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Son Goku - Dragon Ball

Son Goku is the protagonist (and sometimes arguably antagonist) of the Dragon Ball series and appears in all iterations of the franchise. He is based on Sun Wukong, the main character of the Chinese novel "Journey to the West." The character has been consistently voiced by Masako Nozawa in all Japanese animated and video game depictions.

Son Goku, often referred to as "Goku", is a member of the Saiyan warrior race who, as a baby, was sent out alone to conquer Earth. He first appeared in Dragon Ball when he met a young Bulma . Goku is a small, but very strong, 11-year-old boy capable of practicing martial arts. He is depicted with his signature spiky black hair, a blue martial arts kimono, and a brown prehensile tail. Throughout the series, Goku's main ambitions are to become stronger and protect his friends, family, and planet Earth from the various villains that appear in each saga. He also meets and befriends many characters over the course of the series. This includes rivals such as Krillin and Tien , and enemies-turned-allies like Piccolo and Vegeta .

Appearances in Dragon Ball

Goku first appears in the Dragon Ball series as a child with a tail found and adopted by the hermit Gohan (whom he accidentally kills while in his Great Ape form). Goku lives alone in the forest with the Four-Star Dragon Ball as a memento of his adoptive grandfather Gohan. One day, he meets a young girl named Bulma , and the two begin an adventure to find all seven Dragon Balls. While traveling through a desert, Goku and Bulma encounter a bandit named Yamcha , who falls madly in love with Bulma at first sight and joins their quest. Sometime later, Goku is trained by the martial artist Master Roshi alongside a young Krillin, with whom he becomes best friends. Master Roshi gives Goku the Nimbus Cloud for saving his friend Turtle. This becomes Goku's primary method of transportation due to his ability to fly at high speeds. Goku's main attack as a child is "Jan ken," which is an attack based on the game "Rock, Paper, Scissors." He also uses a red staff called a "Power Pole" that can extend on command. His signature attack, however, is the Kamehameha, which he copies from Master Roshi. The Kamehameha is an energy beam attack fired from the palms of both hands clasped together in front of the user. He also learns to fly after training with Kami. Over the course of several tournaments, Goku battles various powerful enemies such as Tien None Chiaozu None Piccolo , many of whom eventually become close allies and friends. After the final tournament in which Goku defeats "Demon Junior" (Piccolo), he marries Chi-Chi and starts a family.

Appearance in Dragon Ball Z

After defeating the evil King Piccolo and his "son" Piccolo Jr., Dragon Ball Z begins with Goku and his family living in peace until his Saiyan brother Raditz arrives on Earth. After forging an unlikely alliance with Piccolo, the two manage to defeat Raditz at the cost of Goku's life. They then learn that two more powerful Saiyans are already heading towards Earth ( Nappa and Vegeta ).

Goku continues his training in the afterlife with King Kaio, where he learns the Kaioken and Spirit Bomb techniques. As the fight on Earth continues, Nappa quickly dispatches the Z Fighters and nearly kills Gohan, but has his back broken by Goku. A difficult battle ensues between the newly returned Goku and the terrifyingly strong Vegeta. Ultimately, the fight ends with Vegeta narrowly escaping and Goku injured and unable to move.

With Piccolo gone, the Z Fighters travel to Namek to find the Namekian Dragon Balls. This way, they can resurrect everyone killed during the fight with Nappa and Vegeta. Unbeknownst to them, Frieza is also on Namek and is searching for the Dragon Balls. Goku travels to Namek after being healed from his fight with Vegeta and manages to arrive just in time to save Gohan and Krillin from the Ginyu Force. He quickly disposes of the Ginyu Force, but his body is stolen by Captain Ginyu. After being trapped in Captain Ginyu's body, Goku returns to his own body and is placed in a healing chamber by Vegeta.

As Frieza reaches his final form, Goku's treatment is complete. He defeats Frieza after becoming a Super Saiyan and leaves the planet in a Saiyan space capsule. On his way back to Earth, he stops at Planet Yardrat and learns the Instant Transmission technique. When he finally returns, he is greeted by Trunks . The two discuss future events and the ability to become a Super Saiyan. Goku contracts a heart condition, as predicted by Future Trunks, and is unable to support everyone during the fight with the androids while taking medicine and resting at Master Roshi's house.

After recovering from his heart condition, Goku trains with Gohan in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber to prepare for the battle with Cell . Goku reaches the "ascension level" Super Saiyan form around this time, but considers it too cumbersome and impractical to use. Instead, they discover that remaining in the standard Super Saiyan form and getting used to the power loss is the best way to train. Cell fights Goku to a draw, forcing him to surrender and call out to Gohan to continue the fight. Gohan damages Cell enough to force him to self-destruct. To save Earth, Goku teleports Cell to King Kai's planet and is killed in the resulting explosion.

For most of the Majin Buu saga, Goku remains dead, sporting a golden halo. He is granted permission to participate in the annual martial arts competition and receives a 24-hour leave from the afterlife. At that moment, Vegeta is possessed by Babidi, and the two fight using their recently acquired Super Saiyan 2 forms. Vegeta is victorious, and Goku is rendered unconscious. Goku fights Majin Buu to a standstill with the Super Saiyan 3 form, using up his remaining energy and time on Earth. Eventually, he and Vegeta battle Kid Buu on the Sacred World of the Kai, ultimately defeating him with a Spirit Bomb. The Z Fighters wish for Earth and all its inhabitants to return and for peace to be restored.

Appearances in Dragon Ball Super

Dragon Ball Super begins with the God of Destruction Beerus and his angel servant Whis coming in search of the Super Saiyan God . Goku is found training on King Kai's planet when he is interrogated by Beerus. The two have a sparring match and quickly discover that Goku is completely outclassed and is left unconscious. The Z Fighters use the Dragon Balls to ask Shenron about the Super Saiyan God . Goku undergoes a special ritual that involves several Saiyans and acquires the Super Saiyan God form. After the match, Beerus is satisfied and decides not to destroy the Earth. Goku continues his training on Beerus's planet with Whis and Vegeta.

Frieza is resurrected and comes to Earth to seek revenge on Goku. They fight, and after defeating Frieza, Goku is surprised by Frieza's henchmen and is shot through the heart. Vegeta quickly intervenes to dispose of Frieza, but Earth is destroyed before he can finish the job. Whis, however, sets Earth's time back two minutes, giving Goku a chance to quickly end the fight with a kamehameha, killing Frieza again.

Beerus and his brother Champa decide to hold a tournament with five fighters from each of their universes. With the prize being Universe 7's Earth, Goku enters the contest at Beerus's request. He initially wins a fight against Botamo but soon loses to Frost. Finally, Goku fights Universe 6's assassin, Hit. Going Super Saiyan Blue in conjunction with Kaioken, Goku loses the match and is knocked out.

Future Trunks travels back to the present and brings news of a terrible new threat. A man strongly resembling Goku called "Black" Goku is responsible for the near-total extermination of the human race. Goku travels with Trunks and Vegeta to the future to battle Goku Black, but discovers his power is completely overwhelming. They return to the present where Goku learns the Evil Containment Wave technique while Vegeta trains in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber. Goku, Vegeta, and Bulma return to the future to confront Goku Black and Zamasu. Goku and Vegeta are forced to fuse into Super Saiyan Blue Vegeta to make headway against the now-fused Zamasu. In the end, Goku summons the future version of Zeno, who erases Universe 7 and the fused Zamasu. He and the others escape in their time machine. Later, they also use the time machine again to bring the future Zeno back to the present.

Goku persuades the two Zenos to hold a universal tournament where the losing universes are erased while the winning universe can make a wish with the Super Dragon Balls. Needing an extra team member, he enlists the help of Frieza through a deal with Uranai Baba. Throughout the tournament, Goku faces many powerful opponents, including Kale, Caulifla, and their fused form, Kefla. In the end, only four fighters remain: Goku, Frieza, Android 17, and Jiren. Jiren proves too powerful for him, even in his mastered Ultra Instinct form, and must rely on Frieza and Android 17 to knock him out.

Appearance in Dragon Ball GT

Dragon Ball GT begins with Goku transformed into a child by a wish made by Pilaf using the Black Star Dragon Balls. Goku, Trunks , and his granddaughter Pan go into space in search of the Black Star Dragon Balls to bring back to Earth. Goku eventually unlocks the powerful Super Saiyan 4 transformation, which he uses to battle Baby, Super Android 17, and the Shadow Dragons. The manifestation of the Black Star Dragon Balls, Omega Shenron, nearly defeats Super Saiyan 4 Goku and Vegeta before being defeated by a giant Spirit Bomb. After saying goodbye to his friends and family, Goku leaves on the back of the original Shenron. He momentarily reappears as an adult to watch Pan's grandson, Goku Jr., fight Vegeta Jr. at the World Martial Arts Tournament.

Powers and abilities

As a Saiyan, Goku possesses many advantages over humans and other alien races. These advantages include exceptional speed, exceptional strength, slower aging, and a monkey-like tail that gives him the ability to transform into a giant ape.

Its main techniques are:

Kamehameha – Goku's most commonly used attack. There are many variations of the Kamehameha: Super Kamehameha, God Kamehameha, 10x Kamehameha, etc. Goku learned this technique from Master Roshi during the events of the original Dragon Ball series.
Instant Kamehameha – A combination of Instant Transmission and Kamehameha.
Solar Flare – A technique used to temporarily blind opponents.
Spirit Bomb – Gathers a huge amount of energy into a ball. The size of the ball depends on the amount of energy gathered. Famously used against Frieza and Majin Buu.
Instant Transmission - Goku learned this technique from the Yardratians upon his return from Planet Namek. It allows him to detect ki from very far away and teleport instantly.

Power Ups and Transformations

Goku also uses a number of power-up techniques and transformations to gain the upper hand in combat.

Kaio-ken - A technique that multiplies the user's ki, increasing their strength and speed for a short period of time. Kaio-ken exerts great pressure on the body.
Zenkai Boost - Due to his Saiyan biology, Goku receives a power boost after healing from a near-death experience. (Zenkai boosts became mostly irrelevant later in the series.)
Fusion Dance - Goku is able to perform the fusion dance.
Great Ape – When he has a tail, Goku is able to transform into a Great Ape.
Super Saiyan – Achieved during the fight against Frieza on Namek. Frieza kills Goku's best friend Krillin , leading him to transform in a moment of rage.
Super Saiyan 2 – Made between Cell and the Buu saga.
Super Saiyan 3 – Famously used against Majin Buu and Beerus.
Super Saiyan God – Achieved when Beerus arrived on Earth in search of Super Saiyan God None
Super Saiyan Blue - Obtained by training with Whis on Beerus's planet.
Super Saiyan Blue Kaio-ken - Used against Hit during the tournament against Universe 6.
Ultra Instinct - Achieved during the Tournament of Power against Jiren. Goku is exhausted and on the verge of defeat when he accidentally absorbs a reflected Spirit Bomb, unlocking the base version of this form. The mastered version appears later in the battle.
Great Golden Ape – A more powerful version of the Great Ape form (GT only).
Super Saiyan 4 – The final and most powerful Super Saiyan transformation (GT only).