His logic was still kinda sound, though. "I'll let him get to 100 percent, then kick his ass again. It'll demoramalize him!"
My various fanfics.That logic only works if you're planning on not killing him, which Goku was, which was also stupid; he gave Frieza two separate opportunities to quit fighting and just go, because Goku does that.
Dying is usually pretty demoralizing, unless you're Vegeta.
edited 26th Feb '15 7:06:38 PM by TobiasDrake
My Tumblr. Currently side-by-side liveblogging Digimon Adventure, sub vs dub.Him not bothering to kill Frieza was questionable.
I don't have much else to say truthfully. I think all the angles have been covered.
One Strip! One Strip!He didn't kill Freeza because he wanted to rub it in his face that he lost, he says it word for word. Freeza was just too prideful to know when he's beat and insisted on prolonging the fight even tho he had no chance of winning.
Goku let Freeza go 100% because he was more or less completely consumed by his natural saiyan instincts of wanting a great fight. Being a recently awakened Super Saiyan and all.
edited 26th Feb '15 8:35:32 PM by BlackYakuzu94
A lazy millennial who's good at what he does.Goku: "So... you're at half power now, right?"
Freeza: "Yeah. If you let me, I'll show you my real power!"
Goku: *thinking "His half is less than my half. Therefore, his full has to be less than my full!"
And then Goku won.
himitsu keisatsu seifu chokuzoku kokka hoanbu na no da himitsu keisatsu yami ni magireru supai katsudou torishimariI distinctly remember there being crying.
And it does kinda make sense that they'd want to make Buu suffer psychologically.
Saiyans react to grief weirdly.
It's weird to call Goku mistakes "assholish" when he's just operating on weird notions of honour and trust. Letting Frieza live made some sense, since, well, it worked for that other evil bald alien emperor of evil that Goku demoramalized. He gave Cell a senzu (without hesitation) because he thought Gohan would appreciate a challenge (though part of it was also a show of respect to Cell's fighting ability). The decision to fight with Majin Vegeta was a hotheaded one. Crushing the potara was a biased, short-sighted decision, but at least he was confident in his victory.
Just saying, Hanlon's Razor
edited 27th Feb '15 5:26:24 AM by JonnasN
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Keep in mind the only reason Goku spared Piccolo and Vegeta was just because he wanted a rival who could constantly push him to his limits, nothing more. Purely selfish reasons. Freeza did not fall under that category, because like I said, Goku spared him only for the sake of Cruel Mercy. Everything else is just that Saiyan pride kicking in. Goku's mistakes aren't intentionally dickish, but they are incredibly shortsighted and don't really consider the consequences of his actions.
edited 27th Feb '15 5:54:40 AM by BlackYakuzu94
A lazy millennial who's good at what he does.
That.
Goku regularly endangers the planet Earth for short-sighted and selfish reasons. That his short-sighted selfishness tends to be rewarded rather than punished like Vegeta's is just luck.
My Tumblr. Currently side-by-side liveblogging Digimon Adventure, sub vs dub.![]()
Goku spared Piccolo Jr. because of the link with Kami and the Dragon Balls, he explicitly says this. Cruel Mercy nothing, Freeza begged to be saved, and Goku granted it. You have a point with Vegeta, though, by all means, it was a bad decision.
I'd say every single one of those cases have something in common, though: Goku's character trait of not liking to kill people. He is really fond of sparing opponents, but only after training with Kami. Saying he spared everyone due to Saiyan pride is a gross oversimplification, as he showed absolutely no inclination to do this back when he was a child (nor do most Saiyans, who are fond of killing). Tao Pai Pai, Demon King Piccolo and his minions were difficult opponents during their time and Goku killed them without a second thought (as far he knew, anyway). Character growth made him into someone who is willing to spare the lives of the lowliest of Freeza minions, and give second chances to chaotic forces like Buu.
(Cell is the exception, but we've talked before about the rushed, inconsistent writing in that arc)
Frieza begging to be saved was the second time Goku spared him. The first time was when he powered down and told Frieza that his 100% was bleeding power like a sieve and it was no longer possible for him to win, so Goku was going to let him walk away and live with the shame of being defeated and knowing that there exists a greater power than his. It was a Cruel Mercy that Frieza rejected by continuing the fight.
My Tumblr. Currently side-by-side liveblogging Digimon Adventure, sub vs dub.Early-Installment Weirdness and Characterization Marches On?
I mean Vegeta was a lot more calm prior to the Android arc.
A lazy millennial who's good at what he does.Cell being the exception isn't weird. He has pissed off when Freeza begged him the second time, and actually saddened when Freeza lashed out again. After that, he says to Trunks he would have just killed Freeza if he fought him again.
Basically, Freeza broke Goku's mercy.
@unnoun Crying =/= traumatized. They had 2 weeks of training and just got over it.

Either way, Goku is most definitely not the perfect hero. And I think that's what I like about Dragon Ball. Goku isn't Superman. He'll make mistakes. Sometimes I wish he was punished for them more, but you take what you can get.
Something like Piccolo's What the Hell, Hero? speech was always refreshing to me.
The *Legendary* Super Saiyan is motivated by a crying infant! He is a literal giant f***ing baby!