Super Saiyan
From Dragon Ball
A Super Saiyan (超サイヤ人 Sūpā Saiya-jin?), usually abbreviated as SS (Super Saiyan) or SSJ (Super Saiya-jin), is a special, advanced and powerful state of the Saiyan race in the manga/anime of Dragon Ball Z, Dragon Ball GT, and the self-parody Neko Majin Z. There are at least six levels of the state, each much more powerful than the previous.
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[edit] Legend
The ability to become a Super Saiyan was once considered to be a myth, because it had not been performed for over a thousand years until Goku accomplished it when he was fighting Frieza on Planet Namek. Though it was a legend, it, along with the Saiyans constantly growing power, made Frieza, who was considered to be the strongest being in the universe at the time, fear the Saiyans enough to destroy Planet Vegeta in the hope that the Super Saiyan legend would never be complete.
According to Goku, the transformation comes in response to a need, and in all known cases, it was brought on by either intense desperation or indignation. Any other conditions are unknown, and motivation tends to differ; Vegeta achieved this form through sheer frustration at his original inability to achieve this form. As Saiyans trained during the Z series, they discovered levels beyond Super Saiyan never seen before, completely unheard of. The appearance of a Super Saiyan is different in each form, more so in the fourth and final form.
In the main series, all male Saiyans still alive after the Frieza Saga, with the exception of Raditz and Nappa (both of whom ironically are full-blooded Saiyans), manage to reach at least the first level during the course of the series. Akira Toriyama's reason for never having any female Super Saiyans was that neither Pan nor Bra had the incentive to transform, and that he never drew female Super Saiyans because he couldn't figure out what they would look like. The Dragon Ball GT Perfect File implied Pan had the potential to transform and might have become a type of Super Saiyan never seen before.
[edit] Levels
[edit] Super Saiyan
The first Super Saiyan transformation happens when a Saiyan who has reached his natural limit loses himself in a fit of rage. However, the transformation must be triggered in response to a great need, in Goku's case to defeat Frieza. While physical change is not too drastic, the power output increase is colossal, said to increase the user's power by 50 fold. The most noticeable change is that the Saiyan's hair becomes golden in color and seems to stand on end, giving it a rising, flame-like appearance. Natural eye color temporarily changes to a greenish-blue and the muscle tone becomes more defined and the skin tone becomes lighter. As the natural floodgates of the body are opened with the transformation, excess energy is radiated from the body in the form of a pulsing, flame-like aura. There is also a marked personality alteration, where the Saiyan becomes unusually aggressive and more prone to acting on impulse. The first character to achieve the Super Saiyan transformation in the series is Goku, in the midst of engaging Frieza.
It was theorized in Dragon Ball Z movie #7 Super Android 13 that these Super Saiyan transformations prevented Goku from performing his Spirit Bomb technique. One must be pure of heart to perform the technique, and as a Super Saiyan, Goku's heart is full of rage, but isn't evil. In the film, when Goku became a Super Saiyan after gathering power for a Spirit Bomb, he lost control of the energy and instead absorbed it into himself. In the Kid Buu Saga, Goku had become Super Saiyan only after successfully creating and throwing the Spirit Bomb.
[edit] Pre and Advanced levels
- False Super Saiyan (Movie 4 only)
- Super Saiyan 1 Stage 2
- Super Saiyan 1 Stage 3
- Full-Power Super Saiyan
- Super Saiyan 2
- Legendary Super Saiyan (Broly only)
- Super Saiyan 3
- Super Saiyan 4 (Dragon Ball GT only)
[edit] Usage and Power
When Goku transformed in response to his best friend Krillin's death at the hands of Frieza, his power grossly outclassed the evil tyrant's, a feat made more impressive by the fact that, prior to the transformation, Goku was no match for him. The form is said to originally multiply the Saiyan's power by 50 times its normal amount.
In order to combat Goku's sudden burst of strength and power, Frieza released all natural bodily inhibitions and utilized 100% of his power. Though he seemed to gain the upper hand, he lost face when he realized that his attacks were no longer debilitating, with Goku merely shrugging off his most forceful blows. This was because in his 100% final state, Frieza had gained power and speed, but also gained increased energy consumption to the point where his damaged body could no longer handle it.
Future Trunks would later arrive from the future along with the ability to transform, much to the astonishment of Vegeta and other present company, and dispose of the resurrected Frieza (now also part cyborg), and his father, King Cold with great ease. Further on, Goku would use his Super Saiyan power to defeat Cooler, Frieza's older brother, thus finishing off the family and bringing the saga of Frieza to a complete close.
Some time later, Vegeta also achieved the Super Saiyan transformation, possibly due to his belief that he had pushed himself to his utmost limits without actually transforming. It would thus be anger at himself that would trigger the intense emotion required to transform. With this new power under his belt, Vegeta confronted and overcame the androids, #19 and #20 (Dr. Gero). However, when the true androids of Trunks' grim prediction arrived, Android #17 and Android #18, they easily defeated both Vegeta and Trunks' Super Saiyan forms.
The limits of the Super Saiyan were pushed even further with the introduction of Cell. At this point, Vegeta, Trunks, Goku, and Gohan had all spent some time in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber, advancing to new Super Saiyan forms to combat the androids and Cell. The Super Saiyan's power output would be outclassed by 2nd and 3rd Stage Super Saiyan, and Goku and Gohan would perfect the initial transformation into Full-Power Super Saiyans, the concept of making Super Saiyan the user's base form. The initial transformation and its advanced levels 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 Super Saiyan 3 (introduced by Goku in the Majin Buu Saga) and Super Saiyan 4 (in Dragon Ball GT).
In the special, The History of Trunks, Future Gohan is shown to have gained the transformation, possibly after witnessing the Z Fighters being slaughtered by the Androids. After he is killed, we see Future Trunks transform, thus showing his original transformation.
Super Saiyan was used to combat Cooler, in movie #5, Cooler's Revenge, and him once again in movie #6, Return of Cooler. It was also used to battle the androids from movie #7, Super Android 13.
In movie #8, Broly: The Legendary Super Saiyan, the Saiyan, Broly, is also shown to harness the original Super Saiyan transformation, which is what he uses to battle Goku for a few moments. He also uses it against Goten and Trunks in Broly: The Second Coming.
[edit] Known users
- The Original Super Saiyan
- Goku
- Vegeta
- Future Trunks
- Future Gohan
- Gohan
- Broly
- Trunks
- Goten
- Gotenks
- Gogeta
- Vegito
- Goku Jr.
- Vegeta Jr.
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| Great Apes: | Great Ape • Golden Great Ape | |||
| Numbered: | Super Saiyan • Super Saiyan 2 • Super Saiyan 3 • Super Saiyan 4 | |||
| Others: | False Super Saiyan • Ascended Super Saiyan • Ultra Super Saiyan • Full-Power Super Saiyan • Legendary Super Saiyan | |||
