rest in peace to Akira Toriyama, the legend, the genius, the artist who has left his mark on this earth forever.
I think the last time this question came up in conversation, it was disputed. it seems like the term "superhero" is synonymous with "comic book" so and since Goku is not from an American comic book, he isn't classified as a superhero. But he is from a manga; couldn't mangas be seen as a type of comic book?
if that's even the argument to be made. but my opinion is yes, absolutely, Goku is a superhero. He is kinda like the Superman of the anime & manga world.
I never watched this show, so I can't really make a detailed argument for or against the character.
But if anyone tells you someone isn't a superhero because they aren't a comic book character (American or not) they're being completely ridiculous. A superhero is a superhero. It doesn't matter what medium they're in (and most of them don't stay confined to a single medium, anyway).
I have had this conversation a number of times over the years, so I've put a fair bit of thought into it and figured out what (so far, at least) seems to be a pretty reliable, imo, gauge for whether a character is a superhero or not.
For me, a superhero lives in the intersection of four specific things:
1. A superhero is visually iconic - usually by way of flashy costumes, but sometimes just as part of the character design. (I'd say Goku's hair alone definitely qualifies him in this category.)
2. A superhero has superpowers - which can be tech or inherent powers, but do need to be actually special compared to most people around them- ie, Superman isn't actually super on Krypton - but he doesn't typically live or work on Krypton, so that doesn't matter. (I think from what I've heard about the character that Goku almost certainly qualifies here, too.)
3. A superhero is independant - they can work with others or on teams, but the character making their own moral decisions remains an important part of how the character works. A superhero who just blindly follows orders isn't really a superhero, even if they're following orders from the right people. (This one, I think, Goku probably also qualifies for? But at this point my knowledge of the character is wearing very thin.)
4. A superhero is at least somewhat proactive. Superheroes are in some way dedicated to actively trying to make a difference of some kind, as opposed to more classical heroes who are often called to some specific quest or other through no planning or intent of their own and then go back to a normal life after its finished. (No idea where Goku stands on this one.)
Obviously no scheme or definition will ever be perfect in every instance, and this method of classifying superheroes will also have edge cases like any other, but I haven't found a character yet that I thought was classified incorrectly by following these points so I feel pretty confident in them. And if Goku as a character definitely does qualify on numbers 3 and 4 (which someone familiar with him would have to decide) then he definitely seems like a superhero to me.
