Goku - “Son Gokou”
Goku is the main character of Dragonball/Z/GT. He is a member of the warrior race known as the Saiyan. Goku was born on the Planet Vegeta in 737 AD and is sent to Earth as an infant to destroy all life on the planet in order to prepare it for sale by Frieza. He is the son of Bardock and the brother of Radditz, and his real name is Kakarotto (Kakarot in the dub). A martial arts master, Gohan, finds baby Goku in the middle of the woods and decides to adopt the child, naming him Goku, which roughly means “sky”. Being a Saiyan, Goku is at first a disagreeable baby prone to throw tantrums frequently. One day when Gohan takes a walk with baby Goku near the edge of a waterfall, Goku falls from the cliff and hits his head on the rocks below. Any human infant would have been instantly killed, but Goku manages to survive with a serious head wound. When Goku recovers, he is a completely different baby, as a serious head injury often causes a baby Saiyan to forget their mission and forsake their Saiyan heritage. Goku learns the art of fighting from his grandfather, who later is killed by a Great giant Monkey (later discovered to be Goku in Oozaru form) when the monster steps on him. Only 5 years old, Goku is left with no choice but to strike out on his own for a time, carrying the four-star dragonball, which his Grandpa had given him along with him. The four-star dragonball is Goku’s favorite because it reminds him of his grandfather. Later the four-star dragonball becomes a symbol of Goku and is almost always associated with Goku or his Grandpa. In the first episode of Dragonball, Goku meets an adventurous young girl named Bulma who is searching for the seven dragonballs. She invites Goku to help her in her search, and the two travel about the countryside making many new friends and enemies such as Yamcha the desert bandit, Oolong the shape-shifting pig, Krillin the warrior monk, and Piccolo Daimaou, Goku’s greatest adversary yet. Goku receives training from Master Roshi, Korin the cat deity, and even the guardian of Earth, Kami himself. In 756 AD, Goku marries his childhood sweetheart Chi Chi at the age of 19, and in May of 757 AD, Chi Chi gives birth to their first child Gohan (named after Goku’s grandpa of course). Goku dies twice during the series. The first time is by Piccolo’s Makankosappo (Special Beam Cannon in the dub) while Goku is restraining his brother Radditz. During that year he travels Snake Way and trained under King Kai, who teaches him special moves such as Kaio Ken and the Genki Dama (Spirit Bomb). The second time Goku dies is when he teleports himself and Cell to King Kai’s planet so that Cell (who is about to self-destruct) would detonate without destroying the Earth. Of course, King Kai’s planet is destroyed, and Kaio-sama himself is killed along with Goku. Not long after this, Goku and Chi Chi’s second child Goten is born in the year 767 AD. About 7 or 8 years later, Revered Kaioshin gives his life to Goku, restoring Goku to his physical body permanently again. Goku is the first to reach Super Saiyan, which he does in the Frieza Saga after watching Krillin die by Frieza’s hand, and he eventually “kills” Frieza (who is later discovered to still be alive). Goku is also the first character to reach Super Saiyan 3, a level that has only been achieved by one other character, Gotenks. In GT, Emperor Pilaf returns with all seven Black-star dragonballs, and accidentally wishes that Goku were a little kid again so he could beat him up. Goku is transformed into a little boy again, and goes on a long journey throughout the universe along with Trunks and Goku’s teenage granddaughter Pan to find all the Black-star dragonballs. Their ultimate goal is to wish Goku back to an adult, and to save the Earth from a curse brought by the Black-star dragonballs. Goku is also the first Saiyajin to reach Super Saiyajin 4. Goku trades in his life to the Shenlong to save the Earth and everyone he loves, and he leaves with the dragon. Their destination remains a secret, and it is left to the viewer’s imagination to decide where they went and why. In the very last episode of GT, Pan, who is a grandmother by this time, sees Goku in a crowd, and he waves to her and walks out of sight. At the end of Dragonball Z, Goku is 48 years old. As an adult he is 5’7” and weighs 137 lbs., and his home address on Mount Paozu is 439 East District.
