Be one more or less connoisseur of the world of manga and anime, Son Goku is a name that everyone has ever heard . The undisputed protagonist of the successful Dragon Ball was created by the Japanese artist Akira Toriyama in the mid-80s as a comic with which to rest from the publication that had made him jump to fame, Dr. Slump . But few predicted the passions that Son Goku and Bulma would arouse and that have made them icons of Japanese and world popular culture.
What began almost as a walk in the country, with a classic story plot designed for the youngest of the house, was gaining popularity and growing with his followers . The original Dragon Ball was followed by Dragon Ball Z , much more mature and complex , Dragon Ball GT (technically outside of Toriyama’s official canon), numerous movies, and the recent Dragon Ball Super . And as much as they showed their differences between them, they all had our likeable Goku in common . Where does your success come from? How did Toriyama create such a charismatic and popular character?
The construction of the character
When we first met Son Goku, he was introduced to us as a boy who lived alone on Paoz Mountain . It was clear that, beyond his monkey tail, he was not an ordinary human because he possessed great strength, he was immune to bullets … the clues were always there. Although the advancement of the plot showed that Goku’s origin was much more complex than it appeared, Toriyama took two characters as clear references .
The first of them is Sun Wukong, the monkey king . This mythological being is one of the most important heroes of the legendary Chinese and the protagonist of Journey to the West , an anonymous text that dates from 1590 and became one of the most representative literary works of the Asian country . Sun Wukong is a monkey-like being who fell from the skies, possesses a magical staff that changes in size, travels in a flying cloud, faced dragons and demons, and embarked on various journeys to achieve immortality and protect an young man in his search for some sacred texts of Buddhism. Is it familiar to you? Normal, since Akira Toriyama was based on this mythological hero to create Son Goku .
The action of the original manga focuses precisely on the journey that Son Goku and Bulma make through strange lands to find the dragon balls , which can grant immortality. From the typically Chinese outfit of Grandpa Gohan passing through the mountain where Goku lives, his transformation into a giant monkey ( ozaru ) and even the supreme god of the skies, there are many points in common that can be found between both stories . Even his Super Saiyan level 4 appearance is reminiscent of some interpretations that have been made of Sun Wukong. Toriyama, like other authors like Tolkien, wanted to honor the beliefs and legends of other peoples to give life to the world he was creating .
Interpretation of Sun Wukong for the video game ‘Skree – Awesomenauts Assemble!’. Image: Microsoft.
The other great influence, although less noticeable at first, came from across the sea. Akira Toriyama was always a confessed admirer of Jerry Siegel and Jose Shuster , creators of Superman. Before even Dragon Ball , the mangaka (manga author) had already made references to the man of steel with Suppaman , a chubby and ridiculous parody of Superman that made an appearance in Dr. Slump . Later, the origin of the Kryptonian would serve to give something more interest to the character of Goku and develop later arguments.
With Goku as an adult we discover that he arrived on the planet in a space capsule just like the superhero from DC Comics , where he was found by the elderly Gohan. It turns out that Goku is an alien belonging to the Saiyan race, whose planet was destroyed, who had been sent to Earth to destroy it, but a timely blow to the head erased his memory and made him be that kind and noble person that everyone. we know . In 2014, Akira Toriyama launched the Dragon Ball Minus manga in which the character’s origins were partially rewritten and his presence on Earth was justified as an attempt by his parents to protect him, just like good Jor-El did with his son. Kal .
But why do we like it so much?
The hero on whose shoulders the fate of the world often rests, humanity’s last hope countless times. Son Goku is the classic warrior who always triumphs at the end of the Greek tragedy, a powerful and pure being who is good by nature and will always fight for his fellow men . It may be a certainly flat description, almost Manichean, but it is that Toriyama embodied in Goku the absolute good, all the good that human beings can offer.
In addition to his good-natured nature, the legendary Super Saiyan manages to convey his good humor and innocence in any situation without this being detrimental to the epicity that some moments deserve. This main character archetype is quite common in the world of manga and anime, see the cases of the pirate Luffy in One Piece or Naruto in the series of the same name.
With Son Goku, Toriyama launched a direct attack on the most sentimental and emotional side of people . In addition to the fact of having seen him grow throughout his adventures, which always creates a deeper bond, he is presented to us as a balanced and fun character who appeals to our inner child and who is not difficult to become fond of . With his magic cloud or flying on his own, on Earth or on Namek, blonde or brown, Dragon Ball fans continue to want Goku for a while.
Imagen: Dragon Ball FighterZ, Bandai/Namco.
