Please note that this is the Dragon Ball Universe Wiki's article on the Vegeta-born Saiyan who lives on Earth. If you are looking for the article on Zamasu who has taken the body of Gokū then you should head to Gokū Black. For other uses, see Gokū (disambiguation). |
“ | You can destroy whole planets, but it seems you can’t even destroy a single man. As you are surely well aware, I am a Saiyan who came from Earth to defeat you. Despite my calm, quiet heart, I am the legendary warrior, awakened by intense anger. I am the Super Saiyan, Son Gokū! | ” |
—Son Gokū to Freeza in "An Explosion of Anger!! Gokū, Avenge Everyone's Deaths" |
Son Gokū (
Appearance
“ | He looks just like the Saiyan who resisted until the end... when I destroyed planet, Vegeta | ” |
—Freeza in Kick-Starting the Super Decisive Battle!!"Dragon Ball Minus" |
Gokū is the spitting image of his father, Bardock, possessing an identical black hairstyle unique to himself and his father,[18] however, has a softer face akin to his mother, Gine. Gokū's hair hasn't changed since he was born, a trait common to Saiyans, and has the unique trait of never changing how it looks no matter the angle he stands. On his head rests a scar, invisible due to his hair, from his fall as a child. His attire consists of martial arts gi in varying shades of either purple, orange, or blue. As a child, his first gi was coloured purple. The gi primarily featured the either Kame-Sennin, God, North Kaiō, or Gokū's own symbol emblazoned on the chest and the back. It would be later in his life, after his misadventures on planet Namek that Gokū would forego any symbol on his gi. During Dragon Ball Z: Revival of "F", Gokū opted for an alternate version of his orange gi that lacked an undershirt, and had Whis' 'autogpraph' written on his chest.[19] Gokū's final, chronological appearance change consisted of dark green gi (a turquoise and blue-green gi in the anime), worn ten years after the defeat of Majin Boo.
As with the gi itself, Gokū's armbands and footwear were subject to change depending on his current gi. As a child, he wore red armbands, a white obi, and black shoes. He began to wear blue armbands when he switched to the familiar orange gi he donned after training with Kame-Sennin. After training with God, Gokū's new gi came with a thick, weighted blue undershirt, and dark blue boots, with yellow lining, tied together with red laces. His new gi from Revival of "F" ditched the undershirt entirely, donned thick, blue armbands, and light blue boots with gray armored tips. His final change in attire gave him yellow armbands, a white obi, and black shoes with yellow wraps.
Gokū has the distinction of being the only pure-blooded Saiyan to be shown aging from an child to adult within the Dragon Ball series, and because of this, his physical appearance has changed drastically (although some of this could be attributed to Toriyama's evolving and changing art style within the series itself). As a teenager of 14 [Note 8] Gokū was only the height and physical build of an average human child around the ages of 7 or 8. With the exception of a slight addition to height and muscular build around the age of 17,[Note 9] Gokū's appearance remains nearly the same for most of his early life.
The biggest change in Gokū's physical appearance came three years after the defeat of Piccolo Daimaō — with Gokū now at age 20. He underwent a massive growth spurt, shooting up to the average height of an adult human male. He would also permanently lose his tail, something God removed out of concern for the Earth.[20] As Gokū continued to age, he would later undergo slightly more physical changes (again, many of which can be considered changes to Toriyama's own art style rather than Gokū's physical maturity), including more defined physical features, and a noted increase in muscle tone. Very briefly, after training in the Room of Spirit and Time with Vegeta for three years, Gokū grew facial hair, specifically a mustache and beard, though it was soon shaved.[21]
Creation and Conception
The name "Gokū" means "awakened to emptiness"; the Go syllable means "Enlightenment," and the Kū syllable "Emptiness," and can be read as "Sky". In the Freeza Arc, while training in the Capsule Corporation spaceship, it is seen that his name is written with a "h", Gokūh, when he has to go to repair the ship. Gokū's full name, Son Gokū, is the Japanese name for Sun Wukong, the main protagonist in the Chinese legend Journey to the West (西遊記, Saiyūki), on whom Gokū is loosely based. The Dragon Ball universe began as a loose adaptation of the classic Chinese novel Journey to the West, with Gokū starting off as more or less a parody of Sun Wukong the Monkey King. Similarities between the two include Gokū's prone for mischief as a child (due to his innocence), possession of Nyoibō (Sun Wukong's staff that can fill the entire universe), and Kintoun (the magical cloud the Great Sage rode on in Journey to the West). As the Dragon Ball manga continued its run, he was able to develop differently, eventually turning out to have similar origins.[22]
Gokū's design was based on Tanton, of Toriyama's prototype manga Dragon Boy and Tongpoo, from his other manga The Adventures of Tongpoo. When Akira Toriyama started his first draft of Dragon Ball he originally planned on making Gokū full monkey to make it faithful to Journey to the West. During Toriyama's second draft he wanted to make Gokū a full human dressed in sailor clothes that rode a flight mecha instead of the Kintoun.[22] Toriyama's third and final draft of Gokū was to have him human looking with a monkey tail.
Toriyama's decision to make Gokū age into adulthood was fueled by the fact that, as a child, his head/body ratio made fighting difficult, so if the series was going to remain focused on battles, Gokū would have to grow. His editors were initially against the decision, but Toriyama sent them a sketch, and by the time he heard back from his editors, he'd already begun a rough draft that was too late to change.[23]
Trivia
- Gokū's Saiyan birth name, Kakarotto, is a pun on "carrot". Likewise, all pure-blood Saiyans that appear in the series are named using vegetable-related puns. Gokū's family are all named after root vegetables (burdock, negi, radish, and carrot). Comically, in Dragon Ball, Gokū says he hates carrots when fighting against Toninjinka.
- Despite the fact that Gokū is referred to only by his first name, "Gokū", in the English dub of the anime, many characters in the Japanese dub refer to him as "Son" or "Son-kun", with those who call him "Gokū" being few and far between. Gokū's own surname is rarely mentioned in any English dub of the series.
- Gokū writes his name in Hiragana.[24]
- Son Gokū is one of only two characters so far to be considered a candidate to succeed the Hakaishin of his Universe; the other being Toppo of the 11th Universe.
Quotes
FUNimation | Japanese |
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Notes & References
Notes
- ↑ Dragon Ball Minus, page 9 and Jaco the Galactic Patrolman, page 216 confirmed to have been sent to Earth as age 3 in Dragon Ball Minus; Bulma was 5 at the time. Bulma, who is 16 when the series starts, is therefore two years older than Gokū.
- ↑ (Harmony Gold dub)
- ↑ (Child)
- ↑ (Teen, Adult)
- ↑ (Child - Kai)
- ↑ (Dragon Ball GT: Final Bout)
- ↑ In the original manga, Gokū only knows the technique in theory and has never used it with anyone, merely teaching it to Goten and Trunks. Only in the movies and Dragon Ball GT did Gokū use the technique himself.
- ↑ Dragon Ball Minus, page 9 and Jaco the Galactic Patrolman, page 216 confirmed to have been sent to Earth as age 3 in Dragon Ball Minus; Bulma was 5 at the time. Bulma, who is 16 when the series starts, is therefore two years older than Gokū.
- ↑ Gokū's age was 14 at the start of the series, and a three year time-skip had occur ed between Fortuneteller Baba Saga and Tenshinhan Saga, thus making him 17 when he competed in the 22nd Tenkaichi Budōkai.
References
- ↑ Dragon Ball Daizenshū 2: Story Guide, page 134
- ↑ Dragon Ball Daizenshū 3: TV Animation Part 1, pages 124-125
- ↑ Dragon Ball Daizenshū 4: World Guide, page 41
- ↑ Dragon Ball Daizenshū 5: TV Animation Part 2, page 108
- ↑ Dragon Ball Daizenshū 6: Movies & TV Specials, page 188
- ↑ Dragon Ball Daizenshū 7: Dragon Ball Large Encyclopedia, page 79
- ↑ Dragon Ball Supplemental Daizenshū: TV Animation Part 3 , pages 114-116
- ↑ Dragon Ball Volume "F", page 10
- ↑ Super Exciting Guide Character Guide, page 10
- ↑ Dragon Ball Minus title page
- ↑ Dragon Ball Minus, page 16
- ↑ Dragon Ball chapter 280, page 2
- ↑ Dragon Ball chapter 307, page 13
- ↑ Dragon Ball chapter 510
- ↑ Dragon Ball Super episode 100
- ↑ 16.0 16.1 Daizenshū 7
- ↑ 17.0 17.1 Dragon Ball Super Exciting Guide: Character Volume
- ↑ Dragon Ball Minus, page 10
- ↑ Dragon Ball Z: Revival of "F" chapter 2, page 13
- ↑ Dragon Ball chapter 166
- ↑ Dragon Ball Super episode 32
- ↑ 22.0 22.1 Daizenshū 2
- ↑ Dragon Ball 30th Anniversary “Super History Book” (21 January 2016); Akira Toriyama Interview
- ↑ Dragon Ball Super chapter 8, page 8