Akira Toriyama’s Dragon Ball Z has proven itself as an evergreen staple of the shonen genre. Toriyama’s Dragon Ball has gradually expanded its scope and showcased unprecedented levels of power, but the show’s core goal has never wavered. Goku’s journey in Dragon Ball results in him mastering many powerful techniques and transformations.
There’s no end to Goku’s training and the transformations that are possible, but his experience as a Super Saiyan is a major component of his development, for both better and for worse. New forms of Super Saiyan transformations have gone on to dominate Dragon Ball and there’s a lot more to the power upgrade than people realize.
10 Harsh Reality: It’s Usually First Triggered Through Extreme Rage & Adversity
The debut of Super Saiyans is initially steeped in the idea that Saiyans need to undergo extreme loss and anger to trigger the transformation and become more attuned to the Saiyan heritage's aggressive nature. More power is appreciated, but Goku, Future Trunks, Gohan, and Vegeta all reach their breaking points in order to first transform.
Admittedly, the longer that Dragon Ball goes on, the looser that the conditions around Super Saiyan activation become. Dragon Ball Super even plays with the idea that Universe 6’s Saiyans can transform through concentration and focus alone rather than trauma.
9 Perk: The Power Boost That It Provides
There are plenty of reasons to appreciate Dragon Ball’s Super Saiyan transformation, but at the end of the day its most crucial feature is that it catapults the Saiyan to an exponentially higher stratum of power. These transformations continue to change and become more complex, but the Super Saiyan transformation is introduced so that Goku can finally match Frieza’s strength and take out this galactic tyrant.
Ever since, the transformation has become the benchmark in surpassing strength and it’s often the crucial ingredient in an enemy’s defeat.
8 Harsh Reality: There Are Endless False Stages & Middle Steps
The various Super Saiyan transformations slowly reveal an easy-to-follow path, but before major milestones like Super Saiyan 2 and Super Saiyan 3 are introduced, there are a lot of unsatisfying middle stages. These extra Super Saiyan steps are an attempt to create some extra suspense, but they all end up feeling inconsequential.
Clunky transformations like Advanced Super Saiyan, or the various grades of Super Saiyan Blue, just leave a Saiyan confused over what’s the “proper” path. There shouldn’t be the liability of unhelpful transformations.
7 Perk: It Improves The Saiyan’s Base Strength
Dragon Ball is an anime that’s fascinated by a character’s level of progress and the new goals that they set for themselves. The impressive nature of Saiyan genealogy allows them to improve upon their base strength in many ways, such as a zenkai boost.
Saiyans get stronger when they transform into a Super Saiyan, but it also establishes a new and higher baseline of power. The same thing is true with Super Saiyan God or Ultra Instinct, where Goku can internalize the upgrade and then build upon it.
6 Harsh Reality: The Extreme Power Can Wreak Havoc With Reality
Power is an important thing in Dragon Ball, but the characters eventually reach such plateaus of strength that they threaten the stability of the Earth itself. This is an issue that continues to be dealt with as characters become Super Saiyan God and beyond.
However, Goku’s first Super Saiyan 3 transformation shakes the planet and it’s such an immense transformation that it limits the amount of time that he has left on the Earth. When Gotenks transforms into Super Saiyan 3, he’s also only able to maintain the form for less than a half-hour. It’s just too much energy.
5 Perk: The Intimidating Aura That It Provides
The power and skills that a new transformation unlocks are what’s most important, but a decent intimidation factor shouldn’t go underestimated. The hair and pupil change are prominent side effects of turning Super Saiyan, but it also imbues the Saiyan with a severe aura.
This aura only grows more aggressive with each stage of Super Saiyan, with it acquiring electricity and other volatile forces. There’s power to back all of this up, but at times a Super Saiyan’s aura alone can scare away the threats.
4 Harsh Reality: There Can Be Physical Disadvantages & A Strain On The Body
Transformations in Dragon Ball are typically a reason for celebration, but the series’ gradual examination into Super Saiyan customs shows that there’s also a downside to some of these new forms. Advanced Super Saiyan, for instance, is such a bulky metamorphosis that it’s too slow to be practical.
Stronger transformations put constant exertion on the Saiyan’s body. Super Saiyan 4 also radically changes the user’s body and look, which some may take exception towards. Strength is often the priority here, but it shouldn’t have to come at the cost of a disadvantageous new body.
3 Perk: It Can Be Combined With Other Boosts & Transformations
There used to be a period of time where it seemed like the fancy, new Super Saiyan transformation replaced all of the previous boosts and upgrades that Goku had learned. There was debate for a while on whether Super Saiyan could be combined with the Kaio-Ken Attack or the Spirit Bomb.
For a long time, Goku didn’t mix these skill sets, but Dragon Ball Super features a combination of Super Saiyan Blue and the Kaio-Ken Attack, which proves that it’s possible. Granted, this puts incredible strain on the user’s body and there are extra consequences that can occur, but it’s doable.
2 Harsh Reality: It Triggers A Slippery Slope To Always Reach The Next Level
The first appearance of a Super Saiyan is a defining moment in Dragon Ball’s history, but there’s also no turning back from that point. It was unclear if there would only be one Super Saiyan, let alone multiple stages to this power boost, but the continued reliance on Super Saiyan forms has pushed Dragon Ball down a predictable path.
It becomes more telegraphed that each Saiyan will become Super Saiyan and then set their sights on each of the progressive stages. Once a Saiyan starts, they’re set on a predictable path.
1 Perk: It Introduces An Element Of Healing
A good offense is invaluable in a series like Dragon Ball, but there are countless altercations where effective defense is the key element to success. The Super Saiyan transformation is all about taming aggressive and violent power, but it in turn filters that rage into healing serenity.
Goku experiments with the balance of energy that’s in play with Super Saiyans, which turns out to have marginal healing capabilities. Goku transfers energy to bring a bird back to life and Super Saiyan God status presents even more substantial healing abilities.