In Dragon Ball, Goku trains himself in various martial arts and searches the planet for the seven Dragon Balls. He meets other characters with similar goals, such as Bulma, with whom Goku travels to find the Dragon Balls. As Goku matures, he becomes one of universe's mightiest warriors and protects his adopted home planet, Earth from villains who wish to harm it. Goku is depicted as carefree and aloof when at ease but quickly serious and strategic-minded when fighting. Goku is able to concentrate his Ki and use it for devastatingly powerful energy-based attacks, the most prominent being his signature Kame Hame Ha technique, in which Goku launches a blue energy blast from his hands.
As the protagonist, Goku appears in most of the episodes, films, television specials, and OVAs of the anime series Dragon Ball, Dragon Ball Z and Dragon Ball Z Kai, as well as many of the franchise's video games. Due to the series' international popularity, Goku has become one of the most recognizable and iconic anime characters. Outside the Dragon Ball franchise, Goku has made cameo appearances in Toriyama's self-parody series Neko Majin Z, has been the subject of other parodies, and has appeared in special events. Goku's critical reception has been largely positive and he has been recognized as the greatest manga/anime character of all