Sultan Mohamed

Professor Pugh

First Year Writing

5 March 2022

Dragon Ball: Belonging

Do people have a right to live, despite the monstrosities they have committed? Should

they be given another chance to correct their wrongdoings? These monstrosities are not some

simple mistakes, but instead monstrosities that affect the lives of many people. Should they be

held accountable and be punished with death, or should they receive a punishment that instead

allows them to reflect upon the actions they have done. These are questions that should be

considered more thought. These questions about belonging in this world are very prevalent in the

anime series: Dragon Ball, Dragon Ball Z, and Dragon Ball Super. There are three canon series

that take place in the world of Dragon Ball; The second series, Dragon Ball Z, will be the show

talked about the most with the first series being talked about a bit. The main character, Goku, is a

character that lives on Earth, but is of a different species that specializes in fighting. He loves

fighting and is always trying to get stronger. Plenty of times he faces enemies throughout the

series and in his fights, he is faced with the option of killing his enemy or sparing them. Due to

his good nature, Goku will almost always spare his opponent’s life. This part of the show is

something that is overlooked and worth talking about. Goku had every right to spare his

opponents lives, but if it had been some other person in the same shoes, they might not have been

as forgiving as the he was. Someone may agree with someone who did the “right and easy

thing,” but under the circumstances, was not at all an easy decision.
 Towards the end of the first of the first series, Dragon Ball, Goku is fighting against an

opponent named Piccolo, who is named after his father, King Piccolo. His father is someone

Goku had already fought and killed years ago, so Piccolo wants to kill Goku as revenge. It is

shown that the protagonist’s opponent is not as evil as his father. Between the time he was born,

and the time he faced against Goku, he had not killed anyone. Before the two faced off, Piccolo

had saved a child; that scene is meant for interpretation since he was not a pure character at the

end of the day. When our main character eventually defeats Piccolo, he not only spares his

enemy’s life, but heals him after being healed. Though his reasonings were more logical, he also

knew the opponent he faced is not like King Piccolo, who wanted to rule the world. Without a

doubt, most people would not attempt to heal the same opponent that had tried to killed them.

The human characters surrounding Goku had questioned his decision. One character specifically

said, “Are you crazy? We don’t want to wake him up (“The Victor” 19:17).” Goku responded

saying that he wanted to fight him again since he was strong and could become a rival.

Throughout the show, the human side characters can be a good representation of the choices

others would make like not letting their enemies live. They do not understand some of the

choices Goku makes, like many people would in our world, and are usually not on the forgiving

side. There was not much of a risk in this case since Goku was stronger than his opponent, and

had Piccolo attacked again, the protagonist would emerge victorious. This example is an instance

where most people would act similarly to the protagonist. The enemy had not killed anyone, nor

did he do something personally to the one in protagonist. Many people would be upset from the

damage they would have taken and might not have spared Piccolo; Goku did get a hole in his

chest. But, the rest of these examples are ones that are more difficult to deal with.
 The second time Goku has to choose whether or not his enemy can live or not is when he

fights his brother Raditz. Goku is put in a difficult spot since he has to fight his brother, and kill

him, since the older brother is much stronger; the only way for Goku to kill him is by sacrificing

himself with his brother. There have been many instances where a sibling is forced to kill their

sibling in self-defense. An article by S. Wayne Carter from the Baltimore Sun and Carroll

County Times detailed a situation where a brother was forced to kill his older sister after she had

fired a gun in his home (S. Wayne Carter and Carroll County Times). Killing his older sister

must have been hard despite the “strained” relationship they had. That hard feeling of killing

your sibling was apparent in the fight between Goku and his brother when Raditz was about to

get killed, so he begged his brother for his life, to which Goku let his guard down. That is when

Raditz continued to beat up on his younger brother. Ultimately, Goku gets the upper hand and

gets killed with his brother. Even though he was not the one killing his brother, this was

something he had to ultimately do. Some would not be sure whether or not they could have their

brother or sister killed, but knowing that Raditz would ultimately take over the planet, many

would not have much of a choice.

Before continuing, it is worth noting that in this show, resurrection is possible through

these balls called dragon balls. They summon a dragon who is able to make almost any wish.

Fast forward a year later, and there are two enemies who are also of the same species as Goku,

and they are much stronger and more ruthless than the previous two enemies mentioned. Their

names are Vegeta and Raditz, and the second they land on Earth, they destroy an entire city. The

difference between this fight and the past two is that Goku is fighting Nappa, who ended up

killing some of his comrades. Despite that, he still spares his life; this is something others would

have a hard time doing. It is seen many times in tv and reality that people will kill for revenge.
One example is when Raymond Birden Jr. from Waterloo, Iowa killed Shavondes Martin, a guy

who killed Birden’s mother before (AP). One key difference between the revenge killing of

Birden’s mother and Goku sparing Nappa is that Nappa is someone who is capable of killing

billions; leaving him alive is actually risky. Leaving him alive is something plenty of people

would not risk, considering the possible consequences of that. As for the other enemy, Vegeta,

this was something that the fits the beliefs of Goku, and only him. After Goku defeated him, he

spared his opponent’s life, and allowed him to leave planet Earth. Anyone who knows Goku

would not be surprised, considering his love for fighting and getting stronger. Almost anyone in

Goku’s shoes would most likely not consider letting Vegeta live, since he is much stronger than

Nappa, and more ruthless as well. This leads the argument to the next main villain Goku faces.

Before leading into the next villain, the enemies faced between Vegeta and the upcoming

enemy will not be talked about in depth. These people are known as the Ginyu Force, who work

for the villain that will be talked about. They are generally goofy characters and do not seem that

evil at all, so Goku sparing their lives was something most people would do.

This enemy Goku faces is different from the other ones he faces. Frieza, the enemy, is a

tyrant ruler that has destroyed countless planets and killed billions in the process. He is nearly

the opposite from Goku; he never had to train to become strong, and he never spared anyone.

During his fight with Frieza, he was weaker for the first half before gaining new power after

seeing his best friend killed by Frieza. The second half of this fight, Goku was different. Unlike

any other opponent he faced, Goku was truly angry. It is not understood whether or not Goku

was trying to kill at first, but considering he spared his enemy toward the end, he was still the

same person. The fight between Goku and Frieza was a basis for this entire essay This was the

first time Goku had truly fought someone who was pure evil. Despite the chances his opponent
had to live, Frieza continued to attack Goku, not accepting he was weaker. It is hard to believe

people in Goku’s position would let Frieza live. Considering that during the fight, the planet was

damaged by Frieza, so it would explode soon, it made sense to not waste time fighting Frieza and

end his life. If someone’s best friend or family member was killed right in front of their eyes in

this situation, would they avenge them? Most people would end Frieza’s life; it would be either

out of revenge or because it was necessary. As mentioned earlier, leaving these strong beings

alive comes with great risks unlike the killings that happen in our world. But, overall, this

situation is without a doubt, one a majority of people would not do the same as the main

character, Goku.

The fight between Goku and Frieza changed how the rest of the series went. The rest of

the villains throughout the show are different from the previous ones. A lot of them are beings

that can regenerate; a lost limb does not mean anything to them. This leaves Goku with less

choices during some of these matches.

The fight between Goku and Cell, an enemy that can regenerate, will not talked about as

much as the other villains. In this fight, Goku did not intend to fight to the end and gave up

during the match. He wanted to leave things to his son, who had grown up, because Goku

believed he was stronger than him. The only thing he ended up doing was sacrificing himself by

sending Cell, who was planning to kill himself and everyone, to another planet. He failed, but his

son defeated Cell by killing him. It is not until years later near the end of the series, when Goku

has to kill an opponent. The opponent is named Buu, and is the physical manifestation of evil.

Unlike Frieza, Buu just kills without any purpose. This was a case where Goku had only one

option and that was to kill Buu with a technique. He could not spare his opponent; he could not
allow the enemy to become good because it was impossible. This was a situation where killing

Buu was the only choice. There was no other way around it.

During this time after Frieza, Goku did not have the power to use his morals and decide

what to do with his enemy. He was either not strong enough or had opponents with amazing

regeneration, many times both. This part of the show allows people to see a different view of

Goku. This view of Goku has his limits and cannot be this hero who saves the day and that

makes him seem more human, despite the fact that he is not. Due to these limits, he is left with

one option: to kill.

Do people have a right to live, despite the monstrosities they have committed? Should

they be given another chance to correct their wrongdoings? Throughout this essay, the different

situations the protagonist of Dragon Ball Z, Goku, dealt was talked about, as well as his

responses to them. There were some moments where he allowed his opponent to live, and they

later become better people. Sometimes, Goku was faced with no option but to end the life of an

enemy. These choices he made were ones many people would agree on in the show, but may not

have done the same thing if they were in the exact same position. Having the ability to decide

whether or not a person lives or not is scary, and anyone can agree that that is something to be

happy about. Overall, it is important to try to look at a situation from a different view, because it

can help you better grasp it.

 Works Cited

1. Jr., S. Wayne Carter, and Carroll County Times. “Police: Brother Kills Sister in Self-

Defense after She Shot at Him.” Baltimore Sun, Baltimore Sun, 29 June 2019,

https://www.baltimoresun.com/maryland/carroll/news/crime/ph-cc-taneytown-shooting-

041415-20150413-story.html.

2. Press, The Associated. “Iowa Man Sentenced to Life for Murder Described as Revenge.”

Https://Www.kwqc.com, 27 June 2021, https://www.kwqc.com/2021/06/27/iowa-man-

sentenced-life-murder-described-revenge/.

3. “The Victor” 1989. Dragon Ball: Season 9, created by Akira Toriyama, episode 148, Toei

Animation, 1989, disc 9