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Ever since the inception of the Dragon Ball series, Goku has been a hot topic of discussion. Besides his power levels and fights, his potential to beat a tougher opponent has also been discussed on various social media platforms. Given the sheer size of the multiverse that this series has created, there are plenty of characters that have been introduced over the course of the last two decades.
Therefore, it is quite possible for fans to have a few doubts surrounding their favorite characters, especially the ones who haven’t been explored in the series. However, there is one question that new fans of the Dragon Ball series have. Why does Goku have a tail in Dragon Ball? The reason he had a tail was because he was a pure-blood Saiyan who was born in Planet Vegeta, which is a key feature of any Saiyan who is born on the aforementioned planet. But if he was born with it, then how did Goku lose his tail permanently?
Goku’s tail was removed three times throughout the course of Dragon Ball
Throughout the course of the series, Goku had lost his tail three times. The first time he lost his tail was when Puar did it. The latter was one of Yamcha’s friends and happened to be a shape-shifter. He had transformed into a pair of really sharp scissors that ended up cutting Goku’s tail. Puar was forced to do this when Goku turned into a Great Ape when he was in the castle that belonged to Pilaf.
The second time Goku lost his tail was at the Fortuneteller Baba’s Palace. Here, Goku fought against Grandpa Gohan, and the latter pulled Goku’s tail. He accidentally ripped the tail, which Goku hadn’t trained at that point. However, his tail grew back by the time he defeated the Sky Dragon in the series. As such, this was a major lesson for Goku and decided to train his tail, which was seen during the World Martial Arts Tournament when Krillin pulled his tail.
However, towards the end of the Dragon Ball series, Goku had his tail permanently removed by Kami. Following this, the protagonist's tail never grew back, except during the time in Dragon Ball GT, which isn’t canonical to the manga storyline.
Why did Goku’s tail never grow back?
The answer to this might be slightly strange, but regrowing of Goku’s tail, or the lack of it, is linked to the creator’s artistic choice. Mangaka Akira Toriyama admitted in a Shonen Jump interview that he found the tails to be quite cumbersome. His exact words were:
“It’s true. (laughs) Goku was originally an actual monkey in the initial sketches, after all. My editor told me, “Without a tail, he has no distinguishing traits,” so I added a tail. That tail I added was such a nuisance when I was drawing, I couldn’t stand it… so I immediately thought up an episode where his tail gets cut off. (laughs)”
What happened to Vegeta’s tail?
It is clear that Goku isn’t the only Saiyan who lost his tail. Vegeta, being a pure-blood Saiyan from Planet Vegeta, had a tail as well. However, he lost his tail in the series when Yajirobe, a popular ronin, cut Vegeta’s tail off. Similar to Goku, Vegeta’s tail didn’t regrow. The only time it did was in Dragon Ball GT. But once again, the aforementioned title is not canonical to the manga’s storyline, so the events and information in this series is ambiguous by nature.
Stay tuned for more anime and manga news as 2023 progresses.
