Dragon Ball Z is the second part of the main story, covered right after Dragon Ball’s anime was concluded. While the original series sets up the foundation of the story, DBZ helped popularize the franchise, setting a high benchmark for future Shonen series. The series revolutionized the Shonen genre by heavily focusing on transformations, rivalries, family dynamics, and more. Dragon Ball Z takes place after a time skip where Goku is living a peaceful life with his wife Chi-Chi and four-year-old son, Gohan. However, trouble always seems to find him since his peaceful days are short-lived when Saiyans, a warrior race from another planet, come looking for him and expose the true reason Goku was sent to the planet.
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Goku learns about his origins and the horrifying nature of the Saiyans, but naturally, he chooses to protect the planet he grew up on. As the story continues, several more allies and villains show up, with Goku and the others leveling up after each battle. The transformations in DBZ rely on hype and rage moments, often creating a much bigger impact than intended.
10) Frieza’s Ultimate Form Still Gives Us Chills
As the galactic tyrant, Frieza needed to have unparalleled strength to command such authority. Just his presence alone was able to send shivers down the spines of everyone around him, including the Saiyans. Even though he arrived on Namek to acquire the Dragon Balls, he was more than thrilled to show off his horrifying abilities. Unlike most transformations that grant the fighters a massive boost in power, Frieza actually used transformations to suppress himself.
The more he transformed, the more he revealed his true power. His final and ultimate form is actually his true self, which doesn’t hide the sheer intensity of his power. Frieza had his sweet time playing with Gohan and Krillin, which cost him a heavy price.
9) Super Saiyan God Revives an Ancient Legend
Super Saiyan God was introduced in the DBZ film: Battle of Gods, which was later added to the initial episodes of Dragon Ball Super. After awakening from his slumber due to a prophetic dream, Beerus, the God of Destruction, searched far and wide for a Super Saiyan God who only existed in ancient legends. Thanks to Shenron, the Saiyans discover the key to unlocking such powers, giving Goku a massive boost in his fight against Beerus.
Super Saiyan God was only a temporary power, but it granted enough strength for Goku to fight toe to toe with a God of Destruction, the most powerful being in the universe. Even though Goku lost this ability mid-battle, his body remembered the intense power he once used, pushing him to become even stronger.
8) Super Saiyan Blue Provides Godly Powers
This iconic form was first introduced in the DBZ film titled Resurrection F, which centers around Frieza being revived and planning to take charge as a galactic tyrant once again. He even trained to defeat Goku, but the villain had no idea that the Saiyan’s power had increased multiple times over the past few years. Super Saiyan God blends the godly abilities with the usual SSJ traits.
Goku came up with the idea after fighting Beerus, since his body was already used to the enormous power he once held. Surprisingly, Vegeta also awakened this ability despite never getting a power boost thanks to the ritual.
7) Perfect Cell Showed the World What True Terror Means
Cell was already a formidable foe long before he began consuming powerful people. He achieved his full strength after absorbing Androis 17 and 18, who were designed with the sole purpose of granting power to Cell. On top of regeneration, he is capable of using even the most unique abilities of Goku and the other Z Warriors, making him a force to be reckoned with.
Cell was unstoppable after achieving his perfect form, so much so that even the combined strength of the Z Warriors wasn’t enough to even weaken him. The villain, confident in his own abilities, decided to hold a tournament to test his opponent’s strength before crushing them completely.
6) Ultimate Gohan Unlocks His True Potential
After a major setback during his fight with Dabura, Gohan realizes that the seven years he spent without training made him rusty. Things take a turn for the worse when Majin Buu makes his appearance and terrorizes the planet with his unparalleled power. While the Z Warriors were incapable of defeating the villain, all hope rested on Gohan’s shoulders yet again.
Thanks to Elder Kai, Gohan unlocked his full latent potential, surpassing Goku’s Super Saiyan 3 form without the need for the actual transformation. Although this form is more commonly known as “Mystic Gohan,” officially it’s “Ultimate Gohan.” With his newfound powers, he could have defeated Super Buu all on his own, but a moment of carelessness resulted in a frustrating defeat.
5) Future Trunks Made History With His Super Saiyan Transformation
One of the most shocking plot twists in the series is time traveling, and the one who did it turned out to be the son of Bulma and Vegeta. After seeing his world destroyed by the Androids, Future Trunks came to the current timeline to warn Goku and the others about the impending threat of the Androids. At the time, Goku had yet to return to Earth after his brutal battle against Frieza on Namek. This is why Frieza and King Cold beat him to it and came to the planet with every intention of destroying it.
While the Z Warriors were on standby, none of them were capable of defeating the villains, not without a Super Saiyan. They were all baffled to see that not only was the mysterious man carrying a sword a Super Saiyan, but he defeated Frieza without even batting an eye.
4) Vegeta Finally Transforms into a Super Saiyan
After witnessing Goku’s first Super Saiyan transformation, Vegeta was feeling a mix of emotions. On one hand, he was glad to learn that the ancient legend could come true, but on the other hand, his pride took a hit to know that the one who achieved this level was a low-ranking Saiyan instead of the planet’s Prince. After the battle on Namek, he trained relentlessly to grow more powerful, even to the point of risking his life.
Finally, when all hope seemed lost, he too became a Super Saiyan by the time the Androids were due for their arrival. Vegeta made easy work of Androids 19 and 20, but the others were a lot more powerful for him to handle alone.
3) Goku Shakes the World With Super Saiyan 3
Goku literally shook the planet with his SSJ3 transformation in the final saga. He passed on to the afterlife with his body intact as a reward for dying to protect the planet. This is why he was able to train for seven years and unlock the next stage of Super Saiyan.
Unfortunately, while this transformation itself is immensely powerful, it drains his stamina way too easily, so Goku can’t keep using this form for long. Not only that, but the entire reason he did this was so he could distract Buu long enough for the other Z Warriors to make their move.
2) Gohan Unlocks the Next Level of Super Saiyan
Despite being only 11 years old, Gohan was burdened with the responsibility of saving the world from Cell. Cell was so powerful that even Goku admitted he couldn’t defeat the villain, but his son could. However, Cell relished in torturing Gohan emotionally by targeting his friends and brutally killing Android 16 in front of him.
That was the kid’s breaking point, which forced him to reach new heights of the Super Saiyan transformation and easily overpower Cell. Fueled by rage and grief, Gohan became the first Saiyan to unlock the Super Saiyan 2 stage. What followed was one of the most satisfying moments in the series as Cell kept getting bashed by a kid he looked down on.
1) Goku Turns Super Saiyan in Namek
Hardly any moment in Shonen history comes even close to the same level of iconic as Goku’s first Super Saiyan transformation. He proved the ancient legend true by transforming during his fight against Frieza and forever changed the transformation trope in the Shonen demographic. Up until that moment, the story of the gold-haired Super Saiyan was lost in the annals of history.
The proud warrior race, the Saiyans, continued to exist for centuries or even millennia without ever awakening this form, but Goku was always meant to be a lot more special. Despite getting a major power-up, Goku was barely able to hold his own against Frieza, until rage fueled him and he became something beyond what the villain could handle.
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Image courtesy of Focus Features.
