Dragon Ball Super: Is Goku Dead Or Alive? The Complicated Answer Explained
When it comes to characters who have returned from the dead in anime and manga, no one does it quite like Goku (Masako Nozawa/Sean Schemmel) in the "Dragon Ball" franchise. With an astounding eight deaths to his name, Goku is the king of coming back from the dead for one last fight. However, the fact that he's gone to the great beyond so many times can make his history a little bit tough to chart over the decades.
Goku's extensive history across the many iterations of the franchise can also be a bit much for those who are trying to get into the latest series, "Dragon Ball Super." All the same, the simple answer to the question of whether Goku is currently alive in the show is that he is, though not for a lack of trying from his various enemies and opponents.
Goku has been killed twice on "Dragon Ball Super." He was murdered by Zamasu (Shinichiro Miki/James Marsters), a.k.a. Goku Black, after the fiend took over his body in the series and killed off his wife and child, as well. Notably, Goku also died in the most recent series after intergalactic assassin Hit (Kazuhiro Yamaji/Matthew Mercer) took up the contract to kill him.
Goku has died a whole lot of times in Dragon Ball
Of course, that second example comes with the caveat that Goku was actually the one to put out the hit on himself in "Dragon Ball Super" as he wanted to test out Hit's abilities for himself. This is why, despite Hit killing Goku, Goku was resurrected almost immediately by a Ki Blast he had shot off right before he was killed, which is how he's currently alive in the continuity of the show.
As for Goku's other notable deaths, probably the most famous is his demise at the hands of Piccolo (Takeshi Aono/Christopher Sabat) in the first episode of "Dragon Ball Z." In this example, the hero sacrifices himself to save the world from the threat posed by his brother, Raditz (Shigeru Chiba/Justin Cook). Goku also died in the sequel series when he absorbed the blast from Cell (Norio Wakamoto/Dameon Clarke) and after a rare heart disease claimed his life.
Still, even after all of this, no one can seem to keep the Saiyan warrior down. Despite being killed over and over again, Goku is still alive and well in the universe of "Dragon Ball Super," just like many of the other "Dragon Ball" characters who have suffered repeated deaths across the franchise.