The Worst Father in Dragon Ball

[@Manfromthenorth0551]

Honestly, given the fact that Goku is a country bumbkin with Zero education and no male role models to teach him about life (Beyond martial arts) id say Goku is doing the best he can with what hes got. Goku never had anyone teach him how to be a good father, as a kid all of his positive older role models are entirely born through martial arts. Grandpa gohan may be a kidly old man that Goku loves and remembers fondly, but Gohan died before he could properly raise Goku, and the memories Goku cherishes the most about Gohan are the times they trained and fought together. And I dont think i need to explain how Master Roshi is a bad role model outside of martial arts. He taught Goku how to read using erotic novels for crying out loud. Martial arts is the only way Goku knows how to TRULY connect with someone becuase its all he knows.

[@hariman7727]

ChiChi's flaws and selfishness also exacerbate Goku's flaws too.

[@wrenilla]

Goku truly tried his best, he just could have used a couple of parenting books to help guide him. He was sometimes a selfish father, but not an actively malicious one. Even then, he was not the worst dad in db for sure, but also not the best

[@LukewarmTakesYT]

It’s pretty realistic to see a father who tries their best, but ultimately comes up short sometimes. Despite this, Goku doesn’t stop trying to be a better father, which is pretty in line with his character.

[@javonscruggs8233]

Goku only mistake during the cell saga was not telling him his plan either during training or the days before the cell games. Goku was so sure and so proud of his son he didn't see the mistake he was making by making it a surprise to Gohan instead of telling him the plan. Goku wasn't wrong for putting his faith in Gohan but he was wrong in thinking Gohan enjoyed fighting and a challenge as much as him. We see pretty well goku and gohan do have a good relationship so i will say he's a decent dad but not a perfect father either

[@LukewarmTakesYT]

I personally think that Goku’s mentality makes it hard to empathize with Gohan’s pacifism.

[@Gavvin84]

Honestly, I think you're being too hard on Goku and too light on Vegeta. Vegeta is doing it cause his wife Bulma wants them to. If it were up to Vegeta, Trunks would be training just as hard as Vegeta, irregardless of his feelings. Vegeta commented on Goku's training of Gohan saying "you're too soft" multiple times. Goku embraced and loved his sons quite a helluva lot more often than Vegeta did with Trunks. And seriously, Goku COULD have trained Gohan much sooner, but chose not to. If you'll remember, it was Piccolo who started training him, and was quite brutal about it too (throwing him at a mountain for instance while gohan is crying - Goku wouldn't do that). And seriously, the entire Saiyan Race was for the most part absentee with their kids. And once they reached a certain age of infancy, they are sent to a distant planet to conquer as an infant. And if the infant died? The Saiyan parents wouldn't care, if anything they'd say they deserved to die. When you compare Goku to the reality of how all of his race would NORMALLY raise children, he is leagues beyond them all in terms of "good loving parent". If Gohan were born into the Saiyan society that Goku and Vegeta were born into, his upbringing would not have a comparable ounce of the love he got from Goku an everyone else. Goku loves fighting, that much is obvious. As does Vegeta, Trunks, Goten, and hell many of the human characters love it. Gohan is the extreme outlier. And seriously, Gohan fights not because he wants to, but because he can't stand around an do nothing. Obviously he doesn't like it as a kid, but when he got older, he changed that tune a lot. Goku may not be a good father by HUMAN STANDARDS, however he still raised him to be a very moral person. As you've seen in the show, still plenty of humans who are pure evil, yet Gohan despite his upbringing became a monumentally better person than many other humans. And Vegeta isn't better. He'd outright kill those he defeated. Goku believes in giving others a chance to reform. Vegeta doesn't care about that, sees it as nonsense. If he went Vegeta's route, we'd have a lot less friends standing by him. Because the majority of his close friends were his enemies. In truth, Broly's treatment by his father makes total sense when you think about the society they were all raised in. Hell, think of the Bardock film: Bardock scans infant Goku's power level and says "ugh... only an average power level! I thought you were special." So when you think about it, Goku would've likely gotten the same treatment from his father as Broly did from his. When compared to how humans raise kids, yeah, not a good dad. But when compared to how Saiyans WOULD raise kids, Goku is phenomenally better as a father. When criticizing a character, do it right.

[@TapaniLastellar]

I barely put in effort to judge Goku's parenting skills while watching. Other than iconic moments like Father-son Kamehameha. Most things about him outshines parenting

[@LukewarmTakesYT]

I would say that fatherhood, legacy, and “the next generation” are all incredibly prominent themes in Dragon Ball Z.

[@shakirovnicky2223]

The whole reason goku went to stay in other world was because he realized if he stayed, more threats would come to earth.

[@blakumablak6217]

no lies great vid

[@deandredukes95]

Parenthood isn’t a right, it’s a privilege

[@LukewarmTakesYT]

Every child deserves a parent, but not every parent deserves their child. Although, I will say Goku is still trying his best to be a good parent, just he is just flawed.

[@Kaidaone12]

You’re right but one thing though is Goku knew gohan wanted to be a scholar he just didn’t know he didn’t like to fight

[@yuudaemones2624]

good take

[@TheJaredPunch]

Look, I can say many things about Goku and most of his decisions, but I still refuse to say Goku is a bad father. And even if he is, 1. I have seen worst parents, and not just in anime. And 2. Don’t act like Vegeta was any better to Trunks (both versions) prior to Future Trunks’ death at the hands of Super Perfect Cell or kid Trunks as Majin Vegeta. 5:00 Really, even if Goku threw the fight against Cell, having the enemy kill Goku is not the type of foreplay planning that you should expect Goku to have. Besides, Goku can’t be revived by the Regular Dragon Balls. Goku only makes the sacrificial acts when they are at the most necessary. And when Cell was about to blow up the earth, that was that moment of truth. 5:28 I’m pretty sure Goku always knew that Gohan wanted to be a scholar. Goku wouldn’t have sent Gohan to fight Cell if he truly didn’t think Gohan could win. Senzu Bean to Cell aside, Goku knows full well the earth was at stake and that Gohan was the only one with the power to beat Cell. How would you have felt if Goku sent anyone else but Gohan to fight Cell if they couldn’t beat him? Did Goku sent Gohan to fight Frieza or let him stay to help even before becoming a Super Saiyan? No! 6:52 again, what other choice did Goku have? Send Vegeta to fight a losing battle? That would be funny to see. 9:40 You can’t blame Goku for thinking this way, considering how he has grown up and the influences he had on his life and the life he as led even up to now. And this is BEFORE we learn of his Saiyan origins.

[@Jaded_Canadian]

I was under the impression that what we see as the viewer was the important story bits. All the other bonding and the like would be off screen.

[@kage1573]

I see your point but I have to disagree because we see many times that Goku will actively spend time with his family outside of training which is seen in flasbacks of Gohan growing up before the events of Z, multiple times before the Androids arrival, the 10 days Goku spent with his family, and multiple times in Super while also taking into consideration that the only time Goku insisted that Gohan train was in the time chamber which Gohan wanted to do and Gohan throughout Z wanted to fight in order to protect his friends so I wouldn't say Goku ever forced him and it is true Goku misunderstood what drives Gohan against Cell but was willing to correct but him giving Cell a senzu was the best way the push Gohan that wouldn't have lead to Cell getting desperate because Gohan was the only one strong enough to defeat him, we also see how Goku respected Gohan's dream of being a scholar because he never pushed to train him as a kid despite knowing his potential so this is an example of Goku respecting his son as not being a fighter while still being there to raise him; we see later on in the Moro arc that Goku apologizes to Gohan for having to fight because he knows that that isn't his interest which is more evidence of Goku accepting who his son is. Many of these examples of Goku putting his family in danger are things he couldn't have known such as Goku believing Raditz would have left the planet because he begged, him thinking he killed Frieza on Namek which surprised him when he found out he was alive, Goku being confident that he could beat Vegeta next time, him not knowing that Gohan was alive after fighting Buu while also taking consideration that he knew he didn't have much time left so he tried to rely on the next generation which is something he didn't force onto them but entrusted them with due to him knowing he could die or will die which is represented through the future where the next generation wasn't prepared and the Androids reeked havoc for years. It is true Goku likes to train but we also see how he is also there for his family and has fun spending time with you gem while also still wanting to go off and train but doesn't remove his care for them and willing to let them make there own decisions while also instilling good morals in them that are lessons that he was taught such as protecting the innocent, respecting nature, standing up yo evil, helping people in need, etc which makes him a great father that has flaws.

[@justinn8541akaDrPokemon]

Goku is somehow a bad and good dad at the same time.

[@marie161719]

It is possible to be average, yes

[@justinn8541akaDrPokemon]

@@marie161719 This is different from average. Goku has his really bad moments and his really good moments while average(in my opinion) doesn't go that far in either direction.

[@LukewarmTakesYT]

It’s a little bit of both. A good father can make bad decisions and a bad father can sometimes make good decisions. I think Goku is trying his best to be a good father, but is held back by his desire to fight and Saiyan nature.

[@earnestbrown6524]

Watch Mother's Basement PSA "The Anime Dad's Guide to Child Neglect" to really rise a fine anime protagonist.

[@LukewarmTakesYT]

Wonderful vid

[@hariman7727]

At the start of the video, I think the issue is not just that Goku is a flawed father, but also that ChiChi's flaws only exacerbate the issues created by Goku's absence and misunderstandings of Gohan. >.> Piccolo, however, is a great dad in the long run.

[@thegameguy429]

On the topic of giving Cell a senzu if he didn’t Cell wouldn’t have wasted enough time with Gohan to allow Gohan’s rage to explode and would’ve killed him instantly

[@LukewarmTakesYT]

Was this confirmed?

[@thegameguy429]

@@LukewarmTakesYT no but also Cell was pretty quick to SD when he started losing fair and square so, kind of

[@Paradox-es3bl]

Perhaps don't forfeit the fight, then? 😒 It's not like it HAD to be Gohan's turn. And that's just head canon. Cell might've been week enough at that point. He theoretically got a zenkai boost from that Senzu, no? Which makes him even more dangerous. If Goku died fighting him, Gohan would've exploded in rage and ended Cell in seconds. Way smarter than giving Cell a Senzu and sacrificing yourself when Cell blows himself up, anyway.

[@thegameguy429]

@@Paradox-es3bl it wasn’t part of Goku’s plan to die and again he most likely would have Self Destructed before Gohan could’ve done anything

[@affanamir7366]

True good point. W video btw

[@LukewarmTakesYT]

Thank you!

[@masterpink6963]

Goku knows Gohan didn’t like fighting that’s why he taught cell first so Gohan didn’t have to he doesn’t like putting gohan in danger but at the end of the day gohan was the only hope they had

[@ethanhunt8632]

To be fair though Goku does spend all his free non training time with his family Its too hard to use the events of Z as window to his role as a father when that timeframe was back to back danger. He never forced Gohan into this life as a fighter, Piccolo did And Goku saw the potential later and capitilized on it as their last defense against Cell And he himself recognizes he made a mistake there and apologized to Gohan and told him to pursue his studies after he beats, which is something I feel too many people forget. They latch on to Piccolo calling him out but they all seem to forget everything that happens afterwards with Goku and Gohan Is he a great father? No Is he a bad one? I dont think so at all

[@crazyinvaderfangirl1]

So like Aang. Good person, bad/lacking father.

[@azmakikian5400]

Okay but to be fair, Chi-Chi is just as bad. If she didnt thrust so much study and the goal of being a scholar on Gohan, that wouldn't be something he'd aim for. He'd likely be a farmer, or a hermit. He never would've gone to Orange Star High School. Him wanting to be a Scholar isn't a mark agaisnt Goku, it's a mark against Chi-Chi.

[@Kaidaone12]

But he enjoyed being a scholar, right before gohan fought cell, goku said “you want to be a scholar right?” Chichi just wanted what was best for her son and look at him he enjoys his life as a scholar

[@liamb5697]

I'll just paraphrase Dragon Ball Abridged Gohan: "Oh no, what would my dad do?" Goku in Gohans head: "Bye son!" Gohan: "I think I have problems"

[@Paradox-es3bl]

Loving your kids is not enough. At best he's neglectful, at worst he's actually abusive. Forcing your kid to fight against his will? Putting him in at the time, the most dangerous situation at the universe and healing the dude trying to kill him? Nah, he's trash tier. Colonel Mustang from FMA is a better father figure and he isn't even a father. Hell, Bradley is probably a better father. Picollo is Gohan's real father. Fight me.

[@Manfromthenorth0551]

Based on the way you're talking I wouldn't want to fight you anyways. You think Goku is a bad dad and are seemingly unwilling to compromise that belief, so fighting you would be an act of futility. You just want someone to fight so that you can keep spouting what you believe.

[@johnredden743]

Piccolo literally kidnapped a four year old and left him in the woods for months at a time. Then proceeded to beat him worse than Goku has ever done in training. Saying he was Gohan’s real father is poor comprehension of the show.