I find Goku to be the worst character in this show

[mfwlegend3]

Psychopath - a person suffering from chronic mental disorder with abnormal or violent social behaviour.

Psychopaths can also be charming or reckless to get what they want, their behaviors don't always have to vary between strange or violent. But even then, Goku can be aggressively violent when the narrative requires him to be. He fits under the charming category as many characters and even deities are attracted to him, as noted by several characters in the manga and anime. He can be really reckless, even if it means putting the lives of others and even himself at risk. Characters have protested against Goku's recklessness before, but he would proceed to do it anyways.

Sociopath - a person with a personality disorder manifesting itself in extreme antisocial attitudes and behaviour.

They are volatile and prone to emotional outbursts, including fits of rage. They are likely to be uneducated and live on the fringes of society, unable to hold down a steady job or stay in one place for very long. It is difficult but not impossible for sociopaths to form attachments with others. Many sociopaths are able to form an attachment to a particular individual or group, although they have no regard for society in general or its rules.

I say this fits Goku's character for the most part. Goku can become blinded by rage when an act is committed against himself or the people he cares about. He lived alone for part of his childhood in the mountains after Gohan died and before Bulma discovered him. Goku also can't be employed to a steady job for a long while, and when he does, it's against his will as Chichi is usually the one who forces him to do it. He also doesn't care about how other views him, or society and its rules.

[Lord Frieza]

Psychopath - a person suffering from chronic mental disorder with abnormal or violent social behaviour.

Psychopaths can also be charming or reckless to get what they want, their behaviors don't always have to vary between strange or violent. But even then, Goku can be aggressively violent when the narrative requires him to be. He fits under the charming category as many characters and even deities are attracted to him, as noted by several characters in the manga and anime. He can be really reckless, even if it means putting the lives of others and even himself at risk. Characters have protested against Goku's recklessness before, but he would proceed to do it anyways.

Sociopath - a person with a personality disorder manifesting itself in extreme antisocial attitudes and behaviour.

They are volatile and prone to emotional outbursts, including fits of rage. They are likely to be uneducated and live on the fringes of society, unable to hold down a steady job or stay in one place for very long. It is difficult but not impossible for sociopaths to form attachments with others. Many sociopaths are able to form an attachment to a particular individual or group, although they have no regard for society in general or its rules.

I say this fits Goku's character for the most part. Goku can become blinded by rage when an act is committed against himself or the people he cares about. He lived alone for part of his childhood in the mountains after Gohan died and before Bulma discovered him. Goku also can't be employed to a steady job for a long while, and when he does, it's against his will as Chichi is usually the one who forces him to do it. He also doesn't care about how other views him, or society and its rules.

But Goku has no difficulty forming attachments with people in his odd way, he forms friendships very quickly and more often then not, with no intention of ever getting anything out of that relationship. It just that the guy lives in his on little world. He is well aware of the wider universe but it simple dose not factor into his daily life. Goku cares about his loved one and could care less about the wider universe but he is not by nature cruel or indifferent to the suffering of others when its right in front of him. A Universe being blown up is a bad thing, Goku gets that and he may try fix it but it simple dose not register fully to him because his world view is very small and simple. The biggest he's ever though about was the planet he was standing one. But had, lets say, Bergamo beat up his brothers because they lost, that would have pissed Goku off.

Goku dose not have fits of rage, he's not bloody Bruce Banner (there's a real head case). Because of his nature Goku is not a guy who gets outwardly emotion easily and that makes him appear sociopathic but its clear they guy dose feel emotions. It just takes a lot to get those emotions to come to the surface, by which point Goku has been pushed very hard and it merely appears as though he has gone from zero to rage mode. The only time he has ever displayed true, unbridled rage has been when people he cares for have been killed and funnily enough thats a pretty normal and healthy reaction.

Dose Goku have personality problems? Yes. Can he incredibly selfish? Yes. But is Goku an unfeeling, manipulative monster? No.

Goku is a simple minded, genuine guy who, like the rest of use has his on little problems upstairs and has lived in his own little world a bit to long. Being a bit mental dose not make you a monster, if it did we'd all be locked up. No the real problem is that someone like Goku really should be allowed around someone with the power and influence of Zen-Oh who is very much the monster your trying to make Goku out to be.

[mfwlegend3]

Goku has no difficulty forming attachments with people in his odd way, he forms friendships very quickly and more often then not, with no intention of ever getting anything out of that relationship.

Not all sociopaths have difficulty forming relationships. But I digress, that wasn't my point. In my second post, I even addressed the fact that Goku has a charming nature about him. In the sense that a lot of characters, ranging from just normal people to even gods, are attracted to him. Supreme Kai mentioned that was one of Goku's admirable aspects in Battle of Gods.

Goku dose not have fits of rage, he's not bloody Bruce Banner (there's a real head case).

Except he does and I have three examples of this. One being when Krillin was murdered by Tambourine, he ignored Roshi's warnings and recklessly rushed over to kill Tambourine in return in an act of revenge despite not even knowing of his opponent. Second time being his battle against Freeza after he ascended into Super Saiyan. Wanting nothing more but to humiliate and break Freeza down, even telling King Kai that he wouldn't ever forgive him if he were to remove him from the planet and away from his fight. Third being when Black and Zamasu informed Goku about the massacre of his family in an alternate timeline, which enraged him completely to the point where he charged at Black and attempted to blow away Zamasu even though he was well aware of his immortality.

Because of his nature Goku is not a guy who gets outwardly emotion easily and that makes him appear sociopathic but its clear they guy dose feel emotions.

You can be a sociopath and be capable of feeling emotions as noted before.

But is Goku an unfeeling, manipulative monster? No.

the monster your trying to make Goku out to be.

No one is claiming, let alone implying, that being a sociopath or having the traits of a sociopath makes you a "monster." Sociopaths can live their lives without committing acts of violence.

[Asura]

Goku dose not have fits of rage, he's not bloody Bruce Banner (there's a real head case).

Except he does and I have three examples of this. One being when Krillin was murdered by Tambourine, he ignored Roshi's warnings and recklessly rushed over to kill Tambourine in return in an act of revenge despite not even knowing of his opponent. Second time being his battle against Freeza after he ascended into Super Saiyan. Wanting nothing more but to humiliate and break Freeza down, even telling King Kai that he wouldn't ever forgive him if he were to remove him from the planet and away from his fight. Third being when Black and Zamasu informed Goku about the massacre of his family in an alternate timeline, which enraged him completely to the point where he charged at Black and attempted to blow away Zamasu even though he was well aware of his immortality.

I'm not really understanding how this is evidence of Goku being a "sociopath".

After finding out his friends/family are dead, he gets angry. The second time he literally witnesses his friend die while he's powerless to save him. How is that at all indicative of a mental disorder? I would say if Goku DIDN'T get angry, then that would be a lot more telling of a mental disorder.

[Simere]

That selectively quoted passage of yours was obviously referring to rage over relatively minor things, not someone murdering your friends.

[Lord Frieza]

Goku dose not have fits of rage, he's not bloody Bruce Banner (there's a real head case).

Except he does and I have three examples of this. One being when Krillin was murdered by Tambourine, he ignored Roshi's warnings and recklessly rushed over to kill Tambourine in return in an act of revenge despite not even knowing of his opponent. Second time being his battle against Freeza after he ascended into Super Saiyan. Wanting nothing more but to humiliate and break Freeza down, even telling King Kai that he wouldn't ever forgive him if he were to remove him from the planet and away from his fight. Third being when Black and Zamasu informed Goku about the massacre of his family in an alternate timeline, which enraged him completely to the point where he charged at Black and attempted to blow away Zamasu even though he was well aware of his immortality.

I'm not really understanding how this is evidence of Goku being a "sociopath".

After finding out his friends/family are dead, he gets angry. The second time he literally witnesses his friend die while he's powerless to save him. How is that at all indicative of a mental disorder? I would say if Goku DIDN'T get angry, then that would be a lot more telling of a mental disorder.

Yeah kind of with Asura here. Goku's got his issues, as I've pointed out, but none of what you point out would be grounds to classify Goku as a "sociopath".

This theory falls apart because Goku displays empathy for more then just a small number of people and his charming nature is almost never used to manipulate others.

Your seeing red flags but not seeing whats actually under them, thats how you tell a sociopath from a guys who's just a bit detached from reality.

Edit: also he is not nervous and easily agitated.

Edit 2: Goku is also more then capable of forming well thought out plans and actions, he makes mistakes but so do we all.

[mfwlegend3]

Lord Frieza mentioned that Goku does not have moments of rage, and that is clearly false from what we've seen throughout the series, as I pointed out in my latest post. Goku can become blinded with rage when the narrative requires him to be, even more so than the average person. Not over simple things, yes, but I never said so otherwise.

My argument here is that I believe Goku is a sociopath, not psychopath. Not the stereotypical, crazed sociopath seen on some television shows, but a sociopath nonetheless. Even if you were to exclude the rage aspect, which doesn't even matter, he still has most of the other traits. He can feel for others, express and feel empathy and guilt, but he is excessively reckless to the point where he doesn't think about the consequences of his actions, and when he does, he tends to shrug it off. He has no care about how others or society in a whole view him as a person. He also is unable to, or at least, doesn't like to, hold a steady job and can't present a normal family life to the outside world. If you want to take Toriyama's words to heart, Goku sees his family as nothing more than companions.

I'm in no position to give a proper diagnosis, as I am no psychologist, but I'm basing off of what I've researched over the years. I'm not trying to tarnish the image of his character either, as he's one of my favorites. Goku does fit the category of a sociopath though, while Vegeta relates more to psychopathy: he's highly intelligent, has a difficult time establishing relationships, rarely feels guilt about his actions, and he uses people to get what he wants. Current ex. Vegeta using Whis to reach into further heights of strength and power. Psychopaths are also not above having families and a stable relationship with a partner, much like Vegeta. He also can orchestrate plans for his own selfish benefit.

[TheMikado]

I wouldn't label him a full blown sociopath, however he certainly had some traits. Currently Goku may be the real deal however.

[ekrolo2]

I'd actually really like it if Goku tries to use the Super DBs to restore the lost universes and Zeno shoots it down, saying that's the one wish he isn't allowed to grant as the victor. That'd be a nice way to cock up what I genuinely believe is Goku's entire plan to fix things: win the tournament then restore what gets destroyed.

[SansrivaaL]

I'd actually really like it if Goku tries to use the Super DBs to restore the lost universes and Zeno shoots it down, saying that's the one wish he isn't allowed to grant as the victor. That'd be a nice way to cock up what I genuinely believe is Goku's entire plan to fix things: win the tournament then restore what gets destroyed.

It would be better if Zeno lets him, then destroys the universes again to rile him up.

[ChronoTwigger]

Now Goku is psychopath or sociopath...

I'm in no position to give a proper diagnosis, as I am no psychologist,

but I'm basing off of what I've researched over the years.

Sound like "After years of meditation, now I'll explain you why men are better than women"...
BASED ON MY WIFE MASTER on psychology, you're attributing human traits to a narrative paradigma (Goku), that, for his own nature, is incomplete and unable to react as a real human being.
EVEN if you can find traits on him, and my wife tell it's impossible, Goku follow a narrative paradigma (and that's me working as storyteller that say so) and not any proper psyche reaction. Goku do what the plot need, and not what he want to do.
Yours "years of researches" could have teach you that (no human mind without human body).

The only one you can actually profile based on Dragon Ball is Toriyama (my wife says he's a chauvinist with a strong oedipus complex, that create a friction in his sexual desires and women authority. "Goku is just a character").

[mfwlegend3]

Because Goku's a fictional character we, as the audience and or reader depending on your preferences, can't make assumptions of a diagnosis on his character based on what information we can gather from the narrative? I don't find that to be a valid argument, TBH. The chances of the author commenting on such a topic is slim, and I doubt Toriyama even cares in the slightest. We're free as fans to perceive what we will about their characters; take notes, attempt to connect it to disorders in the outside world, and come to whatever conclusion based from that. It's been done to characters in countless franchises. Not having the profession of a psychologist doesn't make knowledge any less credible depending on if you actually know what you're talking about and can back it up with a source.

[TekTheNinja]

Goku is a simple minded, genuine guy who, like the rest of use has his on little problems upstairs and has lived in his own little world a bit to long. Being a bit mental dose not make you a monster, if it did we'd all be locked up. No the real problem is that someone like Goku really should be allowed around someone with the power and influence of Zen-Oh who is very much the monster your trying to make Goku out to be.

Goku isn't acting like a "genuine guy". He's dooming several universes and saying, "Fuck you, come at me bro!"

[Lord Frieza]

Goku is a simple minded, genuine guy who, like the rest of use has his on little problems upstairs and has lived in his own little world a bit to long. Being a bit mental dose not make you a monster, if it did we'd all be locked up. No the real problem is that someone like Goku really should be allowed around someone with the power and influence of Zen-Oh who is very much the monster your trying to make Goku out to be.

Goku isn't acting like a "genuine guy". He's dooming several universes and saying, "Fuck you, come at me bro!"

A "genuine guy" is a person who is open and honest about himself. Goku's main love is fighting, no matter how bad things get, the thrill of the fight is what comes first at that moment in time. A bunch of strong people want to fight him, regardless of the danger of the universe and the fact that people may see him as a villain, the first thing that pops into his head is "they seem strong let have a good fight". Goku's always been that way even when he faced Piccolo Jr. all those years ago.

What would be ungenuine of him would be to lie or try hide the fact that he's got an awesome fight coming up.

[TekTheNinja]

Goku's always been that way

A phrase I keep hearing that is ENTIRELY FALSE.

[Lord Frieza]

Goku's always been that way

A phrase I keep hearing that is ENTIRELY FALSE.

Ok you tell me when Goku has ever admitted that their was ever a moment in the series when there was a moment where the thrill of the battle was not there because of how bad things got and then you can tell me its ENTIRELY FALSE.

You tell me that Goku has never put someone or thing in danger and has never made a selfish choice because he just wants a good fight then you can tell me its ENTIRELY FALSE.

Then you can take all that and tell me of a point were Goku has gone out of his way to lie about his motivations or deceive others about his personality or intentions for his own personal gain or to make himself seem not in the wrong then you can tell me its ENTIRELY FALSE.

Is this Goku at his best...no, but a lot of his underlying character traits are no different then they have ever been. This is just Goku with his selfishness turned up to 11 but while its extreme its still in character even if it is a bit of an extradition.

[TekTheNinja]

Goku's always been that way

A phrase I keep hearing that is ENTIRELY FALSE.

Ok you tell me when Goku has ever admitted that their was ever a moment in the series when there was a moment where the thrill of the battle was not there because of how bad things got and then you can tell me its ENTIRELY FALSE.

You tell me that Goku has never put someone or thing in danger and has never made a selfish choice because he just wants a good fight then you can tell me its ENTIRELY FALSE.

Then you can take all that and tell me of a point were Goku has gone out of his way to lie about his motivations or deceive others about his personality or intentions for his own personal gain or to make himself seem not in the wrong then you can tell me its ENTIRELY FALSE.

Is this Goku at his best...no, but a lot of his underlying character traits are no different then they have ever been. This is just Goku with his selfishness turned up to 11 but while its extreme its still in character even if it is a bit of an extradition.

When a trait is exaggerated and all the other traits are ignored that's called OUT OF CHARACTER. Hence Goku's NEVER been this way. People have no problems calling superhero Goku out of character so this is just hypocritical.

[omaro34]

I know we have had evil Goku's in the past, but I feel the way he's being portrayed right now in Super leads me to believe that they have upcoming plans specifically for Goku.

Right now Goku is still naive, carefree, and gullible. But if they make a scenario where Goku hit his head again and became violent and aggressive constantly, it wouldn't shock me.

[Lord Frieza]

A phrase I keep hearing that is ENTIRELY FALSE.

Ok you tell me when Goku has ever admitted that their was ever a moment in the series when there was a moment where the thrill of the battle was not there because of how bad things got and then you can tell me its ENTIRELY FALSE.

You tell me that Goku has never put someone or thing in danger and has never made a selfish choice because he just wants a good fight then you can tell me its ENTIRELY FALSE.

Then you can take all that and tell me of a point were Goku has gone out of his way to lie about his motivations or deceive others about his personality or intentions for his own personal gain or to make himself seem not in the wrong then you can tell me its ENTIRELY FALSE.

Is this Goku at his best...no, but a lot of his underlying character traits are no different then they have ever been. This is just Goku with his selfishness turned up to 11 but while its extreme its still in character even if it is a bit of an extradition.

When a trait is exaggerated and all the other traits are ignored that's called OUT OF CHARACTER. Hence Goku's NEVER been this way. People have no problems calling superhero Goku out of character so this is just hypocritical.

and thats my point none of his character traits are are being ignored at all, as I've just pointed out. All I ever keep seeing is people seeing these traits to the exclusion of all else not the show.

The irony of the fact I'm having this debate right after the apposing one last night is not lost on me at all. Well I can more then see that I'm wasting my time here and I'm finding this whole thing boring now. Nothing wrong with you Tek, but I find myself in the middle of a lot of uncompromising extremes and when it stops being fun its time to bow out.

So I bid this topic adieu.

[Basako]

Goku is odd, naive and sometimes irresponsible. But he doesn't have antisocial behaviours to be labeled as a sociopath. Vegeta, Piccolo or Ten would be closer. Definitevely not a psychopath, he has showed deep feelings for others and empathy multiple times. He likes fighting but only against villains or others that like to fight too. He has shown a lot of compassion and forgiveness, sometimes too much, and avoids killing or unnecessary suffering. He despises those who cause that.