# Son Goku > Son Goku is the spiky-haired protagonist of Akira Toriyama's 1984 Dragon Ball manga, whose absurd power levels and iconic "It's Over 9000" catchphrase spawned decades of meme formats and powerscaling debates. Son Goku, the spiky-haired protagonist of Akira Toriyama's Dragon Ball franchise, is one of the most memed characters in anime history. Since his manga debut in 1984, Goku's over-the-top power levels, signature attacks, and endless transformations have spawned dozens of meme formats, from "It's Over 9000" to decades of "Goku vs. Superman" wars. His status as the archetypal shonen hero makes him both a beloved icon and a prime target for jokes about powerscaling obsession. ## Origin Toriyama conceived Dragon Ball after finishing his previous series Dr. Slump. In interviews, he credited Jackie Chan's "Drunken Master" as a primary influence, saying he'd watched it "dozens of times"[2]. His editor Torishima suggested he try a kung-fu manga, leading to a one-shot called "Dragon Boy" that tested well with readers[2]. For the serialized version, Toriyama turned to the 16th-century Chinese novel Journey to the West as his structural backbone[1]. Goku is directly based on Sun Wukong, the Monkey King. The parallels are obvious: a supernaturally strong monkey-like character with a tail, a magic extending staff (the Power Pole), and a flying cloud (the Flying Nimbus)[1]. Even Goku's full name is the Japanese reading of "Sun Wukong"[1]. The first chapter, "Bulma and Son Goku," introduced a wild boy living alone in the mountains who joins a girl named Bulma on a quest to find the seven Dragon Balls[5]. Other early characters mapped to Journey to the West figures too. Bulma parallels the monk Tang Sanzang, Oolong mirrors pig demon Zhu Bajie, and Yamcha echoes the sand demon Sha Wujing[1]. As the series shifted into Dragon Ball Z, Toriyama drew from martial arts cinema for Goku's iconic Super Saiyan transformation. He based Goku's fierce stare after transforming on Bruce Lee's eyes, telling an interviewer for a Dragon Ball Z guidebook: "His eyes from right after he transforms for the first time and looks up at Freeza... I based those off of Bruce Lee"[3]. Toriyama added that Lee's glare was "paralyzing" and that once Goku gave that look, "as far as I was concerned the story arc was over"[3]. - **Platform:** Weekly Shōnen Jump (character), internet forums / YouTube (meme formats) - **Creator:** Akira Toriyama (character creator), community-created meme formats - **Date:** 1984 (character debut); memes spread from late 1990s onward ## Overview Son Goku is the central character of the Dragon Ball manga and anime series, created by Akira Toriyama and first published in Weekly Shōnen Jump on November 29, 1984[5]. As a Saiyan warrior raised on Earth, Goku spends the series fighting increasingly powerful enemies while training to get stronger. His signature moves include the Kamehameha energy blast, the Power Pole staff, and various Super Saiyan transformations that change his hair color and power output. Online, Goku is a meme factory. His power levels, transformations, battles, and simple-minded personality have all been mined for jokes, debates, reaction images, and copypasta. The most famous Dragon Ball meme, "It's Over 9000," became one of the internet's earliest viral catchphrases[6]. But the meme ecosystem around Goku is vast: powerscaling arguments, transformation parodies, reaction faces, and an entire genre of "Goku solos your favorite character" shitposting that simultaneously mocks and celebrates Dragon Ball fan culture[4]. ## How It Spread Dragon Ball aired in Japan starting in 1986 and gradually reached Western audiences through fan-translated bootlegs, imported manga, and eventually dubbed TV broadcasts in the late 1990s[4]. As one of the first anime to gain a mass Western following, Dragon Ball introduced millions of viewers to Goku, and internet culture followed. The earliest Goku memes grew out of the powerscaling community. Fans had been arguing about his strength since the 1990s, and "Goku vs. Superman" became the classic matchup[4]. In 2002, Wizard magazine published a cover story framing the hypothetical fight as "East vs. West," with Goku winning[4]. A popular webcomic expanded the rivalry in 2003[4]. By 2009, YouTube videos depicting the fight pulled millions of views, though a video showing Superman winning earned a 75% dislike ratio and waves of angry comments[4]. "It's Over 9000" broke through as a standalone meme around 2006-2008. The line comes from Vegeta's shocked reaction to Goku's power level in the English dub, though the original Japanese number was 8,000[6]. The phrase became shorthand for anything unexpectedly large. It got a boost when Anonymous tricked Oprah into saying "over 9000 penises" on live TV[6]. World of Warcraft added an achievement called "It's Over Nine Thousand," and Pokemon X and Y referenced it through an NPC who tells the player their power level is "over 9,000 for sure"[6]. By the 2010s, the dynamic around Goku memes flipped. With anime going mainstream, Dragon Ball fans were no longer underdogs defending a niche hobby[4]. Instead, the perception of overbearing fans who inserted powerscaling debates into unrelated conversations became the joke itself. "Your Fave Could Beat Goku" accounts appeared on Twitter and Tumblr, letting users submit any character as a triumphant challenger[4]. Characters popular with women, like Sailor Moon, or from modern hits like My Hero Academia and Jujutsu Kaisen, drew the most engagement and the most outraged Dragon Ball defenders falling for the bait[4]. ## How to Use Goku memes come in several common formats: **Power level / "Over 9000"**: Apply the phrase to any situation involving an unexpectedly large number. Works for bills, notification counts, or anything absurdly high. The humor is in the overreaction. **Goku vs. [Character]**: Pick any character from any media and argue they could beat Goku, or that Goku could beat them. The comedy comes from the absurdity of the matchup and the guaranteed overreaction from someone. **Transformation tier memes**: Reference Goku's many Super Saiyan forms to describe escalating levels of intensity. Going Super Saiyan is casual annoyance, Super Saiyan 3 is serious, Ultra Instinct is peak. Often used as a reaction format. **Kamehameha**: Recreate the hand position in photos or videos. Typically done ironically or as a callback to childhood playground behavior. **"Goku solos"**: Drop "Goku solos your verse" into any conversation about fictional characters to either bait powerscalers or mock the tendency to insert Goku into everything. ## Cultural Impact Goku's reach extends into music, professional sports, and official government recognition. Hip-hop adopted Dragon Ball Z as a shared cultural touchstone. Artists from Chief Keef and Chance the Rapper to J. Cole and Childish Gambino referenced the franchise in their work[11]. NBA players like DeMarcus Cousins, Joel Embiid, and Brook Lopez were public fans[11]. This crossover kept Dragon Ball relevant in pop culture conversations well beyond the anime community. The Japanese government's recognition of May 9th as Goku Day through the Japan Anniversary Association made Goku one of the few fictional characters with an officially registered holiday[7]. Annual celebrations include exclusive merchandise, crane game figures, commemorative stickers, and events across Dragon Ball video games[8]. In a Goo Ranking poll of Japan's favorite characters across all media, Goku placed 6th[9]. Multiple Western outlets including IGN and Screen Rant have ranked him among the greatest anime characters[10][12]. Dragon Ball's influence on the shonen genre shaped how an entire generation of manga creators approached action storytelling. ## Fun Facts - Goku's name literally means "aware of emptiness" in Japanese, with "Go" meaning enlightenment and "Ku" meaning sky or void. His full name is the Japanese pronunciation of Sun Wukong, the Monkey King from Journey to the West[1]. - The "Over 9000" line is a translation change. In the original Japanese, Vegeta says Goku's power level is over 8,000. The uncut English dub of Dragon Ball Z Kai restored the original number[6]. - Toriyama said the Super Saiyan transformation scene was effectively the end of the Frieza arc for him: "Once Goku gave that look, as far as I was concerned the story arc was over"[3]. - Master Roshi's line "This isn't over yet. It'll continue for a bit longer" at the end of the 23rd World Tournament in the manga became ironic when the series ran for six more years with two anime sequels, multiple movies, and decades of merchandise[6]. - Goku is voiced by Masako Nozawa in the Japanese version, who was in her fifties when she started voicing the character. This led to the fan nickname "Grandma Goku"[6]. ## Frequently Asked Questions ### What is Son Goku? Son Goku is the main protagonist of the Dragon Ball manga and anime franchise, created by Akira Toriyama. First appearing in 1984, he is one of the most memed anime characters, with formats ranging from "It's Over 9000" to powerscaling debates and transformation parodies[5]. ### Where did Son Goku come from? Goku debuted in the first chapter of the Dragon Ball manga in Weekly Shōnen Jump on November 29, 1984[5]. Toriyama created him after finishing Dr. Slump, drawing inspiration from the Chinese novel Journey to the West and Jackie Chan's martial arts films[2]. ### What does the Son Goku meme mean? Goku memes typically revolve around his absurd power levels and the fan culture of debating his strength against other fictional characters. The jokes either celebrate or mock the intensity of Dragon Ball fan debates[4]. ### How do you use Son Goku memes? Common uses include "It's Over 9000" for large numbers, powerscaling debates pitting Goku against other characters, and Super Saiyan transformation edits[6]. "Goku solos" is dropped into conversations to bait or parody obsessive fans[4]. ### Is Son Goku still popular? Goku placed 6th in a Goo Ranking poll of Japan's most popular characters across all media[9] and routinely tops Western anime character rankings[10]. Ongoing Dragon Ball releases and the franchise's deep roots in internet culture keep his memes in circulation. ### Who created Son Goku? Akira Toriyama created the character for his Dragon Ball manga, which he started serializing in 1984 after his editor suggested a kung-fu series. Toriyama's love of Jackie Chan's "Drunken Master" was a key inspiration[2]. ### Why is Son Goku based on the Monkey King? Toriyama used the 16th-century Chinese novel Journey to the West as the framework for Dragon Ball. Goku parallels Sun Wukong with his monkey tail, supernatural strength, magic extending staff, and flying cloud[1]. ### What is "It's Over 9000"? A line from the English dub of Dragon Ball Z where Vegeta exclaims about Goku's power level. The original Japanese version said 8,000, but the English translation's more dramatic number caught on as one of the internet's most recognized catchphrases[6]. ### What is Goku Day? May 9th is officially recognized as Goku Day by the Japan Anniversary Association since 2015, because the numbers 5 and 9 can be read as "Go" and "Ku" in the Sino-Japanese counting system[7]. The celebration includes exclusive merchandise, video game events, and social media campaigns[8]. ### Why do people say "Goku solos"? "Goku solos your verse" is a meme mocking the tendency of certain Dragon Ball fans to insert Goku into every fictional character strength debate, insisting he could defeat any character from any franchise[4]. ### What is the "Goku vs. Superman" debate? One of the internet's oldest "who would win" arguments, dating to at least a 2002 Wizard magazine cover story framing it as "East vs. West." The debate pits Dragon Ball's champion against DC Comics' icon and reliably generates heated online arguments[4]. ### Did Bruce Lee inspire Goku's Super Saiyan form? Toriyama confirmed that he based Goku's eyes during the first Super Saiyan transformation on Bruce Lee's intense stare, calling it "paralyzing" and saying that look was what he wanted for the climax of the Frieza arc[3]. ### How popular is Goku in Japan? Goku ranked 6th in a Goo Ranking poll of Japan's most popular characters across all media, behind Doraemon, Pikachu, Mario, Anpanman, and Hello Kitty, but above Godzilla, Gundam, and Sailor Moon[9]. ## References 1. [Bloomers and the Monkey King | Dragon Ball Wiki | Fandom]() 2. [Dragon Ball Was Inspired by This Piece of Classic Chinese Literature]() 3. [A Defining Feature Of Dragon Ball Z Was Directly Inspired By Bruce Lee]() 4. 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