Why Goku's Marriage Has Dragon Ball Fans Scratching Their Heads

Dragon Ball's ever-lovable protagonist Goku had a unique upbringing. After being jettisoned from his dying homeworld as a baby and landing on Earth (á la Superman), he ends up in the care of a martial artist named Son Gohan. The old man informally adopts the monkey-tailed alien as his grandson, raising him with love and care. The problem is, Gohan lives secluded on a mountainside, so Goku doesn't receive a proper education or meet other people. He also doesn't understand his true nature as a Saiyan — or the full extent of his powers, which tragically results in Gohan's death.

From that point forward, Goku lives on his own until he meets Bulma, the second human he's ever see — and more importantly, the first girl. Gohan taught him to treat women with respect, but without a handle on social etiquette in general, Goku doesn't do the best job of that. That trend would continue throughout the rest of his life, with him learning more and more but never quite having a grasp on what it means to be normal. That awkwardness comes into play in his relationship with Chi-Chi, the woman he eventually marries.

When Goku and Chi-Chi first meet as children, he's interested in the prospect of a bride — but only because, as he reveals when they meet again as teenagers, he believed a "bride" was some kind of food. That moment alone encapsulates Goku's aforementioned lack of proper education and social skills. The two get married nonetheless — once Chi-Chi's done being furious at Goku for forgetting who she is — and a strange marriage it is. Several Dragon Ball fans on Reddit pointed out what could possibly be the strangest thing about it: Goku's never kissed Chi-Chi. Let that sink in for a moment — while also considering the fact that the couple has two sons, Gohan and Goten. Poor Chi-Chi is head over heels for the Saiyan almost from the moment she lays eyes on him, and Goku's head is so high up in the clouds that even after he grows up, he's nearly as clueless as his child self.

Redditor Vegeto30294 highlights the perfect example of Goku's overgrown innocence from Dragon Ball Super. Trunks, the son of Goku's enemy-turned-friend Vegeta, rushes to the wounded Mai, a girl he's grown quite close with. Chewing up a Senzu Bean — a magical cure-all of sorts — he proceeds to feed it to the nearly-unconscious Mai mouth-to-mouth. Goku then expresses his confusion as to why anyone would touch someone else's mouth with theirs, and a confused Vegeta remarks, "But you're married." Goku wonders out loud what marriage has to do with that, leaving both everyone in the room and viewers to smack their foreheads. How Goku and Chi-Chi are still married is a mystery indeed — especially when not kissing his wife isn't even the worst thing Goku has ever done. Love takes as many forms as Saiyans do, it seems.