Goku

"I am the hope of the universe. I am the answer to all that cry out for peace. I am truth. Ally to good. Nightmare to you!"

- Goku to Frieza

Goku ( Son Gokū) is the main character of the Dragon Ball, Dragon Ball Z &

Dragon Ball GT, and is a pure blood Saiyan. He is the husband of Chi-Chi, the father of Gohan and Goten, the grandfather of Pan, and later, the great-great grandfather of Goku Jr. His rival is Vegeta, who always wishes to surpass him in any means possible. Goku is the defender of planet Earth and informally leads the Z-Fighters. Throughout his life, he trains hard and strives to be the greatest fighter in the known universe, while at the same time using his amazing strength and skills to uphold peace. He is pure hearted being able to ride the Flying Nimbus. These qualities make him the perfect example of a hero. He is the main character of every Dragon Ball series. He is also called Kakarot by other Saiyans. (Kakarot was the Saiyan name he was given at birth by his father, Bardock.)

Creation and Concept
Goku means aware of emptiness (The Go syllable means enlightenment, and the Ku syllable means Sky or Emptiness). Goku's full name (Son Goku) is the Japanese name for Sun Wukong, the main protagonist in the Chinese legend Journey to the West, off of whom Goku is loosely based. Goku himself started off as more or less a parody of Sun Wukong, and as the manga continued its run he was able to develop differently, eventually turning out to have "similar origins." Goku's design was based off of Tanton, of Toriyama's prototype manga Dragon Boy and Tongpoo, from his other manga The Adventures of Tongpoo. When Akira Toriyama started his first draft of Dragon Ball he originally planned on making Goku full monkey to make it faithful to Journey to the West. During Toriyama's second draft he wanted to make Goku a full human dressed in sailor clothes that rode a flight mecha instead of the Flying Nimbus. Toriyama's 3rd and final draft of Goku was to have him human looking with a monkey tail.

Appearance and Personality
Goku is the main character in the entire Dragon Ball metaseries. With spiky black hair and his trademark orange/red/golden and blue clothes. Goku is known for his cheerful, energetic personality and his love of competition (specifically sport fighting and eating). He has a remarkable intuition at seeing the good in others in spite of their actions, though his capacity for forgiving his enemies has occasionally been criticized as excessive; Goku, for the most part, only fights to win, and spares his enemies after defeating them only for them to attack him when his back is turned. His staggering power is simultaneously reined in and enhanced by his fierce loyalty and morality. He has a simple, practical view of the world and is somewhat naive to the world around him. Because of this, many characters incorrectly assume him to be somewhat stupid, although once he has a basic understanding of things, he learns very quickly. His most remarkable ability is his will to succeed, pushing himself beyond his limitations, and never giving up even when the odds are stacked against him. However, when Frieza kills Krillin and critically injures Piccolo (who had been resurrected and was transported to Namek to help), Goku, in anger, taps into his inner power reserves and transforms into a Super Saiyan. He eventually battles Frieza and dominates him. In desperation, Frieza uses the Homing Destructo Disk technique, creating two pink Destructo Disks and throwing them at Goku. Goku moves too quickly for the attack, and maneuvers himself so that Frieza is in between him and the disks. Goku yells a warning to Frieza, but Frieza is too slow and is cut in half, losing an arm in addition to his legs. The weak tyrant begs Goku to help him. Goku, believing that Frieza does not deserve to be forgiven or spared, gives him some of his energy as a show of mercy. Bitter at his defeat, Frieza uses it to launch a powerful energy wave at Goku. Goku notices the blast and fires an Angry Kamehameha at Frieza, defeating him.

Goku then flies to Frieza's spaceship and presses buttons to try to cause the ship to fly, however it does not work and Frieza's spaceship falls into the lava. He quickly escapes Namek using one of the Ginyu Force space pods. The pod takes Goku to Planet Yardrat, which was going to be the Ginyu Force's next target. His friends, who were teleported to Earth by a wish made with the Namekian Dragon Balls, believe him to be dead. However, months later, when they attempt to revive Goku and Krillin by warping them to the check-in station, they learn that Goku is alive. When they decide to transport him back to Earth, he declines, stating that he'll return later. While on Yardrat, Goku learns a new technique called the Instant Transmission.

The Androids
"You might think you know everything there is to know about me... but really, you're not even close."

- Goku towards Dr. Gero and Android 19 (FUNimation Dub)

Two years later, at the age of 26, Goku returns to Earth where he is confronted by Trunks, the half-Saiyan son of Vegeta and Bulma from the future. The teenage Super Saiyan had just killed both Mecha-Frieza and his father King Cold a few moments before Goku's arrival. Trunks then tests Goku's strength in battle by assaulting him furiously with his sword, which Goku knocks away multiple times with one finger (albeit charged with energy), claiming that he knew Trunks would not use his full power.

Satisfied, Trunks gives Goku medicine for a heart virus that he will contract in one or two years, telling him to use it when he starts feeling the virus' effects. Future Trunks also warns him about two androids that will threaten the Earth in three years. Goku, Gohan and Piccolo then spend the next three years training for this new threat. However, Future Trunk's visit somehow alters the onset of the virus, so it does not manifest during those three years (six months prior to the Androids arrival), and therefore Goku does not use the medicine.

Three years later, two androids, Dr. Gero (as Android 20) and Android 19, appear and attack a city. The Z Fighters confront them, and Yamcha is first to be attacked, having been impaled by Dr. Gero's hand and having his energy stolen. However, he is saved by the use of a Senzu Bean, and the Z Fighters lead the two killing machines out of the city to fight. Despite being a Super Saiyan, Goku is bested by Android 19 when he begins to drastically weaken from the heart disease he was warned of, which starts manifesting itself during the fight. However, Vegeta, who now is a Super Saiyan as well, manages to save Goku before he can be defeated by the androids, and, after toying with it for a bit, destroys Android 19 with ease, enjoying the battle greatly. Yamcha takes Goku to Chi-Chi to get the medicine that will save his life from the killer virus. Meanwhile, the rest of the Z Fighters learn from Trunks, who has returned to help them fight the androids, that history had somehow been altered, and that the androids of his time, Future Android 17 and Future Android 18, had not been the ones they were fighting. Soon after, Dr. Gero states he will unleash No.17 and No.18, and he flees from the battlefield. They try to stop Dr. Gero from activating them but fail. However, once Dr. Gero activates 17 and 18, they are revealed to be unruly and kill him, and activate another android, Android 16, as well, who was solely created to be Goku's assassin.

Combatting Cell
"Remember all the pain he's caused, the people he's hurt... NOW MAKE THAT YOUR POWER!!!"

While the Z Fighters try and fail to stop the androids, Piccolo (who had recently fused with Kami) discovers a new threat named Cell, a large biological lifeform created by Dr. Gero, made with DNA taken from Goku, his allies, and foes they fought in the past. Cell was designed to absorb Androids 17 and 18, in order to achieve a perfect state, kill Goku, and conquer the cosmos. Cell hunts down the androids and absorbs Android 17, transforming into his second stage. Meanwhile, Goku heals from his sickness and takes Gohan, Vegeta, and Future Trunks to the Hyperbolic Time Chamber at Kami's Lookout to obtain a year of training in one day under heavy gravity and incredibly volatile temperatures. Vegeta and Trunks go in first and, while Goku and Gohan enter the Chamber next, go to find and fight Cell. Goku realizes that half Saiyan hybrids like Trunks can turn Super Saiyan, so he trains Gohan intensely and helps him become a Super Saiyan. During this training, Goku notices that the potential Gohan has can easily surpass Goku's own powers, especially after Gohan managed during their training to transform into an unprecedented Super Saiyan level before losing consciousness during a training session, and that, if he is unable to kill Cell, Gohan will.

While Goku trains, Cell absorbs Android 18 and reaches his perfect form thanks to Vegeta's interests to fight Cell in his perfect form. Vegeta was easily defeated when he challenged Cell, as did Trunks, who failed because his new Ultra Super Saiyan Form had too much muscle mass to hit Cell quick enough, a flaw Goku noticed in the chamber. After Goku and Gohan finish their training, Cell announces that he will be holding the Cell Games in ten more days, in order to give a chance to anyone who wants to challenge him. For ten days, Goku and Gohan stay on Earth to train and relax while maintaining their Super Saiyan form the entire time. Goku also uses this time to travel to New Namek to ask Dende to be the new guardian of Earth, as Piccolo had fused with Kami in an attempt to stop Cell, and the fusion had made the Dragon Balls useless. After Dende creates new Dragon Balls based on the old ones, Goku searches for those reactivated Dragon Balls in order to use them after they defeat Cell to correct everything Cell had put wrong.

After ten days have passed, the Z Fighters head to the Cell Games. After the supposed strongest person on Earth, Mr. Satan, is easily defeated, Goku offers to be the first Z Fighter to fight Cell, believing that he is no match for the villain in order to truly test Cell's abilities. Goku finds himself almost equally matched but still at a disadvantage against a heavily suppressed Perfect Cell in every way, and cannot seem to gain the upper hand after many attempts. Even after trying the Instant Kamehameha (a combination of the Instant Transmission and Kamehameha), which destroys Perfect Cell's upper half, he watches in horror as the android regenerates easily, thanks to Piccolo's cells in his body. After getting tired and worn out, Goku decides to give up and leave the battle to Gohan, whom he is convinced has the hidden power necessary to defeat Cell. Gohan then states that Goku had been holding back, only to learn he had not, leading to the conclusion that Gohan may be stronger than Goku, who was fighting at full power. Gohan then powers up to a point where his energy eclipses even Goku's, and fights with Cell, but halfheartedly. After Gohan tells Cell that when he gets angry he gets much stronger, Cell starts to get curious and tries to force Gohan's inner powers out of him by making his children, the Cell Jrs, attack Gohan's friends and his father. All the Z fighters cannot beat the Cell Jrs, including Goku, who was worn out from his battle with Cell. After Android 16 attempted self destruct on Cell, who blasted him, 16 asks Mr. Satan to bring him (his remaining Android head) to Gohan, and he then tries to convince Gohan that fighting is sometimes needed. When Cell destroys Android 16's head, this triggers a change in Gohan, forcing him to ascend to Super Saiyan 2, a form in which he greatly surpasses Perfect Cell, even after the behemoth decides to unleash his earth-shattering Full Power and a further powered up Power Weighted form, which Gohan easily overcomes to the point of forcing him to regurgitate Android 18 because of the damage he has sustained.

When a beaten Cell tries to destroy the Earth as a last resort, Goku is forced to step in with his "Instant Transmission" technique when Cell is about to trigger his self-destruction. He teleports them both to King Kai's Planet, where he is killed by the explosion Cell caused, along with King Kai and his pets Bubbles and Gregory. However, Cell is able to reconstruct himself as Super Perfect Cell, a trick even Cell himself didn't know he had, and uses the recently learned Instant Transmission to go back to Earth. Goku then motivates Gohan from the Other World to help fuel Gohan's Kamehameha wave against the reconstructed Super Perfect Cell, which, after a lengthy beam lock, successfully obliterates him. After Cell's defeat, Goku insists that he should stay dead, even though they could resurrect him, because he has attracted too many problems to Earth, like Frieza and the Red Ribbon Androids. Goku decides it will be safer for Earth if he doesn't return, and Earth has Gohan to protect it if needed.

The Otherworld Tournament
"I didn't know it was going to be that kind of fight..."

- Goku to Pikkon after transforming into a Super Saiyan During a filler portion only seen within the anime, Goku is shown on Snake Way with King Kai, Bubbles, and Gregory after the battle with Cell left the great king without his planet. King Kai insists they head to the Grand Kai's planet to go see the Grand Kai and enter the Other World Tournament. The winner would be trained personally by the mighty Grand Kai himself. When they arrive, they confront King Kai's rival, the West Kai, accompanied by his strongest fighter, Pikkon. Grand Kai instructs Pikkon to travel to Hell and stop Cell, Frieza, King Cold, and the Ginyu Force from causing havoc. Goku accompanies Pikkon to the fight and takes down the Ginyu Force, only to be astonished when Pikkon takes down Cell with ease, and proceeds to fell Frieza and King Cold with one blow. Upon his return to King Kai, Goku is welcomed by many of King Kai's powerful warriors, such as Olibu, who was once the hero of Earth. During the Tournament, Goku easily makes his way through the tournament by defeating Caterpy of the South Kai, Arqua of the East Kai, and Maraikoh of the West Kai. Goku then faces off with Pikkon in the finals. After a long fight, they are both disqualified on a technicality, but the Grand Kai allows them both to train under him. Over the next seven years, while Goku is training in Other World he achieves Super Saiyan 2 and Super Saiyan 3, the latter of which boosts his power even beyond his already-near-omnipotent Super Saiyan 2, but delivers an excruciating strain and immeasurable ki consumption.

The evil wizard Babidi
"Why'd I have to get this guy? Sure he's big, but he kinda looks dumb to me."

- Goku commenting on Yakon's appearance

Seven years later at the age of 36 (physically 28 due to death, both current and during the Saiyan Saga), Goku is given special permission to return to Earth for one day to participate in the 25th World Martial Arts Tournament, which he knows Gohan, Vegeta, Trunks, and his youngest son Goten, will be attending. Upon his return he meets his second child, Goten, who had been born after his death in the Cell Games, and Videl, Gohan's girlfriend from his high school who is the daughter of Mr. Satan, the fraud who received the credit for saving the world from Cell. Goku was going to be set up against Vegeta in the 6th match, finally being able to settle their rivalry, but had to be postponed because Videl was beaten badly by the supposed weakling Spopovich, who, along with Yamu, is controlled by the evil wizard Babidi. While Gohan is matched up against Kibito (the assistant of the Supreme Kai, who was in the tournament as well), Spopovich and Yamu both steal Gohan's Super Saiyan 2 energy and left the tournament while all the Z Fighters in the tournament ditched the tournament to follow them to Babidi.

The Supreme Kai and his assistant, Kibito, introduced themselves and informed the Z Fighters about the plans of Babidi who wishes to bring destruction and terror across the whole universe by bringing back his extremely evil monster puppet by the name of Majin Buu. The Z Warriors follow Spopovich to Babidi's ship where they are ambushed by Dabura, the powerful ruler of the Demon Realm, who kills Kibito and turns Krillin and Piccolo to stone. Goku, Gohan, Vegeta and the Supreme Kai enter Babidi's ship and they take turns defeating each of his minions on each room of the ship, their power leaving Supreme Kai in awe. Goku fights Yakon who absorbs his energy, but Goku kills him by overpowering and exploding him. While Gohan is against Dabura, Vegeta complains that he can do better. When Babidi hears that, he possesses Vegeta through the evil in his heart and turns him into Majin Vegeta making him evil once again. Goku and Vegeta are both transported to a deserted landscape for them to settle their battle, while Gohan and the Supreme Kai continue on to stop Babidi.

The ancient monster, Majin Buu
"Buu, I'm a man of courtesy, as well as strength, and I have to say, I've battled beings from beyond nameless galaxies and you by far are the best."

- Goku toward Majin Buu

Goku and Majin Vegeta have an earth shattering battle which gives more than enough energy for Majin Buu's awakening, and, although are they perfectly matched, fighting each other at the Super Saiyan 2 level, Goku ends the fight when he senses that Majin Buu has been released and pleads with Vegeta to help him defeat Majin Buu. In a false show of agreement, Vegeta knocks Goku out from behind while he is getting a Senzu Bean out of a bag. Vegeta then eats the only Senzu Bean left and flies off to face Majin Buu alone.

‎ Upon awakening, Goku could sense neither Vegeta nor Gohan anywhere and comes to the conclusion that they have been killed in the battle (when actually Gohan was narrowly saved by the badly injured Supreme Kai, and only Vegeta died in a vain attempt to try and eradicate Majin Buu). He heads to Kami's Lookout and is healed by Dende, who confirms that Vegeta sacrificed himself in an attempt to destroy Majin Buu. After transporting everyone to the Lookout, he tells the bad news to them. With the little time he has left on Earth, with the help of Piccolo, he decides to teach Trunks and Goten the Fusion Dance, which he learned from Metamorans while in Other World, so they may form one immensely powerful being that might stand a chance against Majin Buu.

‎After finding out that the Dragon Radar is still in West City and Majin Buu is about to cause more destruction, Goku decides to distract him while allowing Trunks to head into West City and retrieve the Dragon Radar before it is destroyed along with everything else in West City by Majin Buu, otherwise they will never be able to find the Dragon Balls. Goku teleports to Majin Buu's location, and shows him and everyone (via Babidi's telepathy) the incredible power of the new Super Saiyan 3 form, whose energy could be sensed all the way to Supreme Kai's planet. Goku then engages in a fight with Majin Buu, whom he overpowers blow for blow. Amazingly, Majin Buu is still having a good time and enjoying the fight, even forcing Goku to narrowly deflect an imitated version of his own Kamehameha wave, which chips over a tenth of the Earth. He later states, that he probably could have won, but that he wanted to leave it in the hands of Gohan, Trunks, and Goten because he will not be there forever, and that they need to have a shot at saving the universe instead of a dead fighter. Unfortunately, the action of sustaining Super Saiyan 3 to briefly fight with Buu shortens Goku's time on Earth and he is forced to return to the Other World.

Once Goku has returned to Other World, he learns that his son, Gohan, is not dead, but in fact training with the Supreme Kai on the Kai Planet teleporting there only to just miss having his head removed by Gohan practicing with The Z Sword. Gohan has been training with the legendary Z Sword, and to test its strength, the Supreme Kai summons a block of the densest metal in the universe, Kachin, as testing material. Goku throws the cube at Gohan, expecting the Z Sword to slice the block in half. Instead the sword snaps in half and from it emerges Old Kai, who tells them that he will fully unlock Gohan's potential with a ritual.

Fusion plan
"Wake up! Majin Buu's eaten everyone we care about! Everyone is gone, even Bulma! They've become part of Buu, they can't even die! I just thought the least we could do is put our old differences aside, just this once, and really work together. We owe that to our teammates, our families Vegeta, our friends! Look, you've always talked about our Saiyan race, how we're the last of a mighty people. Well it's time to accept we're starting a new race, one that can be just as strong, just as proud! But not if we're caught up in so much of our old birthrights to see what we have right in front of us! We've lost our old race Vegeta... let's not lose this one, too!"

- Goku towards Vegeta

Through a crystal globe, Goku watches the fight between Super Saiyan 3 Gotenks and Super Buu with much anticipation, amazed that the two boys who, alone, could only access the Super Saiyan state were able to achieve Super Saiyan 3 so quickly when fused. As Gotenks is about to finish Super Buu after a lengthy battle, he reverts to his base form and quickly defuses. Gohan (after having his hidden power released) then arrives, effortlessly thrashing Buu with his newfound powers, but Super Buu escapes by self-destructing until Goten and Trunks can fuse again an hour later, and he then absorbs Gotenks and Piccolo, gaining the upper hand.

When Gohan fails due to Super Buu's stolen powers, Old Kai gives his life to Goku so that he may return to Earth to help Gohan. He is also given the Potara Earrings so that he can fuse with Gohan, creating an unmatched warrior that the Kai said would easily murder Buu without even the need to transform. He arrives, much to the surprise of Gohan and Super Buu, and tosses the earring to Gohan. Gohan misses for the grab, and Goku tells Gohan to hurry and find the earring. He stalls Super Buu, fighting as a Super Saiyan 3. After the fight, Gotenks defuses inside Super Buu, and his power drops to almost 1/3 of his original power. Goku states that he is not much of a threat anymore, and realizes that they can beat Super Buu easily. However, Gohan is absorbed when Super Buu catches him off-guard. At this moment of despair, the newly resurrected Vegeta appears, and after Goku teleports there and convinces his stubborn rival, two of the most powerful remaining Saiyans fuse to become Vegito, the strongest fighter in the Dragon Ball Z series.

Vegito then easily thrashes Super Buu, even with Gohan absorbed. Super Buu tries every technique and attack he has got against the fused Saiyans, but Vegito manages to dodge by all of them without much trouble. After a lengthy fight, the mighty Vegito wins easily. However, supposedly due to Vegeta's arrogance in not simply finishing Buu off, Vegito is eventually absorbed by Super Buu, with a Saiyan Shield protecting him. However, it is later revealed that he chose to be absorbed on purpose because he wanted to rescue his friends and family before killing Super Buu.

Inside Buu, Vegito automatically separates into the two Saiyans due to the properties of Super Buu's digestive system. After traveling through Super Buu's body, Goku and Vegeta reach Super Buu's brain where they find Gohan, Trunks, Goten, and Piccolo, unconscious but still alive. After freeing them and having to fight Super Buu inside his own body (a fight which Goku and Vegeta can not win, which Goku clearly states even before meeting him. Since it is Super Buu's mind, he can keep regenerating his mental self repeatedly), so Vegeta decides to remove the unconscious Fat Buu, from Super Buu. Despite pleas from Super Buu, Vegeta pulls the Fat Buu free and Super Buu undergoes another transformation. Goku and Vegeta then escape from Super Buu's body with the newly rescued Z Fighters. Super Buu then transformed back to his original form - Kid Buu.

The Final Battle
"Majin Buu is so much stronger than anyone I've ever faced before... but I know there's still a way to win!"

- Goku after saving Vegeta

Outside, Goku rescues Mr. Satan, his dog Bee, and Dende, but fails in saving Gohan, Goten, Trunks, and Piccolo before the newly transformed Kid Buu destroys the Earth in an extreme show of power (Vegeta previously stopped him from doing this with a much smaller blast that could still take out the planet, but he then charged a huge ball they couldn't deflect in response). Kibito Kai teleports in and saves Vegeta, Goku, Dende, and Mr. Satan by bringing them to the Sacred World of the Kais. After regenerating, Kid Buu sets out to find Goku and Vegeta by copying Kibito Kai's instantaneous movement technique (in the manga original, he teleports to Goku's location instantly).

When Kid Buu finds them, Vegeta and Goku have a Rock-Paper-Scissors match to see who fights first. Goku wins and fights Buu. In the Anime, he starts the fight as a Super Saiyan 2, but eventually transforms into Super Saiyan 3. When he is a Super Saiyan 3, he fights evenly with Kid Buu for a short time, taking the advantage often. However, Goku had failed to account for the strain that fighting in a living body would have on him, and soon becomes exhausted. He attempts to gather up his strength while Vegeta distracts Buu in his Super Saiyan 2 form (getting mercilessly beaten in the process), but his Super Saiyan 3 transformation drains him of his energy reserves and he soon loses the ability to maintain the form. At Vegeta's suggestion, Goku begins gathering energy for a Super Spirit Bomb that would employ all the available energies of the Earth and its occupants (he does this to have the Earth "save itself for once").

Using King Kai's telepathy, Vegeta speaks to the newly revived people of Earth and begs for everyone to donate power to Goku's Spirit Bomb, which they are hesitant to do. Everyone on New Namek and the Other World give energy for the Super Spirit Bomb and possibly many other planets as well, along with Goku's close friends. Meanwhile, Fat Majin Buu, while trying to hold off Kid Buu, falls in battle leaving a battered Vegeta to protect Goku while he forms the Super Spirit Bomb. Eventually, Mr. Satan finally convinces everyone on the newly regenerated Earth to give Goku all the energy he needs to destroy Kid Buu once and for all. With the contribution of power from Earth, Goku launches the Super Spirit Bomb. But as impossible as it seems, Kid Buu actually stops the Spirit Bomb and slowly begins to push it back at Goku. Vegeta realizes Goku used the rest of his power to gather and form the bomb and has nothing left to defeat Buu.

Using the last wish from the Namekian Dragon (the first two were spent restoring Earth to its normal condition and then reviving all those who died since Babidi's arrival except the evil ones), Dende wishes for Goku's full power to be restored. With his power restored, Goku powers up the Super Spirit Bomb even more, transforms into a Super Saiyan, and stops Kid Buu's forward progress and the Super Spirit Bomb comes back to Kid Buu. After several moments reflecting over the events that led to this moment, Goku makes one last wish to himself, that Kid Buu be reborn as a good being so they can fight again one day. With the blessing of Earth's residents, Goku destroys Kid Buu.

With the passing of ten years, at age 46 (physically 38), Goku kept training despite the fact that Earth was at peace, He trains with his youngest son Goten during the ten year time period, between the Kid Buu Saga and the 28th Martial Arts Tournament. When the Tournament comes around and Goku forces Goten to cancel his date to enter, Goten shows disdain toward Goku's ruling. During the 28th World Martial Arts Tournament, Goku battles Majin Buu's reincarnation, Uub, who was born after King Yemma heard his request made 10 years ago. However, Uub was experiencing an extreme bout of Stage Fright, so Goku was forced to make several insults towards his family and obscene gestures to try and get him angry enough to fight and overcome his fear.

After a short, yet intense battle, Goku apologizes and explains to Uub that his insults were simply meant to coax him into using his true power. Goku then takes Uub to train him to one day help in being the protector of the planet, although he later tells Uub that after the training, he desires to fight him again not only to discover the strongest out of the two, but the strongest in the entire universe. Then they fly off in the distance, ending the series, and in the Kanzenban manga, giving his new disciple his old Nimbus Cloud.

Search for the Black Star Dragon Balls
In Dragon Ball GT, at the age of 51 (physically 43; before the wish by Shenron turning him to a small child), Goku has finished training Uub, and they have just finished testing their abilities against one another in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber. Soon after, an accidental wish by Emperor Pilaf transforms Goku back into a child. This wish was made on the Black Star Dragon Balls. As a result, Goku must travel the galaxy and return them to Earth to prevent the planet from exploding from the negative energy created by the wish.

After leaving Earth in the spaceship designed by Bulma, a piece of the ship falls off and Goku, Trunks, and Pan are forced to crash land on the planet Imecka to get the parts needed to repair the ship. Groups of merchants swarm Goku and the others and they have to go to the gold star hotel to hide from the swarms of sellers. They then realize they are being charged every second for everything in the hotel including the lights. They escape without paying and stumble upon the house of an old couple and their children. They talk about Don Kee, the ruler of the planet, and how he mistreats his people. Just then, Don Kee's men come and repossess the old couple's house saying they where behind on payment. Goku suggests that they go and fight Don Kee, but the couple says that is impossible because of his grand army. On their way back to the ship Trunks drops the Dragon Radar and it is swallowed by a small robot named T-2006, nicknamed Giru, who says that he can't give the radar back to them because it is already integrated into his system.

Meanwhile, Goku notices the ship being dragged away by Don Kee's men. He tries to use Instant Transmission to teleport them to the ship, but after two failed attempts, he realizes that he can't use it with his small body. They are forced to travel to Don Kee's palace on foot to recover their ship. Pan decides that they will use a stealth operation to recover the ship and would only result to fighting as a last resort. After briefly sneaking around a large rock falls on Trunks' head and Giru starts making noises that alarm the guards. The guards open fire on Goku and the others and Pan says that they must fight now, so Goku agrees. Pan jumps in the carrying car while Goku moves the ship onto the car and Pan drives the ship out of the palace with Goku and Trunks. But while escaping, Don Kee's henchmen Gale and Sheila fire a ki blast at Goku who reflects it back with ease towards Ledgic, Don Kee's right hand man who recognizes them as Saiyans. Goku and the others escape but Trunks says they have to go back into town for more parts due to Pan's "reckless driving".

Once they reach the town, everyone hides and Trunks finds the three of them on Immecka's most wanted list. While running from Don Kee's soldiers, they fall into the house of a nice old couple who offer them food after realizing Goku and company mean no harm. They say that Don Kee made it a law that no one is allowed to own a ship so that no one would escape the planet including the old couple. Pan gets fed up and convinces Goku and Trunks to go face Don Kee head on. They turn themselves in to the police and get brought to the palace. Once there, Goku, Trunks and Pan incapacitate Gale, Sheila, and all of Don Kee's guards. Then Goku blasts his way into Don Kee's throne-room. Don Kee sicks Ledgic on the fighters after capturing Pan in an energy chamber. Ledgic says that he will fight Goku, but for his own satisfaction. After a short fight, Goku defeats Ledgic as a Super Saiyan and they take down Don Kee and make him give everyone free rent and give them back their ships free of charge. Plus Don Kee gives them the parts they need for free and they leave Immecka. They then land on an unnamed planet where everything is larger than life. Goku finds the Four Star Ball in the tooth of a giant and they go to the next planet.

On planet Gelbo, they find the Six-Star Dragon Ball in the hair of the princess of the village, Leena. Trunks asks for the ball but her fiancé Doma said that they were in a large problem already. The amphibian creature Zoonama was threatening the village with his power to create earthquakes and volcano eruptions by shaking his whiskers if they didn't give him a wife. Goku decides that he would help them out in exchange for the Dragon Ball and they agree. Pan comes up with the idea to disguise Goku as Leena but it doesn't work out, so Trunks poses as Leena instead. Zoonama comes and starts getting impatient waiting for Leena and threatens to shake his whiskers. Then Trunks arrives dressed as Leena and Zoonama takes him to his layer. Trunks gets Zoonama tipsy and Goku arrives with Pan and Doma. Doma slices off Zoonama's left whisker with a huge pair of scissors and as he cuts off the left one, Zoonama awakens in a drunken rage. He begins to wiggle his whiskers and an earthquake begins to come, but stops soon after while Zoonama continues to wiggle his whisker. Pan realizes that he can not cause earthquakes, he can only predict them. But now he is so tipsy that he did not realize that the quake was over. Suddenly a really big earthquake erupts and Goku and the others leave the cavern with Zoonama. Goku then stops the huge volcano with a Kamehameha, saving the city and winning the Dragon Ball. Just as they are leaving the planet, Bon Para, one of the mysterious Para Brothers, arrives and takes the ball from Pan's hands using his telekinesis. In shock, the three Z Fighters just watch as he leaves.

Goku then jumps in the ship with Pan and Trunks and they chase after the Para Brothers' spaceship. The brothers trick them onto the asteroid, Beehay, inhabited by huge bloodthirsty worm-like creatures called Mouma. The Para Brothers escape and fly to the planet Luud. They go to Cardinal Mutchy Mutchy, who tells them that they have failed and that Goku has another Dragon Ball on his ship that they failed to get and they must go retrieve it. They travel back to find Goku and the others and they get hypnotized by the Para Para Boogie until they are saved by the hungry Mouma after they wake up. Pan goes aboard the Para Brothers' ship to find the Dragon Ball that they stole. She accidentally activates the auto-pilot and is brought to Luud. There she is captured and turned into a doll for the evil lord, Dolltaki. Goku shows up with Trunks and kills Cardinal Mutchy Mutchy, who reveals that he is actually two parts the body and the whip transforms into Mutchie and fights Goku. Trunks finishes Mutchie off with the Brave Cannon and saves Goku from his whip arms. Then Dolltaki turns everyone except for Goku, himself, Trunks, and Pan into dolls and feeds them to the machine deity, Luud. Dolltaki then awakens Luud who takes him and Pan inside of his body to gain their energy. While Luud fights Goku and Trunks, Pan forces Dolltaki to tell her the weakness of the seemingly invincible Luud. Dolltaki reveals that Goku must strike the outside of Luud's mechanical heart while Pan strikes the inside at exactly the same time. After multiple tries, Goku finally succeeds and destroys Luud freeing all of the people including Pan who is turned back to normal. Goku then takes back his Dragon Ball and they leave the planet.

Battling Baby, the evil parasite
As our heroes arrive on the supposedly deserted planet M-2, they continue on their quest for the Black Star Dragon Balls. They find themselves caught in a trap by the planet's inhabitants, mutant robots, and that Giru was deceiving them all along. Pan manages to escape and later rescues Goku who does battle with the robotic group of commandos known as the Mega Canon Sigma Force and their leader General Rilldo. However, both he and Pan are captured again and taken to Dr. Myuu for studying. Giru has a change of heart though and manages to rescue the trio thanks to a clever plan by Trunks. It is then that we see Myuu's true creation, Baby, who breaks free from his containment after being revived, but stopped by Goku and the others. However, as a defeated and injured Dr. Myuu escapes, a piece of Baby's scattered remains jumps onto his skin, later busting out of Dr. Myuu and reforming into his original state. Baby, is in fact the last surviving Tuffle, the original inhabitants of Planet Vegeta (Planet Plant). Baby is a machine mutant who was created by Dr. Myuu; however, Baby states that he is Dr. Myuu's master, and that Dr. Myuu was designed to revive him.

Goku, Trunks, and Pan arrive on Earth to return the Black Star Dragon Balls, but soon discover that Baby has infected the population with mind-controlling eggs and chosen Vegeta as his new host. After a short fight with Baby, Goku discovers that he can not sustain Super Saiyan 3 while still being a child. After being pummeled by Baby Vegeta, Goku is weak and defenseless. During this fight, however, Goku learns of Baby's one weakness; he is sensitive to taunts, and easily angered. Meanwhile, Baby uses the Revenge Death Ball to finish off Goku, but Kibito Kai arrives just as the bomb strikes to save Goku and bring him to the Sacred World of the Kais.

There, Old Kai hatches a plan to "solve Goku's energy problem" by re-growing Goku's tail. Progress is slow at first, but Goku has an idea about how to accelerate the process. After a very painful procedure where the tail is pulled out by a pair of pliers, Goku returns to the Tuffle planet (where most of Earth's residents had migrated to) to confront Baby.

During the long and hard battle with Baby Vegeta, Goku is able to sustain his Super Saiyan 3 form, but is still unable to win. As he lies on the ground, defenseless, he gazes at Earth and realizes he has failed it. But instead of dying, looking at the Earth causes Goku to transform into the form of a Golden Great Ape. With Pan's help, Goku is able to regain control of himself and become a Super Saiyan 4.

Baby is no match against a Super Saiyan 4. In desperation, Bulma (who's under Baby's control) uses a Blutz Wave Generator that causes Baby Vegeta to transform into a Golden Great Ape. Although Goku outclasses Baby in terms of speed, he is slowly worn down by Baby's power. Just as Old Kai loses all hope of Goku succeeding, Supreme Kai removes Gohan, Goten, and Trunks from Baby's control using the Sacred Water from Kami's Lookout. After realizing that they cannot help by fighting the ape, they channel some of their energy to Goku. Goku eventually succeeds in defeating Baby Vegeta and leaves him defenseless. In desperation, Baby leaves Vegeta's body and tries to escape from Planet Tuffle, but Goku uses his Kamehameha attack to destroy Baby and blast his remains into the sun.

Super 17, the Ultimate Android
Goku is still a kid and fights in the world martial arts tournament, having to fight in the junior division with Mr. Satan saying there is a height requirement. In the finals, his opponent wins by tickling Goku while he is talking to Vegeta, resulting in Goku falling out of the ring. Goku and his friends are at home eating until a badly beaten up Trunks arrives, saying he encountered Android 17, who told him to tell Goku to go to Hell to set things straight.

Goku leaves for Hell, where he meets Dr. Myuu and Dr. Gero, who leave, making Goku very frustrated with no way out, until two of his most fierce enemies of the past drop by, Cell and Frieza. Goku manages to deal with both of them in his normal state. Realizing Goku's power, Cell forces out his tail and absorbs Goku. This only lasts for about ten seconds, since Goku finds his way out of Cell's body. After a fight between Goku, Cell and Frieza, they show Goku a new technique that they learned in Hell: creating a tornado type spin throwing Goku down to the deepest part of Hell. While there, a strange, old lady demonstrates various tortures which evidently ends by freezing Goku in a block of ice.

Meanwhile, Cell and Frieza wait to use a finishing move on Goku. Goku's end seems to have arrived until everyone realizes that the finishing move does not work on the living. Despite being frozen, Goku manages to hear their conversation. In his retaliation, he breaks free, attempts the freezing technique on Cell and Frieza, and successfully freezes them, but accidentally shatters them.

Still trapped in hell, Goku tries to find a way to get out. He asks King Yemma to aid him, with King Yemma responding that he does not know how to get Goku out. Piccolo contacts King Yemma and asks him to transport him to Goku. Believing the plan is ludicrous, King Yemma refuses, leaving Piccolo to destroy significant portions of Heaven as a means to convince him. King Yemma eventually follows through with Piccolo's idea and transports him directly to Goku where he, with Dende's help, open a gate between Hell and Earth to allow Goku to escape Hell. Successfully escaping, Goku immediately leaves for the battlefield.

Goku fights the newly-fused Super 17 after reaching the battlefield. With the help of Android 18, vengeful towards Android 17 for Krillin's death, Goku is able to defeat Super 17 with the use of the Super Dragon Fist through the android's stomach and chest. This attack presumably destroys Android 17's Energy Absorption devices. Goku then finishes off the android with a Kamehameha through the wounded Super 17's stomach, causing him to explode.

The evil Shadow Dragons
When the dragon, Shenron, is summoned to revive those killed by Super 17, the Dragon Balls crack, and a different, cigar-smoking dragon appears in his place. This Black Smoke Shenron promptly splits into seven Shadow Dragons, each with a cracked Dragon Ball in its body. Goku and his companions fight valiantly to defeat these new dragons. However, after six of the seven are defeated (Naturon, Rage, Haze, Oceanus, Eis, and Nova) in a series of many struggles, the One-Star Dragon, Syn Shenron, absorbs the other Dragon Balls into himself, forming Omega Shenron. After Goku and Vegeta (now a Super Saiyan 4) fail to defeat him, they fuse, creating Super Saiyan 4 Gogeta. However, the fused warrior does not finish off the evil Shadow Dragon before the fusion wears off. After being presumably killed by Omega's Negative Karma Ball, Goku asks the people of the planet Earth to send him their energy. The collected energy is not enough to defeat Omega Shenron, so Goku asks King Kai to help him. Energy from all over the universe is collectd, creating a Universal Spirit Bomb. The Spirit Bomb is successful in destroying Omega Shenron.

The people of Earth witness this and finally realize Goku is a hero. Afterwards, the real Shenron appears once again, saying that no more wishes will be granted for a long time. After convincing Shenron to grant one last wish and asking that all the people who were killed by Super 17 and the Shadow Dragons be revived, Goku decides to accompany the dragon and train with him. Before leaving, Goku tells Vegeta that the lives of everyone are now in his hands, passing the role of protector of the Earth and anyone in need of help, to Vegeta. Goku also visits Krillin, who has recently been revived by the last wish, and the two of them have one last fight before Goku flies off with Shenron.

A century later, as an aged Pan watches the World Martial Arts Tournament, she catches a glimpse of a familiar face in the stands: her grandfather, Goku (now grown up once again, and without his tail). When she tries to follow him, however, he disappears. Goku is then seen flying into the air, grabbing onto his Power Pole, calling for the Flying Nimbus and finally flies off into the distance while yelling, "Till we meet again guys!"



Guiding A New Generation
In this special, Goku Jr. wants to cure his grandmother Pan with the Four-Star Dragon Ball. When he found the Dragon Ball, nothing happens and he gets angry and upset. Then Goku appears and explains how to use the Dragon Balls, that all seven are needed to get your wish. Then a helicopter with Pan and Puck appears and Goku disappears again.

When Goku disappears, he tells Goku Jr. that it was his courage and bravery that caused his grandmother Pan and his friend Puck to be alive and safe. After that, Goku tells Goku Jr. to keep and treasure the Four Star Dragon Ball as a memory of him and tells him that he is proud of him and wishes him good luck for his future and a farewell to his great-great-grandson.

Dragon Ball Movies
Goku appears in all of the Dragon Ball movies:
 * Dragon Ball: Curse of the Blood Rubies
 * Dragon Ball: Sleeping Princess in Devil's Castle
 * Dragon Ball: Mystical Adventure
 * Dragon Ball: The Path to Power

Educational films
Goku appears in the two educational Dragon Ball films, "Goku's Traffic Safety" and "Goku's Fire Brigade", two films about teaching children how to stay safe that only aired in Japan.

Dragon Ball Z Movies
Goku appears in all the Dragon Ball Z movies; although in Bojack Unbound, Broly - Second Coming and Bio-Broly he only makes brief cameos.

Dead Zone
"Those fancy moves won't work on me!"

- Goku while fighting Ginger, Nikki, and Sansho.

Four years after the defeat of Piccolo Jr. in the 23rd World Martial Arts Tournament, Garlic Jr. and his henchmen kidnap Gohan in order to get the Dragon Ball he wears on his hat. Garlic Jr. uses this and the rest of the Dragon Balls to successfully wish for immortality. Goku, Kami, Piccolo and Krillin go to Garlic Jr.'s fortress in order to stop him. Goku and Piccolo team up for the first time, and are able to stop Garlic Jr. Thinking Garlic defeated, they start to fight with each other, in order to settle their old score. In the middle of their duel, Garlic Jr. comes back and opens a portal to the Dead Zone, trying to suck everybody in. Gohan gets angry at seeing Goku in danger, and, unconsciously taking out his power, he pushes Garlic Jr. into the Dead Zone, sealing him inside.

The World's Strongest
"You're going down, no matter how long it takes me!"

- Goku toward Dr. Wheelo.

After learning that Dr. Wheelo has captured Bulma and Master Roshi, thinking Roshi is the strongest warrior in the world, Goku goes to Dr. Wheelo's icy fortress to save them. Goku overcomes several of the fortress defenses and Dr. Wheelo's Bio-Warriors, with some help from Gohan and Krillin. After fighting and freeing a brainwashed Piccolo, Goku and his allies fight Dr. Wheelo himself, who has only his brain left, and attacks from a giant robot. After a long fight, Goku is able to destroy Dr. Wheelo using the Spirit Bomb.

The Tree of Might
"Keep on dreaming! Cause that'll never happen with me around!"

- Goku toward Turles.

In this movie, Goku and his comrades confront Turles, a surviving Saiyan who comes to Earth in order to plant the Tree of Might and get its powerful fruit. Goku and the Z Fighters, seeing the destruction that the giant Tree was bringing, attack Turles and his men. Though most of the Z Fighters are defeated, Goku is able to best all of the henchmen. Turles is far stronger, but Goku gives a fair fight using the Kaio-ken. However, after Turles eats the fruit from the Tree, Goku starts to lose his ground. Once again using his Spirit Bomb, taking its force from the Tree of Might while the Z Fighters divert Turles, Goku is finally able to destroy both Turles and the Tree.

Lord Slug
"Gosh, what now? None of my techniques are working on this guy. He's two steps ahead of everything I do. He's picking me apart..."

- Goku during his battle with Lord Slug.

Lord Slug, a very old Namekian that travels from planet to planet with his army, arrives to Earth in his asteroid, in order to make Earth his new temporary home. Lord Slug starts terraforming Earth to his liking, and learns and gathers the Dragon Balls in order to recover his youth. Goku, Gohan and Piccolo take on Slug's soldiers and defeat them. The final battle against Slug is left in the hands of Goku, and Slug starts taking the upper hand using the Power of Darkness. However, an angry Goku transforms into a False Super Saiyan, allowing him to thrash Slug around. Slug transforms into a giant version of himself to outclass Goku, but thanks to Piccolo's help, Slug is subdued by his weakness: his extremely sensitive hearing. While Slug is distracted, Piccolo gives what little strength remained in him to Goku. Thanks to Piccolo, Goku is able to use the Kaio-ken, and defeat Slug, finally destroying both Lord Slug and his terraforming generator with a Spirit Bomb hit.

Cooler's Revenge
"You're as twisted inside as your brother! Full of hatred. Well, no more! You've dug your own grave."

- Goku toward Cooler after the former was unaffected by a punch from Salza.

In this movie, Cooler, Frieza's brother, comes to earth with his troops in order to avenge his brother by defeating Goku. They arrive to Earth and attack Goku while he was camping with his friends. When Goku tries to protect Gohan from an attack from Cooler, he is seriously injured. Gohan takes him to hide in a cave, and goes to get Senzu Beans to help him recover, while Cooler's troops try to find Goku. On his way back, he is attacked by Cooler's henchmen, but Piccolo stalls them long enough to let Gohan get a bean to Goku. Goku then fights Cooler, who transforms into his fifth form and gets the upper hand. But Goku turns into a Super Saiyan, and is able to destroy Cooler by pushing his Supernova attack back with a Kamehameha Wave, which sends Cooler to the sun.

Return of Cooler
"You can laugh if you want, but you're not exactly in a position to defend yourself, are you? I don't see any of your Meta-Coolers coming to help you this time."

- Goku toward the real Cooler in the Big Gete Star.

Sensing that New Namek is in danger, Goku and his friends travel there in a spaceship in order to help their Namekian friends. After getting there, they discover that Cooler was saved by the Big Gete Star from his destruction, and is now back as a machine, leading an army of robots that have enslaved the Namekians. Goku tries to fight Meta-Cooler but he is no match for Cooler's new powers; the Cyclopian Guards manage to defeat and capture Goku's friends. Not even after turning Super Saiyan, and getting Vegeta's help as a Super Saiyan too, are they able to stop Meta-Cooler; on the contrary, thousands of copies of Cooler appear, knock down and capture the two Saiyans. Cooler then tries to steal the Saiyan's energy to give more power to the Big Gete Star, but Goku and Vegeta are able to overload it by sending all of their energy at once. They thus destroy the Big Gete Star and the robot army, and Goku and Vegeta manage to blast the last remains of Cooler.

Super Android 13!
"I don't care what you're called, taking other people's lives is wrong. And I won't stand for it!"

- Goku to Android 13

In this movie, while Goku is in the city shopping with Chi-Chi and Gohan, they are suddenly attacked by two androids, Android 14 and Android 15, whose only goal is to destroy Goku. They move out of the city to fight, and Android 13 joins the battle. Future Trunks and Vegeta come to help Goku, and eventually destroy 14 and 15. Super Saiyan Goku is not able to defeat Android 13, and even as other Z Fighters join the fight, they can't stop 13 from turning into Super Android 13, by absorbing parts from Androids 14 and 15. Super Android 13 beats the Z Fighters, and Goku tries to create a Spirit Bomb to stop him. Wanting to get more energy, he turns Super Saiyan, which makes him accidentally absorb the Spirit Bomb. However, he is able to punch Super Android 13 and channel his energy to the attack, making the android explode.

Broly - The Legendary Super Saiyan
"Heh, Broly, you surprise me. So, I'd say you won the first round. But, now it's time for round two."

- Goku toward Broly.

Goku is in a suit to help Chi-Chi with getting Gohan in a school, when he is warned by King Kai about the appearance of the Legendary Super Saiyan. Goku teleports around the galaxy trying to focus on the Legendary Super Saiyan's ki, eventually arriving to New Planet Vegeta. There Goku met several of his friends, including Vegeta, who had been brought there by a Saiyan called Paragus who wanted Vegeta to be the king of a new Saiyan planet. However, they eventually discover that Paragus' son, Broly, is in fact the Legendary Super Saiyan. Broly breaks free of his father's control and attacks Goku and the Z Fighters, who are no match for him. It is revealed that an asteroid was approaching the planet, and that Paragus had tricked Vegeta to kill him, in order to avenge his grudge against Vegeta's father. All the beaten fighters give their energy to Goku, who is able to punch and defeat Broly. Goku escapes with his friends using Instant Transmission, just before the asteroid destroys the planet.

Bojack Unbound
"Gohan, the world is depending on you, Gohan. I believe in you, son. Unleash your true power. It's the only way."

- Goku coming to Gohan's aid against Bojack.

While a dead Goku is hanging around with King Kai in the Other World, the Z Fighters enter a tournament on Earth, which was hijacked by the alien mercenary Bojack. He had been freed from his imprisonment when Cell made King Kai's planet explode, thanks to Goku. The Z Fighters are unable to defeat Bojack and his band, and when Bojack starts to bear-hug Gohan to death, Goku teleports to Earth using Instant Transmission (something somehow against the rules of the dead), which allows him to appear briefly and punch Bojack away. Goku also tells Gohan to protect the Earth and unleash all the anger and power he had in him. Goku then vanishes back to the Other World. Not sure if he really saw his father, Gohan is nevertheless encouraged enough to release his power and defeat Bojack.

Plan to Eradicate the Saiyans
In this special, Goku and his friends go to investigate a gas called Destron which has been accumulating on Earth, and is slowly killing living beings. The gas is coming from four different points, but before splitting up to cover them all, Goku and the Z Fighters are attacked by some weird monsters. Goku discovers that the Destron gas is also preventing them from using Energy attacks. Goku goes to the Grand Apron, and destroys the generator there after defeating its guardians, and after rejoining with his friends, they destroy the last remaining generator in the Land of Ice. However, another one appears in the Western Capital, so the Z Fighters travel there to destroy it too. While there, they have to fight Ghost Warriors of Frieza, Cooler, Turles and Lord Slug, and eventually defeat them.

However, in order to destroy the generator, they have to travel to the Dark Planet and defeat Dr. Raichi. After several troubles, they are able to reach the Dark Planet, and discover that everything was a ploy from Dr. Raichi to avenge the Tuffles that were destroyed by the Saiyans years ago. Dr. Raichi releases his ultimate creation, Hatchiyack, and after a long fight, Goku and his friends defeat them. This destroys the last remaining generator on Earth.

Broly: Second Coming
"Gohan, concentrate! Look past your fear, Goten, you can do it! Are you willing to let Broly destroy the Earth?! We can end this now, but we must work together!"

- Goku encouraging Gohan and Goten to defeat Broly.

In this movie, Goku was wished to Earth in visible spirit form by Goten when he and Gohan were firing a Kamehameha at Broly but were losing. When Goku appeared he coached them and helped them with the Kamehameha. When they shot Broly into the sun Goku disappeared.

Bio-Broly
"Alright, I'm on my way, Broly. *stomach growls* What, you need more? I guess it wouldn't hurt to have another bite to eat. I can't fight on a half-empty stomach."

- Goku in his brief appearance at the end of the movie.

In this movie, Goku made a brief appearance in the last part where he is eating and saying that he and Pikkon have to go to hell and calm Broly down because he is on a rampage.

Fusion Reborn
"You act innocent, but you're deadly. It's over, Janemba."

- Goku after transforming into Super Saiyan 3.

In this movie, Goku was fighting with Pikkon in the Other World tournament ring when Janemba appeared and the barriers between dimensions were disrupted. Because Other World was no longer isolated from the physical plane, those who had died were able to walk amongst the living. Goku used Instant Transmission to go to King Yemma's check-in station with Pikkon and saw the first form of Janemba sitting on the station's roof. Eager to engage Janemba in battle, Goku gleefully left Pikkon behind to free Yemma (much to Pikkon's dismay). Goku was soon forced to use his Super Saiyan 3 form to combat Janemba's unique arsenal of techniques.

At Super Saiyan 3, Goku made quick work of Janemba, only to be outclassed when Janemba transformed into a smaller, fiercer demon. Vegeta soon arrived on the scene (no longer being confined to Hell due to the disruption in the dimensional barriers) and was persuaded by Goku to attempt the Fusion Dance. Their first attempt failed and produced a fat Veku. Due to sheer luck, they were able to survive against Janemba until the fusion expired. After regrouping, Goku and Vegeta were able to fuse properly while Pikkon distracted Janemba. Gogeta appeared as a Super Saiyan and destroyed Janemba with ease. Later, Goku and Vegeta are seen standing at the Blood Pond where Vegeta vanishes and goes back to Hell. Goku hopes that they can see each other again, but like in the series, Vegeta only tells him "we're never fusing again."

Wrath of the Dragon
"Look, I don't care what you are, this ends NOW!"

- Goku before engaging Hirudegarn with the Z Fighters

In this movie, Goku tries to open a magic music box that Gohan had gotten from Hoi but he can't open it, so they go and find the Dragonballs to summon Shenron. When Shenron opened the box, Tapion came out. Because Tapion was freed, the upper half of Hirudegarn was also freed. The lower half was already attacking the city, but Gohan was working on stopping him.

The next day Tapion went to Trunks' home and Bulma made him a house with the same material as the music box, so Tapion could sleep without worrying about Hirudegarn, but when Tapion went to sleep, Hirudegarn escaped and found his lower half, thus making him one monster again. When Goku, Gohan and Goten try to attack him, it does nothing because Hirudegarn is too fast. Later, Gotenks is formed and he gets Hirudegarn down, but it only made him transform and Hirudegarn knocks Gotenks out. When there was almost no hope left, Goku transformed into Super Saiyan 3 and started to fight Hirudegarn. When Trunks wanted to help Goku, he said that he wanted to handle Hirudegarn alone. Then he catches a few punches from Hirudegarn, and when Hirudegarn threw another punch, Goku simply jumped over it and fired the Dragon Fist at Hirudegarn, thus destroying him.

Yo! Son Goku and His Friends Return!!
In this special, Goku becomes a radish farmer (the name pun of his brother, Raditz). Goku and his family are invited by Mr. Satan to come to the opening of his hotel. At first, Goku is reluctant to go, but when he hears he may eat as much as he wants, he goes. When he gets to the hotel, he first has a little food competition with Vegeta, later when they are eating they feel the ki of two beings heading for earth, as a result Goku and the others go and check it out. They appear to be Gure and Tarble, the little brother of Vegeta, Tarble tells them two strong enemies and former servant's of Frieza are coming to Earth. Goku wants to fight them, but then the other fighters show that they want to fight too.

They then begin to argue until they agree to pick radishes; a game that declares the one with the longest radish as the winner, this is Trunks. When they go back to the hotel, Abo and Cado arrive. Goku tells Goten that he may help Trunks with his fight. Goten and Trunks defeat Abo and Cado, so Abo and Cado merge into Aka. Because of this, Goten and Trunks decide to fuse into Gotenks to even the match. After a short fight, Aka starts to overpower Gotenks with strong attacks. When Gotenks can't handle it anymore, Goku and Vegeta intervene after Aka launches a massive energy attack. Goku plays a "dirty trick" on Vegeta, so he can fight alone and then goes Super Saiyan to do a Kamehameha on the energy attack Aka launched. The Kamehameha dissipates Aka's energy blast. After that, Goku punches Aka in the gut, thus making Aka split up. Afterward, they resume the banquet they were having before the arrival of Gure and Tarble. This time with the addition of Abo and Cado eating Goku's radish. As they eat, Goku and Vegeta begin to argue and turn Super Saiyan. It ends with everyone happily watching the argument except for Chi-Chi and Bulma.

Kamehameha
Goku's signature move throughout the series. Goku first learns the move after witnessing Master Roshi use it to save the Ox-King and Chi-Chi's castle from an inferno (but only ends up destroying it, along with a nearby mountain). Throughout the remainder of Dragon Ball, Goku continues to master the Kamehameha and uses it in nearly every battle during Dragon Ball Z and Dragon Ball GT.

Kaio-ken
Goku learns this technique after his death against Raditz while training under King Kai. He uses this attack numerous times throughout early Dragon Ball Z up until his ascension to a Super Saiyan.

Spirit Bomb
Arguably Goku's most powerful technique, taught to him by King Kai during his training for the upcoming battle against Vegeta and Nappa. Goku uses the Spirit Bomb numerous times, most notably against Frieza and Kid Buu. It is only against the latter that the technique actually works in the manga storyline.



Instant Transmission
Goku learns this technique on the Planet Yardrat after his battle with Frieza. This technique allows him to teleport to any location so long as he can find an energy source to home onto. He uses this technique frequently throughout the series, one of his most valuable abilities.

Dragon Fist
Goku uses this technique on Hirudegarn to finish him off in the 13th Movie. He also uses this in GT against Super Android 17 as well as Eis Shenron and Omega Shenron before the latter regenerated.

Great Ape
Like all Saiyans, Goku can transform into a Great Ape (Oozaru) when he sees the full moon while he possesses his tail, though every time it wasn't at will. Because this tail was removed permanently in the main series by Kami when restoring the moon, this transformation was never taken by Goku again until GT (in which it is shown very briefly before the full transition into Golden Great Ape), making it his least used Saiyan transformation.

False Super Saiyan
During the movie Dragon Ball Z: Lord Slug, Goku achieved this form in an attempt to defeat Lord Slug. Through rage of being beat down, Goku unleashed a huge amount of aura and became a false-like Super Saiyan, which gave him more speed and strength for a few seconds enough to thrash Lord Slug. In this form, he looks similar to his Kaio-ken form, but he becomes bulkier, except his eyes are whited out like Broly's, and his hair stands up and gains a red tint.

Super Saiyan
Goku uses his new power to defeat Frieza, the antagonist of the series at the time. Frieza had destroyed the Saiyans out of his fear of their growing power, and the idea of a possible "Super Saiyan". As a result of defeating Frieza, Goku avenges the Saiyan race, and the death of his best friend Krillin, but it is Trunks who kills the tyrant for good in the main timeline (Goku did the honors in Trunks' own time, in which the time traveler obviously never appeared to warn the Z fighters of their impending doom).

Ascended Super Saiyan
After having witnessed Vegeta and Trunks emerging from the Hyperbolic Time Chamber (Room of Spirit and Time), Goku concludes that surpassing the normal Super Saiyan form may be more possible than initially suspected, and enters the room to train himself and Gohan. After teaching Gohan to become a Super Saiyan, Goku is able to achieve this form alongside the further extreme of the form known as Ultra Super Saiyan. However, although this new powerup would not take as much of a heavy hit on his speed as the successor would, he decides that staying transformed like this demands far too much ki to be spent, and so decides that the regular Super Saiyan form is the best suited for combat, and makes a plan for him and Gohan to master it before they leave the chamber. As a result, after under 20 hours spent in the room (Vegeta and Trunks had spent a whole day each, and would spend another prior to the Cell Games), he and Gohan emerge as Full Power Super Saiyans. As a result of this and the new discovery of the most powerful Super Saiyan state at the time, Super Saiyan 2, this form is never used by Goku again, and Vegeta and Trunks soon follow.

Ultra Super Saiyan
Like the Ascended Super Saiyan form, Goku achieves this form in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber while training with Gohan. Although apparently stronger than Cell in this state, Goku told Gohan he could not defeat him because Cell was much faster, because "all the power in the world would do no good if you can't even hit the guy." Instead of persevering harder to simply increase power output, Goku decides that simply mastering the Super Saiyan form to suppress its downsides and make it a natural state is the best way to fight and gain power. This form is never used after its initial unlocking along with Ascended Super Saiyan, as a result.

Full-Power Super Saiyan
After realizing the weaknesses inherent to the higher grades of Super Saiyan, Goku concluded that mastery over the basic Super Saiyan form would be more advantageous and went on to improve his endurance in that form, thus achieving this state.

Super Saiyan 2
Although it is unknown when exactly Goku achieved this state of Super Saiyan, it is assumed Goku achieved this transformation in the Other World where he could put unlimited energy into his transformation. It was first seen when fighting Majin Vegeta's own Super Saiyan 2 form in their epic battle during the Majin Buu saga. Goku later transforms into this state before showing the Super Saiyan 3 transformation to Majin Buu and Babidi, and again in an anime filler where he begins to fight Kid Buu.

Goku uses the form during the movies Dragon Ball Z: Fusion Reborn and Dragon Ball Z: Wrath of the Dragon. In Dragon Ball GT, he can be seen briefly transforming into a Super Saiyan 2 before he transforms into a Super Saiyan 3 during his second fight with Super Baby Vegeta.

When Goku transforms into a Super Saiyan 2 he has some noticeable changes, such as his hair growing longer and becoming even more spikier, making his hair more defined than his other previous Super Saiyan forms, along with disappearing hair strands surrounding the forehead which are exclusive to this form, like Gohan (but in a different way; for reference, see the picture). He also gains electricity in his aura surrounding his body, and his aura grows markedly larger and more vibrant in both the anime and manga.

Super Saiyan 3
Goku achieved this level in Other World as he could put unlimited energy into his transformation. Goku is first seen using this transformation against Majin Buu during the Majin Buu Saga. Once in this form, Goku was able to easily overpower Majin Buu in his first form and stood up to Kid Buu for fair amount of time. However, the transformation is extremely draining in terms of energy, as it cut Goku's time left on Earth from hours to a stated thirty minutes after performing the transformation for a short time. When attempting to gather enough ki to defeat Kid Buu during their final battle, he was unable to sustain it as he had not taken into account the strain overcoming his living body, and soon reverted back to his base state. Altogether, these heavy disadvantages make it impractical to use the transformation out of the afterlife.

Kid (GT)
Emperor Pilaf unintentionally wishes Goku back into a child in the beginning of Dragon Ball GT. In this form, it is harder for Goku to maintain more powerful forms, such as Super Saiyan 3. While a child he was able to get his tail back, with the help of Old Kai, which not only allowed for easier access to the third Super Saiyan form, but eventually permitted him to transform into Golden Great Ape and Super Saiyan 4. At the end of the GT series, Goku is again seen as an adult without a tail, though in one of the endings to the show, he is seen with a tail in adult form facing the rest of the cast.

Super Saiyan (Kid)
After being wished into his childhood form, Goku can still transform into a Super Saiyan. However, he is unable to maintain the form for as long as he can in his adult body (in much the same way that he lost the ability to perform the Instant Transmission technique when being downsized), though for far longer than his Super Saiyan 3 form.

Super Saiyan 3 (Kid)
After being wished back into his childhood form, Goku is still able to transform into a Super Saiyan 3. However, he is only able to maintain the form for a few minutes, even with the Saiyan Tail assisting him in conserving his energy reserves. This form is not enough to defeat Baby Vegeta, so Goku is forced to recruit help from Old Kai, which leads to his Golden Great Ape transformation. Because Goku gains the ability to access the Super Saiyan 4 transformation soon afterwards, this transformation is never again used.

Golden Great Ape
Goku achieved this form in Dragon Ball GT after Old Kai helped Goku to grow back his tail which allowed him to once again transform into a Great Ape. When he looked at the earth in the Baby Saga, its sufficient substitute Blutz waves allowed him to take this form, a combination of the Super Saiyan state and the classic Great Ape transformation. Upon regaining control, he later transformed into Super Saiyan 4, his strongest form yet.

Super Saiyan 4
This form is achieved by Goku after achieving the Golden Great Ape state and being calmed down by Pan. The overwhelming power of this transformation is apparently great enough to overcome the Black Star Dragon Balls' power making Goku's transformation into a child by Red Shenron. The spell is only dispersed during the transformation, however. In addition to him being turned back into an adult temporarily, Goku's overall appearance changes yet again. His tail is easily visible, the hair is longer than when in his normal state (not nearly as long as a Super Saiyan 3, though), his eyes become lined (much like Vegeta's did when he was a Majin in the Majin Buu Saga), his eye color is now golden yellow, and red fur covers almost all of his body from head to toe. His clothes change from his childhood garb, leaving him only dressed below the waist (excluding his armbands). As a Super Saiyan 4, Goku is able to easily surpass all but the most powerful enemies in the final parts of Dragon Ball GT. But at the end of the last episode of Dragon Ball GT, his tail disappears again, and it is unknown if he could ever transform to this state from then on. Other than the fusion with Vegeta (SS4 Gogeta), this is Goku's most powerful transformation.

Vegito
Vegito is the product of a Potara Fusion between Vegeta and Goku with unrivaled power. Vegito is the most powerful being in Dragon Ball Z and is created as a desperate plan by Old Kai to stop the powerful Super Buu. It has been theorized that Vegito could easily attain the form of Super Saiyan 2 as well as Super Saiyan 3. However, neither was necessary to finish his task of killing Buu, as his Super Saiyan state alone berthed enough in battle that he single-handedly pummeled Buu blithely without even needing to use his fists or any effort. It was obvious he had the physical power to maintain such feats, but he only appeared for a short time before his strategy to deliberately be absorbed into Buu's body (whilst keeping a barrier on to avoid being assimilated into his being) resulted in his diffusion, after which Vegeta crushed his earring, vowing to never fuse with Goku again regardless of the circumstances. Goku follows suit reluctantly, and as a result, despite Old Kai's offer for the two to merge into Vegito again and take care of Kid Buu in a flash, the two decide to fight alone, and Vegito is never again seen.

Goku's relaxation, and Vegeta's strategic mind enabled Vegito to be quite an intelligent fighter without being overcome by arrogance as Vegeta alone would be but possessing the ruthlessness to kill Super Buu that Goku would lack. In addition, Vegito also possesses the immense power and speed of both Goku and Vegeta amplified to great degrees, as well as the tactics and skill of both. He is very similar to Gogeta, who is another fusion of Goku and Vegeta.

Gogeta
Gogeta is one of the most powerful characters introduced in the series. Like Vegito, Gogeta was an act of desperation, though this one was to stop the powerful demon of the 12th Dragon Ball Z movie, Janemba, rather than Majin Buu. Gogeta annihilated Janemba with hardly any effort, disposing of the demon in seconds. He derives his strategic battle tactics and skill from Vegeta, and his massive power and energy potential from Goku. However, due to his extraordinary power, the fusion will only last for 10 minutes (so far only confirmed for his Super Saiyan 4 form), as opposed to the usual 30 minutes, though this has been proven ample time to defeat almost any foe many times over.

Gokule
Gokule is the fusion of Goku and Mr. Satan (Hercule) formed by the Potara earrings. He only appeared in Goku's imagination and as a playable character in Dragon Ball Z: Budokai 2. After Goku returns to life and Earth, he finds Gohan to be the only remaining strong fighter to fuse with. But when Goku threw the Potara earring to Gohan, Gohan dropped it and when he finally found it he was absorbed by Super Buu. As the only two beings that were still alive are Mr. Satan and Dende, he imaged what the fusion would look like and which of the two would be better. He chose Hercule, because Hercule had more fighting experience and might make Goku a little stronger. In addition, fusing with Dende would make the Dragon Balls of Earth disappear. Just at the moment Goku said that Hercule should catch the earring and put it on his left ear, Vegeta appeared and Goku used Instant Transmission to find Vegeta and fuse, forming Vegito. This being the case, Gokule was only a hypothetical character in the anime, and is only seen as Goku's mental image of what the fusion would look like.

Hypothetical fusion with Dende
After Goku returns to life and Earth, he finds Gohan to be the only remaining strong fighter to fuse with. But when Goku threw the Potara earring to Gohan, Gohan dropped it and when he finally found it he was absorbed by Buu. As the only two beings that were still alive are Mr. Satan and Dende, he imagined what the fusion would look like and which of the two would be better. He chose Mr. Satan, because if he fused with Dende the Dragon Balls would cease to exist. Just at the moment Goku said that Mr. Satan should catch the earring and put it on his left ear, Vegeta appeared and Goku used Instant Transmission to find Vegeta and fuse, forming Vegito. This being the case, the fusion with Dende was only a hypothetical character in the anime, and is only seen as Goku's mental image of what the fusion would look like.

Dr. Slump & Neko Majin
Goku appears as a kid in the remake TV series of Dr. Slump. Arale helps him fighting General Blue and Ninja Murasaki. He also transforms into a Great Ape during the series. Kid Goku even appear in the video game Dr. Slump: Arale-Chan. Goku also makes a minor appearance as an adult in the movie ''Dr. Slump and Arale-chan: N-cha! Love Comes From Penguin Village'', where he is seen fighting Bojack in the background.

Goku makes an appearance in the last chapter of Neko Majin, which takes place during the time period between Dragon Ball Z and Dragon Ball GT. He is searching for the Majin cat, Neko Majin Z, to help him fight an enemy that neither him, Ox-King, Chi-Chi, Goten, Pan or Uub can beat: a rodent.

Live-action movies
Goku's first appearance in a live action film was in the Korean Dragon Ball film released in 1990.

He appears as the main protagonist in the Chinese film Dragon Ball: The Magic Begins under the name of Monkey Boy portrayed by Charles Chen.

Goku is the main protagonist in the 2009 American live-action movie Dragonball Evolution directed by James Wong. The character is portrayed by actor Justin Chatwin. Chatwin did not wear a wig as it is felt his hair already resembled Goku's. In the movie he carries out his grandfathers wishes and seeks out Master Roshi for training and he attempts to collect all the Dragon Balls before Piccolo. Along the way he befriends Yamcha and Bulma. Justin Chatwin quoted "First of all, it's an honor to play Goku, because he is a very important and epic character. He is always seeing the positive side of things, does good things, and always tries to help and take care of the weak, not only pursuing his power. He is a dependable and loving man as well as a boy. So I like Goku. In preparation for the role, of course I read the original manga (all of it), in addition, I read [Journey to the West] a little, because Dragonball is based on [Journey to the West]. And during the break time of shooting, I got into Goku's character, telling jokes with other cast in search of the real communication which can be used in acting. This is the most interesting movie for me. Because I have never fought with anyone though, I trained martial arts and acrobat, and then we shot it. That's fun as well as challenging. Fighting with Eriko (Tamura), she punched me in the face, actually she intended to hit lightly, but... it was a clean hit (laugh) She said "I'm sorry!" and apologized to me, but thanks to her, we could shoot very powerful action scene. Through this work, I think I could learn a lot of things."

Goku also appears in the 2010 live action battle show Dragon Ball Kai: Super Battle Stage.

Video games
In video games, Goku appears in virtually every Dragon Ball licensed electronic game to date; see the list of video games where Goku is playable. He is also featured in various crossover games; he appears the Famicom games Famicom Jump: Hero Retsuden and Famicom Jump II: Saikyō no Shichinin, the DS games Jump Super Stars and Jump Ultimate Stars. He is featured in the Dragon Ball Z/One Piece/Naruto 2006 crossover game Battle Stadium D.O.N. In December 2007, Goku, along with Naruto Uzumaki and Luffy, would make guest appearances in avatar form in the MMORPG Second Life to promote "Jump Festa".

Goku was among a number of Dragon Ball characters to appear in the Dragon Ball Z "Terebikko" game Atsumare! Gokū Wārudo. This game was packaged as a VHS tape and a telephone peripheral used to input commands to Goku and friends when requested, telling a feature-length story involving time travel leading up to the Cell Games. Like the anime, Toei Animation was responsible for the footage, and as well each seiyū reprised the role of their characters.

In popular culture
Goku has often been deemed a positive role model for children throughout Japan. In June 1988, Goku and other Dragon Ball characters were featured in two PSA shorts. The first short was entitled "The Goku Traffic Safety" (悟空の交通安全, Gokū no Kōtsū Anzen) where Goku is taught the importance of obeying traffic safety by others. The second was called "Goku's Fire Brigade" (悟空の消防隊, Gokū no Shōbō-tai) where he teaches two children the importance of fire safety; this short is notable for featuring Goku as a volunteer fire-fighter.

Goku has made guest appearances in various Japanese television shows and manga. He is a recurring character in the anime remake of another series by Toriyama, Dr. Slump. In 1990, Goku (in anime form) made a surprise 2 min.30 appearance on "Yamada Katsute Nai Wink" (やまだかつてないWink, "Yamada Katsute Nai Wink"). Here, he uses the Dragon Balls to help J-Pop star and hostess Kuniko Yamada gain her abilities, including the ability to execute a Kamehameha, which she playfully uses on him. In 1993, Goku (with a halo) appeared accompanied by Maruko-chan (another manga character) in a promotional broadcast for Dragon Ball Z: Super Android 13! and Chibi Maruko-chan: My Favorite Song, which were released in Japan on July, 11th 1992, and December 19, 1992 respectively. In 2006, Goku, Vegeta, and Frieza would make a surprise appearance in a special issue of KochiKame. Here, Ryotsu Kankichi travels to Namek and issues Frieza a citation for parking his ship illegally. He would also meet Goku and Vegeta along the way. In 2005, Goku appears in the Toriyama parody manga Neko Majin, where he is the sensei of the main character, Neko Majin Z. He, with the other Dragon Ball characters, would team up with the cast of One Piece in a crossover manga titled Cross Epoch. Here, Goku is traveling nomad who meets up with Luffy and together fights the "Pilappaggy Villains Union" a gang featuring Emperor Pilaf and Buggy the Clown.

Goku can also be considered a regular commodity for Fuji TV. In 2003, Goku would appear in the interactive feature entitled Kyutai Panic Adventure! (球体パニックアドベンチャー!, Kyūtai Panikku Adobenchā!?; lit. "Orb Panic Adventure!"), which was featured exclusively at the Fuji TV headquarters. Here, Frieza attacks tourists by blasting the orb section free it from the rest of the Fuji TV building followed by a cannon attack by Arlong and his gang. It features teamups of Goku, Luffy, and Astro Boy. This was followed up with the 2004 Kyūtai Panic Adventure Returns! (球体パニックアドベンチャーリターンズ!, Kyūtai Panikku Adobenchā Ritānzu!?; lit. "Orb Panic Adventure Returns!"). Here, the evil Eneru appears and attack the head quarter's location in the aqua city of Odaiba. It features team ups with Goku, Luffy, and KochiKame's Ryotsu Kankichi. The feature is also known for Goku and Luffy's tag-team attack on Eneru, which fans have dubbed as the "Gom Gom Kamehameha".

On April 7, 2007, Goku appeared along with Fuji TV announcer Masaharu Miyake as commentators to an anime segment in Nippon Ijin Taishō · Saikyō no Ijin wa Dare? (日本偉人大賞・最強の偉人は誰？; lit. "Japan's Great Awards - Who is the Strongest Hero?"). The segment featured a special World Martial Arts Tournament that was to decide who was the greatest person in Japanese history. The fighters were Musashibo Benkei, Himiko, Prince Shotoku, and Amakusa Shiro. During the intermission, Goku managed to plugged the then soon be released copies of R2 releases of the Dragon Ball DVDs. The winner was Prince Shotoku, who defeated Benkei in the final.

Goku has often been the subject of various parodies over the years. On an episode of Operation!, Takeshi Castle, which is currently known as in the US as MXC, had an episode called family day. In that episode, the hosts Beat Takeshi and Sonomanma Higashi were dressed as popular anime characters one was Kid Goku and the other was Doremon. In the MXC dub of that episode, when asked who about his Goku costume, the host replied "Who, me? I'm dressed as a crack head!" The Shonen Jump's "Gag Special 2005" issue released on December 1, 2004 featured a Bobobo-bo Bo-bobo one-shot Dragon Ball parody manga. The manga was a humorous retelling of the battle between Goku and Vegeta in the Saiyan Saga. Jelly Jiggler was Goku and Don Patch was Vegeta. In the anime episode "Fire It Up! Abenobashi Hong Kong Combat Shopping Arcade" of Magical Shopping Arcade Abenobashi, character Sasshi Imamiya goes Super Saiyan much like Goku and fires a Kamehameha.

Reception
Goku's character was well received by publications for manga, anime and other media. Anime News Network noted Goku to be a good part of the comedy of the series and remarked that after all events that happen to him he is still the same naive character. THEM Anime Reviews noted him to be Goku is not the omnipowerful one in the first series unlike Dragon Ball Z, nor does he randomly disappear for long stretches of time between sagas. They also liked how the series tell all his adventures making him a good main character. Rationalmagic.com praised Goku's innocence as one of the funniest parts of the series. His journey and ever growing strength resulted in the character winning "the admiration of young boys everywhere".

Several pieces of merchandising based on Goku has also been released including action figures, plushes,  and keychains. In 2005, The Daily Reader printed an article entitled "The Greatest Geek Movie Heroes of All Time". Goku is the only animated character on the list, coming in nine places after the winner. Other manga artists, such as Naruto creator Masashi Kishimoto and One Piece creator Eiichiro Oda, have stated that Goku inspired their series' main protagonists. In 2000, Goku placed third in an Animax poll of favorite anime characters. In a survey conducted by Oricon in 2007 between 1,000 people, Goku ranked first place as the "Strongest Manga character of all time." In the survey "friendship" developed by rankingjapan.com in which people had to choose what anime character they would like to have as a friend, Goku ranked fifth. Masako Nozawa, the Japanese voice actor of Goku, has commented she liked when he lost his tail because that made him more normal but liked that the character was still the same in the end of the series. Jackie Chan has gone on record stating that Goku is his favorite Dragon Ball character.

IGN.com named Goku the number 1 anime character of all time in their list of the "Top 25 Anime Characters of All Time".

The disbanded German rock band "Son Goku" takes their name from Goku. The band's front man Thomas D specifically chose the name as Goku embodies the band's philosophy. Stating he was "fascinated by Goku's naïveté and cheerfulness, yet, at the same time, a great warrior saving the world".

Voice actors and actresses

 * Japanese seiyū: Masako Nozawa
 * English Harmony Gold dub: Barbara Goodson (child)
 * English Ocean Group dub: Saffron Henderson (child - DB episodes 1-13, DB movie 1), Ian James Corlett (adult - DBZ episodes 1-29 (41 uncut), DBZ movie 3), Peter Kelamis (adult - DBZ episodes 30-53 (42-67 uncut), 108-143, DBZ movies 1-3; child - DBZ flashbacks), Kirby Morrow (adult - DBZ episodes 144-291)
 * English dub of Dragon Ball GT: Final Bout: Steven Jay Blum (adult), Brianne Siddall (child)
 * English Funimation dub: Ceyli Delgadillo (child - DB movies 2-3), Sean Schemmel (adult), Stephanie Nadolny (child/baby - most media), Colleen Clinkenbeard (child/baby - DBZ Kai flashbacks, DB movie 1)
 * English Blue Water dub: Zoe Slusar (child), Jeffrey Watson (teen - DB), Jeremiah Yurk (adult - DBGT)
 * Spanish dub (Latin America): Laura Torres (child/baby), Mario Castañeda (adult - DB, DBZ, DBGT), Enrique Mederos (†) (DBZ movie 8), Edson Matus (DBZ Kai)
 * Spanish dub (Castillian): Juana Molina (child - DB episodes 1-26), Ana Cremades (child - DB episodes 26-153; DBGT, Movies), Adolfo Martínez (adult - DB; DBZ episodes 1-58), José Antonio Gavira Cortés (adult - DBZ episodes 59-167; DBZ Movies), Miguel Ángel Montero (adult - DBZ episodes 168-291), Alejandro Albaiceta (adult - DBGT)
 * Danish dub: Caspar Phillipson
 * French dub: Brigitte Lecordier (child/baby), Patrick Borg (adult)
 * German dub: Corinna Dorenkamp (child - DB), Frank Schaff (adult - DB), Ann Vielhaben (child - DBZ flashbacks), Tommy Morgenstern (child - DBZ and DBGT), Amadeus Strobel (child - DBGT)
 * Polish Dub: Krzysztof Banaszyk
 * Portuguese dub (Brazil): Ursula Bezerra (child), Wendell Bezerra (adult)
 * Portuguese dub (Portugal): Henrique Feist (both child and adult)
 * Tagalog dub: Jefferson Utanes
 * Greek dub: Themis Psihogios (adult)
 * Italian dub: Patrizia Scianca (child); Paolo Torrisi (adult); Lorenzo De Angelis (child- Dynit dub); Andrea Ward (adult- Dynit dub)
 * Albanian dub: Julian Cenameti (adult - DBZ)
 * Hungarian dub: László Lippai
 * Croatian dub: Igor Hamer

Major Battles

 * Goku (Kid) vs. Bear Thief
 * Goku (Kid) vs. Oolong
 * Goku (Kid) vs. Yamcha
 * Goku (Kid), Yamcha & Puar vs. Monster Carrot
 * Great Ape Goku vs. Emperor Pilaf, Shu & Mai
 * Goku (Kid) vs. Giran
 * Goku (Kid) vs. Nam
 * Goku (Kid) vs. Jackie Chun
 * Goku (Kid) vs. Colonel Silver
 * Goku (Kid) vs. Major Metallitron
 * Goku (Kid) vs. The Five Murasaki Brothers
 * Goku (Kid) vs. Buyon
 * Goku (Kid) & Android 8 vs. General White
 * Goku (Kid) & Krillin vs. Pirate Robot
 * Goku (Kid) vs. General Blue
 * Goku (Kid) vs. Captain Yellow
 * Goku (Kid) vs. Mercenary Tao
 * Goku (Kid) vs. Mercenary Tao (rematch)
 * Goku (Kid) vs. Staff Officer Black
 * Goku (Kid) vs. Bandage the Mummy
 * Goku (Kid) vs. Spike the Devil Man
 * Goku (Kid) vs. Grandpa Gohan
 * Goku (Kid) vs. Emperor Pilaf, Shu and Mai
 * Goku (Kid) vs. Terror & Plague
 * Goku (Kid) vs. Chin Taiken
 * Goku (Kid) vs. Rising Dragon
 * Goku (Kid) vs. Sky Dragon
 * Goku (Kid) vs. Gola
 * Goku (Kid) vs. Shula
 * Goku (Kid) vs. Tien Shinhan
 * Goku (Kid) vs. InoShikaCho
 * Goku (Kid) vs. King Chappa
 * Goku (Kid) vs. Pamput
 * Goku (Kid) vs. Krillin
 * Goku (Kid) vs. Tien Shinhan
 * Goku (Kid) vs. Tambourine
 * Goku (Kid) vs. Yajirobe
 * Goku (Kid) vs. Tambourine (rematch)
 * Goku (Kid) vs. King Piccolo (old)
 * Goku (Kid) & Yajirobe vs. Ice Monster
 * Goku (Kid) vs. Cloned Master Roshi
 * Goku (Kid) vs. Drum
 * Goku (Kid) vs. King Piccolo
 * Goku (Kid) vs. Mr. Popo
 * Goku (Kid) vs. Yaochun
 * Goku (Kid) vs. Master Mutaito
 * Goku (Kid) vs.Master Shen
 * Goku (Kid) vs. Goku's Doll
 * Goku (Kid) vs. Mr. Popo
 * Goku vs. King Chappa
 * Goku vs. Anonymous (Chi-Chi)
 * Goku vs. Tien
 * Goku vs. Piccolo Jr.
 * Goku vs. Annin
 * Goku & Piccolo vs. Raditz
 * Goku vs. Nappa
 * Goku vs. Vegeta
 * Goku vs. Vegeta (Great Ape)
 * Goku vs. Recoome
 * Goku vs. Burter & Jeice
 * Goku vs. Captain Ginyu
 * Goku vs. Frieza (Final Form)
 * Goku (SS) vs. Frieza (Final Form) / (100% Full Power)
 * Goku (SS) vs. Future Trunks (SS)
 * Goku vs. Piccolo (Fused with Nail) & Gohan
 * Goku (SS) vs. Android 19
 * Goku (SS) vs. Android 20 (Nightmare Sequence)
 * Goku (FPSS) vs. Gohan (FPSS)
 * Goku (FPSS) vs. Perfect Cell
 * Goku vs. Arqua
 * Goku (SS) vs. Pikkon
 * Goku (FPSS) vs. Yakon
 * Goku (SS2) vs. Majin Vegeta
 * Goku (SS3) vs. Majin Buu
 * Goku (SS3) vs. Super Buu (Gotenks absorbed)
 * Goku (SS) and Vegeta (SS) vs. Super Buu (Gohan absorbed)
 * Goku & Vegeta vs. Super Buu (Inside Buu)
 * Goku (SS2) vs. Kid Buu
 * Goku (SS3), Vegeta (SS2), Majin Buu & Mr. Satan vs. Kid Buu
 * Goku vs. Uub (World Tournament)
 * Goku vs. Uub
 * Goku (Kid)/(SS) vs. Ledgic
 * Goku (Kid) & Trunks vs. Mutchie
 * Goku (Kid) & Trunks vs. Lord Luud
 * Goku (Kid) vs. General Rilldo/Meta-Rilldo
 * Goku (Kid) vs. Baby Gohan & Baby Goten
 * Goku (SS)/(SS3) vs. Baby Vegeta/Super Baby Vegeta
 * Goku (SS3) vs. Super Baby Vegeta
 * Goku (SS4) vs. Super Baby Vegeta/Golden Ape Baby Vegeta
 * Goku (Kid) vs. Frieza & Cell (In Hell)
 * Goku (Kid) (SS)/(SS4) vs. Super Android 17
 * Goku (Kid) & Android 18 vs. Super Android 17
 * Goku (Kid) vs. Haze Shenron
 * Goku (SS4) vs. Rage Shenron
 * Goku (SS4) vs. Naturon Shenron
 * Goku (Kid) vs. Oceanus Shenron
 * Goku (SS4) vs. Nova Shenron
 * Goku (SS4) vs. Eis Shenron
 * Goku (SS4) vs. Syn Shenron
 * Goku (SS4) & Vegeta (SS4) vs. Omega Shenron
 * Goku (Kid) & Vegeta (SS4) vs. Omega Shenron

Movie Battles

 * Goku (Kid) vs. Bongo
 * Goku (Kid) vs. King Gurumes
 * Goku (Kid) & Krillin vs. Ghastel
 * Goku (Kid) vs. Lucifer
 * Goku vs. Ginger, Nicky and Sansho
 * Goku vs. Ginger & Nicky
 * Goku and Piccolo vs. Garlic Jr.
 * Goku vs. Misokatsun
 * Goku, Gohan & Krillin vs. Ebifurya & Kishime
 * Goku vs. Piccolo
 * Goku, Piccolo, Gohan, Krillin & Master Roshi vs. Dr. Wheelo
 * Goku vs. Great Ape Gohan
 * Goku vs. Amond, Deiz, Cacao, Razun & Lakasei
 * Goku vs. Turles
 * Goku vs. Medamatcha & Angira
 * Goku & Krillin vs. Lord Slug
 * Goku (False Super Saiyan) vs. Slug (Giant Form)
 * Goku & Piccolo vs. Slug (Giant Form)
 * Goku vs. Cooler's Armored Squadron
 * Goku (SS) vs. Cooler (Final Form)
 * Goku (SS) & Vegeta (SS) vs. Meta-Cooler
 * Goku & Future Trunks vs. Android 14 & Android 15
 * Goku vs. Android 13
 * Goku (SS), Piccolo, Vegeta (SS) & Future Trunks vs. Android 13 (Fusion)
 * Goku vs. Broly (SS)
 * Goku (SS), Future Trunks(SS), Piccolo, Gohan (SS) & Vegeta (SS) vs. Broly (LSS)
 * Goku, Gohan, Piccolo, Vegeta & Future Trunks vs. Skud & Arbee
 * Goku (SS), Future Trunks (SS), Piccolo, Gohan (SS) & Vegeta (SS) vs. Hatchiyack
 * Goku (SS) vs. Aka
 * Goku (SS3) vs. Janemba
 * Goku and Vegeta vs. Super Janemba
 * Goku (SS3) vs. Hirudegarn

Trivia

 * The Dragon Ball universe began as a loose adaptation of the classic Chinese novel, Journey to the West, with Goku being a parody of Sun Wukong the Monkey King. Similarities between the two include Goku's prone for mischief as a child (due to his innocence), possession of Nyoibo (Sun Wukong staff that can fill the entire Universe), and Flying Nimbus (the magical cloud the 'Great Sage' rode on).
 * On one occasion, in an interview with Shonen Jump in 1995, Akira Toriyama stated that Goku is his favorite character from the series. In previous statements, he claimed that Piccolo was his favorite.
 * In the original Japanese anime, Goku is voiced by the same seiyu (Masako Nozawa) throughout the series' run. Additionally, Nozawa voices every biological male relative of Goku, with the exception of Raditz. In the FUNimation dub, he has been played by four actors: three as a child (one for the entire main series, and two others for miscellaneous projects) and only one for adult Goku. In the various Ocean/Blue Water dubs, eight actors have played him: three as a child, and five as an adult at various points of various different projects. In the Filipino dub, he was played by one actor. Goku is voiced by Jefferson Utanes in the Tagalog, Hiligaynon and Cebuano dubs.
 * Goku's Saiyan birth name, Kakarot is a pun on "carrot". Likewise, all pure-blood Saiyans that appear in the series are named using puns on various vegetables, or the word "vegetable" itself. In Dragon Ball, when fighting against Monster Carrot, he said he hates carrots.
 * Goku has shown an act of mercy to every major manga villain he battled from Piccolo onward. He gave Piccolo a Senzu after narrowly defeating him in the 23rd World Martial Arts Tournament, he let Raditz's tail go when holding him for Piccolo's attack (obviously a mistake when Raditz immediately didn't stay good on his word), he gave Nappa a chance to leave Earth after defeating him, he pleaded with Krillin to keep him from killing Vegeta with Yajirobe's samurai sword, he wounded Recoome and Burter, giving them a chance to recover and potentially turn over a new leaf, he gave Frieza some energy so he could flee Namek before it exploded (obviously not taking Goku's good advice), he gave Cell a Senzu before the Cell/Gohan fight to guarantee that Cell would be fighting at his fullest, unfatigued strength, and he used the Dragon Balls to make sure that the majority of Earth's population would forget about the evil things done by Majin Buu so that Buu could live on Earth in peace.
 * Despite being the main character, Goku has only officially won one World Martial Arts Tournament, and that was the 23rd against Piccolo. In all others, he lost to Jackie Chun, Tien Shinhan, and did not participate in one again until the 25th, which was interrupted by the presence of Majin Buu. He would later partake in the 28th, but forfeited when he left to train Uub. During Dragon Ball GT, he fought in the Jr. Division due to his child body, and lost when his competitor tickled him, causing him to fall out of the ring. Even in the Other World Tournament, the match ended in a draw because both Goku and Pikkon had touched the ceiling during their fight, which was technically a ring-out. He also lost the Cell games (Which was Cell's way of bringing back the World Martial Arts Tournament) when he forfeited.
 * It is often teased that Goku is scared of his wife's temper (as joked by Master Roshi upon Goku's refusal to come back to Earth after the Frieza Saga "He's scared of the one thing that's stronger than a Super Saiyan- his wife!").
 * Goku's skin tone changes in Dragon Ball GT, from a pale tone to a darker, almost tan tone.
 * According to Goku during his fight with Oceanus Shenron, he does not mind being nude in public. This fact is also supported before going for a swim to find a Dragon Ball on Planet Gelbo, during which he takes off his clothes in front of Pan and Doma without hesitation or embarrassment. He also gets upset when Pan tells him to put his clothes back on, refusing to go swimming clothed.
 * Goku has been the inspiration for many characters, including Monkey D. Luffy from the One Piece series, Naruto Uzumaki from the Naruto series, Zatch Bell from the Zatch Bell series, and most recently Toriko from the Toriko series.
 * In the 133rd edition (September 2002) of Wizard Magazine, a hypothetical Superman vs. Goku match-up was published. Goku won the fight quite easily, not even needing to use Super Saiyan form. The article fell under heavy criticism by upset Superman fans. Later that year, Wizard did an open poll at the Toronto Fan Expo and New York Comicon asking attendees who would win. Over 80% said Superman would defeat Goku.
 * In the Raging Blast video game series, Goku is the only character to have three ultimate attacks, which can be changed through customization.
 * In the Namek Saga, while training in the Capsule Corporation Ship, it is seen that his name is written with a h (Gokuh) when he has to go to repair the ship.
 * Goku appears in every manga and anime/movie in the series with the exception of Dragon Ball: Episode of Bardock.