'Dragon Ball' Creator Explains Why Goku Went Super Saiyan Before Anyone Else

Dragon Ball fans have wondered how a Saiyan goes Super, and these new details reveal not only how they do, but why Goku was the first.

In a Q&A published in the latest volume of the Dragon Ball Super manga, series creator Akira Toriyama explained how exactly a Saiyan is able to go Super Saiyan. According to him, in order to become a Super Saiyan, some one would need to have enough "S-Cells." In fact, Goku's balance of S-Cells, gentle heart, and fighting power combined into the very first Super Saiyan:

Alright, here's a full translation of the S-Cells and Super Saiyan God questions from the new Toriyama Q&A. pic.twitter.com/l9FoizTb8C

— Todd Blankenship (@Herms98) November 30, 2017

Toriyama states that "It's not like anyone can become a Super Saiyan through training an anger. In order to become a Super Saiyan, one's body must contain something called 'S-cells.' Once these S-Cells reach a certain amount, a trigger such as anger will explosively increase the S-Cells and cause a change in the body: that's Super Saiyan."

But in order to increase these S-Cells, "Having a gentle spirit is the best way to increase one's S-Cells, but most Saiyans have trouble with this, which I think is why no Super Saiyans appeared for such a long time and they became the stuff of legend."

As for what makes Goku the special blend of warrior to be the first one to reach Super Saiyan, "However, one can't reach the quantity necessary for becoming a Super Saiyan simply by having a gentle spirit, so a certain amount of battle power is indeed necessary. Looked at in this light, it's easy to see why becoming Super Saiyan came easy for Goku."

As Toriyama explains, Goku's Super Saiyan transformation was brought on by an increase of S-Cells that was mostly likely triggered by his anger over Freeza killing Krillin during the last events of the Namek saga. The anger increasing the amount of S-Cells in his body, coupled with his gentler heart, and fighting powers helped him into it.

Dragon Ball Super's "Universal Survival" arc is part of the recent simulcast agreement that sites like Crunchyroll and Funimation have scored. Dragon Ball Super airs on Crunchyroll Saturday evenings at 7:15 p.m. CST. Adult Swim airs the English dub during its Toonami block Saturday evenings at 9:30 p.m, and it will soon be available to stream on FunimationNOW.