Summary
Dragon Ballis known for its many anime series that span from Goku’s childhood to his days as a grandparent, filled with epic adventures and exciting fights. With the recent release ofDragon Ball Daima, it is clear that the franchise is ever-expanding, telling new adventures of Goku and the Z fighters as they confront the biggest foes to save the day.
While Goku has a reputation for jumping in and saving the day, the hero has hadhis fair share of defeatsthat make him such a beloved, yet flawed character. Going against so many incredibly powerful adversaries, most of Goku’s losses were warranted in some way, yet there have been a few times that the hero should have won but for a specific reason he did not. Be it because of Goku’s love for fighting, bloated Saiyan pride, or plain naivety, there are a few moments throughout the anime franchise that feature the hero suffering some undeserving defeats.
Frieza has been solidified as one of thebest villains inDragon Ball, being responsible for pushing Goku and the franchise as a whole to step to a new level. While most of their encounters have ended in a clear Goku win, his loss to Golden Frieza was a particularly difficult one considering the level of the antagonist’s power.
After an arduous battle, Goku gets the upper hand on the antagonist, but the hero’s naivety gets in the way as he gives the notorious villain another chance. Deciding not to finish him off, Goku lets his guard down and ends up being ambushed by Frieza’s ally, who makes the protagonist fall in a fight he had won.
Considered one ofthe best tournament fights, Goku and Tien’s first encounter embodied different fighting ideologies that came down to an epic battle. Because of this, the fight felt like a neck-in-neck competition all around, as they both fought for their beliefs in an intense confrontation that still felt new toDragon Ball.
In the end, Goku manages to use a couple of Kamehameha waves that put him in a winning position compared to Tien, yet he ends up losing on a technicality as he lands on a car, hitting the ground before his opponent.
3Kale
Carelessness And Curiosity Get The Best Of Goku
Kale is one of thestrongest Saiyans in terms of raw strength, having a blind rage that makes her a danger to everyone around. During the Tournament of Power, she goes on a rampage that results in Goku’s defeat, leaving her pretty much unscathed.
There is no way to be sure that Goku could have beaten Kale at that moment, but it is obvious he was careless by not going all out at once, wanting to see what Kale was capable of before engaging with his full power. This gives the enraged Saiyan the chance to take the upper hand and knock out Goku before the fight escalates.
4Frost
Goku’s Innocence And Good Nature Helps A Treacherous Opponent
Frost’s victory is fairly quick despite losing for most of the fight against Goku, relying on a secret attack to defeat the protagonist. In terms of power, Goku is well above Frost’s level, but the antagonist’s true power lies in his deception, posing as a good guy, only to betray everyone afterward.
Even though Goku is winning, he decides he does not want to hurt his “good-natured” opponent, taking too long to finish the fight, which allows Frost to infect him with the poison that leads to Goku’s defeat. While this counts as a win for Frost, the villain was later caught cheating and eliminated from the tournament.
5Hit
Saiyan Pride And Fairness Collide In A Forfeit
Goku starts his fight against Hit at a disadvantage, as theopponent has some unique techniques, including time-skipping, which give him an edge against the protagonist. Eventually, however, Goku figures out how to counteract his ability, giving himself a big edge over Hit that should have guaranteed him a win.
Even though Goku has more humanity than most characters, his Saiyan pride is instilled in him, being the main reason for him to lose this fight. In the end, the protagonist forfeits the battle by eliminating himself, as he believes that it is not a fair fight since Hit is an assassin who is not allowed to kill, as per the tournament’s rules.
6Jiren
Goku’s Love Of Fighting Makes Him Reckless
In one of the best fights inDragon Ball Super, Goku goes against the powerful Jiren, who forces the protagonist to reach new limits. Throughout the fight, Goku unlocks new transformations and powers that make him even stronger than his enemy, despite starting way below Jiren’s level.
Goku’s love for fighting makes him take too long to finish off Jiren, reverting to his original form as he is about to defeat his enemy. With Jiren at an advantage again, Goku has to partner up with Frieza and Android 17 to take down his enemy in anepic saga ending.
InDragon Ball Z, Android 19 and 20 make a first appearance to showcase the new threat that Trunks warned them about. Regardless of theirunique abilities among the other androids, they were far from the most powerful enemies in the saga, especially since the Z fighter was aware of the upcoming threat.
At his most powerful, Goku would have been able to easily take Android 19 on, yet the protagonist ends up almost dying during the fight due to his heart disease. Android 19 might have had the ability to absorb energy, yet the protagonist’s heart virus is the reason Goku is left fighting for his life.
8Majin Vegeta
Vegeta Uses Goku’s Naivety To Knock Him Out
With aniconic rivalry friendship, Goku and Vegeta push each other to get stronger despite starting as enemies. The two have met each other on the battlefield a couple of times, including when Vegeta is imbued with Babidi’s magic, seeking to prove himself and letting his pride rule over reason.
Using all of his anger and resentment, Majin Vegeta starts a fight with Goku to prove he has surpassed him. Even though Majin Vegeta has an edge over Goku due to Babidi’s help, the protagonist still manages to overpower him. As a result, Majin Vegeta uses Goku’s naivety against him by convincing the protagonist to drop his guard, knocking him out in one move.
