Akira Toriyama’s manga series Dragon Ball Super continues to retcon Goku’s father Bardock in Chapter 77, and these revisions demonstrate what the mangaka holds most dear.
Spoilers for Dragon Ball Super chapter 77!
Besides demonstrating that Goku’s father Bardock is a bigger hero than his son, it also shows how much Dragon Ball Super mangaka Akira Toriyama appreciates decent fathers and husbands as compared to those who aren’t on the same page with them.
In chapter 77, a Namekian named Monaito tells to a Cerealian named Granolah the Cerealian, whom he helped raise, that the Saiyan Bardock saved both of their lives many years ago when the Saiyans arrived on planet Cereal with the intent of wiping out the world’s population. Granolah had originally intended to kill Goku and Vegeta after learning of their Saiyan genealogy in order to avenge the deaths of his family and friends.
As soon as Monaito notices how much Goku resembles Bardock, the Namekian becomes concerned that Granolah may unintentionally murder his father, the one who saved them. In the much-anticipated flashback, readers learn that Bardock – a figure who was originally presented very differently in the film Bardock: The Legend Continues – was a thief.
Before he was retconned in the film Dragon Ball Super: Broly, Kakarot (later becoming Goku) voluntarily spared Granolah and his mother because he recognised his son Kakarot (later renamed Goku) and his wife Gine in them. Due to the fact that Goku only became the kind-hearted person he is renowned for after suffering a blunt force blow to the brain, this demonstrates that Bardock was actually a better hero than his son. Since Bardock’s actions were motivated by his love for his family, it follows that he became a better hero as a result of his ability to overcome the Saiyan’s innate desire to kill and maim by focusing on his love for his son and wife.
Goku is well-known for his lack of sympathy for not just his wife Chi-Chi, but also for his children Gohan and Goten, as well as for his grandchildren. His disrespect for Chi-Chi is evident throughout Dragon Ball, and he shows no sign of changing his ways, no matter how much her suffering is caused by his fights. Even earlier in Dragon Ball Z, when he encourages his son to be a warrior like him rather than a student like his mother, he goes so far as to train Gohan and accompany him on battles against her wishes.
Moreover, because he does not aggressively mistreat them in the same way that he does Chi-Chi, Goku’s transgressions against his children and grandkids are less noticeable. Problem is, he barely interacts with them at all and exhibits as little affection for them as is humanly possible. When Goku is compared to Vegeta, who displays more of the negative Saiyan characteristics than Goku in terms of apathy and aloofness, Goku’s shortcomings as a spouse and father become even more apparent.
Although Vegeta is known for being cold and unapproachable, he has shown his affection for his wife Bulma and son Trunks on numerous occasions, particularly during a pivotal sequence in which Vegeta sacrifices his life to protect them. In addition, because the Dragon Ball Super manga retcons Bardock to the point where he becomes a better hero than Goku because of the love Bardock has for his family – going against his core beliefs and DNA in the process rather than forcing these changes on him as in Goku’s case – it gives the impression that mangaka Akira Toriyama is rewarding Bardock for being a better father and husband than his counterpart Goku.
Even before Dragon Ball retconned Goku’s father in the reimagined Broly film, Bardock saves Goku from Frieza in the original Dragon Ball film. While it is powerful, it is not as powerful as the idea of his love practically forcing him to go against his very savage nature in order to protect his foes, as depicted in the manga.
Finally, all of this almost makes up for the paucity of focus given to Goku’s connection with his children and grandchildren in the Dragon Ball Super series, which was previously mentioned. Despite the fact that this may have been the result of sloppy writing on the part of the author, mangaka Akira Toriyama has more than made up for it with his reinterpretation of Bardock’s origin storey.