Goku

For other uses of this name, see Goku (disambiguation).

Goku

Goku is a male extraterrestrial anime and manga character who features in Dragon Ball.

History

Dragon Ball

Kakarot (Japanese: カカロット, Hepburn: Kakarotto) (737 - October 12, 761; November 3, 762 - May 26, 767; May 8, 774 - 790) was a male member of the Saiyan race born on Planet Vegeta to a third-rate warrior named Bardock and his wife Gine where he had an older brother named Raditz. He was born in an era when the Saiyans were subordinate to King Cold and his empire who was looking to pass control of the warrior race to his son Frieza. By this point, Goku was only 3 years old when the Saiyan race came to be considered a threat to Frieza and he decided to dispatch the Frieza Force with eliminating the species. Planet Vegeta itself was destroyed by Frieza himself but not before the young Kakarot was placed in a pod that was launched from the planet thus sparing him from the destruction. The pod was sent towards Earth where as a child he was tasked with duty of all young Saiyans which was to grow up and ravage the planet where it would be sold to a client. Landing on Earth, he was discovered by a human named Gohan where at first he was aggressive to him but came to knock his head causing Goku to forget his mission. As a result, he was taken in by Gohan who decided to raise the boy as his son who he named Son Goku (孫そん悟ご空くう Son Gokū). Around this time, he saw the Earth's full oon causing his transformation into an Oozaru where he went on a rampage in his youth until he reverted back. It was later discovered that his tail was responsible for allowing his transformation and it was amputated to prevent him from undergoing the metamorphosis into his more destructive form. Whilst growing up, he came to be placed under the tutelage of famed martial artist Master Roshi who was a close friend of Gohan.

After many adventures as a youngster, meeting friends like Bulma, Yamcha, Oolong, and Krillin, and battling villains such as Pilaf, the Red Ribbon Army, King Piccolo and his offspring, Goku eventually came of age. He married a human woman named Chi-Chi, daughter of the Ox King. The two had a son, Gohan, born in May of 757 (obviously named in honor of his adoptive grandfather).

Dragon Ball Z

As an adult, he took his son Gohan with him to introduce him to his friends on Master Roshi's island. Whilst there, they were visited by a powerful warrior named Raditz who revealed that he was in reality Goku's brother. Raditz further explained that Goku and himself were members of a race of warriors called the Saiyan's who conquered other worlds that were then sold to their employers. He had come to the planet in order to take Kakarot with him but found Goku refused to do so leading to Raditz kidnapping Gohan. To stop him, Goku and Piccolo had to work together in fighting the powerful warrior where he died so that the Namekian could kill their mutual enemy. This saw Goku enter into the Other World but an exception was made for him whereby he would train under King Kai in order to prepare him to fight more Saiyans that were heading to Earth. Meanwhile, his friends had trained under Kami so that they could help in the battle where they were to keep their enemy occupied long enough for Goku to arrive. With his training complete, he was returned to life and made his way to confront the Saiyans where he found that many of his comrades had died against the warriors Vegeta and Nappa. The latter of these two opponents was responsible for killing Piccolo which caused Kami to pass away due to their shared connection with this leaving the Dragon Balls insert. Entering into the fight, Goku proved to be easily capable of defeating Nappa whose loss led to Vegeta killing him. Prince Vegeta then offered Goku a place under him where they could conquer worlds together but Kakarot refused the Saiyan.

Then, he travelled to the planet Namek, to battle the evil Frieza and his warriors. Goku succeeded in defeating four of Frieza's elite Ginyu Force- Recoome, Jeice, Burter, and Captain Ginyu- before facing Frieza himself. He defeated the immensely powerful villain, raising his power level to unheard-of heights and proving himself to be one of the fabled Super Saiyans.

In the destruction of Namek which was brought about by Frieza, Goku escaped in one of the Ginyu Force's ships. He learned the Instant Transmission technique from the inhabitants of the planet Yardrat, then returned home. It was when Goku returned that he met Trunks, a time traveller from a dark time, 20 years in the future, who turned out to be the son of Vegeta and Bulma. Trunks warned him of two menaces- a pair of evil androids- that would threaten the world, and that Goku himself would die of a heart virus that he contracted on Yardrat. To prevent that, Trunks gave Goku a medicine.

Three years passed, and two androids did appear, and Goku did nearly die- but the medicine saved him. However, these two androids- Android 19 and Android 20- were not the true threat, but a result of an altered history caused by Trunks' appearance in the past. The true androids- Android 17 and Android 18- surfaced later, along with a new third, Android 16. The evil Cell appeared around the same time, who absorbed the two androids known to Trunks and ascended to great power. Goku recovered and underwent training in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber along with Gohan in order to go beyond the level of Super Saiyan. Goku failed to go beyond, but became more powerful nonetheless, able to remain as a Super Saiyan all the time.

Goku battled Cell, but stopped to pass the battle on to Gohan, who he knew was capable of defeating the monster where he could not. Gohan failed to finish Cell when he had the chance. Thus, Goku was slain once more in a massive explosion, when he teleported a self-destructing Cell to King Kai's planet.

Goku spent time training in the Other World, becoming the only non-fused Saiyan to attain the level of Super Saiyan 3. Meanwhile, Goku and Chi-Chi's second son, Son Goten, was born in May 767. Goku was later resurrected by the Old Kai, at the cost of the Kai's life, so that he could battle the evil Majin Buu, fusing with Vegeta to form Vegeto as part of the battle. Goku eventually destroyed Buu, and years later, trained his reincarnation Uub.

Dragon Ball Super

Four years after Kid Buu's defeat, Goku began to work as a farmer in order to gain money to support his family as her Chi-Chi's wishes. This was despite the fact that Goku simply wanted to train and fight in order to battle a potential foe that could be stronger than Kid Buu.

Overview

Personality and attributes

In appearance, Goku was a male Saiyan who was noted for looking almost exactly like his biological father, He ha a similar spiky black hairstyle along with dark-colored eyes though these were softer and more kinder than Bardock whilst he had a lighter-pale skin complexion. His birth name given to him by his parents was Kakarot but on Earth his adoptive father named him Goku.

Even when he learnt he was a Saiyan, he came to consider the Earth to be his home.

He claimed to be a man of courtesy and strength. It was noted even by Frieza that despite his provocations and prior actions that Goku could not find itself in him to kill Goku. To him, it was unusual to find such a trait in a Saiyan and in them having such a strong moral center.

Kakarot was noted for being the son of a low-ranking Saiyan warrior named Bardock and his wife named Gine. He later came to learn that he had an older brother by the name of Raditz.

On Earth, he was raised by Gohan who came to be an adoptive father to the infant and named him Goku. For much of his life, he only knew his grandfather Gohan until his death whereupon the first human he had ever met was Bulma.

After marrying Chi-Chi, she came to be pregnant with their first child who was a son that they named Son Gohan. Years later, she gave birth to their second son who was named Goten.

Powers and abilities

Born a Saiyan, he was considered a low ranking warrior though all members of his race had the natural ability to harness their ki and channel it into a variety of forms.

It was known that he had the capacity to quickly learn new techniques at a remarkable speed. Master Roshi had commented on Goku learning the Kamehameha in a day when it took him originally 50 years to master.

He came to learn a number of techniques that included the:

• Rock, Scissors 'N' Paper (ジャン拳 Jan Ken) :
• Kamehameha (かめはめ波は Kamehameha) : the Kamehameha was a technique taught to the members of the Turtle School by Master Roshi whereby the user cupped their hands in order to draw to their side. One there, the hands concentrated ki between their cupped hands after which they thrust them forward to fire a streaming powerful beam of energy. The move became a signature ability of Goku who used it as his most powerful beam attack against an enemy.
• Kaio-Ken (界かい王おう拳けん Kaiōken, lit. "Realm King Fist") : the Kaio-Ken was a technique taught to Goku by King Kai which allowed the user to multiply the bearer's ki for a 'heartbeat'. Thus, it increased their power and sped allowing them to deal greater damage to an opponent that was stronger than them. However, a problem with the technique was that it took a heavy toll on the users body making them vulnerable to an enemy's attacks. When in use, Goku's aura turned a crimson colour and it required a degree of ki control in order to handle it properly.
• Spirit Bomb (元げん気き玉だま Genki-dama, lit. "Energy Sphere") : the Spirit Bomb was a powerful attack taught to Goku by King Kai whereby the user was able to gather large quantities of energy from living beings around the user. This energy took the form of sparkling glittering wisps where it appeared in a blue and/or white in color.
• Dragon Fist (龍拳 Ryūken) : the Dragon Fist
• Super God Shock Flash (超神閃撃 Chōjin Sengeki, lit. Super God Flash Attack) :
• Instant Transmission (瞬しゅん間かん移い動どう Shunkan Idō, lit. "Instantaneous Movement") : a teleportation technique that was taught to Goku on Planet Yardat after his battle with Frieza. It allowed the user to travel across long distanes in an instant.

Like all Saiyans, he was born with a tail and the ability to transform into an Oozaru if there was a full moon in the sky.

A further transformation he came to learn was that of the Super Saiyan God (超スーパーサイヤ人じんゴッド Sūpā Saiya-jin Goddo) where he gained god ki as a result.

Goku came to combine the god form with that of a Super Saiyan with this state being known as Super Saiyan Blue (超サイヤ人ブルー Sūpā Saiya-jin Burū).

From Whis, Goku came to learn Autonomous Ultra Instinct (身み勝がっ手ての極ごく意い Migatte no Goku'i, lit. "Secret of selfishness") that was a very rare and highly advanced mental state.

In Other World, he came to learn of the Fusion (フュージョン Fyūjon) technique that allowed two beings to merge into a single more powerful form. For Goku, this was achieved through the Fusion Dance (フュージョン Fyūjon) that had to be performed exactly with a partner in order for them to fuse. Even the smallest misstep would lead to a failure in the technique and any fused form being even weaker than their normal state. The technique was shown to only allowed the fused being to remain in this state for a short period of time before they separated into their individual forms again. A more stable version of the fusion could be achieved by both parties wearing the Potara (ポタラ Potara) earrings worn by the Supreme Kai's.

Notes

• Goku was created by Akira Toriyama where he featured in the setting of Dragon Ball universe.
• In an early dub of Dragon Ball Movie #3: Mystical Adventure, his name was changed to "Zero."

Alternate Versions

• In Dragon Ball GT, Goku appeared in the alternate universe continuity set many years after the defeat of Majin Buu. Due to a misspoken wish on the Black Star Dragon Balls from his first foe, Pilaf, Goku was reverted to the age of a child. He went into space with Trunks and his granddaughter Pan to retrieve those Dragon Balls and save Earth from destruction. Following this, Goku fought Baby, Super 17, and the Evil Shenrons. During his battle with Baby, Goku ascended to the mighty level of Super Saiyan 4. Finally, at the age of 48, Goku's battles ended when he left with Earth's Eternal Dragon Shenron.

In other media

Films

• In Dragonball Evolution, Goku appeared in the setting of the 2009 live-action film where he was portrayed by actor Justin Chatwin.

Video games

• In Dragon Ball Fighterz, Goku appeared as a playable character in the setting of the fighting video game where he was voiced by Japanese actress Masako Nozawa and by English actor Sean Schemmel in the dub.
• In Jump Force, Goku appeared as a playable character in the setting of the crossover fighting video game where he was voiced by Japanese actress Masako Nozawa.

Appearances

• Dragon Ball:
• Dragon Ball Z:
• Dragon Ball GT:
• Dragon Ball Super:

Links

Internal Links

• Monkey Boy

External Links

• Dragon Ball Wiki Entry
• Comicvine Entry
• Wikipedia Entry