10 Best Anime Heroes Who Followed Goku's Legacy

With how popular an anime Dragon Ball is, it makes sense that its hero, Son Goku, would have a similarly massive legacy. With how much of Dragon Ball’s action, comedy, and genuine heart is centered around Goku, he’s always been one of Dragon Ball’s most popular and entertaining characters, and even after 40 years, that hasn’t changed in the slightest.

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Few anime characters are more popular than Goku, and it’s to the point that his characterization as a battle-obsessed simpleton with an all-around good heart laid the blueprint for countless characters to follow. A few anime characters do an especially great job of following Goku’s lead, and overall, that’s probably why they’ve become as popular as they are.

10) Saitama (One-Punch Man)

Saitama is the hero of J.C.Staff’s One-Punch Man. After growing tired of the life of a salaryman, Saitama spent three years training to become a hero, but he was then met with two problems: Saitama’s intense training made him go bald, and he became so strong that he could defeat everyone with one punch, making things incredibly boring.

Goku is famous for being at the center of one massively over-the-top battle after another, and sure enough, Saitama, having equally over-the-top feats with so little effort on his part, perfectly captures that essence of Goku’s character. The shared simplicity of their personalities adds even more to that, and it’s all a big part of why Saitama is so beloved.

9) Yuji Itadori (Jujutsu Kaisen)

Yuji Itadori is the protagonist of MAPPA’s Jujutsu Kaisen. After an encounter with deadly curses that leaves him possessed by the villainous Ryomen Sukuna, Yuji becomes a sorcerer to protect people until he can be executed along with Sukuna, but his journey proves far more complicated than he could have imagined.

With Yuji’s inhuman strength, mastery of martial arts, and his great combination of stupidity and unflinching kindness, he does a great job of capturing what made Goku so iconic. Granted, Yuji’s character goes in a much darker direction than Goku’s, especially when looking at Yuji’s character in Jujutsu Kaisen Modulo, but that doesn’t make it any less great to see.

8) Ash Ketchum (Pokémon)

Ash and Pikachu smiling and hugging in Pokemon

Ash Ketchum is the original protagonist of OLM, Inc.’s Pokémon. After turning 10, Ash set out to become a Pokémon Master with the help of his beloved Pikachu and other Pokémon, and whether it’s fierce rivals or occasional evildoers seeking world domination, Ash never wavers in his dream in the slightest.

Goku and Ash overlap as kindhearted and simple-minded heroes motivated largely by a desire for self-improvement, and that level of purity makes them capable of being stronger than almost anyone. Both of them are two of the biggest anime heroes to come out of the ’90s, and it’s easy to see why they’re still such iconic parts of anime culture.

7) Gon Freecss (Hunter X Hunter)

Gon Freecss is the protagonist of Madhouse’s Hunter X Hunter. At the young age of 12, Gon leaves his island home to become a Hunter to both find his father and go on an adventure with new friends, although it soon becomes clear that the world isn’t the fun place Gon had thought it would be.

Between his young age, physical fighting style, and a personality revolving around kindheartedness and simple-minded wanderlust, Gon is essentially a modern take on Goku’s character from childhood, albeit one that somewhat deconstructs the archetype. Many Goku-like characters are based on him as an adult, so it’s nice to see such a unique take on how he acted as a child.

6) Asta (Black Clover)

Asta is the protagonist of Studio Pierrot’s Black Clover. While Asta grew up as the only person in the Clover Kingdom who couldn’t use magic, he’s still determined to become a great wizard and the next Wizard King, and when he unlocks powerful anti-magic, he’ll finally have a chance to prove himself to the world.

With his one-track mind, energetic personality, and commitment to being as strong as possible for himself and his friends, Asta does a great job of adding a fantasy twist to Goku’s archetype and Dragon Ball’s overall aesthetic. Once Black Clover season 2 comes out, those comparisons will be even more apparent, and overall, that will be great to see.

5) Oguri Cap (Umamusume: Cinderella Gray)

Oguri Cap is a recurring character in Cygames’ Umamusume: Pretty Derby and the protagonist of the spinoff series Umamusume: Cinderella Gray by CygamesPictures. There, the franchise delves into Oguri’s origins as a novice racer from the country who slowly rose to be one of the best racers in the country, despite all the challenges she faced along the way.

As a hero with a massive appetite and an equally massive competitive drive, Oguri captures the core aesthetic of Goku’s archetype, leading to plenty of great action from her and her rivals. It makes sense that it’s mostly male characters associated with Goku, but fortunately, Oguri shows that female characters are just as capable of following in his footsteps.

4) Natsu Dragneel (Fairy Tail)

Natsu Dragneel is the protagonist of CloverWorks’ Fairy Tail. Natsu is a member of the legendary mage guild Fairy Tail, and the series is largely focused on him going on adventures with his friends, looking for his father, Igneel the fire dragon, and dealing with the forces of the legendary dark mage Zeref.

Fairy Tail creator Hiro Mashima grew up on Dragon Ball, and as a result, Natsu is a protagonist who perfectly embodies Goku’s wanderlust, love of fighting, massive appetite, and overwhelmingly pure and simple-minded nature. Fairy Tail, as a whole, does a great job of capturing Dragon Ball’s aesthetic, and Natsu is undeniably why it works as well as it does.

3) Dai (Dragon Quest: The Adventure Of Dai)

Dai is the eponymous hero of Toei Animation’s Dragon Quest: The Adventure of Dai. After the legendary hero Avan dies fighting the forces of the Dark King Vearn, the world is left defenseless against the forces of evil, so it falls on Dai to hone his new powers and become the new hero the world needs.

While Dai doesn’t like fighting, not only does he always strive to better himself, but his willingness to empathize with even his enemies captures an essential part of Goku’s aesthetic, with Dai even explicitly stated to embody purity. Dragon Quest was Akira Toriyama’s biggest creation after Dragon Ball, and it’s great to see Dai embody his style so perfectly.

2) Naruto Uzumaki (Naruto)

Naruto Uzumaki is the eponymous hero of Studio Pierrot’s Naruto. Naruto was ostracized by his ninja village for being the host of the nine-tailed demon fox that once nearly destroyed them all, so he’s devoted himself to becoming the Hokage, the leader of the village, and earning everyone’s respect, a quest that becomes far bigger than anyone could have imagined.

Naruto is another anime hero who, despite being a dimwitted glutton, always works to better himself and protect his friends, just like Goku, and he even has powers directly inspired by Goku’s Super Saiyan form, as well. Series creator Masashi Kishimoto has always been open about Dragon Ball’s influence on Naruto, and nowhere is that clearer than with its hero.

1) Monkey D. Luffy (One Piece)

Monkey D. Luffy is the protagonist of Toei Animation’s One Piece. Like many people in the Great Age of Piracy, Luffy dreams of finding the legendary One Piece and being crowned the new Pirate King, and while he and his crew start as just a bunch of rookies, it isn’t long before Luffy proves himself to the entire world.