Goku (孫 悟空, Son Gokū), born Kakarot (カカロット, Kakarotto), is the main protagonist of the Dragon Ball metaseries created by Akira Toriyama. He is the adoptive grandson of Grandpa Gohan, the husband of Chi-Chi, the father of Gohan and Goten, the grandfather of Pan, and later the great-great-grandfather of Goku Jr.
Cheerful, courageous and also quite naive, Goku is a Saiyan originally sent to Earth as an infant with the mission to destroy it. However, an accident alters his memory, causing him to grow up pure-hearted and later become Earth's greatest defender, as well as the informal leader of the Z Fighters. Throughout his life, he trains hard and strives to be the greatest warrior possible, while at the same time using his amazing strength and skills to uphold peace.
The name "Goku" means "awakened to emptiness"; the Go syllable means Enlightenment, and the Ku syllable means Sky or Emptiness. In the Namek Saga, while training in the Capsule Corporation spaceship, it is seen that his name is written with a "h", Gokuh, when he has to go to repair the ship. Goku's full name, Son Goku, is the Japanese name for Sun Wukong, the main protagonist in the Chinese legend Journey to the West, on whom Goku is loosely based. The Dragon Ball universe began as a loose adaptation of the classic Chinese novel Journey to the West, with Goku starting off as more or less a parody of Sun Wukong the Monkey King. Similarities between the two include Goku's prone for mischief as a child (due to his innocence), possession of Nyoibo (Sun Wukong's staff that can fill the entire universe), and Flying Nimbus (the magical cloud the Great Sage rode on in Journey to the West). As the Dragon Ball manga continued its run, he was able to develop differently, eventually turning out to have similar origins.
Goku's design was based on Tanton, of Toriyama's prototype manga Dragon Boy and Tongpoo, from his other manga The Adventures of Tongpoo. When Akira Toriyama started his first draft of Dragon Ball he originally planned on making Goku full monkey to make it faithful to Journey to the West. During Toriyama's second draft he wanted to make Goku a full human dressed in sailor clothes that rode a flight mecha instead of the Flying Nimbus. Toriyama's 3rd and final draft of Goku was to have him human looking with a monkey tail.
Goku's Saiyan birth name, Kakarot, is a pun on "carrot". Likewise, all pure-blood Saiyans that appear in the series are named using vegetable-related puns. Goku's family are all named after root vegetables (burdock, radish, and carrot). Comically, in Dragon Ball, Goku says he hates carrots when fighting against Monster Carrot.
POWER
Goku is one of the most powerful characters in the series, able to take on many powerful opponents and hold his own. As a baby, Goku was stated to have a power level of 2, but by the time he had grown into a child his power was 10 (going to 100 when he briefly uses the Great Ape form). When he competed in the 22nd World Martial Arts Tournament, Goku's power had increased to 180 thanks to his training. After drinking the Ultra Divine Water to combat King Piccolo, Goku's power level increased to 260. By the time of his battle with Raditz, his power level had become 416. After training with King Kai in the Other World, Goku's power level had increased to be over 8,000 (or mistakenly over 9,000 in the English dub) and he could use the Kaio-ken technique to further increase his power level. Thanks to training, Goku's power had increased to 90,000 by the time of his battle with the Ginyu Force. It then takes a leap to 3,000,000 thanks to a Zenkai, and it increases to 150,000,000 while utilising his Super Saiyan form against Frieza. Dragon Ball Z: The Anime Adventure Game states that Goku's base power rose to 8,000,000 by the time of the Trunks Saga.
Goku's power continued to increase throughout the series thanks to numerous trainings, though it is possible that Goku reached his peak power in Base and Super Saiyan forms after training in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber, as he tells Vegeta that further training in the chamber would be a waste of his time as he could not get any stronger. Though he later achieves further forms that increase his power (Super Saiyan 2, Super Saiyan 3, etc.). It is stated by Beerus in the movie Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Gods that Goku's base form does not have enough power to defeat Frieza at full power. Later in Battle of Gods, Goku absorbs the godly power of Super Saiyan God even after returning to base form, allowing him to keep it and use it in his base and Super Saiyan forms; though he is not as strong as a Super Saiyan God, he is able to take the form without the help of six other Saiyans at this point. According to the series' original author Akira Toriyama, in terms of power, Goku as a Super Saiyan God would be a 6, Beerus would be a 10, and Whis would be a 15. In Dragon Ball GT, Goku in his Base form, he is able to match General Rilldo, a being stated to have similar power to Kid Buu, during their fight.
In terms of physical strength, Goku is shown to be able to lift two tons on each limb while training on King Kai's planet, which had 10x the gravity of Earth. When transforming into a Super Saiyan, he can lift 10 tons on each limb easily. In Dragon Ball GT, Goku is able to lift up half a city while in his Super Saiyan 4 state, though it leaves him panting doing so.
TECHNIQUES
Kamehameha. Goku's signature move throughout the series. Goku first learns the move after witnessing Master Roshi use it to save the Ox-King and Chi-Chi's castle from an inferno (but only ends up destroying it, along with a nearby mountain). Throughout the remainder of Dragon Ball, Goku continues to master the Kamehameha and uses it in nearly every battle during Dragon Ball Z and Dragon Ball GT.
Kaio-ken. Goku learns this technique after his death against Raditz while training under King Kai. He uses this attack numerous times throughout early Dragon Ball Z up until his ascension to a Super Saiyan.
Spirit Bomb. Arguably Goku's most powerful technique, taught to him by King Kai during his training for the upcoming battle against Vegeta and Nappa. Goku uses the Spirit Bomb numerous times, most notably against Frieza and Kid Buu. It is only against the latter that the technique actually works in the manga storyline.
Instant Transmission. Goku learns this technique on the Planet Yardrat after his battle with Frieza. This technique allows him to teleport to any location so long as he can find an energy source to home onto. He uses this technique frequently throughout the series, one of his most valuable abilities.
Dragon Fist. Goku uses this technique on Hirudegarn to finish him off in the 13th Dragon Ball Z movie. He also uses this in GT: against Super 17, as well as Eis Shenron and Omega Shenron, though the latter regenerates.
FORMS
Great Ape. Like all Saiyans, Goku can transform into a Great Ape (Oozaru) when he sees the full moon while he possesses his tail, though every time it was not at will. Because this tail was removed permanently in the main series by Kami when restoring the moon, this transformation was never taken by Goku again until Dragon Ball GT (in which it is shown very briefly before the full transition into Golden Great Ape), making it his least used Saiyan transformation.
False Super Saiyan. During the movie Dragon Ball Z: Lord Slug, Goku achieved this form in an attempt to defeat Lord Slug. Through rage of being beat down, Goku unleashed a huge amount of aura and became a false-like Super Saiyan, which gave him more speed and strength for a few seconds enough to thrash Lord Slug. In this form, he looks similar to his Kaio-ken form, but he becomes bulkier, except his eyes are whited out like Broly's, and his hair stands up and gains a red tint.
Super Saiyan. Goku achieves this powerful transformation in a rage after Frieza kills Krillin. Frieza had destroyed the Saiyans out of his fear of their growing power and the idea of a possible Super Saiyan. As a result of defeating Frieza, Goku avenges both the Saiyan race and the death of his best friend Krillin.
Ascended Super Saiyan. After having witnessed Vegeta and Trunks emerging from the Hyperbolic Time Chamber (Room of Spirit and Time), Goku concludes that surpassing the normal Super Saiyan form may be more possible than initially suspected, and enters the room to train himself and Gohan. After teaching Gohan to become a Super Saiyan, Goku is able to achieve this form alongside the further extreme of the form known as Ultra Super Saiyan. However, although this new powerup would not take as much of a heavy hit on his speed as the successor would, he decides that staying transformed like this demands far too much ki to be spent, and so decides that the regular Super Saiyan form is the best suited for combat, and makes a plan for him and Gohan to master it before they leave the chamber. As a result, after under 20 hours spent in the room (Vegeta and Trunks had spent a whole day each, and would spend another prior to the Cell Games), he and Gohan emerge as Full Power Super Saiyans. As a result of this and the new discovery of the most powerful Super Saiyan state at the time, Super Saiyan 2, this form is never used by Goku again, and Vegeta and Future Trunks soon follow.
Ultra Super Saiyan. Like the Ascended Super Saiyan form, Goku achieves this form in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber while training with Gohan. Although apparently stronger than Cell in this state, Goku told Gohan he could not defeat him because Cell was much faster, because "all the power in the world would do no good if you can't even hit the guy." Instead of persevering harder to simply increase power output, Goku decides that simply mastering the Super Saiyan form to suppress its downsides and make it a natural state is the best way to fight and gain power. This form is never used after its initial unlocking along with Ascended Super Saiyan, as a result.
Full-Power Super Saiyan. After realizing the weaknesses inherent to the higher grades of Super Saiyan, Goku concluded that mastery over the basic Super Saiyan form would be more advantageous and went on to improve his endurance in that form, thus achieving this state.
Super Saiyan 2. Although it is unknown when exactly Goku achieved this state of Super Saiyan, it is assumed Goku achieved this transformation in the Other World where he could put unlimited energy into his transformation. It was first seen when fighting Majin Vegeta's own Super Saiyan 2 form in their epic battle during the Majin Buu saga. Goku later transforms into this state before showing the Super Saiyan 3 transformation to Majin Buu and Babidi, and again in an anime filler where he begins to fight Kid Buu.
Goku uses the form during the movies Dragon Ball Z: Fusion Reborn and Dragon Ball Z: Wrath of the Dragon. In Dragon Ball GT, he can be seen briefly transforming into a Super Saiyan 2 before he transforms into a Super Saiyan 3 during his second fight with Super Baby Vegeta.
When Goku transforms into a Super Saiyan 2 he has some noticeable changes, such as his hair growing longer and becoming even more spikier, making his hair more defined than his other previous Super Saiyan forms, along with disappearing hair strands surrounding the forehead which are exclusive to this form, like Gohan (but in a different way; for reference, see the picture). He also gains electricity in his aura surrounding his body, and his aura grows markedly larger and more vibrant in both the anime and manga.
Super Saiyan 3. Goku achieved this level in Other World, where he could put more energy into his transformation. Goku is first seen using this transformation against Majin Buu during the Majin Buu Saga. Once in this form, Goku was able to easily overpower Majin Buu in his first form and stood up to Kid Buu for a fair amount of time. However, the transformation is extremely draining in terms of energy, as it cut Goku's time left on Earth from hours to a stated thirty minutes after performing the transformation for a short time. When attempting to gather enough energy to defeat Kid Buu during their final battle, he was unable to sustain it as he had not taken into account the strain overcoming his living body, and soon reverted back to his base state. Altogether, these heavy disadvantages make it impractical to use the transformation out of the afterlife.
Super Saiyan God. Super Saiyan God is a Super Saiyan form even beyond Super Saiyan 3. Goku achieves this form in the movie Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Gods, and uses it against the God of Destruction Beerus. When Goku powers up to this form, he has flame-like aura. He then appears with his hair glowing red and with a shape similar to that of his base form, red eyes, slightly thinner, and he has a flame-like aura. The power of this ultimate warrior excites even the God of Destruction Beerus. The form allows Goku to sense godly ki and he can absorb attacks by consuming ki, but he reverts back to his regular Super Saiyan form due to the form's time limit.
Kid (GT). Emperor Pilaf unintentionally wishes Goku back into a child in the beginning of Dragon Ball GT. In this form, it is harder for Goku to maintain more powerful forms, such as Super Saiyan 3. While a child he was able to get his tail back, with the help of Old Kai, which not only allowed for easier access to the third Super Saiyan form, but eventually permitted him to transform into Golden Great Ape and Super Saiyan 4. At the end of the GT series, Goku is again seen as an adult without a tail, though in one of the endings to the show, he is seen with a tail in adult form facing the rest of the cast.
Super Saiyan (Kid). After being wished into his childhood form, Goku can still transform into a Super Saiyan. However, he is unable to maintain the form for as long as he can in his adult body (in much the same way that he lost the ability to perform the Instant Transmission technique when being downsized), though for far longer than his Super Saiyan 3 form.
Super Saiyan 2 (Kid). Goku uses this form as a kid only once in the series, to guard against an attack by General Rilldo. Also, he briefly appears in the form while powering up to transform into Super Saiyan 3. GT Goku has this form in the arcade game Dragon Ball Heroes.
Super Saiyan 3 (Kid). After being wished back into his childhood form, Goku is still able to transform into a Super Saiyan 3. However, he is only able to maintain the form for a few minutes, even with the Saiyan Tail assisting him in conserving his energy reserves. This form is not enough to defeat Baby Vegeta, so Goku is forced to recruit help from Old Kai, which leads to his Golden Great Ape transformation. Because Goku gains the ability to access the Super Saiyan 4 transformation soon afterwards, this transformation is never again used.
Golden Great Ape. Goku achieved this form in Dragon Ball GT, after Old Kai helped Goku to grow back his tail which allowed him to once again transform into a Great Ape. When he looked at the Earth during the Baby Saga, its sufficient substitute Blutz waves allowed him to take this form, a combination of the Super Saiyan state and the classic Great Ape transformation. Upon regaining control, he later transformed into Super Saiyan 4, his strongest form yet.
Super Saiyan 4. This form is achieved by Goku after achieving the Golden Great Ape state and being calmed down by Pan. The overwhelming power of this transformation is apparently great enough to overcome the Black Star Dragon Balls' power making Goku's transformation into a child by Red Shenron. The spell is only dispersed during the transformation, however. In addition to him being turned back into an adult temporarily, Goku's overall appearance changes yet again. His tail is easily visible, the hair is longer than when in his normal state (not nearly as long as a Super Saiyan 3, though), his eyes become lined (much like Vegeta's did when he was a Majin in the Majin Buu Saga), his eye color is now golden yellow, and red fur covers almost all of his body from head to toe. His clothes change from his childhood garb, leaving him only dressed below the waist (excluding his armbands). As a Super Saiyan 4, Goku is able to easily surpass all but the most powerful enemies in the final parts of Dragon Ball GT. But at the end of the last episode of Dragon Ball GT, when Goku is an adult again, his tail disappears again and it is unknown if he can ever transform to this state from then on.
FUSIONS
Vegito. Vegito is the product of a Potara Fusion between Vegeta and Goku. With unrivaled power, Vegito is one of the most powerful beings in Dragon Ball Z and is created as a desperate plan by Old Kai to stop the powerful Super Buu, when he was winning against Ultimate Gohan after absorbing Gotenks and Piccolo. It has been theorized that Vegito could easily attain the form of Super Saiyan 2 as well as Super Saiyan 3. However, neither was necessary to finish his task of defeating Super Buu, as his Super Saiyan state alone berthed enough in battle that he single-handedly pummeled Buu blithely without even needing to use his fists or any effort. It was obvious he had the physical power to maintain such feats, but he only appeared for a short time before his strategy to deliberately be absorbed into Buu's body (whilst keeping a barrier on to avoid being assimilated into his being) resulted in his diffusion, after which Vegeta crushed his earring, vowing to never fuse with Goku again regardless of the circumstances. Goku follows suit reluctantly, and as a result, despite Old Kai's offer for the two to merge into Vegito again and take care of Kid Buu in a flash, the two decide to fight alone, and Vegito is never again seen.
Goku's relaxation, and Vegeta's strategic mind enabled Vegito to be quite an intelligent fighter without being overcome by arrogance as Vegeta alone would be but possessing the ruthlessness to kill Super Buu that Goku would lack. In addition, Vegito also possesses the immense power and speed of both Goku and Vegeta amplified to great degrees, as well as the tactics and skill of both. He is very similar to Gogeta, who is another fusion of Goku and Vegeta.
Gogeta. Gogeta is one of the most powerful characters introduced in the series. Like Vegito, Gogeta was an act of desperation, though this one was to stop the powerful demon of the 12th Dragon Ball Z movie, Janemba, rather than Majin Buu. Gogeta annihilated Janemba with hardly any effort, disposing of the demon in seconds. He derives his strategic battle tactics and skill from Vegeta, and his massive power and energy potential from Goku. However, due to his extraordinary power, the fusion will only last for 10 minutes (so far only confirmed for his Super Saiyan 4 form), as opposed to the usual 30 minutes, though this has been proven ample time to defeat almost any foe many times over.
BATTLES
Major Battles:
Cheerful, courageous and also quite naive, Goku is a Saiyan originally sent to Earth as an infant with the mission to destroy it. However, an accident alters his memory, causing him to grow up pure-hearted and later become Earth's greatest defender, as well as the informal leader of the Z Fighters. Throughout his life, he trains hard and strives to be the greatest warrior possible, while at the same time using his amazing strength and skills to uphold peace.
The name "Goku" means "awakened to emptiness"; the Go syllable means Enlightenment, and the Ku syllable means Sky or Emptiness. In the Namek Saga, while training in the Capsule Corporation spaceship, it is seen that his name is written with a "h", Gokuh, when he has to go to repair the ship. Goku's full name, Son Goku, is the Japanese name for Sun Wukong, the main protagonist in the Chinese legend Journey to the West, on whom Goku is loosely based. The Dragon Ball universe began as a loose adaptation of the classic Chinese novel Journey to the West, with Goku starting off as more or less a parody of Sun Wukong the Monkey King. Similarities between the two include Goku's prone for mischief as a child (due to his innocence), possession of Nyoibo (Sun Wukong's staff that can fill the entire universe), and Flying Nimbus (the magical cloud the Great Sage rode on in Journey to the West). As the Dragon Ball manga continued its run, he was able to develop differently, eventually turning out to have similar origins.
Goku's design was based on Tanton, of Toriyama's prototype manga Dragon Boy and Tongpoo, from his other manga The Adventures of Tongpoo. When Akira Toriyama started his first draft of Dragon Ball he originally planned on making Goku full monkey to make it faithful to Journey to the West. During Toriyama's second draft he wanted to make Goku a full human dressed in sailor clothes that rode a flight mecha instead of the Flying Nimbus. Toriyama's 3rd and final draft of Goku was to have him human looking with a monkey tail.
Goku's Saiyan birth name, Kakarot, is a pun on "carrot". Likewise, all pure-blood Saiyans that appear in the series are named using vegetable-related puns. Goku's family are all named after root vegetables (burdock, radish, and carrot). Comically, in Dragon Ball, Goku says he hates carrots when fighting against Monster Carrot.
POWER
Goku is one of the most powerful characters in the series, able to take on many powerful opponents and hold his own. As a baby, Goku was stated to have a power level of 2, but by the time he had grown into a child his power was 10 (going to 100 when he briefly uses the Great Ape form). When he competed in the 22nd World Martial Arts Tournament, Goku's power had increased to 180 thanks to his training. After drinking the Ultra Divine Water to combat King Piccolo, Goku's power level increased to 260. By the time of his battle with Raditz, his power level had become 416. After training with King Kai in the Other World, Goku's power level had increased to be over 8,000 (or mistakenly over 9,000 in the English dub) and he could use the Kaio-ken technique to further increase his power level. Thanks to training, Goku's power had increased to 90,000 by the time of his battle with the Ginyu Force. It then takes a leap to 3,000,000 thanks to a Zenkai, and it increases to 150,000,000 while utilising his Super Saiyan form against Frieza. Dragon Ball Z: The Anime Adventure Game states that Goku's base power rose to 8,000,000 by the time of the Trunks Saga.
Goku's power continued to increase throughout the series thanks to numerous trainings, though it is possible that Goku reached his peak power in Base and Super Saiyan forms after training in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber, as he tells Vegeta that further training in the chamber would be a waste of his time as he could not get any stronger. Though he later achieves further forms that increase his power (Super Saiyan 2, Super Saiyan 3, etc.). It is stated by Beerus in the movie Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Gods that Goku's base form does not have enough power to defeat Frieza at full power. Later in Battle of Gods, Goku absorbs the godly power of Super Saiyan God even after returning to base form, allowing him to keep it and use it in his base and Super Saiyan forms; though he is not as strong as a Super Saiyan God, he is able to take the form without the help of six other Saiyans at this point. According to the series' original author Akira Toriyama, in terms of power, Goku as a Super Saiyan God would be a 6, Beerus would be a 10, and Whis would be a 15. In Dragon Ball GT, Goku in his Base form, he is able to match General Rilldo, a being stated to have similar power to Kid Buu, during their fight.
In terms of physical strength, Goku is shown to be able to lift two tons on each limb while training on King Kai's planet, which had 10x the gravity of Earth. When transforming into a Super Saiyan, he can lift 10 tons on each limb easily. In Dragon Ball GT, Goku is able to lift up half a city while in his Super Saiyan 4 state, though it leaves him panting doing so.
TECHNIQUES
Kamehameha. Goku's signature move throughout the series. Goku first learns the move after witnessing Master Roshi use it to save the Ox-King and Chi-Chi's castle from an inferno (but only ends up destroying it, along with a nearby mountain). Throughout the remainder of Dragon Ball, Goku continues to master the Kamehameha and uses it in nearly every battle during Dragon Ball Z and Dragon Ball GT.
Kaio-ken. Goku learns this technique after his death against Raditz while training under King Kai. He uses this attack numerous times throughout early Dragon Ball Z up until his ascension to a Super Saiyan.
Spirit Bomb. Arguably Goku's most powerful technique, taught to him by King Kai during his training for the upcoming battle against Vegeta and Nappa. Goku uses the Spirit Bomb numerous times, most notably against Frieza and Kid Buu. It is only against the latter that the technique actually works in the manga storyline.
Instant Transmission. Goku learns this technique on the Planet Yardrat after his battle with Frieza. This technique allows him to teleport to any location so long as he can find an energy source to home onto. He uses this technique frequently throughout the series, one of his most valuable abilities.
Dragon Fist. Goku uses this technique on Hirudegarn to finish him off in the 13th Dragon Ball Z movie. He also uses this in GT: against Super 17, as well as Eis Shenron and Omega Shenron, though the latter regenerates.
FORMS
Great Ape. Like all Saiyans, Goku can transform into a Great Ape (Oozaru) when he sees the full moon while he possesses his tail, though every time it was not at will. Because this tail was removed permanently in the main series by Kami when restoring the moon, this transformation was never taken by Goku again until Dragon Ball GT (in which it is shown very briefly before the full transition into Golden Great Ape), making it his least used Saiyan transformation.
False Super Saiyan. During the movie Dragon Ball Z: Lord Slug, Goku achieved this form in an attempt to defeat Lord Slug. Through rage of being beat down, Goku unleashed a huge amount of aura and became a false-like Super Saiyan, which gave him more speed and strength for a few seconds enough to thrash Lord Slug. In this form, he looks similar to his Kaio-ken form, but he becomes bulkier, except his eyes are whited out like Broly's, and his hair stands up and gains a red tint.
Super Saiyan. Goku achieves this powerful transformation in a rage after Frieza kills Krillin. Frieza had destroyed the Saiyans out of his fear of their growing power and the idea of a possible Super Saiyan. As a result of defeating Frieza, Goku avenges both the Saiyan race and the death of his best friend Krillin.
Ascended Super Saiyan. After having witnessed Vegeta and Trunks emerging from the Hyperbolic Time Chamber (Room of Spirit and Time), Goku concludes that surpassing the normal Super Saiyan form may be more possible than initially suspected, and enters the room to train himself and Gohan. After teaching Gohan to become a Super Saiyan, Goku is able to achieve this form alongside the further extreme of the form known as Ultra Super Saiyan. However, although this new powerup would not take as much of a heavy hit on his speed as the successor would, he decides that staying transformed like this demands far too much ki to be spent, and so decides that the regular Super Saiyan form is the best suited for combat, and makes a plan for him and Gohan to master it before they leave the chamber. As a result, after under 20 hours spent in the room (Vegeta and Trunks had spent a whole day each, and would spend another prior to the Cell Games), he and Gohan emerge as Full Power Super Saiyans. As a result of this and the new discovery of the most powerful Super Saiyan state at the time, Super Saiyan 2, this form is never used by Goku again, and Vegeta and Future Trunks soon follow.
Ultra Super Saiyan. Like the Ascended Super Saiyan form, Goku achieves this form in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber while training with Gohan. Although apparently stronger than Cell in this state, Goku told Gohan he could not defeat him because Cell was much faster, because "all the power in the world would do no good if you can't even hit the guy." Instead of persevering harder to simply increase power output, Goku decides that simply mastering the Super Saiyan form to suppress its downsides and make it a natural state is the best way to fight and gain power. This form is never used after its initial unlocking along with Ascended Super Saiyan, as a result.
Full-Power Super Saiyan. After realizing the weaknesses inherent to the higher grades of Super Saiyan, Goku concluded that mastery over the basic Super Saiyan form would be more advantageous and went on to improve his endurance in that form, thus achieving this state.
Super Saiyan 2. Although it is unknown when exactly Goku achieved this state of Super Saiyan, it is assumed Goku achieved this transformation in the Other World where he could put unlimited energy into his transformation. It was first seen when fighting Majin Vegeta's own Super Saiyan 2 form in their epic battle during the Majin Buu saga. Goku later transforms into this state before showing the Super Saiyan 3 transformation to Majin Buu and Babidi, and again in an anime filler where he begins to fight Kid Buu.
Goku uses the form during the movies Dragon Ball Z: Fusion Reborn and Dragon Ball Z: Wrath of the Dragon. In Dragon Ball GT, he can be seen briefly transforming into a Super Saiyan 2 before he transforms into a Super Saiyan 3 during his second fight with Super Baby Vegeta.
When Goku transforms into a Super Saiyan 2 he has some noticeable changes, such as his hair growing longer and becoming even more spikier, making his hair more defined than his other previous Super Saiyan forms, along with disappearing hair strands surrounding the forehead which are exclusive to this form, like Gohan (but in a different way; for reference, see the picture). He also gains electricity in his aura surrounding his body, and his aura grows markedly larger and more vibrant in both the anime and manga.
Super Saiyan 3. Goku achieved this level in Other World, where he could put more energy into his transformation. Goku is first seen using this transformation against Majin Buu during the Majin Buu Saga. Once in this form, Goku was able to easily overpower Majin Buu in his first form and stood up to Kid Buu for a fair amount of time. However, the transformation is extremely draining in terms of energy, as it cut Goku's time left on Earth from hours to a stated thirty minutes after performing the transformation for a short time. When attempting to gather enough energy to defeat Kid Buu during their final battle, he was unable to sustain it as he had not taken into account the strain overcoming his living body, and soon reverted back to his base state. Altogether, these heavy disadvantages make it impractical to use the transformation out of the afterlife.
Super Saiyan God. Super Saiyan God is a Super Saiyan form even beyond Super Saiyan 3. Goku achieves this form in the movie Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Gods, and uses it against the God of Destruction Beerus. When Goku powers up to this form, he has flame-like aura. He then appears with his hair glowing red and with a shape similar to that of his base form, red eyes, slightly thinner, and he has a flame-like aura. The power of this ultimate warrior excites even the God of Destruction Beerus. The form allows Goku to sense godly ki and he can absorb attacks by consuming ki, but he reverts back to his regular Super Saiyan form due to the form's time limit.
Kid (GT). Emperor Pilaf unintentionally wishes Goku back into a child in the beginning of Dragon Ball GT. In this form, it is harder for Goku to maintain more powerful forms, such as Super Saiyan 3. While a child he was able to get his tail back, with the help of Old Kai, which not only allowed for easier access to the third Super Saiyan form, but eventually permitted him to transform into Golden Great Ape and Super Saiyan 4. At the end of the GT series, Goku is again seen as an adult without a tail, though in one of the endings to the show, he is seen with a tail in adult form facing the rest of the cast.
Super Saiyan (Kid). After being wished into his childhood form, Goku can still transform into a Super Saiyan. However, he is unable to maintain the form for as long as he can in his adult body (in much the same way that he lost the ability to perform the Instant Transmission technique when being downsized), though for far longer than his Super Saiyan 3 form.
Super Saiyan 2 (Kid). Goku uses this form as a kid only once in the series, to guard against an attack by General Rilldo. Also, he briefly appears in the form while powering up to transform into Super Saiyan 3. GT Goku has this form in the arcade game Dragon Ball Heroes.
Super Saiyan 3 (Kid). After being wished back into his childhood form, Goku is still able to transform into a Super Saiyan 3. However, he is only able to maintain the form for a few minutes, even with the Saiyan Tail assisting him in conserving his energy reserves. This form is not enough to defeat Baby Vegeta, so Goku is forced to recruit help from Old Kai, which leads to his Golden Great Ape transformation. Because Goku gains the ability to access the Super Saiyan 4 transformation soon afterwards, this transformation is never again used.
Golden Great Ape. Goku achieved this form in Dragon Ball GT, after Old Kai helped Goku to grow back his tail which allowed him to once again transform into a Great Ape. When he looked at the Earth during the Baby Saga, its sufficient substitute Blutz waves allowed him to take this form, a combination of the Super Saiyan state and the classic Great Ape transformation. Upon regaining control, he later transformed into Super Saiyan 4, his strongest form yet.
Super Saiyan 4. This form is achieved by Goku after achieving the Golden Great Ape state and being calmed down by Pan. The overwhelming power of this transformation is apparently great enough to overcome the Black Star Dragon Balls' power making Goku's transformation into a child by Red Shenron. The spell is only dispersed during the transformation, however. In addition to him being turned back into an adult temporarily, Goku's overall appearance changes yet again. His tail is easily visible, the hair is longer than when in his normal state (not nearly as long as a Super Saiyan 3, though), his eyes become lined (much like Vegeta's did when he was a Majin in the Majin Buu Saga), his eye color is now golden yellow, and red fur covers almost all of his body from head to toe. His clothes change from his childhood garb, leaving him only dressed below the waist (excluding his armbands). As a Super Saiyan 4, Goku is able to easily surpass all but the most powerful enemies in the final parts of Dragon Ball GT. But at the end of the last episode of Dragon Ball GT, when Goku is an adult again, his tail disappears again and it is unknown if he can ever transform to this state from then on.
FUSIONS
Vegito. Vegito is the product of a Potara Fusion between Vegeta and Goku. With unrivaled power, Vegito is one of the most powerful beings in Dragon Ball Z and is created as a desperate plan by Old Kai to stop the powerful Super Buu, when he was winning against Ultimate Gohan after absorbing Gotenks and Piccolo. It has been theorized that Vegito could easily attain the form of Super Saiyan 2 as well as Super Saiyan 3. However, neither was necessary to finish his task of defeating Super Buu, as his Super Saiyan state alone berthed enough in battle that he single-handedly pummeled Buu blithely without even needing to use his fists or any effort. It was obvious he had the physical power to maintain such feats, but he only appeared for a short time before his strategy to deliberately be absorbed into Buu's body (whilst keeping a barrier on to avoid being assimilated into his being) resulted in his diffusion, after which Vegeta crushed his earring, vowing to never fuse with Goku again regardless of the circumstances. Goku follows suit reluctantly, and as a result, despite Old Kai's offer for the two to merge into Vegito again and take care of Kid Buu in a flash, the two decide to fight alone, and Vegito is never again seen.
Goku's relaxation, and Vegeta's strategic mind enabled Vegito to be quite an intelligent fighter without being overcome by arrogance as Vegeta alone would be but possessing the ruthlessness to kill Super Buu that Goku would lack. In addition, Vegito also possesses the immense power and speed of both Goku and Vegeta amplified to great degrees, as well as the tactics and skill of both. He is very similar to Gogeta, who is another fusion of Goku and Vegeta.
Gogeta. Gogeta is one of the most powerful characters introduced in the series. Like Vegito, Gogeta was an act of desperation, though this one was to stop the powerful demon of the 12th Dragon Ball Z movie, Janemba, rather than Majin Buu. Gogeta annihilated Janemba with hardly any effort, disposing of the demon in seconds. He derives his strategic battle tactics and skill from Vegeta, and his massive power and energy potential from Goku. However, due to his extraordinary power, the fusion will only last for 10 minutes (so far only confirmed for his Super Saiyan 4 form), as opposed to the usual 30 minutes, though this has been proven ample time to defeat almost any foe many times over.
BATTLES
Major Battles:
- Goku (Kid) vs. Pterodactyl
- Goku (Kid) vs. Bear Thief
- Goku (Kid) vs. Oolong
- Goku (Kid) vs. Yamcha
- Goku (Kid), Yamcha & Puar vs. Monster Carrot
- Great Ape Goku vs. Emperor Pilaf, Shu & Mai
- Goku (Kid) vs. Giran
- Goku (Kid) vs. Nam
- Goku (Kid) vs. Jackie Chun
- Goku (Kid) vs. Colonel Silver
- Goku (Kid) vs. Major Metallitron
- Goku (Kid) vs. The Five Murasaki Brothers
- Goku (Kid) vs. Buyon
- Goku (Kid) & Android 8 vs. General White
- Goku (Kid) & Krillin vs. Pirate Robot
- Goku (Kid) vs. General Blue
- Goku (Kid) vs. Captain Yellow
- Goku (Kid) vs. Mercenary Tao
- Goku (Kid) vs. Mercenary Tao (rematch)
- Goku (Kid) vs. Staff Officer Black
- Goku (Kid) vs. Bandage the Mummy
- Goku (Kid) vs. Spike the Devil Man
- Goku (Kid) vs. Grandpa Gohan
- Goku (Kid) vs. Emperor Pilaf, Shu and Mai
- Goku (Kid) vs. Terror & Plague
- Goku (Kid) vs. Chin Taiken
- Goku (Kid) vs. Rising Dragon
- Goku (Kid) vs. Sky Dragon
- Goku (Kid) vs. Gola
- Goku (Kid) vs. Shula
- Goku (Kid) vs. Tien Shinhan
- Goku (Kid) vs. InoShikaCho
- Goku (Kid) vs. King Chappa
- Goku (Kid) vs. Pamput
- Goku (Kid) vs. Krillin
- Goku (Kid) vs. Tien Shinhan
- Goku (Kid) vs. Tambourine
- Goku (Kid) vs. Yajirobe
- Goku (Kid) vs. Tambourine (rematch)
- Goku (Kid) vs. King Piccolo (old)
- Goku (Kid) & Yajirobe vs. Ice Monster
- Goku (Kid) vs. Cloned Master Roshi
- Goku (Kid) vs. Drum
- Goku (Kid) vs. King Piccolo
- Goku (Kid) vs. Mr. Popo
- Goku (Kid) vs. Yaochun
- Goku (Kid) vs. Master Mutaito
- Goku (Kid) vs. Master Shen
- Goku (Kid) vs. Goku's Doll
- Goku (Kid) vs. Mr. Popo
- Goku vs. King Chappa
- Goku vs. Anonymous (Chi-Chi)
- Goku vs. Tien
- Goku vs. Piccolo Jr.
- Goku vs. Annin
- Goku & Piccolo vs. Raditz
- Goku vs. Nappa
- Goku vs. Vegeta
- Goku vs. Vegeta (Great Ape)
- Goku vs. Recoome
- Goku vs. Burter & Jeice
- Goku vs. Captain Ginyu
- Goku vs. Frieza (Final Form)
- Goku (Super Saiyan) vs. Frieza (Final Form) / (100% Full Power)
- Goku (Super Saiyan) vs. Future Trunks (Super Saiyan)
- Goku vs. Piccolo (Fused with Nail) & Gohan
- Goku (Super Saiyan) vs. Android 19
- Goku (Super Saiyan) vs. Android 20 (Nightmare Sequence)
- Goku (Full-Power Super Saiyan) vs. Gohan (Full-Power Super Saiyan)
- Goku (Full-Power Super Saiyan) vs. Perfect Cell
- Goku vs. Arqua
- Goku (Super Saiyan) vs. Pikkon
- Goku (Base/Full-Power Super Saiyan) vs. Yakon
- Goku (Super Saiyan 2) vs. Majin Vegeta (Super Saiyan 2)
- Goku (Super Saiyan 2/Super Saiyan 3) vs. Majin Buu
- Goku (Base/Super Saiyan 3) vs. Super Buu (Gotenks absorbed)
- Goku (Super Saiyan) & Vegeta (Super Saiyan 2) vs. Super Buu (Gohan absorbed)
- Goku (Base/Super Saiyan) vs. Ultimate Gohan (Buu's thought)
- Goku (Super Saiyan) & Vegeta (Super Saiyan) vs. Super Buu (inside Buu)
- Goku (Super Saiyan 2/Super Saiyan 3) vs. Kid Buu
- Goku (Base/Super Saiyan, Super Spirit Bomb) vs. Kid Buu
- Goku vs. Uub (World Tournament)
- Goku vs. Uub
- Goku (Kid)/(Super Saiyan) vs. Ledgic
- Goku (Kid) & Trunks vs. Mutchie
- Goku (Kid) & Trunks vs. Lord Luud
- Goku (Kid/Super Saiyan) vs. General Rilldo/Meta-Rilldo
- Goku (Kid) vs. Baby Gohan & Baby Goten
- Goku (Super Saiyan)/(Super Saiyan 3) vs. Baby Vegeta/Super Baby Vegeta
- Goku (Super Saiyan 3) vs. Super Baby Vegeta
- Goku (Super Saiyan 4) vs. Super Baby Vegeta/Golden Ape Baby Vegeta
- Goku (Kid) vs. Frieza & Cell (in Hell)
- Goku (Kid) (Super Saiyan)/(Super Saiyan 4) vs. Super 17
- Goku (Kid) & Android 18 vs. Super 17
- Goku (Kid) vs. Haze Shenron
- Goku (Super Saiyan 4) vs. Rage Shenron
- Goku (Super Saiyan 4) vs. Naturon Shenron
- Goku (Kid) vs. Oceanus Shenron
- Goku (Super Saiyan 4) vs. Nova Shenron
- Goku (Super Saiyan 4) vs. Eis Shenron
- Goku (Super Saiyan 4) vs. Syn Shenron
- Goku (Super Saiyan 4) & Vegeta (Super Saiyan 4) vs. Omega Shenron
- Goku (Kid) & Vegeta vs. Omega Shenron
- Goku (Kid) vs. Bongo
- Goku (Kid) vs. King Gurumes
- Goku (Kid) & Krillin vs. Ghastel
- Goku (Kid) vs. Lucifer
- Goku vs. Ginger, Nicky and Sansho
- Goku vs. Ginger & Nicky
- Goku and Piccolo vs. Garlic Jr.
- Goku vs. Misokatsun
- Goku, Gohan & Krillin vs. Ebifurya & Kishime
- Goku vs. Piccolo
- Goku, Piccolo, Gohan, Krillin & Master Roshi vs. Dr. Wheelo
- Goku vs. Great Ape Gohan
- Goku vs. Amond, Deiz, Cacao, Razun & Lakasei
- Goku vs. Turles
- Goku vs. Medamatcha & Angira
- Goku & Krillin vs. Lord Slug
- Goku (False Super Saiyan) vs. Slug
- Goku & Piccolo vs. Slug (Giant Form)
- Goku vs. Cooler's Armored Squadron
- Goku (Super Saiyan) vs. Cooler (Final Form)
- Goku (Super Saiyan) & Vegeta (Super Saiyan) vs. Meta-Cooler
- Goku & Future Trunks vs. Android 14 & Android 15
- Goku vs. Android 13
- Goku (Super Saiyan), Piccolo, Vegeta (Super Saiyan) & Future Trunks vs. Android 13 (Fusion)
- Goku vs. Broly (Super Saiyan)
- Goku (Super Saiyan), Future Trunks (Super Saiyan), Piccolo, Gohan (Super Saiyan) & Vegeta (Super Saiyan) vs. Broly (Legendary Super Saiyan)
- Goku, Gohan, Piccolo, Vegeta & Future Trunks vs. Skud & Arbee
- Goku (Super Saiyan), Future Trunks (Super Saiyan), Piccolo, Gohan (Super Saiyan) & Vegeta (Super Saiyan) vs. Hatchiyack
- Goku (Super Saiyan) vs. Aka
- Goku (Super Saiyan/Super Saiyan 3) vs. Janemba
- Goku and Vegeta vs. Super Janemba
- Goku (Super Saiyan 3) vs. Hirudegarn
- Goku (Super Saiyan 3) vs. Beerus
- Goku (Super Saiyan God/Super Saiyan) vs. Beerus