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119-661: Son Goku is a fictional character and the main protagonist of the Dragon Ball manga series created by Akira Toriyama . He is based on Sun Wukong (known as Son Goku in Japan and Monkey King in the West), a main character of the classic 16th-century Chinese novel Journey to the West , combined with influences from the Hong Kong action cinema of Jackie Chan and Bruce Lee . Goku made his debut in

238-401: A Genki-Dama parody called a Shinrai-Dama on the character Katsuo. In the manga and anime series Blood Lad , the character Staz performs the gestures for Goku's Kamehameha, having learned it from his favorite manga superhero , but it has no actual effect. Goku regularly appears on Fuji TV . In 2003, Goku appeared in the interactive feature Orb's Panic Adventure! , which was featured at

357-407: A gulag camp. Leo Tolstoy 's War and Peace depicts fifteen major characters involved in or affected by a war. Though many people equate protagonists with the term hero and possessing heroic qualities, it is not necessary, as even villainous characters can be protagonists. For example Michael Corleone from The Godfather (1972–1990) film series (1978–1983). In some cases, the protagonist

476-422: A hero (masculine) or heroine (feminine) protagonist is typically admired for their achievements and noble qualities. Heroes are lauded for their strength, courage, virtuousness, and honor, and are considered to be the "good guys" of the narrative. Examples include DC Comics' Superman (hero) and Katniss Everdeen from The Hunger Games (heroine). An antihero (sometimes spelled as anti-hero) or antiheroine

595-603: A boss and playable character, most notably the Budokai , Budokai Tenkaichi and Raging Blast series. He is also a playable character in the Dragon Ball Z: Collectible Card Game . In several games, Cell has forms that have been created specifically for the installment. In the 1995 game Dragon Ball Z: Super Battle , after Goku defeats Cell, he gives him a Senzu Bean and allows him to live, Cell promising to return and win. In Dragon Ball Z: Budokai , Cell has

714-476: A child, Goku doesn't know anything [of the world], so without Bulma, he'd be a character who didn't say anything." Toriyama mentioned Torishima wanted Goku to form a relationship with Bulma, but this was never applied to the series. With the conclusion of the Cell arc, Gohan was intended to replace his father as the protagonist, but Toriyama later decided that Gohan was unsuitable for the role. According to Toriyama, Goku

833-527: A deep ravine and suffered a severe head injury, which caused him to forget his mission and drastically altered his personality. After Raditz kidnaps Goku's son Gohan , he forms a truce with Piccolo in order to defeat Raditz. After sacrificing his life during the battle, Goku trains with King Kai in the Other World. He teaches Goku the Kaiō-ken , which multiplies his energy and strength but with possible strain to

952-462: A future scene, Frieza and Cell are seen being taken away in a jail cell with tape over their mouths. Cell and Frieza also appear in the GT live-action show, with new forms. Cell appears in a TV ad for Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Gods , questioning why he is not in the film while Frieza brags that he is, Cell then remarks that Frieza only has a non-speaking appearance. Cell appears in several video games as

1071-443: A good fight and proves himself his father's superior, Cell easily takes the upper hand due to Gohan's pacifistic nature. Wanting to avoid killing Cell if he can help it, Gohan warns Cell that if he is pushed too far, he will lose control of his anger and kill him, which only drives Cell to torment him further, excited to see this power. He spawns Cell Juniors ( セルジュニア , Seru Junia ) , miniature versions of himself who begin to fight

1190-463: A hero through his design inspired by Goku alongside Marvel Comic's Thor. Commenting on Goku's popularity, Kishimoto stated that when people hear the name "Son Goku", no longer do they think of the Journey to the West character, but instead Dragon Ball' s protagonist comes to mind. Additionally, for the second half of the series, Kishimoto created an ape named Son Goku in reference to Toriyama's character to

1309-502: A means to make drawing the fight scenes easier. When Toriyama thought up the Super Saiyan concept during the Frieza arc, he felt the only way to show Goku's massive power-up was to have him transform. Initially he was concerned that the facial expression looked like that of a villain, but felt it was acceptable since the transformation was brought about by anger. The Super Saiyan form spared

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1428-536: A new opponent known as Beerus , the God of Destruction in the film Battle of Gods . An alternative, more innately powerful form known as the Super Saiyan God is reached by Goku during this film. Though the temporary transformation wears off, Goku manages to harness its godly powers. In its sequel film Resurrection 'F' , Goku manages to achieve a blue-haired evolution of Super Saiyan God under Whis 's tutelage, known as

1547-492: A nightmare where he accidentally absorbs Krillin and becomes Cellin ( セルリン , Serurin ) , with the form leaving him weaker. In the 2003 game Dragon Ball Z: Budokai 2 , Cell is revived by Bobbidi and becomes a Majin, his appearance being altered with the letter "M" on his forehead alongside black lining appearing under his eyes. This form is short-lived, as Majin Boo terminates Bobbidi, with Cell being absorbed afterward by Boo. In

1666-423: A poet named Thespis introduced the idea of one actor stepping out and engaging in a dialogue with the chorus. This was the invention of tragedy, and occurred about 536 B.C. Then the poet Aeschylus , in his plays, introduced a second actor, inventing the idea of dialogue between two characters. Sophocles then wrote plays that included a third actor. A description of the protagonist's origin cited that during

1785-444: A race of nearly extinct extraterrestrials called Saiyans, himself having been sent from their home planet to prepare Earth for sale on the intergalactic market by destroying all its life (at least according to Raditz, who was absent at the time of his planet's destruction, when Goku was sent to Earth as an infant by Bardock and Gine to protect their son from Frieza ). While Grandpa Gohan was taking care of him, Goku accidentally fell into

1904-428: A red-armored variant of Cell's Semi-Perfect form that lacks the original Cell's ability to regenerate. Serving as the film's final antagonist, he was activated by a desperate Magenta before his mind was fully developed, coming across as a mindless, rampaging monster. In Dragon Ball GT , after Goku is sent to Hell by accident, he confronts both Cell and Frieza, whose bodies have been rendered temporarily immortal due to

2023-415: A reference, stating that, when he "first becomes a Super Saiyan, his slanting pose with that scowling look in his eyes is all Bruce Lee." Dragon Ball GT chief character designer Katsuyoshi Nakatsuru said he agonized over designing Goku's Super Saiyan 4 appearance, which was the idea of the show's producers, questioning whether it was necessary to go further with the transformations. Because Super Saiyan 4

2142-788: A significant member and founder of the Red Ribbon Army , Cell is an evil artificial life form created using the DNA and cells from several significant strong characters in the series. He travels back in time from a different timeline so he can become a perfect being to defeat Goku . To reach this goal, he must absorb Androids 17 and 18 , which have been killed in his timeline by Trunks . After Kazuhiko Torishima , Toriyama's former editor during Dr. Slump and early Dragon Ball , expressed dissatisfaction with first Androids #19 and #20 and later Androids #17 and #18 as villains, Toriyama created Cell. Toriyama has expressed some kind of regret regarding

2261-527: A single panel of Toriyama's 2013 manga Jaco the Galactic Patrolman , which is set before the events of Dragon Ball . The collected tankōbon volume of Jaco features the bonus story Dragon Ball Minus: The Departure of the Fated Child , depicting how and why Goku's parents sent him to Earth. Goku has been the subject of various parodies. In the episode "Career Day" of Takeshi's Castle , known in

2380-403: A sketch entitled A Very Dragon Ball Z Christmas , where Goku and Gohan fight an evil Mrs. Claus with Santa's reindeer , in an attempt to save Christmas. The Saturday Night Live sketch TV Funhouse titled Kobayashi depicts real-life hot-dog-eating champion Takeru Kobayashi as able to transform into a Super Saiyan as he prepares to eat hot dogs; Goku appears briefly near the end. Goku

2499-537: A space pod to Earth. In the present, following the events of the Tournament of Power, Goku and Vegeta encounter another Saiyan survivor named Broly , whom Frieza has recruited to defeat them. When Broly proves to be too powerful for either of them to handle individually, Goku and Vegeta use the Metamoran Fusion Dance, which creates Gogeta. Gogeta almost defeats his opponent, but Broly's allies teleport him back to

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2618-559: A supporting protagonist appears, the story is told from the perspective of a character who appears to be minor. This character may be more peripheral from the events of the story and are not as involved within the "main action" of the plot. The supporting protagonist may be telling the story while viewing another character as the main influence of the plot. One example is Nick in The Great Gatsby . Euripides ' play Hippolytus may be considered to have two protagonists, though one at

2737-534: A surviving member of the now-extinct sharpshooting Cerealean race; Granolah. Blinded by his desire for revenge, Granolah confronts Goku and defeats him, as Goku's Ultra Instinct turns out to be taxing to his body and loses its accuracy as he keeps fighting. The fight is later revealed to be a ruse by the Heeters to eliminate Granolah and the Saiyans from the Heeters' plot to assassinate Frieza and achieve universal conquest. He

2856-432: A time. Phaedra is the protagonist of the first half, who dies partway through the play. Her stepson, the titular Hippolytus, assumes the dominant role in the second half of the play. In Henrik Ibsen 's play The Master Builder , the protagonist is the architect Halvard Solness. The young woman, Hilda Wangel, whose actions lead to the death of Solness, is the antagonist. In Shakespeare's play Romeo and Juliet , Romeo

2975-531: Is a concentration of energy , released as a concussive beam. Roshi spent about 50 years developing and perfecting the technique, but, as a child, Goku is able to understand and copy the technique immediately after only one demonstration. After training with the Earth's Guardian, Kami , Goku learns to fly by virtue of the technique Bukū-jutsu and uses the Nimbus cloud less frequently for flight travel. While participating in

3094-586: Is a main character in a story who lacks conventional heroic qualities and attributes such as idealism, courage, and morality. Examples include Holden Caulfield from The Catcher in the Rye , Scarlett O'Hara from Gone With the Wind , Jay Gatsby from The Great Gatsby , and Walter White from Breaking Bad . A tragic hero is the protagonist of a tragedy. Examples include Oedipus from Oedipus Rex and Prince Hamlet from Shakespeare's Hamlet . The protagonist

3213-460: Is brought about while in a Saiyan's Ōzaru form, he made the hair more "wild" and covered Goku's body in red fur. There was only a single final draft of the character, although Nakatsuru did consider making the hair blonde, he ended up choosing black as it provides more contrast with the red fur. During the plans of the final story arc of Dragon Ball Super , it was decided that Goku should have another transformation: The Ultra Instinct. The concept

3332-478: Is called Goku's Fire Fighting Regiment , in which he teaches two children the importance of fire safety. Goku has made guest appearances in various Japanese television shows and manga. In 2005, Goku appeared in the Toriyama parody manga Neko Majin Z where he is the sensei of the main character Z. On September 15, 2006, in celebration of the 30th anniversary of Kochira Katsushika-ku Kameari Kōen-mae Hashutsujo ,

3451-519: Is confronted by Goku and Krillin while aiming a beam at her and Android 21. After being defeated, Cell uses the Solar Flare to escape. Cell laments his lack of power before being confronted by Frieza, who offers him a deal where the two divulge information to each other. The player becomes connected to Cell after Goku is shot by Android 21, and fights Android 21 while controlling Cell's body. Cell escapes from Android 21 with another Solar Flare , and

3570-482: Is designed to evolve into the "perfect" being by absorbing two Androids, #17 and #18 . The Cell that appears as the primary antagonist of his titular arc is from the future, awakening after his development is complete to find that the Androids have been destroyed by Trunks . After he kills Trunks, Cell uses his time machine while regressing into an egg to travel back four years, to before the androids appeared, arriving in

3689-571: Is his favorite Dragon Ball character. The German rock band Son Goku takes their name from the Dragon Ball protagonist. The band's lead singer Thomas D chose the name because Goku embodies the band's philosophy, saying he was "fascinated by Goku's naïveté and cheerfulness, yet, at the same time, a great warrior saving the world." In 2010, a fiberglass statue of Goku was created by Canadian-born Hong Kong artist Edison Chen , with Chen's facial features instead of Goku's, as part of Chen's collection that

Goku - Misplaced Pages Continue

3808-488: Is his own antagonist). Sometimes, a work will have a false protagonist , who may seem to be the protagonist, but then may disappear unexpectedly. The character Marion in Alfred Hitchcock 's film Psycho (1960) is an example. A novel may contain a number of narratives, each with its own protagonist. Alexander Solzhenitsyn 's The First Circle , for example, depicts a variety of characters imprisoned and living in

3927-480: Is later rescued by the last Namekian on the planet Cereal, Monaito, who hides them in his home after a disastrous battle with the Heeter warrior Gas, who wishes absolute power using the planet's Dragon Balls. Monaito reveals the identity of his father, Bardock, and the story of his actions in keeping him and the young Granolah safe from the Heeters a long time ago. Moved by the story, Goku and Vegeta finally find resolve about

4046-450: Is more of a selfish person than a hero as his main interest in the story is to fight strong opponents rather than protecting the innocent. As a result, Toriyama was angered when the anime adaptations of Dragon Ball started portraying Goku as more heroic than his manga counterpart. Toei kept protraying Goku as heroic figure, especially in the anime sequel Dragon Ball GT where he often rescues his granddaughter Pan as producer Kōzō Morishita

4165-726: Is not a human: in Richard Adams ' novel Watership Down , a group of anthropomorphised rabbits, led by the protagonist Hazel, escape their warren after seeing a vision of its destruction, starting a perilous journey to find a new home. Cell (Dragon Ball) Cell ( Japanese : セル , Hepburn : Seru ) is a fictional character and antagonist in the Dragon Ball manga series created by Akira Toriyama . He makes his debut appearance in chapter #361 "The Mysterious Monster, Finally Appears!!", first published in Weekly Shōnen Jump on 16 February 1992. Created by Doctor Gero,

4284-476: Is not always conventionally good. Contrasting the hero protagonist, a villain protagonist is a protagonist who is a villain , driving the story forward regardless of the evil qualities the main character has. These traits can include being cruel, malicious, and wicked. Examples include Humbert Humbert in Vladimir Nabokov's Lolita and Richard III in the eponymous play by William Shakespeare . When

4403-587: Is referenced in the songs "Goku" and "Anime" by Soulja Boy Tell 'Em , where he brags that he looks and feels like Goku. Goku appears in a parody of the film Moneyball on an episode of Mad entitled Money Ball Z , in which Billy Beane drafts Goku and a couple of other Dragon Ball characters into the Oakland A 's. In 2013, he and Superman fought in a "Death Battle" episode of the Rooster Teeth web series ScrewAttack and lost. The episode "Goku vs. Superman" in

4522-533: Is temporarily absorbed by Buu and so he persuades the newly arrived Vegeta to fuse with him, creating Vegito. Later when the Fusion technique is abandoned on both sides, Goku destroys Buu with a Spirit Bomb attack. Ten years later, during another World Martial Arts Tournament, Goku meets Uub , Buu's human reincarnation, and leaves with him, intending to train him as the new protector of Earth. After defeating Majin Buu, Goku meets

4641-464: Is the character whose fate is most closely followed by the reader or audience, and who is opposed by the antagonist . The antagonist provides obstacles and complications and creates conflicts that test the protagonist, revealing the strengths and weaknesses of the protagonist's character, and having the protagonist develop as a result. The term protagonist comes from Ancient Greek πρωταγωνιστής ( prōtagōnistḗs )  'actor who plays

4760-419: Is the protagonist. He is actively in pursuit of his relationship with Juliet, and the audience is invested in that story. Tybalt, as an antagonist, opposes Romeo and attempts to thwart the relationship. In Shakespeare's play Hamlet , Prince Hamlet, who seeks revenge for the murder of his father, is the protagonist. The antagonist is the character who most opposes Hamlet, Claudius (though, in many ways, Hamlet

4879-558: The Dragonball Evolution international theme song " Rule ", Toriyama supplied CD artwork of singer Ayumi Hamasaki dressed as Goku. Goku has been used in Japanese public service announcements aimed at children. In June 1988, Goku and other Dragon Ball characters were featured in two PSA short films. The first, in which Goku is taught the importance of obeying traffic safety by others, is entitled Goku's Traffic Safety . The second

Goku - Misplaced Pages Continue

4998-491: The 2005 video game Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi , Cell defeats Gohan and confronts Super 17, defeating him when the two conflict over a shared interest in killing Goku. In the 2015 game Dragon Ball: Xenoverse , Cell appears as a mentor for the player, teaching the Perfect Kamehameha , Perfect Shot , All Clear and Gravity Impact to the player. Within the context of the game's story mode, Cell defeats Gohan until

5117-497: The Cell Games ( セルゲーム , Seru Gēmu ) to find a worthy opponent to face him, intending to destroy Earth when he wins and wanting to enjoy the fear he causes in others. A week later, in the first round of the Cell Games, he quickly defeats Mr. Satan before moving onto Goku, who quits upon realizing Cell is stronger than him. Goku then nominates his son, Gohan , as Cell's next opponent, to everyone's surprise. Though Gohan puts up

5236-720: The Dragon Ball Franchise , Shawn Saris of IGN ranked Cell No. 7 on the list Top 13 Dragon Ball Z Characters , and Otakukart.com ranked Cell No. 2 on the list Top 10 Dragon Ball Villains . In 2016, Cell was ranked No. 6 on the saikoplus.com list 10 Most Popular Characters in Dragon Ball Z . Michael Zupan assessed Cell as the Dragon Ball villain with the most buildup, writing, "The Z Fighters throw everything they have at this character, and just when you think he's beat... he transforms into something more powerful." Dennis Amith of J!-ENT described Cell as "the toughest enemy that

5355-484: The Earth's mightiest warrior and battles a wide variety of villains with the help of his friends and family, while also gaining new allies in the process. Born under the name Kakarot , as a member of the Saiyan race on Planet Vegeta, he is sent to Earth as an infant prior to his homeworld's destruction at the hands of Frieza (ordered by Beerus ). Upon his arrival on Earth, the infant is discovered by Son Gohan , who becomes

5474-584: The Earth, but Goku sacrifices himself by using his Instant Transmission technique to teleport himself and Cell to King Kai's planet, where Cell explodes, killing everyone there. However, Cell can survive thanks to his unique physiology, which allows him to regenerate from a special nucleus in his head and grow more powerful whenever he has almost been killed, returning to his Perfect form even stronger than before. He easily kills Trunks, and when Vegeta attacks him in retaliation, he easily swats him aside. Cell tries to kill Vegeta with an energy blast, but Gohan takes

5593-518: The Fuji TV headquarters in the orb section. In this, Freeza attacks a visiting tourist, blasting the orb section free from the rest of the Fuji TV building. Goku fights Freeza over the real life aqua city of Odaiba . In 2004, a sequel called Orb's Panic Adventure Returns! was produced. On March 25, 2006, Goku and Freeza appeared in an original animated short film in the IQ Mirror Mistake 7 segment of

5712-553: The Galactic Prison prisoners. After a few days, Goku hears from Merus that Moro has grown even stronger and is unstoppable. This leads to Goku asking Merus to help train him to master the Ultra Instinct technique so he can defeat Moro. Goku helps his friends take out Moro's forces before he comes face-to-face with Moro again. When Moro fuses with Seven-Three, he and his allies are soundly defeated and mortally wounded. Goku achieves

5831-526: The Japanese game show IQ Supplement . On April 7, 2007, Goku and Fuji TV announcer Masaharu Miyake were commentators on the anime segment in the Japan Great Man Awards titled Who is the Strongest Hero? . The segment featured a special tournament to decide who was the greatest person in Japanese history. During the intermission, Goku promoted the coming release of R2 Dragon Ball DVDs. Since

5950-496: The Namekian Dragon Balls to revive those killed by the Saiyans, Goku fights the galactic tyrant Frieza , who destroyed the Saiyans' home planet and nearly the entire race. During his epic battle with Frieza, Goku becomes the first Saiyan in a thousand years to transform into a fabled Super Saiyan. After defeating Frieza and escaping the destruction of Namek, Goku learns a teleportation skill called Shunkan Idō , taught by

6069-455: The Namekian Dragon Balls, the two Saiyans travel to the planet to stop him, where they are defeated by him using his magic to drain their life essences until near death. Once recovered, they attempt to go after Moro again, but he escapes from them, Merus and (the also conscripted) Majin Buu with the help of his accomplice Cranberry (who he kills) in order to wish upon the Dragon Balls to free all

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6188-458: The Nintendo DS. Goku has been the subject of, and is mentioned in, various songs. "Son Goku Song" and "Gokū no Gokigen Jānī" feature Goku as a child singing about himself. During his adult years, the song "Aitsu wa Son Gokū" by Hironobu Kageyama , where Kageyama praises everything about Goku, and the duet "Ore-tachi no Energy" feature words spoken by the character. For the release of the single of

6307-574: The North Star , Toriyama made his protagonist (Goku) cartoonish and small, thus starting a trend that Thompson says continues to this day. In 2015, the Japan Anniversary Association officially declared May 9 as "Goku Day". Goku is the first manga character to have a balloon at the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade , with his first appearance at the 2018 parade. Protagonist The protagonist

6426-512: The Saiyan cells embedded in his being, Cell is able to imprint on a near-death experience and grow stronger, while memorizing new techniques at his disposal, such as Goku's teleportation move. Cell is an artificial life form (referred to as a "Bio-Android") created by Doctor Gero's supercomputer from the cell sample of the universe's strongest warriors, possessing the genetic information of Goku , Vegeta , Piccolo , Krillin , and Tien in an underground complex beneath Gero's secret laboratory. Cell

6545-580: The Super Dragon Balls to restore the erased universes. Goku's origin story from the Dragon Ball Minus manga chapter is retold in the film Dragon Ball Super: Broly . His birth parents are Bardock , a low-class Saiyan mercenary, and Gine, the owner of a butcher shop. Bardock has a strong suspicion that Frieza is up to something when he receives an order on his scouter for all Saiyans to return home, so he convinces Gine to send their infant son in

6664-638: The Super Saiyan God Super Saiyan, or "Super Saiyan Blue" for short, which Goku uses to battle the newly revived Frieza. These forms appear in Dragon Ball Super and its manga tie-in, which expand upon the stories from the two films. Afterwards, Goku and his friends participate in a fighting tournament set between Beerus and his brother Champa, who is Universe 6's God of Destruction, facing the best warriors from Champa's universe. During this tournament, Goku reveals that he has learned to combine

6783-463: The Tournament of Power. Throughout the tournament, Goku faces multiple opponents but finds his toughest in Jiren. It is during his fights with Jiren that Goku acquires a temporary transformed state using a divine technique known as Migatte no Goku'i . Ultimately, Goku and Frieza manage to work together to force Jiren out of bounds in a triple elimination, leaving Android 17 as the winner who uses his wish on

6902-626: The U.S. debut of Dragon Ball Z in 1996, Goku has appeared in American pop culture. He was featured in an issue of Wizard magazine in which he and Superman fought a hypothetical battle and won. In the Codename: Kids Next Door episode " Operation: R.E.P.O.R.T ", Numbuh Four's version of the story is a parody of the Goku and Freeza's battle in Dragon Ball Z . Goku appears in Robot Chicken in

7021-549: The United States as MXC , the hosts Beat Takeshi and Sonomanma Higashi dressed as popular anime characters, one as Goku as a child, the other as Doraemon . Weekly Shōnen Jump ' s Gag Special 2005 issue, released on November 12, 2004, featured a Bobobo-bo Bo-bobo one-shot Dragon Ball parody manga, a retelling of the first fight between Goku and Vegeta. In chapter #179 of the Yakitate!! Japan manga, Kawachi executes

7140-678: The World Martial Arts Tournament that attracts the most powerful fighters in the world, Goku battles foes, later turned allies, such as Tien Shinhan and Chiaotzu , as well as the Namekian Piccolo . After becoming the runner-up champion of the 21st and 22nd tournaments, Goku wins in the 23rd with Piccolo's defeat, and marries Chi-Chi soon after to fulfill a promise he made to her years ago despite not knowing what marriage was. Five years later, Goku meets his evil older brother Raditz and learns about his heritage. Goku comes from

7259-560: The Zamasu of Future Trunks' timeline to fulfill their "Zero Mortals Plan". After Zamasu and Black become even more dangerous by undergoing Potara Fusion during the battle in Future Trunks' timeline, Goku ultimately summons the future version of Grand Zeno who erases Zamasu. Goku causes the Zenos to decide to hold a multi-universal martial arts tournament with the losing universes wiped from existence;

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7378-413: The adoptive grandfather of the boy and gives him the name Goku. The boy is initially full of violence and aggression due to his Saiyan nature, until an accidental head injury turns him into a cheerful, carefree person. Grandpa Gohan's kindness and teachings help to further influence Goku, who later on names his first son Gohan in honor of him. As the protagonist of Dragon Ball , Goku appears in most of

7497-417: The assumption that Goku would win the tournaments, Toriyama made him lose the first and second but win the third. Toriyama's editor was initially against having Goku grow up, saying it was uncommon to have the protagonist drastically change in manga, however, he gave in when Toriyama threatened that he would not be able to continue the series if the character did not. Toriyama later stated he had him grow up as

7616-430: The barren planet he grew up on. Goku teleports to this planet as well to provide Broly and his two friends with survival supplies, hoping to be able to spar with Broly again someday. In the manga, directly after the final scene of Broly , Goku and Vegeta meet Galactic Patrol by Jaco and a mysteriously highly skilled agent named Merus in order to help stop an ancient warlock called Moro. With Moro headed to New Namek to use

7735-428: The blast in his place, which breaks his arm. With victory in his grasp, Cell decides to destroy the planet with one last Kamehameha , claiming he has the power to destroy the entire Solar System . Assisted by his father in spirit, Gohan retaliates with his own Kamehameha , ultimately overpowering Cell with Vegeta's help, destroying his cell nucleus and killing him once and for all. Mr. Satan, however, takes credit for

7854-455: The body. It is from King Kai that Goku learns his most powerful attack: the Genki-Dama , an energy sphere created by gathering energy from surrounding animals, nature and humans. After being revived by the Dragon Balls, Goku faces off with the Saiyan prince Vegeta , who eventually becomes his greatest rival and another ally. On his journey to Planet Namek in order to aid his friends in gathering

7973-552: The chief or first part', combined of πρῶτος ( prôtos , 'first') and ἀγωνιστής ( agōnistḗs , 'actor, competitor'), which stems from ἀγών ( agṓn , 'contest') via ἀγωνίζομαι ( agōnízomai , 'I contend for a prize'). The earliest known examples of a protagonist are found in Ancient Greece . At first, dramatic performances involved merely dancing and recitation by the chorus. Then in Poetics , Aristotle describes how

8092-490: The color of the robes worn by Buddhist monks for Goku's dōgi . During the early chapters of the manga, Toriyama's editor Kazuhiko Torishima commented that Goku looked rather plain. Toriyama had given him simple clothes on purpose because it was a fighting manga, so to combat this he added several characters like Master Roshi and Krillin , and created the Tenkaichi Budōkai to focus the storyline on fighting. To defy

8211-403: The control of the wizard Babidi in order to gain power. Shortly after, he is drawn into a battle for the universe against the monster Majin Buu . Despite having mastered two new Super Saiyan transformations, Goku prepares Goten and Trunks to take his place as Earth's defender. After his life is fully restored, Goku attempts to fuse with Gohan in order to defeat Buu, but this fails when the latter

8330-405: The design of Cell, calling it tedious to draw all the little spots on his body. In addition, he did not initially plan for the character to be able to transform, but gave him this ability after his then-current editor Yū Kondō described Cell as "ugly." Toriyama intended for Cell's second form to last longer than it did; Kondō found the form to be silly and urged him to hasten the first appearance of

8449-466: The early period of Greek drama, the protagonist served as the author, the director, and the actor and that these roles were only separated and allocated to different individuals later. There is also a claim that the poet did not assign or create the protagonist as well as other terms for actors such as deuteragonist and tritagonist primarily because he only gave actors their appropriate part. However, these actors were assigned their specific areas at

8568-492: The episodes, films, television specials and OVAs of the manga's anime adaptations ( Dragon Ball , Dragon Ball Z ) and sequels ( Dragon Ball GT , Dragon Ball Super ), as well as many of the franchise's video games. Due to the series' international popularity, Goku became one of the most recognizable and iconic manga/anime characters worldwide. Outside the Dragon Ball franchise, Goku has made cameo appearances in Toriyama's self-parody series Neko Majin Z , has been

8687-463: The fact that Goku grew up in the mountains and did not know much of the world. Despite having to voice Goku, Gohan, Goten and Bardock , Nozawa says she is able to instantly get into the respective character upon seeing their image. Nozawa explained that she did not read the manga so that she would not know what was coming in the story until recording, making her reactions the same as Goku's. Nozawa said that she liked young Goku with his tail because he

8806-464: The first Dragon Ball chapter, Bulma and Son Goku , originally published in Japan's Weekly Shōnen Jump magazine on December 3, 1984. Goku is introduced as an eccentric, monkey-tailed boy who practices martial arts and possesses superhuman strength . He meets Bulma and joins her on a journey to find the seven wish-granting Dragon Balls. Along the way, he finds new friends who follow him on his journey to become stronger. As Goku grows up, he becomes

8925-408: The first pair of characters which were introduced in the manga and Toriyama stated that he subsequently introduced other characters in pairs because "that way, I'm able to explain the characters and their relationship to each other through their interactions. In my case, I feel that it isn't good to insert too much narration. I suppose Goku and Bulma are representative of that." He further added that "as

9044-471: The first time in years. An illusion of Cell appears in the Forest of Fear to Krillin and Goku, attacking the pair and growing in size before Krillin concentrates and dispels the illusion by confronting his fear. Although the original Cell does not appear in the film Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero , his schematics were used by the revived Red Ribbon Army to create a stronger model designated as "Cell Max", being

9163-418: The full power of "Ultra Instinct" once more, which he uses to debilitate Moro to near-death. Even after healing him with a Senzu bean, he is unfazed by his ensuing sneak attack, unsuccessfully attempting to convince him to reconsider his ways and go back to prison, and him using a stray severed arm with Merus's copied power to obtain Ultra Instinct for himself, Goku continuously outmatches Moro. Ultimately, with

9282-495: The help of his friends and family, along with key assistance from Buu/Grand Supreme Kai and Uub unknowingly contributing divine power, Goku manages to finish off Moro and save the Earth once more. He, Vegeta, Buu and Jaco then reunite with a now-mortal Merus to be honoured as heroes by the Galactic Patrol. Much later, Goku and Vegeta are contacted by a group of beings called the Heeters, on a seemingly imperative mission to defeat

9401-413: The hermit martial artist Gohan . Before the series' narrative begins, he accidentally and unknowingly kills Gohan when he temporarily transforms into the mighty Ōzaru after staring at a full moon. Goku loses the ability when his friends cut off his tail. Living alone with an item known as a Dragon Ball which he keeps as a memento of Gohan, Goku befriends a teenage girl named Bulma . He joins her to find

9520-533: The heroes, causing Gohan's rage to slowly swell. It is only when Cell mercilessly kills #16 after he had encouraged Gohan to fight that Gohan snaps, transforming into a Super Saiyan 2. Gohan effortlessly and violently kills all the Cell Juniors and then proceeds to effortlessly overpower Cell, aiming to prolong his suffering, dealing so much damage that Cell regurgitates Android #18 and reverts to his previous form. In desperation, Cell tries to self-destruct and destroy

9639-446: The inhabitants of the planet Yardrat. Goku contracts a heart virus whereof the time-traveler Trunks warns him, but recovers after taking medicine provided by Trunks. Goku trains Gohan to be his successor and sacrifices himself again during the battle against the evil bio-android Cell . Goku is temporarily resurrected on Earth seven years later and meets his second son Goten . Goku battles Vegeta again after Vegeta willingly falls under

9758-411: The island that #18 is hiding on, Vegeta appears and overwhelms him with newfound power. At the brink of defeat, Cell talks Vegeta into letting him absorb #18 so he can give him a better fight, and upon doing so, he assumes his final form, which is much more human-like. In this form, Cell easily defeats Krillin , Vegeta, and Trunks, but spares all of them so that they can come to his fighting tournament,

9877-543: The meaning of the Saiyan race's pride, and later confront Gas for a second round. Goku stalls him by teleporting across random locations within the cosmos via Shunkan Idō with Gas tailing him, in an effort to give Granolah time to regain his power. Remembering Whis' advice about finding one's true and personal Ultra Instinct , Goku later molds his own version of the technique, using his emotions as freely as he pleases. Despite this, he and Vegeta are ultimately bested, even after Granolah inflicted his deadliest sniping shot towards

9996-445: The mechanized villain off. However, he can find an opening to absorb #17 and evolve into Semi-Perfect Cell. Cell quickly dispatches #16, but he is unable to absorb #18 thanks to the intervention of Tien Shinhan , who holds him back at the cost of his life force before being rescued by Goku, along with a surviving Piccolo. Cell tries to find Android #18, destroying islands to intimidate her into showing herself, but before he can destroy

10115-679: The next World Martial Arts Tournament as an adult, where he watches a battle between Goku Jr., his descendant, and Vegeta Jr., Vegeta's descendant. An elderly Pan sees him, but he quickly departs. Goku has appeared in various other media including an unofficial Taiwanese live-action film and an unofficial Korean live-action film. He was portrayed by Justin Chatwin in the 2009 20th Century Fox feature Dragonball Evolution . Goku has appeared in almost every Dragon Ball licensed video game, including crossover games such as Jump Super Stars , Jump Ultimate Stars and Battle Stadium D.O.N . In 1992, Goku

10234-530: The next transformation. Norio Wakamoto is the Japanese voice of Cell and revealed that when he voiced the forms of Cell, the first form was monster-like, he used a raspy voice which he said was a pain. He toned it down for the second, and by the final form, he was able to perform comfortably. In the English Funimation dub, Cell is voiced by Dameon Clarke . Clarke considers Cell one of his more "fun and entertaining" characters. Clarke said that he based

10353-532: The past again, Trunks reacts in confusion to seeing Goku alive as he remembers his death from Cell's self-destructing. Goku can inform him of his resurrection that occurred after. Not long after, Bulma is revealed to have retained the Time Capsule that Cell had stolen from Trunks to return to the present timeline. Cell is remembered by Trunks when he notes the differences between Gohan as a child, in particular when he fought Cell, and him as an adult upon meeting him for

10472-428: The past but thinks Trunks is no match for him. However, Trunks showcases his newfound power and easily kills him, finally bringing peace to the future. In filler episodes of the anime, Cell makes numerous cameo appearances, usually as comic relief. Cell tries absorbing two siblings but is prevented from doing so by Krillin, giving chase to the three and nearly killing Krillin before he notices Piccolo and Tien Shinhan on

10591-442: The perfect energy control of his Super Saiyan Blue form with his older technique, the Kaiō-ken . After meeting with the omnipotent being known as Grand Zeno, Goku encounters an evil alternate version of himself called "Goku Black", who is terrorizing Future Trunks' timeline. Black is eventually revealed to be a rogue Supreme Kai in training named Zamasu , who has stolen Goku's body from yet another alternate timeline and teamed up with

10710-473: The player intervenes in their fight, and the version of the character from Trunks' timeline can reach his Perfect form thanks to Towa's strengthening, though he is destroyed by the player and Trunks. In the 2016 game Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2 , Cell shows up in his Perfect Form and fights Trunks, also meeting Android 16 for the first time and fighting alongside him. Cell can reach his Perfect form after defeating both Piccolo and #16 and absorbing #17 and #18 at

10829-495: The player returns to Goku from the strain on Cell's body Cell is also a playable character in the crossover fighting games Battle Stadium D.O.N. and Jump Force , as well as a supporting character in Jump Ultimate Stars . In 2004, fans of the series voted Cell the fourteenth most popular character for a poll in the book Dragon Ball Forever . In 2015, Jacob Yothment ranked Cell No. 3 on his list Top 10 Villains of

10948-457: The point the ape has four tails just like the four-star Dragon Ball Goku earned from his grandfather. In his book about Akira Toriyama published in 2004, Julius Weideman said Goku's journey and ever-growing strength resulted in the character winning "the admiration of young boys everywhere." Jason Thompson stated that unlike the " manly " heroes of other popular shōnen manga of the late 1980s and early 1990s, such as City Hunter and Fist of

11067-495: The post-credits scene, tired and exhausted, Goku falls down from Vegeta's weak last punch, admitting defeat as his rival celebrates his triumph. In the anime-only sequel series Dragon Ball GT , Goku is transformed back into a child by an accidental wish made by his old enemy Pilaf using the Black Star Dragon Balls while Pilaf was about to wish to take over the world. Goku, Trunks and his own granddaughter Pan travel

11186-426: The present timeline. After hatching and metamorphosing from his larval, cicada-like form into his insect-like Imperfect form, Cell kills off thousands of people and absorbs them to increase his power in preparation to absorb the Androids. After he has managed to absorb the energy of entire cities of people, Cell finds Android #17 during his fight with Piccolo. Cell then breaks Piccolo's neck before Android #16 holds

11305-547: The protagonist looks similar to Goku, but has a pair of wings. The original inspiration were Hong Kong action cinema , including those by Bruce Lee such as Enter the Dragon (1973) and by Jackie Chan such as Drunken Master (1978); Toriyama said he had a young Chan in mind for a live-action Goku, stating that "nobody could play Goku but him." Goku uses a variety and hybrid of East Asian martial arts styles, including Karate and Wing Chun ( Kung fu ). Bulma and Goku were

11424-512: The role of protagonist, as he and Vegeta train on Beerus' domain, accompanied by newcomer Broly, and his companions from the previous film. He spars with Vegeta without any transformations or ki techniques except for flight. Back on Earth, Piccolo is forced to deal with the reinvigorated Red Ribbon Army with Gohan as his only best defense for Earth against the army's threat, as Bulma is unable to contact Goku and Vegeta because Beerus' ice cream container accidentally obstructed Whis' angelic staff. In

11543-429: The same time. When an empowered Android #17 fights Piccolo, Trunks warns the player Cell that succeeding in absorbing him would mean an even larger power boost than in the main timeline. Cell himself shows up empowered, easily dominating Android #16. Cell later fights alongside the corrupted Cell Juniors, and welcomes Metal Cooler to the Cell Games. In the 2018 game Dragon Ball FighterZ , Cell defeats Android 18 and

11662-490: The seven Dragon Balls, which, when gathered, summon the wish-granting dragon Shenron . They encounter the desert bandit Yamcha and two shapeshifters named Oolong and Puar , who join their quest. Goku is later trained by the martial artist Master Roshi , alongside a monk named Krillin , who later becomes his best friend. It is Roshi who gives Goku the magic cloud Kinto'un , as a reward for saving his pet sea turtle, which becomes Goku's primary source of flight travel across

11781-522: The special attacks the Z-Fighters uses, such as the Kamehameha and the Solar Flare . Cell is specifically designed to continuously evolve by absorbing Androids 17 and 18 to achieve his final and most powerful stage, with each form gaining monstrous boosts in overall physical strength, durability, and speed. He can also increase his power by using his tail to absorb bio-energy from any living creature. Due to

11900-470: The special manga Super Kochikame was released. The chapter entitled This is the Police Station in front of Dragon Park on Planet Namek has Ryotsu Kankichi travel to planet Namek and try to issue Freeza a citation and scold both he and Goku for parking their ships illegally. Goku and other Dragon Ball characters joined the cast of One Piece in the 2006 crossover manga Cross Epoch . He appears in

12019-419: The stage with the protagonist always entering from the middle door or that the dwelling of the deuteragonist (second most important character) should be on the right hand, and the tritagonist (third most important character), the left. In Ancient Greece, the protagonist is distinguished from the term "hero", which was used to refer to a human who became a semi-divine being in the narrative. In literary terms,

12138-479: The subject of other parodies, and has appeared in special events. Most Western audiences were introduced to the adult version of Goku featured in the Dragon Ball Z anime, which adapted the final 26 Dragon Ball manga volumes, as opposed to his initial appearance as a child due to the limited success of the first anime series overseas. Goku, and Dragon Ball in general, evolved from one of Akira Toriyama's earlier one-shot series called Dragon Boy . In this story,

12257-424: The superhuman abilities of all the aforementioned collective. What makes him distinct from other Android models is the ability to generate, manipulate, and strengthen himself with a life energy called ki very similar to most naturally-born organic users of it. He also can mask his presence to avoid detection and can generate an aura similar to a Super Saiyan. Along with telepathy and telekinesis, Cell knows how to use

12376-414: The tail was a pain to draw, hence why he had it get cut off early on. Toriyama did not initially plan to make Goku an alien , it was not until the introduction of fighters from other planets that he established him as a Saiyan. Goku was given the ability to teleport to any planet in seconds, so that Toriyama could increase the pace of the story. Wanting the series to have a Chinese appearance, Toriyama used

12495-403: The team has fought yet" and liked how the efforts of the other characters trying to stop Cell is the main focus of that part of the series. J. Steiff and T. D. Tamplin used Cell as an example of the concept of "leveling up" in anime and believed Cell follows this concept well. The concept of the Cell Games and its execution were criticized. D. F. Smith of IGN criticized Cell's decision to hold

12614-447: The trouble of coloring Goku's hair all the time for the standard black-and-white manga pages. This was the reason for the Super Saiyan form having blonde hair, because it was easier to draw for Toriyama's assistant who spent a lot of time blacking in Goku's hair. Goku's piercing eyes in Super Saiyan form were inspired by Bruce Lee's paralyzing glare. For the Dragon Ball Z anime adaptation, character designer Tadayoshi Yamamuro used Lee as

12733-523: The universe to search for the Black Star Dragon Balls and return them to Earth to prevent its destruction. After acquiring the Super Saiyan 4 transformation, Goku battles the evil Tuffle Baby , Super Android 17 , and the evil Shadow Dragons. His final challenge is against Omega Shenron , whom he destroys using the Spirit Bomb. Goku leaves with the original form of Shenron, but not before saying his goodbyes to his friends on Earth. He appears 100 years later at

12852-431: The upset in the balance between the two worlds. Though Cell and Frieza trap Goku with their new joint attack and freeze him using a witch below them, they too are frozen after foolishly venturing down to gloat at him, and due to being dead, they cannot thaw out as Goku did. Goku accidentally breaks the ice Cell and Frieza are trapped within to pieces, implying that Cell and Frieza have been erased from existence. However, in

12971-494: The victory and becomes a hero. Upon being resurrected by the Dragon Balls and returning to the future, Trunks destroys Androids #17 and #18, though realizes from his time travel that Cell is likely to emerge soon. Three years later, Trunks is confronted by the Cell of his timeline, who plans to kill Trunks and use his time machine in the same way his alternate self had. Future Cell realized Trunks traveled back already and learned of him in

13090-435: The villain with Goku's assistance, but are saved by Frieza's unexpected arrival. Frieza kills Gas and Elec, the Heeter leader and mastermind of the coup, in swift succession, before unveiling a new transformation and demonstrating his new powers by knocking Goku and Vegeta out of their empowered forms in one quick strike. He spares the duo before making his leave. In the film Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero , Goku does not play

13209-463: The voice of Perfect Cell off of Terence Stamp 's General Zod from Superman II . Sometime around the release of Resurrection 'F' , in which Frieza returned, Clarke said he began receiving questions about a film featuring Cell's return, which he supported. Thanks to being genetically created with the DNA of the Z-Fighters, as well as his Frieza and his father King Cold, being spliced together; Cell has

13328-556: The way and escapes. In his posthumous appearances, he is shown causing trouble in Hell along with Frieza, King Cold, and the Ginyu Force . He is defeated by Goku and Pikkon and sent to prison and is later seen watching Goku's battle with Majin Buu on a crystal ball, openly wondering why Goku quit against him and then went on to fight Buu, whom he acknowledges to be a stronger opponent than himself. A few years later, when Trunks travels back to

13447-692: The web series Epic Rap Battles of History won a Streamy Award for Best Music Video. The use of the Kamehameha attack became an Internet meme which started with Japanese schoolgirls photographing themselves apparently using, and being affected by, this attack. It has attracted considerable media attention in France , Germany , as well as in many Spanish-speaking countries in South America . A number of notable public figures have commented on their feelings towards Goku or his status in popular culture. For example, Jackie Chan has gone on record stating that Goku

13566-462: The world. Goku's first shown martial arts attack as a child is Jan ken , three physical blows modeled after the hand signs in rock-paper-scissors . As a child, he wields the Nyoi-bō , a magic staff that extends and retracts on command, given to him by his grandfather. Goku's signature attack is the Kamehameha (named after King Kamehameha I of Hawai'i ), which he learned from Roshi. The Kamehameha

13685-404: Was cute, and stated that the character was still the same even at the end of the series. In the numerous English versions, Goku has been played by different actors because different companies produced the dubs, by reason of changes of automated dialogue replacement companies and recording studios, or due to actors quitting: Goku first appears in Dragon Ball as a monkey-tailed child adopted by

13804-583: Was displayed at the "Treacherous Treis" exhibition in Singapore's Museum of Art and Design. CNN released an article explaining how Goku was Spanish professional tennis player Rafael Nadal 's childhood inspiration, and called Nadal "the Dragon Ball of tennis" due to his unorthodox style "from another planet." One Piece creator Eiichiro Oda and Naruto creator Masashi Kishimoto said that Goku inspired their protagonists as well as series structure, with Tekken 's Lars Alexandersson showing traits of

13923-530: Was featured in the interactive game Dragon Ball Z: Get Together! Goku World , in which Goku and his gang travel back in time to review events in the Dragon Ball timeline and interacts with his younger self. In December 2007, Goku made a guest appearance in avatar form in the MMORPG Second Life for a Jump Festa promotion titled Jumpland@Second Life . Goku appears in the Dr. Slump and Arale-chan video game for

14042-507: Was influenced by the 1997 film Titanic . The character Goku is based on Sun Wukong (Son Goku in Japanese), the central character of the Chinese novel Journey to the West . To be creative with the idea of Sun Wukong, Toriyama designed Goku as a human boy with a monkey's tail, rather than a complete simian, because the tail would give the character a distinguishing feature. He later stated that

14161-561: Was that the Ultra Instinct would be completely different from Goku's previous Super Saiyan transformations. In the Japanese version of every Dragon Ball anime series and subsequent related media, Goku has been voiced by Masako Nozawa . Toriyama selected Nozawa upon hearing her audition sample, remarking that only Goku could sound like that. Nozawa stated that she was ecstatic when she got the role because she had always wanted to be in one of Toriyama's works. She said she had to be mindful of

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