So it's agreed Goku x Chi-Chi is a total sham of a relationship?

[DBZAOTA482]

I'm talking to question their legitimacy myself.

In various parts of the DB community, I keep seeing fans talk badly about Goku x Chi-Chi (I don't think anyone here even likes it) like how Chi-Chi is always shouting at Goku and doesn't understand/care about him or how Goku is a selfish manchild who would gladly leave her behind. Even semi-big YouTubers listed them as among the worst pairings in animation:

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I often see people pair Goku up with other woman (Bulma, Snow, Caulifla, etc.) simply because in their eyes, Chi-Chi is a failure in everyway (as a character, a mother/wife, person, fighter, etc.) and is nothing but a joke so they're fine with Goku friendzoning her or not even valuing her as a human being.

Now do you agree on the overall assessment? If not, tell me why.

 

[The_Authority]

I don't think that Goku would behave any differently toward anyone else. That's who he is. He obviously cares about Chi-Chi and understands the relationship. But it's not a priority in his life. As you'll see, he leaves everyone behind, despite how "close" he feels to them. He has no problem leaving behind Gohan and he obviously loves him. Goku has no problem leaving behind Bulma, Muten Roshi, or Kurilin, despite them being the closest people to him. Goku just doesn't seem to have the capability of putting anyone before himself (unless there's danger or something).

As for Chi-Chi, people rag on her way too much. Chi-Chi has a perfectly good reason for all of her actions, to be quite frank. "Oh, she's always yelling at Goku; oh she's always telling Gohan to study." Yeah because that's what children do -- they study. They don't go out onto the battlefield against adults who intend to wipe out the planet. Chi-Chi doesn't know how strong Gohan is. To her, Gohan's a regular kid who was kidnapped for a year and then forced to fight monsters. In her eyes, Gohan shouldn't have been on the battlefield and she doesn't know that Gohan contributed to the fight -- all she knows is that her son is out there for no reason because her husband saved the day in the end anyway. The first real time that she sees Gohan winning was against Cell, and she never bugged Gohan since. As for the entire marriage... Yeah, it was weird. But I don't think that it was wrong for Goku as much as it was for Chi-Chi. She probably deserved something a lot better than Goku. Any ordinary woman would behave like Chi-Chi if she had that kind of husband and her kid was in those kinds of situations. Chi-Chi represents the normal person, not the "Arghh yaa! Save the planet you 6 year old!!! Rarrr!" So if anything, Chi-Chi is one of the most normal characters in the series.

The marriage started off as a gag with Chi-Chi wanting Goku to keep his word that he gave her years before then, and Goku had no idea what he was getting into. The proposal was funny, but the follow-through fell apart as Toriyama never really showed their relationship blossoming.

I would say it's a Saiyan thing, as Vegeta never showed any more care toward Bulma or Trunks than Goku did for his own wife and kid, but now in Super, apparently Vegeta is this family man, which is bizarre. So all it took was nine years (or however many years it is after Trunks was born) for Vegeta to be better to Bulma or Trunks. That's just great. Meanwhile, Goku didn't get the same treatment.


So yeah, the relationship is terrible because the writing is terrible. If Chi-Chi ever left Goku, it would be totally understandable (though that would never happen) because she doesn't gain anything from Goku. Meanwhile, if Goku left Chi-Chi, he'd be a giant asshole because he'd never be capable of treating anyone better and would be negating everything that she put up with for all that time.