3 Coolest Great Ape Transformations in Dragon Ball History

Super Saiyan wasn’t the first transformation in Dragon Ball history, as it all started when Goku became the Great Ape Oozaru in the original series. No one knew that Saiyans had a connection to apes or what the tail represented at first, and there was no way Goku could know as he would unconsciously do it when he looked at the moon. This transformation became the official start of his and everyone else’s journey in learning more about Saiyans.

However, the look continued to progress. Initially, it fell by the wayside once Super Saiyans were introduced. The power up just looked so cool, but Akira Toriyama did an incredible job of always advancing the levels that fighters in the Dragon Ball universe would attain so it rarely returned. Furthermore, a power level never lost its luster either. Toriyama and the anime team found a way to reincorporate old looks into the Great Ape form and reinvent them as well.

3) Cumber’s Super-Saiyan-Inspired Transformation

This one definitely got the audience. It had been quite some time since the Great Ape had appeared on screen, and it was only referenced in flashbacks prior to Cumber’s transformation. The Evil Saiyan was introduced as a masked madman in Super Dragon Ball Heroes. He didn’t ever go Super Saiyan in the first battle he appeared in. However, he gave Goku and Vegeta all they could handle when he took on the Great Ape form.

The significance of his change was that he maintained a lot of his human accoutrements. He kept his mask, clothes and broken restraints on. Cumber also saw his hair change into a similar look to a Super Saiyan 3 Golden Great Ape hybrid. The look was so unique that it had to make the list, despite it not being canon.

2) Goku Debuts Great Ape In First Series

The opening curveball of the series had to come when Goku tapped into his Saiyan heritage and became the Great Ape for the first time. Dragon Ball was much more a kids show and didn’t have quite the violent, high-stakes nature of the ensuing shows. This goofy kid with a tail has only really showed a fun-loving side for the most part. But in one moment of looking at the moon, he grows large fangs, changes his eyes to red and becomes a towering, violent ape.

The first time Oozaru appeared on screen it just gave a different feel to the show and where it might be headed. Although it was a gradual climb into what the show is now. Toriyama really clued everyone into what could be coming down the line, and it was a tremendous reveal.

1) Goku Becomes First Golden Great Ape

Even if it’s not canon and the transformation wasn’t around for a long time after, Goku turning into the Golden Great Ape before eventually going Super Saiyan 4 is peak Dragon Ball nostalgia. On the heels of Dragon Ball Z’s events, the creators of the show woke everyone from their long lapse without the Great Ape. Since the last significant time the audience had seen the ape, Super Saiyan and all its grades, Super Saiyan 2, Super Saiyan 3 and fused Saiyans had all made an appearance.

It felt like that the Great Ape form was almost not needed, as it was far less powerful. But this wasn’t the case at all as this off-speed pitch caught everyone off guard. Goku looked at the Earth this time to transform which had never happened before. He then transforms into a Super Saiyan-Oozaru hybrid that Baby Vegeta was not expecting. Then, to pull a second changeup and turn him into a Super Saiyan 4 was such a great payoff. This whole saga is probably the peak of Dragon Ball GT‘s run.

It was able to introduce new levels of power against a villain that felt insurmountable. Baby wasn’t the final villain of the show but to introduce the return of the Great Ape here at this moment in the story proved perfect. Do you think the list got it right? Let us know in the comments.

Dragon Ball Needs to Use Its Coolest Saiyan Form Much More Often