Search Results
6/20/2025, 1:10:04 PM
Son Goku does not care about adventures.
It's something that irked me with Daima, the way Son Goku was characterized, as this wide-eyed eccentric adventurer, gawking and admiring wildlife and scenery, whereas this was simply never the impression I got of Son Goku myself.
In the Pilaf arc, he was strung along by Bulma and it seemed to me he kept himself around out of kindness and some subtle curiosity, but he never showed the kind of over-the-top giddiness that he does in Daima. In fact, the things that brought him excitement were the prospects of fighting people and getting stronger, which is also true in the Red Ribbon Army and Namek arcs. The actual "travel/exploration" part of the journey, he was actually rather impatient and would routinely ask if they were there yet.
The child had been living comfortably in his corner of the woods in Mount Paozu for his entire life without branching out. As an adult with God-like powers, he doesn't seek out new realms. He's largely a reactive character in contrast to Luffy who's an active character, who actively seeks adventures.
Son Goku may like "adventures" in the sense that it's another way to get stronger and fight strong guys, but he doesn't like adventure in the same way as, say, Luffy does. Luffy is far more patient when traveling around the Grand Line because finding One Piece and becoming Pirate King is just a means to an end: he wants absolute freedom to do whatever he wants. All these trips to all these islands all ties back to Luffy wanting to live as the freest man in the world. In contrast, Goku does not care for the adventure as it is, he does not care about the journey nor the destination, he only cares about improving himself.
I think consciously or not Toriyama recognized that Son Goku is not very suited to an adventure story, which is why he discarded that format and stuck to martial arts fights after the Pilaf arc.
It's something that irked me with Daima, the way Son Goku was characterized, as this wide-eyed eccentric adventurer, gawking and admiring wildlife and scenery, whereas this was simply never the impression I got of Son Goku myself.
In the Pilaf arc, he was strung along by Bulma and it seemed to me he kept himself around out of kindness and some subtle curiosity, but he never showed the kind of over-the-top giddiness that he does in Daima. In fact, the things that brought him excitement were the prospects of fighting people and getting stronger, which is also true in the Red Ribbon Army and Namek arcs. The actual "travel/exploration" part of the journey, he was actually rather impatient and would routinely ask if they were there yet.
The child had been living comfortably in his corner of the woods in Mount Paozu for his entire life without branching out. As an adult with God-like powers, he doesn't seek out new realms. He's largely a reactive character in contrast to Luffy who's an active character, who actively seeks adventures.
Son Goku may like "adventures" in the sense that it's another way to get stronger and fight strong guys, but he doesn't like adventure in the same way as, say, Luffy does. Luffy is far more patient when traveling around the Grand Line because finding One Piece and becoming Pirate King is just a means to an end: he wants absolute freedom to do whatever he wants. All these trips to all these islands all ties back to Luffy wanting to live as the freest man in the world. In contrast, Goku does not care for the adventure as it is, he does not care about the journey nor the destination, he only cares about improving himself.
I think consciously or not Toriyama recognized that Son Goku is not very suited to an adventure story, which is why he discarded that format and stuck to martial arts fights after the Pilaf arc.
Page 1