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This article is about the incomplete state of Ultra Instinct. For other uses, see Ultra Instinct (disambiguation).

Directory: TechniquesSupportive TechniquesTransformation

"As strong as he's become, it seems Goku is not done improving. Every time Jiren fends him off, Goku responds with an even faster, sharper, and harder strike."
Piccolo describing the transformation's power in "Goku Enkindled! The Awakened One's New Ultra Instinct!"

Ultra Instinct Sign (身勝手みがって極意ごくいきざし Migatte no Goku'i "Kizashi", lit. "The Secret of the Self-centered "Sign""),[1] also referred to as just Ultra Instinct, is a highly powerful transformation that serves as a stage prior to achieving the more powerful form used by Goku.

Overview

Appearance

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Artwork of Goku in the form

When a male Saiyan enters this state, his hair is slightly spikier and more solid, with silver highlights and oftentimes having loose strands. His eyes take on a more stern, defined shape, sporting silver-colored irises and visible pupils (similar to Super Saiyan 3 and Super Saiyan God). He also gains a complex silver, purple and blue aura consisting of rippling, fire-like energy, complete with sparkling particles traveling upwards much like Super Saiyan God before it. In the manga, the user also slims down in the same way Super Saiyan God does. In a promotional art for Dragon Ball Super depicted the aura as red while the other in conjunction with blue. In the art, the auras are surrounded by a halo of energy. When a female Saiyan takes on the form their hair remains the same albeit with silver highlight.

Namekians, Earthlings, Androids, Bio-Androids, Core People, and Demon Realm Race members all simply gain silver irises in this state, with no other physical changes. Members of the Frieza Race also gain silver bio-gems and appear otherwise in their Ultimate Evolution state, while Majin undergo no change and retain the solid blue eyes from their Super Saiyan Blue-equivalent form.

When powering up, he generates an explosive glowing blue aura around him and another straight transparent one that shoots upward, this generates an incredibly strong tremor and blows away its surroundings due to the overwhelming raw energy emitted. Similar to other forms, the more intense the power-up, the greater the aura, until it stabilizes. Goku's voice also becomes deeper and rougher like his Super Saiyan 3 and Super Saiyan 4 forms.

Unlike other forms, even when not powering up, Goku is still surrounded by an aura, a blue and very thin one that outlines his whole body.

Usage and Power

Goku achieves this state by breaking his "self-limiting shells" (his limitations) and tapping into the deeper potential within. This is achieved in the anime through resisting an exceptionally powerful attack, while in the manga it is the culmination of all of Goku's martial arts training by various masters. Initially the form can only be used for a short time, mere moments in the manga. Much like the godly Super Saiyan forms, this form possesses godly ki, and can only be sensed by other deities.

Ultra Instinct Sign's greatest strength is that it gives its user the Autonomous Ultra Instinct ability, granting them an automatic and instantaneous reaction to any threat, with the most suitable and seamless means to defend and attack. However, a notable weakness of the form is that while it possesses incredible heightened agility, its raw attack strength is not that incredible comparatively.

In the manga, the benefits to Ultra Instinct Sign over Perfected Ultra Instinct come into play regarding users struggling to keep a calm mind, with a user being able to achieve an emotionally-driven form of Ultra Instinct using it.

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Goku first attaining the form against Jiren

In the anime, this state increases his capabilities to godly levels vastly greater than the X20 Super Saiyan Blue Kaio-ken state and his augmented mental parameters allow him to quickly and noticeably imprint on the battle without thinking about it. Per the Dragon Ball transformation quiz, this form increases the user's power by two or three times that of their previous strongest transformation.[2] In promotional material for the anime, Goku (in either Ultra Instinct Sign's final usage or its complete state) is recognized by even Beerus to be possibly superior to him in power.[3] In the manga this state is superior to Super Saiyan Blue Kaio-ken, and is compared to Vegeta's Super Saiyan God SS Evolved by Jiren.

In the anime, in addition to the instinctive fighting style, the Ultra Instinct Sign state increases Goku's Saiyan Power ability considerably, allowing him to steadily evolve his power and efficiency with each exchange as he continues to fight an opponent of rivaling or greater power.

Midway through the Tournament of Power, Goku enters the Ultra Instinct Sign state, which neither the Grand Minister nor Whis is certain about. They speculate that it is a form of Autonomous Ultra Instinct after watching Goku fight; Beerus and the other gods later agree. According to Whis, Goku accomplished this by breaking the "shell" (his utmost limits to be exact) to his deeper potential, after his willpower collides with the Universe 7's Spirit Bomb.

Goku's ki in this state is stated by observers to be very hot yet frighteningly calm and is vast enough to shake the entire Null Realm. Goku's dramatically increased speed allowed him to effortlessly attack even both Dyspo and Top at once unnoticed, with many of the spectators and fighters unable to perceive Goku's movements except for Jiren, who was the only one to dodge his attack. He could both dodge Jiren's attack and attack him with enough force to graze him, shocking Piccolo as previously Goku was no match for Jiren even with Super Saiyan Blue Kaio-Ken. After effortlessly catching and repelling both Top and Dyspo, Goku casually avoids Top's Justice Flash while walking, so fast that no extra movements are seen. He could then easily neutralize Jiren's Invisible Strikes and although his initial attacks were fended off with only mediocre effort, he steadily increased his prowess to force Jiren to fight seriously. Not only remaining toe-to-toe with the mightiest Universe 11 fighter, Goku is even able to slowly gain the upper hand due to constantly evolving to the point of having a slight advantage over the mighty Pride Trooper according to Piccolo, shocking Khai and Belmod on how quickly Goku was able to gain on Jiren, landing blows powerful enough to rattle Jiren. His movements are noted by Vegeta to be unreal even though he is able to perceive it and Piccolo, Gohan and Tien notes that Goku moves unusually in the form. This state, however, is only temporary as just as Goku is about to deliver the finishing blow, having managed to knee Jiren and blast him away with a massive Kamehameha, he burns through this mysterious new power and loses his abilities, resulting in Jiren easily blocking his final attack and swiftly knocking him away with a Power Impact.

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Goku utilizing Ultra Instinct Sign while he charges his attack to catch Kefla off guard

Throughout the tournament, while slowly regaining his stamina, Goku realizes that in order to defeat Jiren, he will need to access this form again. In the anime, while fighting the newly fused Kefla in her Super Saiyan form, her power rivaled the Universe 7's Spirit Bomb, causing Goku to break through his "self-limiting shell" once again and re-attain Ultra Instinct Sign. During this usage, it is revealed Goku has far more control of his consciousness in the form, as he is able to freely talk and power up unlike before. While fighting Kefla, Goku informs about his control of the state, easily dodging all of her attacks and swiftly counter attacking with enough force to easily send her flying. He could even bombard her with a flurry of punches capable of inflicting visible pain upon her. However, his attack damage was still not adequate enough to truly incapacitate Kefla, as Goku is revealed to be not able to fully utilize Autonomous Ultra Instinct. Without the bolster from the Spirit Bomb enabling him to access this state independently, he is still focusing his thoughts on attacking instead of attacking on instinct. While unleashing his final attack before he would run out of stamina, Goku used the Divine Kamehameha to defeat Kefla, as he could focus on charging the attack while his body instinctively dodged any threat and catch Kefla off guard, with this attack finally launching her off the stage and destroying the Potara earrings as well. This newfound control of Ultra Instinct Sign was what finally made Jiren break out of his meditation. After Kefla's defeat, noticing how exhausted Goku is, Frieza realizes that one has to bear overwhelming physical stress as the cost for such a gain in power.

After witnessing Kefla's defeat, Vegeta attempts to mimic Goku's Ultra Instinct Sign, by acting unconsciously. This, however, does not work, as Vegeta takes several, ineffective blows from Catopesra's attacks and resorts to using his preferred style of combat, then proceeds to overpower Catopesra with ease. Whis said that it would be harder for Vegeta to attain this state due to him always thinking in a fight rather than just moving.

"I can feel it. Not the chaos of consciousness, but the elegant purity of energy operating on impulse alone. Goku is focused only on Jiren now, or rather on the battle itself. He's throwing his whole body and soul into the fleeting moment of each strike, allowing the flames of his power to rage through him. Unrestrained by the walls of thought, concerns for his universe or the gap in their powers, his hesitation, his impatience, his fear! He has given them all to the fire and let them burn. So that now there is only himself, his opponent, and the fight...Soon he will reach a realm still faster, keener and deeper than instinct, where even that awareness would blur and fade. And beyond that..."
Whis elaborating on Goku's deeper dive into instinct in "A Transcendent Limit Break! Autonomous Ultra Instinct Mastered!"

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Goku and Jiren charge

Goku awakens this form during the final battle against Jiren, when the latter prepared to deliver the final blow to him. With the voices of his friends begging him to fight, Goku immediately dodges all of Jiren's attacks with such speed that not even Jiren could follow him initially and lands a blow on Jiren that was strong enough to visibly hurt him. This display visibly awed the bystanders. In their resultant exchange, Goku was able to hold his own against full-power Jiren, blocking and trading blows. The increase of power is such that when fighting Jiren, the clash of their attacks not only generates the usual flashes of lightning and shockwaves but actual explosions, destroying anything around them.

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Goku reactivates Ultra Instinct Sign during his final battle with Jiren

Goku was also able to generate explosive shockwaves with a single punch and a swipe of his leg, both of which were evaded by Jiren. However, while his reflexes have gotten sharper, Goku was unable to land a finishing blow as Whis notes he has yet to achieve true Autonomous Ultra Instinct due to still having some thoughts behind his attacks but can defend well. Despite this, while Imperfect Instinct was blocked by Jiren with a concentrated Power Impact and Goku was blasted away, Goku was able to continue fighting after hearing Vegeta's inspiration and repel Jiren's charge with a burst of energy. He continues to maintain this form during the fight and gradually allows his heart and soul to forget everything that is going on and finally allowing his body to just react fully, eventually culminating with Goku being able to not only block a hailstorm of Jiren's Infinity Rush, but he was also able to start attacking and eventually hit Jiren with enough force to cause him to reel in pain. After this, Goku finally managed to fully awaken the true Perfected Ultra Instinct.

In the manga, Goku first awakens this form after witnessing Master Roshi demonstrate the principles of Ultra Instinct against Jiren, however as he and Jiren charge one another Goku drops out of the form and is knocked down.

Goku achieves this state once more in the face of Android 17's apparent self-destruction, he faces Jiren once more and proves able to dodge some of his attacks and avoid hits to vital points when they do land, though this is all he can accomplish. In the face of Jiren powering up further, Goku finally achieves the Perfected Ultra Instinct.

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Goku going Ultra Instinct Sign shortly before fighting Moro

In the Galactic Patrol Prisoner Saga, while training with Merus, Goku briefly tapped into the Ultra Instinct Sign state but fell out of it the moment Whis halted their training. By the time he finished training with Merus, he gained the ability to access this form instantly.

Goku possibly uses this state to instantly defeat the fusion of Miza, Iwaza and Kikaza, as the sparks/flecks of clothing that often accompany this transformation appear when he defeats her off-screen.

Goku uses this state against Saganbo, easily toying with him and moving at such speeds that neither Gohan or Piccolo can see his movements and prepares to use it against Moro when the villain tells him to reactivate it. When Goku battles Moro, Gohan believes the fight to be evenly matched though Piccolo corrects him to say that Goku is actually the faster of the two and appears to have an advantage throughout most of the fight until Moro further powers up. When Whis and Merus watch the battle taking place, they describe the Sign level as a gateway to the mastered state and that Sign is an unstable state where attempting to keep it stable consumes an enormous amount of energy.

Ultra Instinct Sign is pushed to new limits when Moro begins to outmatch Goku further, the latter resorting to using sheer force to overpower Moro as best he can. Though Goku was able to land a few hard hits, Moro's Mouth Energy Wave and successive blows managed to force Goku out of the form, leaving him at the wizard's mercy until Androids #17 and #18 stepped into fight him.

After being healed by Dende, Goku returns to the battlefield and switches places with Merus during his fight with Moro, so the Angel won't cease to exist by using his powers. Goku transforms into Ultra Instinct Sign and goes on the offensive. However, Moro had already powered up even further by absorbing Seven-Three and the Saiyan is unable to land even a single blow. Moro easily beats Goku with a single punch, causing him to revert to his base form.

When preparing to train with Whis in the Granolah the Survivor Saga, Goku briefly takes on this form as part of his transformation into the Perfected Ultra Instinct. Later during the saga, Goku opts for the Sign form over the Perfected form in order to achieve his own unique form.

In the Heroes anime, during the Universal Conflict Saga, Goku arrives at Universe 11 with help of the Grand Minister and immediately awakens the form to save Future Trunks from Oren's attack. This leaves Fused Zamasu dumbfounded, while Hearts marvels at Goku's transformation, intrigued by the divine nature of the form and its possession of godly Ki which is referred by Hearts as the "power of the gods".[4] An agitated Oren attempts to attack Goku but he is easily overpowered and unable to land a single attack. With a single punch, Goku is able to separate Oren from Vegeta and then blast away an incoming Kamin. When Lagss is called to the battlefield by Hearts, Goku wears himself out of the form holding off (and shattering) her glass structure.

In the manga, Goku takes this form upon arrival to save Shin from Hearts and then promptly throws Super Saiyan 3 Cumber aside, however the surprise of seeing Vegeta under the control of Oren causes Goku to drop out of the form.

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Goku breaks free of Kamioren's grip

In the anime, later, during his fight against Ultimate Kamioren, Goku takes on Ultra Instinct Sign to overpower the beast. After taking Kamioren's Blaze Breath point-blank, Goku ascends into the completed Ultra Instinct state and subsequently obliterates them.

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Ultra Instinct Sign Goku attacks Golden Frieza

In the anime version of the New Space-Time War Saga, Goku takes on this form upon being hit by Golden Frieza's Golden Death Ball, using the form to beat down the tyrant before reverting to his base state. In the manga, Goku takes on this state in order to restrain final form Frieza when the tyrant attempts to attack Hearts. Goku also uses this state in the game to battle Golden Frieza, defeating him in battle.

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Ultra Instinct Sign Goku and Beat in "Push Forward to the Battlefield! Dragon Ball Heroes!"

During the special Super Dragon Ball Heroes episode, "Push Forward to the Battlefield! Dragon Ball Heroes", both Beat and Goku tap into Ultra Instinct Sign after taking a Super Star Break from Shandy. Beat then quickly overwhelms Shandy and the other Destroyer avatars with a single strike.

Enhancements

Powerhouse

Main article: Powerhouse

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Goku's Powerhouse Ultra Instinct Sign form

A Saiyan is able to power-stress their Ultra Instinct Sign form, sacrificing its true strengths in exchange for raw power.

When using this power-up, the form becomes more muscular and gains a much more fierce-looking aura with colors similar to those from Super Saiyan Blue's.

This power-up grants Goku more physical strength and ki-based power in exchange of decreasing and limiting Ultra Instinct Sign form's dodging and defensive abilities due to the emotions and rage incurred during the power-up process affecting the form's calm mental state which is mandatory for maintaining its true strength.

Completion

Main article: Perfected Ultra Instinct

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Perfected Ultra Instinct Goku

Completing the Perfected Ultra Instinct technique results in the user being able to transform into a more powerful form, referred as an "ultimate" and "peerless form" (形態) of Autonomous Ultra Instinct.

Completing Ultra Instinct Sign not only gives the user more power, but also further refines the Autonomous Ultra Instinct to its highest degree, allowing the user to dodge and counterattack without hindrance. Using this form for too long can result on extremely painful body damage, similar to the Kaio-ken and its Super Saiyan Blue counterpart.

Emotionally-driven form

Main article: True Ultra Instinct

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Goku's own unique Ultra Instinct

When he is unable to focus on remaining calm, Goku is able to use a superior variation of Ultra Instinct Sign that allows him to tap into his Saiyan nature for a more comfortable fighting style. This sometimes allows him to fight at a greater level than if he were using Perfected Ultra Instinct, and is known as Goku's True Ultra Instinct.[5]

Video Game Appearances

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Ultra Instinct Sign Goku card for Super Dragon Ball Heroes

Dokkan Battle marks the debut appearance of A Surging New Power Goku (Ultra Instinct -Sign-), with the announcement for the new SSR unit occurring just a few hours after the form's debut in the anime. Its Dokkan Awakening, Transdimensional Instinct Goku (Ultra Instinct -Sign-), would be released the following year on March 18 (also known as "Saiyan Day").

SDBH BM5 (Big Bang Mission 5) Male Saiyan Avatars Saiyan Elite Erito (Ultra Instinct Sign), Saiyan Hero Beat (Ultra Instinct Sign), & Saiyan Berserker Basaku (Ultra Instinct Sign)

Player Avatars in their Ultra Instinct Sign in Super Dragon Ball Heroes

In Dragon Ball Heroes, Ultra Instinct Sign Goku's Super Attack is also called Ultra Instinct -Sign-. The Saiyan Hero is shown achieving Ultra Instinct Sign form while fighting the new God of Destruction avatars in the Big Bang Mission 5 trailer, and the playable Hero Avatars able to use it from Big Bang Mission 5 onward once they gain the Ultimate Class-up Sign upgrade.

In Xenoverse 2 Extra Pack 2 DLC, Ultra Instinct Sign makes an appearance in the Infinite History Saga cutscene when Goku, after being almost beaten by Future Warrior, turns into it before transforming into the completed form. As part of the 1.16.00 Update DLC, Goku (Ultra Instinct -Sign-) appeared as one of the options for the Conton City Vote: "Hero Vote" poll held from March 17 to March 31, 2021, to decide which character would be added to the game. From April 7 to 8, 2021, it was revealed that Goku (Ultra Instinct -Sign-) was the winner. On July 7th, 2022, he officially became a playable character, alongside Vegeta (GT), and Dyspo.

In World Mission, it appears as a form and transformation for Goku. Additionally, the Ultra Instinct -Sign- Super Attack that can be utilized by Goku in his Ultra Instinct Sign form appears as well and involves Goku powering up before delivering a powerful punch then firing a Ki Blast at point black range that sends the opponent flying. Additionally, by maxing out Ultra Instinct Sign Goku's Camaraderie Level (which maxes out at Lvl 3 Camaraderie) the Super Attack can be learned by Berserker type Hero Avatars. However, when used by the Hero Avatar the Super Attack does not give them access to the form itself.

In FighterZ, Ultra Instinct Sign makes a brief appearance as Super Saiyan God SS Goku's dramatic finish against Kefla as well as Ultra Instinct Goku's intro, where he's briefly seen in said form before quickly transitioning into the complete form.

In Dragon Ball Legends, Legends Limited Ultra Instinct -Sign- Goku is a playable character that has the ability to dodge the opponent's attacks with Unique Gauge.

Trivia

  • During any moment when Goku makes a guttural grunt, yell, or scream during this state, his voice experiences a dual-voice, similarly to how he first transformed into a Super Saiyan in the original, Japanese version of "Tsui ni Henshin!! Densetsu no Sūpā Saiya-jin Son Goku". During his second awakening of the form, Goku is largely able to speak with a more calm and cleaner voice as he adjusts to the form.
    • This applies to even subtle grunts, such as when he used his Kiai to send Kefla flying into a nearby "mountain."
    • This is also the case during the Japanese version of Dragon Ball Z: Super Android 13!, when Goku becomes a Spirit Bomb Super Saiyan, which was a transformation that was similar to Goku's first awakening of Ultra Instinct Sign in that he was in an unconscious state with power given through the use of the Spirit Bomb.
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Ultra Instinct Sign with a golden aura

  • On one occasion where it was used in the manga, the digital color version gave it a golden aura.
  • Given that Autonomous Ultra Instinct is based on the Martial Arts discipline and practice of Mushin, or "No Mind", Goku gives off signs of a distinct personality change that is attributed to real life practitioners, during combat, such as: Goku's absence of ego when egged on by Kefla and asks "Is that all you got?" and "I don't like that attitude", which indicates his change in demeanor, as he did not retort nor humor her statements, and only proceeded to fight when she was done talking. Even during that confrontation, Goku seemingly appears without fear or anger, which also ties into its real-life counterpart.
  • The original English name for the form was just called "Ultra Instinct". However, to make the lip sync work for the English dubbed Funimation versions, they had to lengthen it and added "Autonomous" to it. Though, Funimation now uses the terms Ultra Instinct and Autonomous Ultra Instinct interchangeably.
  • The Saiyan Hero and Goku (in the anime) both achieve the form in a similar manner as both involve them being caught in the explosion of a powerful Energy Sphere (Sphere of Destruction for the Saiyan Hero, Universe 7's Spirit Bomb for Goku) after being overpowered in a struggle with powerful opponent (God of Destruction Hero and Jiren).
    • Additionally in both cases, the user was thought to have been killed by the attack, only for them to be revealed to have survived the explosion which allowed then to breakthrough their self-limiting shells to achieve Ultra Instinct Sign.
    • Also, both the Saiyan Hero & Goku had received training from Whis (the Saiyan Hero is briefly shown training under Whis alongside Note before the God of Destruction avatars appeared) before achieving the form.

Gallery

References

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