Goku From Dragon Ball and Naruto Share One Unfortunately Bad Quality

Saviors of the world aren’t infallible, and unfortunately, this is true even for some of our greatest heroes, such as Goku from the Dragon Ball franchise and the eponymous star of Naruto. These two ever-training and heroic Shonen protagonists have much in common, but it isn’t all heroics because they both suffer from the severe flaw of an absentee parenting style. An orange Gi and yellow hair seem to be a prerequisite to save the world and neglect your children while doing it, but there is more depth to these statements than just downright bad parenting. Both of these heroes are complex and intricate characters that differ in many intrapersonal characterizations, showing that they both stem from different spaces when it comes to how they rear their children.

Goku is often seen as the blueprint for many shonen protagonists, and as such, there are myriad similarities between the Saiyan and Naruto. For example, they are both boisterous figures who love and protect their allies fiercely. Along with this, both heroes have similar powers and even similar trajectories in life; however, Naruto becomes the leader of his village, creating as workload for himself that detracts from the time spent with his family. In contrast to Naruto’s dutiful work as Hokage, Goku often willfully throws himself headlong into training or even death, leading to his family having to exist without him.

Goku as a Father

Goku’s first son, Gohan, is introduced in the Saiyan arc of Dragon Ball Z, and is the first time we get to see portions of how a life of heroics may begin to impact Goku’s ability to parent successfully. Gohan is kidnapped by Goku’s brother Raditz, and in saving Gohan, Goku recklessly gives his life to defeat his brother. His parting gift is to ask Piccolo, a long-time enemy, to train the four-year-old to prepare him to defend the Earth against the two other Saiyans on their way. This is the first instance of an alarming cycle where Goku consistently puts Gohan through rigorous training to face an enemy that he is far too young to be facing off against. The only time Gohan gets a break from the constant pressure of facing Goku’s enemies is when Goku is dead for ten years after the Cell Saga. Goku’s actions in forcing Gohan to unlock a new level of power against Cell led to Goku himself having to step in and save the planet when the Android attempted to self-destruct.

During this ten-year gap, Goku’s second son, Goten, was born, a son with whom Goku has spent very little time, even compared to Gohan. Goku, even after returning to life at the end of Dragon Ball Z, has dedicated almost all of his time to training with Vegeta and on other planets, almost fully neglecting Goten. However, even with all of this in mind, much of Goku’s parental dispositions may be chalked up to his alien nature. Goku is a full-blooded Saiyan, a species of battle-minded aliens who practice strength through conquering planets and were often seen as ruthless and battle-hungry. Oftentimes, young Saiyans would be sent to planets alone to conquer them, and as such, Goku unfortunately fits this mold fairly well.

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Naruto the Father Who Is Too Busy

Naruto, on the other side of this absentee parent coin, is not an alien, but rather an orphan whose entire identity revolved around becoming Hokage, so when he did, everyone would have to acknowledge him. Naruto had a single-track mind, and that single track was to become Hokage and prove to everyone his worth and to ensure he protected everyone, even those who hated him, along the way. We, as an audience, first become aware of our favorite ninja’s parental pitfalls during Boruto: Naruto Next Generations, where we see that Naruto spends so much time doing Hokage work that he only ever has time to send shadow clones home to spend time with his children for him. The gravest offense is when Naruto has a clone attend his daughter, Himawari’s birthday, and the clone’s dispelling ruins the vibe of the entire night. Boruto, Naruto’s son and eldest child, is rightfully annoyed at his father and the amount of grace everyone in the village gives his father.

Further expanding on Naruto’s complex emotions towards everyone in the village is when Naruto takes in a child named Kawaki and tells him that he considers him and everyone in the village his family and will always protect them. This conversation, of course, recontextualizes what we’ve seen from Naruto and aids us as the audience in realizing that Naruto was not equipped to be a father with given that he had never been shown genuine parental love or attention. There is no excuse for Naruto, but when push comes to shove, Naruto is often there for his children when it boils down to protecting them. Yet that nagging feeling bubbles to the top when we know that Naruto would arrive for any person within the village as he does for his son. Naruto is a victim of his dutifulness and has, in the wake, allowed his children to feel his absence.