Was Goku at his best or at his worst during the Cell and Boo arcs?

[Totamo]

Goku was definitely at his best during the Buu arc in my opinion. He felt like a very natural evolution of the character, and really felt like a mature adult (For Goku standards, anyway). I highly disagree with people saying his character during the Buu arc was "badly written" due to him doing things like not killing Buu when he had the chance, not going SSJ3 against Vegeta and ending things quickly, etc. but I don't see how any of that was out of character, and Goku had his reasons for doing these things, even if his plans didn't work out like he had wanted them to. (But again, things not happening exactly the way Goku thought they would has been a theme for awhile now, and we've always seen how his intentions don't always go smoothly).

Buu arc Goku/EoZ Goku was really the peak of Goku's character to me. It logically feels like where he should end up, as he goes from child to man (I mean, more of a manchild, but still more man than child). Sadly though, Super Goku has been nothing but a regression in that aspect, and if Super goes up to EoZ, I highly doubt the Goku we saw in EoZ will act like the same one we would see in Super's "EoZ".

didn't goku ditch his family at the end of z?

[Asura]

Goku was definitely at his best during the Buu arc in my opinion. He felt like a very natural evolution of the character, and really felt like a mature adult (For Goku standards, anyway). I highly disagree with people saying his character during the Buu arc was "badly written" due to him doing things like not killing Buu when he had the chance, not going SSJ3 against Vegeta and ending things quickly, etc. but I don't see how any of that was out of character, and Goku had his reasons for doing these things, even if his plans didn't work out like he had wanted them to. (But again, things not happening exactly the way Goku thought they would has been a theme for awhile now, and we've always seen how his intentions don't always go smoothly).

Buu arc Goku/EoZ Goku was really the peak of Goku's character to me. It logically feels like where he should end up, as he goes from child to man (I mean, more of a manchild, but still more man than child). Sadly though, Super Goku has been nothing but a regression in that aspect, and if Super goes up to EoZ, I highly doubt the Goku we saw in EoZ will act like the same one we would see in Super's "EoZ".

didn't goku ditch his family at the end of z?

He sure did, although it was nothing permanent like him being dead was. Still very much in-character for him though.

[floofychan333]

It's more stupid than immature but it's immature because it's literally the first thing he thought of and he really didn't think it through.

How so? 'Cause he did think it through and it was the best choice he could have made. Cell was seconds away from blowing up. He could only get Cell away in time by teleporting and hus method of teleporting requires someone to be at his destination. I.e., no matter what he does, he and at least one other person are going to die. So he needs to go somewhere where the number of people dying along with him and Cell is at its lowest. And only King Kai and Bubbles (and Gregory in the anime) were at King Kai's place.

What better option did he have?

Also, being dead has literally zero effect on King Kai.

King Kai still gets made fun of by the other Kaioshins.

[SaiyanZ]

Goku was definitely at his best during the Buu arc in my opinion. He felt like a very natural evolution of the character, and really felt like a mature adult (For Goku standards, anyway). I highly disagree with people saying his character during the Buu arc was "badly written" due to him doing things like not killing Buu when he had the chance, not going SSJ3 against Vegeta and ending things quickly, etc. but I don't see how any of that was out of character, and Goku had his reasons for doing these things, even if his plans didn't work out like he had wanted them to. (But again, things not happening exactly the way Goku thought they would has been a theme for awhile now, and we've always seen how his intentions don't always go smoothly).

Buu arc Goku/EoZ Goku was really the peak of Goku's character to me. It logically feels like where he should end up, as he goes from child to man (I mean, more of a manchild, but still more man than child). Sadly though, Super Goku has been nothing but a regression in that aspect, and if Super goes up to EoZ, I highly doubt the Goku we saw in EoZ will act like the same one we would see in Super's "EoZ".

didn't goku ditch his family at the end of z?

He sure did, although it was nothing permanent like him being dead was. Still very much in-character for him though.

I never got this because he said he would visit periodically before leaving. Plus Gohan is an adult with his own family and Goten is 17 at that point, meaning he probably goes into college. I only see him as being a bad husband when he does this, though he doesn't leave for good.

[TheUltimateNinja]

Goku was at his best as a child, he was still pretty good in the later arcs of Z, though.

[mabalia]

I liked him in Cell and Boo arcs. Despite the mistakes he made, he was mature and likeable.