Goku And Chichi’s Relationship

Goku and Chichi’s Relationship

Chichi does nothing but yell and nag. Goku married Chichi without fully knowing what he was getting into. Goku is henpecked. Goku does not have romantic feelings for Chichi. Goku sees Chichi as just another companion, and so on and so forth. These are things I usually hear people say about GoChi. And you know what, I don’t understand.

The reason I fell in love with the GoChi ship was because Dragon Ball ends with Goku knowing nothing about marriage, but when Dragon Ball Z comes along we see that despite his initial ignorance he manages to maintain a happy marriage. He had no idea what love was in DB, but in DBZ we see that he has grown to love Chichi. 

When people bash GoChi, I always think about the part in the Cell Saga where Goku has just recovered from the heart virus. I’m not even talking about just the kiss; it’s everything. That’s the longest the series allows us to see Goku and Chichi together, so it’s the best window we have into their relationship. Plus, Goku has just escaped death at this point, and usually it is during moments like this that people are most honest about their feelings. 

And what feelings do they show us? Let’s take a look at the following screenshots:

Goku smiles as Chichi hugs him. He apologizes for worrying her, then proceeds to swing her around. My favorite part is when Chichi tells him to cut it out but ends up enjoying it anyway. They laugh together like teenagers in love, then he accidentally throws her too high into the sky, but when he catches her, they just laugh it off. 

I think this is basically a summary of how Goku and Chichi are as a couple. Goku does something silly or stupid, Chichi tries to tell him off, but then she gives in and ends up loving him all the more for his antics. 

I think this is how they show affection to each other too. They’re not passionate or intense. They don’t go on candlelit dinners or profess undying love for each other through poetry. Instead, they play in the snow, run around in the rain, and laugh together doing simple sweet things in their simple sweet home in the mountain. 

I think this scene also shows how Goku loves and treats Chichi differently from Krillin or Bulma or even his own son Gohan. Have you ever seen Goku act this way around any other character? Case in point, when Goku ITs to the aircraft carrying his friends shortly after this scene, Krillin cries with joy and throws himself into Goku’s arms so fervently that they smash through the side of the aircraft. His reaction was just as powerful as Chichi’s, and yet Goku did not feel the urge to swing him around or do with him the same things he did with Chichi. 

Next, is Goku actually a henpecked husband? Is Chichi actually an irrational nagger who cannot accept the kind of person her husband is? Let’s look at these screenshots:

LOOK AT THAT FROWN! 

I have this belief that Goku isn’t as henpecked as he seems to be. I believe that he lets Chichi yell and nag because he’s a patient and generally peaceful person. But here, when people’s lives are at stake and time is of the essence, Goku looks disapproving of Chichi’s stubbornness and looks about ready to argue. 

I love this because it shows that Goku loves his strong-willed wife and so lets her assume dominance in the relationship for the most part, but he also won’t just quietly submit to her when she’s being irrational. 

But here’s what makes this even more wonderful:

Chichi reveals that she’s not irrational at all. And Chichi knows her husband well enough to know that she won’t win an argument about this anyway. Which makes me think that she and Goku do argue from time to time; they just don’t do it so publicly like Bulma and Vegeta.

Chichi also shows here that she, despite everything she usually yells about, believes in her husband and in the potential of their son. Goku appreciates this, and thanks her. He understands just how much courage it takes her to accept the fate of her family. Master Roshi realizes this too and thinks to himself that Chichi has “nerves of steel”, as befitting the wife of the strongest man on Earth.

Then they just gaze at each other lovingly for a while:

And when it’s time to go, they share a kiss. They kiss for like seven seconds in front of Master Roshi.

If you think about it, contrary to popular portrayal in fanfiction, Goku and Chichi are usually not embarrassed to show their love in front of others.

We see more examples in the Buu saga, when in front of their friends, Goku tells Chichi that he missed her, when Chichi throws herself into his arms as he is about to go back to the afterlife and he hugs her and holds her hand, and when Chichi cries against his chest when they are finally reunited at Kami’s Lookout and he tells her he loves her.

All this done in public, and neither of them act like it’s embarrassing. They treat it as if it were something natural.

Anyway, going back to this scene, the kiss they share here isn’t just a ‘routine’ kiss but something they both genuinely feel like sharing at that moment. How do I know? 

Look at Goku’s face right after they kiss. His gaze lingers on her longer and he has this satisfied smile on his face.

And this next part is what kills me. Goku goes all serious as he is about to IT away, but just before he disappears, he takes one last look at Chichi. And I’m like, WHOA GUYS, TOO MUCH LOVE, GIVE IT A REST.

But seriously, how can anyone say that he doesn’t love her the way a husband loves a wife?