7 times Goku was outsmarted by his opponent

Goku is one of the smartest martial artists Dragon Ball and anime history, but he's far from amazing. Goku has a bad habit of letting his guard down and assuming his opponents will actually listen to reason. More often than not, Goku usually thinks ahead enough to take on anything his enemies throw at him, but he's been outsmarted on more than one occasion.

from the original Dragon Ball who Dragon Ball SuperGoku's overconfidence and miscalculations have caused him to be defeated by his enemies. Sometimes, Goku is still able to win through smart fighting, saving trump cards, or unlocking a new form; But not even his most powerful transformation can save him from his mistakes.

7

Jackie Chan wins by tricking Goku into imitating him

World Tournament Saga

the first time Dragon Ball Goku was knocked out during his final battle with Jackie Chun at the 21st World Martial Arts Tournament. Kid Goku was already a powerhouse at the start of the series, but compared to Master Roshi, his inexperience was huge and obvious. Goku's sheer endurance gave Jackie Chun hell, but Roshi realized that Goku kept copying his moves.

When both fighters were exhausted at the end of the match, Jackie Chan tricked Goku into reflecting his jump kick. Since Roshi's legs were longer than Goku's, his kicks were able to connect and knock Goku down, while Goku just grazed him. Although Goku stood first, the damage from the attack knocked him out completely, making Jackie Chun the winner of the 21st Tenkaichi Budokai.

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6

King Piccolo waited to use Tien as a hostage

The Demon King Piccolo Saga

Goku and the Demon King are evenly matched in Piccolo's final battle Dragon Ball. The fight serves as a swan song for Kid Goku as he uses all his skills to take down Piccolo. Unfortunately, while Goku is gaining the upper hand, the Demon King Piccolo takes advantage of Goku's kindness.

While Goku is hyper-focused on the fight, Piccolo captures Tien Shinhan and uses him as a hostage. Goku actually prepares to kill Piccolo and kill Tien to resurrect him with the Dragon Balls, but his plan goes awry when Piccolo reveals that he already killed Shenron. With Goku now helpless and at his mercy, King Piccolo breaks three of Goku's limbs, leaving only his arm – an oversight that would ultimately cost Piccolo the battle.

5

Piccolo pretends to cripple Goku

Piccolo Jr. Saga

Piccolo Jr. learns from his father's mistakes when he battles Goku in the 23rd Tenkaichi Budokai. At the end of the game, Piccolo lulls Goku into a false sense of security by pretending that his meteor combo actually knocked him out. On the count of nine, Piccolo jumps up and fires a beam at the distraught Goku's chest.

As Goku goes down, Piccolo cripples all of his limbs so that he cannot repeat the move that killed Demon King Piccolo. In a rare reversal for Goku, he manages to outsmart Outsmart. Goku hid the fact that he could fly the whole time, throwing his body full force at Piccolo, eventually defeating him and winning the World Martial Arts Tournament.

4

Captain Ginyu steals Goku's body and leaves him for dead

Captain Jinyu Saga

At first after finding out that he is a Saiyan Dragon Ball Z And wanting to distance himself from Vegeta, Goku spends most of the Namek arc refusing to kill his opponents. He has every reason to kill the Ginyu Force on the spot, but instead, Goku tries to convince them to just leave. This backfires badly on him in his fight with Captain Ginyu.

Goku could kill Ginyu instantly. Instead, Captain Ginyu takes advantage of Goku's hesitation by mortally wounding himself and then switching bodies with Goku. Goku is left in a body he can't control that is far from dead. The only thing that saves him is that Ginyu has no idea how to work Goku's body and use the Kaiokane, which Ginyu gives the opportunity to change once he sets his sights on Vegeta.

3

Frieza was holding onto his full power all the time

Frieza Saga

Goku bites off more than he can chew in his fight with Frieza on Namek. Despite King Kai warning him several times to avoid Frieza, Goku still thinks it's a good idea to challenge him. It doesn't take long for his overconfidence to quickly turn to panic. Not only is Frieza much stronger than he thought, he spends the entire battle hiding the fact that he's only using half his full power.

Even Kaiokane x20 and Spirit Bomb aren't enough to cut the difference against Frieza. It is clearly a miracle that Goku defeated Frieza. At any point, Frieza could have easily killed Goku. Goku puts up an amazing fight and proves himself to be a great tactician, but Frieza was just playing with him. Without the Super Saiyan, Goku's journey would have ended forever on Namek.

2

Sorbet shoots Goku while his guard is down

Dragon Ball Z: Resurrection f

Dragon Ball Z: Resurrection f It goes without saying that Goku has a bad habit of letting his guard down during fights. This comes into play at the end of the movie when, after defeating Golden Frieza, Goku starts talking about Sorbet only to shoot him in the heart, nearly killing him. In the film, Sorbet's ring is strong enough to hurt Goku in Super Saiyan Blue.

In the anime, Goku directly powers down in his base form further illustrating the message that he doesn't let his guard down at critical moments. Worse, Sorbet was lying in wait during Goku and Frieza's fight, just waiting for an opportunity to take Goku out. If Goku had watched a little more carefully, he could have killed Golden Frieza before he blew up the Earth.

1

Moro lies to Goku and nearly destroys Earth

Galactic Patrol Prisoner Saga

Goku giving Moro the Senju Bean is one of the stupidest things he does Dragon Ball. To Goku's credit, he knows he can beat Moro after mastering Perfect Ultra Instinct, but it still sets him back. Moro lies to Goku about leaving quietly and then immediately starts fighting back. Due to the instability Angel Ki now has in his body, Moro begins to corrupt and fuses himself with Earth.

Planet Moro comes dangerously close to destroying the entire planet. Even Vegeta's Forced Spirit Fission can't keep up with how fast Moro is draining the Earth. The only reason why Goku lands a killing blow on Moro is thanks to God's Ki Yub Dan, which allows him to push through and finish him off. That said, it's really low for Goku to allow Moro to outsmart him in such a blatant manner.

tv show(s)

Dragon Ball, Dragon Ball Z, Dragon Ball GT, Dragon Ball Super, Dragon Ball DAIMA

First TV show

Dragon Ball

Created by

Akira Toriyama

The latest TV show

Dragon Ball DAIMA

Upcoming TV Shows

Dragon Ball DAIMA

First episode air date

February 26, 1986