Goku

"I'm the Saiyan who came all the way from Earth for the sole purpose of beating you. I am the warrior you have heard of the legends. Pure of heart and awakened by fury. That's what I am. I am the Super Saiyan, Son Goku!"

- Goku to Frieza after becoming a Super Saiyan in Funimation's Dragon Ball Z Kai dub

Goku is the main protagonist of the Dragon Ball franchise. He is voiced by Sean Schemmel in the FUNimation dub as a teenager and as an adult and Stephanie Nadolny as a child while Schemmel reprised his role in Dragon Ball Z Kai and in Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Gods, Resurrection of F and Dragon Ball Super and Colleen Clinkenbeard voices Kid Goku in Dragon Ball: Curse of the Blood Rubies and Masako Nozawa voices Goku as an adult, teen and kid in the Original Japanese dub.

Manga and Anime
Goku is the strongest warrior in Universe 7. One of the most powerful characters in the franchise, Goku can hold his own if not take on seemingly any opponent. His natural talent for combat along with his unwavering drive have taken his power to unprecedented levels in his life. He has been seen to put up a reasonable fight against the Destroyer Beerus and later on even Whis, his teacher, although both still held back greatly. Ultimately, at his highest level of power, he is unarguably the most powerful mortal in the history of the Multiverse, far stronger than any Destroyer and reaching levels that only the Angels could possibly rival or surpass, with only the Omni Kings and Grand Priest being his certain superior.

As an infant, he could drag large rocks tied to him while pursuing food and resist his adoptive grandpa's attempts to hold him down. As a child, Goku could easily defeat many foes. When first meeting Bulma, he was unfazed when rundown by her car and shot, quickly picking up and throwing her car with her in it. He defeated a Pteranodon, a pack of wolves and a Bear Thief. When meeting Yamcha, Goku fought on par with the bandit despite weakened from hunger. Later, as a Great Ape, Goku effortlessly destroyed Emperor Pilaf's castle.

While training under Master Roshi, Goku consistently outperformed Krillin and amazed the teacher, including moving large boulders and running a 100-meter dash in 8.5 seconds. Goku and Krillin accomplished various grueling labors a day that outperformed an entire work-force of adults. By the 21st World Martial Arts Tournament, Goku's might could move a massive boulder and fight on par with the seasoned Roshi. In the tournament, he breezed through the preliminaries while holding back significantly and developed various new techniques against his foes. In the finals, Goku fought on par with the seasoned veteran "Jackie Chun" and likewise replicate practically every maneuver his opponent used on him, narrowly losing by lack of stamina after a double count-out.

While fighting the Red Ribbon Army, Goku did not experience any serious trouble against the majority of their fighters, with only General Blue providing any meaningful resistance through the use of his telekinetic powers. In hand-to-hand combat, however, Goku still managed to handily come out on top after a short but intense struggle.

When facing Mercenary Tao, Goku was toyed with by the deadly assassin and only managed to mildly hurt the foe with his Kamehameha before being defeated himself. After training with Korin, Goku defeated Mercenary Tao with ease, able to block Tao's Dodon Ray with only mild pain. Goku then proceeded to single-handedly destroy the entire Red Ribbon Army's headquarters and all its soldiers. Even Staff Officer Black's Battle Jacket was beaten easily.

To get help from Fortuneteller Baba, Goku faced and defeated her supernatural foes including Bandages the Mummy and Spike the Devil Man with mild effort. He then fought on par with the resurrected Grandpa Gohan, who resorted to grabbing Goku's tail to get an advantage. During the 22nd World Martial Arts tournament, Goku defeated a former champion in King Chappa in the preliminaries. He gradually overwhelmed Krillin, even taking Krillin's Kamehameha with a single hand. As Krillin attempted to stop Goku by grabbing his tail, Goku revealed to have train it to be as strong as the rest of his body. Goku then defeated Krillin too fast for anyone but Tien to see. Against Tien in the finals, Goku proved able to counter virtually everything Tien used on him, forcing him to instead rely on a count-out by destroying the ring while he flew.

After drinking the Ultra Divine Water, Goku's potential was unlocked, able to fight on par with the King Piccolo restored to his prime, just barely defeating the evil Namekian. After training under Mr. Popo for three years, Goku's all-around performance increased remarkably to surpass his teachers. In the 23rd World Martial Arts Tournament, with weighted clothes, he effortlessly made it to the semi-finals. Once removing his weighted clothes, Goku's speed proved to great for Tien to even perceive and quickly defeated Tien. In the finals, Goku noticeably outfights King Piccolo's stronger reincarnation, Piccolo Junior, gradually wearing down the foe to ultimately defeat him and become acknowledged as the strongest in the world.

While Goku's might seemed extraordinary by human standards, it was revealed that by even Low-level Saiyan standards, Goku's power was considered extremely pitiful. By the time he fought Raditz, a Mid-Level warrior, Goku was considerably outclassed even alongside Piccolo, requiring a suicidal effort from Goku to defeat Raditz. However, Goku proved himself a late bloomer, as his true potential began to show after training with King Kai. To which, he easily defeated Nappa and fought on par with Vegeta, a Super Elite warrior. After training at x100 Earth's gravity, Goku's power far exceeded Saiyan standards, easily defeating most of the Ginyu Force and fight on par with Captain Ginyu, the Galactic Frieza Army's strongest warriors. He can also handle the strain of Kaio-ken unfazed at x10 and endure a x20 Kaioken. After healing from his Body Change experience, Goku's power increased immensely, and through various tactics and newfound drives, forced the powerful tyrant Frieza to fight at 50% of his true power. Once transforming into Super Saiyan, Goku completely outmatch Frieza at 100%. In the anime, however, Frieza stood up to Goku for an extended period of time and even push him back a few times before his stamina gave out, although Goku had been holding back, as once fighting seriously, he calmly dominated Frieza.

After training with the Yardrats, Goku's power increased enough to defeat both Mecha Frieza and King Cold, as he originally would have had it not been for Future Trunks easily doing so. In their brief spar as Super Saiyans, Goku showed even more power than Future Trunks. Goku effortlessly deflecting all of Future Trunks' sword attacks with a finger, leaving the hydrid in awe, albeit Goku noted that Future Trunks wasn't fighting with true desire. Upon the arrival of the androids, Goku easily outmatched Android 19 before the heart virus took affect. Afterwards, however, Goku was gradually overpowered by the android. Upon recovering, Goku noted that he could not defeat the androids or Cell. After training in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber, Super Saiyan Goku showed far more power than any of his allies, enough that it nearly destroyed Korin Tower and shook the Lookout, all while at less than half his might. Against Cell, Goku fought on par with Perfect Cell, a feat no one could match (let alone top) but Super Saiyan 2 Gohan.

GokuSuperSaiyanIIINV Goku as Super Saiyan 3, the results of his seven-year training in Other World. In the anime, Goku won the Other World Tournament defeating he greatest warriors in the history of Universe 7 with countless millennia-worth of experience each. Seven years later, Super Saiyan Goku was noted to have 3,000 kili - power to destroy several planets. Vegeta noted that Super Saiyan 2 Goku surpassed Gohan's power when he defeated Super Perfect Cell. With just transforming into Super Saiyan 3, Goku causes worldwide earthquakes with Tien worrying Goku could destroy the planet by the sheer weight of his power. Against Majin Buu, despite the Majin's limitless resilience and unpredictable nature, Super Saiyan 3 Goku could fight on par with and continuously pressure him. Ultimately, Goku admitted to be holding back considerably as Super Saiyan 3's intensity was draining Goku's time to stay in the Living World while dead and probably could have defeated the fat Majin if he was trying for it. In the anime, Super Saiyan 3 Goku manages to hold his own against Super Buu (Gotenks absorption) and the fake Ultimate Gohan (who mimicked Gohan's true strength) for an extended period of time. Super Saiyan 3 Goku fought on par with Kid Buu and was noted that his full power could wipe out the Majin. However, he had trouble gathering the necessary energy since his living body hasn't adapted to the form yet. Regardless, his performance left Vegeta acknowledging Goku as the strongest Saiyan.

In the manga, Super Saiyan Goku fights and defeats both final form Frieza and Perfect Cell in a few blows during his image training, and then faces down Kid Buu. Upon encountering base Goku, Beerus notes that he is not strong enough to defeat Frieza, something King Kai agrees with. During the first fight against Beerus as Super Saiyan 3, the God of Destruction proved himself utterly outclass Goku, using less than 10% power. After Goku attained Super Saiyan God, Goku is strong enough to face off against Beerus and inflict some damage, to which their fight caused the universe to start to crumble from the massive energy they exerted. In the manga, Super Saiyan God Goku managed to destroy Beerus' Sphere of Destruction, though it used up all of his power to do so. After the Super Saiyan God form's time limit expired in the anime, Goku reverted to Super Saiyan, but was still able to compete against Beerus as he managed to absorb the godly power.

While Goku trained under Whis, in the anime, Whis noted that Goku was only on the lowest levels of godly power. At this point Goku was powerful enough to survive an unrestrained ki blast from Beerus in just his base form. In the anime, while fighting Frieza with his base form, it is noted by Krillin and Gohan that they could not see their movements, while they had previously saw Super Saiyan God Goku and Beerus' movements. In his Saiyan beyond God state, he pressuredc Frieza in his strengthened true form, whose first form easily defeated Super Saiyan Gohan.[164] Goku also learned to become a Super Saiyan Blue, which exceeds all previous forms. Even so, Goku was completely outmatched by the full power of the tyrant's new Golden form. Instead, Goku had to endure a prolonged beatdown until Frieza tired out from lack of proper control in his new form. In the manga, it is noted Goku and Vegeta had to team up to defeat Frieza.

During the Tournament of Destroyers, base Goku was noted to move so fast that Krillin could not even see his movements as he fought Botamo. In his base form, he held his own against Second Form Frost. Once he turned Super Saiyan, Goku dominated Final Form Frost and was only defeated because Frost cheated. When Goku fought against Hit, Goku was initially held his own against him with just his base power, and with his Super Saiyan form he could outmatch Hit's normal level of power. In the manga, Super Saiyan God Goku was comparable in power to Hit's full power. With Super Saiyan Blue, Goku broke the Time-Skip. In the anime, his Super Saiyan Blue overwhelmed the assassin's full power. This allowed Hit to instinctively improve his battle prowess and outmatch Goku. This forced Goku to resort to the Kaio-ken to further power up his Super Saiyan Blue form, allowing him to outmatch the assassin's improved Time-Skip. However, Goku admitted that Hit's performance was actually restricted because his skills are better suited to killing and as such had to hold back to not break the tournament rules.

Later in the anime, when facing Goku Black, Goku took his evil look-alike's first blast unfazed in base form. Using Super Saiyan 2, he fought on par with Black, who previously dominated Future Trunks in the same form. The fight ultimately left Black battered and in awe at Goku's might, while Goku remained basically unharmed. When Super Saiyan 2 Goku fights Zamasu, Gowasu notes that Goku's power is in the same realm as Beerus', having gradually overwhelmed Zamasu and defeating him, although Beerus is offended by this statement. Later in the anime, Super Saiyan Blue Goku fought on par with Super Saiyan Rosé Black, occasionally outmaneuvering him, but was critically hurt by Black's Black Kamehameha while held down by Future Zamasu. During the third battle in the anime, upon learning Black killed his family in the previous timeline, despite the hole in his chest, an enraged Goku overwhelmed Black and Future Zamasu simultaneously. However, once letting his guard down and Black recovered, he critically wounded Goku. In the manga, against Fused Zamasu, Goku was initially completely overpowered even alongside Vegeta, but was able to defeat the fused Kai in an energy clash. Goku also proceeded to briefly overwhelm Fused Zamasu using his Super Saiyan Blue Kaio-ken in the anime despite his injured arms, and pressure the fused god using his Completed Super Saiyan Blue. Later, Goku faced Hit again and overpowered him in a straight up fight with only Super Saiyan Blue, noting that Hit's Time-Skip would no longer affect him. The fight eventually ended in a stalemate, though Hit was only held his own against Goku due to his Tides of Time allowing him to avoid damage, which was easily broken through by Goku when he became aware of it at the end of the fight.

At the start of the Universe Survival Saga, Goku's continued training eventually enabled him to make Whis fight with some effort, as he used his staff and energy blasts against Goku, albeit Goku required using Super Saiyan to handle the latter. Later, with Super Saiyan Blue, Goku was able to actually harm Whis while weighed down by the Gravity Room. Although it was through the obscure method of biting the angel, he then followed up with throwing Whis, who still landed gracefully.

In the anime, during the Zen Exhibition Match, Goku's base form matched Bergamo, the strongest warrior of Universe 9. With Super Saiyan, he easily outpaced the giant Bergamo before easily defeated him with Super Saiyan Blue, to which the gathered deities noted that Goku's power rivaled the gods. Immediately afterwards, Super Saiyan Blue Goku fought against Toppo, a Universe 11 candidate for the God of Destruction, and gradually overwhelmed his opponent. In the manga, while watching the Zen Exhibition Match, Goku in base form stayed conscious when Rumsshi used his Battle Roar, which knocked out all the Supreme Kais present. When fighting Toppo in the extra match, Goku's Super Saiyan 1 to 3 were each easily overwhelmed by the Pride Trooper. Using Super Saiyan God, Toppo had to unleash his godly ki to fight evenly with the foe. Once Goku used Super Saiyan Blue and attacked with a full power punch, Toppo got serious and countered Goku, defeating him in one blow. After the battle Toppo complimented Goku's strength, noting that he would have been defeated if hit by that blow. Also, it was later noted that Goku underestimated Toppo and wasn't fighting seriously in that final exchange.

During recruitment for Team Universe 7 in the anime, base form Goku matched the highly strengthened Shape-Up Good Buu but he is defeated by ring out. When he recruited Android 17, who had powered up massively since facing Cell, though two fought on par (with Goku using Super Saiyan Blue in the anime while using Super Saiyan 3 in the manga). During a tag-team match against Piccolo and Gohan with Tien, Goku manages to hold off a Hyper Explosive Demon Wave from Piccolo and fight evenly with base form Gohan. Once Gohan used Potential Unleashed state, Goku used Super Saiyan 2 to compete with his son. Goku then fought evenly against Potential Unleashed Gohan's full power with Super Saiyan Blue, utilizing the Kaio-ken to defeat Gohan instantly. When discussing recruiting Frieza for the Tournament of Power, Goku was confident he could defeat Frieza if he betrayed them. In the anime, base form Goku withstood Sidra's Energy of Destruction, though unable to get control over it, requiring Beerus' aid. Then, Goku faced Frieza to see who could land the first blow. While Frieza had greatly increased in both power and control of it from constant image training countless times since his second death, Super Saiyan Blue Goku scored a simultaneous knockout against Golden Frieza, to which Whis noting that they were equal in power. In the manga, Goku has longer fight with Frieza that, while unknown, ends with both being equally battered.

Alongside Vegeta and Frieza, Goku is seen as one of the trump cards for Universe 7's potential victory in the Tournament of Power.

During the Tournament of Power, Goku easily fended off base Ganos. He was unable to get free of Nink's grip, needing to turn Super Saiyan Blue to free himself. He was able to hold his own against the Trio De Dangers in his base form. Once he turned Super Saiyan, he was able to easily knock Chappil and Comfrey out of the arena with a Ki Blast. When the Trio de Dangers charged their Triangle Danger Beam, Goku and Vegeta turned Super Saiyan Blue and overpowered the beam with a Final Kamehameha, knocking the Trio out of the arena in the process. Whilst fighting Caulifla in her Super Saiyan Third Grade state, Goku easily outmatched her as Super Saiyan. As Super Saiyan 2, he matches Super Saiyan 2 Caulifla in combat. Berserker Super Saiyan Kale easily overpowered Goku as Super Saiyan 2. Goku turned Super Saiyan Blue and fired a God Kamehameha at Kale, however she walked through it without taking any damage. Despite taking a beating from Kale, Goku showed no signs of damage. In base form, Goku withstood Toppo's Justice Flash and held his own against Tupper and Zoiray but was unable to move when Tupper used his increased weight on him. In the manga base Goku fended off Kahseral, Vuon, Kunshi, Tupper, and Zoiray but was pinned down by Tupper's weight. Using Super Saiyan, easily lifted the heavy foe up and threw him aside. Goku then proceeded to outmatch the five Pride Troopers, easily defending and countering their blows before taking them down with his own.

Later, base Goku struggled somewhat against Rozie yet consistently blocks her attacks. However, this constant defensive tactic was revealed to simply let Goku better learn and see through Rozie's fighting style, quickly breaking through her technique and overwhelming her, forcing her to retreat. With Super Saiyan God, Goku initially struggled against Dyspo, however after he read his movements, he matched The Sonic Warrior in combat. AsSuper Saiyan Blue, Goku took no damage from Kunshi's explosive threads and easily overpowered him. As Super Saiyan, Goku was unable to get out of Maji Kayo's grip, however once he turned Super Saiyan Blue, he immediately freed himself. In his base form, Goku matches Ribrianne in combat, however his attacks unfazed her. As Super Saiyan Blue, Goku easily knocked away Super Ribrianne.

Jiren, a mortal warrior whose might surpasses any God of Destruction, viewed Goku as one of the only warriors he was required to defeat at the tournament. In their fight, base Goku's Kamehameha couldn't get pass Jiren's sheer ki. Strikes from Goku at Super Saiyan levels 1 and 2 completely unfazed Jiren. Super Saiyan God Goku made Jiren start blocking, but with one finger. Super Saiyan Blue Goku made Jiren fight back - even managing to knock back Jiren with a punch the Pride Trooper blocked and needing to dodge Goku's Kamehameha. However, once putting more effort, Goku was quickly pummeled, even with X20 Super Saiyan Blue Kaio-ken, however Goku was able to stay on the ring after being hit by the Power Impact. X20 Super Saiyan Blue Kaio-ken Goku's usage of the Universe 7's Spirit Bomb could clash with Jiren briefly, but was ultimately overpowered. When the Spirit Bomb collided with Goku, his willpower reacted to absorb it and unlock a deeper part of his potential for Ultra Instinct -Sign-. In this state, Goku's ki shook the entire World of Void, a realm of infinite size. Against Toppo and Dyspo, he nonchalantly blocked their simultaneous assault and dodged the former's Justice Flash. Ultra Instinct -Sign- Goku then fought on par with and eventually pushed back Jiren, landing solid blows that rattled the fighter and shocked the spectating gods. However, Goku's new form soon proved underdeveloped and faded away, allowing Jiren to swiftly end the battle.

Later, despite still being very exhausted and battered, he fended off a three-way assault from Koitsukai, Panchia and Bollarator in his base form. Against Super Saiyan 2 Caulifla, despite not yet regaining enough stamina to even go Super Saiyan, his incredible skill allowed him to hold his own against Caulifla. Once managing to use Super Saiyan 2 himself, Goku gained a decided advantage over her. This prompted Caulifla to get help from Super Saiyan (perfect energy control) Kale. Despite the two-on-one battle, Goku was still kept his ground, taking their various attacks with only minor pain. Once showing Super Saiyan 3 for a brief moment, the two Universe 6 Saiyans were left in awe at it. As Kale learned to harness the absolute power of her Super Saiyan form and perfectly synchronized her attacks with Caulifla, Goku was put on a complete defense, but still held his own enough to reject aid from Frieza. Once using Super Saiyan God, he took both Universe 6 Saiyans at the same time, with Kale somewhat holding her own against him while Caulifa was completely overwhelmed and beaten, forcing them to fuse after Caulifa was severely damaged and unable to continue fighting. While initially overwhelmed as Super Saiyan God, Goku held his own long enough to use Super Saiyan Blue. While matching Kefla's might, Goku's still diminished stamina forced him to use Kaio-ken to compensate. Ultimately, his battered state let him get knocked out with a single kick to the neck. Before he could be eliminated, Goku re-enters Ultra Instinct -Sign- and completely outclasses Super Saiyan 2 Kefla, calmly evading her assaults and likewise pummeling her even as she entered a Strengthened Super Saiyan 2 state. When Kefla unleashed her last-ditch final attack, Goku naturally dodged her barrage of blasts and knocked Kefla out of the arena with a Sliding Kamehameha.

Afterwards, despite once again being extremely exhausted from using Ultra Instinct -Sign-, he fended off Zarbuto, Rabanra, and Zirloin of Universe 2 simultaneously. While initially overwhelmed by the intense gravity from the Formation State trio's Pretty Black Hole, which Goku noted was much greater than the Capsule Corp's gravity room, Goku regained his footing in his base form (while 17 and 18 were stuck kneeling), turn Super Saiyan Blue and eliminate the three from Universe 2. In base form, Goku took no damage from Damon's blindsiding attacks. His punches could also rupture the arena, upturning a stretching length of the area near him, making it impossible for Damon to get proper footing and allowing Android 17 to eliminate the diminutive Universe 4 opponent. In base form, Goku held his own against Team Universe 3, even after his movements have been analyzed. Against Koichiarator, Goku and Vegeta turned Super Saiyan Blue and held their own against the mighty fused warrior, even matching Koichiarator's beam with a Kamehameha and a Galick Gun. Against Anilaza, as Super Saiyan God, Goku was overwhelmed by the giant warrior, almost being knocked out, but was saved by Frieza. While carelessly kicked by the tyrant, Goku noted that the blow barely fazed him. Together with the remaining four members of Team Universe 7, they managed to eliminate Anilaza.

During the final confrontation with Team Universe 11, fully recovered, Goku's improved strength impressed Jiren. With only Super Saiyan Blue, Goku fought better than previously, managing to seemingly fight on even grounds with Jiren, cheerfully fend off nearly all of Jiren's attacks while landing some of his own. His performance even made the normally silent foe ask Goku what drives him to get so strong. Notably, Goku fared much better than Vegeta, who was so much weaker than Jiren showed absolutely no intrest in fighting him initially unlike Goku. While he accepts that he couldn't defeat Jiren in an exchange of blows, Goku instead used a series of methodical diversion tactics and after Goku held his ground long enough, it completely caught Jiren off guard, nearly eliminating the foe. This promoted Jiren to use the most strength he has ever been seen using. While Jiren succeed to initially pummel Goku, the Saiyan was able to endure the assault. Then, teaming up with Vegeta, the two attacked Jiren in their respective over limit states, initially pressuring their foe. In an effort to defeat Jiren, Goku is able to fend off Jiren long enough to break through his defenses and secure a full-nelson lock for Vegeta to attack. Jiren however easily breaks free and swats Goku away.

In the final one-on-one confrontation against Jiren, despite regaining enough stamina to use Super Saiyan Blue, Goku is still easily outmaneuvered and pummeled, barely able to stay on his feet and keep from being eliminated. Ultimately, the feelings of his friends reaching Goku's heart mixed with Goku's disdain at Jiren lack of trust in others let Goku again unlock Ultra Instinct -Sign- Goku's speed was enough to where he effortlessly evaded Jiren's next assault without Jiren realizing he was gone before calmly landing a solid blow that left Jiren momentarily reeling in pain. This performance left all the watching deities in awe at Goku's capacities with some believing Goku has finally mastered Ultra Instinct. Goku then proceeded to fight on par with Jiren at full power, able to both parry and attack Jiren. His Imperfect Instinct Kamehameha was able to force Jiren to use his full power and concentration into a large Power Impact to deflect the attack. While he was unable to dodge, Goku was able to block the majority of the attack's force by turning his Kamehameha into a barrier. Although stunned for a time, Goku was soon back on his feet and able to remain toe-to-toe with Jiren, even gaining an advantage, as he starts fully adapting to Ultra Instinct. While Jiren was able to briefly corner Goku using a hailstorm of Invisible Punches, Goku fairly quickly began getting the offensive and soon cancelled the attack entirely and attacked Jiren so powerfully he made him reel in great pain.

After mastering Ultra Instinct, Goku's power skyrockets to levels far above Jiren. As Goku began easily dodging all of Jiren's attacks while simultaneously pummeling him, all the Gods of Destruction to stand in awe at Goku's growth, even gaining praise and envy from Beerus. Goku was able to then toy with Full Power Jiren, remaining completely calm as he overwhelms Jiren while Jiren struggled heavily to keep up, until the emotionally scarred foe remembered his past losses and used that grief to break well-past his previous limits. Despite this enormous boost of power, Ultra Instinct Goku still fought on par with Jiren, gradually pushing back Jiren. Once furious from Jiren attacking Team Universe 7, Goku's power skyrocketed again, seamlessly handling Jiren's attacks before decisively pummeling him into submission, ultimately leaving the battered foe to admit defeat. However, before Goku could finish the fight, Goku's body broke down from maintaining Ultra Instinct for too long, causing his energy to leak out radically and leave him in agony, causing him to revert back to base form.

Despite the grievous injuries he endured, through sheer will Goku returned to his feet, having gone well-beyond his limits, base Goku could compete against the battered Jiren alongside Frieza and backup from 17, impressing Jiren again. Ultimately, with the aid of Frieza, Goku - rapidly flashing between base and Super Saiyan - succeeded in dragging him off the arena alongside them.

By Dragon Ball Super Broly, Goku is close to being a God and has surpassed Vegeta to the point that he is described as being desperate to catch up.

Super Saiyan
Goku unlocks this form after witnessing the brutal death of his best friend Krillin by the hands of Freiza with his resulting explosive rage unlockinghis dormant super saiyan potential and transforming him into a Super Saiyan, the first one in centuries. In this form his power is 50x stronger than in his normal state and allows him to fight and defeat opponents who could easily overpower Goku in his normal form with little effort. In his Super Saiyan form Goku's hair rises on end and turns golden blond, his skin considerably lightens, his aura becomes fire like, and his eyes become a turquoise green.

Super Saiyan 2nd Grade
Goku is able to achieve this form alongside the further extreme of the form known as Super Saiyan Third Grade. However, although this new power up would not take a hit on his speed as the successor would, he decides that staying transformed like this demands far too much ki to be spent, and so decides that the regular Super Saiyan form is best suited for combat, and thus never takes the form again.

Super Saiyan 3rd Grade
Goku achieves this form in the Time Chamber while training with Gohan. Although apparently stronger than Cell in this state, Goku told Gohan he could not defeat him because the form drastically reduced speed for offensive power and thus couldn't beat Cell, because "all the power in the world would do no good if you can't even hit the guy." Because of this incredible flaw, Goku never took the form again.

Full Power Super Saiyan
After realizing the weaknesses the weaknesses of the 2nd grade and 3rd grade super saiyan forms, Goku concluded that mastery over the basic Super Saiyan form would be more effective and went on to improve his endurance in that form. To which, he focuses his training on learning to maintain Super Saiyan form for extended periods of time, gradually overcoming the heightened aggression that accompanies this form and reducing the energy drain to nearly nothing, thus achieving a max output for a Super Saiyan without drawbacks allowing him to fight at his full potential and not lose energy like an untrained Super Saiyan. While in this state Goku manifests his chi as red and pink lightning elrctricty in the golden aura around him.

Super Saiyan 2
Goku achieved this form in other world at some point during the 7 years he was dead between the Cell and the Majin Buu story arcs. It double the powers of a Super Saiyan and thus increases Goku's power by 100x that of his normal state. Goku first used the form in his battle with Majin Vegeta and used the form again when he fought Kid Buu after Kid Buu destroyed the Earth and also used this form in the fight with Goku Black and since then it became his go to form for battle as it was more powerful than Super Saiyan and while weaker than Super Saiyan 3 it suffered less drawbacks. Goku's hair is slightly longer and further on end in this form and his body now gives off lightning like electric discharges from his increased power.

Super Saiyan 3
As a Super Saiyan 3 Goku's power reaches an incredible level as a Super Saiyan 3 which gives 4 times the increase of Super Saiyan 2 so it multiplies Goku normal state's power by 400. As a SS3 Goku's hair reaches down to past his waist and a single bang hangs over his face, his eye brows disappear, his brow ridge becomes more pronounced. He achieved this form by going through intense training during the 7 years he was dead following the events with Cell. However he has limited experience with the form which showed in its first usage as it ate through his power reserves just to maintain it as after he fought Fat Majin Buu he lost the majority of the 24 hours he had been given to return to Earth, the second attempt in front of Trunks and Goten both taking his remaining time and nearly making Goku collapse within seconds. Due to its severe drawbacks, Goku used the form as a last resort for the rest of the Buu sagas. He was forced to bring it out when he fought Kid Buu though it proofed ineffective and ate through his energy faster since he was alive again. However during Dragon Ball Super Goku has shown to have apparently overcome these drawbacks as he maintained it easily when fighting Beerus and later Future Trunks.

Super Saiyan 4
This form appears in the anime only spin-off Dragon Ball GT. After Goku spots the Earth up in the sky of Planet Tuffle, he transforms into a Golden Great Ape which is similar to the Great Ape only larger and possessing golden fur. Loosing all control, Goku went on a rampage which only stopped when confronted by Pan who helped him regain himself and he somehow managed to condense the power of the Golden Great Ape into the form of the much more powerful Super Saiyan 4. Super Saiyan 4 proves to be the strongest form gained by Goku in DBGT as it multiplies his power by 500x his normal state, suffers none of the drawbacks of Super Saiyan 3, and is powerful enough to negate Ultimate Shenron's wish and restores to him his adult body while using the form. A s aSuper Saiyan 4 Goku became able to take on incredibly powerful threats such as Baby Vegeta, Super 17, and the Shadow Dragons whose powers couldn't be matched with ordinary Super Saiyan transformations. As a Super Saiyan 4 he keeps his original hair though in a wilder style, his eyes turn golden yellow with red pigmentation, and he gains scarlet fur over his entire body. For unknown reasons when he transforms into a Super Saiyan 4, Goku's clothes change in not just color but also style as well.

Super Saiyan God
This form of Goku appears in Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Gods as well as Dragon Ball Super. This form easily surpasses all Super Saiyan forms seen before it's introduction though can only be obtained through a ritual involving 5 righteous saiyans infusing their powers into a 6th saiyan who undergoes the transformation. Goku transformed into this after getting energy from five other saiyans who were Vegeta, Gohan, Trunks, Goten & Videl (who was pregnant with Goku's 1/4th saiyan granddaughter). Goku used this form to take on Beerus who threatened to destroy Earth unless he got to fight the Super Saiyan God. The power of this form is great enough to allow Goku to fight against the Beerus who had effortlessly defeated Super Saiyan 3 Goku as well as the other Z-Fighters and a fully powered Super Saiyan 2 Vegeta, and was thought to be strong enough to defeat even a fusion of Goku and Vegeta. This form also allows Goku to sense and possess godly ki which can only be sensed by deities. As powerful as the form is, it however has drawbacks: it required some time for Goku to fully tap into its power and it drained his borr energy reserves fairly quickly, thus creating a time limit. The sheer power of Goku and Beerus' fists colliding sent ripples throughout the universe with Old Kai commenting that just three punches could wipe out everything in the universe, leaving a void of nothingness. It also has regenerative abilities as Goku completely heal a deep wound in his stomach inflicted by Beerus. Though the form has a time limit the form's power can be retained if it was fully tapped into which Goku did unknowingly, keeping the power when he reverted to his super saiyan form. which was empowered to just below this form's power.

When in this form, Goku's general appearance remains unchanged with the exception of a few slight differences: his skin tone becomes darker; the hair loses any stray hair, lifts up slightly and gains his Super Saiyan form bangs, as well as adopts a red coloring; his eyes grow, becoming sharper and the irises become red; the overall body structure appears to become younger, thinner, and somewhat taller; and the aura becomes more explosive and flame-like in appearance.

Super Saiyan Blue
This form made it's debut in Dragon Ball Z: Revival of F. Originally it was called by the tongue-twister name Super Saiyan God Super Saiyan but was later renamed Super Saiyan Blue when Goku bit his tongue during an argument about the form and Whis suggested the form's new name. Goku gained this form following him keeping the power of Super Saiyan God after he lost the form and following mastering that power while training under Whis, he became able to enter this form by simply turning Super Saiyan while using his Super Saiyan God power. This form surpasses all of Goku's Super Saiyan forms and is stronger than Super Saiyan God yet not strong enough to challenge Beerus alone but with aid from Vegeta in the same form, he is noted to be capable of potentially winning. Due to the calm mind and clear focus required for the form, it grants perfect innate Ki control which Goku makes use of when he combines it with his Kaio-Ken technique which he had been unable to safely do to it's full potential with the original Super Saiyan Form. It does have a major flaw in stamina in that Goku can't transform back and forth as easily like the original Super Saiyan form so the form must be used wisely or else the power granted by the form will be considerably lessened. However, Goku eventually managed to completely master the form enough to not be subject to such limitation anymore.

It was originally gained during a sparing session with Vegeta but only as a brief glimpse and wasn't a full transformation. It was first seen in battle against Golden Frieza who, while putting out more energy than Goku as a super saiyan blue, possessed much less stamina and Goku's Super Saiyan Blue power outlasted his opponent's power.

When Goku uses the form he is near identical to his Super Saiyan state only that the hair and irises are light blue in color and are slightly bigger; the overall body structure is thinner and somewhat taller, similar to Super Saiyan God. and boasts a vibrant, fiery, electric blue aura.

Later when Goku fights Hit, who attempts to assassinate him and proved to be quite a match for this form - thanks to fighting at his very best using killing techniques, and with Goku unable to hit the assassin at all, because he was hiding in his Time Storage parallel world while he attacks the Saiyan using his deadly Invisible ki blasts, and attacking him by surprise once briefly bursting out of his Time Storage parallel world - the fight ultimately ended in a stalemate when Super Saiyan Blue Goku unleashes a massive aura burst, and then destroys Hit's Time Storage world without the need to use Kaio-Ken, then launches a full-power God Kamehameha at Hit, with the assassin trying to hold his own against Goku's massive assault.

Upon taking up the form, it left all the Gods present in Zeno Expo in great awe of the level of power Goku could use, with Cae noting his godly pressure rivals even the Gods themselves. Future Zen-Oh was greatly impressed by it and called Goku amazing. While barely using his full power, Goku easily submitted Belgamo in a beam clash. Upon using his full power, Goku became able to fight on par with and eventually slightly overwhelm Toppo, the second strongest mortal in Universe 11. He later proved to be on par with the regular Golden Frieza, knocking him out while also being knocked out with a single blow.

Goku also made Krillin astonished by Goku's godly pressure, with Android 18 and Gohan noticing a large gap in their powers. Krillin charges his Kamehameha while Goku only slightly charges God Kamehameha, both fighters fire their beams, and a beam struggle is initiated, while Android 18, Marron, and Gohan watch, as Goku slowly gains the upper hand during the beam clash. Struggling, Krillin tries to hold out his own with his own beam until the struggle is stopped when Android 18 rushes in and kicks Goku's God Kamehameha away. Krillin is knocked back, twitching as if it is like an electric shock when both husband and wife decided to fight as a team against him, but to their surprise, Goku reverts to his base form, exclaiming that the match is enough and that he learned a lot from them. Goku then used this form against Android 17 in their sparring session, having no choice because of his newfound strength. After his attempt to test him with a God Kamehameha, he started to trade blows with him until splashing into the water below, in which Android 17 stops the fight, not wanting to destroy the environment.

During the Tournament of Power, Goku turned into a Super Saiyan Blue to free himself from Nink's grip lock, easily freeing himself. When the Trio De Dangers charged their Triangle Dangers Beam, both Goku and Vegeta turned Super Saiyan Blue and overpowered the beam with a Final Kamehameha, knocking the Trio out of the arena in the process. Later, Caulifla demanded Goku to show her how to become this form, only for Goku to tell her that she is not ready, as Goku is more experienced than her. Soon after, Goku turned Super Saiyan Blue to fight Kale who was in her "true form", an uncontrolled state of Super Saiyan. Goku then used his God Kamehameha against Kale but had no effect on her, walking through it. This form proved to be comparable to Kale's in durability, even after being grabbed in the mouth, thrown aside, and crushed by a slab of Kachi Katchin, Goku showed no signs of considerable damage. During his fight against Dyspo, Goku uses Super Saiyan Blue in tandem with Super Saiyan God, in order to maximize his speed and power. Goku also used Super Saiyan Blue to go through Kunshi's explosive threads, taking no damage from the explosions and easily overpowered him. Goku used Super Saiyan Blue to free himself from Maji Kayo's grip and revive Master Roshi, and he was successful in both. After using all of his transformations (sans Super Saiyan 3) to test his strength, Goku used this transformation during his battle with Jiren. He finally managed to make him fight, even briefly pushing him back, although he is still ultimately no match.

At nearly the end of the Tournament, Goku displays a substantial growth in power as a Super Saiyan Blue, to the point that he is able to go head on with Jiren even though previously he was outclassed inside Super Saiyan Blue Kaioken using only the regular Super Saiyan Blue, with Jiren even being impressed by how Goku had grown stronger. However, upon Jiren getting more serious, Goku is once again pushed back but he is still able to fend off Jiren's attacks more adequately than before, long enough to have the trap he had set up trigger, at which Goku, despite having been punched in the gut with great force by the strongest Universe 11 fighter, quickly recovered and managed to kick Jiren off the rock he was standing on, nearly eliminating him until Jiren was able to get back on the stage by using the remains of the debris. Notably, Goku shows considerably greater power than Vegeta, who could not even move Jiren. However, Jiren gets more serious and easily knocks him away even before letting out a hint of his full power. Although Goku, powering up too, could clash with Jiren for a reasonable amount of time, Jiren quickly proves the difference in strength and knocks him back to his base form with a singularly powerful punch of energy. Later on, after being charged by Vegeta's Ki, Goku could briefly clash with Jiren.

Super Saiyan Blue Kaio-Ken
This a combination form made up of Super Saiyan Blue and Kaio-Ken used exclusively by Goku. This variation boasts a double aura effect, placing a crimson Kaio-ken aura outside of a typical blue Super Saiyan Blue aura. The outer Kaio-ken aura manifests as violently fluctuating and jagged while the Super Saiyan Blue aura maintains a gentle, flame-like contour. When using the transformation to increase his power level by one order of magnitude (10x Kaio-ken), the energy aura is so intense that Goku's blue hair appears several shades lighter than normal, and his skin appears to be illuminated by the Kaio-ken's aura to a light shade of red. Additionally, the normally cyan colored lightning effects of Super Saiyan Blue upon the user become almost pink in color. Goku developed this technique for eventual use against Beerus. To use it, Goku transforms into a Super Saiyan Blue, then simply activates Kaio-ken in addition to it. As Goku has not yet mastered the technique, it has only a 10% chance of working and a 90% of failing which would either damage his body or kill him Thus, Goku must maintain an extraordinary amount of focus when activating the technique in order to ensure its success. Since Super Saiyan Blue has perfect innate ki control, Goku is able to utilize the power of the Kaio-ken in a similar manner to the way in which he can control it in his base form. Use of this technique gifted Goku with such power that Hit's Time-Skip technique became useless, as Goku became so powerful that he could move despite time being frozen. This form was even able to make Beerus nervous even before Goku used it's multiplier abilities. Goku is only able to maintain Kaio-ken x10 as a Super Saiyan Blue for short periods of time because it puts a great deal of strain on his body. Currently the max multiplier he's used is x10. Due to the nature of the technique, Goku can be inflicted with serious body pains after ceasing it as well as even develop Delayed onset Ki Disorder which potentially could have completely destroyed his ability to control his own ki and leave him both weaker and unable to fight properly ever again.

However, Goku had managed to overcome this with time, acquiring complete mastery over the Super Saiyan Blue Kaio-Ken to the point that quickly activate it for as long of a duration as needed. Goku's mastery over this state is such that the stress generated is considerably less, making it appear as a normal Kaio-ken Blue at all times, even when used at X10 or X20.

At this rate, Goku's strength was easily great enough to trounce Potential Unleashed Gohan entirely with a single blow and is noted to be on par with True Golden Frieza, making them both the strongest members of Team Universe Seven, up until Goku acquired Ultra Instinct. While not a match, Goku was able to make Jiren fight more seriously and briefly hold up against him, while managing to endure his blows without much damage until he finally was forced back into his base form.

When Goku and Vegeta begin their last stand against Jiren, Goku released all of the strength he possibly could as a Super Saiyan Blue Kaio-ken. As a team Goku and Vegeta - who had just broken his limits - attacked Jiren, who had revealed a hint of his true power, and managed to compete with him, even gaining an advantage at times, although Jiren still easily broke free when Goku managed to hold him in place for Vegeta to shoot his Final Flash at Jiren. However, once Jiren used his full power, Goku, even alongside Vegeta in Super Saiyan God SS • Shinka and Android 17, was outclassed.

Ultra Instinct Transformations
An enlightened transformation attained by Goku during his battle with Jiren when he absorbed the Spirit Bomb's energy into his body and broke through one of his "shells", allowing him to tap into the deeper potential he possessed. He gains massive, godly levels of power and prowess far beyond any other transformation he acquired and it is superior to that of even a Destroyer even at it's initial state and continues to grow until finally reaching the height, at which point he has far surpassed any God of Destruction and reached a level of power that makes him among the most powerful entities in the Multiverse, with only the Omni Kings and Grand Priest being his confirmed superiors while he is seemingly the most powerful being in his universe, quite possibly rivaling Whis. Not only does it greatly increase his Saiyan Power, allowing him to consistently empower himself as he fights an equally powerful opponent, but it also grants Goku access to the Ultra Instinct ability, which he had learned the theory of Whis and was able to put to practice only after he acquired this form. Hence, Goku gains an automatic and instantaneous reaction to any threat, with the most suitable and seamless means to defend and attack. However, his use was at first incomplete, only able to use the defensive aspect of Ultra Instinct, but after fully allowing his heart and soul to forget everything that is going on and finally allowing his body to just react fully, he completely mastered Ultra Instinct, gaining the offensive aspect as well and allowing him to use the full extent of his automatic reaction to ascend him to his highest fighting prowess. At this point, all of Goku's movements are automatic and he is effortlessly capable of both attacking and defending seamlessly at godly speeds. His KI is also dramatically enhanced to high godly levels and he gains an incredulous amount of control, to the point he could not only cast extremely destructive focused energy attacks capable of easily harming even the mightiest of opponents, but at it's height, he could even calmly contain and repel any energy attack fired.

Goku's ki in this state is stated by observers to be very hot yet frighteningly calm and is vast enough to shake the entire Null Realm. Goku's dramatically increased speed allowed him to effortlessly attack even both Dyspo and Top at once unnoticed, with many of the spectators and fighters unable to perceive Goku's movements except for Jiren, who was the only one to dodge his attack. He could both dodge Jiren's attack and attack him with enough force to graze him, shocking Piccolo as previously Goku was no match for Jiren even with Super Saiyan Blue Kaio-Ken. After effortlessly catching and repelling both Top and Dyspo, Goku casually avoids Toppo's Justice Flash while walking, so fast that no extra movements are seen. He could then easily neutralize Jiren's Invisible Strikes and although his initial attacks were fended off with only mediocre effort, he steadily increased his prowess to force Jiren to fight seriously. Not only remaining toe-to-toe with the mightiest Universe 11 fighter, Goku is even able to slowly gain the upper hand due to constantly evolving to the point of having a slight advantage over the mighty Pride Trooper according to Piccolo, shocking Cae and Belmod on how quickly Goku was able to gain on Jiren, landing blows powerful enough to rattle Jiren. His movements are noted by Vegeta to be unreal even though he is able to perceive it and Piccolo, Gohan and Tien notes that Goku moves unusually in the form. This state, however, is only temporary as just as Goku is about to deliver the finishing blow, having managed to knee Jiren and blast him away with a massive Kamehameha, he burns through this mysterious new power an loses his abilities, resulting in Jiren easily blocking his final attack and swiftly knocking him away with a Power Impact. It should, however, be noted that at that time, Jiren had yet to use his full power, having not powered up.

While fighting the newly fused Kefla in her Super Saiyan form, her power rivaled the Universe 7's Spirit Bomb, causing Goku to break through his "self-limiting shell" once again and re-attain Ultra Instinct. During this usage, it is revealed Goku has far more control of his consciousness in the form, as he is able to freely talk and power up unlike before. While fighting Kefla, Goku informs about his control of the state, easily dodging all of her attacks and swiftly counter-attacking with enough force to easily send her flying. He could even bombard her with a flurry of punches capable of inflicting visible pain upon her, despite being noted to have yet to acquire the full potency of his attack damage. While unleashing his final attack before he would run out of stamina, Goku used the Imperfect Instinct Kamehameha to defeat Kefla, as he could focus on charging the attack while his body instinctively dodges any threat and catch Kefla off guard, with this attack finally launching her off the stage and destroying the Potara earrings as well. This newfound control of Ultra Instinct was what finally made Jiren break out of his meditation.

Goku once again awakens this form during the final battle against Jiren, when the latter prepared to deliver the final blow to him. With the voices of his friends begging him to fight, Goku immediately dodges all of Jiren's attacks with such speed that not even Jiren could follow him initially and lands a blow on Jiren that was strong enough to visibly hurt him. This display visibly awed the bystanders and even Beerus thinks Ultra Instinct -Sign- Goku might be stronger than him. In their resultant exchange, Goku was able to match Jiren now at full power evenly, blocking and trading blows. The increase of power is such that when fighting Jiren the clash of their attacks not only generates the usual flashes of lightning and shockwaves but actual explosions, destroying anything around them. Goku was also able to generate explosive shockwaves with a single punch and a swipe of his leg, both of forced Jiren to avoid. However, while his reflexes have gotten sharper, Goku was unable to land a finishing blow as Whis notes he has yet to achieve true Ultra Instinct due to still having some thoughts behind his attacks but can defend well. Despite this, while Imperfect Instinct was blocked by Jiren with a fully concentrated Power Impact, Goku was able to deflect it by shaping his Kamehameha into a barrier and while briefly stunned, soon continue fighting after hearing Vegeta's inspiration and repel Jiren's charge with a burst of energy. He continues to maintain this form during the fight and gradually allows his heart and soul to forget everything that is going on and finally allowing his body to just react fully, eventually culminating with Goku being able to not only block a hailstorm of Jiren's Invisible Strikes, but he was also able to start attacking and eventually hit Jiren with enough force to cause him to reel in pain. After this, Goku finally managed to fully awaken the true Ultra Instinct. He was effortlessly capable of completely negating Jiren's fully powered Power Impact, as he caught the attack in his hand, crushed it into a smaller orb, then calmly disintegrated it by just flicking his hand. He was also able to dispel Jiren's Invisible Strikes with a simple wave of his hand. He was so fast that he was even able to dodge Jiren's punch and counterattack simultaneously in one flowing movement with such speed, it was impossible to see what Goku actually did. When Jiren angrily charged at him, Goku calmly dodged the attack and then bombarded him again with a rapid flurry of punches, before knocking him down from the pillar, leaving all the grand deities in the universe in awe of his might, with all the Gods of Destruction standing up and even Beerus praising and showing envy at Goku for his newfound power and mastery of Ultra Instinct.

Upon facing a fully powered Jiren, Goku was able to move so fast that not only did he leave a cut on Jiren's cheek, but also produced delayed shockwaves from the sheer force of his speed. During the battle, Goku calmly dominated Jiren, as he effortlessly blocked, dodged, and countered all of Jiren's attacks, and swiftly pummeled him to the point of leaving the Pride Trooper visibly injured and tired.

When Jiren unlocked his hidden power and prepared to fight Goku, Goku was still able to fight on par against him in hand-to-hand combat. However, Goku became somewhat overwhelmed by Jiren's raw power as the battle progressed, as he was sent flying when Jiren used his energy upon blocking Jiren's punch and was injured by a powerful Power Impact, which overpowered his Supreme Kamehameha. Despite this, Goku was able to quickly recover without being hindered at all by the damage he sustained and faced Jiren once again, but with even greater speed and power than before as he continuously either evaded or blocked most of Jiren's assaults and after a long standstill, eventually landed blows so powerful that he left Jiren temporarily unable to fight.

After deflecting Jiren's Power Impact when he attacked Goku's friends, Goku's rage increased the power of his Ultra Instinct form even further. From then on, Goku was able to decisively overpower Jiren, landing solid blows and effectively evading and countering all of Jiren's attacks such as his multiple Power Impacts, Invisible Strikes, and rapid punches before finally blasting him away with a Supreme Kamehameha and leave him weakened in a crater, causing the mighty Pride Trooper to admit defeat.

However, despite the form's mighty power, it comes at an equally severe cost. As it heavily breaks Goku's limits, it inflicts heavy exhaustion on Goku and leaves him unable to use his full powers for a considerable length of time. This strain has only gotten far more intense as Goku completes and greatly increases the power of the form, to the point that blood ruptured from his body and dark ki electrical shocks that left him heavily weakened and barely conscious, completely unable to fight back just as he is about to defeat Jiren. In more severe cases, Whis noted it easily has the potential to kill Goku. The time limit was also initially only for mere minutes but after completing it, Goku was able to keep it active for a far longer duration of time at the cost of the far greater strain his body suffers. Finally, Goku can only use it at the most dangerous situations.

Trivia

 * Not only is Goku loosely based on Sun Wukong, the main protagonist in the Chinese legend Journey to the West, but their names are in a way, exactly the same; Son Goku (孫悟空) is a Buddhist name that means “The Child Aware of Emptiness” or "Grandson that Perceives Air" and comes from his character development based on Sun Wukong (in Chinese and Japanese: 孫悟空; Sūn means "grandchild" in both languages and implies his origin as a monkey, and Wùkōng means "Aware of Emptiness"). The Wu syllable means "Enlightenment", and the Kong syllable means "Sky, Air or Emptiness". Sun (孫) is also a common Chinese surname. From there, the name Son Goku is simply the name Sun Wukong converted into the Japanese on'yomi reading, albeit even with the same exact Asian characters used between both "Wukongs/Gokus" (孫 悟空), due to the similar writing systems both Chinese and Japanese happen to share with hanzi/kanji.
 * The Dragon Ball universe began as a loose adaptation of the classic Chinese novel Journey to the West, with Goku starting off as more or less a parody of Sun Wukong the Monkey King. Similarities between the two include Goku's prone for mischief as a child (due to his innocence), possession of Nyoibo (Sun Wukong's staff that can fill the entire universe), and Flying Nimbus (the magical cloud the monkey 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, while still retaining the very same name as his source material.
 * Through this, there have been many other characters named after the Japanese reading of Sun Wukong; The Four Tailed Beast in Naruto Shippūden is called Son Gokū in the same vein as one example of many.
 * In romaji/kana, it often varies on how the "kū" part is written; some sources may write the name as "Son Gokuu" with an extra "u" (to match the furigana) or with an overline; however in the Namek Saga, while training in the Capsule Corporation spaceship, it is seen that his name is written with an "h" in the place of the long vowel (as Gokuh) when he has to go to repair the ship. Most of Toriyama's personal sources often romanize the kana reading of his name that way. Meanwhile, certain toy-based production lines instead romanize it as "Gokou" instead (to model it after "cou"), though doing it as such would incorrectly make the name be read as "Go-koh" instead of "Go-koo".
 * Goku's Saiyan birth name, Kakarot, is a pun on "carrot". Likewise, all pure-blood Saiyans that appear in the series are named using vegetable-related puns. Goku's family are all named after root vegetables (burdock, negi, radish, and carrot). Comically, in Dragon Ball, Goku says he hates carrots when fighting against Monster Carrot.
 * Goku's FUNimation English voice actor, Sean Schemmel also voices Nail, King Kai and Mr. Popo while Kid Goku's FUNimation English voice actress, Stephanie Nadolny voices Kid Gohan and KO while his second FUNimation English voice actress, Colleen Clinkenbeard voices Kid Gohan in the FUNimation dub of Dragon Ball Z Kai.

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