Dragon Ball 10 Times Goku Couldn’t Save The Day

Goku might be Dragon Ball’s main character, but he’s not always strong enough when it matters most– losing almost as often as he win by DBZ.

From as early as the 21st Tenkaichi Budokai, Dragon Ball pushes the notion that Goku can and will lose. This is framed in a rather light & low stakes manner in the tournament, but it doesn’t take long for Goku to start facing serious danger. By the end of the Red Ribbon Army arc, Goku’s even cheated death.

Come the Z-era, Goku’s failed to save the day more than a few times. Goku might be Dragon Ball’s main character, but he’s not always strong enough when it matters most– losing almost as often as he wins by the end of DBZ. Still, this in itself is part of Dragon Ball’s charm. Goku can’t win them all, can he?

10 The Threat Of Tao Pai Pai

Goku’s first real loss comes at the hands of Tao Pai Pai during the Red Ribbon Army arc. When Tao Pai Pai shows up to assassinate Bora and steal the Dragon Balls from Goku, the boy finds back like he always does. This time, however, Goku can’t do much of anything against Tao Pai Pai. Even his Kamehameha does next to no damage. Goku takes a Dodonpa right to the Heart and is only saved because his grandfather’s Dragon Ball took most of the blast. Goku wasn’t able to save Bora, but training with Karin helps him make things right.

9 Goku’s Revenge

The end of the 22nd Tenkaichi Budokai should be a joyous occasion in spite of Goku’s loss, but it’s anything but when Krillin is found brutally murdered. Muten Roshi reveals that this was the work of Piccolo Daimao, a Demon King he’d faced centuries ago. Piccolo is now back and ready to complete his crusade against the world’s martial artists.

Goku immediately leaves the scene to confront Krillin’s killer, Tambourine, but he loses quite badly. Not only does Tambourine actually succeed in killing Kintoun, Goku doesn’t have enough energy to fight back and plummets to his seeming death– unable to avenge Krillin or recover his Dragon Ball.

8 The Demon King Cometh

Goku may suffer a terrible defeat at the hands of Tambourine the first time around, but he does eventually get his revenge. After resting up with Yajirobe, Goku manages to defeat Tambourine in their rematch. Unfortunately, this just calls Demon King Piccolo’s attention to Goku. What follows is quite a brutal beatdown.

Goku can’t keep up no matter what he does and Piccolo Daimao actually stops Goku’s heart outright. Goku is left for dead, presumably having died, and only survives due to pure dumb luck. It puts into perspective just how dangerous of a foe the Demon King really is.

7 Space Invader

The start of the Saiyan arc is home to what’s probably the biggest plot twist in all of Dragon Ball: Goku is a space alien. Through the introduction of Raditz, it’s revealed that Goku comes from a lone line of barbaric aliens. Goku was sent to Earth for the express purpose of killing everyone on it, but a head injury as a baby pacified him.

Upset over Goku’s amnesia, Raditz kidnaps Gohan and forces Goku to team up with Piccolo in order to confront the Saiyan. Unfortunately, Raditz is unlike anyone Goku has fought before. He can’t so much as keep up with Raditz’s speed or strength and is forced to sacrifice his life just to kill his brother.

6 The Kaioken Fails

Goku spends half a year training with Kaio just to prepare himself for the fight against the Saiyans. While he’s able to grow considerably stronger in the process, he also learns two vital techniques: the Kaioken and the Genki Dama. While the Genki Dama is meant to be an ace in the hole, the Kaioken is Goku’s actual means of fighting back.

The Kaioken multiplies Goku’s power by putting strain on his body. The more strain, the stronger Goku becomes. Tragically, the Kaioken isn’t enough to stop Vegeta. Goku pushes the technique to Kaioken x 4 during their beam struggle, but Vegeta survives with more than enough energy to spare. Gohan, Krillin, & Yajirobe are the ones left to save the day.

5 The Kaioken Fails… Again

The last time Goku uses the Kaioken in the manga is when he’s fighting against Frieza. Quite a bit of drama is actually framed around the fact Goku seemingly doesn’t need to use the Kaioken for Frieza. When Goku starts wearing down, Tenshinhan even eagerly exclaims that Goku only needs to tap into the technique– only for Kaio to reveal Goku’s been using the Kaioken the whole time. Not just that, Goku’s been using the Kaioken x 20 against a Frieza fighting at full power. Goku has no choice but to rely on a backup that ultimately fails as well.

4 The Genki Dama Backfires

With the Kaioken unable to defeat Frieza, Goku gathers all the energy he can from Namek and the surrounding planets to fire at Frieza. The Genki Dama does connect while dealing a decent bit of damage against Frieza, but it isn’t enough to kill him. Frieza comes back and immediately takes vengeance. He nearly kills Piccolo and destroys Krillin in front of Goku’s eyes. While a momentary massive loss for Goku, the Genki Dama’s failure does lead directly into Goku becoming a Super Saiyan.

3 The Heart Virus

This is arguably the most morbid instance of Goku failing to save the day. After returning from Namek, Goku passes away from a Heart Virus. A few months later, Androids 17 & 18 attack and start killing everyone in sight. Every member of the Dragon Team is murdered save for Gohan who goes to train Trunks.

Trunks later travels back in time to give Goku medicine for his Heart Virus. History repeats itself, however, as the Heart Virus prevents Goku from defeating Android 19– causing a chain reaction that results in the activation of 16, 17, & 18. If nothing else, Goku doesn’t die from the Heart Virus this time around.

2 Goku Quits

The second half of the Cell arc dedicates a lot of time to the Saiyans trying to push Super Saiyan even further. Every Saiyan finds their answer, but Goku’s is perhaps the most elegant: Mastered Super Saiyan. By making Super Saiyan his base form, Goku can fight at his full potential without wasting any excess Ki, energy, or stamina.

Everyone believes this is how Goku plans on defeating Cell, but the fact of the matter is that he doesn’t even plan on saving the day this time around. Goku fighting Cell is a formality and an opportunity for Gohan to read his opponent’s movements before his father passes the torch onto him. Goku quits his fight with Cell, but he does so with honor.

1 The Majin Buu Crisis

Goku’s victory against Pure Buu isn’t really his victory. Like Vegeta said, the whole point of using the Genki Dama is so someone other than Goku can save the day. Beyond that, though, Goku makes a number of mistakes throughout the Buu arc that prevent him to save the day when it matters most.

Not only does Goku refuse to finish off Fat Buu, he probably wouldn’t have been able to beat Pure Buu in a straight up fight. While Goku is more skilled and perhaps even stronger than his opponent, Pure Buu wasn’t losing any stamina while Super Saiyan 3 was draining all of Goku’s. Goku helped, but he didn’t save the day.