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The Super Saiyan (超サイヤ人, Sūpā Saiyajin^?), was introduced as a fictional legend in the manga series Dragon Ball created by Japanese manga artist Akira Toriyama. The Super Saiyan makes its debut appearance in volume 27 of the 42 volume manga series, better known to general fans as Dragon Ball Z; named so after the anime adaptation of the manga series was split into two sub-series. The Super Saiyan also appears in a third, anime-only series called Dragon Ball GT. In the series, the Super Saiyan is a transformation that is only accessible to characters who possess heritage from the fictional race called the Saiyans. The effects of the transformation results in greatly enhanced physical abilities.

The first transformation to Super Saiyan occurs involuntarily, when a Saiyan has reached his natural limit and is overcome with intense emotion. Future transformations are achieved when the Saiyans massively increase a certain energy in their bodies called chi. As the series continued, the status of the Super Saiyan as being "legendary" is quickly departed from due to more characters developing the ability to transform.

Contents 1 Legend 2 Transformations 2.1 Super Saiyan 2.1.1 Super Saiyan 2nd Grade 2.1.2 Super Saiyan 3rd Grade 2.1.3 Full Power Super Saiyan 2.2 Super Saiyan 2 2.3 Super Saiyan 3 3 Anime-only Super Saiyan variants 3.1 False Super Saiyan 3.2 Legendary Super Saiyan 3.3 Super Saiyan 4 4 Other media 5 Notes and references 6 External links

This account of the Super Saiyan legend is based on the account presented in the manga series, being that the manga account is more consistent with the rest of the Dragon Ball timeline.

The legend of the Super Saiyan is first introduced by Vegeta during a period of the series called the Freeza Saga.^[1] Even though a detailed description of the legend is stated in the Freeza Saga, an indirect reference was made to it earlier in the series in the previous saga called the Saiyan Saga.^[2] The legend was a myth that was passed down through the generations of Saiyans, telling the story of a Saiyan that came along once every millennium who had power so great that it destroyed him and the planet that he inhabited. The assumption that many Saiyans had was that any Saiyan becoming a Super Saiyan was an extremely rare event, and only being a possible transformation for the stronger individuals of the race.^[3] When a Saiyan became a Super Saiyan, it was said that their true power was awakened by rage. This Saiyan would be revered as the Super Saiyan, being recognized as the strongest being in the Universe by wielding nearly limitless physical power.

Because the Super Saiyan transformation had not been demonstrated by any Saiyan in recorded history, most races that had heard the legend of the Super Saiyan dismissed it as simple mythology, even most Saiyans. This was until several Saiyans emerged that possessed physical potential that had rapidly evolved beyond their known natural limits. After the galactic overlord Freeza witnessed a lower class Saiyan defeat one of his elites, he came to fear the Saiyans enough to destroy the entire race, in the hope that a Super Saiyan would never emerge to challenge him.

However, four Saiyans escaped the destruction (three more would be added from the movies), and one of the four would ascend to the legendary form and use it to defeat Freeza. The original four Saiyans who escaped the destruction were Goku, Vegeta, Raditz and Nappa. Two of them would procreate to produce male Saiyan/Human hybrids, where one of the hybrids' Super Saiyan power would transcend his pure Saiyan father.

It was originally stated that a Saiyan must be pure of heart to make the transformation,^[4] whether it be pure good or pure evil. The legend also originally stated that only one Super Saiyan would emerge in a thousand years; this is later contradicted when another Super Saiyan appears one year later.^[5] As a result, the legendary status of the Super Saiyan ceases and by then end of Dragon Ball, there are numerous other Super Saiyans. It was later discovered that any person with Saiyan heritage was biologically capable of ascending to Super Saiyan if they were powerful enough, but only under the appropriate conditions. In the main series, all the male characters with Saiyan heritage who existed after the Freeza Saga managed to achieve Super Saiyan, and some of the characters managed to achieve advanced Super Saiyan transformations.

The following descriptions of the transformations are based on the displayed traits in the manga series. The order at which the listing for transformation and characters appear is the chronological order at which the levels were achieved in the primary Dragon Ball timeline.

Super Saiyan (超サイヤ人, Sūpā Saiyajin^?) first appeared in volume 27 of the 42 volume manga series, and continued to appear in all proceeding volumes. In the series, the Super Saiyan is a transformation that occurs when a character of Saiyan heritage has reached their natural physical limit and becomes emotionally distressed; in most instances, from despair or rage.^[6] After the initial transformation, the state usually can be utilized at will.

Several noted physical alterations occur with the Super Saiyan. The most noticeable change is that the hair is now a golden yellow, the locks of hair now standing firmly upward. Other altered physical characteristics include the Saiyan's eye color changing to green, with the muscle mass and features becoming more prominent. The aura of a Super Saiyan is often interpreted as blazing yellow (as portrayed in the anime adaptation), however in the colored manga chapters, the aura is portrayed as white, flame-like waves.^[7]

Being that the Super Saiyan is primarily achieved by experiencing rage or despair, Super Saiyans have described themselves as having a constant feeling of "restlessness" or "aggression" while transformed.^[8] These feelings are later suppressed as the Saiyan becomes more adept at using the transformation. The first character to appear as a Super Saiyan in the series was Goku after becoming overwhelmed with rage when he witnessed Freeza murder his best friend Kuririn. The Super Saiyan transformation is reverted when the Saiyan's chi becomes too depleted to maintain the transformation, or their chi disperses from either conscious control or force. In the Daizenshuu, it is stated that Goku's first Super Saiyan transformation increased his chi level fiftyfold, however, it is unclear wheather or not the multiplier remains fiftyfold as the series continues.

Confirmed Users:

• Goku^[9]
• Vegeta^[10]
• Gohan/Future Gohan (Alternate time line)^[11]
• Broly^[12]
• Goten^[13]
• Trunks^[14]
• Gotenks ^[15]
• Gogeta^[16]
• Vegetto^[17]
• Future Trunks
• Goku Jr.^[18]
• Vegeta Jr.^[19]

Super Saiyan 2nd Grade (超サイヤ人第2段階, Sūpā Saiyajin Daini Dankai), first appeared in volume 32 of the 42 volume manga series and appears in the immediate proceeding volumes. It does not become a frequently used Super Saiyan form as the series continues. As stronger villains were introduced in the series, the Super Saiyans realized that even with the power of the Super Saiyan transformation, they weren't strong enough to defeat the opponents. As a result of these new villains, some of the Super Saiyans vigorously searched for a way to ascend past the standard Super Saiyan form. As a result of their training, the Saiyans discovered an advanced form of Super Saiyan that enabled them access to greater power. The Super Saiyan 2nd Grade occurs when a skilled Super Saiyan increases their chi to a point that advances their abilities beyond the regular Super Saiyan limitations.

This advanced state appears as a Super Saiyan, but with longer, finer hair that is forced further upward. The Saiyan's muscle mass is also significantly increased from the regular Super Saiyan form, as well as the features becoming more prominent. The ascension from Super Saiyan to this form results in the aura changing from gentle waves to a blazing torrent. The aggression is increased even higher than the original Super Saiyan from. Because this is simply a modified form of the Super Saiyan, it is not considered a truly ascended form.

Confirmed Users:

• Vegeta^[20]
• Future Trunks^[21]
• Goku^[22]

Super Saiyan 3rd Grade (超サイヤ人第3段階, Sūpā Saiyajin Daisan Dankai) first appears in volume 33 of the 42 volume manga series, and does not appear in any proceeding volumes. In the series, The Super Saiyan 3rd grade was discovered as an advanced form of the Super Saiyan 2nd Grade, that further increased both the abilities and the flaws of the Super Saiyan form. Officially named in the manga by Trunks as "The Super Super Saiyan",^[23] the more common name "Ultra Super Saiyan" is unofficial term that was coined by English speaking fans of the series.

This transformation is very similar to the Super Saiyan 2nd Grade form, as it is also not a truly ascended form of Super Saiyan. In order to achieve this Super Saiyan form, the user increases their chi to full capacity, which results in this flawed transformation. This transformation is considered insufficient for battle, as the muscle mass itself has increased to a point that actually drastically inhibits the Saiyan's speed.^[24] In addition, the user's chi depletes more quickly because of the amount of chi that this form requires. The flaws of the form were further exposed by the villain named Cell, who explained the form's own weakness through mimicry of the transformation.^[25]

This form appears as a Super Saiyan 2nd Grade with increased muscle mass, as well as the locks of hair becoming more firmly upright than the two previous forms of Super Saiyan. The aura that surrounds the user blazes wildly, even more so from the Super Saiyan 2nd Grade. Although Vegeta never has been seen in the Super Saiyan 3rd Grade or been an actual confirmed user of the form, it is strongly implied by Trunks in volume 33 of the manga that Vegeta was able to use it, but chose not to upon realizing the form's extreme flaws.

Confirmed Users:

• Future Trunks^[26]
• Goku^[27]

Full Power Super Saiyan (超サイヤ人, Furu Powā Sūpā Saiyajin^?) is not actually an advanced form of Super Saiyan, but rather a state of peace and physical perfection while at Super Saiyan. The state first appears in volume 33 when the character Son Goku had witnessed and experienced the substantial flaws of the advanced Super Saiyan grades. Son Goku concluded that complete mastery of the original Super Saiyan form was the best way to advance his abilities, and ultimately achieve greater power. As a result, he focused on training his body to suppress the negative effects of the Super Saiyan form, such as chi consumption and the emotional alterations; which he did instead of focusing on advancing his abilities forcibly like Vegeta and Trunks strived to do. By mastering the transformation, the Super Saiyan is able to retain transformation almost subconsciously from having minimal chi loss. By having less chi to contribute to maintaining the transformation itself, the maximum amount of chi can then be focused into the attacks. This complete mastery of the original Super Saiyan form results in a form known as the Full Power Super Saiyan.

The intention of this form is energy conservation rather than energy amount, so it is achieved through improving the general skill rather than increasing the chi capacity. This results in a Saiyan who is able to fight longer and more efficiently than with Super Saiyan 2nd Grade or 3rd Grade, and can even stay in this state for days without stopping as long they don't do anything to exhausting. This form is not confirmed to have any physical alterations from the original Super Saiyan form. Several alterations in the hair and aura are often noted by fans, however, these alterations can be debated as Toriyama had altered his art style as the series continued.

Goku and Gohan are the only confirmed individuals to have achieved this state of Super Saiyan. It is suggested that most Super Saiyans achieved this state by the Buu arc.

Confirmed users:

• Goku^[28]
• Gohan^[29]

The Super Saiyan 2 (超サイヤ人, Sūpā Saiyajin 2^?) transformation wasn't actually discovered until it was achieved by Gohan during his battle with Cell. Earlier in the series, Goku trained Gohan to become a Super Saiyan, knowing that as a Super Saiyan, the dormant potential that Gohan harbored could be very useful against Cell. Upon the awakening of his dormant power through his fierce rage, Gohan further transformed from his regular Super Saiyan form, to achieve a true ascended form called Super Saiyan 2. It is uncertain how this transformation is achieved, even though it is suggested that it was initially intended as a new Super Saiyan form of Gohan's, due to the awakening of his dormant power. As the series continued, Goku and Vegeta later achieved this transformation through training, suggesting that any Super Saiyan was able to achieve it if they were skilled enough to ascend.^[30]This form possesses the same basic characteristic of the regular Super Saiyan, with golden yellow hair, and green eyes. Only slight differences are noted from the regular Super Saiyan form, such as a slight growth in muscle mass. Other physical changes include longer, finer, more upright-standing hair (which results in less hair straying in front of the face). The behavioral effects are the same as an un-mastered Super Saiyan and every physical color change remains the same as in Super Saiyan. The Saiyan's abilities increase substantially from their regular Super Saiyan form, resulting in a larger aura that blazes violently rather than being flame-like. The aura is also now accompanied by blueish-white bolts of electricity.

Gohan's behavior while transformed to Super Saiyan 2 is noticed to be quite different than Goku and Vegeta's behaviors in the same form. After first transforming during the battle against Cell, Gohan's demeanor drastically changed from gentle to sadistic and merciless. An example of this sadism is Gohan's desire to make Cell suffer for his crimes against humanity.^[31] This behavior contrasted his regular Super Saiyan state where he actually refused to harm Cell at all.^[32] This sadistic nature was never present in Goku or Vegeta when they used it, but their aggression was heightened considerably.

Confirmed Users:

• Gohan^[33]
• Goku^[34]
• Vegeta^[35]

During the seven year gap that followed the Cell saga, Goku dedicated his time to searching for his limit as a Super Saiyan. As a result of his training, he achieved a new form called Super Saiyan 3 (超サイヤ人3, Sūpā Saiyajin 3^?), which further ascended the power of the Super Saiyan. However, due to the considerable amount of chi required, the form is only sustainable for a short amount of time.

Goku was the first to achieve the form while existing in the Other World. Goku's ability to maintain the form in the afterlife was unlimited, due to him not possessing the limitations of his living body. Upon returning to the living world, Goku's chi supply was severely reduced, so he could not maintain this form for extended periods of time. The fused half-Saiyan named Gotenks achieves the transformation after witness of Goku's ascension into the third transformation. Goku notes later that Gotenks was much more adept at maintaining the transformation than he was. In the sequel series Dragon Ball GT, Goku also uses the transformation after he had been transformed into a child, but his under-developed body lacked the necessary physique to sustain the form. As a result, his transformation could not be maintained efficiently and he was forced to revert to his regular form after only a few moments of transformation.

During transformation to Super Saiyan 3, the Saiyan's hair grows to the waist. In addition to the Saiyan's hair growth, the eyebrows disappear as the brow ridge becomes more prominent. It is often a misconception that the eyes come to possess pupils. However, this only occurs with Goku's eyes in the anime. Like the Super Saiyan 2 form, the Super Saiyan 3 aura releases blueish-white electrical bolts. Despite the substantial drawbacks of the Super Saiyan 3, it noticeably increases the physical abilities from Super Saiyan 2.

Confirmed Users:

• Goku^[36]
• Gotenks^[37]

During the development of the Super Saiyan concept, Dragon Ball's animation company (Toei) produced a movie depicting Goku's first Super Saiyan transformation. However, the form was later called Giji Supa Saiya-jin, or False Super Saiyan, which depicted Goku with his regular black hair, iris lacking eyes and the yellow aura of the anime Super Saiyan which colors the body gold. In order to separate Toei's anime Super Saiyan from Toriyama's in the manga, the differences were noted in volume 7 of the Daizenshuu. The Giji Super Saiyan form was used by Goku again later during a filler saga episode in the anime and no other character has been confirmed to have utilzed this form of Super Saiyan.

For the eigth Dragon Ball Z movie, Toei created a Super Saiyan whose abilities exceeded all other Super Saiyans in the series; an attempt to create an idea that there was a single legendary Super Saiyan. The character they created was named Broly, whose final Super Saiyan form is called Legendary Super Saiyan. This form is often misinterperated as the Super Saiyan 3rd Grade, but does not have the same physical flaws of massive chi consumption and speed loss as the 3rd Grade does. This form has many advantages, as it requires no chi consumption, gives the user phenomenal strength and speed, and constantly raises the user's power as long as they remain as a Legendary Super Saiyan.

The Super Saiyan 4 (超サイヤ人4, Sūpā Saiyajin 4^?) transformation is a unique transformation because it is the only Super Saiyan form that was not designed by Akira Toriyama. The Super Saiyan 4 was designed by Toei artist Katsuyoshi Nakatsuru, and strictly appears in Dragon Ball Z's sequel series Dragon Ball GT. Being a form that was not designed by Toriyama, the Super Saiyan 4 has several unusual characteristics like it only being possible for pure Saiyans to achieve the transformation. Odd visual characteristics can be obseverved with disappearing articles of clothing after transformation, and the instant aging of Son Goku from child to adult when he transforms into Super Saiyan 4. When compared to the previous Super Saiyan forms, the Super Saiyan 4 also has an unusual appearence. The Super Saiyan 4 does not have yellow hair, but rather has a tail and red fur that covers most of the body. Each Saiyan who can utilize the transformation has different colored fur, hair and eyes from the other Saiyans who can achieve the form.

While Toriyama did not design the Super Saiyan 4, he did draw a manga version of Son Goku at Super Saiyan 4 for the Dragon Box, a massive media boxset containing all the Dragon Ball movies and episodes ever produced by Toei^[38].

Wanting to expand the Dragon Ball series, Toei created a new series called Dragon Ball GT. As new enemies emerged in the series, Son Goku searches for a way to ascend what he had originally thought was the last Super Saiyan form. As a result, he went through a process that enabled him to transform into a Super Saiyan 4. The Super Saiyan 4 form is the strongest Super Saiyan transformation achieved in the anime series, and is only accessible to pure blooded Saiyans; this was discovered when the parasitic Tuffle Baby had infected Vegeta, and Baby Vegeta could not transform to this because Baby was not a Saiyan, making Vegeta's heritage impure.

Confirmed Users:

• Goku^[39]
• Vegeta^[40]
• Gogeta^[41]

After the success of Dragon Ball, Akira Toriyama created a self-parody manga entitled Neko Majin Z, which features Son Goku and Vegeta, and introduced a new Saiyan named Onio, who also has the ability to transform into a Super Saiyan. In the series, the Super Saiyan transformation was altered slightly, where the aura of the regular Super Saiyan contains bolts of electricity.

As part of his self parody, the main character Neko Majin actually has a transformation that is similar to the Super Saiyan, where he becomes "Super Neko Majin".^[42]

Super Sonic from the Sonic the Hedgehog series is offen viewed as a tribute to the Super Saiyans of Dragon Ball by fans. Although Yuji Naka stated that Super Sonic was orignially met to be unlocked in the scrapped version of Hidden Palace Zone in Sonic the Hedgehog 2 after collecting all seven Chaos Emeralds which are also offen viewed as a tribute to the seven Dragon Balls.

This section may require cleanup to meet Wikipedia's quality standards. Please improve this article if you can (October 2007).

• Daizenshuu EX's Transformation Guide on Super Saiyans
• Super Saiyan Encyclopedia on DBZ Fan