Could Goku have befriended Majin Buu right on the spot?

[Xeogran]

Right during their first meeting, I've always seen it that Buu was curious about Goku's personality. He found an equal "sparring partner", as well as a person he could learn a lot from (like he did with the Kamehameha)

And now it made me think.. what if Goku didn't get the idea of "leaving the fate of Earth to the next generation"?

Sure, Babidi was still there, but Buu already started ignoring him in middle of his fight with SS3 Goku, because he was having fun. I doubt he was of any position to order Buu anymore at that point.

Like, Goku's purity was the best way to teach Buu how to be a good guy.

What do you think?

[Lionel]

At the time, Majin Buu was definitely an impressionable canvas that could be manipulated to sway in either direction if handled delicately and correctly. Mr Satan demonstrated this aptly by his ability to dissuade Buu from killing -- even though I question his ability to rewire Buu when it comes to his baser instincts, one of which being to lash out aggressively and potentially deprive others of their lives should an adverse situation present itself to him.

If Goku knew about Buu's situation then it's possible something could have been done. Any solution would have to involve taking advantage of Buu's naivete. What Piccolo stated about Buu still posing a threat was accurate, though. Buu is a volatile force of nature that's driven by his baser instincts. If he's confronted with obstructions to whatever it is he's interested in then he's liable to lash out in violently fatal ways. Mr Satan and Goku won't be around forever to reign him in. What do they do then? Shifting back to the issue of talking Buu down, it would have to come from a place of amiability and possible benefit for Buu. Goku appealing to what it is Buu likes such as food could have worked. From there you need to deprogram the mass murderer into someone who, while still a potential time bomb if bothered, can be made passive for the most part.

[sintzu]

I think he could've if he took out Babidi and maybe took Buu for some food as that's what he liked. From there he could've simply explained that killing was wrong and he'd get more food if he was a good guy. I really liked how Toriyama showed fights and transformations weren't always the solution and a simple talk could prevent so much trouble and of all people it was Mr. Satan who achieved the temporary peace with Buu.

[KBABZ]

Yeah, Fat Buu could be cruel and powerful but he plainly had a good and childish side to him. Problem is Babidi of course threatened him and Buu did genuinely like hurting people until he was told it was bad by Mr. Satan.

You kinda get the sense that Goku could have been friends with Buu even then with the way he talks to him during the SS3 encounter. Unlike Babidi, who is talking above him, Goku talks to Buu as an equal and seems to completely understand how Buu is thinking, which I believe is why he's able to give the crucial advice that he doesn't have to follow Babidi's orders. This would ultimately wind up with Buu actually having the chance to redeem himself and much later on become a positive member of the team.

I think it's a mark of good storytelling that, in this one conversation, just with these two characters and the way they talk with each other, the mind starts racing with what if scenarios where things could have been so much different had they gone down differently.

[Xeogran]

Thank you for your responses! I like all three of them, and it's nice to see people think about this in a similar way to me.

[OhHiRenan]

I think so. Goku's a friendly guy and he seemed to know how to talk to Boo when they briefly interacted. Unfortunately, Goku had a very specific context for Boo and the conflict at hand so I don't think he ever would have gone into the fight with the idea to befriend him unless circumstances were very different.