Super saiyan goku

*How? How can you possibly have attained such power? No, don't tell me. No please, not that!*"

— Frieza realizing Goku's ascension into the Super Saiyan in The Angry Super Saiyan! Goku Throws Down the Gauntlet!
**Super Saiyan** (サイヤ *Sūpā Saiya-jin*) is an advanced transformation assumed by members and hybrids of the Saiyanrace with sufficient amounts of S-Cells in the *Dragon Ball*franchise, though there have also been occurrences of other races or individuals taking on their own versions of the form. Humans (of Saiyan heritage) in *Dragon Ball Online* can also assume the transformation by wishing to have their dormant Saiyan powers unlocked.

The Super Saiyan form first premiered in April 1991, within chapter 317 of the *Dragon Ball* manga, entitled "Life or Death". It also made its anime debut in 1991, first appearing in *Dragon Ball Z* episode 95, "Transformed at Last". Within *Dragon Ball Z* and *Dragon Ball Super*, three further powered up transformations: the second[12][13] and third[14][15] forms succeed Super Saiyan, while the premier form also has two additional graded states[16] that focus on power, and also the final form[17][18] which is superior to the graded forms. The original Super Saiyan form can also be mastered[19] to improve some of its traits and remove some flaws.

## Contents

[hide]

1. Legend
2. Transformation
3. Overview
	1. The Super Saiyan form
	2. Usage and power
4. Film and other appearances
5. Video game appearances
6. Super Saiyan transformation line
	1. Hybrid forms
	2. Super Saiyan game variations
7. Related transformations & techniques
8. Trivia
9. Gallery
10. References
11. Site Navigation

## Legend

he ability to become a Super Saiyan was once considered to be nothing but a legend, as it had not been performed for over one-thousand years.[20] Vegetastated that a Super Saiyan has achieved a level of power so overwhelming that it could only be maintained in a transformed state. Despite only being told through legend, Frieza, who had Saiyans in his army, became paranoid over the possibility of truth behind the legend due to the constantly growing power of the Saiyan race. After receiving informal permission from the God of Destruction Beerus, Frieza finally decided to annihilate the Saiyan race by destroying Planet Vegeta,[21] thus apparently sparking the end of the Super Saiyan legend. However, twenty-five years later, the Super Saiyan legend was proven to be true when Goku accomplished the feat during his titanic battle against the evil tyrant, Frieza.[22]

## Transformation

It was originally believed that the Super Saiyan transformation comes in response to a need, not a desire.[23] 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, but a when a Saiyan increases their battle power they steadily gain more S-Cells. Once the Saiyan has enough S-Cells, a feeling such as strong anger or sadness can transform a Saiyan into a Super Saiyan,[24][25][26] once a Saiyan has achieved the form they can transform into it any time by focusing their energy into their back to make it tingle. A Saiyan who has a very large battle power can turn Super Saiyan without needing a trigger, due to their tremendous amount of 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.

Goku achieves the form out of anger over the murder of his best-friend Krillin and in a what-if scenario Bardock achieves the form out of anger after Chilled attacked a Plant child called Berry, while Vegeta achieves the form through sheer frustration at his original inability to achieve it, especially when Goku already had.[27] While training in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber, Goku informs Gohan that becoming a Super Saiyan is powered by rage and told him to imagine Cell and then Frieza (after Gohan stated he had never seen Cell) killing all his friends in order for him to transform into a Super Saiyan. As the Saiyans train during *Dragon Ball Z*, they discover uncharted levels beyond the first Super Saiyan level. The power increases of subsequent Super Saiyan forms are so high that by the Buu Saga, the original transformation has been literally reduced to that of a "child's plaything" (as stated by Vegeta; as both Goten and Trunks can transform and harness the power adeptly at such a young age).[28]

In the main series, all living Saiyan-blooded males after the Frieza Saga manage to reach at least the first level of Super Saiyan. No female Super Saiyans were seen in the *Dragon Ball* manga or anime until Caulifla achieved the transformation in *Dragon Ball Super*.

However, 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. Female Super Saiyans have since appeared in video games, including *Dragon Ball Online*, *Dragon Ball Heroes* and *Dragon Ball Xenoverse*.

## Overview

In *Dragon Ball Super*, while explaining Goku's Super Saiyan form to Beerus as they were watching parts of Goku's battle with Frieza, Whis mentions that the Saiyan's knowledge of the form was lost to their race at some point in the past, resulting in it being viewed by most Saiyans as little more than a legend until it was rediscovered by Goku and the surviving Saiyans. The Namekian Grand Elder Guru also showed some awareness of the existence of Super Saiyans when he mistakenly thought that the Nameless Namekian had been killed by a Saiyan while speaking to Krillin about Kami and Piccolo's deaths, unaware of their split until after he probed Krillin's mind. Guru implied that only a Super Saiyan would have the power to kill a Super Namek like the Nameless Namekian. This indicates that Namekians may have encountered Super Saiyans in the distant past or had heard about them during the time the Namekian people were an interstellar race, as Guru possessed knowledge of them and the legend concerning the Original Super Saiyan God recorded in the Namekian Book of Legends.

In *Dragon Ball GT*, Old Kai was shown to be aware of both the Golden Great Ape and Super Saiyan 4 forms which are only accessible to Saiyans who have achieved the Super Saiyan form yet also capable of transforming into a Great Ape, indicating that Super Saiyans, Golden Great Apes, and Super Saiyan 4 had previously existed at some point in the past for Old Kai to possess knowledge of those transformations.

In the *Dragon Ball Super* manga it is shown that when a Super Saiyan's power surpasses the power of the Super Saiyan God form, it will naturally progress into a Super Saiyan God Super Saiyan.

### The Super Saiyan form

*The power comes in response to a need, not a desire*"

— Goku in "Bow to the Prince"
The first Super Saiyan transformation occurs when a Saiyan who has reached a very high level of power loses himself in a fit of rage.[24] It can be achieved by any Saiyan who has a high battle power above the standard level.[24] However, the transformation must be triggered in response to a great need, an example being in Goku's case to defeat Frieza. Intense rage may not be the actual or only source, but merely a focuser, as Goten proved able to obtain his form instinctively. To which, in *Dragon Ball Super*, Cabba described the process of as experiencing a tingling sensation of focusing one's energy emanating from the user's back (seemingly centered in a point along the spine) between the shoulder blades, Caulifla simply followed these instructions to transform into the state. While physical change is not too drastic apart from a slight increase in muscle mass,[29][30] the power output increase is colossal; it was stated by Akira Toriyama that when he was writing the manga the form was meant to be 10x what Goku had previously accomplished, in *Daizenshuu 7* the form is said to multiply the Saiyan's power level by 50x times its normal amount,[24] which Toriyama considers to be an exaggeration.[31] In the *Dragon Ball Z: The Anime Adventure Game*, the multiplier for the form is 2.5x the user's normal amount of power). The form's multiplier seems to have changed in *Dragon Ball GT*, When Goku utilizes the Super Saiyan form against General Rilldo in *Dragon Ball GT*, Rilldo states that Goku's power has increased to just over double his base form (in the English dub he states that it has increased a hundredfold).[32]
The transformation has a noticeable effect on the Saiyan's personality. Any Saiyan that had previously demonstrated a calm, collected, laid back, kind and even peaceful demeanor becomes ruthless, overcome with rage, impulsive, even becoming noticeably vengeful and unusually violent; and any Saiyan that had demonstrated those traits previously will only have them amplified to a greater degree. This is first demonstrated when Goku turned Super Saiyan during his battle against Freiza where when he went from a calm, collected, fighter to becoming a vengeful warrior, hellbent on avenging his fallen friend, Krillin, even at his own peril. Later on, when Vegetabecame a Super Saiyan, he became even more rash and belligerent, and became obsessed with defeating the Androids by himself, a drastic change from his smart, covert style he demonstrated in the Vegeta and Namek Sagas. Gohan becomes a Super Saiyan, while training in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber, but manages to regain control of his emotions prior to leaving the Chamber. However, the amplified anger that a Super Saiyan experiences returned when he became a Super Saiyan 2. The personality alterations are also on display in *Dragon Ball GT: A Hero's Legacy* when Goku Jr., a timid boy with no will to fight even in self-defense, saw Lord Yao terrorize the forest and became a Super Saiyan, his personality came full circle, accordingly. However, if the Saiyan used the secondary method of transforming mentioned far above (as demonstrated by Caulifla) by concentrating *ki* to their backs between the shoulders, the Super Saiyan's personality will remain unchanged without the need of additional training. (Suggesting the Super Saiyan form is may be inherently physical as opposed to psychological.)

The most noticeable physical change is that the Saiyan's hair becomes golden blonde in color and seems to stand on end, giving it a rising, flame-like appearance. This applies to all of the Saiyan's hair except the tail, including scalp hair, eyebrows, and the fur when a Golden Great Apes. Natural eye color changes to a greenish-blue, muscle tone becomes more defined, and the skin tone (and clothing) becomes lighter mainly due to the energy and light output of the golden aura. 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. When the female Saiyan Kale becomes a Super Saiyan, her hair turns green. It can be noted that in *Dragon Ball Online*, in the event a Saiyan character is bald they will gain a mohawk of golden hair when they turn Super Saiyan.

The Super Saiyan transformation also has an interesting, unique effect on Goku's family in addition to its normal effects: the way their eyes are drawn changes slightly. Normally, the outline around the eye is not fully drawn and it circles around about 3/4 of the way the eyeball while the overall shape of the eyes are rounder. When in Super Saiyan, their eyes are fully surrounded by an outline and are sharper and narrow in shape, the same way that all villains are drawn; this is mainly due to Akira Toriyama wanting to show the anger and hatred that must be present for a Super Saiyan transformation. Though, this is not the case for the Full-Power Super Saiyan state, as shown with Goku and Gohan during the Cell Games Saga with their eyes having a softer overall shape while not fighting.

It is theorized by Krillin that the Super Saiyan transformation prevents Goku from performing his Spirit Bombtechnique.[33] One must be pure of heart to perform the Spirit Bomb technique, and as a Super Saiyan, Goku's heart is full of rage, although not necessarily contaminated by evil. In the film *Dragon Ball Z: Super Android 13!*, 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, although it could just be that anger no longer filled his heart when he transformed since this took place after he mastered the Super Saiyan form during the Cell Games Saga or that anyone can wield the Spirit Bomb after it has been formed.

When a Super Saiyan achieves an extremely high level of power, they will exhibit sparks around their aura (like a Super Saiyan 2), this has only been displayed by Vegito, Goku (only in the anime), and Goku Black.

Super Saiyans from evil hybrid races will sometimes exhibit white hair. Examples of this include Fused Zamasu in his Super Saiyan Rosé form in *Dragon Ball Super*, Vegeta's Super Saiyan form and Strongest Forms when his body was infected by the Tuffle Baby in *Dragon Ball GT,*as well as Mira's own unique transformations as his identity as a hybrid Saiyan in *Xenoverse 2* and *Heroes*. However, it has never been stated in any *Dragon Ball*media (anime, manga, video games, etc.) that the reason these Saiyan hybrids have White hair in their Super Saiyan forms is due to them being evil Saiyan hybrids.

### Usage and power

The Super Saiyan form multiplies the Saiyan's power level by 50x times its normal amount.[34] In an interview, Akira Toriyama noted that since Super Saiyan 2 and Super Saiyan 3 are simply powered up Super Saiyans, completely mastering the normal state and the Super Saiyan form would lead Super Saiyan being stronger than Super Saiyan 2 and Super Saiyan 3,[35] thus presumably giving the hypothetical fully mastered Super Saiyan a multiplier of over 400x base.

The form was achieved by Goku after witnessing his best friend Krillin's death at the hands of Frieza. In this form, Goku's 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, even with the Kaio-ken multiplying his power 20-fold. 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 Kaio-ken x20 Kamehameha attack. Though he seemed to gain the upper hand while Goku holds back, he loses faith when he realizes that his attacks are no longer debilitating, with Goku merely shrugging off his most forceful blows. This is evident, 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 the amount of power he was controlling.
Two years following the titanic battle on Namek, Future Trunks would arrive from the future already possessing the ability to transform, much to the astonishment of Vegeta and other present company, and effortlessly disposed of the synthetically restored Frieza, and his father, King Cold.[36] Some time later, Vegeta also achieves the Super Saiyan transformation, mainly due to his belief that he had pushed himself to his utmost limits without actually transforming and due to seeing that Goku had achieved the form whilst he did not. 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. With this new power under his belt, Vegeta confronts and overcomes Android 19 and Dr. Gero, blithely killing #19 with the powerful Big Bang Attack.[37] However, the Super Saiyan form truly put to the test when the true Androids of Future Trunks' grim prediction, Android 17 and Android 18, arrive. Super Saiyan Vegeta does battle with Android 18 until he is eventually overpowered and even has his arm-snapped by a fierce kick from the deadly beauty.[38] Future Trunks jumps in on the battle, prompting #17 to intervene. The Androids easily defeat both Vegeta and Future Trunks' in their Super Saiyan forms along with the other Z Fighters; Future Trunks in particular being felled by a single blow from #17, as opposed to the trained Vegeta who withstood a much longer and abashing beating, signifying his superior strength.[39] This power is noted by Kami as he brings up the topic of how Vegeta is now more powerful than Future Trunks, who "killed Frieza and his father in an instant."
The limits of the Super Saiyan transformation were pushed even further with the introduction of Cell. With the basic Super Saiyan form now unable to combat the power of the Androids, Goku advises training in the Hyperbolic Time Chamberbecause he believes that there is a way to ascend past the normal limitations of an untrained Super Saiyan, and in doing so would make them strong enough to take down the Androids. By the time Cell had reached his Perfect Form after absorbing both the Androids, Vegeta, Future Trunks, Goku, and Gohan had all spent time in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber, advancing to new Super Saiyan forms. The Super Saiyan's standard output of power would be outclassed by the second and third stages. Unlike Vegeta and Future Trunks who made use of these stages (which either consumes one's energy rapidly and produce an increasingly higher level of strain, or reduce the Saiyan's speed to nil, with the latter doing both), Goku and Gohan work to perfect the initial transformation after deciding that it was the best form to use overall, prompting their transition into Super Saiyan Full Power, the concept of making the Super Saiyan form no different in energy output and strain 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 Anger, introduced in *Dragon Ball Super*. Super Saiyan 2, Super Saiyan 3 and Super Saiyan Anger are nothing more than powered-up variations of Super Saiyan.[40] If the normal state and regular Super Saiyan form were to be fully mastered, it would increase its user's level more than the Super Saiyan 2 and Super Saiyan 3 forms, and would sap less energy.[40]In the special chapter "Trunks The History - The Lone Warrior" and the television special *Dragon Ball Z: 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. Therefore, Future Gohan may have assumed his transformation before his present timeline counterpart (by technically a matter of days), although he was far weaker because he was never trained by his father in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber and never mastered the Super Saiyan form. 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.

Goten and Trunks, sons of 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 was unable to even remember it occurring.) Though their reasons for so easily transforming are never officially stated, the common theory is that it could have been the DNA inherited from their fathers' ability to transform already during their conception, supported by the fact that it took Gohan, who was also a child when he made his transformation, unbearable hardship to achieve (Gohan was born prior to the start of *Dragon Ball Z*, thus before his father's transformation). However, it is unknown if Vegeta achieved the ability to transform before Trunks' conception or after it, the manga implies that Vegeta stayed on Earth entirely focused on intense training to become a Super Saiyan before he grows close to Bulma so it's possible he transformed before Trunks' conception. In Future Trunks' case, he would have been conceived in the Alternate timeline under very similar circumstances, although it is possible he was not conceived after Future Vegeta became a Super Saiyan, as the alternate counterpart's transformation was never shown. However he was still able to transform at the age of 14 (making him either the youngest or second youngest Super Saiyan in the alternate timeline, depending on when Future Gohan transformed), although he was considerably weak due to lack of training.

When the Bio-Android Cell, and his counterpart from Cell's timeline fight at their full power in their Imperfect and Perfect forms, and are surrounded by a golden aura, they are in the Super Saiyan form - thanks to their cells from Future Goku and Future Vegeta. This is especially notable in the anime, as when Cell powers up to max he gains the golden Super Saiyan aura, and the Super Saiyan transformation sound effect plays.

After the battle with Beerus, Goku realized that fully-mastering the Super Saiyan form would lead to it being stronger than the Super Saiyan 2 and Super Saiyan 3 forms.[35]

Goku Black uses his standard Super Saiyan form in battle with Super Saiyan Vegeta in the *Dragon Ball Super* manga. After managing to gain a huge amount of power from a near death experience, Goku Black's Super Saiyan form evolved into his Super Saiyan God Super Saiyan form: Super Saiyan Rosé. It is unknown if Goku Black can still become an ordinary Super Saiyan, and if he can what level of power it would possess, as when Goku's god-enhanced Super Saiyan form evolved into Super Saiyan Blue, it also caused him to re-acquire his non-god-enhanced Super Saiyan form.

In some video games, Super Saiyan Rosé, a Super Saiyan God Super Saiyan form, acts as Goku Black's and Fused Zamasu's own version of the first, standard Super Saiyan form, although with Godly *ki*, as Goku Black and Fused Zamasu are natural gods. The Godly *ki* which Super Saiyan Rosé has in the *Dragon Ball Super* anime (and manga) renders the Super Saiyan Rosé form as a Super Saiyan God Super Saiyan form as well, as the Super Saiyan God Super Saiyan forms are basically the first Super Saiyan form combined with Godly *ki*.

During his battle with Beerus, after the Super Saiyan God transformation reverted to normal, Goku proceeded to use his Super Saiyan form to keep on with the battle, deflecting and negating Beerus' universal-destroying punches, indicating that once enough of that raw godly power is absorbed, a Saiyan could easily attain the power of the gods and become just as strong as them without requiring to transform into Super Saiyan God again.
During the "Future" Trunks Saga, Gohan is forced to use the form while fighting the Watagash-possessed Barry Kahn as his alter-ego Great Saiyaman. While using the form as Great Saiyaman, it was dubbed **Super Great Saiyaman** by the director of "Great Saiyaman vs. Mr. Satan". Due to his Great Saiyaman helmet concealing his hair and eyes, Great Saiyaman's appearance doesn't change as much aside from his Super Saiyan aura and Great Saiyaman suit glowing brighter. In this form, he easily defeats the Watagash with his Super Great Saiyaman Beam.

n 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 TV special *Dragon Ball GT: A Hero's Legacy*, aired at around the time that episode 40 was broadcast. This heavily contradicts the *Daizenshuu* books' explanation that Pan could not 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.