Super Saiyan Third Grade

"Super Saiyan Third Grade" is not this article's official English name, it is used as there is currently no official translation or suitable name.

"It's not enough. Sure, it's gone up, but these bulky muscles are also gonna make it hard to move very fast, and against a monster like Cell, I can't afford to lose a step. All the raw power in the universe won't do me any good if I can't catch my opponent! It's gonna take a lot more than brute strength to win this fight. Besides, the transformation itself wastes a ton of energy! I'd say the regular Super Saiyan form still has the best all-around balance..." — Goku to Gohan on the form's disadvantageous trade-off in "The Strongest Super Saiyan! Trunks' Power Unleashed!"

Super Saiyan Third Grade
超サイヤ人第３段階
Sūpā Saiya-jin Dai San-dankai
Alternate names	Super Super Saiyan Super Saiyan 1.5 Super Saiyan 1 Stage 3 Super Saiyan 3rd Grade Super Saiyan Grade III Super Saiyan Ultra Super Saiyan Power-Weighted Form Power Stressed Super Saiyan Super 2 Powerhouse Super Trunks Super Trunks 2
Debut	Manga: "Trunks Steps In" Anime: "Trunks Ascends"
Appears in
Inventor	Saiyans
Users	Future Trunks Goku Cell Vegeta Broly Caulifla
Color
Class	Transformation
Similar Techniques	Max Power 100% Full Power Legendary Super Saiyan Giant Form

Super Saiyan Third Grade (超サイヤ人第３段階, Sūpā Saiya-jin Dai San-dankai, lit. "Super Saiyan Stage 3"), also known as Super Saiyan 1.5, is the second branch of advanced Super Saiyan forms, achieved through intense training in the Super Saiyan form. In the original manga and anime it went unnamed, only ever being referred to as "Super Super Saiyan" by Krillin.

Like the Super Saiyan Second Grade stage, it is a forced increase in the power output of the initial Super Saiyan transformation. All natural inhibitions of the body are completely removed in this state, resulting in 100% utilization of strength and stamina reserves.

Overview

Appearance

Goku as a Super Saiyan Third Grade

In this stage, the Saiyan is similar in appearance to the Legendary Super Saiyan form though smaller. The skin of the Saiyan may become slightly redder due to increased blood flow, and muscle size is increased to the point of impracticality. The Saiyan's hair grows bigger, spikier and spreads in different directions. The aura no longer flows upward, but flails outward, with surges of bioelectricity becoming more frequent and prominent. Sometimes, the pupils and irises may temporarily vanish during the transformation. A notable difference between the two forms, however, is that unlike the Legendary Super Saiyan state, the Super Saiyan Third Grade doesn't increase the user's height as much after bulking up, which is especially evident with Future Trunks, where after accessing the form, he is about the same height as Cell while before he transformed he is closer to Goku's height, yet with Broly transforming, he was significantly taller than even his standard form, not to mention much taller than the various Saiyan opponents even compared to beforehand. Caulifla's version is slightly less bulky than male Saiyans, though she still has a heavily muscular feminine physique with an hourglass figure and pronounced abs, traits which would presumably apply to other female Saiyans in their Super Saiyan Third Grade form. Though Caulifla has slightly less bulk than a male Saiyan in this form, her muscles still have enough mass that it impairs her movements showing that female Saiyans can still be affected by the excess weight of their muscles despite having slightly less bulk than the males as showing that the increased muscle mass is proportional between males and females. On a similar note, female users of both the Third Grade Transformation and the Legendary Super Saiyan Transformation have noticeable differences in overall proportions. The Third Grade Transformation has the torso being relatively unchanged while their arms mass is increased significantly, while by contrast, the Legendary Super Saiyan state, while still bulking up, has the musculature of the torso and arms being within proportion.

In the series, the Super Saiyan Third Grade form is discovered as an advanced stage of Super Saiyan Second Grade (itself an advanced stage of the Super Saiyan transformation) that further increases the physical strength of the Super Saiyan form. However, due to this form making the body so muscular and heavy, the ability to move freely is impaired and whatever speed boost which the power-up could have given is negated, making the Saiyan much slower than his ki would suggest. Due to this distorted proportion of speed and power, this transformation is useless against foes who were faster than the Saiyan, to begin with - as is shown in the case of Trunks, whose brute strength exceeds Cell's own at the moment, but his speed remains inferior to that of his foe. In addition, the Saiyan's energy rapidly depletes due to the effort needed to simply maintain the transformation. Altogether, the negatives of this stage outweigh the positives.

The anime version of this transformation's hair in Dragon Ball Z is not as tall or spiky as depicted in the manga. However, in the video games and in Dragon Ball Super, the hair looks exactly the way it was depicted in the manga.

Usage and Power

Future Trunks after transforming into the Super Saiyan Third Grade form

According to one source Super Saiyan Third Grade is weaker than Super Saiyan 2, while according to another source, Super Saiyan Third Grade is 10x stronger than the previous form, though slows the user substantially. This form draws out the power of the Super Saiyan to its limits.

Believing that he surpassed his father Vegeta in strength, Future Trunks ascended to the Super Saiyan Third Grade form to combat Perfect Cell immediately following Vegeta's defeat. Although he managed to hold his own for some time, with Cell even admitting that Trunks surpasses him in terms of pure strength, Future Trunks was also unable to defeat Cell because of his inability to maintain equality in speed. Because of his inexperience with these transformations, Future Trunks did not realize that his bulky form would be an inhibitor of his ability to battle. After Cell noticed the drawback, he told Future Trunks that Vegeta must have been aware of this disadvantage as well and it was the reason Vegeta did not use the Super Saiyan Third Grade form. During his time in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber, Goku also discovered the Second and Third Grade forms, explaining to Gohan how Third Grade's excessive bulk and wasteful energy and stamina drain would be extremely detrimental to its user. Thus, the pair decided to focus on refining the normal Super Saiyan form, which possessed the best balance, by adapting to the form and acting as naturally as they would without a transformation.

Cell transforms into his Power Weighted form after losing his temper

Likewise, Cell is capable of using a variation of the Third Grade transformation, referred to as his Power Weighted form. He mocks Future Trunks by powering up in the same manner after revealing the form's dire weaknesses, and during the Cell Games, mocks Gohan for seemingly not learning from Trunks' mistake when the youth begins powering up after Android 16's death. However, upon witnessing a completely different transformation and being subsequently overwhelmed by Gohan's newfound brutality, Cell loses his temper and falls to the folly of Third Grade himself, drastically bulking up in rage over being unable to defeat Gohan. This, of course, fails to help Cell make headway, and a single Explosive Demon Impact forces Cell to regurgitate Android 18 and revert to his 2nd form.

One source refers to Broly's Legendary Super Saiyan form in Dragon Ball Z: Broly - The Legendary Super Saiyan as being Super Saiyan Third Grade.

Trunks takes on the Third Grade as part of his transformation into Super Saiyan Rage

Future Trunks uses the form again in Dragon Ball Super during his sparring match with Super Saiyan Blue Vegeta. Vegeta is disappointed to see Future Trunks still relying on such a "primitive" form, but is surprised when Future Trunks ascends back to Super Saiyan 2 at the last moment, realizing Future Trunks planned to catch him off-guard with the inferior transformation and lure him in to a surprise attack. When transforming into Super Saiyan Rage, Future Trunks also temporarily bulks up in a manner reminiscent of Super Saiyan Third Grade.

Fused Zamasu's mutated form has traits resembling those of Super Saiyan Third Grade, since he is constantly using Super Saiyan Rosé. After being trounced by Super Saiyan Blue Kaio-ken Goku, his power-up massively increases his bulk and raw strength, but as Vegito Blue later demonstrates, does not do much for his speed later into the battle, which gives the blue fusion (and later Future Trunks) the edge.

Super Saiyan Third Grade Caulifla in Dragon Ball Super

During the Tournament of Power, after learning she is far from ready to learn Super Saiyan Blue from Goku, Caulifla uses the transformation in an attempt to impress him and overwhelm him with pure strength. However, due to her extreme inexperience, she fails to hit Goku due to the drastic speed loss, and cannot even stand normally due to the increased weight. Thus, she reverts to Super Saiyan to continue the fight, later learning how to properly tap into the superior Super Saiyan 2 form.

Video Game Appearances

"Power Stressed" Cell in-game of Dragon Ball Heroes

• Dragon Ball Z: Budokai
• Dragon Ball Z: Supersonic Warriors 2
• Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi
• Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 2
• Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 3
• Dragon Ball: Raging Blast
• Dragon Ball: Raging Blast 2
• Dragon Ball Heroes
• Super Dragon Ball Heroes: World Mission
• Dragon Ball Z: Dokkan Battle
• Dragon Ball Legends
• Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero

In Budokai, it is named Super Trunks 2.

In Supersonic Warriors 2, it is named Super Saiyan 1.5 and can only be used as Super Saiyan Future Trunks' ultimate move, which sees him simply using its massive power output to fire a powerful Finish Buster before reverting as soon as the move is complete.

This form also appears in Budokai Tenkaichi and Raging Blast series and the "Super Trunks" form is accurately portrayed, as body movement and the ability to charge energy are slow to the point of being hindrances, and comes complete with a signature technique called Inexperienced Power Up that mirrors Future Trunks' constant attempts at powering up.

Both Future Trunks and Cell are playable in Dragon Ball Heroes with this transformation.

In World Mission, Future Trunks' version is named Trunks (Adult, Super Saiyan, Powerhouse) while Cell's is named Cell (Perfect, Powerhouse). Both forms appear character stickers that can be used in Card Creation to create custom cards.

In Sparking! Zero, it is named Super Trunks.

Trivia

• Krillin once referred to this form as Super Super Saiyan in the manga.
• It is hypothesized by Future Trunks that Vegeta is capable of using the Super Saiyan Third Grade form, but refrained from using it against Perfect Cell, since he knew of its disadvantages. This is likely, as Goku immediately realized the drawbacks of the form after attaining it. In the English version of the manga, Trunks states "So that's why dad chose not to transform this way..." after Perfect Cell defeats him in his Super Saiyan Third Grade form, implying that Vegeta was capable of the transformation, but realized (as Cell and Goku did before him) that a transformation that only gives you brute strength is nothing if you cannot hit your opponent. Dragon Ball Super also supports this statement as Vegeta was disappointed when he sees the transformation.
• Krillin once compared Future Trunks' Super Saiyan Third Grade form to a Great Ape, as he said that Future Trunks should not scare him with the transformation since as far as Krillin knew, Trunks was going to go 'Great Ape' on him.
• Super Saiyan Third Grade and Super Saiyan 3 are similar in the sense that both forms were equally as powerful if not more powerful than their opponents, in this case, Cell, Innocent Buu, and Kid Buu, but the forms caused too much stress on the body and required too much ki consumption, and as a result, the form was not used to defeat the villain. Though Super Saiyan 3 does not decrease speed.
• Caulifla is the first female Saiyan to achieve Super Saiyan Third Grade as well as the first Saiyan in Universe 6 to achieve this form. Interestingly, she is the first Saiyan to achieve this form after attaining the Super Saiyan 2 form.
• Though Ultra Super Saiyan is not an official name for the Super Saiyan Third Grade form, it was widely popularized by the western Dragon Ball fan base as a name for the form. Notably, in the Funimation dub for Dragon Ball Super Caulifla refers to this form as Ultra Super.
• This form, and more specifically the transformation sequence into this form, was cited by Takao Koyama to be the direct inspiration for the design behind the Legendary Super Saiyan form, and by extension the main antagonist Broly in the film Dragon Ball Z: Broly - The Legendary Super Saiyan.

Gallery

Super Saiyan Grade 3 multiplier stated in the Dragon Ball The Legend of Manga guidebook Super Saiyan Third Grade Future Trunks in the manga Goku as Super Saiyan Third Grade in the manga Perfect Cell in his version of the form in the manga Future Trunks moments after transforming into Super Saiyan Third Grade Super Saiyan Third Grade Future Trunks powering up Super Saiyan Third Grade Future Trunks Future Trunks as Super Saiyan Third Grade Close-up of Super Saiyan Third Grade Goku Goku shows off his Super Saiyan Third Grade form Gohan is amazed by the form's strength Perfect Cell as Super Saiyan Third Grade Power-Weighted Perfect Cell attacking Gohan Super Saiyan Third Grade Future Trunks in his fight against Super Saiyan Blue Vegeta Super Saiyan Third Grade Caulifla Super Saiyan Third Grade Caulifla fighting Goku Super Saiyan Third Grade Caulifla defeated by Goku Super Saiyan Third Grade Future Trunks artwork for Budokai Tenkaichi 3 Super Saiyan Third Grade Cell card for Dragon Ball Heroes Power Weighted Perfect Cell card for Dragon Ball Heroes