Kakarot/Goku



Son Goku (孫 悟空, Son Gokū addressed only as Goku in most English adaptations) is a fictional character and the main protagonist of the Dragon_Ball franchise created by  Akira Toriyama. He first appears in the manga chapter Bulma and Son Goku (ブルマと孫悟空, ''Buruma to Son Gokū  first published in Japan's  Weekly Shōnen Jump magazine on December 3, 1984.  He is loosely based on  Sun Wukong, a central character in  Journey to the West. However, Toriyama changed some of his characteristics to be more original. Goku is introduced as an odd, monkey-tailed boy who practices  martial arts and possesses  superhuman strength. As the story unfolds, he is revealed to be from a (fantasy) race] of  extraterrestrials] called Saiyans, said to be the strongest warriors in the  universe.

Goku has starred in most of the episodes, films, TV specials, of the  anime series 'Dragon Ball GT, and ''Dragon Ball Z, as well as many of the  video games. Due to the series' widespread popularity in many countries, he has become one of the most recognizable and iconic anime characters worldwide. Outside of the Dragon Ball franchise, Goku has had cameo appearances in Toriyama's  series  Neko Majin Z. He has also been the subject of other parodies, and has appeared in various  special events and in American pop culture.

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Contents
[hide]*1 Appearances
 * 2 Conception and creation
 * 2.1 Design
 * 2.2 Voice actors
 * 3 Abilities
 * 4 Appearances in other media
 * 4.1 Film
 * 4.2 Video games
 * 4.3 Music
 * 4.4 Education
 * 4.5 Guest appearances
 * 4.6 Parodies
 * 4.7 Special events
 * 4.8 American pop culture
 * 5 Reception
 * 6 References
 * 7 External links
 * }

[edit] Appearances
In the beginning of the Dragon Ball series, Goku is a strong, monkey-tailed child who was adopted by the hermit Son Gohan. Prior to the series' beginning, he accidentally kills Gohan during a full-moon night when he transforms into an giant ape-like creature. Living alone, Goku befriends a teenage girl named Bulma, and joins her on her quest to find the seven magic Dragon Balls, which when gathered together summon the wish-granting dragon Shenron. Along their journey, they encounter the desert bandit Yamcha, and two shapeshifters named Oolong and Puar, who also join them on their quest. Goku later trains under the martial artist Master Roshi on his island while his maid Launch does housework, Goku also trains along with a fellow student named Krillin, who becomes his best friend. Participating in various martial arts tournaments, Goku also battles various foes-turned-allies such as Tien Shinhan and Chiaotzu, as well as the Namekian Piccolo. At the end of the original anime series, he becomes the World Martial Arts Champion.

During his early adulthood (circa Dragon Ball Z), Goku meets his older brother, Raditz, an encounter that results in his death after he learns about his own heritage. Originally named Kakarrot (カカロット, Kakarotto?, spelled as "Kakarot" in Funimation's anime dub),[4] [5] Goku was born a member of a fictional race of extraterrestrials called Saiyans. Shortly following his birth, Goku was sent from his home, a fictional planet named Vegeta, to prepare Earth for sale on the intergalactic market by destroying all its life.[6] When being taken care by Gohan, an injury to his head caused him severe amnesia and Goku forgot his mission to conquer Earth.[6] Following the wish for his revival from the Dragon Balls, Goku continues to face other enemies linked to his heritage, such as the Saiyan prince Vegeta, who eventually also becomes his ally, and the galactic tyrant Frieza, whose actions cause Goku to transform into a Super Saiyan. After his epic battle with Frieza, the focus on Goku's past is shifted away, as new enemies are introduced as threats to the fictional universe. When the androids appear, Goku contracts the heart virus that the time-traveler Trunks warns him about earlier, but is able to recover thanks to the medicine that Trunks had given him. Later on, Goku trains his first child, Son Gohan (named after his late adoptive grandfather), to be his successor and sacrifices himself for the second time during the battle against the evil life form Cell. Goku returns to Earth from the afterlife seven years later and meets his second child, Son Goten. Shortly after, he participates in the next martial arts tournament, however he is drawn into a battle for the universe against the deadly monster Majin Buu. Goku also battles Vegeta after he is taken under control by the wizard Babidi. Later on, Goku destroys Buu with his Genki Dama technique. During the martial arts tournament held ten years after Buu's defeat, Goku meets Buu's human reincarnation, Uub, and takes off with him, intending to train him as another successor.[7]

In the anime sequel, Dragon Ball GT, Goku is transformed back into a child by an accidental wish made by his old enemy Emperor Pilaf using the Black Star Dragon Balls.[8] Shortly after he, Trunks, and his granddaughter Pan all take a trip around the universe to locate the Black Star Dragon Balls and return them to Earth. Goku later battles the evil Tuffle Baby, Super Android 17 and the evil shadow dragons. His final challenge is against Omega Shenron, who he eventually destroys using the Genki Dama.[9] Goku leaves with the original form of Shenron, only to appear 100 years later at the next martial arts tournament as an adult once more, where he is observing the battle between his descendant (Goku Jr.) and Vegeta's descendant. An elderly Pan spots her grandfather, but he quickly departs.[10]

[edit] Conception and creation
Goku was based on one of Akira Toriyama's earlier characters named Tanton, a fictional protagonist who appeared in a one-shot series called Dragon Boy.[11] In this story, Tanton's odd physical characteristic was a pair of wings. When Toriyama decided to create Dragon Ball, he used Chinese author Wu Cheng'en's 16th century classic novel Journey to the West as inspiration for his own series. The name Toriyama adopted for the character is the Japanese romanization of 孫悟空 (Sun Wukong), who is the central character of the novel. To be creative with the character, Toriyama stated that he designed Goku to be a human boy with a monkey tail, instead of being a complete simian like Sun Wukong. He decided to do this because the tail would be visible even when Goku was trying to hide;[11] note that similarly, in Journey to the West, Sun Wukong is able to assume human form except that he retains his tail. Though Goku is treated as a person from another planet, Toriyama initially had the idea to make him an Earthling, but, with the introduction of new fighters from other planets, it was later established that Goku is a Saiyan. In order to advance the story faster, Toriyama gave Goku the ability to teleport to any planet in just a few seconds.[12]

Toriyama explained that Goku's gi martial arts uniform is modeled after the robes worn by the Shaolin monks of China, being that he wanted Dragon Ball to take on a Chinese feel.[13] During early developments of the manga, various readers commented that Goku was rather plain, so the author changed his appearance and added several characters like Master Roshi and Krillin, then created martial arts tournaments to make the manga more fighting based. Since it was commented that Goku would surely win the tournaments, Toriyama made him lose in the first two tournaments that Goku participated in, however made him the victor in the third. With the ending of the Cell arc, Gohan was meant to replace his father as the main protagonist; Toriyama later decided that Gohan was unsuitable for that part so he avoided doing that.[11]

[edit] Design
Goku is usually recognized by his unique hairstyle, which never changes its length throughout the series except in his Super Saiyan forms (in which his hair changes color and length based on the form he ascends to). This is explained by Vegeta to be a common characteristic of full-blooded Saiyans.[14] Aside from his Super Saiyan 4 state, Goku's hair turns from black to blonde after ascending to a Super Saiyan and his irises turn from black to green. Due to his devotion to Earth, Goku prefers dressing in a gi uniform, and has refused offers to adorn the Saiyan battle fatigues, being that he considers himself an Earthling.[15] However, he is seen donning Saiyan battle fatigues designed by Bulma, during the time he trains with Gohan in the Room of Spirit and Time at Kami's Palace, prior to the Cell Games.[16] In his early childhood, Goku was first introduced wearing a blue gi uniform with red wristbands and a white belt tied in a bow.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-firstsj_0-1">[1] Throughout Dragon Ball Z, Goku is most commonly seen wearing an orange gi uniform with a blue undershirt, blue wristbands, a blue belt tied in a knot, and striped boots. Goku is also often seen to wear the encircled kanji of his training masters on the front and back of this uniform; the first kanji being Master Roshi's, "kame" (亀?, meaning "turtle"),<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-16">[17] the second kanji being King Kai's, "kaio" (界王?, meaning "world king")<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-autogenerated1_17-0">[18] and the third being his own kanji "Go" (悟?, meaning "wisdom" or "enlightenment").<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-18">[19] Eventually he stops wearing a kanji<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-LastOutfit_19-0">[20] and also replaces his knot-tied belt with a blue obi.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-LastOutfit_19-1">[20] In Dragon Ball GT, Goku's entire appearance was revamped, featuring him wearing a blue fold-over shirt, yellow pants, pink wristbands, and white shinguards, as well as a more tan skin complexion.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-20">[21]

[edit] Voice actors
In the Japanese version of the entire Dragon Ball anime series (and all subsequent spin-offs in the franchise), Goku has been voiced by Masako Nozawa.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-21">[22] In the numerous English productions of the anime, however, the voice actor for Goku has changed as a result of different companies producing the dub, switching ADR companies and recording studios, or due to actors quitting. In most non-Japanese languages, the actors for Goku's child and adult forms have been kept separate.

Child-aged Goku alone has had several different English voice actors. In Harmony Gold's dub of Dragon Ball, Goku (renamed "Zero") was voiced by Barbara Goodson.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-22">[23] In Funimation's various dubs, child Goku was voiced by Saffron Henderson in the first 13 episodes of Dragon Ball and the movie Curse of the Blood Rubies (produced in association with BLT Productions),<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-ReferenceA_23-0">[24] Ceyli Delgadillo in the movies Sleeping Princess in Devil's Castle and Mystical Adventure,<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-ReferenceA_23-1">[24] Stephanie Nadolny in their re-dub of Dragon Ball, as well as all other Dragon Ball media from 2001–2010,<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-ReferenceA_23-2">[24] and Colleen Clinkenbeard in Dragon Ball Z Kai and in their re-dub of Curse of the Blood Rubies.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-24">[25] In Chinook Animation's dub of Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball GT (produced in association with Blue Water Studios), child Goku was voiced by Zoe Slusar.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-ReferenceB_25-0">[26] In Bandai's English release of the video game Dragon Ball GT: Final Bout, Brianne Siddall was the voice of child Goku.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-ReferenceD_26-0">[27]

As an adult, Goku has another large set of English voice actors. In Creative Products Corporation's dub of Dragon Ball Z (produced in association with Animation International), he was voiced by Nesty Calvo Ramirez.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-27">[28] In Funimation's dub of Dragon Ball Z produced in association with Saban and Ocean Productions, adult Goku was voiced by Ian James Corlett in episodes 1-49 (1-37 in edited episode numbering) and the movie The Tree of Might, and by Peter Kelamis in episodes 50-67 (38-53 edited).<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-28">[29] In Geneon's dub of the movies Dead Zone, The World's Strongest and The Tree of Might (produced in association with Funimation and Ocean Productions), Peter Kelamis again voiced adult Goku.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-29">[30] In Westwood Media's dub of Dragon Ball Z (produced in association with Ocean Productions), adult Goku was voiced by Peter Kelamis in episodes 108-158 and by Kirby Morrow in episodes 159-291.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-30">[31] In Chinook Animation's dub of Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball GT (produced in association with Blue Water Studios), adult Goku was voiced by Jeffrey Watson in Dragon Ball and Jeremiah Yurk in Dragon Ball GT.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-ReferenceB_25-1">[26] In Bandai's English version of Dragon Ball GT: Final Bout, Steven Blum provided the voice of adult Goku.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-ReferenceD_26-1">[27] In Funimation's in-house dub of the entire Dragon Ball franchise, adult Goku has been voiced consistently by Sean Schemmel.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-31">[32]

[edit] Abilities
Goku in his regular state, and in several of his Super Saiyan forms.Through constant training, Goku has achieved many extraordinary abilities; aside from his extreme strength and incredible durability, he also possesses super speed,<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-32">[33] reflexes and can perform energy blasts which are formed from chi. As a child, Goku wielded the Nyoi-bo (如意棒, lit. "Mind Stick"?, renamed "Power Pole" in Funimation's dub), a magic staff that extends and retracts on command, which was given to him by Grandpa Gohan.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-firstsj_0-2">[1] Originally Goku's main means of conveyance was on a magic cloud called Kinto-un (筋斗雲, lit. "Somersault Cloud"?, renamed "Nimbus" in Funimation's dub), which was given to him as a child by Master Roshi for saving his pet sea turtle.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-33">[34] After his training with Kami he learns to fly through the technique Bukū-jutsu (舞空術, lit. "Air Dance Technique"?) and uses the cloud less and less as the series progresses.

Goku's signature move is the Kamehameha (かめはめ波, lit. "Kamehame Wave"?), an energy blast technique, which he learned empirically from Master Roshi.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-34">[35] Another notable technique of Goku's is the Kaiō-ken (界王拳, lit. "World King Fist"?), an attack that multiplies his chi and strength for an instant, but can also put a strain on his body afterwards; this was taught to him by King Kai.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-35">[36] However, Goku's most powerful attack is the Genki Dama (元気玉, lit. "Good Spirit Ball"?, renamed "Spirit Bomb" in Funimation's dub), an energy sphere created by gathering chi from surrounding life forms, which he also learned from King Kai.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-autogenerated1_17-1">[18] Goku also learns a teleportation skill called Shunkan Idō (瞬間移動, lit. "Instant Teleport"?, renamed "Instant Transmission" in Funimation's dub), which he learned from the inhabitants of a fictional planet called Yardrat.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-36">[37]

Goku is also the only Saiyan in the series to achieve all the Saiyan transformations seen in the manga and in the anime. In Dragon Ball, he is able to transform into a gigantic ape creature called an Ōzaru (大猿, lit. "Great Monkey"?, renamed "Great Ape" or "Giant Ape" in Funimation's dub) when he stares at a full moon whilst possessing a Saiyan tail. Goku loses the ability to make this transformation when Yamcha and Puar cut off his tail,<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-37">[38] and though it grows back again, the tail is later permanently removed by Kami.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-38">[39] However, in Dragon Ball GT, Goku is able to use this transformation once more after regrowing his tail using the Elder Kai's help.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-39">[40] During the events of Dragon Ball Z, Goku becomes the first Super Saiyan in a millennium after being overcome with rage over the murder of Krillin at the hands of Frieza during their battle on Planet Namek.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-40">[41] As the series progresses, he achieves every single advanced form of Super Saiyan. Each transformation changes Goku's appearance and enhances his abilities by an incredible amount.

Goku can also fuse with Vegeta and thus, creates a warrior who has the combined power and skills of both Saiyans. One method is by using the Potara Earrings presented to Goku by the Elder Kai, which results in a 'perfect fusion', creating Vegito ("Vegerot" in Viz Media's manga translation).<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-41">[42] The other method is by performing the Metamorese Fusion Dance, which creates Gogeta. If the dance is performed incorrectly, it forms the obese Veku.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-42">[43]