Reception
Goku's character has been very well received by publications for manga, anime and other media. Anime News Network noted Goku as a good source of comedy and remarked that after everything he experiences, he remains a naïve character. THEM Anime Reviews noted that Goku is not an omnipotent character in the first series, unlike Dragon Ball Z, and does not disappear for long periods of time between sagas. They also liked the way the series' depict his entire adventures, making him a good main character. Rationalmagic.com praised Goku's innocence as one of the funniest parts of the series. According to Julius Weideman, Goku's journey and ever-growing strength resulted in the character winning "the admiration of young boys everywhere." Goku was ranked Number One in IGN's Top 25 Anime Characters of All Time, and in Mania Entertainment's 10 Most Iconic Anime Heroes written by Thomas Zoth who commented that "Goku and Dragon Ball completely revolutionized the shonen genre." In a Newtype poll from March 2010, Goku was voted the fourth most popular male character from the 1980s.
Several pieces of merchandising based on Goku have been released, including action figures, plushes, and keychains. In a 2005 The Daily Reader article entitled "The Greatest Geek Movie Heroes of All Time", Goku is the only animated character listed, and is ranked tenth. Goku has been featured in the Animage's Anime Grand Prix 1989 polls, ranked the second most popular male anime character. One Piece creator Eiichiro Oda and Naruto creator Masashi Kishimoto said that Goku inspired their series' themes. In 2000, Goku placed third in an Animax poll of favorite anime characters. In a survey of 1,000 people, conducted by Oricon in 2007, Goku ranked first place as the "Strongest Manga character of all time." In the survey "friendship" developed by rankingjapan.com, in which people chose which anime character they would like as a friend, Goku ranked fifth. Masako Nozawa, the Japanese voice actor who played Goku, said that she liked when he lost his tail because it made him look normal and that the character was still the same at the end of the series. Jackie Chan has gone on record stating that Goku is his favorite Dragon Ball character.
The German rock band Son Goku takes their name from Goku. The band's lead singer Thomas D chose the name because Goku embodies the band's philosophy, saying he was "fascinated by Goku's naïveté and cheerfulness, yet, at the same time, a great warrior saving the world."
In 2010, a fiberglass statue of Goku was created by Chinese artist Edison Chen, with Chen's facial features instead of Goku's, as part of Chen's "I Hate You For Looking!" collection that was displayed at the "Treacherous Treis" exhibition. Rafael Nadal confessed that when he was a young boy, he would run home from school to watch Goku in his favorite Japanese anime, Dragon Ball. CNN released an article explaining how Goku was Nadal's childhood inspiration, and called Nadal "the Dragon Ball of tennis" due to his unorthodox style "from another planet."
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