By litzigig
[email protected]
December 23, 2001
At first glance, some people may dismiss this editorial as entirely pointless. Any idiot can see that the main theme of Goku�s personality is being so likeable, no one would ever want to say a bad word about him. However, recently it seems all I hear is Goku bashing left, right, and center. I�m not saying everyone has to love Goku, but what I can�t stand is that this seems to be some sort of emerging trend, a lot of mindless people saying �Goku sux� just to sound subversive or controversial, or whatever. I understand if he�s not your favorite character, after all, if it�s interesting psychological development you�re after, you won�t find it in Goku. My point is that that, in itself, is the beauty of Goku.
A lot of people say he�s dumb; I would disagree. He�s not dumb, just simple. Believe it or not, it�s not the same thing. He appears dumb next to some of the other characters because he doesn�t have a load of different, complex motives behind his actions and he doesn�t have deep-seated psychological resentments; he�s a simple guy with a simple motive, to do the right thing. I would argue that justice is a concept so deeply sown into Goku�s being that he doesn�t need to give his actions a whole lot of thought, he just follows his conscience and before you know it, he�s saved everyone�s ass from extinction yet again. How can you have a problem with that?
A lot of people dismiss him as a �goody goody,� too good to be true in fact. But answer me this, how many despicably good people do you know who really enjoy a good fight? Not many I�m guessing. The truth is, Goku does have an edge to him; given, it�s not as prominent as in Vegeta or Piccolo, but it�s there. He fights for fun, he couldn�t live without it. He�s not some sterile super hero who only uses his powers to promote justice; he also enjoys giving someone a good kicking every now and again. I know a lot of you think his whole �give everyone another chance� indium is irritating, and I know this counter argument is tired but, Vegeta and Piccolo. Need I say more? He does it because he believes that there�s good in people. You may think that�s dumb, but there�s a lot dumber and less noble beliefs to be had (and I�m sure half of you have them). It�s not because he�s a weak character who can be easily manipulated, the fact is that when he does give someone another chance, it�s the only one they�re getting, as we saw with Freeza.
Another criticism is that all he cares about is food. This one is hardly worth replying to, I mean, do you people actually watch the show? He also cares about keeping the human race out of the proverbial �other dimension� and of course kicking a few bad guys around on the way to that goal (all in a thoroughly fair and square way of course).
The truth is, Goku as a character is a work of genius. He�s exactly the right balance of all round good guy and violent upholder of justice. If he was a saint, the show would be unwatchable � it�d be Pokemon with humans fighting. If he was jaded or had too many psychological issues, the show would be too dark and it�s comedic aspects would be even more surreal and ridiculous. Goku has to be the way he is, so like it or watch something else!