Goku

Lore & Background

Goku was born Kakarot on Planet Vegeta and sent to Earth as an infant prior to his home planet's destruction by Frieza. Found by Son Gohan, he was named Goku after Gohan became his adoptive grandfather. Initially full of violence due to his Saiyan nature, a head injury altered his personality into that of a cheerful boy influenced by Gohan's kindness. He met Bulma in the first chapter and joined her quest for the seven wish-granting Dragon Balls.

As he grew, Goku became Earth's mightiest warrior, facing villains like Frieza, Cell, and Buu while gaining new allies. He later learned of his Saiyan heritage, which introduced conflicts with Raditz, Nappa, and Vegeta. Toriyama intended for Gohan to replace him as protagonist after the Cell arc but decided against it. Goku's main drive is fighting strong opponents rather than protecting the innocent, a trait that sometimes clashed with anime adaptations portraying him as more heroic.

Reader's Guide

To understand Goku, recognize he is more selfish than a traditional hero; Toriyama states his main interest is fighting strong opponents rather than protecting innocents. His design blends Sun Wukong with Hong Kong action cinema influences from Bruce Lee's Enter the Dragon and Jackie Chan's Drunken Master. Initially plain to emphasize martial arts focus, Goku wears Buddhist monk-style robes for a Chinese appearance. The character evolved from Toriyama's one-shot Dragon Boy but differs by having a tail instead of wings. Toriyama eventually granted Goku teleportation to advance the story quickly. His Super Saiyan form uses blonde hair because it was easier to draw than blacking in standard hair, while his piercing eyes reference Bruce Lee. Toriyama threatened to end the series if Goku could not age up, later admitting this made drawing fight scenes easier.

Origins and Creative Foundations

Son Goku originated from Akira Toriyama's earlier one-shot Dragon Boy, featuring a protagonist with wings unlike Goku's tail. The character combines Sun Wukong from Journey to the West with Hong Kong action cinema influences, specifically Bruce Lee's Enter the Dragon (1973) and Jackie Chan's Drunken Master (1978). Toriyama envisioned young Jackie Chan as the only actor capable of playing live-action Goku. He designed Goku as a human boy with a monkey tail rather than a full simian to create a distinguishing feature, though he later found drawing the tail painful and removed it early. Originally not planned as an alien, Goku became a Saiyan only after introducing fighters from other planets. His teleportation ability was granted specifically to increase story pacing. Toriyama used Buddhist monk robes for his gi to achieve a Chinese aesthetic.

Character Evolution and Personality

Goku debuted December 3, 1984, in Weekly Shōnen Jump as an eccentric monkey-tailed boy discovered by Son Gohan. Born Kakarot on Planet Vegeta, he was sent to Earth as an infant before Frieza destroyed his homeworld. An accidental head injury turned him from a violent Saiyan into a cheerful carefree person shaped by Gohan's teachings. He named his first son Gohan in honor of his adoptive grandfather. Toriyama conceived Goku as selfish, prioritizing battles over protecting innocents, which angered him when anime adaptations portrayed him more heroically. This was especially evident in Dragon Ball GT where producer Kōzō Morishita influenced Goku to rescue granddaughter Pan like the film Titanic. While Gohan was intended to replace Goku after the Cell arc, Toriyama deemed him unsuitable for the protagonist role.

Visual Design and Narrative Mechanics

Toriyama designed Goku with a monkey tail instead of wings from Dragon Boy to give him a distinguishing feature, later removing it because drawing was painful. He wore simple clothes initially but added Master Roshi and Krillin after editor Kazuhiko Torishima commented he looked plain. The Tenkaichi Budōkai tournament focused the storyline on fighting, with Goku losing the first two tournaments before winning the third to defy expectations. Aging Goku up was controversial; Toriyama threatened to stop the series unless permitted, later admitting it simplified drawing fight scenes. The Super Saiyan form emerged during the Frieza arc to show massive power-up through anger-induced transformation with blonde hair for easier coloring and piercing eyes inspired by Bruce Lee's glare.

Global Legacy and Media Presence

Goku appears in most episodes, films, specials, and OVAs of Dragon Ball, Z, GT, Super, and Daima adaptations plus many video games. Western audiences primarily encountered the adult Goku through Dragon Ball Z due to limited overseas success of the original series. Beyond main franchise entries, he made cameo appearances in Toriyama's Neko Majin Z and appeared in various parodies and special events. In Japanese, Masako Nozawa has voiced Goku in every Dragon Ball anime series; Toriyama selected her upon hearing her audition sample, and she also voices Gohan, Goten and Bardock. English dubs varied: Barbara Goodson voiced him in Harmony Gold's brief dub; Saffron Henderson in Funimation's first 13 Dragon Ball episodes; Ian James Corlett and Peter Kelamis in early Ocean-produced DBZ episodes; Sean Schemmel has consistently voiced adult Goku in Funimation's in-house dub since.