This article talks about Goku's greatest flaw in terms of his characterization, not in terms of how he fights.

Throughout the entire Dragon Ball franchise, it can be argued that if there is one person who could be crowned the singular main character, it's none other than Goku. Though the concept of a single protagonist doesn't really exist anymore, with Vegeta, Gohan, Piccolo, and Broly also being brought to the forefront, the entire franchise got its start because of Goku, following his journey from an orphaned child to a universal protector.

Over the years, Goku has built his strength up to eventually become one of the most powerful figures in the entire multiverse. Despite his overwhelming strength and incredible characterization, however, he has always had one glaring weakness that has often led to some of the most precarious moments in all of Dragon Ball. In this article, let's go over what this could be and why this is the case.

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Goku's Love For Battle And His Need To Get Stronger Can Be Dangerous

Strength At The Cost Of Others

First Appearance	Dragon Ball, Episode 1, "The Legends of the Dragon Balls"
Story Arc	Emperor Pilaf Saga

Although it wasn't always the most important part of his identity, Goku, especially in the latter half of the franchise, has placed the greatest importance on the pursuit of strength and the need for him to reach his peak. Being a Saiyan, Goku loves to fight and get stronger, since this way, he gets to improve himself every day in order to become the strongest and best version of himself that he can possibly be.

While undoubtedly admirable, this is indicative of Goku's greatest weakness, which has plagued his character ever since the days of Z. This weakness is his obsessive need to get stronger and fight even more powerful foes, which is something that has often been to the detriment of not only himself, but also of others. Of course, this is far more prevalent in Super than in the previous parts of the franchise, but it's still quite apparent that this is an issue that has plagued Goku for quite some time now.

For me, there is a better path to power. It's not love. It's fury!

Goku is the purest definition of a hero, as he always puts himself in harm's way against the greatest threats of the universe due to how much he values life and peace. However, his need to improve his strength has often put innocents in danger, with the most common example being the Tournament of Power, which saw many universes compete in a battle royale. The losers of this tournament would have their entire universe be completely erased, leading to the deaths of untold trillions of lifeforms.

The whole reason why this event happened in the first place was because of Goku's wish to fight the strongest beings in the multiverse, which prompted him to meet up with the Grand Zenos to convince them to do this. Of course, he initially didn't know that the universes were to be erased later, and this ended up being the far better alternative to what the Grand Zenos had planned initially, but the fact of the matter is that the entire thing kicked off in the first place due to Goku's desire.

all the dragon ball universes — The 12 universes in Dragon Ball.

This speaks to a larger problem with Goku's character that Dragon Ball Super has exacerbated tenfold, which is his stupidity. Although he had always been a silly and aloof character in the early days, Goku was never made to be completely inept in certain regards. Unfortunately, Super dumbed down his character by a large amount, effectively turning him into someone who only cares about his pursuit of strength over everything else.

While Goku has always sought to improve himself and his strength, he has never done so in a way that puts others in danger. Some of his greatest moments in the franchise have come when he has gotten completely serious and has put himself as a sacrifice in order to ensure safety for everyone else. Of course, this aspect of his character is still integral to his identity, but when he pulls off things that put others in danger, it is seen by most fans as a betrayal of who he is supposed to be.

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An Alternative View

On the other hand, there's a benefit to Goku pushing himself.

Despite his borderline selfish desire for self-improvement occasionally putting his loved ones in harm's way, his dedication to the grind and his commitment to becoming the greatest version of himself have led to some of the greatest moments in the franchise. In his fight against Frieza, Goku utilized all of his strength and potential in order to unlock his Super Saiyan form, which goes down as arguably the most iconic moment in the anime industry.

Similarly, many of the residents of the multiverse straight up blamed Goku for the Tournament of Power happening at all. While this is still true, it definitely showed the fruits of his labor once he finally unlocked the technique of the Angels of the multiverse, which is Ultra Instinct. Though undoubtedly selfish, Goku's dedication to becoming stronger is very admirable.

Dragon Ball can be streamed on Crunchyroll.