Originally posted at Slickster Magazine in August of 2018. The article has since been removed.

Goku was at his best and most entertaining when he was still a kid. Before Ultra Instinct, Super Saiyan Blue, becoming a God, his best friend’s death triggering his first Super Saiyan transformation, before Gohan and Goten were even conceived, and before he married Chi Chi, Goku was just a kid who accidentally crushed his grandpa with an Oozaru/Great Ape transformation he didn’t know about yet. He spent his days talking to the four star dragon ball, which he was convinced was his grandpa, and fed himself by fishing naked, with his tail, and his tiny balls and miniature power pole jostling about and never staying in its pants without a care in the world.

Goku has always had this innocence to him; he’s stupid to a certain degree but he’s always been kind hearted. In Dragon Ball Z, the adult version of Goku is worried about protecting his family and friends while achieving a power level thought impossible. In Dragon Ball Super, Goku sacrifices everything including the fate of our universe in order to fight the most powerful people in existence. The argument can be made that Goku is a villain in that regard, but that’s a topic for another article.

With Grandpa Gohan’s power pole strapped to his back and the Flying Nimbus puttering along willing to take the tiny Saiyan wherever he’d like to go, Goku is much more likeable before he is aware of the strength and power that awaits him in future adventures. Goku’s ignorance about the opposite sex and what every day things are like cars and airplanes factors into how awesome he is as a kid.

The humor and pervy nature of Dragon Ball is what makes it so fun. Goku running around slapping both males and females in the crotch to see if they’re a boy or a girl is hilarious. His misinterpretations of things (Yamcha being Lambchop, Fortuneteller Baba being Tattle Teller Baba, Goku thinking the Dream Land employee’s name was Tickets, etc) is also quite humorous. Goku never really loses that childlike mentality over the entire franchise, but things were much more enjoyable when they were a bit simpler.

Goku being a kid throughout the majority of Dragon Ball GT is likely due to attempting to recapture the comedy and gullibility of the character that was achieved in the original series and almost entirely lost over the course of Dragon Ball Z. There’s something more intriguing about a little kid taking down an entire army, defeating an evil Demon King, and persevering over the world’s deadliest assassin than an adult who learns the fusion technique thanks to what he learned in the afterlife after being dead for seven years.

The levels of Super Saiyan seem to defy logic with every new incantation. As fans, we eat up any new transformation achieved but a kid who doesn’t know how powerful he really is certainly is easier to root for than some 40-year-old who never knew how to grow up or properly support his family.

As a child, the possibilities of what you become as you mature are ultimately limitless but as an adult there’s got to be a point where you begin to level out and eventually weaken rather than just continually getting stronger all the time. While Saiyans are different from humans, the franchise was more believable and satisfying when it seemed like the transition was shifting over to Gohan eventually surpassing his father. Dragon Ball Super basically erased that possibility as Goku’s power level continues to reach unrealistic heights.

The problem with this is that Goku reaches into the heavens to achieve God-like power at every turn while Vegeta always falls short and the rest of the Z-fighters are left to basically thumb wrestle to an ineffective yet fancy light show with piddly power levels that are nearly on par with Mr. Satan’s apprentices. Remember when Piccolo was on par with Freeza on Namek after he fused with Nail or how Yamcha was semi-relevant for a short period at the beginning of Dragon Ball? Kid Goku at least helped things remain on a more even playing field and even allowed characters such as Master Roshi and Tienshinhan feel like they stood a chance at becoming Martial Arts Tournament champions or are a contributing factor in saving the world.

This article isn’t mean to rag on any aspect of the Dragon Ball franchise. I have watched and continue to watch every series and film that is released and eagerly anticipate the release of Dragon Ball Super: Broly in January, but you can critique something you adore and have issues with it even though it’s enjoyable. Goku has had a bizarre evolution over the course of four anime series (that’s not including whatever Super Dragon Ball Heroes is), but he is the most enjoyable before he became so complicated with insane power levels, endless Super Saiyan levels, and multi-colored hair entered the picture.

Kid Goku was always so happy and eager to find adventure with joy in his heart, an overpowering sense of curiosity, and the desire to make new friends. As a child, Goku felt more grounded, literally and figuratively, and was more enjoyable and amusing because of it.