By Jacob Bugarin
The narrative of Goku being a bad father is really getting annoying. Many people say that Goku is a bad dad. In tier lists he has been placed in the lowest tier of them all. A parody version called Dragon Ball Z Abridged ruined the image of Goku as a father and people who didn’t watch Dragon Ball Z assume that he is a bad father.
Dragon Ball Z Abridged is a more comedic version of Dragon Ball Z created by TeamFourStar that created a really bad image of Goku. Are there flaws in Goku as a father? Yes, there is, but does that make him a bad dad? No, it doesn’t. We will go through the sagas of Dragon Ball Z to prove he isn’t a bad father and to cement that Goku is NOT a deadbeat—he was just DEAD.
Raditz Saga/Saiyan Saga
In this saga, Goku’s brother Raditz comes to Earth to tell Goku why he hasn’t destroyed Earth because that was why Goku was sent to Earth. After all the talking, Raditz kidnaps Goku’s son tries to send Goku’s son to another planet. Goku and Piccolo (a frenemy of Goku) fights Raditz in order to save Gohan, but Raditz is too strong for them both.
In a final attack, Piccolo charges up and his finisher moves the special beam cannon while Goku holds him off. We already see at first hand that Goku sacrifices himself for his own son.
This isn’t the first time he does this for his son. When the Saiyans arrive on Earth, meaning Nappa and Vegeta, Goku has to train to learn a technique called “Kaioken”. Then, he has to run across the snake way in the afterlife to go back to Earth to stop the Saiyans from killing people. Not to mention, he saves Gohan again in this arc from Vegeta and Nappa trying to finish them off.
Namek/Frieza Saga
Before anyone says that Goku made Gohan go to planet Namek, Gohan willingly went to Namek on his own terms because he wanted to make Goku proud and to revive his friends. Gohan even told his mom to shut up because he was going to Namek. During Namek, Ginyu and Frieza (villains) show up on Earth. Guess who comes in to save the day? Goku does!
Goku proceeds to fight Frieza on his own, and Namek blows up due to the fight. When everyone thinks Goku died again and tries to wish him back, the dragon tells everyone that he is alive. However, Goku doesn’t want to come back.
This is where people will use this argument that he’s a bad dad. He needed to heal from that battle and maybe even needed a break after just saving everyone again. That doesn’t make him a bad dad at all.
Cell Saga
Here is where everyone, meaning everyone, uses evidence for an argument that Goku is a terrible father: The Senzu Bean he gave to Cell. It wasn’t the best decision, but there was a point to it. Gokuprobably believed in his son more than any other dad in the history of Anime.
He knew that he had the power stronger than Goku and Cell that was hidden in him. He was correct to where Gohan turns Super Saiyan 2 against Cell, and Gohan was absolutely dog walking Cell until Gohan was too late to finish Cell off.
Instead, Cell is about to self destruct and blow up the whole Earth. To make up for the senzu bean incident, Goku dies AGAIN for his son where he teleports Cell to another planet‒where he dies from the explosion.
Final Thoughts
Firstly, Goku died twice for his son, which many fathers in Anime haven’t even done. Dying TWICE for your son, already outweighs him not being a good father. There are many bad dads out there, like Shou Tucker in FullMetal Alchemist where he turned his daughter into a dog, but seeing what Goku did during the series means there is no way anyone can say he is a bad father.
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