Super Saiyan

"What now? Saiyans transform into apes... This is completely different from anything that I've ever seen before. Darn, what does this mean?" — Frieza ("Explosion of Anger")

Super Saiyan
Alternate names	SSJ
Debut	Manga: Anime: Transformed at Last
Users	The Original Super Saiyan Goku Vegeta Future Gohan Future Trunks Gohan Broly Goten Trunks Gotenks Vegito Gogeta Goku Jr. Vegeta Jr. Onio
Color
Class	Transformation

Super Saiyan (超サイヤ人, Sūpā Saiya-jin; ; ; ) (abbreviated as SS or SSJ) is an advanced transformation assumed by extraordinarily adept members of the Saiyan race in the Dragon Ball franchise, as well as Akira Toriyama's Dragon Ball parody manga, Neko Majin. Three further transformations succeed Super Saiyan (two in manga canonicity), and the premier Super Saiyan form has three additional branch states.

Legend

The ability to become a Super Saiyan was once considered to be nothing but a legend, because it had not been performed for over one-thousand years. However, this was proven true when Goku accomplished the feat while fighting against the evil tyrant Frieza on the Planet Namek. Despite only being told through legend, Frieza, considered to be the strongest being of his time, became paranoid over the possibility of truth behind the legend of the Super Saiyan, as evidenced by the constantly growing power of the Saiyan race. Because of this fear, Frieza drew the conclusion to destroy Planet Vegeta, and with it the Saiyan race (although four Saiyans were established in the manga to have survived the genocide), in an effort to erase the Saiyans, and with them their legend.

According to Goku, the Super Saiyan transformation comes in response to a need, not a desire. In all known cases, the form has been initially triggered by either desperation or indignation. Any other conditions are unknown, and motivation tends to differ; Vegeta achieves the form through sheer frustration at his original inability to achieve it, especially over Goku. As Saiyans train during Dragon Ball Z, they discover uncharted levels beyond Super Saiyan. The appearance of a Super Saiyan is different in each form, more so in the fourth and final form to the point were the original transformation has since been literally reduced to that of a "Child's play thing" (says Vegeta after witnessing Trunks transform at such a young age).

In the main series, all living Saiyan-blooded males following the Frieza Saga manage to reach at least the first level of Super Saiyan. Akira Toriyama's reason for never having any female Super Saiyans was that neither Pan nor Bulla had the incentive to transform, and that he never drew female Super Saiyans because he couldn't figure out what they would look like. The Dragon Ball GT Perfect Files implies that Pan has the potential to transform and might have become a type of Super Saiyan never seen before.

Overview

The first Super Saiyan transformation occurs when a Saiyan who has reached his natural limit, loses himself in a fit of rage. However, the transformation must be triggered in response to a great need, in Goku's case to defeat Frieza. While physical change is not too drastic, the power output increase is colossal, said to increase the user's power by roughly 50 fold. The most noticeable change is that the Saiyan's hair becomes golden in color and seems to stand on end, giving it a rising, flame-like appearance. Natural eye color temporarily changes to a greenish-blue and the muscle tone becomes more defined and the skin tone becomes lighter. As the natural floodgates of the body are opened with the transformation, excess energy is radiated from the body in the form of a pulsing, flame-like aura. There is also a marked personality alteration, where the Saiyan becomes unusually aggressive and more prone to acting on impulse. The first character to achieve the Super Saiyan transformation in the series, is Goku, in the midst of engaging Frieza. In the movie, Broly: The Legendary Super Saiyan, however, it's implied that Broly may have been the first character to become a Super Saiyan in Paragus' flashback (but is not considered canon by most, do to it being a movie and not in the original series).

It was theorized in the film Super Android 13! that these Super Saiyan transformations prevented Goku from performing his Spirit Bomb technique. One must be pure of heart to perform the technique, and as a Super Saiyan, Goku's heart is full of rage, although not necessarily contaminated by evil. In the film, when Goku becomes a Super Saiyan after gathering power for his Spirit Bomb, he loses control of the energy and instead absorbs it into his own body. During the Kid Buu Saga, Goku assumes the transformation only after successfully creating and throwing the Spirit Bomb.

Usage and power

Goku is the first to achieve the Super Saiyan form after witnessing Krillin's murder at the hands of Frieza.

When Goku transforms in response to his best friend Krillin's death at the hands of Frieza, his power grossly outclasses the evil tyrant's, a feat made more impressive by the fact that, prior to the transformation, Goku was no match for him. The form is said to originally multiply the Saiyan's power by fifty times its normal amount, though it can be inferred that the multiplier decreased somewhat as new Super Saiyan levels were introduced. This was made evident by Kibito's inability to even hold the Z Sword (which Gohan in his base form could, and Goku without practice) whilst being far superior to Frieza, normal-form Goku being nearly even with Yakon, an opponent whose power was more than a fourth of Goku's Full Power Super Saiyan level, amongst other things such as base Trunks knocking Cell's first-form out of West City with a simple kiai. Despite this possible decrease in power augmentation brought on by this form, it is still shown to make the user several times stronger (and much more so in forms such as Ascended Super Saiyan, Ultra Super Saiyan, and Full-Power Super Saiyan).

In order to combat Goku's sudden burst of strength and power, Frieza released all natural bodily inhibitions and utilized 100% of his power, only half of which he used to stop Goku's Kamehameha attack even with the Kaioken multiplying his power twenty fold. Though he seemed to gain the upper hand while Goku holds back, he loses face when he realizes that his attacks are no longer debilitating, with Goku merely shrugging off his most forceful blows. This was because in his 100% final state, Frieza had gained power and speed, but also gained increased energy consumption to the point where his damaged body could no longer handle it.

Super Saiyan Vegeta during the Android Saga.

Future Trunks would later arrive from the future along with the ability to transform, much to the astonishment of Vegeta and other present company, and dispose of the synthetically restored Frieza, and his father, King Cold with great ease (even taking Cold's full-force swipe to the palm without injury). In the film Cooler's Revenge, Goku uses his Super Saiyan power to easily defeat Cooler, Frieza's older brother, thus finishing off the family and bringing the saga of Frieza to a complete close.

Some time later, Vegeta also achieves the Super Saiyan transformation, possibly due to his belief that he had pushed himself to his utmost limits without actually transforming. By his own admission, it was anger at himself that triggered the intense emotion required to transform. He also noted, that he too possessed a pure heart, only one of pure evil as opposed to Goku's good, although Vegeta wasn't actually fully evil at the time. With this new power under his belt, Vegeta confronts and overcomes Android 19 and Dr. Gero, killing the #19 with blithe. However, when the true Androids of Future Trunks' grim prediction, Android 17 and 18, arrive, they easily defeat both Vegeta and Future Trunks' Super Saiyan forms, Trunks in particular being felled in a single blow from #17, as opposed to the trained Vegeta who withstood a much longer and abashing beating.

The limits of the Super Saiyan transformation were pushed even further with the introduction of Cell. At this point, Vegeta, Future Trunks, Goku, and Gohan had all spent time in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber, advancing to new Super Saiyan forms to combat the androids and Cell. The Super Saiyan's standard output of power would be outclassed by the second and third stages. Unlike Vegeta and Future Trunks who make use of these stages, Goku and Gohan work to perfect the initial transformation after deciding that it was the best form to use overall, prompting their transition into Full-Power Super Saiyan, the concept of making the Super Saiyan form no different in energy output than the basic form of the user's body. The initial transformation and its advanced grades are later rendered obsolete by the introduction of a far more powerful level, Super Saiyan 2 (which is the form used by Gohan to defeat Cell), followed by Goku's introduction of Super Saiyan 3 during the Majin Buu Saga, and finally, Super Saiyan 4, introduced during Dragon Ball GT.

Goten and Trunks as Super Saiyans.

Goten and Trunks, born from Goku and Vegeta respectively, attain the ability to transform at a remarkably young age, again to widespread surprise from the main cast. (Goten, who was about a year younger than Trunks' age of eight, stated that his transformation was so long ago that he didn't even remember.) Their fusion form Gotenks, seen late in Dragon Ball Z, gained the ability to transform into all three levels of Super Saiyan in the series within no more than a half-hour of training in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber (although he has only ever been seen assuming the first and third forms), with the combined energies of Goten and Trunks balancing out the high ki consumption of the final transformation.

In the special The History of Trunks, Future Gohan is shown to have gained the Super Saiyan transformation long ago, most likely after witnessing the Z Fighters being slaughtered by the Androids. After he is killed, we see Future Trunks transform for the first time (only in the anime, for Trunks seemed to already have attained the transformation rather recently in the original manga), thus showing his original transformation. In the film Broly: The Legendary Super Saiyan, the Saiyan Broly is also shown to harness the original Super Saiyan transformation, which is what he uses to battle Goku for a few moments. He also uses it against Goten and Trunks in Broly: Second Coming.

In the last episode of Dragon Ball GT, Goku and Vegeta's descendants, Goku Jr. and Vegeta Jr., are shown to be able to transform into Super Saiyans from a young age, as well. Goku Jr.'s first transformation in particular was shown in the Dragon Ball GT special, A Hero's Legacy, aired at around the time that episode 40 was broadcast. This heavily contradicts the Daizenshuu's explanation that Pan couldn't transform due to the minuscule percentage of Saiyan blood in her, as being a grandson of the already-1/4 Saiyan Pan would reduce his to no more than one sixteenth, making him almost completely human.

Premature and advanced levels

In Dragon Ball Z, the possibility of a power greater than that of a Super Saiyan is first theorized in the episode "Laboratory Basement", when Krillin and Future Trunks contemplate how Vegeta plans on retaining his dominance in power among the Z Fighters. The first of these new heights in power is the Ascended Super Saiyan stage obtained by Vegeta, Future Trunks and later, Goku. This technique (as well as the Ultra Super Saiyan technique that follows) is essentially a method of enhancing the abilities of a Super Saiyan, rather than a complete departure from it in favor of newer and more unique power. It is not until the Cell Games that this uncharted level of power makes its debut, in the form of Super Saiyan 2. Saiyan characters continue pushing their limits during the series, ultimately discovering a third, and in anime incarnations, fourth level of Super Saiyan. Two exclusive Super Saiyan stages are also featured in the Dragon Ball films.

There are nine variations of the Super Saiyan in all. The following is a summarized list of the premature and advanced levels of the Super Saiyan transformation.

• False Super Saiyan, a pseudo-Super Saiyan form resembling a glorified Kaio-ken, with a yellowish surge of aura. Appeared in Lord Slug.
• Ascended Super Saiyan, an advancement in the power of the original Super Saiyan state.
• Ultra Super Saiyan, an even stronger advancement in the power of the original Super Saiyan state.
• Full-Power Super Saiyan, the state of mental and physical perfection of the Super Saiyan transformation itself, rather than an advanced stage.
• Super Saiyan 2, the second Super Saiyan transformation.
• Legendary Super Saiyan, a level of Super Saiyan which magnifies its user's strength capacity, without drawbacks. Only one Saiyan capable of assuming the transformation is said to be born every thousand years. Appeared in Broly: The Legendary Super Saiyan.
• Super Saiyan 3, the third (and final in the manga) Super Saiyan transformation.
• Super Saiyan 4, the last, quintessential Super Saiyan transformation. Appeared in Dragon Ball GT.

Trivia

• Before the Super Saiyan concept debuted in the dub, the term is used in "Stop Vegeta Now!!" by Vegeta, who describes Gohan as "Kakarrot's son, the little super Saiyan." However, the concept of the Super Saiyan already existed in the original version.
• Throughout the original manga and the anime series based on it (Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball Z) no Saiyans ever used the Super Saiyan transformation while at the same time possessing a tail. However, in Dragon Ball GT, Goku's tail was restored partway through the series, and just like the hair on his head and eyebrows, the hair on his tail turned a golden color when he accessed his Super Saiyan form.
• SEGA's Sonic the Hedgehog's Super Sonic, when Sonic turns a fiery gold color and gains incredible power after absorbing the power of the Chaos Emeralds, is thought to be and is very possibly a homage to the Super Saiyan.
• All of Goku and Vegeta's male descendants have been able to transform into Super Saiyans.
• The terms "Ascended Super Saiyan" and "Ultra Super Saiyan" are actually just common fan terms to differentiate between the two bulked up forms.