I like Goku becoming a child again in GT

[nickzambuto]

I used to feel like most other fans, that this was a useless change and regressed the progression of the series, and regressed the character development of Goku.

But after watching GT in full for the first time in original jpn, I come away understanding the series better, and the intents behind all the ideas. You have to admit, there is something very romantic about the idea of Goku, at the very end, getting to become a kid again and basically relive that adventure, and get ridiculously stronger all over again. Like it's his reward in a way, and the beauty is that it's exclusive to him. Nobody else earned that gift like him.

If you follow Dragon Ball's themes and messages, especially a lot of the lyrics to the several opening and end themes throughout the franchise (including Dan Dan), childhood is a gift and a cherished time. Goku at points is shown to look at his childhood with nostalgia and fond memories. So are other characters like Krillin and Bulma. And Goku still is a child at his heart, so going back to his true nature is really the most fulfilling reward there is for him. Even more then the idea of fighting strong dead guys from across history at the end of the Cell Games. Goku does love fighting, but he loves other things as well like adventure and making friends.

[ABED]

I've never understood the hatred much less vehement hatred many fans have with this. I also don't see how his character development stopped or reversed. If anything, him being a child actually highlighted him as a grandfather.

[SSJmole]

I'm rewatching GT at moment. I always loved GT kid Goku. I Iove the fact weirdly there's 3-4 positive GT threads on main page now. (Yes one was by me lol) as GT was often looked at badly. Now after all these years I think it's reaching cult status or at least it's getting more appreciation than he used to. Not sure why either but ilke it.

[SuperSaiyaManZ94]

It did seem like they were attempting by doing that a sort of almost nostalgia angle with which to recapture the adventures and humerous feeling of the earliest parts of the original Dragon Ball series, given the overall more comedic tone of the first arc of GT and everything. And for that initial setup it actually works pretty decent for the first 20 or so episodes before beginning to gradually move away from that into more heavy hitting Z style fights and harder action as the series progresses, which is where i think the novelty of him being basically an adult in a kid's body because of Pilaf's mistaken wish starts to wear off, especially once Goku reaches Super Saiyan 4 against Baby and fights more in that form than his base form from then on. That said, it still was a pretty interesting thing for them to do and one of the actually more clever and creative ideas in the series which i don't get why some fans of the franchise dump on so much.

[Tai Lung]

I used to feel like most other fans, that this was a useless change and regressed the progression of the series, and regressed the character development of Goku.

But after watching GT in full for the first time in original jpn, I come away understanding the series better, and the intents behind all the ideas. You have to admit, there is something very romantic about the idea of Goku, at the very end, getting to become a kid again and basically relive that adventure, and get ridiculously stronger all over again. Like it's his reward in a way, and the beauty is that it's exclusive to him. Nobody else earned that gift like him.

If you follow Dragon Ball's themes and messages, especially a lot of the lyrics to the several opening and end themes throughout the franchise (including Dan Dan), childhood is a gift and a cherished time. Goku at points is shown to look at his childhood with nostalgia and fond memories. So are other characters like Krillin and Bulma. And Goku still is a child at his heart, so going back to his true nature is really the most fulfilling reward there is for him. Even more then the idea of fighting strong dead guys from across history at the end of the Cell Games. Goku does love fighting, but he loves other things as well like adventure and making friends.

I found it ironic because at the beginning I thought that and later the opposite but then I remember that it does not matter and that Goku was should able to do all that in GT, how a adult or child without difference.
Goku always had the facility to make friends no matter what his age.
  if the message that goku is a child in the soul may well leave it as an adult at the end but this remains as a forgotten subplot and all that feeling of seeing it grow from child to man loses meaning.

I'll keep saying that the idea is good but it should have a purpose beyond "looks cool" maybe to Redo his life again so it would have some sense to go back to the beginning.

[ABED]

if the message that goku is a child in the soul may well leave it as an adult at the end but this remains as a forgotten subplot and all that feeling of seeing it grow from child to man loses meaning.

I'll keep saying that the idea is good but it should have a purpose beyond "looks cool" maybe to Redo his life again so it would have some sense to go back to the beginning.

How was this a forgotten subplot? How was it a subplot?

And I fail to see how seeing him grow from child to man loses meaning. He became a man several hundred chapters prior and he never actually turned into a child. His body is that of a child, but his mind is the same as it always was.

Lastly, giving him his child body was the writers attempting to give Goku limitations since he had grown so powerful. It wasn't just to "look cool."

[Tai Lung]

How was this a forgotten subplot? How was it a subplot?

And I fail to see how seeing him grow from child to man loses meaning. He became a man several hundred chapters prior and he never actually turned into a child. His body is that of a child, but his mind is the same as it always was.

Lastly, giving him his child body was the writers attempting to give Goku limitations since he had grown so powerful. It wasn't just to "look cool."

part of the purpose of looking for the spheres through space is for Goku to return to his normal age but in the end they preferred not to do it for the well-being of the earth so they would look for another way, that's why I say forgotten sub-plot, besides that doing weaker than goku was never established goku remained as powerful as always or more.

I speak of a purpose in story, not of script conveniences

[sunsetshimmer]

I liked it because kid Goku is better than adult Goku, which for me means GT Goku is better than DBZ/DBS Goku.
Also it just worked very well as it kinda shows how things could look like if story was altered so everything happens during Goku's childhood. Of course this only applies to Goku himself, not him having a wife and sons.

I also like him becoming adult when he turns SSJ4 since it made this Goku very unique character, something that has never happened in series i think. And it made SSJ4 even more unique as this form itself is very original and different from others but if we add a fact, that it's form of KID Goku it gets even better. I mean Goku Xeno is badass right? But him changing to SSJ4 from adult form doesn't make me as hyped as kid Goku doing this and becoming much more serious and savage. Goku Xeno simply transforms to cool looking form. GT Goku is something more.

Also Goku being a kid helped to form a relationship with Pan and put some more gag characters in series. Adult Goku fighting some of the dragons would be a bit silly. In Super we have Ribrianne who worked well against #18 because of opposite personalities and different point of view on love, but it looked dumb when she fought against Goku despite him being kinda a child in adult body.

[Kokonoe]

I don't like it as a sequel to the series, but the story was created for it in mind. The adventure aspect doesn't work as good if Goku was an adult.

Of course they could've used a different main character instead of Goku for this but it is what it is.

[ABED]

How was this a forgotten subplot? How was it a subplot?

And I fail to see how seeing him grow from child to man loses meaning. He became a man several hundred chapters prior and he never actually turned into a child. His body is that of a child, but his mind is the same as it always was.

Lastly, giving him his child body was the writers attempting to give Goku limitations since he had grown so powerful. It wasn't just to "look cool."

part of the purpose of looking for the spheres through space is for Goku to return to his normal age but in the end they preferred not to do it for the well-being of the earth so they would look for another way, that's why I say forgotten sub-plot, besides that doing weaker than goku was never established goku remained as powerful as always or more.

I speak of a purpose in story, not of script conveniences

It's not forgotten. He made a choice for the sake of the Earth. And yes, he was weaker. He couldn't teleport in his younger body and he couldn't sustain SSJ3 as long. I'm not sure what you mean by that last sentence. It's all in story purposes.

Of course they could've used a different main character instead of Goku for this but it is what it is.

Why would anyone use another main character?

[Tai Lung]

How was this a forgotten subplot? How was it a subplot?

And I fail to see how seeing him grow from child to man loses meaning. He became a man several hundred chapters prior and he never actually turned into a child. His body is that of a child, but his mind is the same as it always was.

Lastly, giving him his child body was the writers attempting to give Goku limitations since he had grown so powerful. It wasn't just to "look cool."

part of the purpose of looking for the spheres through space is for Goku to return to his normal age but in the end they preferred not to do it for the well-being of the earth so they would look for another way, that's why I say forgotten sub-plot, besides that doing weaker than goku was never established goku remained as powerful as always or more.

I speak of a purpose in story, not of script conveniences

It's not forgotten. He made a choice for the sake of the Earth. And yes, he was weaker. He couldn't teleport in his younger body and he couldn't sustain SSJ3 as long. I'm not sure what you mean by that last sentence. It's all in story purposes.

Of course they could've used a different main character instead of Goku for this but it is what it is.

Why would anyone use another main character?

that is to abandon the matter really because it does not even try something later ... "porunga" .. they just forget it
that's not being weaker ... they just took away skills but no power.
when mai became small the purpose was to reacer his life that is a purpose in the story something was done with that, the other is only an excuse iis different.

[KBABZ]

I loved seeing Kid Goku again, but I'm heavily biased so no surprises there.

[ABED]

If they abandon it, it's because there was no other way to do it besides using the Black star DB's again which is a non-starter. Porunga couldn't help anymore than Shen Long.

that's not being weaker ... they just took away skills but no power.

Semantics in this case. I'm not talking pure battle power. Goku didn't have the energy to use either teleportation or SSJ3. The writers wanted to put limitations on a character who had become incredibly powerful. That's a good reason to do it.

I'm assuming English isn't your first language; it's hard to understand you.

[louisascommie]

How was this a forgotten subplot? How was it a subplot?

And I fail to see how seeing him grow from child to man loses meaning. He became a man several hundred chapters prior and he never actually turned into a child. His body is that of a child, but his mind is the same as it always was.

Lastly, giving him his child body was the writers attempting to give Goku limitations since he had grown so powerful. It wasn't just to "look cool."

part of the purpose of looking for the spheres through space is for Goku to return to his normal age but in the end they preferred not to do it for the well-being of the earth so they would look for another way, that's why I say forgotten sub-plot, besides that doing weaker than goku was never established goku remained as powerful as always or more.

I speak of a purpose in story, not of script conveniences

It's not forgotten. He made a choice for the sake of the Earth. And yes, he was weaker. He couldn't teleport in his younger body and he couldn't sustain SSJ3 as long. I'm not sure what you mean by that last sentence. It's all in story purposes.

Of course they could've used a different main character instead of Goku for this but it is what it is.

Why would anyone use another main character?

New person to go through there own development

[Robo4900]

I think making Goku a child again was a bit of a pointless symbolic gesture to try to push for a recaptured atmosphere of the Red Ribbon/Pilaf arcs...

But I never thought it was a problem. They needed some wish for Pilaf to make to instigate the Black-Star arc, and that's as good a wish as any. Doesn't regress Goku's development, since he is still his fully-grown self, just in a child's body.

So... A bit goofy and unnecessary, but I don't see it as a problem. And honestly, I don't understand people who do see it as a problem.

[MyVisionity]

Of course they could've used a different main character instead of Goku for this but it is what it is.

Why would anyone use another main character?

Similarly to how Gohan was used during the Namek plot, they could have used another main character in the place of Goku. Like Pan or somebody. Goku could just come back into the story later, without having been turned into a child.

[ABED]

Of course they could've used a different main character instead of Goku for this but it is what it is.

Why would anyone use another main character?

Similarly to how Gohan was used during the Namek plot, they could have used another main character in the place of Goku. Like Pan or somebody. Goku could just come back into the story later, without having been turned into a child.

Been there done that for damn near the entirety of DBZ. Goku was constantly sidelined only to come back and fight the final boss. It's a formula that gets tiring.

New person to go through there own development

Doesn't require them to be the main character. Having another character take the spotlight sounds good on paper, but it's never that great in practice. I'm not even convinced that's what people actually want.

[90sDBZ]

I've never had a problem with it really. I agree with the OP it's like Goku's coming full circle in a way.

I also like how it makes SS4 seem even cooler, because of the extreme contrast in appearance and demeanor. It gives us the best of both worlds, with Kid Goku capturing the goofy humour of OG DB, and SS4 Goku delivering his more serious side similar to Z.

A part of me has always wondered if Goku should have returned back to an adult properly for an epic rematch with Baby, with the ability to maintain SS3, but I really like GT as is so I'm not too bothered.

[Dragon Ball Ireland]

I don't hate it per se, it was a gag concept that overstayed its welcome and felt stale after the black star Dragon Ball arc. I would have been fine if GT was written to have time gaps like Z and by the time he was fighting Baby, Cell, Freeza, Super 17, and the Shadow Dragons he was an adult again, especially with Pan and Uub being older and more seasoned fighters.

Much like the rest of GT, it was a neat idea that was let down by its execution.

[Timetraveller]

I don't hate it per se, it was a gag concept that overstayed its welcome and felt stale after the black star Dragon Ball arc. I would have been fine if GT was written to have time gaps like Z and by the time he was fighting Baby, Cell, Freeza, Super 17, and the Shadow Dragons he was an adult again, especially with Pan and Uub being older and more seasoned fighters.

Much like the rest of GT, it was a neat idea that was let down by its execution.

Goku being an adult adds nothing to his character. People like to pretend that having Goku as an adult somehow adds nuances to his character when it's been shown time and time again that Toriyama intended for him to be a one-dimensional idiot who likes to fight strong people. The way Super portrays him even if it's a little exaggerated compared to DBZ. At least with kid Goku, you get the interesting and funny relationships he develops with his granddaughter and the rest of the Z family.

GT had 64 episodes. Can't expect there to be multiple timeskips like in Z. I liked the way they portrayed Pan. Uub could've been a bit stronger but he was never going to outshine Goku. What's he supposed to do that SS4 Goku can't? or in the case of Super, Ultra Instinct Goku? That's the problem with the huge power gap between Goku, Vegeta and everyone else. The only way to make characters like the humans relevant is to have them fighting fodder like in RoF.