Ever since Dragon Ball Z revealed Goku’s origins, Akira Toriyama’s hit Shonen series took a drastic turn and made the Saiyans a focal point. Over the decades, Dragon Ball introduced several Shonen tropes that continue to inspire countless mangakas and popular shows even today. The most popular trope among them was transformations, which became a standard for battle Shonen. The series made history with Goku’s first Super Saiyan transformation, completely revolutionizing the Shonen demographic. The transformation trope wasn’t new in the franchise, but none of them hit the mark as much as the legendary Super Saiyan.
Videos by ComicBook.com
During his battle against Frieza, Goku became the first Saiyan in centuries to reach that level of power, and soon afterwards, the rest of the Saiyans followed in his footsteps. The franchise has released several sequels, spin-offs, and films over the years, most of which centered around Saiyans and their transformations. However, not all forms lived up to the hype, and a few of them turned out to be quite disappointing.
5) Super Saiyan 3
During the Buu Saga in DBZ, Goku’s Super Saiyan 3 merely served as a distraction so the Z Fighters could carry out their plan against the unstoppable villain. Unfortunately, this form had way too many drawbacks to even be considered useful. While it does grant immeasurable power to the user, it’s no good if they can’t use it after it causes a severe drain in stamina.
4) Super Saiyan God Super Saiyan Kaio-ken
The idea of Goku using his iconic Kaio-Ken technique with his Super Saiyan Blue form only sounds good in theory, but it has serious drawbacks. Goku spent quite a lot of effort developing this form and used it against assassin Hit during the tournament against Universe 6. Unfortunately, as a result of using this form, he developed Delayed Onset Ki Disorder, resulting in his inability to control his ki for a brief period of time.
3) Super Saiyan Rage
Future Trunks always had a knack for surprising fans, but this transformation happened out of nowhere when he was extremely angry. Although it may be an anime-original form, considering the powers it granted him, it could grant him enough power to fight almost any opponent, but unfortunately, an immortal like Zamasu is an exception to the rule.
2) Pseudo Super Saiyan
This form is an anime original featured only in the 1991 film, Dragon Ball Z: Lord Slug, and cannot even be considered a complete transformation. While the fight itself was quite entertaining, the transformation doesn’t particularly stand out in terms of appearance. A Saiyan can reach this level when they are on the brink of death, where they briefly enter the state of a Super Saiyan.
1) Super Saiyan Third Grade
Gaining brute strength in exchange for speed isn’t really a smart move when the opponent is someone as powerful as Cell. Not only does the overly buff form look jarring, but it also comes with a major drawback that can seriously spell trouble for any Saiyan. Future Trunks went further beyond the level of an ordinary Super Saiyan during his training in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber. He fought Cell on equal footing for a brief time before the villain learned about the speed disadvantage and exploited it to gain the upper hand.
What do you think? Leave a comment below and join the conversation now in the ComicBook Forum!
Most Viewed
-
Official art by Bastien Lecouffe-Deharme -
A photo of the Retrovolt Arcade taken in 2017, showing several classic arcade cabinets and stools. -
Image Courtesy of Paramount
