Do you think it’s true that Goku didn’t have character development?

[YajirobiTheGreat]

This is said a lot by fans. In Super and late Z, I believe it is largely true. But from the beginning of Dragon Ball up through the Cell Arc I feel as though we watch Goku organically go from a naive and stupid little boy to being fairly perceptive, and a man among men.

Goku starts out DB almost completely ignorant of everything, but becomes a little more knowledgeable every time skip as he grows up (which continues into Z). We see Goku go from a little kid to becoming the strongest on Earth in a way that feels earned. We watch him physically grow up into a young man, get married, and start a family. Goku is willing to live a peaceful life after DB. Goku is once again turned into a small fry when aliens are directly introduced and Goku has to work his way up the food chain again. We see him come to terms with his Saiyan heritage without rejecting Earth. He becomes the strongest known in the universe.

Everyone in the Trunks/Cyborg/Cell Saga views Goku as the main player, with every hero idolizing or obsessing over him, Frieza/16 looking for revenge against him, and 17/18/Cell very curious about him, and Goku’s reputation has grown to the point that other timelines idolize him. Goku has earned a reputation that is instantly respected or hated by everyone, and it drives the events of the universe at large.

By the Cell games he is the true master of the group who can gather huge resources he accumulated over the series (Knowing about ROSAT, using King Kai to find far flung planets, using Korin to sense power levels, knowing where to get Sensu Beans, having such a large number of fighters allied or loyal to him, able to get new Dragon Balls, knowing Gohan’s potential, gathering the Dragon Balls in almost no time) and can turn the course of almost anything with technique (like IT) alone.

During the Trunks/Cyborg/Cell Arcs, Goku seems to be aware of his reputation. While Goku has always had swag, I believe it reached its peak during that era. Goku’s ability to formulate plans also reaches its peak at that point, Goku can read people better than ever, and Goku isn’t generally stupid anymore. He is an incredibly confident father by this point, has the full faith of every Z fighter and he knows it. In the end, he sacrifices himself to save the people he cares about again, but this time accepts his death as permanent to protect Earth, forgoing any future adventures on Earth. He is able to do with without regret, knowing the son he left behind will carry on his will and legacy and has the ludicrous resources and allies to help him out that Goku left behind.

To me, Goku was constantly going through small amounts of character development from the start of DB up to accepting his death against Cell. His development more or less stopped after that. The changes in his character and persona tended to be gradual and natural enough that his changes aren't always easy to see when watching the series. I think the story up to that point was more or less the story of Goku becoming a man, building life around him, and in the final arc (after he built everything up) accepting death.

What do you think? Do you think Goku changed much from Chapter One up to his second death? Obviously, the core of Goku is still there, but from my perspective Goku has grown up enough that I feel as though he had significant change overall.

[Psajdak]

Maybe I did once think he had some mental growth, but all of that dissapeared once he said he never kissed Chichi.

[Matches Malone]

Fans who only watched Z would be forgiven for thinking this as a lot of his development took place before the Saiyan arc (that's not to say he didn't develop after that). Super has also done a very poor job with Goku's character, as not only did he regress past his early DB days, he doesn't even get any character development.

[Mad Swami]

Goku's character development is mostly refining his fighting mentality. The biggest amount of character development I would say he had was either his fight against Jackie Chun or him taking Uub in at the end. His fight against Jackie Chun helped him become less arrogant and always know that there is going to be someone greater then him.

Him taking Uub at the end shows Goku's maturity showcased a bit in the Buu saga. Him taking Uub his him growing into a mentor role helping other warriors grow to be the next heroes of Earth no longer chasing the idea that he can be the strongest.

Goku's character development is very rare but it doesn't have to be a lot. His purpose is to be someone already aware of his inner truth and to change the people around him based on it. He makes others better, not always him. But to say he has no character development is false I'd say

[blacksymbiote]

Goku had some interesting character development in GT. After SSJ4, he went from the forgiving idealist to a hardened fighter in killing fleeing opponents and landing killing blows without a care.

[Melee_Sovereign]

Goku has, what you call, a flat character arc. That means he changes the world, story and characters around him rather than those things changing him.

It's also why Frieza is basically the evil version of him, as he has a villainous flat character arc.

[It_Is_Ayna_You_Flips]

Goku does change a good bit throughout early DB but it's subtle. When we're introduced to Goku he has a very naive view of what fighting is and then in the Red Ribbon Arc we see him slowly start realizing that fighting is serious business. He not only sees Upa's father cruelly murdered he sees the Red Ribbon Army almost casually terminate Hacchan because the andoird doesn't want to fight. Those experiences wake him up to the reality that most martial artists aren't his grandfather or master. Most martial artists aren't interested in self betterment or perfecting their craft. They just want power.

So when Goku confronts Tenshinhan in the 22nd Budokai he immediately realizes Tenshinhan isn't there to play games and that he, Goku, needs to fight as if his life depends on it. Later his hot headedness almost gets him killed when he tries to avenge Krillin and despite figuring out how to use his anger to his advantage when fighting Piccolo Daimao, Goku still has to learn to fight with a clear head to pass Kami's training. This leads to a Goku who triumphs over an improved Piccolo not because he lands a lucky shot but because he's become a much more adaptive and intelligent fighter.

It's a character arc and a pretty good one imo but it's no where as dramatic a shift as we see in other characters. And since Goku's core personality never really changes it hasn't inspired nearly as much fan wank lol

Z-era Goku is much harder to pin down but I think that's because he's mia for 70-80% of the plot.

[McDonaldsGuy]

one weird thing about Goku's character evolution is his willingness to kill enemies. Pre-Piccolo Jr. saga, he kills his enemies without much thought. Then after training with Kami, he not only allows Piccolo Jr. to live, but gives him a senzu bean. Then he allows Vegeta to live - but for mostly selfish reasons.

But then he inexplicably not only refuses to kill Furiza, but gives him power to escape the planet. THEN when it's clear Furiza is not going to learn, his blast isn't powerful enough to kill him. This was very bizarre and I still don't understand that whole ordeal. I understand why he allowed Furiza to go 100%, but not why he was so merciful afterwards. Same with Piccolo Jr. With Vegeta there was the excuse he wanted to face him again 1 v 1.

I thought it was an interesting but confusing character development change.

[DBZAOTA482]

It's true to the extent that his character arc already ended and he's basically a living zombie.

OG Dragon Ball was about his journey of becoming a great martial artist so there's quite a bit of development there, while Z shows his adult life after achieving his goals including becoming a family man.

Toriyama did pretty much all he could with Goku's character by the Freeza arc which is probably he tried to shift focus onto other characters.

[Matches Malone]

I understand why he allowed Furiza to go 100%, but not why he was so merciful afterwards. Same with Piccolo Jr. With Vegeta there was the excuse he wanted to face him again 1 v 1.

Keep in mind that Kami would die if Goku killed Piccolo. There's also the fact of Piccolo not killing anyone, so there was no need to put him down. When it comes to Freeza, I think Goku did plan on killing him after he murdered Krillin, but something unexpected happened, Freeza ended up in a position worse than death. He lost both legs and an arm, resulting in him (as far as Goku could tell) never being able to fight or hurt anyone again.

[Psajdak]

Goku had as much of character development as that one mermaid.

[It_Is_Ayna_You_Flips]

He lost both legs and an arm, resulting in him (as far as Goku could tell) never being able to fight or hurt anyone again.

Oh hell yeah. Inconsistent writing of the fight aside, Goku was being downright cruel in that moment. Freeza was in literal pieces with all of his finest soldiers dead and his dreams of immortality dashed. Sparing Freeza was the opposite of mercy.

It was a believable extension of his character too. To me at least, this was the natural evolution of that kid who almost snapped when Murosaki threatened to kill Hachan.

[emperior]

Goku’s development revolves around his improvements as a fighter.

But if we talk about strict personality development, then Goku had development as a kid when he went from being clueless of the world to a person who could function in society.

He also became humble in the 21st Budokai Tenkaichi due to the teachings of his master, while before that he appeared as an arrogant kid who thought he could beat everyone.

He also had some little character development here and there, such as when he accepted and embraced his Saiyan heritage in the Freeza arc, or how he later became much more pragmatic in the Cell and Buu arc.

[Matches Malone]

Goku had as much of character development as that one mermaid.

When was the last time you watched/read DB and Z ?

[Psajdak]

When was the last time you watched/read DB and Z ?

Few years ago I watched the entire series from the first episode, together with OVAs, movies, and specials between the episodes that aired at the time of their initial release.

Unfortunately, Dr. Slump still isn't subbed in entirety, so I decided to skip it, and at the time one end of the year special in early 90s also wasn't translated.

I watched so, all the way up to the end of that one DBZ Kai episode where at the end appears Kid Buu.

For some reason I decided not to watch the rest of episodes, and continued with RoF movie, or DBS - not sure which one was released first.

Anyway, recent enough to know what I#m talking about.

[Tai Lung]

This is said a lot by fans. In Super and late Z, I believe it is largely true. But from the beginning of Dragon Ball up through the Cell Arc I feel as though we watch Goku organically go from a naive and stupid little boy to being fairly perceptive, and a man among men.

-in the anime almost everyone received a true development and it seems to me that the one he showed "more" is when he confronts jiren ... is the most notorious giving recognition to all those who helped him get his power, his friends, enemies and rivals are something that he has never stopped to think about the past
-He also showed deep emotions when Roshi was about to lose his life, who is like a second father to him.
-Goku has finally made passes with his past and his race is no longer considered a earthling completely and has shown an interest in its origins in addition to meeting and making friends with other saiyans
my favorite parts have been when he met caulifla, kale and broly

[Matches Malone]

Recent enough to know what I#m talking about.

That's very questionable if you believe Goku didn't get any character development. By the time the story ends he's a very different character from the one we're introduced to at the start. There's countless moments thoughout that show just how much he was going as each are went by.

[blacksymbiote]

Goku socially matured somewhat growing older. Apart from that, nothing is forcing him to develop. He has the most potential to get stronger in a universe that's completely dictated by how strong you are and death holds no real consequence. Given that, as long as Goku can get stronger, he doesn't stand to face any real change.