Goku is arguably the most popular anime character of all time, and for good reason. I think growing up with him as a kid in the original Dragon Ball really cemented his role as one of the most recognizable characters not only in anime, but in all of media. Personally, his incarnation in Dragon Ball Z is my favorite overall, though I do miss the humor he had as a child in the original series. Goku in Dragon Ball Super feels like a step down, and compared to GT, it is not even close.
It was honestly really confusing watching Dragon Ball Z as a preteen, since most of us never got the full original Dragon Ball anime in a proper English dub beforehand. It is kind of wild that the very first major event in Z is Goku dying after his previously unknown brother arrives on Earth and nearly kills both him and Piccolo.
That said, his fight against Vegeta is definitely one of the most memorable anime battles of all time. People also forget that Goku did not technically defeat Vegeta on his own. It took the Spirit Bomb, Krillin, Gohan, Yajirobe, and a ridiculous amount of luck.
Probably the coolest stretch for Goku is when he enters the fight during the Namek Saga. Vegeta was technically just a mid-ranking soldier in the Frieza Force before arriving on Earth, so it was genuinely insane to see Goku not only hold his own against Frieza’s elite killing squad, but completely humiliate them. Vegeta was right to suspect that Goku had already become a Super Saiyan, which eventually turned out to be true.
When Goku finally transformed into a Super Saiyan against Frieza, it became one of the greatest moments in anime history. It completely blew my mind as a kid, and even though the concept of a Super Saiyan became less special over time, that transformation can still give you chills on a rewatch.
Probably Goku’s worst moment in Dragon Ball Z was during his battle with Cell. There were some genuinely amazing moments, especially the Instant Transmission Kamehameha. But then he ruins everything by giving up, only to make it even worse by giving Cell a Senzu Bean and forcing his 11-year-old son to fight instead. I genuinely never saw that coming.
I was not exactly thrilled with Goku dying during the Cell Saga either, when Cell decided to blow himself up once he realized he was going to lose to Gohan. Goku choosing not to be revived with the Dragon Balls afterward was also something that always left me feeling strangely depressed.
I was happy to see him return, technically temporarily, during the Majin Buu Saga. Fortune Teller Baba brings him back for one day, just like she did with Grandpa Gohan in the original Dragon Ball.
It was also awesome seeing Super Saiyan 3 for the first time. Though, at least in the English dub, while the transformation burning through his remaining time on Earth explains part of it, the implication is still that Goku probably could have defeated Majin Buu right there and chose not to. That really starts to hurt his character a little, because he begins to feel less like Earth’s protector and more like somebody obsessed with fighting the strongest opponents possible.
Then there is the bittersweet ending, where Goku decides to leave his family behind and train the reincarnation of Kid Buu, now reborn as the human boy Uub. Which becomes even funnier when you remember that Goku knows Instant Transmission and could realistically just teleport home whenever training was finished for the day.