The iconic anime transformations we see today largely originated with Dragon Ball Z. Though characters like Zarbon and Frieza transformed before him, and the original Dragon Ball series featured the Saiyans’ Great Ape forms, Goku’s Super Saiyan transformation on Namek was a turning point for both the Dragon Ball franchise and anime as a whole. Soon after, creator Akira Toriyama continued to develop even more powerful Super Saiyan levels and impressive transformations for the series’ villains.
As a huge Dragon Ball fan, I’ve been blown away by how crazy Dragon Ball Super has gotten with its transformations! They’ve introduced so many different types of Super Saiyan, and each main character seems to have their own unique form. Honestly, compared to Super, DBZ’s transformations feel pretty simple. Even though Akira Toriyama really went for it with new forms in DBZ, there was always a clear sense of how things were progressing – from the Frieza Saga, through Cell, and all the way to the Majin Buu arc. Super just feels… different, and a lot more abundant in that department!
10. Super Saiyan Grade 2
Users: Vegeta, Future Trunks, Goku
A clever aspect of Akira Toriyama’s writing in the Cell Saga is showing that simply becoming a Super Saiyan isn’t enough to defeat the Androids or Cell. Goku and Vegeta realize they’ve reached their limit, and understand they need to master the Super Saiyan form to get stronger – mirroring Cell’s own pursuit of perfection. During training in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber, Vegeta develops Super Saiyan Grade 2, a way to fully unlock the raw power of a Super Saiyan.
Super Saiyan Grade 2 is a powerful transformation achieved by using more Ki, significantly increasing a fighter’s strength and muscle mass with only a small decrease in stamina. Vegeta, calling it “Super Vegeta,” used this form against Semi-Perfect Cell and nearly defeated him, but Cell tricked him into letting Android 18 be absorbed. Both Future Trunks and Goku also mastered Super Saiyan Grade 2, though they didn’t rely on it much during important battles.
9. Super Saiyan Grade 3
Users: Future Trunks, Goku, Cell
Future Trunks trained with Vegeta and secretly developed a more powerful version of Super Saiyan Grade 2. This new form, Super Saiyan Grade 3, significantly increased his strength and muscle size, even more than Grade 2, but it drained his energy quickly and slowed him down. Although it offered a similar level of raw power to Super Saiyan 2, the intense energy strain and loss of speed made Super Saiyan Grade 3 impractical to use.
In the Dragon Ball manga, Future Trunks’ Super Saiyan Grade 3 form is too unwieldy for him to effectively fight Perfect Cell. While training in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber, Goku teaches Gohan that simply being strong isn’t enough to beat Cell or the Androids. He realizes that the best way to improve as a Super Saiyan isn’t by increasing power, but by minimizing stamina drain – essentially making the Super Saiyan form feel natural. During the Cell Games, after Gohan transforms into Super Saiyan 2 and overwhelms Cell, Cell briefly tries Super Saiyan Grade 3 himself and struggles with the same problems Trunks had earlier in the story.
8. Full Power Super Saiyan
Users: Goku, Gohan
After training in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber, Goku unlocks the Full Power Super Saiyan form. He realized that the Super Saiyan Grade 2 and 3 transformations weren’t efficient. By staying in Super Saiyan mode constantly, Goku and Gohan eliminated the usual energy drain, making it feel like their normal state. This allowed them to increase their power even further while transformed.
Goku and Gohan’s power increase as Full Power Super Saiyans was significantly greater than the progress Vegeta and Future Trunks made while training in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber. Even with a second training session in the Room of Spirit and Time, Goku and Gohan stayed much stronger than the other two Saiyans. In fact, Gohan, at his Full Power Super Saiyan level, was powerful enough to defeat Perfect Cell without needing to transform into Super Saiyan 2, though Goku hadn’t reached that point himself.
7. Legendary Super Saiyan
Users: Broly
Originally appearing in non-official Dragon Ball Z movies, the Legendary Super Saiyan form was later made official in Dragon Ball Super during the Tournament of Power. This transformation was unique to Broly and made him incredibly powerful – even Full Power Super Saiyan Goku and Gohan couldn’t defeat him in his Legendary Super Saiyan state. What made this form so dangerous was its ability to continually increase in power the longer Broly fought.
In Dragon Ball Z Movie 8, Goku narrowly defeats Legendary Super Saiyan Broly with a powerful punch fueled by energy borrowed from Gohan, Vegeta, Piccolo, and Trunks. However, Broly isn’t destroyed and returns in Movie 10 to cause more trouble for Gohan, Goten, Trunks, and Videl. Because Movie 8 happens before the Cell Games, Legendary Super Saiyan Broly is, technically, more powerful than even Full Power Super Saiyan and the non-Super Perfect Cell.
6. Super Perfect Cell
Users: Cell
When Cell almost dies and manages to survive, his Saiyan genes cause a huge power increase. He comes back with golden energy, similar to the Super Saiyan transformation. This strongly suggests that Super Perfect Cell is Cell’s equivalent of going Super Saiyan. Unlike his earlier, incomplete forms, Super Perfect Cell is a complete transformation that he can control and activate at will, just like a Super Saiyan.
Despite achieving his perfect form, Super Perfect Cell was still weaker than Super Saiyan 2 Gohan. Cell only managed to compete because Gohan deliberately let him, sacrificing an arm to protect Vegeta. Even with that disadvantage, Gohan could defeat Cell with a one-armed Kamehameha, thanks to encouragement from Goku and a helpful distraction from Vegeta. Had Gohan been able to use both arms, he would have easily won the fight.
5. Super Saiyan Kaioken
Users: Goku
Goku briefly used a powerful combination called Super Saiyan Kaioken during a fight with Pikkon in the Other World Tournament in Dragon Ball Z. Although not considered official canon at the time, this form was later made canon in Dragon Ball Super. By combining the Kaioken technique with his Full Power Super Saiyan transformation, Goku dramatically increased his power level – potentially surpassing even Super Perfect Cell and nearing the strength of Super Saiyan 2 Gohan.
Because Goku doesn’t lose energy as a fighter who has died, he avoids the physical strain that usually comes with using Kaioken. However, the Super Saiyan Kaioken form isn’t officially part of the Dragon Ball Z story, so Goku stops using it after the Majin Buu Saga. Later, in the Dragon Ball Super anime, Goku combines Kaioken with his Super Saiyan Blue form when fighting Hit. He also uses a similar Super Saiyan Blue Kaioken technique in the manga during the Tournament of Power against Jiren.
4. Super Saiyan 2
Users: Gohan, Goku, Vegeta
Initially known as Super Saiyan Grade 5 in early Dragon Ball Z materials, Super Saiyan 2 is the most reliable and consistent Super Saiyan transformation in the series. It’s incredibly powerful, building on the abilities of the Full Power Super Saiyan form. Gohan demonstrated its strength by defeating Cell even after losing an arm. During the seven years between the Cell and Majin Buu storylines, Goku achieved Super Saiyan 2 through training in the afterlife.
I’ve always found it interesting that Vegeta didn’t reach Super Saiyan 2 until he became Majin. It ended up being his go-to strongest form throughout most of the fight against Kid Buu. While Super Saiyan 3 is technically more powerful, Super Saiyan 2 doesn’t drain his energy as much, making it a much more practical choice. And in the Dragon Ball Super manga, Future Trunks actually perfected Super Saiyan 2, reaching a level of strength with it that surpassed even Goku’s Full Power Super Saiyan and, surprisingly, Super Saiyan 3!
3. Super Saiyan 3
Users: Goku, Gotenks
In Dragon Ball Z, Super Saiyan 3 is the strongest form a Saiyan can achieve. It’s incredibly powerful – so much so that King Kai could feel Goku transforming all the way across the galaxy! Goku as a Super Saiyan 3 was able to overpower Fat Buu in their initial battle, and Gotenks in this form could have defeated Super Buu if he hadn’t gotten distracted. However, despite its strength, Super Saiyan 3 always loses in DBZ because it has significant weaknesses that hold it back.
When used in a normal body, Super Saiyan 3 uses energy so quickly that a fighter can only maintain it for about a minute without recharging. Even trying to recharge the form is difficult because energy leaks out faster than it can be built up, causing Goku to run out of power before he could fight Kid Buu again. For a fused fighter like Gotenks, Super Saiyan 3 is too powerful to sustain, drastically shortening the fusion’s duration and making it almost unusable.
2. Super Buu
Users: Majin Buu
In Dragon Ball Z, Super Buu is the most powerful form of Majin Buu. He’s created when Buu’s good and evil sides merge, with the evil side dominating. What makes Super Buu so dangerous is his ability to absorb other fighters, gaining their powers and increasing his own strength. During the Fusion Saga, he absorbs Piccolo, Gotenks, and even Ultimate Gohan, with devastating consequences.
Buuhan is incredibly strong, and only Vegito in his Super Saiyan form has the power to beat him. It’s important to note that both Buutenks and Buuhan are created through fusion, not by simply transforming. Even without fusing, Super Buu is exceptionally powerful. He recovers from damage much faster than Cell and, in his normal state, managed to destroy most of the human race and nearly all of the Z-Fighters. Super Buu is also more powerful than a typical Super Saiyan 3, though a fused fighter like Vegito is his only real match.
1. Ultimate Mode / Mystic
Users: Gohan
Ultimate Gohan, unlocked with the help of the Old Kai, is the most powerful character and transformation in Dragon Ball Z without relying on fusion. The Old Kai awakened all of Gohan’s hidden strength, allowing him to maintain peak power effortlessly, without needing to train or transform. In fact, the Old Kai explained that becoming a Super Saiyan would be pointless, as it wouldn’t increase his power any further.
In the original Dragon Ball manga, Ultimate Gohan was established as the most powerful character, with his Ultimate form being a natural ability. However, Dragon Ball Super changed this by depicting Gohan losing his strength and struggling to even access the Ultimate form. He then had to rely on the Super Saiyan transformation before eventually achieving Gohan Beast in Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero. Despite these changes, at the end of the original DBZ series, only Super Buu (when actively absorbing others) and Vegito were stronger than Ultimate Gohan.
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2026-01-21 03:40