Dragon Ball 10 Times Goku Acted Out Of Character

Goku displays all of a shonen protagonist's best and worst traits, but sometimes he acts totally different from what fans usually see from him.

Akira Toriyama’s Dragon Ball has grown into one of the biggest anime series of all time and even those that are outsiders to the animation medium still likely have some cursory knowledge over Dragon Ball’s heightened characters. Dragon Ball continues to chronicle the war between good and evil, but the anime has steadily evolved over the years and transcended into an even bigger story.

The cast of characters in the Dragon Ball franchise has ballooned to sprawling proportions, but the series continues to position the heroic Goku as the ultimate savior. Goku is always there for his friends and family, and he isn’t one to turn down a challenge, but there are also plenty of occasions where the popular Saiyan exhibits strange behavior that doesn’t mesh with Goku’s typical attitude.

10 His Decision To Kill Tambourine And Drum In A Rage

One of Goku’s most defining traits is that he’s always looking to offer enemies a chance at redemption, even when it might be a highly misguided endeavor. Despite how serious Goku can get, he tends to not let his killer instinct get the better of him. Accordingly, it’s quite jarring when Goku willingly engages in murder, especially during his seemingly innocent youthful years in the original Dragon Ball series. Krillin’s death rocks Goku to his core and he responds with uncharacteristic rage that results in the death of both Tambourine and Drum. Goku learns how to restrain his temper afterwards.

9 He Selects Frieza For The Tournament Of Power

Dragon Ball Super’s Tournament of Power features the biggest competition that the franchise has ever experienced, with astronomical stakes to match. The strongest fighters from the strongest universes must engage in a battle royale where the losers will face complete erasure. There’s extreme importance over which ten fighters will make up Universe 7’s team in the tournament. In a very surprising and risky decision, Goku decides to recruit the deceased villain, Frieza, to fight with them. Considering that there are other heroes that get overlooked, Goku defaulting to Frieza feels a little contrived.

8 When He Takes Up A Life Of Farming

A difficult divide that Goku faces in his personal life is that he’s someone who thrives through competition and training, whereas his wife, Chi-Chi, wishes that he took up a more conventional and domestic lifestyle.

There are temporary moments of peace in the franchise, like at the start of Dragon Ball Super, where Goku is shown to spend his free time farming. This pleases Chi-Chi, but it comes across as deeply tedious to Goku. It feels like a dishonest concession of what he wants to do with his life.

7 He Uses Pictures Of Bulma To Bribe Old Kai

The Dragon Ball series progressively prioritizes action over comedy, but there’s still a powerful vein of strange humor that runs through the series. Some of Goku’s misguided ideas during his youth are easier to excuse because of how naïve he is to the world around him. However, it’s deeply distressing when Goku tries to reach Old Kai’s good graces with some lewd pictures of Bulma. This regrettable exchange is proposed towards the end of Dragon Ball Z, much to Vegeta’s resentment, and it’s an odd Goku moment in service of a cheap laugh.

6 The Goku Black Saga Uses Goku’s Body To Engage In Universal Genocide

Dragon Ball has always had a healthy fascination with malevolent versions of its heroes, which is sometimes explored with little explanation (like with Turles), but can also grow into a major plot point. Some of the most exciting episodes of Dragon Ball Super take place during Goku Black’s reign of terror. Admittedly, Goku is not himself through this, but the whole mystery is predicated on this alternate version of Goku acting out of character. It turns out Goku Black is actually Future Zamasu, who has hijacked another Goku’s body, but it still qualifies.

5 His Wedding With Chi-Chi

One of the more important events in the Dragon Ball series is Goku’s marriage to Chi-Chi, which leads to the Saiyan starting a family and the births of Gohan and Goten, two indispensable fighters. Goku maturing in this regard is necessary development for the character, but it also appears to be something that consistently perplexes Goku.

Initially, Goku seems to stumble into marriage by accident and not fully understand what it entails. In Dragon Ball Super, Goku goes on to explain that he’s never even kissed his wife. Accordingly, any wild romantic gestures like a wedding seem unusual for Goku.

4 He Plays Russian Roulette With One Of Princess Snake's Attendants

Filler can be contentious material in any anime series, especially when it begins to dominate the narrative. The various Dragon Ball series engage in filler when it’s necessary, some of which extends Goku’s adventures in the afterlife during his first passing. Goku’s mission is to traverse the lengthy Snake Way and receive training from King Kai upon reaching his planet. The anime also details a detour with Princess Snake and her staff. During this time, Goku takes part in a surprising round of Russian Roulette with one of Princess Snake’s attendants. Considering Goku’s stance on guns, this is even stranger.

3 His Struggles In Driving School

A lot of Dragon Ball fans love the episodes that revolve around incredible clashes of power, but there are also audiences that appreciate the weirder and more humorous episodic turns that the series sometimes takes. “Goku’s Ordeal” is a polarizing Dragon Ball Z episode where Goku and Piccolo go to driving school to get their licenses. This results in an entertaining fish out of water story where Goku is overwhelmed with driving lessons and doesn’t know how to tamp down his standard strength. It seems like something so pedestrian shouldn’t be such a challenge for Goku.

2 He Doesn't Stress Being Turned Into A Child In Dragon Ball GT

In an attempt to conjure a comparable feeling to the original Dragon Ball’s glory days, Dragon Ball GT kicks off with an ill-fated Dragon Ball wish that turns Goku back into a child. Many villains are satisfied that Goku’s size and strength have been marginally subdued, yet Goku is oddly at peace with it. Regaining his normal stature doesn’t seem to be a priority for Goku and he reaches a strange acceptance over this fate. Goku does temporarily return to his normal size when he becomes Super Saiyan 4, but he should be more alarmed over this transformation.

1 Captain Ginyu Takes Over His Body And Wages War

The Ginyu Force are one of Dragon Ball Z’s more entertaining ways that it bides its time before the inevitable showdown with Frieza on Planet Namek. The Ginyu Force are strong, yet eccentric, with each member of the team boasting unique techniques. Captain Ginyu’s signature attack is a body swap maneuver, which he’s able to successfully use against Goku. Granted, this is another scenario where Goku is not himself, but it’s one of the earlier examples where Goku truly acts of character because of this sinister fate. Gohan even worries about a future with this new version of his father.