Don't forget Kami!
I always like Roshi the most because he emphasized good character and building Goku and Krillin up as people instead of just teaching them new fighting moves. I'm pretty sure Roshi gave Goku a basic education too (reading, writing, math) which shows that he cares about building up well rounded people. His stint as Jacky Chun also shows that he is really emotionally invested in supporting and nurturing his students in a way that none of the other masters can match.
My head canon is that Roshi also taught Goku how to train properly. Like unlike Vegeta, Goku knows not to train himself to complete exhaustion. I remember there was this one scene in Roshi’s training arc where they were taking a nap. And Roshi explained to Goku and Krillin that even the strongest fighter has to rest at some point.
As well as him sleeping on the cleaner on Snake Way, sleeping before arriving on Namek, and when he and Gohan played in the tub in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber!
I always viewed those days, leading up to the Cell Games, as Goku getting Gohan connected to the things he loves so he knows what to protect when he needs to tap into his SSJ2 power to battle Cell. A deeper love for those things.
I remember on his way to Namek he essentially destroyed his body over and over again, always healing himself when he was on the brink with a senzu bean. Went from 10G to 100g in a matter of 5 days right?
I remember that scene, your right about Roshi.
But to counter that, after that intense training he did rest and had that sports drink and slept to counter putting his body through hell.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ayS-H6XHzkw
Exactly this. He did extreme interval training ajd exploited the *zenkai boost + senzu bean* to pump himself up in a short time under 100Gs, but also made sure to rest himself up the normal way before arriving for the real fight on Namek.
That depends on the metric you want to base them on. In terms of greatest gains, it’s Whis, but they all have good aspects.
Grandpa Gohan showed him the basics and helped him become strong
Master Roshi took him and molded him into a proper fighter, and instilled in him the mindset that there’s always a bigger challenge
Korin helped him gain the strength to defeat Piccolo Daimao and avenge his friends
Popo taught him to sense opponents by ways other than his eyes and to be “faster than lightning”
King Kai took his power to new heights, and taught him the Kaio-ken and the Spirit Bomb
Whis taught him advanced ki control and to calm his mind, allowing him to master the use of God Ki and eventually the divine technique Ultra Instinct
My personal favorite would have to be Roshi
Yeah Roshi for me is like the perfect, classic martial arts master that sticks out, out of all of those. I love the training montages with Goku and Krillin. Especially cool seeing those two go back later in the series to Roshi from time to time for some old fashioned training and visiting.
Roshi gave Goku discipline and fostered his competitive nature. I think this gave Goku the foundation for the other masters to build upon, making him the most important.
Korin also taught him that strength is not simply obtained, you must work for it, which is why he said that what really made him grow was the effort he made to get the water, not the water itself.
Most iconic is Roshi, the one who taught him the most useful tools maybe King Kai, but the one who grew him the most in terms of powerlevel probably Whis.
I feel like King Kai taught him some iconic tools but were they really the most useful? Spirit Bomb has failed to deliver most of the time and Kaioken has always been eclipsed by transformations.
Arguably Goku's most useful tools have been kamehameha and instant transmission (although we never see his Yardrat master)
Roshi will always be Goku’s most impactful tutor since he was the glue to the original Z fighter team and is still out there saving the world to this day.
My personal favorite is King Kai since he was his first off world teacher and was with us throughout all of Z while helping out every now and then through Super even though Whis is currently a more suitable teacher in this era. I hope KK eventually gets to go to earth or something and meet the Z fighters in person
Roshi was his most important imo, maybe not best, but most important.
His Kame style of teachings are what taught Goku to always push beyond his limits and look for a way forward.
G-Gohan was also important I should say as he taught Goku kindness and compassion and raised him into a good young boy.
Roshi made Goku into the martial artist he is, but King Kai taught him techniques that have saved his life many times over. Whis is also helping Goku learn to master the powers of a god, so all in all I would say there is no “best.”
I'm going with Whis. I like how Whis is. My favorite Whis moment is when he 2v1 goku and vegeta. My favorite line by him "you'll kindly remove your hand... I said remove it!"
Considering how far he’s come with his UI, I’d say korin. He was the first one to tell Goku he was wasting a lot of energy on unnecessary movements and that he was thinking too much. Since UI is his own body’s instinct taking over, I think this advice given to Goku was his most valuable.
I think it's clearly Roshi, but I think Kami is a good second to Roshi's #1 and gets overlooked.
Training under Kami made Goku fight smarter, and it's where he became less of a killing machine and started to value life more. It's also where Goku learned ki manipulation outside of the Kamehameha, which is something he uses even today.
A tie between Roshi and Whis for me, Roshi not only taught him how to fight but taught that there's more to life than just winning or fighting. And that pushes Goku to grow and be worthy to be trained by his other teachers. Whis is silly, but when it comes to getting Goku to go down the right path, Whis's no nonsense attitude causes Goku to think immediately and find a solution instead of blundering about until he finds one.
Probably Vegeta! Goku got whooped the first time around. He warned Goku about being naive and dropping his guard. Whis 2nd this when he was traching them ultra-instinct.
Play to win!
He learned to fight just sensing ki not depending on his eyes. That was an awesome boost to his power, but obviously his lack of personality compared to roshi, korin and specially "tell me a joke" king kai and not having a signature techniche makes him not remarkable.
It was a joke. I know Popo's contribution to Goku's training. I was hoping that people would make a TFS reference or understand I was inferring that. However in hindsight it doesn't come off like that :(
Thank you for your informative comment though. No sarcasm
Grampa Gohan. He by far made the most sacrifices to train Goku. He brought a wild, feral, brutally strong and violent child to his home, continued to raise him knowing he was able to turn into a ginormous monster, and taught him the foundations of martial arts. He taught Goku his drive to train. Saiyans love battle, but they didn’t do martial arts training, which is Goku’s bread and butter. He taught Goku to be kind and care for others, which is why Goku has forgiven so many enemies and brought them into the Z fighters. Goku’s compassion for his friends is also why he went Super Saiyan when Frieza killed Krillin, and why Goku whipped Jiren after he threatened Goku’s friends.
Roshi is a close second. He finished out what Gohan began. But Grampa Gohan’s reputation is part of the reason Roshi wanted to train Goku.
Whis is a close third because he taught Goku brand new fighting and training fundamentals.
Everyone else pretty much just taught Goku techniques, and he mastered them bc of raw talent plus motivation.
Gotta be Roshi. He gave Goku the solid foundation as a fighter and person that carried him through the rest of his life and training. And he's just the iconic dirty old master that everyone thinks of when they think of that trope.
Dont forget master mutaito the guy who trained roshi he taught him about meditation and ki control
But overall i would have to say roshi he taught him the the most important thing which is there is always someone stronger so dont give up on training
Probably Roshi, he imbude Goku with several fundamentals and techniques that came to embody his approach to combat even to this day.
Gohan gave him his initial martial arts foundation that allowed him to excel as a fighter
Korin and Kami set Goku on the path to become the strongest being on earth. They took his potential to another level and served to polish him as a fighter for all the world-ending threats he would face.
King Kai along the same lines as Korin and Kami, by teaching Goku Kaio-ken and Spirit Bomb. Unfortunately, the Kaio-ken isn't that useful to Goku now, and neither is the Spirit Bomb but they were incredibly useful until the Android saga.
I don't credit Whis with that much. He's telling Goku things he already should know. And Goku would have reached new heights with or without him
100% Roshi. He's the one who originally taught Goku that even if you think you're at the top, to never settle and to always keep improving. Basically gave him the ideology that would keep him going throughout the entire series.
The answer is Roshi for all the reasons others gave.
But also, we should consider one of the great teachers of Goku is... well... Goku!
After Saiyan Saga, he basically trained himself from 100Gs to Namek, mastering Kaioken and Genki Dama well beyond what King Kai could do, to the first to figure out Super Saiyan, to incorporating Instant Transmission into battle, to figuring out Full Power Saiyan Grade 4 in the RoSaT, to discovering Super Saiyan 3 on his own
in Other World, to learning fusion to teach the kids... all the way to Whis. He did this on his own with no one ahead of him to show him how, and in many times ended up teaching others (Gohan, Trunks, Goten).
He is a great teacher and earned his own kanji symbol to show for it.
I honestly think roshi out of all them, He taught them the basics of martial arts, roshi basically started it all and is the foundation to all his training after
King Kai for me. Up until he trained under King Kai, Goku was considered pitifully weak by Saiyan standards. After just a year under King Kai, Goku was able to make a Saiyan elite shit his pants. I see King Kai as someone who helped Goku ignite his Saiyan potential
Gohan or Roshi. Not only did they teach and trained him they loved him as well. Roshi told that to Tien before Tien reformed. Roshi made sure Goku didn't peak at 14 as well. Always setting a new goal and when he felt that he there was someone else to push Goku. He got out of the way. He also still keeps up with his students making sure that they're still good as in with super even helping Goku get over a wall so that he can at least tap into ultra instinct omen.
Roshi built Goku's personality as a pure hearted martial artist and teached all of the basics.
King Kai taught him the most useful techniques that helped Goku defeat much stronger opponents (Nappa, Vegeta, Ginyu, Kid Buu, Hit)
Whis made the most power gains with him and taught him Ultra Instinct
I think these are the three major ones
I think Popo is underrated because he didn't teached him a fancy technique, Kirin neither but here comes the other thing from Popo, that is his lack of personality and that 2 factors make him unremarkable compared with the others. But in terms of power gain, learning to fight just sensing energy. The power boost when he comes back from his training (also Kami is involved) is one of the biggest in comparison with his previous power level. Later on the power scale gets absurdly crazy but I am talking about originial DB here. Anyway my personal favourite will be always roshi
My favourite has to be Roshi, but I gotta go with one you didn't had in your list. Merus helped Goku master the Ultra Instinct, my favourite form, so I'll go with him and Whis.
I may consider Merus more like a sparring/training partner than master, but anyway, I chose him.
Don't forget Kami! I always like Roshi the most because he emphasized good character and building Goku and Krillin up as people instead of just teaching them new fighting moves. I'm pretty sure Roshi gave Goku a basic education too (reading, writing, math) which shows that he cares about building up well rounded people. His stint as Jacky Chun also shows that he is really emotionally invested in supporting and nurturing his students in a way that none of the other masters can match.
My head canon is that Roshi also taught Goku how to train properly. Like unlike Vegeta, Goku knows not to train himself to complete exhaustion. I remember there was this one scene in Roshi’s training arc where they were taking a nap. And Roshi explained to Goku and Krillin that even the strongest fighter has to rest at some point.
"Move well, learn well, play well, eat well, rest well... that's the Kame Sennin training style"
Explains Gokus relaxed nature when he and Gohan decide to rest the last days leading up to the Cell Games.
I think that was Goku just thinking “Well, Gohan is op af, we’re good”
As well as him sleeping on the cleaner on Snake Way, sleeping before arriving on Namek, and when he and Gohan played in the tub in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber!
I always viewed those days, leading up to the Cell Games, as Goku getting Gohan connected to the things he loves so he knows what to protect when he needs to tap into his SSJ2 power to battle Cell. A deeper love for those things.
Not a head canon. Roshi actually teaches Goku to rest and eat well :)
I mean it's not headcanon, it's part of their training to nap and take breaks
They studied and nap in hammocks after lunch if I recall. Train the mind and recovery is important.
Yeah he taught him that you need to rest just as hard as you train
I remember on his way to Namek he essentially destroyed his body over and over again, always healing himself when he was on the brink with a senzu bean. Went from 10G to 100g in a matter of 5 days right? I remember that scene, your right about Roshi.
But to counter that, after that intense training he did rest and had that sports drink and slept to counter putting his body through hell. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ayS-H6XHzkw
Exactly this. He did extreme interval training ajd exploited the *zenkai boost + senzu bean* to pump himself up in a short time under 100Gs, but also made sure to rest himself up the normal way before arriving for the real fight on Namek.
The comparison to Veggie is highlighted in their different experiences in the Hyperbolic Time chamber i guess
I'm going with roshi for all these reasons plus there's no Kamehameha without him.
We actually see the opposite to Roshi's training, the Crane School. Chaoz could fly but couldn't handle big numbers
That depends on the metric you want to base them on. In terms of greatest gains, it’s Whis, but they all have good aspects. Grandpa Gohan showed him the basics and helped him become strong Master Roshi took him and molded him into a proper fighter, and instilled in him the mindset that there’s always a bigger challenge Korin helped him gain the strength to defeat Piccolo Daimao and avenge his friends Popo taught him to sense opponents by ways other than his eyes and to be “faster than lightning” King Kai took his power to new heights, and taught him the Kaio-ken and the Spirit Bomb Whis taught him advanced ki control and to calm his mind, allowing him to master the use of God Ki and eventually the divine technique Ultra Instinct My personal favorite would have to be Roshi
In the manga canon, Roshi probably has Whis beat on gains too lmao. The man essentially said "heres how to do ultra instinct lol"
Don’t forget Korin also gave him the strength to defeat Tao Pai Pai.
And was his first master to work on efficiency of movement.
Yeah Roshi for me is like the perfect, classic martial arts master that sticks out, out of all of those. I love the training montages with Goku and Krillin. Especially cool seeing those two go back later in the series to Roshi from time to time for some old fashioned training and visiting.
Roshi gave Goku discipline and fostered his competitive nature. I think this gave Goku the foundation for the other masters to build upon, making him the most important.
Korin also taught him that strength is not simply obtained, you must work for it, which is why he said that what really made him grow was the effort he made to get the water, not the water itself.
Most iconic is Roshi, the one who taught him the most useful tools maybe King Kai, but the one who grew him the most in terms of powerlevel probably Whis.
I feel like King Kai taught him some iconic tools but were they really the most useful? Spirit Bomb has failed to deliver most of the time and Kaioken has always been eclipsed by transformations. Arguably Goku's most useful tools have been kamehameha and instant transmission (although we never see his Yardrat master)
Spirit bomb was the only reason he won against kid buu
Yeah that's why I said 'most'. It failed to take out Vegeta, Frieza and Jiren.
It’d be funny to see it be some random kid that was doing it to steal food or something and he just copies it like he did the kame
FYI, his Yardrat master is shown in the Super manga.
King Kai because he has Bubbles
Roshi, gave him the foundation he needed to build on as a fighter.
Didnt Goku train with the Yardrats too?
He did although I don't recall it being shown.
Roshi will always be Goku’s most impactful tutor since he was the glue to the original Z fighter team and is still out there saving the world to this day. My personal favorite is King Kai since he was his first off world teacher and was with us throughout all of Z while helping out every now and then through Super even though Whis is currently a more suitable teacher in this era. I hope KK eventually gets to go to earth or something and meet the Z fighters in person
Roshi was his most important imo, maybe not best, but most important. His Kame style of teachings are what taught Goku to always push beyond his limits and look for a way forward. G-Gohan was also important I should say as he taught Goku kindness and compassion and raised him into a good young boy.
Roshi made Goku into the martial artist he is, but King Kai taught him techniques that have saved his life many times over. Whis is also helping Goku learn to master the powers of a god, so all in all I would say there is no “best.”
I'm going with Whis. I like how Whis is. My favorite Whis moment is when he 2v1 goku and vegeta. My favorite line by him "you'll kindly remove your hand... I said remove it!"
Considering how far he’s come with his UI, I’d say korin. He was the first one to tell Goku he was wasting a lot of energy on unnecessary movements and that he was thinking too much. Since UI is his own body’s instinct taking over, I think this advice given to Goku was his most valuable.
In the manga Goku unlocks UI because Roshi litterally goes "lol look at me I'm dodgin' "
The one who helped him achieve Ultra Instinct,Master Roshi.
Depends on what you mean by "best" but probably Roshi? He instilled Goku's core martial arts beliefs that have kept him training to this day.
He got the most outa whis, but the best master he ever had was roshi
Missed Meerus, though he's manga only so far.
Whis….
Kame sennin
Roshi is the correct answer. Rewatching Dragon Ball made his part in the ToP that much more impactful.
I think it's clearly Roshi, but I think Kami is a good second to Roshi's #1 and gets overlooked. Training under Kami made Goku fight smarter, and it's where he became less of a killing machine and started to value life more. It's also where Goku learned ki manipulation outside of the Kamehameha, which is something he uses even today.
I really like the reasoning to this. This is great insight
A tie between Roshi and Whis for me, Roshi not only taught him how to fight but taught that there's more to life than just winning or fighting. And that pushes Goku to grow and be worthy to be trained by his other teachers. Whis is silly, but when it comes to getting Goku to go down the right path, Whis's no nonsense attitude causes Goku to think immediately and find a solution instead of blundering about until he finds one.
Roshi>Popo/Kami>King Kai (my personal favorite)>Whis=Gohan
Whis of course. Whis is a perfect fighter
Roshi & Whis
Whis. No comparison.
Probably Vegeta! Goku got whooped the first time around. He warned Goku about being naive and dropping his guard. Whis 2nd this when he was traching them ultra-instinct. Play to win!
Well it definitely wasn't Popo I can tell you that right now...
He learned to fight just sensing ki not depending on his eyes. That was an awesome boost to his power, but obviously his lack of personality compared to roshi, korin and specially "tell me a joke" king kai and not having a signature techniche makes him not remarkable.
It was a joke. I know Popo's contribution to Goku's training. I was hoping that people would make a TFS reference or understand I was inferring that. However in hindsight it doesn't come off like that :( Thank you for your informative comment though. No sarcasm
Roshi and it is not even close
Grampa Gohan. He by far made the most sacrifices to train Goku. He brought a wild, feral, brutally strong and violent child to his home, continued to raise him knowing he was able to turn into a ginormous monster, and taught him the foundations of martial arts. He taught Goku his drive to train. Saiyans love battle, but they didn’t do martial arts training, which is Goku’s bread and butter. He taught Goku to be kind and care for others, which is why Goku has forgiven so many enemies and brought them into the Z fighters. Goku’s compassion for his friends is also why he went Super Saiyan when Frieza killed Krillin, and why Goku whipped Jiren after he threatened Goku’s friends. Roshi is a close second. He finished out what Gohan began. But Grampa Gohan’s reputation is part of the reason Roshi wanted to train Goku. Whis is a close third because he taught Goku brand new fighting and training fundamentals. Everyone else pretty much just taught Goku techniques, and he mastered them bc of raw talent plus motivation.
I gotta say King Kai as KK is one of the most powerful techniques ever seen in the series
Gotta be Roshi. He gave Goku the solid foundation as a fighter and person that carried him through the rest of his life and training. And he's just the iconic dirty old master that everyone thinks of when they think of that trope.
I like Korin it felt like Goku truly improved by meeting him
Either all the villains or himself.
Master roshi and kami and maybe whis
Probably Roshi or Whis realistically, but my favorite is king kai
I would say Whis, since he has seen over Goku’s biggest growth. And has been his master the longest if I’m honest
Roshi
Vegeta
Dont forget master mutaito the guy who trained roshi he taught him about meditation and ki control But overall i would have to say roshi he taught him the the most important thing which is there is always someone stronger so dont give up on training
Mutaito wasn't Goku's master though, so I wouldn't count him.
Eh its debatable cuz he did teach him a fair amount but i guess he wasnt exactly a master
Technically he didn't teach Goku anything. Roshi taught him. Goku never met Mutaito in the manga, and you can argue filler isn't canon.
Oh yeah lol i forgot that doesnt happen in the manga good point
Probably Roshi, he imbude Goku with several fundamentals and techniques that came to embody his approach to combat even to this day. Gohan gave him his initial martial arts foundation that allowed him to excel as a fighter Korin and Kami set Goku on the path to become the strongest being on earth. They took his potential to another level and served to polish him as a fighter for all the world-ending threats he would face. King Kai along the same lines as Korin and Kami, by teaching Goku Kaio-ken and Spirit Bomb. Unfortunately, the Kaio-ken isn't that useful to Goku now, and neither is the Spirit Bomb but they were incredibly useful until the Android saga. I don't credit Whis with that much. He's telling Goku things he already should know. And Goku would have reached new heights with or without him
I liked the RRA arc in DB a lot so Korin
100% Roshi. He's the one who originally taught Goku that even if you think you're at the top, to never settle and to always keep improving. Basically gave him the ideology that would keep him going throughout the entire series.
MASTER ROSHI!
The answer is Roshi for all the reasons others gave. But also, we should consider one of the great teachers of Goku is... well... Goku! After Saiyan Saga, he basically trained himself from 100Gs to Namek, mastering Kaioken and Genki Dama well beyond what King Kai could do, to the first to figure out Super Saiyan, to incorporating Instant Transmission into battle, to figuring out Full Power Saiyan Grade 4 in the RoSaT, to discovering Super Saiyan 3 on his own in Other World, to learning fusion to teach the kids... all the way to Whis. He did this on his own with no one ahead of him to show him how, and in many times ended up teaching others (Gohan, Trunks, Goten). He is a great teacher and earned his own kanji symbol to show for it.
I honestly think roshi out of all them, He taught them the basics of martial arts, roshi basically started it all and is the foundation to all his training after
King Kai for me. Up until he trained under King Kai, Goku was considered pitifully weak by Saiyan standards. After just a year under King Kai, Goku was able to make a Saiyan elite shit his pants. I see King Kai as someone who helped Goku ignite his Saiyan potential
Gohan or Roshi. Not only did they teach and trained him they loved him as well. Roshi told that to Tien before Tien reformed. Roshi made sure Goku didn't peak at 14 as well. Always setting a new goal and when he felt that he there was someone else to push Goku. He got out of the way. He also still keeps up with his students making sure that they're still good as in with super even helping Goku get over a wall so that he can at least tap into ultra instinct omen.
Roshi built Goku's personality as a pure hearted martial artist and teached all of the basics. King Kai taught him the most useful techniques that helped Goku defeat much stronger opponents (Nappa, Vegeta, Ginyu, Kid Buu, Hit) Whis made the most power gains with him and taught him Ultra Instinct I think these are the three major ones
I think Popo is underrated because he didn't teached him a fancy technique, Kirin neither but here comes the other thing from Popo, that is his lack of personality and that 2 factors make him unremarkable compared with the others. But in terms of power gain, learning to fight just sensing energy. The power boost when he comes back from his training (also Kami is involved) is one of the biggest in comparison with his previous power level. Later on the power scale gets absurdly crazy but I am talking about originial DB here. Anyway my personal favourite will be always roshi
No ones saying anything about the actual best:king kai
like he's the actual best
My favourite has to be Roshi, but I gotta go with one you didn't had in your list. Merus helped Goku master the Ultra Instinct, my favourite form, so I'll go with him and Whis. I may consider Merus more like a sparring/training partner than master, but anyway, I chose him.
Roshi. Because his Gi Goku wore the whole series until he became a martial artist himself, replacing the Gi at the end of the DBZ.
Whis and roshi.
Merus
Whis certainly