After the Super Saiyans top tier list in Dragon Ball that we’ve spoken about in a previous article, it’s time to make another important journey through the history of the franchise and remind you about some of the most important transformations ever. While everybody knows about the first time Goku became a Super Saiyan or a Super Saiyan 4, for instance, there are many other exciting transformations in Dragon Ball.
Dragon Ball Super, the series that made its debut in 2015 and was distributed until 2018, has focused a lot more on transformations compared to DBZ. While this wasn’t seen as a wise move by many fans of the iconic franchise, we can’t deny the huge impact that some of those transformations had on the future of Dragon Ball.
S-Tier:
Super Saiyan Goku vs. Frieza
Super Saiyan Vegeta vs. Android 19
Super Saiyan 2 Gohan vs. Cell
Super Saiyan 4 Goku vs. Baby
The classic Super Saiyan transformation that makes the user’s hair turn golden and his eyes green has been shown in Dragon Ball for the first time during Goku’s battle against Frieza on Namek. There has been plenty of buildup for this form, and Goku was the first one to use it and open the door to a new phase in Dragon Ball. That was one of the most iconic moments in both anime in general and Dragon Ball in particular.
Vegeta was the second character to achieve the classic Super Saiyan transformation, and he has shown in for the first time in battle during his fight against Android 19. At that point, Vegeta was even arguably stronger than Goku, and the Saiyan Prince had a burning motivation to become the best warrior ever. Turning into a Super Saiyan was a dream come true for Vegeta, who was confident that nobody was able to stand in his way anymore at that point. Super Saiyan Vegeta easily defeated Android 19 in great style, obliterating the diabolical robot using a Big Bang Attack after tearing up its hands.
Gohan, the son of Goku, was the first Dragon Ball character to achieve the Super Saiyan 2 transformation. It happened during the fight with Cell, the strongest opponent that the Z warriors ever had to face until that point. The classic Super Saiyan transformation pales in comparison with Super Saiyan 2, even though there are slight differences between the two forms when we think about their design. Super Saiyan 2 lifts the hair of the fighter who’s using it even higher, while it also consists of thunders appearing alongside the yellow aura.
Goku achieving the Super Saiyan 4 transformation during his fight with Baby in Dragon Ball GT has also been an iconic moment for the franchise. A lot of fans claim that SSJ4 is the best Dragon Ball transformation ever, and for good reasons. SSJ4 is a form totally different from any other in Dragon Ball, as it makes the user turn into half Saiyan and half beast. Therefore, Goku using Super Saiyan 4 has red fur, longer hair, a tail, yellow eyes, big muscles, and an absurd power level that’s light-years higher than that of the classical Super Saiyan with golden hair.
A-Tier:
Ultra Instinct Goku vs. Jiren
Orange Piccolo vs. Gamma 2
Super Saiyan 3 Goku vs. Majin Buu
During the Tournament of Power arc from Dragon Ball Super, Goku needed a much greater power than what he could do already in order to have a chance at defeating Jiren, the strongest opponent from Universe 11 and also the silent leader of the Pride Troopers. After trying to hit Jiren with the Spirit Bomb, Goku apparently got absorbed by his own attack, but that was actually the trigger for a new transformation that Whis kept talking about many episodes earlier: the Ultra Instinct technique. This new transformation of Goku allowed the beloved Saiyan to move without thinking, while his power level also significantly increased. Ultra Instinct is a transformation so powerful that not even the gods can master it, but it seems that Goku is stronger than them.
Orange Piccolo is a new transformation obtained in the Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero movie that came out in 2022. Thus, the famous Namekian Piccolo got stronger than ever, as he could even rival the powers of Ultra Instinct Goku. Piccolo managed to obtain this form after wishing for greater powers from Shenron’s dragon balls. The goal was to fight against new androids created by Dr. Hedo, including a revised version of the classic Dragon Ball Z villain known as Cell. In this form, Piccolo has much larger muscles, his antennas are lifted, and his whole body turns orange.
The Super Saiyan 3 transformation first appeared in the Majin Buu saga of Dragon Ball Z when Goku used it against the revived Buu. Our hero obtained it after training in the Other World for seven years. Super Saiyan 3 grants Goku a rockstar appearance, as his hair turns yellow and becomes a lot longer than in the classic Super Saiyan transformation. His eyebrows also vanish, and of course, the strength increases dramatically.
B-Tier:
Fusion
Great Ape
Golden Frieza
Fusion is the transformation in which two fighters join forces and bodies to become a single and much more powerful being. The fusion technique was used for the first time in the Majin Buu Saga of Dragon Ball Z. Goku and Vegeta fused to become Vegito, while their sons Goten and Trunks fused into Gotenks. The beauty of this technique is that it makes the users let aside any grudge. While it was hard for Vegeta at first to join bodies with Goku, the Saiyan Prince accepted it in order to take down Majin Buu.
Great Ape is the transformation all Saiyans have when they see the full Moon, as long as they still have their tails. By becoming a Great Ape, a Saiyan uses his full fighting potential, but there’s a huge downside: he loses control completely over what he does and who he is. It was the Super Saiyan 4 technique from Dragon Ball GT that combined the powers of the Great Ape with that of a Super Saiyan, resulting in an incredibly strong transformation. By becoming a Great Ape, a Saiyan will become a wild and huge beast covered in fur and with big fangs.
Golden Frieza is the transformation the former intergalactic tyrant used when he came back to Earth after being revived with the dragon balls by his henchmen. It’s all part of the plot from the Dragon Ball Z: Resurrection F movie that came out in 2015. It’s specified that Frieza has trained for 3 months to achieve the new ‘Golden’ form and become stronger than ever. As its name suggests, this transformation makes Frieza’s body turn gold.
C-Tier:
Super Saiyan Blue (Goku)
Super Saiyan God Goku vs. Beerus
Super Saiyan God Vegeta
Gohan Beast
Beerus, the God of Destruction, came to Earth with the intention to destroy it in order to maintain some sort of balance in the Cosmos. He accepted a bargain with Goku, who promised to compete with him in battle. If Goku won, Beerus wouldn’t have destroyed the Earth anymore. However, even at Super Saiyan 3 level, the strongest form until that point, Goku was much weaker than Beerus, so the beloved Saiyan needed a new weapon. Therefore, the concept of Super Saiyan God was introduced in the Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Gods movie in 2013, a transformation that could be achieved when five Super Saiyans of good hearts joined forces. That’s how Goku achieved his new Super Saiyan God powers, a transformation that granted the beloved Saiyan red hair along with a reddish and orange aura. Of course, Goku was much stronger than Super Saiyan 3 when he was using Super Saiyan God.
While Goku became a Super Saiyan God after other fighters were kind enough to perform the right ritual, his old pal Vegeta achieved this new transformation on his own. However, it wasn’t until the 2018 movie Dragon Ball Super: Broly that we got to see Vegeta’s Super Saiyan God form. Surely, the Saiyan Prince deserves more credit than Goku this time.
Super Saiyan Blue, formerly known as Super Saiyan God Super Saiyan, was a new form that made the user even stronger than when he was using the Super Saiyan God transformation with red hair. Super Saiyan Blue, abbreviated as SSB, granted blue hair, larger muscles, and a blue aura to the fighter who’s using it. Both Goku and Vegeta achieved this form after training under Whis, and they used it against Frieza in the Resurrection F movie. The two pure-blooded Saiyans were stronger than ever in this form.
Gohan Beast is the latest and most powerful transformation that Goku’s son used in Dragon Ball. It was introduced in the Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero movie that debuted in 2022, when Gohan had to save his daughter Pan from new androids created by Dr. Hedo. While Goku and Vegeta were training on Beerus’ planet in this movie, it was up to Piccolo and Gohan to try to save the day. Gohan Beast made the son of Goku have silver hair and red eyes, while he was also surrounded by a reddish and purplish aura. Gohan achieved this form by unlocking more of his everlasting fighting potential after he saw his good friend Piccolo being torn apart by Cell Max.
Feel free to tell us which one of these transformations you like more and why!