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This is merged page from all Son Goku subpages (Introduction, History, Notes).
Son Goku (孫悟空 Son Gokū) is the cheerful "Monkey King" who uses a staff, known as the Nyoi-Bo, as his primary weapon. He carries with in him the Seiten Taisei, the Great Sage Equaling Heaven, and whose true self and powers are released when his coronet is removed. Goku joins Genjo Sanzo, Cho Hakkai, and Sha Gojyo on their journey to the west to stop the resurrection of Gyumaoh.
Appearance[]
Son Goku
Saiyuki Ep. 16
Despite his chronological age, Goku has the physical appearance of a young teenage boy standing at 5'5" (165 cm) and weighing in at 134 lbs (61 kg). When he was first found by Sanzo he had long brown hair. He has striking gold eyes which brand him as a heretic. He skin has a healthy tan look to it, though whether that is because he is actually tan or he just needs a bath has yet to be clarified.
Around his head is his gold diadem, his demon power limiter. As a child, Goku had very long hair that reached down to his hips, when he started living with Sanzo, he started to bind it with ribbon into a ponytail. In the Saiyuki Reload manga extra, Petite Burial, it shows Goku's hair was accidentally cut off by Gojyo when he first used the extending chain sickle of his Shakujo, which upset Goku greatly.
Goku initially wears a white shirt with loose, above-elbow sleeves, off-white jeans held by a black belt, and white shoes. Over the shirt is a red, vest-like garment with black trim, and his demonic birthmark, which shows a Sanskrit character within a circle, in its centre on the front. The interior appears to be completely black. The garment is fastened by a black over-shoulder belt. Furthermore, he wears white and black shoulder guards, with white, claw-like spikes curving from the black trim. Majority of the guards are covered by Goku's goldenrod cape, which slings over his shoulders, and what seems to be a white infinity scarf. Around his wrists, he wears red wristbands with white trim.
Roughly a year into the Sanzo Party's travels, Hakkai hooks Gojyo and Goku up with new threads. Goku's outfit remains generally the same, however his new shirt has shorter sleeves, and he replaces the trousers with blue jeans that are frayed and just above his knees. Lastly, the wristbands are replaced with solid black ones. His new shoes are white, short boots above his ankle with black trim. He retains all of his trademark cape and guards.
Prior to meeting Hakkai and Gojyo, he wore a traditional, casual Chinese outfit reminiscent in style to martial arts training attire, but more casual and short-sleeved.
During his time in Heaven, Goku wore a glossy black shirt with short sleeves and a turtleneck with the base of a gold chain in front of his throat. Beneath, he wore white trousers, and went barefoot. He had heavy chains on both wrists and ankles, making him difficult to carry even for a seasoned soldier like General Kenren .
Personality[]
Goku is almost always cheerful, and is the group's unofficial mascot. He can make anyone - even Sanzo at some points - smile or laugh when something bad happens. A running gag is that Goku only thinks about food, and so far, this has been proven true most of the time. His stating a simple cry of "I'm hungry!" has led this to become almost like a catchphrase, and most people - Gojyo and Sanzo in particular - have lashed out (usually in a humorous way) at Goku about his constant declaration about wanting food.
Aside from being cheerful and almost always hungry, Goku is the "Monkey King" of many Chinese and Japanese myths, and is always up for a good prank or joke. He also tries to be helpful, but because of his prankster disposition, he usually gets himself and others into trouble instead of actually helping. He is very ashamed by this, especially when he causes Sanzo trouble without really meaning to, and for the most part he tries his best to stay on task. Being the "Monkey King" of legend, however, staying on task is not one of his strong points.
When it comes to others, Goku is more friendly to people than his traveling companions. He always greets people that he likes - or who give him food - with a smile, and generally likes any type of kindhearted person. He has befriended many creatures over the series, youkai and human alike. He will, however, fight someone he generally dislikes or has done some kind of wrongdoing no matter how big or small. He has been compared by many as hero stereotypical characters seen in anime. But he has stated that he is fighting for his right to live, and his alone. He has also shown that he will fight anyone trying to get in his or his group's way. He likes fighting, displaying enjoyment comparable to a child playing a game.
Weapon/Abilities[]
Son Goku with "Nyoi Bo".
Goku wields a staff called the "Nyoi Bo", which is a clear reference to Sun Wukong's staff in Journey to the West. There is no explanation given in the anime as to the origin of Goku's weapon; in the manga, it is revealed that the Nyoi-bo was sealed in a canister in the temple, which he and Gojyo shattered whilst goofing off.
Aside from practical uses, he can cause it grow in length and in some instances, used its lengthening powers to impale enemies from a distance. At times, he can also make the Nyoi Bo separate (connected by chains at the splits) into a sectioned staff or nunchaku; he usually uses this form of his staff to hack away at things, like plant roots in a couple cases. Usually, however, he just uses it to fight up close.
Expert Martial Artist: Goku demonstrates an incredible grasp on martial arts, strong and proficient enough to be able to take enemies out with powerful punches and kicks.
Expert Staff Proficiency: Using his prized Nyoi Bo, Goku demonstrates remarkable expertise and resourcefulness. He's capable of using it for everything from fighting to extending it to catch himself and others from high falls.
Enhanced Strength: Even with his diadem, Goku is considerably strong, capable of breaking the concrete of a building's exterior wall as he gets ready to confront the rest of his companions after a shocking defeat against 'God'. As Seiten Taisei, Goku's strength increases tremendously. His punches and kicks are able to break ribs without even trying, ripping off heads is no difficulty for him, and it is strongly implied that having one's head stepped on would not require much effort for him to kill his targets. His claws and teeth are sharp enough to tear into skin and cause severe bleeding as well. Physically speaking, Goku is the strongest opponent the Sanzo Party faces.
Enhanced Speed: Likewise, Goku is exceptionally agile, shocking Gojyo and Hakkai during their first meeting. Seiten Taisei is fast enough to seem to 'disappear' from others' sight. Further, his reflexes and strength allow him to catch Gat's bullets in both his hands and mouth without so much of a scratch.
Immense Chi and Demonic Energy: A powerful entity in general, Seiten Taisei's emergence gathers enough demonic energy to stir a wide radius of atmosphere around him. His initial emergence in Heaven is so powerful, that the surge of chi incinerated various gods to ashes. During his first run-in with Seiten Taisei, Sanzo refers to his chi as 'on fire'.
Elemental Healing: As the "Earth's child", Seiten Taisei can gather the Earth's aura in order to heal himself from severe wounds. After Ukoku Sanzo attacks Goku, this ability saves his life, leaving him stronger than ever.
Extended Longevity: Although the possibility of immortal status is unclear, Seiten Taisei can sustain his body for prolonged periods of time, such as when in deep grieving on Earth after witnessing Konzen's death and losing Kenren, Tenpo, and Nataku as well. Never moving from the Dimensional Gate for several months, Goku could survive without food and water without his body wilting away.
True Form[]
When his diadem broke, Goku saw visions of someone who looks like Sanzo
Saiyuki Ep. 07
In four instances in the series, Goku's diadem - which is his power limiter - has been removed, causing him to revert to his true form, the Qitian Dasheng/Seiten Taisei (齊天大聖 lit. Great Sage Equaling Heaven). He's done it willingly only twice. The first time Goku reverted to his true form, the diadem was broken by Goku's emotional grief and anger when Sanzo was near-fatally wounded. The last and most current time his power limiter has been removed was when he was wounded and on the verge of death; with Hakkai failing to heal him in time, both he and Gojyo decide to remove his diadem, thinking that Goku could possibly recover in his true form. Another time Goku willingly removes his diadem is when he is forced to fight Kougaiji for the sake of Sanzo's life, and thus he removes the diadem with his own two hands in order to give himself some form of fighting spirit due to lack of fighting will with Sanzo's life in danger.
Goku's Demonic Mark on his Belly
When Goku is in his true form, his hair becomes noticeably longer (about waist length), his ears become pointed, his eyes become slitted, his nails turn into claws, and his teeth become fangs. Also, not visible while he's wearing a shirt, Goku bares a demon mark like most demons. His is a strange sun tattoo with a Sanskrit character on his stomach above his navel.
Goku in his true form is quite possibly the most dangerous opponent the main characters have faced in the series. While normally fighting seems like a game to him,
Goku's true form (manga)
Saiyuki Vol 3, ch. 12
in his true form he enjoys fighting in a bloodthirsty, sadistic sense and enjoys inflicting pain on others; even going so far as beating his enemies when they can't fight back. He is very destructive and cruel, and nearly invincible. His speed and attack power also increase dramatically; he can move so fast that often others can't even see him. His strength increases so much that he's able to easily inflict near fatal wounds on Gojyo and Hakkai with a few blows, and also once bent Gojyo's shakujo just by holding it in his hand. He's also far more durable in this form, shrugging off nearly every attack he's ever hit with. If something actually can hurt him, he use the energy of the earth to heal himself, which is what happened after Hakkai and Gojyo removed his diadem in a last effort to save him. For a moment, nothing seemed to happen, but then Goku jumped onto a nearby roof in his true form and used the energy of the earth heal himself and during the battle to restore Goku back to normal, Seiten Taisei shows that he actively manipulate the Earth's chi to create thunderstorms to fight Hakkai and Gojyo. This shows that his power is comparable to that of a god, making Goku not unlike an immortal.
After Goku's diadem is removed/broken, Goku loses all sanity when transforming into the Great Sage. This transformation causes him to become bloodthirsty and sadistic. Perhaps the biggest characteristic of his true form is that Goku can not differentiate friend from foe; causing him to attack Sanzo, Gojyo and Hakkai as fiercely as he does his enemies.
Goku's true form when his diadem broke in heaven...
Saiyuki Gaiden Vol 2, ch. 16
When the Seiten Taisei is released, Goku experiences a sort of 'flashback' often seeing a person whom looks familiar but whom he can't remember. This is actually Konzen Douji, Genjo Sanzo's former incarnation, the god who looked after Goku when he was younger. Even though Goku's memories were sealed away 500 years ago, it is possible that turning into his true form frequently causes some stronger memories to return to him for an instant, or that the Seiten Taisei's power is causing the seal to fade. However, no information in the story so far supports this.
Son Goku in Saiyuki Burial got his diadem broken due to his emotions welling up badly. Luckily Sanzo got to control him when he knew who and what he was fighting. Also in Burial, we see a strange occurrence. The Seiten Taisei speaks. Normally while in his demonic form, Goku never utters anything more intelligible then his cruel laughter or a growl. This scene in Burial may mean that the Taisen is capable of speech as well.
Seiten Taisei shows sadness in front of Genjo Sanzo in Saiyuki Burial Ep. 2
An interesting note is Goku didn't receive his limiter until he arrived in Tenkai and he states in episode 40 of the first series that the people in the lower world were more friendly than the celestial beings in Tenkai. This shows Seiten Taisei has had contact with humans and that originally, Seiten Taisei wasn't sadistic and bloodthristy and he didn't obtain that personality until Goku's limiter broke in Gaiden when Nataku mortally wounded himself. This could also show that the Seiten Taisei also has a very fragile mindset.
In the last episode of Saiyuki Gaiden, the Seiten Taisei showed deep grief and sorrow in front of the Merciful Goddess after Konzen Douji’s death. He injured Kanzeon Bosatsu, either in annoyance or having snapped upon hearing her mention the names of the three people ---Konzen, Kenren and Tenpou--- who died in protecting him. Kanzeon Bosatsu didn’t fight back but instead gave him a warm embrace, allowing the Seiten Taisei to cry loudly in her arms.
History[]
Saiyuki Gaiden[]
Goku is a being with the power to equal Heaven. In fact, he is even considered a god or Sage by Ukuko Sanzo and Kanzeon Bosatsu, The Merciful Goddess. He is called Seiten Taisei, "Great Sage Equal to Heaven", and is regarded as a symbol of chaos and destruction, with "golden eyes of misfortune", a heretic being.
Goku was born in a rock egg that for centuries collected the Earth's aura atop Mt. Kakayama. After he was born, Heaven found him and put the limiters on him. He was brought before Kanzeon by the traveler from Heaven, Egan. After a mishap involving the young saru's grabby fingers and Kanzeon's nephew's, one Konzen Douji, long golden hair (not so thick anymore), Kanzeon decided that Konzen would be Goku's new guardian. Neither of the two were very happy with this decision at first.
Goku and Konzen had a rough start, such as Goku making paper airplanes out of Konzen important documents. While hiding from Konzen one day, Goku ran into a young boy who was also evading his own punishment. That young boy turned out to be the young War Prince Nataku. Goku and Nataku become friends quickly and even though Goku didn't have a name at the time, he promises Nataku that he'd tell him his name next time. That night, Goku demands that Konzen name him to which Konzen says he'll just call him Saru. Goku gets mad and throws a pillow at Konzen.
Konzen eventually mutters the name Goku, a name that Goku takes a liking to.
First appearance of Seiten Taisei
Saiyuki Gaiden Vol 2, ch. 16
Goku later meets Konzen's friend, Field Marshall Tenpou who insists that Goku call him "Tenpi" or "Ten-chan". Goku also runs into Tenpou's colleague, General Kenren, while sneaking around a Tentei's castle looking for Nataku who was at the time in the lower world fighting Gyumoah. To get Goku out of a scrape with some lesser god folks, Kenren claims that Goku is his secret love child. With the lesser gods left speechless Kenren escorts Goku out without anymore issues. Outside, he asks Goku what he was doing and when he hears that Goku was looking for Nataku, Kenren's interests are piqued.
When it was announced shortly after that Nataku had returned, Goku runs off to meet him. When he finds Nataku, Nataku crumbles into his arms. Apparently he didn't return unscathed. After he is bandaged up Goku waits by his side until Nataku wakes up. When he does, Goku and Nataku make plans to explore Heaven together when Nataku get better. Sadly, they never get too. Their relationship becomes strained thanks to Nataku's duties and his father, Li Touten.
Son Goku, Konzen Douji, Kenren, & Tenpou
Saiyuki Giaden Ep. 1
Meanwhile, Goku's other relationships with Konzen, Kenren, and Tenpou only grow deeper. Later when Nataku is ordered by his father to kill Goku, Kenren and Tenpou try to step in, but it is only Goku's words that are able to halt Nataku's blade, as Goku finally tells him his own name. Nataku can't disobey his father and in his only able act of rebellion, he turns his blade on himself. Goku becomes so upset that the mental stress forces his power limiter to break and he takes his true form, the Seiten Taisei. When the diadem was destroyed, Goku killed many celestial beings in his craze. Konzen, Tenpou, and Kenren work together to protect Goku, but there was little they could do. In the end all four are banished from Heaven and Goku was locked in stone cage deep in the high Mountain of Mt. Gogyou. All his memories were also sealed away in Heaven, all but his name that Konzen had given him. The act of sealing his memories was left to the Merciful Goddess who claimed that taking Goku's memories and leaving his name was her one true act of mercy.
Background[]
Young Goku waiting for calling someone on his heart.
Saiyuki Gaiden OVA Last Episode
It is not known at this time how long exactly Goku stayed in Heaven, but because Goku committed crimes, such as killing thousands of soldiers in the Heavenly Army and then revolting against Heaven with Konzen, Tenpou and Kenren, he was banished and ultimately imprisoned on the summit of Mt. Gogyou. He stayed there for 500 years with no memory of how he got there. This seems to also be the reason for his appetite later on in the story. After not eating a bite for 500 years Goku's body now seems to be trying to make up for lost time by consuming food a lot faster. (Sanzo mentions this in one of the earlier episodes of the first series. This supported by the fact that in the Saiyuki Gaiden series, he's never seen complaining about food). During his imprisonment, Goku's life became uneventful and lonely in his prison cell. Longing for freedom and the company of others, Goku became withdrawn, and ultimately depressed, which was pushed even more when he met a small bird who he considered to be his first friend. However, due to said bird dying in a snowfall, and Goku unable to help it, pushed him down depression even more, and caused his fear of snow.
"I could never leave someone like you alone."
His release from prison was a gradual process that spanned the first part of Sanzo's life, Goku began to call for help and only Sanzo could hear him, at first Sanzo ignored him, but, as Sanzo himself mentions, the noise was annoying him so he came and found him to smacking his over the head and tell him to shut up. After years of waiting, someone reached the summit and stood by his cell. Asking "why are you calling me?", Goku met Priest Genjo Sanzo for the first time. After a confused conversation on Goku's part, Sanzo freed Goku and together, they made their way down the mountain. Sanzo wanted nothing to do with the young boy, even telling him to get lost, but Goku told him that he wouldn't know where to go in the first place. After Goku tells Sanzo that he was probably always calling out to someone with his heart, Sanzo allowed Goku to follow him.
"Since I met Sanzo, it seems to be there are a lot of times I've been here than in the cage."
From there, he stayed in The Temple in Chang'an where Sanzo kept him in a shed for a couple of weeks before speaking with the Three Aspects and allowing Goku to roam the temple afterwards. Sanzo becomes something of a guardian for Goku. Goku accompanies Sanzo on his mission to track down Cho Gonou (Cho Hakkai) for the crime of killing 1000 yokai, and helps to prevent Hakkai from killing himself. Hakkai later becomes his teacher. Goku becomes immediately attached to Sanzo, a bond which spanned two lifetimes for the blond male, who was at first Konzen and is now Sanzo. This bond is also strong with the other members of the Sanzo Party as they all have ties in their previous lives, though only Goku has the faintest memories of it, fleeting, like a face or a voice in a dream.
Plot[]
Saiyuki[]
In his first appearance, Goku was sitting in a peach tree at a monks temple eating peaches off of it, something that the monks weren't pleased with due to the peaches being an offering to the Merciful Goddess. After being told by Sanzo to get down since they were heading off somewhere, though he asked Sanzo multiple times where they were going, he only tells him that they were going to find Hakkai and Gojyo and go.
The beginning of Saiyuki is used to show some basic information about Goku and the guys, showing the young man to be perpetually hungry, but very vivacious and happy around those who treat him kindly, especially if they give him food. He is shown to be momentarily distraught when a young lady is upset to learn he is considered a youkai, but Goku is quick to show he has no allegiance and he will protect those who need it.
Rikudo Arc[]
underconstruction...
Chin Yisou Arc[]
underconstruction...
Desert Arc[]
underconstruction...
Kami-sama Arc[]
The Kami Sama arc starts off with Hakkai and Goku being found by Gojyo, having lost their souls to a young youkai boy named Kinkaku and his beastly companion known as Ginkaku. Gojyo and Hakkai's souls are in a realm found in a sealed bottle where they are forced to take on faceless creatures and fight them endlessly. After spending some time trapped, they meet with the true Ginkaku who explains that the twin youkai were being used by a man named Kami Sama.
After Goku and Hakkai are freed, Kami Sama appears, killing Kinkaku and enraging Gojyo. The half demon leaves the group to seek out Kami Sama, causing a rift between Sanzo, Goku, and Hakkai, who decide they have no choice but to chase the man down and drag him back. Sanzo uses Goku to take down a barrier, writing on ofudas and placing them on the half naked young man. Soon they find Gojyo, after dealing with a clone, and the four go head to head with Kami Sama.
They are utterly defeated as Kami Sama uses a weapon that hurls beads like bullets at the guys. Goku, who had beads lodged into his body, is tormented by the man dressed in monk robes who digs his fingers into Goku's leg to pull the beads out. The guys are barely able to retreat, but they lose Sanzo's sutra to the eccentric Kami Sama. While the are recuperating, Goku refused to seek medical attention and stubbornly stays outside, lost in his thoughts, until he makes the decision that he will not lose again.
The older men are still broken and Goku gets them to play a game of Mahjong, a game he normally loses, but because the guys are wallowing in their doubts and the lose of their pride, the heretic is able to easily start a path of winning the game. He states to the others that he will not be beaten like that again, and the others finally start to come around, slowly playing better at Mahjong. This helped in evolving Goku's character and showed his desire to get stronger and being the one that was able to revive the spirits of his friends so they could keep going on their journey.
The guys spend some time training before heading off to take on Kami Sama again, renewed and revigorated with a new purpose. They have to go through many floors of Kami Sama's castle before finally taking him on. The difference in the fight this time is that the guys work together. After a brutal fight, Sanzo is able to retrieve his sutra and the guys continue on with their journey, using Goku's much often used line of 'I'm hungry', and the young man yelling at them not to take his line.
Saiyuki Reload[]
to be updated
Saiyuki Reload Blast[]
to be updated
Anime and Manga Difference[]
- The Homura Arc although filler for the anime, was featured in a one shot [1][2][3]. Meaning that whether or not Goku has the energy to produce new worlds is canonically unclear.[4]
- The anime portrays Goku as even more innocent than his manga counterpart, in the Reload Manga, Goku is noticeably growing out of his innocence and maturing; primarily due to the events in the Demon Village.
- During the flashbacks of after meeting Sanzo when Goku was a child, in the Gensoumaden anime, Goku is seen as the same size as he is presently in the series when he met Gojyo and Hakkai, while in the manga and the Reload anime, Goku is at the physical size he was at when he was released from his prison when he met Gojyo and Hakkai.
- Goku's fights have been toned down heavily in the anime; during his fight against Kougaiji in the desert, he is shown physically beating him and the others brutally Saiyuki Vol, Kougaiji receiving the brunt of it. However, there are very few wounds found on his person, in the manga, his chest is cut up severely and the entire fight was very bloody, much moreso than the anime interpretation.[5]
Other Appearance[]
to be updated
Quotes[]
- "I'm hungry!"
Gallery[]
- Main article: Son Goku gallery
Trivia[]
- Coincidentally, he shares the same type of hunger trait from the Dragon Ball series' version of Son Goku (whose real name is Kakarot).
- However, when compared to the original Zhu Bajie/Cho Hakkai of the original Journey to the West, Saiyuki's Goku shares his hunger while the Saiyuki Gojyo shares his lust for women. Both Goku and Gojyo argue with one another like the original Wukong/Goku towards Hakkai.
- "Bakazaru", "foolish monkey" or "idiot monkey", is Goku's most common nickname acknowledging he is the Monkey King in this journey. Gojyo also sometimes calls him just "saru" meaning monkey.
- This usually tends to allude to the typical insults thrown at the original Sun Wukong (especially in the many drama portrayals), which usually translated to "damn monkey".
- Goku can't eat wasabi.
- Hakkai's ghost stories are one thing that can scare Goku in an instant.
- Souichirou Hoshi is Goku's voice actor in Japanese. His original English voice actor was Greg Ayres, followed in Reload and Reload Gunlock by Yuri Lowenthal (under the name Jimmy Benedict). While in the Premium OVA, Kousuke Okano voices him instead.
- Goku's English voice actor in Gensomaden Saiyuki and his seiyuu both voiced Tomoki Sakurai in Heaven's Lost Property or Sora no Otoshimono.
- Likewise, another similarly-named-and-themed character akin to the Monkey King, Samon Gokuu, from the manga/anime series Nanbaka, also is voiced by the same Japanese VA.
- Goku's first English voice actor, Greg Ayres, and Hakkai's seiyuu, Akira Ishida, have shared some roles; two being Chrono in Chrono Crusade and Kaworu Nagisa in Neon Genesis Evangelion.
- When Goku was younger, he possessed a fear of the snow. A fear that derives from his time in the cave when the snow muted out the world and made everything cold. The Sanzo party help him get over this fear some time before the beginning of the journey.'
- Also, around this time Goku had very long hair and that he insisted on keep even though it was a pain and hard to manage. It's because his hair was like a comfort blanket. It would keep his back warm when the rest of the world was cold. He explains this to Sanzo after a mishap and Gojyo accidentally cuts it all off with Shakujo.
- Kazuya Minekura drew Goku showing what he would like if he were 10 years older than he is now. It's at the end of the chapter in the interview section of the latest zerosum magazine.
- The 'Son’ in Goku's name isn’t something Konzen gave him; it’s the middle name Goku received as merit, one of the characters given in order. This applies to the ‘Go 悟’ in the original “Hsi Yu Ki,” and in the original it’s written that Goku and Gojyo were both randomly given the ‘Go’ character. In Gaiden, Goku doesn’t know that he was given ‘Son’. Sanzo hears about this in the Burial arc.
- When Goku was younger, what he loves about summer was cicadas were chirping from far away. The buzz of the fan, the sound of ice cracking, and right beside him is Sanzo breathing in his sleep.[6]
- Goku is referred to as 'the earth's will' by Sai Tai Sai in Saiyuki Offroad.
