Goku is a disaster as a father, according to Akira Toriyama

[SuperSaiyaManZ94]

Yeah, it does seem like Chi-Chi went a little too over the top at times in that regard especially when Gohan was that young. For instance, when they're in the Capsule Corp ship in ep 139 transporting the unconscious Goku away and she's out of the blue nowhere like "Oh yeah Gohan time to study study study." then continuously keeps jerking his face back to the textbook every time he turns his head away to speak or do anything at all. I mean, it seems like even in a crisis she couldn't let it wait. He even asks "At a time like this?" and i get her intentions but there are times in the series where it feels a little too excessive on her part. Seriously, not even letting five seconds pass there without having his nose in a book? She's the definition of a tiger mother, one who aggressively wants their child to pursue something of their own wishes to the point where it's almost borderline nuts. I wouldn't be surprised if the scholar thing was an idea or aspiration that Chi-Chi forced upon him, because really what child especially at 4 years of age is already thinking of something like that? I do get this is a fictional world which is different from ours and while there are those in real life who take education as seriously to nearly the same extent Chi-Chi does (to the point where making anything less than an A in subjects is bad, and boy i'm sure glad my parents weren't that obsessive over it though naturally they still wanted me to do as best as i could) it just feels so forced and really makes me feel for Gohan at times.

That stuff with the airship is filler.

Also to be fair, there are kids that want to be teachers when they grow up.

Yes the bit i mentioned above as an example is indeed an anime only scene and nowhere to be found in the manga, and i know being an educator/scholar.etc is something kids have as their "what do i want to be when i grow up" and some (though certainly not all) actually do legit pursue that as a chosen career path once they get to high school and college age. It's just in Gohan's case i didn't think someone as young as he is at the start of Z would really have that on their mind so early on.

[miguelnuva1]

Goku and Chichi suck as marriage partners.

Goku would have been better off being a Sperm Donnor(husband) for Bulma, with Kuririn or Yamacha who don't mind working being married to Chichi.

Bulma's parenting style would balance out Goku more and Bulma would know when to be a serious parent without running over Goku. Chichi even if she's in the right just bullies Goku.

Vegeta I guess would end up with Launch or something.

[TheGreatness25]

Bah, all of the relatiomships are just right. These aren't real people with real personalities that could clash--they are all written exactly as they're meant to be. If you feel that Goku and Chichi clash, it's because that's the joke. All it takes is a few strokes of a pen to completely change their dynamic. Clearly DB isn't a drama where different characters go through different relationships. If Goku was written to be with Bulma, then Bulma would suddenly take on the same personality that Chichi has right now because that's what Toriyama wanted for Goku's relationship. If not, then he wouldn't write it like that.

I wonder if Toriyama is aware of how many people have a strong dislike for his main protagonist's wife.

I feel bad for Chichi as a character. I wish that she was written a bit better. But then again, what character can you not say that for in this series? There's no character that has been unscathed--they all have their share of terrible moments.

[jjgp1112]

Bah, all of the relatiomships are just right. These aren't real people with real personalities that could clash--they are all written exactly as they're meant to be. If you feel that Goku and Chichi clash, it's because that's the joke. All it takes is a few strokes of a pen to completely change their dynamic. Clearly DB isn't a drama where different characters go through different relationships. If Goku was written to be with Bulma, then Bulma would suddenly take on the same personality that Chichi has right now because that's what Toriyama wanted for Goku's relationship. If not, then he wouldn't write it like that.

I wonder if Toriyama is aware of how many people have a strong dislike for his main protagonist's wife.

I feel bad for Chichi as a character. I wish that she was written a bit better. But then again, what character can you not say that for in this series? There's no character that has been unscathed--they all have their share of terrible moments.

Toriyama himself doesn't like Chi-Chi

[PurestEvil]

Toriyama himself doesn't like Chi-Chi

To be more precise, he doesn't like the difficulty of drawing Chi Chi. That's why he basically sidelined her and kept her as a gag character.

[miguelnuva1]

Bah, all of the relatiomships are just right. These aren't real people with real personalities that could clash--they are all written exactly as they're meant to be. If you feel that Goku and Chichi clash, it's because that's the joke. All it takes is a few strokes of a pen to completely change their dynamic. Clearly DB isn't a drama where different characters go through different relationships. If Goku was written to be with Bulma, then Bulma would suddenly take on the same personality that Chichi has right now because that's what Toriyama wanted for Goku's relationship. If not, then he wouldn't write it like that.

I wonder if Toriyama is aware of how many people have a strong dislike for his main protagonist's wife.

I feel bad for Chichi as a character. I wish that she was written a bit better. But then again, what character can you not say that for in this series? There's no character that has been unscathed--they all have their share of terrible moments.

If the character personalities changes then ofcourse the thought of the parring would change. What if parring only work because of the different personalities. If Goku's wife has to have Chichi's current personality then it doesn't matter if he married Suno, Bulma or Lois Lane.

23rd Budokai Chichi is a better match then her current personality because her current personality tries to overrun everything Goku does. I'm not even saying Goku should leave just that in a healthy marriage bith he and Chichi could find better partners.

[TheGreatness25]

Bah, all of the relatiomships are just right. These aren't real people with real personalities that could clash--they are all written exactly as they're meant to be. If you feel that Goku and Chichi clash, it's because that's the joke. All it takes is a few strokes of a pen to completely change their dynamic. Clearly DB isn't a drama where different characters go through different relationships. If Goku was written to be with Bulma, then Bulma would suddenly take on the same personality that Chichi has right now because that's what Toriyama wanted for Goku's relationship. If not, then he wouldn't write it like that.

I wonder if Toriyama is aware of how many people have a strong dislike for his main protagonist's wife.

I feel bad for Chichi as a character. I wish that she was written a bit better. But then again, what character can you not say that for in this series? There's no character that has been unscathed--they all have their share of terrible moments.

If the character personalities changes then ofcourse the thought of the parring would change. What if parring only work because of the different personalities. If Goku's wife has to have Chichi's current personality then it doesn't matter if he married Suno, Bulma or Lois Lane.

23rd Budokai Chichi is a better match then her current personality because her current personality tries to overrun everything Goku does. I'm not even saying Goku should leave just that in a healthy marriage bith he and Chichi could find better partners.

But that's the gag! Toriyama will torpedo a character and create a horrible situation because it gives him a chuckle. He could've very easily developed Chichi better. He developed Bulma into a better character--the person she is before and after Vegeta is night and day. After Vegeta, she mellowed out and became the chillest person in the room despite being the most loud-mouth, whiny, overbearing character up until that point.

That's why I say it's very easy to change their personalities--especially Chichi's since she's way less developed than Bulma. But again, Toriyama seems to get a kick out of her contrast with Goku, so that's why I said (and you picked up on it) that it doesn't matter who Goku ended up with, her character would become like Chichi.

For some reason, Toriyama enjoys making his main protagonist a careless guy who kind of sucks as a family man and friend in a bland marriage. It seems to be "funny" to him.

I mean look at Chichi. She was trained under Gyumao, a top-tier martial artist. She liked Goku as he was. She fought Goku in hand-to-hand combat on the day they got engaged. And then five years pass and it's like a totally different person. I believe that no matter who Goku was married with, they'd end up being Chichi.

[ABED]

She was not a top tier martial artist. She was okay. Great compared to normal humans but that's not saying a whole lot. She fought Goku hand to hand but it's not like she did all that well.

There's a fairly direct line from when we saw her in DB and where she was at the beginning of DBZ. Her goal was always to marry Goku since we first meet her.

[TheGreatness25]

She was not a top tier martial artist. She was okay. Great compared to normal humans but that's not saying a whole lot. She fought Goku hand to hand but it's not like she did all that well.

I was saying that she trained under Gyumao, who himself was a top-tier martial artist (being a pupil of Muten Roshi). And it doesn't matter that she didn't do well against Goku. The point is that she didn't mind fighting.

[ABED]

But her entire goal for entering the tournament was to get Goku's attention.

[TheGreatness25]

But her entire goal for entering the tournament was to get Goku's attention.

Yeah... But she still did it. She had nothing against fighting. In fact, she knew that Goku was obsessed with fighting, which is why she knew that she could ever the Tenkaichi Budokai to get his attention in the first place. And then, in Z, it's as if all of their time together was wiped clean. I'm just saying that Toriyama chose to make her that way because that's what he felt Goku's wife should be like. Regardless of whom he'd marry, they'd all end up with that personality because that's what Toriyama wanted for him. If not, all he had to do was write Chichi differently. Toriyama started to have Chichi turn the corner when Chichi let Goku train Gohan for the androids and then against Cell, and even she trained Goten and let Gohan enter the Tenkaichi Budokai. But seems like Super struck and all that development went up in smoke because "ha-ha! She's a gag character!" Isn't it funny that the guy obsessed with fighting married someone so against it!? Ha-ha! Laugh! Why aren't you laughing!?

[ABED]

So? She has nothing against HER fighting. It's like those people in an industry like pro wrestling or Hollywood that love it but don't want their children in it. She wants better for her child, or what she thinks is better. Remember, her whole idea of what marriage and family is comes from popular media. It's a hop, jump, and a skip from that to tiger mom. It's not the same if he had married someone like Suno. There was no radical shift, Chichi was simply further along the path she was already on. She was in no way out of character.

[DBZAOTA482]

She was not a top tier martial artist. She was okay. Great compared to normal humans but that's not saying a whole lot. She fought Goku hand to hand but it's not like she did all that well.

There's a fairly direct line from when we saw her in DB and where she was at the beginning of DBZ. Her goal was always to marry Goku since we first meet her.

If you wanna get technical, she was. She made it past the prelims of the Tenkaichi Budokai during the hardest year and earned praise from Muten Roshi on her fighting prowess. It's just that Goku was on a completely different level from everyone else. Any human weaker than Yamcha would be defeated just as easily. She also liked that Goku was the strongest under the heavens.

But Chi-Chi only existed to be married off to Goku so nothing came of this.

[ABED]

She was not a top tier martial artist. She was okay. Great compared to normal humans but that's not saying a whole lot. She fought Goku hand to hand but it's not like she did all that well.

There's a fairly direct line from when we saw her in DB and where she was at the beginning of DBZ. Her goal was always to marry Goku since we first meet her.

If you wanna get technical, she was. She made it past the prelims of the Tenkaichi Budokai during the hardest year and earned praise from Muten Roshi on her fighting prowess. It's just that Goku was on a completely different level from everyone else. Any human weaker than Yamcha would be defeated just as easily. She also liked that Goku was the strongest under the heavens.

But Chi-Chi only existed to be married off to Goku so nothing came of this.

So because she has some talent that means that she would want that for her child? Nothing came of it because it was never truly fundamental to her character. We know she's trained

People keep overblowing her level of talent. It's doubtful she could even defeat Chaozu. She won prelims but that ain't saying much. To say she was top tier at the time is grading on a curve. And again, none of this suggests that just because she's good at it, she would want that for her child. She was a gag character from the start.

[super michael]

So? She has nothing against HER fighting. It's like those people in an industry like pro wrestling or Hollywood that love it but don't want their children in it. She wants better for her child, or what she thinks is better. Remember, her whole idea of what marriage and family is comes from popular media. It's a hop, jump, and a skip from that to tiger mom. It's not the same if he had married someone like Suno. There was no radical shift, Chichi was simply further along the path she was already on. She was in no way out of character.

Gohan and Goten are both Chi Chi and Goku kids, that means both have equal right in how to raise their kids.

Teaching martial art and training isn't a bad thing, Chi Chi not wanting Goku to teach martial arts or train is wrong.

Training and teaching martial art is good for anyone, be it kids or adults. Saying she doesn't want Goku to teach or train for the better of her kids is just wrong and is just Chi Chi being a control freak.

Saiyan Saga = Bad Chi Chi
After Saiyan Vegeta defeat = improved Chi Chi
Before Android Saga = improved Chi Chi
During Android Saga = improved Chi Chi
Buu Saga, Yo Son Goku, BoG and DBS Manga = Best Chi Chi of all times.
DBS anime = Worst Chi Chi of all time.

[MyVisionity]

I like Chichi as a character and think the "tiger mom" stuff is an endearing quality. I never had a problem with her putting studying above saving the world.

Overall I think that both Goku and Chichi are great parents. Flawed, perhaps unconventional, but great. "Disaster" can mean lots of things. It doesn't necessarily mean that you aren't also a good parent.

[miguelnuva1]

She was not a top tier martial artist. She was okay. Great compared to normal humans but that's not saying a whole lot. She fought Goku hand to hand but it's not like she did all that well.

There's a fairly direct line from when we saw her in DB and where she was at the beginning of DBZ. Her goal was always to marry Goku since we first meet her.

If you wanna get technical, she was. She made it past the prelims of the Tenkaichi Budokai during the hardest year and earned praise from Muten Roshi on her fighting prowess. It's just that Goku was on a completely different level from everyone else. Any human weaker than Yamcha would be defeated just as easily. She also liked that Goku was the strongest under the heavens.

But Chi-Chi only existed to be married off to Goku so nothing came of this.

So because she has some talent that means that she would want that for her child? Nothing came of it because it was never truly fundamental to her character. We know she's trained

People keep overblowing her level of talent. It's doubtful she could even defeat Chaozu. She won prelims but that ain't saying much. To say she was top tier at the time is grading on a curve. And again, none of this suggests that just because she's good at it, she would want that for her child. She was a gag character from the start.

The top 8, Roshi, Popo and Choutzu still means Chichi at the 23rd Budokai had a chance at being 11 of the top 11 strongest in the world.

[Saiya6Cit]

So? She has nothing against HER fighting. It's like those people in an industry like pro wrestling or Hollywood that love it but don't want their children in it. She wants better for her child, or what she thinks is better. Remember, her whole idea of what marriage and family is comes from popular media. It's a hop, jump, and a skip from that to tiger mom. It's not the same if he had married someone like Suno. There was no radical shift, Chichi was simply further along the path she was already on. She was in no way out of character.

Gohan and Goten are both Chi Chi and Goku kids, that means both have equal right in how to raise their kids.

Teaching martial art and training isn't a bad thing, Chi Chi not wanting Goku to teach martial arts or train is wrong.

Training and teaching martial art is good for anyone, be it kids or adults. Saying she doesn't want Goku to teach or train for the better of her kids is just wrong and is just Chi Chi being a control freak.

Saiyan Saga = Bad Chi Chi
After Saiyan Vegeta defeat = improved Chi Chi
Before Android Saga = improved Chi Chi
During Android Saga = improved Chi Chi
Buu Saga, Yo Son Goku, BoG and DBS Manga = Best Chi Chi of all times.
DBS anime = Worst Chi Chi of all time.

I was thinking worst chichi of all times was GT Chichi...

[super michael]

I forgot to rate GT Chi Chi, in my opinion she is good. She is actually a good wife, mother and grandma.

[DBZAOTA482]

She was not a top tier martial artist. She was okay. Great compared to normal humans but that's not saying a whole lot. She fought Goku hand to hand but it's not like she did all that well.

There's a fairly direct line from when we saw her in DB and where she was at the beginning of DBZ. Her goal was always to marry Goku since we first meet her.

If you wanna get technical, she was. She made it past the prelims of the Tenkaichi Budokai during the hardest year and earned praise from Muten Roshi on her fighting prowess. It's just that Goku was on a completely different level from everyone else. Any human weaker than Yamcha would be defeated just as easily. She also liked that Goku was the strongest under the heavens.

But Chi-Chi only existed to be married off to Goku so nothing came of this.

So because she has some talent that means that she would want that for her child? Nothing came of it because it was never truly fundamental to her character. We know she's trained

People keep overblowing her level of talent. It's doubtful she could even defeat Chaozu. She won prelims but that ain't saying much. To say she was top tier at the time is grading on a curve. And again, none of this suggests that just because she's good at it, she would want that for her child. She was a gag character from the start.

The point is she supported Goku's ambitions as a martial artist and she was pretty good in her own rights so Toriyama could've went a different route with her character which would've been much more interesting than what we got and more in-line with how she was characterized, but he chose not to.

She probably could defeat Chiaotzu at the time considering how everyone reacted to their respective defeats.