Ever since its original airing in 1997, one of the biggest fandom discussions has revolved around what actually happens to Goku at the very end of DragonBall GT. Does he die? Where did he go? What did he become? What is its significance? Is there something I am missing? If you have seen the episode you know that very little is actually answered, which is probably why the discussion rages to this very day.

The purpose of this page is not to concretely answer any of these questions, but rather to provide some guidance into our own thought process as fans. Hopefully this does not completely influence you in any particular way, but rather opens up several other avenues for you to travel down, reaching your own conclusion.

Please note that the following analysis focuses exclusively on the original Japanese version of these episodes, TV special, events, etc. Furthermore, it goes without saying that "spoilers" will be in full effect for the duration of this discussion.

When we really break down the discussions, we come to two questions:

(1) Did Goku die?

(2) Where did Goku go? (or) What did Goku become?

Let us first tackle the question of whether or not Goku died. Ignoring any evidence just yet, if you subscribe to the fact that Goku died, it could have been at one of two points:

(1) blocking Yi Xing Long's attack	(2) during/after the Genki-Dama

In order to make any progress, we need to examine these two instances of possible death.

There is a possibility that Goku died in the process of blocking Yi Xing Long’s attack. Goku simply lies down there unmoving, and as far as everyone else is concerned, he is dead. Vegeta even takes it upon himself to continue the fight, seemingly asking for Goku’s spiritual help in the process. Of course, he gets impaled and shocked with Yi Xing Long’s Dragon Thunder, who in turn throws him over to the crater where Vegeta sees Goku down below, smirks with a snarky remark, and passes out.

However, there is a good deal of evidence to the contrary. He appears to be both verbally and physically interacting with his companions and his surroundings after he rises up with the Genki-Dama. His conversations with and through Kaiô-sama seem to be pretty on-the-ball; nothing is any more or less out of the ordinary from other times we have seen this type of situation take place. Even Goku simply rising out of the crater with a Genki-Dama, no less, seems to imply that he simply took a beating.

How about Goku’s use of the Genki-Dama? Can a dead person even use the technique in the first place? The only instance we have seen to support this is Goku’s original training on Kaiô-sama’s planet. He was still dead at this time, and mastered both the Kaiô-Ken and the Genki-Dama. While this proves that a dead person could, in theory, actually collect the living energy necessary to create the Genki-Dama, it does not disprove Goku being alive, either.

While there is not much solid evidence to further discuss the “death before Genki-Dama” theory, there is an enormous amount to discuss regarding a death during/after the final attack. Goku’s conversations and interactions in the process of forming the attack seem pretty normal, but everything that takes place afterwards is extremely suspect.

Goku does not, at any point, showcase a halo. Unfortunately, this is another item that does not prove anything any which way. It could be that dead bodies that remain on Earth simply do not get a halo (they only showcase this in the afterlife), it could be a desire by the animators and writers to keep things vague… it could be any number of things.

Notice, however, Shenlong’s self-summoning at the end of episode sixty-three. In addition to this, his eyes glow. This action typically indicates a wish has been granted. What wish was granted, though? Was Goku brought back to life, or was he simply healed back to full-strength? We have seen both of these wishes granted before, and both to Goku himself. This eye-glowing was reiterated at the beginning of episode sixty-four; it could simply have been a stylistic decision, or it could actually mean something. The same thing goes for Goku’s body glowing; it could be that he was brought back to life, healed to full strength, or it was just done for the Hell of it. Again, we do not know the inner-workings of the writers’ minds, so for us viewers it is nothing more than vague evidence. Perhaps it is nothing more than laziness; it would not be the first time that Toei forgets simple facts and creates inconsistencies in the DBGT storyline. On the other hand, maybe the writers create an intentional sense of mystery just for the sake of mystery by combining all of these elements. Evangelion does this perfectly, tossing in symbolism that would otherwise appear relevant if you did not know that they did it just for the sake of doing it. That is not to compare the writing in Evangelion to DragonBall, but it is certainly a possibility.

What does Shenlong have to gain by summoning himself? Has he come just to reprimand everyone? If you pay attention to his interactions with Goku, you will notice some type of unstated understanding between them. After Goku makes the wish for everyone killed in the last round of fighting to be brought back to life (which could still happen even if Shenlong granted a wish to bring Goku back to life, since Shenlong can grant multiple wishes), Goku seems to know that it is time to leave.

SHENLONG: "Your wish is granted. Come, let us go, Goku."
GOKU: “Huh? Is it that time already?”

Leave where and with whom? Goku seems to know exactly what Shenlong is talking about, however. How exactly is there already some type of understanding between the two? We have not seen them discuss anything, so any conversation and mutual understanding would have to have taken place during the time that Goku was dead or unconscious after the Genki-Dama destroys Yi Xing Long. Perhaps while he was dead Goku made some type of deal or spoke to someone so he could come back and say his goodbyes? In addition to all this speculation, we have to take another look at that wish; did Goku somehow trade his own life or soul for the DragonBalls to be able to return at some point in time, or even just to bring all those people back to life?

That is where the next big piece of evidence comes in, with Goku’s goodbyes to various friends and family. In Goku’s conversation with Kuririn and Kame-Sen’nin (and Umigame, as well), notice how Kame-Sen’nin’s gaze never once lifts from Goku out on the beach. Kuririn does their little sparring and closes his eyes with a smile as he yaps on, but Kame-Sen’nin stands there with no change in his expression. This is also the first instance of the “Goku… are you…?” line uttered by someone this episode.

A similar situation takes place down in Hell with Piccolo. Piccolo immediately notices that something is strange about the entire situation (after getting over his initial frustration that Goku is even down there, after going to such lengths to get him out during the Super 17 fight). Piccolo’s response upon turning around to see Goku gone is extremely similar to Kame-Sen’nin; he does not seem to make any additional remarks or show of emotion, seemingly understanding the situation.

Back at the “scene of the crime”, so to speak, Pan knows something is up when she sees Goku’s torn-up gi lying on the ground… which he was wearing when he left with Shenlong. Goku Jr. also wears this same gi (in its entirety, even if it is slightly torn up a bit) at the end of the episode, one hundred years later. If this is the case, Goku could not have both taken off wearing it and also left it behind. It is not as if you can clone clothing, either. Vegeta’s line to Pan also underscores the whole scene, saying “Make sure you hold that dear.”

Vegeta is an interesting case here, since he seems to, up until this point, be the only one at that scene that appears to know what is occurring. While he initially thinks that Goku is simply off to train somewhere, we get that same half-sentence muttering of understanding, to which Goku responds with a “hush” finger to his lips and a goodbye.

VEGETA: "Hold it, Kakarrot! Are you training again?... (gasp)... Kakarrot, are you...?"
GOKU: "(inaudible hush)... See you later, Vegeta."

As Goku leaves with Shenlong (having said all of his goodbyes), the DragonBalls become absorbed into his body. Trunks notes that they are being tested (since Shenlong is taking the DragonBalls away from them), and that when the time is right and the balance of the world has been restored, the DragonBalls will once again reappear for a new generation. Sure enough, Goku Jr. finds the now-activated four-star-ball sitting in the shrine by the Son family home on Mount Paozu.

Have the DragonBalls returned? If so, what was the significance of Goku absorbing them one hundred years earlier? Was Goku some type of “vessel” for these one hundred years? Did he become some type of “god”, or otherwise “protector” of the DragonBalls? Did he die, though? Perhaps Goku realizes that he (in conjunction with the DragonBalls) is nothing more than a magnet for evil, and by departing with them, he will somehow restore equilibrium to the world.

In addition to Goku's role, it is also interesting to take a look at the way he is portrayed.

In the DBGT TV special, Goku appears as an adult to Goku Jr. Does Goku choose to appear this way, or has the spell cast upon him at the very beginning of DBGT worn off? Maybe he naturally grew-up again after the one hundred years? Goku’s ghostly "thumbs-up" to Goku Jr., along with his image up in the sky at the end of the TV special (and his flying off with Kinto-Un and Nyoibô at the very end of episode sixty-four) pretty heavily implies something; what that “something” is happens to be a mystery that we are attempting to solve!

What is interesting to note, however, is that the TV special actually aired after episode forty-one of the series (on 26 March 1997, between some minor one- and two-week-long breaks in the series' airing); the rest of these events would not take place until episode sixty-four. As these events were set up so much earlier via the TV special, did the writers simply not know how or when they were going to get to that point? It is no secret that DBGT’s run was cut short, and the rushed-feel of the rest of the series proves that.

Both here in the TV special and again at the end of episode sixty-four, Goku appears to be non-directly overseeing things ("watching from above", if you will). It is unlikely that he has taken on the role of “Kami” (Dende was pretty young when he took over, and did not seem to be going anywhere any time soon; the Namekian should live for quite some time). In each of these cases, Goku appears and disappears just as quickly (this even happens back when he says his goodbyes to everyone).

While this does not necessarily mean anything other than that Goku can move extremely fast, the way in which he disappears is always made to be somehow mystical in nature. Kuririn laughs; Goku is gone. Piccolo turns around; Goku is gone. Goku Jr. turns around to see the plane; Goku is gone. Pan sees him across the ring, but by the time she gets over there he is gone, yet again.

So we must ask again… Did Goku die? What did he become? Where did he go? In the end, these questions are not actually answered by the show, and we are left to our own thoughts. If anything, the end of DragonBall GT certainly provides more to discuss than Toriyama’s original ending from the manga, and it may be that wondrous sense of finality and closure (as opposed to Goku flying off with some random kid) that the writers were going for and managed to accomplish.

For additional conversations on this topic, please check out Episode #0091 of our podcast.

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