Son Goku is the hero of Dragon Ball: the monkey-tailed boy Akira Toriyama introduced in the very first chapter of the manga, published in Weekly Shōnen Jump in late 1984. Born a Saiyan but raised on Earth, he has carried the franchise for four decades with the same simple drive: get stronger and find someone tougher to fight.
Who he is
Goku's birth name is Kakarot. He is born on Planet Vegeta and sent to Earth as a baby, where an old martial artist named Son Gohan finds him, raises him as a grandson and names him Goku. A nasty fall when he is little wipes out the aggression typical of his race. What remains is a naive, generous, permanently hungry kid who lives for fighting but has no interest in ruling anyone.
The name comes from Sun Wukong, the Monkey King of the Chinese classic Journey to the West. Toriyama originally pictured an actual monkey before settling on a boy with a tail.
His story across the series
- Dragon Ball: meeting Bulma kicks off the hunt for the Dragon Balls. Goku trains under Master Roshi alongside Krillin, takes down the Red Ribbon Army, loses two World Martial Arts Tournament finals and wins the third against Piccolo, having promised to marry Chi-Chi.
- Dragon Ball Z: his brother Raditz arrives and reveals the truth about his origins. Goku dies, trains with King Kai, battles Vegeta and, on Namek, becomes a Super Saiyan for the first time against Frieza. During the Cell saga he steps aside for his son Gohan and sacrifices himself; years later he returns for the Majin Buu saga, which he closes with a Spirit Bomb.
- Dragon Ball Super: the gods enter the picture. Goku reaches Super Saiyan God, Super Saiyan Blue and, during the Tournament of Power, Ultra Instinct.
- Dragon Ball Daima: shrunk by a wish, he travels through the Demon Realm and unleashes Super Saiyan 4, first in his small form and later as an adult.
- Dragon Ball GT: turned back into a child, he reaches Super Saiyan 4 and, at the very end, departs with the dragon Shenron.
Powers, techniques and transformations
Goku learns by watching. He reproduces the Kamehameha after seeing it once, and that detail tells you most of what you need to know about him.
| Technique or form | Where he gets it |
|---|---|
| Kamehameha | Copied from Master Roshi (Dragon Ball) |
| Kaioken and Spirit Bomb | Taught by King Kai (Saiyan saga) |
| Instant Transmission | Learned on Planet Yardrat (after Namek) |
| Super Saiyan, 2 and 3 | Against Frieza, then in the afterlife (Z) |
| Super Saiyan God and Blue | Dragon Ball Super |
| Ultra Instinct | Tournament of Power (Super) |
| Super Saiyan 4 | Dragon Ball GT and Dragon Ball Daima |
Then there are the fusions with Vegeta: Vegito through the Potara earrings and Gogeta through the Fusion dance. For the full evolution of the golden forms, see our guide to Super Saiyan transformations.
Relationships
- Krillin is his best friend: a rival during training, then a brother in arms. His death at Frieza's hands triggers the first Super Saiyan.
- Vegeta is the rival, a prince who cannot stand being outclassed by a low-class warrior.
- Gohan is the son Goku entrusts with the future during the Cell Games.
- Bulma is his first friend, the one who brings him down from the mountains.
- Chi-Chi is the wife who scolds him, fairly enough, for caring more about training than about anything else.
Why he is iconic: our take
Goku works because he is simple without being flat. He does not fight for revenge or for some abstract idea of justice; he fights because he loves it, and that is exactly why he keeps giving enemies a second chance. That habit is how Piccolo and Vegeta become allies, and also how a fair amount of trouble starts.
There is a less heroic side too: he is an often absent father and a distracted husband. The series never hide it, which makes him feel more real than the flawless hero type. His scream turning into golden light on Namek remains one of the founding moments of modern shōnen.
Did you know? Akira Toriyama personally picked Masako Nozawa after listening to audition tapes, convinced that only her voice could be Goku. She has voiced him in every series since, and also voices Gohan and Goten.
Trivia
- His Saiyan name Kakarot is a play on carrot: Saiyans are named after vegetables.
- In Funimation's English dub, adult Goku has been voiced by Sean Schemmel across the franchise.
- His trademark greeting in the Japanese next-episode previews, "Ossu! Ora Gokū", became a catchphrase in its own right.