Dragon Ball: Why Goku is a more complex character than most fans realize

Goku isn’t simply a powerful martial artist — his unusual upbringing, determination and emotional intelligence together make him one of anime’s most underrated heroes.Anime has a weird visibility problem in this country. When folks talk about the medium, Dragon Ball is usually the first title to leap into view. This mythical Japanese franchise has enchanted players for years across the globe, especially in the United States and United Kingdom. At the center of this world is Goku, a Saiyan warrior from the alien race that nearly exterminated Earth’s population in their quest for conquest whose love of the fight ensures that it stays wild and free. This indomitable spirit protects the universe.Though fans love Goku for his kindness, his strength, courage, and adherence to a warrior’s code, just as many hate him for the same reasons. Some say that he’s unreasonable in his demands on his children, whilst others label him an absentee father. Most people think that he’s a man-child or an idiot. On the surface, Goku may seem like your typical loud, goofy, strong guy. Take a closer look and you will see that he is a far more fascinating figure than the average person ever learns him to be.Goku’s childhood was actually quite unusual. His biological parents were murdered soon after birth and he was instead raised by a gentle old hermit named Grandpa Gohan. Tragically, that meant that on a full moon one night, Goku accidentally killed Grandpa Gohan in a rage, unaware of the powers he had hidden deep within him.After that, Goku was pretty much cast out into the wild to fend for himself until he ran into Bulma and started his first real adventure. He never enjoyed a normal childhood, never had a proper education, and was never taught or expected to know how to act in human company. It’s a childhood, like the first three years of everybody’s life, that would screw up anybody — superpowered child of Krypton or not.For someone with Goku’s unusual childhood, it’s only natural that Goku’s expressions of love would be strange to the outside world. Rather than holding his kids close in a paternal embrace or telling them they’re amazing and worthy of love like any other dad, Goku creates a family structure through combat and demanding training regimes. He chooses to name his son Gohan, after his grandfather, and puts him through brutal training to make him stronger—not because he’s evil, but because that’s what he personally was raised to do.That’s cause enough for some fans to write him off as a “bad father,” when it could just as easily be the only way he knows how to form an emotional bond. His parenting style is clearly abusive, but as you dive into his backstory, it makes him a much more relatable human.Goku’s marriage One other major grievance that people love to toss at the show is how terrible Goku’s marriage is. His wife Chi-Chi is perpetually stressed out by Goku’s harebrained schemes — like bringing the couple’s children into dangerous, mortal combat. We wonder if Goku seems not to understand why she’s so angry.In Dragon Ball Super, Goku needs to explain what kissing is — despite being a married man with two children. Like with Goku’s introduction to King Kai, this tragic moment caught most fans off-guard and sparked concern over Goku’s emotional IQ. Again, this could only be the result of a dude who didn’t learn all the relationship skills that all the other guys were supposed to learn.Make no mistake, there are still occasions where Goku will be a complete goof. Sure, he can be socially tone deaf at times. Okay, he does go a little overboard on day-to-day combat. That doesn’t mean he’s an idiot. For one, Goku is a genius tactician on the battlefield, constantly designing new attacks, outsmarting opponents, and even creating new martial arts styles.Maybe his persona seems so juvenile, because he was never allowed to be a youth himself. In fact, some fans have taken up the idea so seriously that they’ve even argued — again, unofficially, of course — that Goku’s behavior indicates that he’s on the autism spectrum. Whether or not that even is true, it’s clear his brain just works differently.We’re all familiar by now with the justifiable expectation that almost every anime hero worth their salt (or pepper) has a deeply, darkly tragic backstory, but you really can’t get more under-the-radar than Goku’s. His choices—from how he chooses to raise his children to how he relates to and treats his wife—are certainly wrecked, but they are based on a lifetime of pain, survival, and self-teaching.So the next time your friend or co-worker gets on Goku’s case about being an idiot or a bad father, maybe start with the line that OK, he’s no paragon of virtue, but hey, at least he’s doing the best with the hand life dealt him. He is a symbol of hope, perseverance, grit and the universal spirit of never stopping becoming a better version of yourself. His journey is a powerful reminder of the deep bonds of friendship and loyalty, and the lengths we go to in order to protect and serve those we love. By creating a character with such an indomitable spirit, Toriyama may have unwittingly provided the blueprint for inspiring generations of fans to become better people in their own lives.On the subject of saving the world, Dragon Ball fans just love Goku because he’s brutal and good and never lets the Earth down. There’s a lot more to this superhero than his super flying powers and ability to scream people to death. Goku’s emotional immaturity, weird origin story, retarded people skills, trauma with human interaction, formed to create perhaps the most rad anime character ever created — not just a fighter, but a fighter for development.