Kid Goten, in an orange gi with blue sleeves and a black belt, leaps forward with his mouth wide open, against a pink background dotted with halos.

Goten: Goku and Chi-Chi's Second Son

CharacterGoku's FamilySaiyans

Goten is the second son of Goku and Chi-Chi, born after his father's death at the Cell Games. The spitting image of Goku as a kid, he can already turn Super Saiyan at age seven, takes on his best friend Trunks in the final of the junior tournament and squeezes into the Mighty Mask costume with him. Here's a look back at his childhood, his bond with Trunks, his appearances in Super, GT and Daima, and the voices that brought him to life.

He looks just like his father did at the same age, but he grew up without him: Goten doesn't meet Goku until he's seven. Here's the story of Gohan's little brother, Trunks's best friend.

Contents

The son whose birth Goku missed

The son of a Saiyan father and an Earthling mother, Goten is a hybrid of both races, just like his big brother Gohan. On the family side, his paternal grandfather is Bardock, his maternal grandfather is the Ox-King and his uncle is Raditz; Videl is his sister-in-law and Pan is his niece.

Goku dies during the Cell Games without knowing that Chi-Chi is pregnant with their second son. Goten is born after Cell's defeat and spends his first seven years without his father.

In the manga, he first appears in chapter 424, at the start of the Great Saiyaman arc: there, Gohan, who can now hide his identity behind his vigilante costume, leaves the Flying Nimbus to his little brother, who can't fly yet and will use it until he learns how. In the anime, he first appears in episode 201 of Dragon Ball Z, which aired in Japan on September 15, 1993.

His given name, 悟天, is very close to Goku's, and its second part, “ten,” can be translated as “sky”. Akira Toriyama reportedly once explained Goten's lack of a tail by saying the tail is a recessive trait in Saiyan hybrids, before later admitting that he had gotten rid of the tails because he couldn't figure out how the Saiyans would get dressed with them.

Gohan, in a black vest over a white shirt, sitting cross-legged on the yellow Flying Nimbus with his little brother Goten clinging to his shoulder, in the sky.
Gohan and his little brother Goten on the Flying Nimbus, which Gohan eventually passes on to him.

☂️ On the Flying Nimbus, Goten travels out in the open, with nothing over his head; when it rains, shelter yours under one of our Dragon Ball umbrellas.

Goku's lookalike, and already a Super Saiyan at seven

As a kid, Goten is the spitting image of Goku at the same age: messy hair, the same eyes, a fair complexion and a mischievous face. In the manga, when they first meet at the tournament, Goku wonders whether this lookalike is his son, and a shy Goten hides behind Chi-Chi; in the anime, Goten quickly warms up to his father and the two start playing together.

Goten learned to fight from his mother while Gohan was doing his homework. In the manga, as Gohan laughingly explains that it'll be a long time before he can become a Super Saiyan, Goten transforms right before his eyes, to his brother's utter astonishment. He says he already transformed once in front of Chi-Chi, who thought it made him look like a delinquent; the anime adds a flashback in which a tearful Chi-Chi calls him a “monster.”

Goten can turn Super Saiyan, but he can't fly yet: in the manga, when Gohan dodges one of his kicks by flying up, his little brother calls him a cheater. Later, in the middle of a fight at the tournament, he tells Trunks that his big brother is the one who taught him a lot of what he knows.

In the manga, before heading back to Other World, Goku takes Goten in his arms and asks him to look after his mother. Later, right in front of the boy, Majin Buu turns Chi-Chi into an egg and crushes it; Goten gets angry, but Piccolo orders him to stay put.

Goten in an orange gi, his spiky hair a very pale blond, takes a fighting stance facing Gohan, seen from behind, in a clearing lined with rocks and trees.
At seven, Goten squares off against Gohan as a Super Saiyan: his big brother thought it would take him a long time yet to get there.
White cap with a black brim and black mesh back, featuring a patch of kid Goten in an orange gi, fist outstretched, and 孫悟天 written on the side.

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With Trunks: the junior tournament, Mighty Mask and fusion

Goten and Trunks are friends even before the 25th World Martial Arts Tournament: Goten is the one who calls Trunks to tell him he's entering. Trunks, who's older, considers himself a bit stronger, especially since he thinks Goten can't fly, even though Gohan has just taught him. At registration, on the day of the tournament, Trunks is annoyed to find out that a junior division has been created for kids under fifteen.

In this junior tournament, Goten is seven; his opponent Ikose is fourteen. In the final against Trunks, he tries a Kamehameha he's barely learned, mangled into “Kamekameha”; caught in a hold, he turns Super Saiyan to break free, then immediately goes back to his normal form. Trunks, who then turns Super Saiyan himself, wins the final by knocking him out of the ring with a small blast from his left hand.

To sneak into the adult division, the two boys take on the Mighty Mask costume: Trunks sits on Goten's shoulders, and Goten pokes holes in the shirt so he can see. Against Android 18, the duo is unmasked, then disqualified, since teams aren't allowed in the tournament.

During the Buu Saga, the two friends learn the Fusion Dance; in the manga, their first attempt fails and produces a chubby Gotenks, the second a scrawny Gotenks, before the third one works. On the big screen, Goten also crosses paths with Broly in Broly – Second Coming, where Broly mistakes him for Goku, then shares the lead role with Trunks in Bio-Broly.

At the tournament, Trunks, with lavender hair and a green gi, has Goten's neck locked in his arm; Goten, in his orange and blue gi, grimaces in front of the stands.
In the final of the junior tournament, Trunks pins Goten in a headlock; Goten only breaks free by turning Super Saiyan.

🎭 Too small for the costume, Goten and Trunks squeeze into a single adult outfit together; for your own costumes, check out our Dragon Ball toys.

A teen in Super, an adult in GT, a baby in Daima

At the end of the manga, ten years after Majin Buu's defeat, teenage Goten has a new look: longer, messier hair, and a top bearing his own name. He only enters the 28th World Martial Arts Tournament because his father makes him: he'd planned a date on the very day of the tournament. He draws Majin Buu in the first round; in the anime, since the tournament is cut short, he has a friendly match against his niece Pan, who beats him.

In the movie Battle of Gods, Goten takes part in the ritual that lets Goku reach Super Saiyan God. In the Dragon Ball Super anime, Goku refuses to take him and Trunks to the Tournament of Power: they're too young and charge headfirst into every fight. Android 17, who is competing in the tournament himself, puts them in charge of guarding the island where he works against poachers for as long as it lasts.

In the Dragon Ball Super manga, Goten and Trunks, now in high school, play neighborhood superheroes: Saiyaman X-1 for Trunks, Saiyaman X-2 for Goten. In the movie Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero, Piccolo is surprised to see how tall they've gotten, and against Cell Max, they botch their fusion and end up with the chubby version of Gotenks.

In Dragon Ball GT, an anime-only sequel, Goten is 22 and has a girlfriend, Valese; Baby takes over his body by slipping in through a cut on his arm. And at the start of Dragon Ball Daima, while he's celebrating Trunks's ninth birthday at Capsule Corporation, Gomah's wish turns him back into a baby.

Teenage Goten, with long, messy black hair and one eye squinting, wears a pale yellow T-shirt marked GOTEN with green sleeves, under a blue sky.
Teenage Goten, ten years after Majin Buu's defeat: a longer hairstyle and his name on his top.

One Japanese voice, several English voices

In Japanese, Masako Nozawa voices Goku and both of his sons; when they share a scene, she records all three roles in the same take, switching voices on the fly. She explains that she sets Goten apart from Goku: the two are a little alike, but they weren't raised the same way, which makes Goten truly different.

In Funimation's English dub, Kara Edwards voices kid Goten in Dragon Ball Z, Dragon Ball Z Kai: The Final Chapters and Dragon Ball Super, as well as in the movies Broly – Second Coming and Bio-Broly; she also voices Videl, the future wife of his big brother Gohan, and she's Goten's voice again in the English dub of Dragon Ball Daima. Robert McCollum voices teen and adult Goten in the Dragon Ball Z epilogue, Kai: The Final Chapters, Dragon Ball GT and the movie Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero. In the alternate Ocean dub, kid Goten is voiced by Jillian Michaels and teen Goten by Gabe Khouth; in the Blue Water dub of Dragon Ball GT, he's voiced by Scott Hendrickson.

The character is popular: in a 2004 Japanese poll, Goten was voted Dragon Ball's sixth most popular character.

Goku in an orange gi, Gohan in glasses holding a book, and kid Goten in a blue tunic with his fist raised, lined up on the right against an orange background.
Goku, Gohan and Goten together: in Japanese, Masako Nozawa voices all three and records their roles in the same take when they share a scene.

Goten at a glance

Key fact Goten
Japanese name 孫悟天 Son Goten
Family Goku and Chi-Chi (parents), Gohan (brother), Pan (niece)
First appearance Chapter 424 of the manga; Dragon Ball Z episode 201, September 15, 1993
Best friend Trunks, with whom he forms Gotenks
Vigilante identity Saiyaman X-2 (Dragon Ball Super manga)
Voices Masako Nozawa (Japanese); Kara Edwards, Robert McCollum (English)

Frequently Asked Questions

  • Who is Goten?
    He's the second son of Goku and Chi-Chi, Gohan's little brother and Trunks's best friend.
  • When does Goten meet his father?
    At age seven, at the 25th World Martial Arts Tournament: Goku died during the Cell Games without knowing that Chi-Chi was pregnant.
  • Is Goten stronger than Trunks?
    In the junior tournament, Trunks, who's older, is a bit stronger and wins the final. Both friends already know how to turn Super Saiyan.
  • What is Gotenks?
    The fusion of Goten and Trunks through the Fusion Dance, which first appears during the Buu Saga.
  • Does Goten take part in the Tournament of Power?
    No. In the anime, Goku refuses to take him; during the tournament, Goten and Trunks guard Android 17's island.
  • Who voices Goten in English?
    Kara Edwards, for kid Goten in Funimation's English dub of Dragon Ball Z and in the movies Broly – Second Coming and Bio-Broly, then in Dragon Ball Z Kai: The Final Chapters, Dragon Ball Super and the English dub of Dragon Ball Daima; Robert McCollum voices him as a teen and an adult, in the Dragon Ball Z epilogue, Kai: The Final Chapters, GT and the movie Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero. In Japanese, it's Masako Nozawa.

✏️ As a teen, Goten wears his name on his top; as for you, put yours on your school supplies, starting with one of our Dragon Ball pencil cases.

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