Goku was smart in Dragon Ball manga

[super michael]

During his adventures and training with his masters, he gained a lot of knowledge. Goku gained wisdom as he grew.

Here is a list of things Goku learned:

- Goku using his nose to find someone/something.
- Knowing the difference between male/female.
- How to count higher numbers.
- How to tell when someone lying.
- How to tell who is strong without fighting.
- When to kill and not to kill.
- How to keep a secret.
- Coming up with plan to find someone, revive and protect the earth.
- How to get others to help him.
- How to train properly and meditate.
- How to train others and teach them.
- How to be patient such as waiting to train with masters or ROSAT
- Knows when to take his battle serious and knows how to exploit character weakness.

Goku isn't perfect, there are times he is naive but that isn't bad. Goku in Dragon Ball manga was a great character.

[Dr. Casey]

I'd say that Goku's intelligence is average (though this doesn't become obvious until he's an adult, he does genuinely come across a bit dim as a child), he just has a simple personality and always remained a bit abnormal due to his isolated childhood in the woods.

[LoganForkHands73]

Eh, those probably aren't the best examples of Goku's intelligence. Him learning how to count, how to smell people (?) and how to tell the differences between males and females isn't exactly encouraging, that's below pre-school level stuff and Goku was older than he looked at the time. Considering that Goku was at least educated to speak and understand the concept of the opposite sex, it's something he probably should've picked up on much quicker without resorting to crotch-patting.

One of the best decisions Toriyama made in early Dragon Ball was curbstomping the "Goku doesn't understand basic concepts" gag when he says he doesn't know what socks are or something and Roshi basically replies, "yeah, that's really not cute anymore, time for some first grade education." Unfortunately, Super still includes unfunny gags like Goku having trouble counting.

To me, Goku only came off as wise and mature towards the very end of the manga. He still shows signs of his usual social ignorance outside of combat during the final stretches, but they appear less frequently.

[super michael]

Eh, those probably aren't the best examples of Goku's intelligence. Him learning how to count, how to smell people (?) and how to tell the differences between males and females isn't exactly encouraging, that's below pre-school level stuff and Goku was older than he looked at the time. Considering that Goku was at least educated to speak and understand the concept of the opposite sex, it's something he probably should've picked up on much quicker without resorting to crotch-patting.

One of the best decisions Toriyama made in early Dragon Ball was curbstomping the "Goku doesn't understand basic concepts" gag when he says he doesn't know what socks are or something and Roshi basically replies, "yeah, that's really not cute anymore, time for some first grade education." Unfortunately, Super still includes unfunny gags like Goku having trouble counting.

To me, Goku only came off as wise and mature towards the very end of the manga. He still shows signs of his usual social ignorance outside of combat during the final stretches, but they appear less frequently.

Goku says he has never seen female before, so it is no surprise he wouldn't know. Grandpa Gohan is the only person he knew.
We know Grandpa Gohan died when Goku was young and we don't know what exactly Grandpa Gohan taught him apart from martial arts.

Goku could use his scent of smell to find a specific stone and even to know someone identity, if said person doesn't mask it.
Lets not forget Goku mind reading.

[ABED]

His strong sense of smell isn't a matter of intelligence. It's a matter of his Saiyan physiology.

[super michael]

His strong sense of smell isn't a matter of intelligence. It's a matter of his Saiyan physiology.

No other Saiyan has demonstrated this ability at all.

[ABED]

I think he is shown to have it in the Buu arc, but regardless, it's not a function of intelligence. It is Goku's biology and the fact that he was raised in the mountains, away from civilization.

And it's a trait used mostly for gags.

I don't have anything else to add. Peace out.

[PurestEvil]

Goku’s stupidity doesn’t come from a lack of intelligence, but rather a lack of education.

[super michael]

I think he is shown to have it in the Buu arc, but regardless, it's not a function of intelligence. It is Goku's biology and the fact that he was raised in the mountains, away from civilization.

And it's a trait used mostly for gags.

I don't have anything else to add. Peace out.

The scene with Goku finding Master Roshi stone wasn't a gag, that was one of Master Roshi test. If one fails that test they would go the day without eating.

Finding out one identity isn't gag.

As for the Saiyan Saga to EOZ we are never shown anyone using that ability to sense someone smell to find things or uncover someone identity.


Here is a underrated feat, Goku as a kid survival by himself for many years. He managed to not starve to death.

[jjgp1112]

Eh, those probably aren't the best examples of Goku's intelligence. Him learning how to count, how to smell people (?) and how to tell the differences between males and females isn't exactly encouraging, that's below pre-school level stuff and Goku was older than he looked at the time. Considering that Goku was at least educated to speak and understand the concept of the opposite sex, it's something he probably should've picked up on much quicker without resorting to crotch-patting.

One of the best decisions Toriyama made in early Dragon Ball was curbstomping the "Goku doesn't understand basic concepts" gag when he says he doesn't know what socks are or something and Roshi basically replies, "yeah, that's really not cute anymore, time for some first grade education." Unfortunately, Super still includes unfunny gags like Goku having trouble counting.

To me, Goku only came off as wise and mature towards the very end of the manga. He still shows signs of his usual social ignorance outside of combat during the final stretches, but they appear less frequently.

Hell Goku still had to get a 100% confirmation that Videl is a girl

[TheGreatness25]

Really am wondering where this myth that Goku is dumb started from. Goku was never dumb--he was ignorant. There's a difference. Early Dragon Ball Goku was a classic case of "you don't know what you don't know."

How could someone call him dumb for thinking that Bulma's car was a beast when he never knew about technology and only came across various beasts his entire life until that point?

I never once got the impression that Goku was dumb. And when it came to battle, Goku was actually highly intelligent. I did think that Goku was carefree. There are a lot of things that Goku doesn't value: money, constantly seeing his friends, settling down romantically. That doesn't make him dumb. And Goku has a lot of confidence, so when everyone's running around in circles, Goku isn't fazed because he truly believes that everything will be okay--also doesn't make him dumb.

And we've seen that Goku knows when a situation is dire and he needs to act with caution or urgency. We saw this all throughout the series. Clearly, Goku's carefree attitude is discretionary--he was carefree in the days leading up to the Cell Games because he knew Gohan could beat Cell, but he was very serious about beating Freeza, for example.

And then, I kind of feel like fans put Goku into this box of how dumb he was. I feel like Super plays up how dumb and carefree Goku is. The thing with Monaka and not knowing what kissing is was pretty dumb. It's hard to make the ignorance argument with the kissing too because... I mean, come on. Amd Goku's carefree nature is way played up with how nonchalantly he sacrifices Universe 7 just to get to fight. I feel like Z Goku would never do that.

[LoganForkHands73]

Goku says he has never seen female before, so it is no surprise he wouldn't know. Grandpa Gohan is the only person he knew.
We know Grandpa Gohan died when Goku was young and we don't know what exactly Grandpa Gohan taught him apart from martial arts.

Goku could use his scent of smell to find a specific stone and even to know someone identity, if said person doesn't mask it.
Lets not forget Goku mind reading.

Goku wasn't like Victor of Aveyron, he had enough basic education from Grandpa Gohan to speak and take care of himself in the woods for several years without resorting to completely feral behaviour. As he had trouble determining people's genders, he could've just asked them until he had it nailed down, which would've been a smarter thing to do, but obviously that's not as funny to Toriyama.

His sense of good smell is not a mark of intelligence, it's another thing that shows Goku to be more animal than human. The ancient "dogs are better judges of character" trope. He relies on his body's natural (ultra) instinct, not his brains. His ability to learn techniques so quickly is indeed a mark of intelligence, but it only relates to his special interest in martial arts.

Hell Goku still had to get a 100% confirmation that Videl is a girl

Lmao, true.

[Saiya6Cit]

I have also noticed and commented at places that kid Goku was smarter than adult Goku.

Maybe the fact that he did not want to marry and have kids but Chichi forced him made Goku start acting stupid to troll people around him.

Ever since Goku died and started to live with King Kai and bubbles and people from the other world he changed, he became more silly in my opinion.

[Pride9000!!!]

Goku may not be the smartest guy in the room if you give him a test in mathematics or something like that. But the guy is a FIGHTING GENIUS, what Took master roshi 50 years to learn the kamehameha wave the guy learns it in like 2 seconds, he constantly learns new abilities or fighting styles, fights beings with thousands of years experience.

He is written as a naive character but he's just good at things that he's passionate about. The guy could be a better scholar than Gohan if he was interested in books.

[Anonymous Friend]

I have also noticed and commented at places that kid Goku was smarter than adult Goku.

Maybe the fact that he did not want to marry and have kids but Chichi forced him made Goku start acting stupid to troll people around him.

Ever since Goku died and started to live with King Kai and bubbles and people from the other world he changed, he became more silly in my opinion.

Dude died twice, went to an afterlife that was literally and figurally heaven, where he gets to train and fight with other strong opponents. I'm not sure about "silly", but he became a bit more carefree in his approaches. By the end of Z, everyone had died at least once and been brought back to life. the fact that they have this in their back pocket also led him to be more cavalier.

[Vijay]

I think he is shown to have it in the Buu arc, but regardless, it's not a function of intelligence. It is Goku's biology and the fact that he was raised in the mountains, away from civilization.

And it's a trait used mostly for gags.

I don't have anything else to add. Peace out.

The scene with Goku finding Master Roshi stone wasn't a gag, that was one of Master Roshi test. If one fails that test they would go the day without eating.

Finding out one identity isn't gag.

As for the Saiyan Saga to EOZ we are never shown anyone using that ability to sense someone smell to find things or uncover someone identity.


Here is a underrated feat, Goku as a kid survival by himself for many years. He managed to not starve to death.

He plays with Saber Tigers ffs what he has to fear or starve for? Seems like he lived with Granpa Gohan for decent amount of time, plus he knows kungfu, has nyoibo & superhuman strength...basically the animals in Mt Paozu has to fear Kid Goku

[Cursed Lemon]

Have we ever considered the possibility that Goku is on the spectrum

Because it's non-facetiously a possibility.

[LoganForkHands73]

Have we ever considered the possibility that Goku is on the spectrum

Because it's non-facetiously a possibility.

On some level, I've always considered it, regardless of intentionality. At the very least, some kind of savant syndrome.