Goku
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| Son Goku | |
|---|---|
| Dragon Ball character | |
| File:DragonballZ-Episode287 188.jpg Son Goku by Akira Toriyama | |
| First appearance | Manga chapter 1 Dragon Ball episode 1 |
| In-universe information | |
| Relatives | Burdock (father) Raditz (brother) "Grandpa" Son Gohan (Adoptive grandfather) Chichi (wife) Gyumao (father-in-law) Son Gohan (son) Son Goten (son) Videl (daughter-in-law) Mr. Satan(daughter-in-law's father) Pan (granddaughter) Son Goku Jr. (great-great grandson) |
Son Goku (孫 悟空, Son Gokū, known only as Goku in most English adaptations) is the protagonist of the Dragon Ball manga and anime series created by Akira Toriyama. At first, Goku's representation in the Dragon Ball story was parodied on Sun Wukong (the Chinese pronunciation of the name), the leading character in the Chinese novel Journey to the West. As Dragon Ball developed from an adventure to a martial arts sensation, Goku's direct reference to this classic character in literature is quickly departed. When the manga was adapted into anime, the series was split into two sub-series. The first sub-series told the history of Goku's childhood and went by the original name of the manga; while its more familiar sequel sub-series called Dragon Ball Z covered his adulthood. A third anime only sub-series was produced called Dragon Ball GT that continued Goku's story, ten years after the end of Dragon Ball Z, and the written Dragon Ball series.
Heritage and appearance
Goku was born as Kakarotto (カカロット, Kakarotto, Kakarot in the FUNimation dub) a member of an extraterrestrial warrior race called the Saiyan. Due to the Saiyan's methods of systematically conquoring habitable planets, Goku was sent to Earth as an infant to conquer it and make it suitable for sale on the galactic market.
Since Toriyama does not consider what is to come in proceeding chapters of his stories,[1] Goku's story developes into one that is not typical of other superheroes in media. Much of these reasons come from the simple fact that Dragon Ball was originally intended to be an adventure, and not a series that primarily focused on martial arts. Since Goku's character was originally inspired from a monkey king, he originally appeared in the series as a boy with dark hair, a lean build, and a monkey tail. As the series developed, these physical traits are later explained to be typical of the Saiyans. As Dragon Ball departed its parody of Journey to the West, Goku's tail is removed permanently by Kami-sama.
Goku does not possess the typical behavioral traits of the race, such as extreme aggression and ruthless behavior. This is due to an accident that he suffered as a child, where his programmed aggression and memory were erased due to head trauma. Because of his devotion toward Earth, he dresses in an Asian martial arts uniform instead of the traditional Saiyan battle armor. Goku's uniform consists of an orange full-body outfit (yellow-orange in the manga, red-orange in the anime, and plain orange in some of the movies) with a dark blue short-sleeved under shirt, belt, wristbands, and boots. He is also known to use the symbols of his training masters. The first symbol that Goku uses was the symbol of his first master Muten-Rôshi's, which stood for Kame, meaning "turtle."[2] Later he wears the symbol of his next master, Kaio-sama for "Kai" (meaning "world") while battling the Saiyans. After Goku recovers from his battle with the saiyans, Kaio-sama sends him another gi with the symbol meaning "Go" (meaning either "enlightenment" or "wisdom") which also appears in his name's Japanese symbols. As the series progresses, he discards these symbols, becoming a master instead of a student by training his child Son Gohan, and later a pupil named Uub.
Even though Kakarotto is Goku's original name, he prefers to be called "Goku" that he was given upon his arrival on Earth. When Goku learns of his origins as an extraterrestrial, he rejects his heritage, but later accepts it during his battle with the galactic overlord named Freeza. Only Saiyans refer to Goku by his Saiyan name. Due to a unique genetic trait in Saiyan genetics, Goku's physique almost perfectly mimics his father Burdock. Another unique trait in Saiyan genetics is that the Saiyans evolved to retain their youthfulness for combat, so as a result, Goku ages very slowly when he reaches about age thirty, appearing very young even when he is middle-aged.
Goku's original name fits in with the rest of his family; all the known members in his family are a pun on vegetables that are related to each other. "Kakarotto" is a pun on "carrot", while Goku's older brother named Raditz is a pun on "radish" and Goku's father Burdock, is named after an herb of the same name.
Character personality
As with the insparation for Goku named Sun Wukong in Journey to the West, Goku exhibits a purity of heart, meaning that he is completely void of evil and temptation. Being pure of heart, Goku is known for his naïvity and selflessness, and is often observed to be concerned with other people, regardless of how evil they seem to be. This unusual trait in Goku's personality is contrasted by his fierce love of competition, specifically fighting. Goku is often criticized by the other characters for giving his rivals a chance to change their intentions instead of killing them off. But as a result, this trait of his personality has earned him respect from former rivals, developed alliances, and even friendships with them.
Even though most of Goku's traits are very different from other Saiyans, he shares the Saiyan love for food and combat, and often neglects his duties as a husband and friend in order to train. Goku's desires mostly reflect his ambition to not only compete against others, but also to surpass his own limits, becoming an inspiration for his friends who also fight. Goku's personality is one of the few in the series that has almost no changes as the series continues, remaining naive and child-like throughout the course of the series, even at the end of the series when he is middle-aged.
Forms and transformations
As a member of the Saiyan race, Goku has acquired the ability to transform by physical training. By transforming his body, Goku greatly enhances his abilities from the previous state. As a child, he is able to transform into the Saiyan were-monkey called Oozaru. However, he is not able to transform into the Oozaru at will due to the required component of special radiant waves emitted by the full moon. As with all Saiyans, Goku was born with a tail which is a vital characteristic for transforming into an Oozaru. It is removed later in the original Dragon Ball series, however, is regrown in the third sub-series Dragon Ball GT, helping Goku to transform into a Golden Oozaru.
Goku is the first Saiyan in the series to achieve the legendary transformation of Super Saiyan. He was the first adult Saiyan in over a millennium to achieve this. Goku achieved this transformation when he was overcome by rage from the death of Kuririn by the hand of Freeza. He continues to train this form throughout the series, eventually gaining two advanced states of the regular Super Saiyan called the Super Saiyan 2nd Grade and Super Saiyan 3rd Grade. Eventually, he masters every aspect of the Super Saiyan in order to fight the artificial being Cell. Goku then transforms even further to Super Saiyan 2 which was first seen in the fight against Majin Vegeta, but had been achieve during his training in Other World. Super Saiyan 3 was also obtained during his training in the Other World, first appearing in the fight against Majin Buu. During the sequel series Dragon Ball GT, Goku achieves his last transformation called Super Saiyan 4.
Techniques and special abilities
Kamehameha (Turtle Destruction Wave, Kamehameha Wave in the FUNimation dub)
- The Kamehameha is one of the most widely parodied attacks in media, it is also Goku's signature attack that was taught to him by Muten Roshi. The Kamehameha is a powerful, constant stream of ki hurled at an opponent. The attack is performed by cupping the hands at the side of the body, drawing them back and saying "KA-ME-HA-ME-HA" in five stages, before thrusting the hands forward and shooting a blue energy beam towards the target. Goku learned to use this technique by mimicking Muten Roshi, who used it to put the flames out on Fry-Pan Mountain during the original Dragon Ball series but Goku's was at first not as powerful as Muten Roshi's. Goku later mastered it and developed several more powerful variations of this attack during the course of the series. The name is derived from an ancient Hawaiian king.
Kaiō-Ken (Fist of the Worlds, Kaioken Attack in the FUNimation dub)
- The Kaioken was taught to Goku by Kaio-Sama and is one of Goku's most commonly used attacks in the Dragon Ball series prior to his Super Saiyan ascension. The Kaioken is a sudden eruption of ki, doubling Goku's physical abilities and strength. Through training, Goku was able to increase the multiplier that the Kaiōken had on his power. Even though this attack gives Goku a sudden explosion of energy, the effect of it is extremely dangerous. If Goku multiplies the attack too much for his body to handle, he could kill himself by vaporizing his body.
Genki-Dama (Spirit Ball, Spirit Bomb in the FUNimation dub)
- Goku's most powerful attack that was taught to him by Kaio Sama, the Genki Dama draws ki energy from a specified group into a giant mass. Goku has only used this attack only three times in the Manga, but more times in the anime and movies. The downside is that he is quite vulnerable during its lengthy creation time. It is suggested in Dragon Ball Z movie 7 that he is only able to perform this technique in his regular state, however this is later contradicted in the original series when he transforms into a Super Saiyan and uses it to defeat Majin Buu.
Shunkan Idô (Instantaneous Transmission, Instant Transmission in the FUNimation dub)
- An ability Goku learned on his way back to Earth from Namek on a remote planet called Yardrat. It allows him to teleport nearly anywhere instantly so long as he focuses on a specific ki signal at the desired location. He places two fingers on his forehead to focus on a concentration of ki energy.
Ryū-Ken (Dragon Fist, Super Dragon Fist in the FUNimation dub)
- Ryū-Ken is Goku's first and only technique that he created. It's performed by charging your ki in your fist and then releasing it in form of a Shenlong-like dragon, which drives through an opponent. An exception is Goku's attack used to defeat Piccolo Daimao. In that case the ki took form of an Oozaru rather than a dragon.
Other media
Goku has made several appearances in other media, even in the United States. He is a recurring character in other works by Akira Toriyama, such as making a few cameos in Toriyama's metaseries Dr. Slump, as well as featuring in the self-parody manga Neko Majin Z. In Neko Majin Z, Goku is the main character's martial arts teacher.
Goku's latest appearance was as an animated commentator for the Japanese Nippon Ijin Taisho made in 2007 (Japan Great Men Awards). The video is available on YouTube.
Goku has also been depicted in Wizard magazine, where he was matched up in a hypothetical battle against Superman. Goku defeated Superman by transforming into a Super Saiyan and overpowering him with the Kamehameha.[3]
Goku was a featured character in a single episode crossover of Dragon Ball Z and two other anime, One Piece and Astroboy. The video is also available on YouTube.
Goku has frequently appeared in the videogame series of Jump Super Stars and Jump Ultimate Stars, which was a mix of characters from the series of Naruto, One Piece, and Dragon Ball Z.
Voice actors
In the American dubs of Dragon Ball, the voice actors for Goku and many other characters of the series have changed as a result of the series changing dubbing studios and requiring recasting.
- Saffron Henderson (Kid Goku (1995 dub))
- Ian James Corlett (Adult Goku in Dragon Ball Z, Season 1)
- Peter Kelamis (Adult Goku in Season 2)
- Kirby Morrow (Adult Goku from the end of the Cell Saga (ep 144) to the end of DBZ)
FUNimation (in-house actors):
- Sean Schemmel (Adult Goku in Dragon Ball, Dragon Ball Z, Dragon Ball GT, and Super Saiyan 4 Goku in DBGT)
- Stephanie Nadolny (Kid Goku in Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball GT)
References
- ^ Shonen Jump: Oct 2007, page 360
- ^ http://chineseculture.about.com/library/extra/character/blsc_turtle.htm
- ^ Wizard magazine, September 2002 issue
External links
- [1]Dragon Ball manga.
- [2]Dragon Ball Z manga.
- [3]FUNimation web site.
- [4]Atari web site.
- [5]Official Dragon Ball web site Australia.
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