As Dragon Ball is ultimately Goku’s pursuit of greater strength – pushing his skills as a martial artist for his own betterment – it stands to reason that he goes all out in most of his battles. In spite of what anime filler might suggest, there’s no room for beating around the push in Dragon Ball’s many life or death encounters. Unless you’re Son Goku, of course.
The only thing Goku loves more than getting stronger is getting a good fight, and sometimes that means holding back for an enemy to hold their own. Goku wants to test out the best of the best when it comes to Dragon Ball. If that means Goku going easy on a villain or ten, then so be it.
10 Tenshinhan
Goku reveals a very important detail when he’s fighting Tenshinhan during the 22nd Tenkaichi Budokai: he has two different styles he switches between depending on the match. In a tournament setting, Goku actually holds back his power – which he was doing when he fought Krillin earlier.
Goku tries to do the same with Tenshinhan, but when he realizes that his opponent is actually trying to kill him, Goku stops holding back and starts fighting with killing intent (knowing that he won’t kill Tenshinhan and that he has to do so if he’s going to survive their fight). From there, Goku fights at full strength, but he’s holding back when the fight starts. This might also explain why Tenshinhan claims the win should have gone to Goku after the fight.
9 Nappa
Goku accepts the fact that he’s a Saiyan fast enough, but it clearly bothers him on some level throughout the Saiyan and Frieza arcs – in particular when he’s near Vegeta. In the presence of other Saiyans (especially an Elite Saiyan who represents their culture in its purest form), Goku consciously prevents himself from killing his enemies and doing unnecessary damage.
This can be seen immediately when he touches back down on Earth. Goku doesn’t even want to use Kaioken while fighting Nappa, only tapping into the technique to quickly bring the Saiyan down so he can fight Vegeta. Even then, Goku spares Nappa and admonishes Vegeta for killing him later. Then again, Goku is also holding back here so he has enough energy to go head to head with egeta.
8 Recoome
After the Saiyan Invasion on Earth, Goku’s body is left completely battered. With the next batch of Senzu still being grown, Gohan, Krillin, & Bulma head to Namek without him. Goku’s only able to start his voyage after Gohan and Krillin have already run into Frieza’s men. By the time Goku lands on Namek, the main cast are in danger of being killed by the Ginyu Force.
With Vegeta in sight, Goku goes right back to sparing his vows. He effortlessly defeats Recoome, leaving the Ginyu Force merc unconscious but alive. While it’s clear Goku doesn’t want to give into his Saiyan tendencies (which can be read as the act of killing), it’s also worth pointing out that Goku knew he’d be fighting more than just Recoome.
7 Burter & Jeice
With Recoome defeated, Goku turns his sights to Burter and Jeice. Gohan, Krillin, and Vegeta didn’t have it in them to handle a 3 on 1 fight against Recoome, but Goku is strong enough where he can defeat two of the Ginyu Force’s strongest fighters while holding back his full power.
Goku defeats both Burter and Jeice, styling around both of their attacks. Jeice manages to escape to Captain Ginyu, but Goku subdues Burter. With Vegeta still around, Goku refuses to kill the Ginyu Force, prompting the Elite Saiyan to vaporize both Recoome and Burter’s harmless bodies.
6 Captain Ginyu
Goku’s fight against Captain Ginyu unfortunately doesn’t last long enough for Goku to fight at full power. As soon as Goku reveals the full might of Kaioken to Ginyu, the Captain uses his signature body swap technique to leave Goku in his dying body. Unfortunately for Ginyu, he has absolutely no clue how to use any of Goku’s techniques.
If Goku had just gone all out against Ginyu when he had the chance instead of showing off his raw power, he would have been able to subdue the Ginyu Force single handedly. That said, the fact Goku is so adamant against killing anyone until Frieza pushes his hand does raise some potential issues – such as the Ginyu Force eventually waking back up and getting their revenge.
5 Yakon
Goku intent with his one day on Earth in the Majin Buu arc was basically to go easy on everyone in his path. Everyone agrees they won’t transform into Super Saiyans for the 25th Tenkaichi Budokai to keep the playing field level and Goku outright refuses to tap into either Super Saiyan 2 or 3 unless absolutely necessary.
For what it’s worth, it does take some time for the gravity of the Buu arc to settle in. Things are still relatively light inside Bobbidi’s ship, which means Goku doesn’t feel the need to go all out. This part of the series also highlights how strong the characters have become. Kaioshin could have killed Frieza in a single hit, but Goku is so powerful that he can kill Yakon just by effortlessly turning Super Saiyan 2. Goku doesn’t need to go all out by this point in Dragon Ball.
4 Majin Vegeta
For as much as Goku tends to write off his rivalry with Vegeta (in the original Dragon Ball at least), the Majin Buu arc makes it clear that Goku does care about Vegeta. When the Prince of All Saiyans spirals into a mid-life crisis and starts killing innocents, Goku takes it upon himself to beat some sense into Vegeta. Even if it means waking up Majin Buu.
It’s revealed retroactively that Goku was holding back during their entire match. What Vegeta interpreted as a final battle to end their rivalry was actually just Goku humoring Vegeta’s ego (which arguably works better narratively). If Goku wanted to, he could have destroyed Vegeta’s pride by turning Super Saiyan 3 and knocking him out with a single blow.
3 Fat Buu
According to Goku himself, he could have actually settled the Majin Buu crisis on his own if he wanted to. Super Saiyan 3 Goku was actually stronger than Fat Buu during their first match. If Goku actually tried fighting Majin Buu – instead of throwing the fight so the next generation could save the Earth themselves – he would have likely defeated the Djinn before his time limit on Earth ran out: saving everyone a whole lot of heartbreak throughout the arc.
2 Golden Frieza
Frieza’s Golden form is actually stronger than Super Saiyan Blue during Resurrection F. Had Frieza trained more than four months and worked on his stamina control, he likely could have defeated both Goku and Vegeta on Earth. That said, Goku is still an extremely skilled & experienced martial artist, which is why he immediately recognizes Frieza’s glaring flaw.
While Golden Frieza is going all out, Super Saiyan Blue Goku bides his time and warms up during the fight. By the time Goku finally starts fighting with SSB’s full strength, Golden Frieza’s stamina has already wavered to a point where Goku can fully overpower him.
1 Hit (Manga)
The Universe 6 Tournament arc climaxes with a fight between Goku and Hit in both the anime & manga after Goku realizes his opponent can’t fight at full power if he isn’t allowed to kill. In the anime, it’s clear that Hit would have only gotten stronger during their battle – making Goku’s forfeit almost strategic – whereas Goku certainly would have won their fight in the manga.
Super Saiyan Blue is far stronger in the Dragon Ball Super manga continuity and Goku doesn’t even need to throw on Kaioken to keep up with Hit. In just SSB, Goku throttles Hit right through his time skip. Had he wanted to, he could have rung out Hit and won the tournament for Universe 7.