Dragon Ball: Why Do Goku and the Saiyans Have Tails?

The Saiyan race is a rather interesting group of people. If you have seen any part of Dragon Ball, [...]

By Megan Peters

The Saiyan race is a rather interesting group of people. If you have seen any part of Dragon Ball, you surely understand how competitive the race is. From Goku to Vegeta and beyond, Saiyans strive to be the strongest, and they begin fighting at a young age. They even get a head start on training thanks to their tails, but that appendage continues to confuse fans. After all, there's no explicit reasoning behind the Saiyan tail, but it is all thanks to a bit of storytelling.

For those who have forgotten, Goku did have a tail once upon a time. During his younger years, the boy had a tail the same as Vegeta and Gohan. The long brown tail resembled one which most monkeys would have, and its prehensile abilities gave Goku a third arm essentially. Not only could he train with his tail, but Goku could use it to swing around or do tasks.

Of course, Dragon Ball fans would go on to learn that every Saiyan in Universe 7 is born with a tail. The appendage is a took which Saiyans use their entire lives, and it even allows them to tap into their Great Ape power on full moons. However, fighters who reach Super Saiyan like Goku, their tail will not grow back once cut off because it has no longer become their direct source of power.

As for why Saiyans have tails in the first place, you can thank a certain Eastern folktale. Dragon Ball was inspired years ago after Akira Toriyama revisited the story Journey to the West. It was there he met Sun Wukong, and the hero once inhabited a monkey's body. Rather than have Son Goku look the same, Toriyama brought select parts of Wukong to Dragon Ball, and the tail made the cut.

Thanks to this relic, Dragon Ball ended up with tailed Saiyans, but the franchise has moved away from that history as of late. In the past, Toriyama admitted it was difficult keeping up with which Saiyans had the tail, so he has moved away from appointing them. In fact, all of the Saiyans in Universe 6 evolved beyond the point of needing tails, so it seems the race did evolve from apes in some form or fashion.

What else do you want to know about the Saiyan race? Let me know in the comments or hit me up on Twitter @MeganPetersCB to talk all things comics and anime!

The Japanese-language and English dub releases of Dragon Ball Super are now complete and available to stream with FunimationNOW and Crunchyroll. Viz Media is releasing new chapters of the manga at a monthly rate that can be read entirely for free through the Shonen Jump digital library, and Dragon Ball Super's big movie, Dragon Ball Super: Broly, is now available on Blu-ray and DVD.

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