionized shōnen manga." In a '' Newtype'' poll from March 2010, Goku was voted the fifth most popular male character from the 1980s. Goku ranked consistently high in the

Anime Grand Prix The is an annual Japanese anime awards giving to recognize the best in anime of the previous year, decided by the votes of readers of entertainment magazine ''Animage'', published by Tokuma Shoten since July 1978. The Anime Grand Prix started i ...

poll in the category of "best male character" in the late 1980s and early 1990s, appearing seventeenth in the 1987 poll, fifteenth in the 1988 poll, second in the 1989 poll, fourth in the 1990 poll, third in the 1991 poll, fourth in the 1992 poll, thirteenth in 1993 poll, and twelfth in 1994 poll. In a 1993 character popularity poll for the series, ''Weekly Shōnen Jump'' readers voted Goku second, after his son Gohan. He came in first in the magazine's 1995 poll, as well as in a 2004 poll amongst fans of the series for the book ''Dragon Ball Forever''. In a 2005 ''The Daily Reader'' article entitled "The Greatest Geek Movie Heroes of All Time", Goku is the only animated character listed, and is ranked tenth. In a survey of 1,000 people, conducted by

Oricon , established in 1999, is the holding company at the head of a Japanese corporate group that supplies statistics and information on music and the music industry in Japan and Western music. It started as, which was founded by Sōkō Koike i ...

in 2007, Goku ranked first place as the "Strongest Manga character of all time." In the survey "Friendship" developed by rankingjapan.com, in which people chose which anime character they would like as a friend, Goku ranked fifth. In 2000, Goku placed third in an

Animax , stylized as ANIMAX, is a Japanese animation satellite television network, dedicated to broadcasting anime programming. The channel also dubbed other cartoons in Japanese language. A subsidiary of Sony Pictures Entertainment Japan, it is headq ...

poll of favorite anime characters. In 2011, readers of '' Guinness World Records Gamer's Edition'' voted Goku as the 41st-top video game character of all time. NTT customers voted him as their third favorite black haired male anime character in a 2014 poll. Game designer Hiroshi Matsuyama from

CyberConnect2 is a Japanese video game development studio mostly known for its work on the ''.hack'' series, along with a series of fighting games based on the ''Naruto'' franchise. They are also known for creating the ''Little Tail Bronx'' series (e.g. '' ...

said that while Goku is an appealing character readers could root for during the manga, he was hard to relate and, thus, instead preferred other characters like Krillin or Bulma. However, during the manga's final

story arc A story arc (also narrative arc) is the chronological construction of plot in a novel or story. It can also mean an extended or continuing storyline in episodic storytelling media such as television, comic books, comic strips, board games, vid ...

, Matsuyama recalls being overjoyed when Goku says that Mr. Satan, a comic relief character with no superextraordinary skills, was the real hero of mankind as the Earthlings found him as the saviour of mankind when Buu was about win the final fight. Goku's characterization has been well received by publications for manga, anime and other media.

Anime News Network Anime News Network (ANN) is a news website that reports on the status of anime, manga, video games, Japanese popular music and other related cultures within North America, Australia, Southeast Asia and Japan. The website offers reviews and ...

noted Goku as a good source of comedy and remarked that after everything he experiences, he still remains a naïve character. Tim Jones from THEM Anime Reviews noted that Goku is not an omnipotent character in the first anime series, unlike ''Dragon Ball Z'', and does not disappear for long periods of time between sagas. Jones also liked the way the series' depict his entire adventures, making him a good main character. Voice actor

Mamoru Miyano is a Japanese actor and singer. He is best known for his roles on ''Steins;Gate'', ''Durarara!!'', ''Death Note'', '' Soul Eater'', ''Wolf's Rain'', '' Ouran High School Host Club'', '' Ajin: Demi-Human'', '' Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood'', ' ...

said that Goku's first Super Saiyan transformation in the manga was his favorite part from the series as Goku not only changed visually but his personality changes into a "classic, prototypical hero". Rationalmagic.com praised Goku's innocence as one of the funniest parts of the series. In January 2017, Nozawa won two

Guinness World Records ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing world ...

for her longevity as Goku; she has been the sole voice actor for the role for over 23 years. According to ''

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'', Goku's origin story has some similarities to that of

. On the other hand, Collider was more critical to Goku's actions in the series most notably when Gohan becomes an active character who goes through several character's arcs yet he is constantly overshadowed by his father to the point Akira Toriyama refrained from turning Gohan into his successor following the Cell Games and Goku once again took over Gohan's role in the final arc of ''Dragon Ball Z''. Despite his predominantly positive reception, Goku has received some negative feedback, in particular for his characterization in ''

'' due to how his constant desires for fighting stronger enemies resulted in setting up a story where all universes could be destroyed. While Anime Now's Richard Eisenbeis believes Goku is determined to protect his universe, the fact that he does not seemingly care about other loser universes being destroyed has been criticized. Monique Jones from

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panned the character's relationship dynamic with his wife, as well as his perceived incompetency and irresponsibility as a father, drawing attention to the "tons of memes and fan chatter about Piccolo actually being the best dad Gohan’s ever had". Sam Leach from Anime News Network agreed that fans of the series tend to joke about Piccolo being a better paternal figure to Gohan than his actual father, Goku, and felt that ''Dragon Ball Super'' emphasized this more when Piccolo started training him again. The same site also criticized Goku often being busy in the narrative, most notably in Frieza's resurrection, as the supporting characters have some extra scenes only to have their spotlight stolen by Goku and Vegeta. His rematch with Frieza was criticized for how overpowered the character has become and how much back up his allies can provide in the battle, ruining the tension the film was supposed to generate. Despite enjoying his rematch with Frieza, DVD Talk expressed similar responses in the handling of these characters. ''IGN'' noted that Goku has a tendency to show enemies mercy, including Vegeta, Piccolo, Cell and Moro. His decision to let Cell have a senzu bean without informing his allies in particular was considered to be infamous, which affected Gohan's confidence and led to his defeat.

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went to call Goku irresponsible and immature to the character for helping Moro as a result of this show of mercy and the consequences. Both Goku and Vegeta were criticized for being too overpowered in ''Super'' to the point they steal the series' spotlight to the supporting cast while their strategies either lack complexity or create a plothole such as the time limit to the fusion Vegetto.

Explanatory notes

References

External links

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Conception and creation

Design

Voice actors

Appearances

In ''Dragon Ball''

In ''Dragon Ball Super''

In ''Dragon Ball GT''

In other media

Cultural impact

Merchandise

Reception

See also

Explanatory notes

References

Further reading

External links