Saiyans

Saiyans are a race of extraterrestrials in the Dragon Ball anime and manga. They are a naturally aggressive warrior race who were supposedly striving to be the strongest in the universe.
== History ==
==== Origins ====
The Saiyans are a fighting race who, since ancient times, have lived a violent and inhumane lifestyle, where they attack numerous planets to build up wealth and goods. As noted by Whis, "ancient Saiyans" possess different ki from the ones in the present time. The Original Super Saiyan appeared approximately 1,000 years, approximately 238 Before Age, and is described by Vegeta as a Super Saiyan who could only retain his status in the transformed state. This Saiyan was an individual with a noble heart, and along some of his comrades, tried to stop their evil fellow Saiyans, turning into a Super Saiyan God. However, he couldn't achieve his goal and perished. In the legend, he appeared to have lost control and gave in to his destructive primitive desires, destroying himself with his own power.
King Kai describes the Saiyans as a group of barbaric aliens who shared a planet with a race known as the Tuffles. The Saiyans lived in the arid wastelands, while the Tuffles lived in great cities, employing advanced technology. Eventually the Saiyans attacked, vowing to conquer the Tuffle's great cities and extinguish the race. This sparked a ten year long war (described in greater detail below)
==== War with the Tuffles ====
Around Age 720, a civil war broke out. The Saiyan Army tried many times to overthrow the Tuffles but were unsuccessful, sparking a ten-year conflict on the planet. Although the Saiyans were bigger in size and physically far superior, they were fewer in number compared to the Tuffles. The Tuffles had a trump card in the form of their technology to read the power levels of the Saiyans and advanced weaponry such as blasters to hold them off. Then, around Age 730, the Saiyans were able to transform into Great Apes thanks to the full moon that only appeared once every 100 years on the planet; with this, they finally annihilated the Tuffles and renamed the planet Planet Vegeta after their commanding hero, King Vegeta.
==== Meeting other races ====
King Kai goes on to explain that after their victory over the Tuffles, the Saiyans were approached by the Arcosians. These aliens had money and technology, but their planet was unsuitable, so they hired a group of Saiyans to take over a planet for them; in return, they would share their technology with them. Over the years, the Saiyans also learned how to use the Tuffles' advanced equipment and became smarter and less barbaric, although they still lusted for fighting and destruction.
==== Occupation by Frieza ====
The Saiyans joined the Frieza Force when it was still under the command of King Cold, while according to Daizenshuu 7 around Age 731, about a year following the Saiyan victory over the Tuffles, the planet was conquered or annexed by Frieza's empire and the Saiyans (like many other races) were drafted to serve as soldiers in Frieza's military, and other side in Harcos's military.
Due to the Saiyans' innate strength and penchant for violence, they were considered to be useful mercenaries and assisted in the conquering of many planets, or if assignment called for, eradication of the planet's population (even Saiyan children were considered powerful enough to conquer some of the weaker planets, such as Earth).
Eventually, seeing how quickly some of the more gifted Saiyan warriors were gaining power through battle, around Age 735, Frieza grew concerned with the potential of the Saiyan race and thought that they would grow strong enough to face him or even become the fabled Super Saiyans, able to defeat him in battle. In Age 737, a Saiyan scientist develops the Saibamen using biotechnology and those creatures make their way into the Galactic Frieza Army through the Saiyans. Soon, in Age 737 as well, the maniacal warlord Frieza destroyed Planet Vegeta, nearly eradicating the Saiyan race. There were only a few thousand Saiyans on the planet. As a warrior race, it would be difficult to increase their numbers (presumably, though left unsaid, because they would war with each other over superiority). The manga reveals only four pure-blood Saiyans who have survived the destruction: Kakarot (Goku), Vegeta, Nappa, Raditz and Ingen as they were not on the planet at the time. Once the latter four discovered that their planet was destroyed, Frieza lied to them that an asteroid had hit their world, and offered them continued employment in return for eventual wealth.
Over two decades later, the Saiyans were finally avenged when Goku defeated Frieza on planet Namek. Frieza later met his first death on Earth a year later, when Future Trunks killed him. Two unnamed mid-class Saiyans are also shown to have survived the genocide, as they were on the same mission with Vegeta, Nappa and Raditz when Planet Vegeta was destroyed. Except a certain Saiyan, Ingen, who was left in care with Harcos where he creates his own military arm known as Harcos Force, to honor his brother.
==== Survival through Earthlings ====
Goku escaped Planet Vegeta's Destruction moments before the event because his parents, Bardock and Gine suspected Frieza was planning to eliminate the planet. Goku, after suffering a head injury as an infant, lost all memory of his mission and past, and was raised as an Earthling. When he did find out about his heritage years later, he still considered Earth as his home. Goku married Chi-Chi, an Earthling who was his childhood sweetheart, and she bore him two half-breed sons, Gohan and Goten, and they later have a quarter-breed granddaughter, Pan. Vegeta would arrive in Earth with the intention of obtaining the Dragon Balls and destroying the planet, however, losing his battle against Goku and the conflict with taking down Frieza served as crucial epiphanies for Vegeta. After this, he ended up settling on Earth initially to wait for his rematch with Goku. Vegeta would later fall in love with and marry Bulma, who bore him two half-breed children, Trunks and Bulla. During that time, Ingen worked with Harcos as the murder saiyan until during the invasion of Phoenix, he fought Leslie Terra, The Phoenix Protector and member of a powerful family, where he lost, as a revenge for Saiyans invading Phoenix in the past where they killed Leslie's family (except her father) and because of that she held a grudge on them. They fell in love but after confronting Harcos, Leslie gives birth to half-breed twins Riley Terra and Jack Terra and sends them to Earth, in order to save their lifes and be raised by different families. Fourteen years later, the twins reunited with their biological family and take down Harcos for good. With family back again, Ingen and Leslie finally get married, and she gives birth to another half-breed child Mia Terra.
== Physiology ==
=== Physical Appearance ===
Saiyans are outwardly very similar to human-type earthlings, with the exception of their monkey-like tails. They are commonly seen to have black spiky hair and black eyes, although half-breeds like Saiyan Twins gained brown hair color. Naturally growing stronger as they mature, they gain a very muscular and well-defined build. Vegeta states that the hair of a pure-blooded Saiyan does not deviate from its appearance from the day the Saiyan is born. This is not the case with hybrid-Saiyans who are shown to have several different lengths and styles for their hair throughout the series.
Facial hair of pure-blooded Saiyan males can grow. Some examples are Nappa, Vegeta, and Paragus who have all been seen with mustaches, while King Vegeta himself had a beard. While Saiyans can grow beards it apparently takes them a long time, given that Saiyans have evolved to have a slowed aging process upon reaching physical maturity in order to fight longer, this is most likely why it takes so long for Saiyans to develop facial hair.
Saiyans usually have dark eyes, though half-breeds do not always share this trait as Vegeta's son, Trunks, and daughter, Bulla and Ingen's older son Jack and younger daughter Mia inherited blue irises.
Saiyans, at least as adults, are resistant to extreme temperatures, far more so than humans. This resistance to cold is likely either a trait gained over time from evolution in harsh climates or due to the energy consumption of Saiyans increasing their ambient body temperature far above a human's, even in a resting state.
==== Tail ====
All pure-blooded Saiyans are born with a brown-furred monkey-like tail. Commonly for adult Saiyans, they will wrap their tail around their hip as a makeshift belt for better convenience. The tail is very prehensile, and can be used to grasp things (much like some new world monkeys do), giving them in a sense an extra hand to fight with.
While as strong and coordinated as any other limb on the Saiyan, the tail is a particularly sensitive area. When grabbed or injured, it causes great pain to the owner, leaving them drained of all strength and effectively immobilizing the whole body. However, the Saiyans can train themselves to overcome this weakness, leaving them unaffected altogether. Their monkey-like tails, alongside their turning into Great Apes, is the main reason why those of Saiyan descent are sometimes referred to as "monkeys" or "apes" as a racial slur (especially notable by the Frieza Force's reference to them as such).
The tail also serves to help young Saiyans with balance, as when Goku and Gohan's tails were first removed, they had trouble standing, let alone moving about. However, when Vegeta's tail was cut off, his balance was unaffected, possibly due to the Saiyan prince having adjusted to the balance after years of wearing his tail at the hip. Riley and Jack's tail were quickly removed as soon as they were born, before being send to Earth.
The most unique and prominent ability the tail provides Saiyans is to transform into a Great Ape if exposed to the Blutz Waves of a full moon. If the tail is removed, this power is lost, forcing them back into their normal state if transformed at the time. If the tail is lost it will often suddenly grow back if the Saiyan is in danger. However once a Saiyan reaches a certain level of strength the Saiyan's body seems to deem the tail as an unnecessary appendage if removed. A Saiyan's tail has an 8% chance of growing back, and will not grow back if they have surpassed the power of their Great Ape form in their base form. Gohan, Riley, Jack and Mia are the only half-breeds Saiyans seen with a tail. Other half-breeds like Trunks, Goten and Bulla are not seen with tails.
=== Personality ===
Saiyans tend to share common personality traits, even at young ages. Being aggressively militant, they share an innate enjoyment for conflict and fighting, choosing violence over peace with other races. Even Goku retained his love to fight after his amnesia, but satisfied that love through competitive sport, rather than barbaric slaughter. Saiyans are typically very aggressive and hard-headed, with short explosive tempers. Saiyans appear inclined to be arrogant at times, leading them to allow enemies to gain advantages in battle just for fun. It appears they have a tendency to let their emotions get the better of them when roused in stimulating situations (as demonstrated by Vegeta, Goku, Ingen, Nappa, and Bardock), resulting in them at times making rash decisions. Normally, Saiyans do not have much of a notion of romance or marriage, and apart from the royal family of Vegeta, they are not particular about blood-relationships.
They appear to lack sympathetic emotions as though by choice rather than by nature, as shown by their relative lack of fear of death and uncaring attitude towards family members (example being Raditz's brutal beating of his long-lost brother Goku, and Vegeta's seeming indifference to his father's death). Clearly, neither Vegeta nor Nappa showed any signs of sympathy for their fallen comrade Raditz when he was killed. They merely laughed and stated that he was only a "weakling", although Nappa did suggest bringing Raditz back to life with the Dragon Balls. Vegeta and Nappa themselves had a good degree of camaraderie between them, but Vegeta did not hesitate to kill Nappa later on when he displayed weakness after being crippled by Goku. Saiyans value honor for their race above anything else and seemed to have been not only opposed to mating with other races but producing half-breed offspring. This is based on Vegeta's initial disapproval of Nappa's suggestion they conceive children with female Earthlings to recreate the Saiyan race, his disgust at Gohan for possessing unusual powers that surpass a full-blooded Saiyan while being part Saiyan, and his initial refusal to accept his son, Trunks, during the child's early years. Most Saiyans also possess a keen fighting sense and understanding of battle, which allows them to acquire many new skills, such as overcoming the weakness of their tails, learning to detect ki, and achieving new fighting forms and transformations.
Bardock appears to be the exception to the uncaring attitude of Saiyans: he shows some care for his wife Gineand his youngest son Kakarot. This also shows that perhaps the uncaring attitude of Saiyans is a choice, rather than natural. Bardock's last words while facing Frieza are "This is for all the people we killed in your name". Even Vegeta himself later has been shown to express emotion, such as when he was dying from his wounds inflicted by Frieza, when Future Trunks was killed by Cell, and when he sacrifices himself to destroy Majin Buu. He later develops a loving relationship with his wife Bulma and has shown genuine affection and care for his children, Trunks and Bulla. Within years massacring planets and killing people, Ingen developped a cold murder saiyan personality, showing no emotion or compassion, not until he met Leslie where he first time shows his new emotions: sadness, happiness and kindness. He learned how to love a person since he didn't have love of his parents, Ingen ends loving his wife and children becoming a kind, gentle person. Dorian wanted a strong son and not a weak one, he almost send his son away, believing that he was weak. But during his last moments he starts to regret for not expressing his love for his son; as for Raichi she always ignored her son that at the same time she feels guilty.
The Saiyans also seem to believe that death is preferable compared to living with the shame of losing against someone inferior to them in level, which is especially evident with Vegeta and his primary motivation for his rivalry with Goku. However, while he still believes fighting to death is an honorable act of a Saiyan, Vegeta is able to use his rivalry with Goku as a motivation to test his limits and allow them to develop a unique friendship.
The trait that sets almost all pure-blooded Saiyans apart is their innate lust for battle. This trait seems to be maintained even in kind-hearted Saiyans like Goku, and does not diminish when a Saiyan loses their cold-heartedness like Vegeta. This trait causes many Saiyans to seek out stronger opponents, either to test their might or for the desire to be the best. This trait has been the cause of many of the major conflicts in the series, as Goku's love for fighting leads him to seek out battles with strong individuals such as Frieza and Beerus. Saiyans also have a tendency to conduct battles in a sport-like manner, preferring one on one matches and often not using their full power straight away in order to get the best out of a fight. This desire to draw out a worthy opponent has also been the cause of many conflicts, as refusing to co-operate or end a fight quickly often results in a Saiyan being defeated less by an opponent and more their own natures.
Vegeta reveals that Saiyan females have strong willed personalities and such characteristics were sought out as mates for male Saiyans, which causes Piccolo to surmise that this is why Saiyan males like Goku, Vegeta and Ingen chose strong willed human females like Chi-Chi, Bulma and Leslie as their respective wives. Kind-hearted Saiyans under the initial influence of the Super Saiyan form will become more barbaric, rash and explosively hot-headed and those who had typical Saiyan traits will had them amplified to a great degree, while in some cases changing their strategic mind to a more brash and impulsive one, these traits can be eliminated through training whatsoever.
=== Energy Manipulation ===
Saiyans have a natural affinity to control Ki energy, allowing them to generate very powerful energy blasts even at young ages. Also, any energy lost during a battle, will be completely restored, and, in some cases, multiplied, after a short time of resting.
=== Flight ===
Due to their natural ability to control their energy, and the massively increased gravity of their home planet, Saiyans possess the innate ability to fly at hypersonic speeds, with little, to no effort at all. Due to their superior Ki control, they're able to fly much more faster than normal humans, proven by Goten, when he completely outclassed Videl in their first day of flying training.
Pan, Gohan's daughter and a quarter Saiyan herself, was able to fly as a baby with no formal instruction. Ingen's youngest daughter Mia was also able to fly as a baby as a half-breed, on her moment of dispair.
=== Strength ===
Saiyans naturally possess vast superhuman strength, far greater than that of Earthlings and other alien races, and are veritable fighting machines. They are capable of easily lifting ten times their own weight. The naturally high gravity of Planet Vegeta (10x that of Earth) develops their physical strength, making them incredibly strong at young ages. Even weaker Saiyans are capable of conquering most planets alone. Due to their insane levels of physical power, they are easily able to destroy mountains, islands, and potentially entire planets just with pure physical strength, especially in the Super Saiyan states.
Through tough training, Saiyans are able to reach new levels of power, and the more intense training and fights they go through, the stronger they become. If a Saiyan survives a near-death experience through extreme injury to the body, then, when the body recuperates, the Saiyan grows much stronger than they were previously, their body adapting to compensate for the damage dealt, essentially evolving their power, the more they fight. The duration of recovery does not seem to hinder this ability as Saiyans have healed through natural, technological and mystical means and still gained substantial increases in physical strength.
=== Speed and Agility ===
Saiyans possess tremendous levels of superhuman speed, easily capable of breaking the sound barrier, even with their basic moves. They also have much faster reflexes than an average Human; reflexes so fast that they can avoid a bullet without any trouble at all, or even catch them with no harm. Their superhuman speed can easily be seen in their fighting skills; their movements occur in fractions of seconds which are not visible to average Human eyes, and even "super" humans, like Krillin, Tien, Yamcha or Leslie, have trouble following up a Saiyan's speed.
Their agility is also substantial in their battles and training, they can easily perform immensely high jumps or acrobatics far more advanced than those of normal human beings, with no drawback or strain on their bodies. These movements can be improved by training, transformations, and other methods. These natural powers of speed and reflex make nearly all Saiyan hand-to-hand combat very fast.
=== Durability and Endurance ===
Saiyans possess enormous amounts of superhuman durability, and are a remarkably resilient species, who refuse to be physically broken. Even as children, Saiyans are easily capable of taking on bullets, explosions or sharpened objects and come out relatively unharmed, and as even younger infants, are able to survive extreme head-trauma and stunt forces.
When a Saiyan becomes a Super Saiyan, their durability, as well as their strength, increases massively, becoming tough enough to easily survive powerful energy beams, even to their faces, with no visible harm or scratch, and take most blunt forces against large amount of rock or solid matter, with no discomfort.
However, they are not invincible, and substantially powerful forces and enemies can overcome a Saiyan's basic durability. But even if they are hurt, Saiyans not only also appear able to heal from injuries at a faster rate than normal human beings, but also have an extremely high tolerance to physical pain, and will only succumb to injuries if a massively high amount of bones are broken, also, they possess remarkable immune systems, making it very hard for them to become sick (in fact the only illness in the series shown to be capable bypassing a Saiyan's immune system is Heart Virus). If a Saiyan lets his guard, the most important part of their durability, gradually down, no matter how powerful, this will cause the Saiyan to become vulnerable to behind surprise attacks, and will take as much damage as a "super-human" could. God-like Saiyans have an even higher durability, and can survive star system-shattering energy attacks like Beerus' Sphere of Destruction, as demonstrated by Goku, but with extreme difficulty. It is said by Vegeta that Saiyans are unable to survive in the vacuum of space, although they are capable of going to the upper levels of a planet's atmosphere.
=== Intelligence ===
Saiyans are considered for the most part to be comparable in intelligence to humans. Goku's head trauma and sheltered childhood left him unenlightened about anything not concerning martial arts, though he gradually outgrows this as his teachers all stressed the values of brains over brawn. Due to a Saiyan's strength, their level of cunning is generally downplayed, unless their strength is below average, like Raditz. Perhaps as a byproduct of their speed and reflexes, Saiyans are also abnormally quick learners, able to process large amounts of information within a limited amount of time. This can be seen when Goku was able to use the Kamehameha after seeing it just once, Vegeta taught himself how to sense energy despite being reliant on scouters for most of his career and Ingen creating his own personal beam attack for destruction, later for good. Despite being a race of barbarians, Saiyans have no trouble adapting to new technology. It is unknown if Saiyan aptitudes carry onto their hybrid children, as the intelligence of all Saiyan hybrids has been shown to be products of their upbringing (Gohan was privately tutored, Trunks grew up in a family of scientists etc.). However, a Saiyan's superhuman learning curve is seen time and time again throughout the series, such as Goku learning the Kamehameha Wave after seeing it just once, Vegeta developing the ability to sense energy after learning about it on his first trip to Earth, Gohan being able to keep up with immense amounts of coursework in his private studies as a child despite his young age and Saiyan Twins able to sense something when something bad happens, which was inherited by Ingen.
Saiyans also have very good memories, even from the time they were babies. This was evident when Raditz meets Goku and expects him to remember his brother and his mission only to discover Goku suffered from amnesia due to a severe concussion as an infant.
=== Appetite ===
Saiyans are noted for having ravenous, and seemingly insatiable appetites. Due to their enormous strength and intense aura, the Saiyans' energy and nutritional intake requirements are a great deal higher than normal Earthlings. This heightened metabolism also benefits their physique, as despite their gluttonous eating, it is still much harder for Saiyans to grow obese or even suffer indigestion or cramps; in fact, it seems to improve their overall performance.[32] They are often shown eating plate after plate of food, resulting in many dishes piling up. After the 21st World Martial Arts Tournament ended, while only 12 years old, Goku hastily consumed a 50 course meal (57 full-course meals in the English dub) and still wanted dessert. They have no particular favorite kind of food, although they appear to prefer meat over anything else. Saiyan hybrids can also show a similarly high appetite, although it may appear later in life; Gohan only began showing such an appetite after he became a Super Saiyan, as for the twins they were able to have huge appetite since they were kids. At times, their appetite seems to work against them: in his childhood, when Goku went for too long without something to eat, he became too weak to do much of anything.
=== Aging, lifespan and growth ===
Saiyan's lifespan is about the same as an average Earthling (75 to 100 years, with longer exceptions), but keep in their peak health, performance, and appearance much longer. However, according to Akira Toriyama, their natural lifespan itself is longer than humans', but as a warrior race many of them die in battle, and by extension their general lifespan. Saiyans are still young at the age of 80. As explained by Vegeta, Saiyans maintain their prime they evolved into a natural warrior race, enabling them to fight longer. This is seen when Nappa, who was Vegeta's attendant when Vegeta was a child, remained in his prime and visibly unchanged (apart from his bald head) long after Vegeta has become an adult, but in actuality, Nappa is roughly 50 years old during his arrival on Earth.
In terms of physical development, this differs by Saiyan as it does with Earthlings. Most full-blooded Saiyans appear to grow in spurt phases, as seen through Goku. Saiyans appear identical to that of a Earthling baby in their early years, although they are born with a full head of hair more often than Earthlings, but also appear to grow at somewhat slower rates. General height and built once fully grown can still differ between Saiyans the same as Earthlings as Vegeta, who is five years older than Goku, is noticeably shorter and smaller overall.
=== Reproduction ===
Saiyans have a sexual reproduction system compatible with that of normal Humans, as they are able to produce fertile offspring together. This indicates that despite their vastly enhanced physiology, Saiyans have genes that are similar enough to a Earthling’s to be able to avoid debilitating genetic conditions that come with hybridization, allowing the resulting hybrids to be born perfectly healthy and normal. The mothers of the full-blooded Saiyans were never in the original manga, though there have been some mentions of them. When Raditz tells Goku about the destruction of their home planet, he mentions that "their parents" died along with it.
Based on Vegeta's initial disgust and animosity towards Gohan when he first learns about the half-breed's unusually high power level, it is strongly hinted that Saiyans were adamantly against reproducing with creatures of another race and bearing hybrids. As Vegeta states a hybrid's power would be too dangerous for even a full-blooded Saiyan to combat against, it seems the Saiyans were highly cautious of this and there is no record of any Saiyan procreating outside of the Saiyan race until Goku's marriage to Chi-Chi and the birth of Gohan. It is also possible the Saiyans viewed hybrids as abominations and insults to their race.
Due to being a warrior race, Saiyans prefer to artificially incubate their offspring. Even non-warriors like Gine kept baby Kakarot in an incubation chamber due to its convenience.
Given that their ability to reproduce fertile and stable offspring with humans with few noticeable physical differences between hybrids and full-blooded humans, then Saiyans must possess 48th - 46th chromosomes in their DNA.
==== Family ====
Saiyan families appear to be far different to that of a traditional Earthling family; apart from the royal family of Vegeta, they are not particular about blood-relationships. Of the few (pure-blooded) Saiyan families seen, only Vegeta and his father have had close relationships. Children are kept in pods as infants and monitored by doctors while their parents are usually occupied on mercenary missions. Even as infants, their natural strength and their Gre​at Ape transformation means that they are capable of conquering planets like Earth single-handedly and so it is unlikely they spend much, if any time, with their parents or siblings.
Saiyans do not have much of a concept of family, but they do tend to have close relationships with their friends and comrades however, with whom they do spend a great deal of time in battle. Bardock has a close relationship with his wife Gine however, which is apparently rare among Saiyans. Goku was able to have a close relationship with his family as a result of being raised as an Earthling since infancy. Also, in Vegeta's case, he was initially uninterested in his family due the comfortable nature on Earth conflicting with his Saiyan nature, but living on Earth for many years enabled him to reconcile with this, and he became more family-oriented, though his personality remained somewhat rough. Ingen took time to accept himself as a father since he grew up without love of his parents, he cried when Leslie decided to send his own children away, blaming himself for it, fourteen years later, he becomes a happy man with his new family and be better parent. Dorian and Raichi had a love-hate relationship, both loved each other but forgot to show love to their own son, as they met his son as a ghost, they tried to reconect with Ingen and try to be better parents than in the past. 
Vegeta explained that all Saiyan men were strong willed and that they were genetically inclined to like strong willed women, which is the reason why they picked Earthling wives that were also strong willed.
==== Hybrids ====
Due to their similar physiology, Saiyans and Earthlings are capable of interbreeding. While this was always possible, it became necessary for the survival of the Saiyan race when all the female Saiyans were exterminated. The resulting offspring generally possess the same enhanced strengths of the Saiyans, developing their abilities far more easily than Earthlings, but lack the same drive and instinct for combat. Hybrid Saiyans, due to genetic reasons, can be born without a tail, like Goten or Trunks, and if they do, they have an extraordinary potential. Hybrid Saiyans possess a greater potential to become Super Saiyans than pure-blood Saiyans, but it is unclear how many generations removed from their Saiyan ancestor a hybrid can be before the transformation becomes unavailable to them. 
It is unclear if all hybrids possess a naturally greater potential than their Saiyan parents, but shown evidences suggest that they do. Nappa suggested to Vegeta that they mate with the female Earthlings to produce a new powerful Saiyan race but Vegeta refused because he feared a half-breed's power would become too dangerous. Gohan repeatedly demonstrated a hidden power that, when harnessed, made him more powerful than even Goku or Vegeta. When he and Goku trained to battle Cell, Gohan not only caught up to his father, but surpassed him even before making his Super Saiyan 2 transformation; he is also noted to be the youngest Saiyan to reach that form, at the age of 11. Riley first turned to Super Saiyan as the age of 13, where she lost control and killed the hunters as a revenge for her adoptive brother's "death", showing no mercy and emotion, just like her father in the past. Jack turned after set free his worst fear, at age of 14. Also, Trunks, and Goten were able to make the transformation to Super Saiyan at age 8 and 7 respectively, far younger ages than their fathers, Gohan, Riley and Jack, with Trunks and Goten showing such ease at obtaining the first form that they treated it almost like a "child's play thing". Vegeta also claimed upon his arrival on Earth with Nappa that Gohan's potential was higher than a normal Saiyan's because of his mixed blood. A hybrid Saiyan's potential may be held in check by the fact they lack the same desire for combat as pure Saiyans, and thus tend not to train as much, in times of peace, as a pure Saiyan would.
==== S-Cells ====
Saiyans possess S-Cells within their bodies, S-Cells are what allow a Saiyan to become a Super Saiyan, however most Saiyans do not have many S-Cells within their bodies. Any Saiyan can become a Super Saiyan, however they require a large amount of S-Cells in order to take on the form, Saiyans who have a gentle spirit gain more S-Cells (though they cannot gain enough to go Super Saiyan through a gentle nature alone) and when a Saiyan increases their battle power they steadily gain more S-Cells. Saiyan offspring will inherit S-Cells from their parents, this is why Goten, Trunks, and the hybrid clone Cell were able to become Super Saiyans so easily.
=== Senses ===
Saiyans have a very keen sense of smell and keen eyesight.
=== Transformations ===
==== Great Ape ====
Their tail also grants a Saiyan special transformations; a great metamorphosis into a giant ape beast with tremendous power when looking at a full moon. The Saiyan grows incredibly in size and tenfold in strength while drastically changing in appearance. If the tail is removed, this ability is lost. In this state, a Saiyan will generally lose most if not all control of themselves, with aggressiveness reaching its peak, causing them to lost all rationality to primal instinct. However, some Saiyans who have advanced enough (i.e. Prince Vegeta) are able to contain this heightened ferocity, allowing them to retain their individuality and rationality to perform in battle as normal.
==== Super Saiyan ====
The most powerful ability of a normal Saiyan, however, is the ability to drastically augment their speed, strength and energy by transforming into a Super Saiyan. The ability is rare and difficult to achieve normally, but gives the Saiyan unbelievable enhancements to their normal abilities. Saiyans possess several Super Saiyan transformations, each different in appearance and the power they provide. For the majority of the Super Saiyan forms, the Saiyans muscle mass increases slightly, their irises turn bluish-green and their hair turns golden in color. There are additional transformations beyond Super Saiyan, and variations thereon.
There are several forms of Super Saiyan, most notably the Super Saiyan 2 and Super Saiyan 3 forms.
==== Super Saiyan God ====
Through several different methods a Saiyan can ascend to godhood and achieve the Super Saiyan God form, the most notable being a sacred ritual involving the transfer of ki from five righteous Saiyans to a sixth Saiyan as host. Attaining these forms is quite difficult and only three Saiyans are known to have ever accomplished it - with only two retaining the power. These forms possess Godly ki.
Retaining the godly power also causes the user's normal forms to become more powerful than before, and also gifts them with the God-like Saiyan form, a form which utilizes the power of Super Saiyan God without a physical change in appearance. A Saiyan can also transform into a Super Saiyan God at will if they retain the godly power.
A Saiyan with the power of Super Saiyan God who transforms into a Super Saiyan becomes a Super Saiyan Blue.
==== Hybrid forms ====
Saiyans are capable of mixing their Super Saiyan forms with their other non-Super Saiyan states in order to achieve powerful hybrid states. This has shown to be possible by mixing the standard Super Saiyan form with either Great Ape or Super Saiyan God.
===== Super Saiyan God Super Saiyan =====
Once a Saiyan masters the divine power of Super Saiyan God, by transforming from a Saiyan with the power of Super Saiyan God into the Super Saiyan form, they can access a new more powerful transformation called Super Saiyan Blue, more descriptively known as "Super Saiyan God Super Saiyan".
When a Saiyan breaks through their normal limits, they can achieve the power beyond Super Saiyan Blue.
A Saiyan who possesses an actual status as a deity takes on the Super Saiyan Rosé form instead of the ordinary Super Saiyan Blue.
===== Super Saiyan Phoenix =====
It's a mixture of Super Saiyan form with Phoenix Power. Only Terra family members with saiyan blood can achieve this power.
===== Super Saiyan Dark =====
Super Saiyan form but a darker version. It's the same level as normal super saiyan but more faster and violent. It was once using for evil but they are later use for good and protection.
== Fighting ==
Saiyans have an inborn need to fight. Most Saiyans will spend their lives training to become stronger so that they can prove themselves in battle. When Frieza hired the Saiyans as his planet pirates, he knew of their amazing fighting skills and used that to his advantage. However, Frieza began to notice how powerful the Saiyans were becoming and began to fear that one day one of them would overwhelm him as the most powerful being in the universe. This eventually lead to Frieza's destruction of Planet Vegeta and all the Saiyans on it. Saiyans like Goku and Vegeta are frequently seen training and improving their fighting skills to keep up with each other's skills and the appearance of new, more powerful foes. After battles, injured Saiyans are placed inside Medical Machines by doctors of the Galactic Frieza Army. The healed soldier can then immediately return to the battlefield.
Many of the Saiyan and Saiyan/Human hybrids that appear throughout the series possess extreme fighting potential. It is also very common for them to develop the ability to transform into Super Saiyans at childhood, thought to be particularly likely when the hybrid's Saiyan parent had achieved the transformation prior to conception.
A Saiyan who achieves a level of power at the level of gods becomes a "God-like Saiyan.
=== Protection ===
As a warrior race, the Saiyans would commonly wear protective armor consisting of a form-fitting body suit and battle armor. It was extremely light yet durable, able to protect from most attacks. At the same time, it is extremely flexible, able to stretch out so far without losing any of its integrity, enabling to remained clothed while turning into a Great Ape, moving about unhindered, and likewise return to normal size once the Saiyan shrinks back to their base form.
=== Transportation ===
Saiyans have small space-pods that are only big enough for one person sitting down. When more than one person is sent to a planet, each warrior has a pod to themselves, who fly alongside each other in a group. It is unknown what fuel the space pods use, and there is no visible exhaust area for the fuel's waste to be expelled from (though when they fly they have an energy aura around them). However, the computers operating the pods seem to be very sophisticated, and can even change course in space, despite there being no visible means of doing so (in the real world, spaceships must either slingshot around a large gravity source, such as the Moon, or must have some object to push themselves away from, per the Third Law of Motion, "For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction"). The passenger appears to be in stasis during travel, but upon reaching a destination air is pumped into the pod, reviving the occupant.
=== Healing ===
Having become a natural-born race of warriors, Saiyans are shown to be very resilient and adaptive. As they continue battling, their minds and bodies continue to adapt and improve from the experience. To which, they instinctively learn from their mistakes and become more accustomed to the adversity before him. Even more, Saiyans are shown able to recover from injuries much faster than humans. Also as their bodies recover and adapt from the injuries, their bodies will grow considerably stronger than before, a literal example of the saying "That which does not kill me only makes me stronger". This power increase is known as Saiyan Power.
== Known Saiyans ==
=== Full-Blooded Saiyans ===
* Goku
* Vegeta
* Bardock
* Gine
* Raditz
* King Vegeta
* Nappa
* Tarble
* Ingen
* Dorian
* Raichi
=== Half-Blooded Saiyan ===
* Gohan
* Trunks
* Goten
* Bulla
* Riley Terra
* Jack Terra
* Mia Terra
== Trivia ==
* 
Category:Race
Category:Dragon Ball Characters