Out of all of the action anime series to have made lasting impressions on audiences, Dragon Ball Z is still one of the most popular series to come up in conversation. Dragon Ball has been around for decades. Even when there wasn’t any new anime content, the franchise was still turning out creative video games.

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Dragon Ball has had many peaks and valleys over the years, but Dragon Ball GT is still one of the anime’s most controversial chapters. It’s easy to attack Dragon Ball GT, but there’s at least one aspect of the series that still gets a lot of attention, which is its Super Saiyan 4 transformation.

10 Goku May Not Be The First To Achieve It

SS4 Goku fighting SSB Goku in Super Dragon Ball Heroes, Episode 1.

Dragon Ball occasionally alludes to the sprawling history that its universe has seen. Even though characters like Goku and Vegeta are the strongest Saiyans the universe has seen in ages, there were still individuals that possibly surpassed them long ago.

There are allusions to the Legendary Super Saiyan, Yamoshi, but a similar approach is taken with Super Saiyan 4. Old Kai has a lot of knowledge on Super Saiyan 4, even before Goku first transforms. It’s possible he had seen one in the past or at least heard legends of their existence.

9 It Triggers Improved Techniques

Super Saiyan 4 is already a huge improvement over Super Saiyan 3 due to the fact that there’s no time limit to the transformation. In addition to the strength upgrade that comes with Super Saiyan 4, it appears that the new power can also lead to advanced abilities.

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After Goku becomes Super Saiyan 4, he uses the move 10x Kamehameha, while Vegeta is able to perform the Final Shine Attack. Furthermore, Super Saiyan 4 Gogeta can perform Big Bang Kamehameha and even 100x Big Bang Kamehameha in video games. These new moves are restricted to their Super Saiyan 4 forms.

8 It’s Not Designed By Akira Toriyama

A lot of the derision that Dragon Ball GT gets is because Toei Animation put much of it together without Akira Toriyama's involvement. One example of this is that Toei Animation's character designer, Katsuyoshi Nakatsuru, is the one responsible for the main look for Super Saiyan 4.

Admittedly, Toriyama helped revise the design in some ways and restrain its look, but Nakatsuru still did the bulk of the work. The transformation is supposed to be a nod to the Saiyan's origins and their primal nature, which is why it's much more ape-like in nature than the previous forms.

7 It Can Be Achieved Through Artificial Means

Anime super saiyan 4 vegeta transformation

A contentious moment in Dragon Ball GT is when Vegeta first achieves the form of Super Saiyan 4 for the first time. There’s some disdain over this display because he actually achieves the form through artificial means, thanks to some help from Bulma.

Dragon Ball GT explains that the elusive Blutz Waves are essential to turn into a Super Saiyan 4. Bulma creates some impressive technology that’s able to simulate these waves enough to prompt the right stimulation in Vegeta and triggers the transformation. He’s happy for the power, but it’s a technique that’s very antithetical to how Vegeta operates.

6 It’s Foreshadowed By Super Saiyan 3

There’s plenty of debate over whether Super Saiyan 4 should be considered canon or not. Granted, Super Saiyan 4 and the majority of Dragon Ball GT are Toei creations, but there’s perhaps a subtle nod to Super Saiyan 4 in the series. Specifically, a major moment towards the end of Dragon Ball Z when Goku becomes a Super Saiyan 3 for the first time.

As Goku achieves this new power, he has a brief vision of a half-Saiyan and half-ape hybrid, which calls back to his race’s lineage. It’s presumed that this vision is the basis for Super Saiyan 4.

5 It Can Be Combined With The Kaio-Ken Attack

Gogeta Dragon Ball

Dragon Ball Z introduces the Kaio-Ken Attack as a major boost in power for Goku, but one that he stops using after he becomes a Super Saiyan. Many believed that the two transformations couldn't be combined because it'd be too great of a strain on the user's body.

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Granted, Super Dragon Ball Heroes is a promotional anime that's not exactly canon, but it shows Super Saiyan 4 Xeno Gogeta using the Kaio-Ken attack to battle a Demon God. It's a crazy burst in power, but one that's apparently possible and may continue to be used in the promotional series.

4 A Child’s Body Cannot Sustain Its Power

Dragon Ball GT begins with Goku cursed to a youthful body due to a misunderstanding from Pilaf. Goku is still very strong in this young body, but he lacks the full strength of his adult form. This results in a very strange transformation whenever Goku becomes Super Saiyan 4.

Apparently the strain of Super Saiyan 4 is too much for this young vessel to bear, so Goku shifts into his adult body whenever he’s Super Saiyan 4 and then reverts back afterward. It’s very jarring to see this shift in size happen, but it’s an odd solution to Goku’s problem.

3 The Golden Great Ape Is An Essential Part Of The Transformation

One of the earliest Saiyan trademarks from Dragon Ball is that Saiyans can turn into Great Apes. The Great Ape transformation is crucial in Dragon Ball Z’s earlier chapters, but it becomes somewhat irrelevant after Super Saiyan transformations become the norm.

Super Saiyan 4 attempts to return to this concept, albeit in the form of the Golden Great Ape. This is almost like a Super Saiyan version of the form that’s triggered by seeing a full Earth, rather than a full moon. It features unbelievable strength, but taming this energy is necessary to then become a Super Saiyan 4 next.

2 It Has Stronger Upgraded Forms

The main Super Saiyan transformations are typically well defined amongst each other, but there are less distinct stages that also occur between major transformations. Super Saiyan 4 briefly plays around with this. Goku at one point achieves Super Saiyan 4 Full Power, which is an improvement of sorts and also features a red aura that accompanies the user.

The Dragon Ball video games also deal with Super Saiyan 4 Full Power Limit Breaker. Only Xeno Goku and Xeno Vegeta reach this plateau, but it enhances their auras even more and their bodies are supposedly completely filled with overflowing ki energy.

1 It Remains Ambiguous If Saiyan Hybrids Can Achieve It

A crucial part of the Super Saiyan 4 transformation is that it pays respect to the roots of the Saiyan race and it’s all about gaining access to that primal, ancestral power. Goku and Vegeta both learn that a tail is a requirement in achieving Super Saiyan 4 due to the Golden Great Ape stage.

This means it’s unclear if tail-less Saiyan hybrids, like Goten and Trunks, can access it. Dragon Ball video games muddy these waters since Gohan turns into one, but he also used to have a tail at one point. The debate rages on.

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