What is Goku's true character

[Totamo]

Son Goku is arguably the most popular anime character in the last 30 years and has been depicted by many different writers, but who is the real one?

Is goku selfish or selfless
does goku love his family or not
is goku stupid or uneducated
is goku a good man or a neutral one
is goku merciful or just ignorant

Throughout the original manga, goku shows signs of all these traits.

Everyone has their own interpretations, from tfs turning him into a bigger idiot than anything toei ever done. episode of bardock kind of turned goku into the chosen one as the legendary super saiyan frieza feared was bardock, goku's father so him becoming one seemed prophesied and super has turned him into person who is only good at fighting.

lets not forget funi turning him into superman and Z turning him into a plot device only used to save the day.

I personal think goku is all these things given the situation at hand. Goku would svae his family but he would also save other people over them such as with hercule and the dog which later turned out to be a good play. He would fight for himself and other people. he is a genus martial artist but thats all.

What do you guys think

[Doctor.]

It's not about extremes, he isn't an asshole nor is he a Superman. He has both positive and negative traits.

[Ki Breaker]

Why does he need to be either a hero or a douchebag?
Like every person, he is a mix..
A Battle loving, caring person who dosen't bind himself to unnecessary social life

[Lord Beerus]

Goku is actually a bit more of a complicated character if you take a close look at him.

As a kid, Goku had no qualms about killing his enemies, but as the series progressed and he got older, he started to mellow out more. There's also the fact that Goku, as a child, had no concept of the morality of taking lives when he was blowing up Red Ribbon Army vehicles. He'd lived most of his life alone in the woods. He barely understood death, thinking that when he accidentally killed his grandfather, his grandfather just became the 4-star ball. There are sometimes he killed purposely though such as killing a fleeing Tambourine and later his father King Piccolo to avenge Krillin, not that Tambourine or Piccolo didn't deserve it. Part of his no kill policy came later when many of his worst enemies became his loyal friends, realising that if they could change, anyone could. When he does finally use lethal force against villains like Freeza and Cell, it's because he's realised they're beyond redemption and rotten to the core.

As a Saiyan, it's in his blood to love fighting and combat, and that love for fighting sometimes comes off as a negative to humans, gods, and even other aliens. He is regarded with unease whenever he shows such excitement for battle, with one of Goku's friends even calling him a monster for being so excited about a fight over when the entire planet hangs on the brink of destruction. His love of fighting has also caused him to make decisions that aren't very defensible, or even stupid. Sparing Vegeta's life after their battle just so that he could fight him again, for example, or sending his own son to fight Cell, gambling that Gohan would awaken his hidden power in time to ultimately win, even giving a Senzu Bean to Cell so that Gohan gets a fair match against him, rather than a better chance to win and save the world and abandoning his family and friends to train a child he just met so that child could become more powerful and protect the earth when Goku dies. Further evidence of this is in Battle of Gods when Goku's morality is questioned because of his love of fighting. On the other hand, he doesn't go looking for these kinds of situations, and is content to live a quiet life in the countryside, albeit one involving a lot of physical training. He seems to be aware that these situations find him, which may be part of it.

Goku's idea of parenting is also a bit skewed; while he'll appropriately go papa wolf if anyone fucks with his kids (or granddaughter), Goku doesn't put a lot of priority in actually raising those kids. He's more than happy to ditch his family if the mood strikes him or something else catches his interest. This was implied for years and eventually confirmed by Toriyama to be part of his nature as an alien; Saiyans didn't raise their kids the same way humans do, and children were mostly expected to fend for themselves from a very early age. Goku just doesn't have a nesting instinct. Considering how his sons turned up, it may be possible that Saiyans (including half ones) become relatively independent at an earlier age and thus why his two sons turned out well (as well as how Goku was raised himself.)

I think at his worst, Goku is more of a selfish asshole. But he usually just has a very non-human way of expressing himself. But that's what I love about Goku so much: he's not your standard hero in the slightest. He's shown to have great love and care for his friends and family, but his inherit personality traits of his blood knight race often cloud his judgement and can sometimes come back to bite him in the ass. I love so much how flawed Goku is. That just makes him stand out so much from the usual, generic, two dimensional shonen manga/anime protagonists.

In summary: I've always seen Goku as more of a classical hero, much like Hercules. He is more than willing to protect his friends and family and save the day, but the fashion of which he will go about it very morally ambiguous and questioning.

[Gog]

Goku is a honorable, kind, noble, kind of an idiot, he's also uneducated, naive, an optimist, and loves to battle.

Goku is also pig headed, brainless, his actions once lead to his entire family being killed, he has endangered the planet many a time, even out right once killing everyone on it. He's a complex character

[Doctor.]

As a kid, Goku had no qualms about killing his enemies, but as the series progressed and he got older, he started to mellow out more. There's also the fact that Goku, as a child, had no concept of the morality of taking lives when he was blowing up Red Ribbon Army vehicles. He'd lived most of his life alone in the woods. He barely understood death, thinking that when he accidentally killed his grandfather, his grandfather just became the 4-star ball. There are sometimes he killed purposely though such as killing a fleeing Tambourine and later his father King Piccolo to avenge Krillin, not that Tambourine or Piccolo didn't deserve it. Part of his no kill policy came later when many of his worst enemies became his loyal friends, realising that if they could change, anyone could. When he does finally use lethal force against villains like Freeza and Cell, it's because he's realised they're beyond redemption and rotten to the core.

I'm sure you didn't write this on your own because it almost an exact copy-paste of an analysis of Goku I made a few years ago.

[Gog]

As a kid, Goku had no qualms about killing his enemies, but as the series progressed and he got older, he started to mellow out more. There's also the fact that Goku, as a child, had no concept of the morality of taking lives when he was blowing up Red Ribbon Army vehicles. He'd lived most of his life alone in the woods. He barely understood death, thinking that when he accidentally killed his grandfather, his grandfather just became the 4-star ball. There are sometimes he killed purposely though such as killing a fleeing Tambourine and later his father King Piccolo to avenge Krillin, not that Tambourine or Piccolo didn't deserve it. Part of his no kill policy came later when many of his worst enemies became his loyal friends, realising that if they could change, anyone could. When he does finally use lethal force against villains like Freeza and Cell, it's because he's realised they're beyond redemption and rotten to the core.

I'm sure you didn't write this on your own because it almost an exact copy-paste of an analysis of Goku I made a few years ago.

Huh what did it look like Doctor.? Can ya' show us

[Doctor.]

As a kid, Goku had no qualms about killing his enemies, but as the series progressed and he got older, he started to mellow out more. There's also the fact that Goku, as a child, had no concept of the morality of taking lives when he was blowing up Red Ribbon Army vehicles. He'd lived most of his life alone in the woods. He barely understood death, thinking that when he accidentally killed his grandfather, his grandfather just became the 4-star ball. There are sometimes he killed purposely though such as killing a fleeing Tambourine and later his father King Piccolo to avenge Krillin, not that Tambourine or Piccolo didn't deserve it. Part of his no kill policy came later when many of his worst enemies became his loyal friends, realising that if they could change, anyone could. When he does finally use lethal force against villains like Freeza and Cell, it's because he's realised they're beyond redemption and rotten to the core.

I'm sure you didn't write this on your own because it almost an exact copy-paste of an analysis of Goku I made a few years ago.

Huh what did it look like Doctor.? Can ya' show us

I'll just PM it to you.

[Gog]

I'm sure you didn't write this on your own because it almost an exact copy-paste of an analysis of Goku I made a few years ago.

Huh what did it look like Doctor.? Can ya' show us

I'll just PM it to you.

Dunka for that!

[Lord Beerus]

As a kid, Goku had no qualms about killing his enemies, but as the series progressed and he got older, he started to mellow out more. There's also the fact that Goku, as a child, had no concept of the morality of taking lives when he was blowing up Red Ribbon Army vehicles. He'd lived most of his life alone in the woods. He barely understood death, thinking that when he accidentally killed his grandfather, his grandfather just became the 4-star ball. There are sometimes he killed purposely though such as killing a fleeing Tambourine and later his father King Piccolo to avenge Krillin, not that Tambourine or Piccolo didn't deserve it. Part of his no kill policy came later when many of his worst enemies became his loyal friends, realising that if they could change, anyone could. When he does finally use lethal force against villains like Freeza and Cell, it's because he's realised they're beyond redemption and rotten to the core.

I'm sure you didn't write this on your own because it almost an exact copy-paste of an analysis of Goku I made a few years ago.

I did make post about Goku's morals back in 2015. My post for this thread is just taken from that.

[Doctor.]

I did make post about Goku's morals back in 2015. My post for this thread is just taken from that.

I'm just saying because that first paragraph (not the rest) is very similar to a paragraph in a Goku analysis I wrote back in 2014:

As a child, Goku didn't have a problem killing his enemies, mostly because of his innocence and ignorance towards the concept ofdeath. As the manga progressed and he began to grow up, he came to understand the significance of death. There's the fact that, as a child, he lived most of his live alone in the woods, thinking that when he accidently killing his grandfather, he had reincarnated in the 4 star ball. His no kill policy originated when both Piccolo and Tenshinan became his loyal friends. It was when he realized villains like Freeza had their hearts filled with pure evil and malice that he realized there wasn't a way to make them turn for the better. After Freeza betrayed his kindness, he became a much more careful individual, not giving his opponents second chances, as was demonstrated when he killed Yakon and Boo, and repeatedly said to kill Dabra and Cell.

Unfortunately the forum is gone now, so I don't really have proof of what I'm saying. Then again, some people stole my analysis and posted it as their own on other forums, so you probably got inspired by that. I just found it funny is all, wasn't accusing you of stealing.

[Lord Beerus]

I did make post about Goku's morals back in 2015. My post for this thread is just taken from that.

I'm just saying because that first paragraph (not the rest) is very similar to a paragraph in a Goku analysis I wrote back in 2014:

As a child, Goku didn't have a problem killing his enemies, mostly because of his innocence and ignorance towards the concept ofdeath. As the manga progressed and he began to grow up, he came to understand the significance of death. There's the fact that, as a child, he lived most of his live alone in the woods, thinking that when he accidently killing his grandfather, he had reincarnated in the 4 star ball. His no kill policy originated when both Piccolo and Tenshinan became his loyal friends. It was when he realized villains like Freeza had their hearts filled with pure evil and malice that he realized there wasn't a way to make them turn for the better. After Freeza betrayed his kindness, he became a much more careful individual, not giving his opponents second chances, as was demonstrated when he killed Yakon and Boo, and repeatedly said to kill Dabra and Cell.

Unfortunately the forum is gone now, so I don't really have proof of what I'm saying. Then again, some people stole my analysis and posted it as their own on other forums, so you probably got inspired by that. I just found it funny is all, wasn't accusing you of stealing.

That is super freaky. I think this strongly implies we are soulmates.

[ekrolo2]

Is goku selfish or selfless
Almost entirely selfish, there's little ground to debate this when he pretty much makes everyone's efforts in the Saiyan arc moot when he pleads for Vegeta to live and come back purely so he can fight him again. Yeah, yeah, this all works out in the end but at the time and in-universe, this is a MASSIVE fuck you to everyone who's died and gotten hurt specifically to STOP Vegeta from destroying the planet. The selfishness only grows from here.

It's the equivalent of Frodo deciding to resurrect Sauron so he and the gang can go on a big ol adventure again after the whole world was almost annihilated purely for the thrill of more adventure.

does goku love his family or not
I'd say so, he just doesn't particularly care about their well being in day to day affairs but he will get pissed and protective if they're in danger.

is goku stupid or uneducated
Uneducated I'd say, the only time he's flat out stupid is in Super and not ignorant of the world around him.

is goku a good man or a neutral one
He does have a sense of right and wrong but its not a big motivating factor for him. Goku is 100% okay with letting Freeza leave and keep on committing genocide as long as his backyard doesn't get touched by him.

is goku merciful or just ignorant
A lot of his acts of mercy are entirely for selfish reasons, see my Vegeta comment above for why but he is merciful to people who aren't a threat to him like the Ginyu force. He lets them go entirely because they're scrubs and not so they can come back and fight him again. Although, if the Ginyu's DID give Goku a good fight, I imagine he would've let them live and come back later for the thrill of fighting them.

[TheZFighter]

He clearly isn't a bad person, but he is an alien.

[TheUltimateVegito]

Goku's true character is indeed a complex one. I went fully In-Depth in my analysis on him:

viewtopic.php?t=33421
viewtopic.php?f=7&t=34760&p=1126432#p1126432

[TheUltimateVegito]

Goku is actually a bit more of a complicated character if you take a close look at him.

As a kid, Goku had no qualms about killing his enemies, but as the series progressed and he got older, he started to mellow out more. There's also the fact that Goku, as a child, had no concept of the morality of taking lives when he was blowing up Red Ribbon Army vehicles. He'd lived most of his life alone in the woods. He barely understood death, thinking that when he accidentally killed his grandfather, his grandfather just became the 4-star ball. There are sometimes he killed purposely though such as killing a fleeing Tambourine and later his father King Piccolo to avenge Krillin, not that Tambourine or Piccolo didn't deserve it. Part of his no kill policy came later when many of his worst enemies became his loyal friends, realising that if they could change, anyone could. When he does finally use lethal force against villains like Freeza and Cell, it's because he's realised they're beyond redemption and rotten to the core.

As a Saiyan, it's in his blood to love fighting and combat, and that love for fighting sometimes comes off as a negative to humans, gods, and even other aliens. He is regarded with unease whenever he shows such excitement for battle, with one of Goku's friends even calling him a monster for being so excited about a fight over when the entire planet hangs on the brink of destruction. His love of fighting has also caused him to make decisions that aren't very defensible, or even stupid. Sparing Vegeta's life after their battle just so that he could fight him again, for example, or sending his own son to fight Cell, gambling that Gohan would awaken his hidden power in time to ultimately win, even giving a Senzu Bean to Cell so that Gohan gets a fair match against him, rather than a better chance to win and save the world and abandoning his family and friends to train a child he just met so that child could become more powerful and protect the earth when Goku dies. Further evidence of this is in Battle of Gods when Goku's morality is questioned because of his love of fighting. On the other hand, he doesn't go looking for these kinds of situations, and is content to live a quiet life in the countryside, albeit one involving a lot of physical training. He seems to be aware that these situations find him, which may be part of it.

Goku's idea of parenting is also a bit skewed; while he'll appropriately go papa wolf if anyone fucks with his kids (or granddaughter), Goku doesn't put a lot of priority in actually raising those kids. He's more than happy to ditch his family if the mood strikes him or something else catches his interest. This was implied for years and eventually confirmed by Toriyama to be part of his nature as an alien; Saiyans didn't raise their kids the same way humans do, and children were mostly expected to fend for themselves from a very early age. Goku just doesn't have a nesting instinct. Considering how his sons turned up, it may be possible that Saiyans (including half ones) become relatively independent at an earlier age and thus why his two sons turned out well (as well as how Goku was raised himself.)

I think at his worst, Goku is more of a selfish asshole. But he usually just has a very non-human way of expressing himself. But that's what I love about Goku so much: he's not your standard hero in the slightest. He's shown to have great love and care for his friends and family, but his inherit personality traits of his blood knight race often cloud his judgement and can sometimes come back to bite him in the ass. I love so much how flawed Goku is. That just makes him stand out so much from the usual, generic, two dimensional shonen manga/anime protagonists.

In summary: I've always seen Goku as more of a classical hero, much like Hercules. He is more than willing to protect his friends and family and save the day, but the fashion of which he will go about it very morally ambiguous and questioning.

You hit the nail right on the head with this one.

[Captain Strawberry]

I think Goku is a character that you can interpret

Even if this is an unpopular opinion, this is how I interpret him. He's still a righteous person but he is still a warrior so that small ink of selfishness comes out every now and then. He is also a martial artist so doing some strange things to others may not be strange at all from his perceptive.

[flashback0180]

Ge is based on wu kong for a reason , he's monkey .

[DBZAOTA482]

Goku is a simple man of simple actions.

[Captain Strawberry]

Goku is a simple man of simple actions.

I agree.