In 1984 Japanese manga author and illustrator Akira Toriyama published the first chapter of Dragon Ball, a series that would become a massive pop culture icon and inspire countless other manga series in the future. Dragon Ball follows the story of Son Goku from being a foolish child to being an overpowered foolish adult with countless different forms, all of which involve changing hair, muscular bulk, and sometimes even eyebrows. Dragon Ball was originally intended to be a story directly based upon the Chinese mythical figure Sun Wukong, the monkey king. However, as Dragon Ball experienced ground breaking success Toriyama developed the series into a expansive one with a plethora of sagas telling many different stories. Akira Toriyama relied
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Goku was sent to Earth as an infant with the goal to destroy the planet and enslave the human race. However, as an infant Goku was dropped on his head and suffered complete amnesia. Son Goku was raised by an old man, Gohan (not to be confused by Goku’s later son by the same name) and developed impenetrable morales and an overall cluelessness. Throughout his early years Goku went on many quests to further his strength, almost all of which follow the hero’s journey. The hero’s journey, however, is most easily identifiable when Goku’s long lost older brother, Radditz, arrived on Earth to check on his younger brother. Before Radditz arrived Goku was living a relatively normal life with his wife and son. This was his ordinary world, a very calm setting before the inevitable storm would arrive. The storm that came to earth was Goku’s call to action. This storm was Radditz, and he had traveled to Earth to see if his younger brother had dominated the world yet. Much to his surprise Goku had transformed into a champion of peace and defender of the place he was destined to destroy. Radditz was more powerful than any foe Goku, and it took the combined efforts of Goku and his arch-rival, Piccolo, to defeat the Saiyan invader. Goku, however, was killed in the process by Piccolo’s special beam cannon. Goku accepting the fact that he must sacrifice himself to defeat his brother and defend the
Goku was sent to Earth as an infant with the goal to destroy the planet and enslave the human race. However, as an infant Goku was dropped on his head and suffered complete amnesia. Son Goku was raised by an old man, Gohan (not to be confused by Goku’s later son by the same name) and developed impenetrable morales and an overall cluelessness. Throughout his early years Goku went on many quests to further his strength, almost all of which follow the hero’s journey. The hero’s journey, however, is most easily identifiable when Goku’s long lost older brother, Radditz, arrived on Earth to check on his younger brother. Before Radditz arrived Goku was living a relatively normal life with his wife and son. This was his ordinary world, a very calm setting before the inevitable storm would arrive. The storm that came to earth was Goku’s call to action. This storm was Radditz, and he had traveled to Earth to see if his younger brother had dominated the world yet. Much to his surprise Goku had transformed into a champion of peace and defender of the place he was destined to destroy. Radditz was more powerful than any foe Goku, and it took the combined efforts of Goku and his arch-rival, Piccolo, to defeat the Saiyan invader. Goku, however, was killed in the process by Piccolo’s special beam cannon. Goku accepting the fact that he must sacrifice himself to defeat his brother and defend the