Goku is a Trapped Character

 Written by Shiggins

Goku did it again!

Another day, another chapter of manga that comes out to cause frustration among readers, casual and TrueHardcoreFan alike. And it's the newest Dragon Ball Super chapter that has everyone sick of the main protagonist, Son Goku, and his constant decisions that really do seem to make things worse and worse in every arc. Why is that however?

Jiren, Super Broly and Beerus politely tell you to fuck off, Goku.

Well, to start with, let's go over what Goku has done lately and why everyone is so pissed off with it. If you want to do that yourself first, check out Chapter 65 of Dragon Ball Super.

Right now, Goku is in the middle of a dramatic battle against the villain Moro, an energy-sucking criminal who steals skills and prevents the Saiyans from using transformations and fusion, and causing Goku to push himself so hard he learned Ultra Instinct. Trust me, it's actually pretty cool and I might even talk about the arc itself in another article sometime, but for now Goku finally has the upper-hand in a fight that has been going on for far too long and really hasn't been that engaging when compared to  so many others, even in this very arc.

Ok, I admit to liking this page a LOT.

So in this position of power, Goku gives Moro a chance. Surrender peacefully and return to jail, or be destroyed by Goku's Ultra Instinct power. Moro says he'll take the first option, so Goku gives him a Senzu Bean, and Moro betrays Goku because obviously. He fails due to the difference between himself and Ultra Instinct, but manages to come up with a new idea that might have doomed the entire planet and everyone on it. 

If you're getting a bit of Deja Vu from what I said, you aren't alone. Goku giving a wounded enemy a Senzu Bean and Earth nearly dying because of it is almost exactly the situation we got during the final battle against Perfect Cell, and it's also reminiscent of when Goku fought Raditz and let go of his tail. And when Goku gave Frieza his energy and screamed "YOU FOOL!" in a beautifully dramatic fashion. This might also tempt you to say "but then why is everyone upset? This is what he always does. Why is it a big deal he's doing it right now?" 

If this had happened several chapters ago, this arc could have ended amazingly! Fight the planet!

Well, that's why. To be as generous as possible, let's say Goku's decisions involving Raditz and Frieza were understandable. He wants to have faith, and he wants to show mercy. It's how he acts, and that's fine. It's in-character. However, these acts all occurred decades ago, and Goku has been through a long history of villains and heroes since then, and this is where we're getting to the core of the situation at hand.

Every time Goku has shown trust in a villain, it has backfired tremendously. Raditz betrayed him and Goku got tortured for it. Frieza shot at him. Cell nearly blew himself and Earth into space dust, and even Mercenary Tao pretended to surrender but attacked him anyway. Original Dragon Ball is so good... but anyway, Goku knows for a fact that he's going to be attacked by the villain time and time again. It might be harsh, but Goku's merciful side and eagerness to help his enemies is basically illogical at this state. Goku is an emotional character, sure, but now the Earth is about to die yet again and it is entirely his fault!

Every. Single. Time.

I don't really blame Goku for his action of giving a Senzu Bean and mercy to Moro though, and this has nothing to do with Ultra Instinct's overwhelming strength, Vegeta obviously about to use his new ability to defuse Moro, or anything else within the story. No, I believe the reason is Goku's status as an icon. 

Son Goku is arguably the most iconic character in anime history. There's a national holiday in Japan dedicated to him, his design is known to people all around the world, non-anime fans know of him and his blonde spiky hair. His blue hair form even showed up during the 2019 Macy's Parade. He got a whitewashing movie from Hollywood. Console games, mobile games, books, toys, cosplay, a continuity that is making a great success thanks to the return of Akira Toriyama, with Super: Broly being a fantastic film that is currently the 12th highest-grossing anime film of all time thanks to a worldwide release... Goku and Dragon Ball are still a powerhouse! 

In the words of Aladdin's Genie however; “Phenomenal cosmic powers … Itty bitty living space.”

With the exception of his first proper return in Battle of Gods, Goku has not grown as a character in any significant way. He's caring, brave, trusts everyone, and wants to be your friend and fighter. His motives have stayed simple, and while I can commend a series for keeping things simple to prevent a ridiculous Christmas-light-tangle of a plot, it does mean that all Goku can do is smile and seem almost unaffected by the world around him. Goku is a character who has to stay the way he is, because you can't change an icon! He's an icon for all those reasons, so making him change in any way would be disastrous! It's why all of Goku's newest forms are a simple hair and/or aura change, and he keeps repeating his past mistakes over and over. It's why Frieza went Golden instead of becoming something new like his brother Cooler. Changing an icon by too much is risky and many business types wouldn't stand by it unless they could basically clone another Goku to replace him (which is why we have characters like Boruto now). 

*sigh* I used to really like you, Moro. (And I'm starting to convince myself I should review this arc in full.)

Here's a way to put it. Do you ever think Rick Sanchez will become sober? Of course not because he's an icon now, and we as a society reject change from thing we enjoy. Whenever something we love is changed, we freak out and our nostalgia refuses to accept it. Individually, we might welcome change and new ideas (I know I usually do) but as a whole group, we scream and panic and ask why. It's like a cynical version of "don't fix what isn't broken".

Don't hate Goku, pity him. He is a character trapped in a Hell of which there is almost no escape, his fame locking the poor boy in position, keeping him from having radical ideas we wouldn't expect, because it would be unfamiliar and a lot of audiences don't like change like that. And it's a position that so many of his rank will follow. Monkey D. Luffy will forever be an idiot, Homer Simpson will forever be fat, and it's looking more and more likely we'll never get a proper timeskip that GT had the balls to do. Yes, GT gets praise for that one thing now!

Then again, maybe we're all just tired of Moro and want this arc over so we can finally get more Super Broly and Jiren. I'd much rather see them two interact and fight now.

Goku keeps repeating history. Vegeta keeps failing. Gohan is retired. It's clear Krillin should be the protagonist from now on.

What's your thoughts on all this? Do you like Goku's decision? Comment below, or follow me on Twitter and Patreon?