It would be impossible to talk about some of the most popular shonen anime around without mentioning the masterpiece that is Dragon Ball Z. The anime was an instant hit in the West, attracting fans from all over the globe as they witnessed the massive threats and dangers that Goku, Vegeta, and the rest of the Z Warriors tackled without hesitation. So, it was only a given that fans would be clamoring for a canon sequel to this anime that would continue the traditions of impressive transformations and awe-inspiring fights that would shake the entire world.
This wish was finally granted by Toei with the release of Dragon Ball Super, which raised the bar for massive power level boosts even more. The number of impressive transformations present in Dragon Ball Super is immense, although that does come with its fair share of lackluster transformations that do nothing to invoke a sense of epicness from the audience. Keeping this in mind, here are five of the best transformations in Dragon Ball Super, coupled with five others that don't really hit the mark.
10 BEST: Super Saiyan Rose
The Super Saiyan Rose form is easily one of the most unexpected transformations in Dragon Ball Super, and watching Goku Black achieve this extremely unique transformation will never be boring to watch.
One might argue that it simply looks and feels better than some of the other transformations that have become an integral part of Dragon Ball Super.
9 WORST: Super Saiyan God
The Super Saiyan God form definitely had a ton of potential. Watching a leaner version of Goku with normal red hair instead of spiky blonde hair was definitely quite different from the norm, and made for some truly engrossing viewing.
However, Super Saiyan God turned into a form that pretty much served as a gateway for Saiyans to achieve god ki, which is quite a horrid excuse indeed. The form lost any charm or importance it had and was quickly replaced by its successor instead.
8 BEST: Super Saiyan Blue Kaio-ken
The Super Saiyan Blue form has been used extensively in Dragon Ball Super, which may be a good thing or a bad thing depending on one's opinion.
The good thing about this recessive utilization of the Super Saiyan Blue form was that it opened the gates for a number of unique ways to use this transformation, with perhaps the most notable of the lot coming in the form of Goku combining his Super Saiyan Blue transformation with the Kaio-ken technique to create an absolute spectacle that most fans would remember long after the fight featuring this transformation had ended.
7 WORST: Super Saiyan Blue
While it might be a bit harsh to label the base Super Saiyan Blue form as a bad transformation, one can't deny that its use across Dragon Ball Super was a bit too much for one's liking.
Thankfully, the formula wasn't stale for too long — what with the number of ways the transformation evolved — but viewers couldn't help but roll their eyes whenever this supposedly ultra-powerful form was used to combat the minutest of threats.
6 BEST: Ultra Instinct Sign
A unique form for Goku that didn't rely on his Saiyan background was definitely a first for the series, which is what made the unveiling of Ultra Instinct Sign all the more awe-inspiring.
The best part about this form was the fact that it was still an imperfect transformation and yet boasted such a massive power boost that fans couldn't wait to see what the perfected form of Ultra Instinct would look like.
5 WORST: Destroyer Form
Toppo might certainly be a rather intriguing antagonist, but one must say that his Destroyer Form was quite underwhelming and served as nothing more than an excuse for Vegeta to finally get his moment to shine during the Tournament of Power.
So, no matter how much power he might've displayed, the entire transformation itself felt so contrived that it lost all impact from the get-go.
4 BEST: Autonomous Ultra Instinct
The Ultra Instinct Sign form had been utilized multiple times across the Tournament of Power arc, so it was obvious that fans were salivating at the opportunity to finally witness the perfected form in action.
This finally came near the tail end of the arc, when Jiren pushed Goku to the point where he finally managed to unlock his true potential and achieve Autonomous Ultra Instinct. This form was so insanely powerful that Jiren had absolutely no chance against this fired-up Goku — something that was all the more unbelievable given how effortlessly he'd managed to dominate the fighters up to that point.
3 WORST: Super Saiyan Rage
While the Super Saiyan Rage form definitely looks cook and is quite befitting for Future Trunks, one has to question the logic of this transformation and how its power scales in the grand scheme of things.
After all, it's not like Trunks had achieved god ki by any means, and achieving a form that would be comparable to Super Saiyan Blue in terms of power would've been downright impossible. Yet, Future Trunks managed to unlock this transformation out of nowhere and magically scale up in power to fight at the level of a god.
2 BEST: Vegito
It would be impossible to talk about transformations in Dragon Ball Super without mentioning the fusions that happened over the course of the series, with Vegito's return during the Future Zamasu arc being quite amazing in this regard.
Watching Super Saiyan Blue Vegito become a reality is definitely one of the highlights of Dragon Ball Super. Unfortunately, the same can't be said for all the other fusions in the series...
1 WORST: Kefla
The idea of a base Super Saiyan being comparable to the power level of a Super Saiyan God is already ridiculous enough as is, but the Saiyans of Universe 6 somehow managed to take this ridiculousness a step further.
A fusion between two base Super Saiyans being powerful than a Super Saiyan Blue is a tough pill to swallow. Logically speaking, Goku should've never been in a position where the Ultra Instinct Sign form was the only way to get out of this predicament. Although, that being said, one can't deny that the skidding Kamehameha that knocked Kefla out is easily one of the best moments in Dragon Ball history.