Dragon Ball Theory: Saiyans Have a Genetic Trait That’s NEVER Acknowledged

Many of the main characters of Akira Toriyama's Dragon Ball series aren't human, but rather aliens of the spacefaring Saiyan race. Hailing from the faraway planet Vegeta, the Saiyans are significantly stronger than humans and evolved to become the ultimate warrior race, initially employed by the villainous Frieza to conquer other planets at the start of Dragon Ball Z. While the Saiyans have plenty of combat abilities that they've inherited genetically to grow stronger in battle, one particular trait shared by pure-blooded Saiyans is rarely mentioned: the inherent ability to maintain their natural hairstyle all of their lives.

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Dragon Ball Super Tournament Of Power Gohan Vegeta Goku
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Throughout all the various Dragon Ball series, Goku and Vegeta maintain the same hairstyles -- with the small exception of Vegeta wearing his hair marginally shorter in the non-canonical Dragon Ball GT. While it's not uncommon for characters to maintain the same look across a franchise, especially within anime and manga, Dragon Ball has changed up the look for several of its fan-favorite characters multiple times. Krillin would grow out his hair from the end of Z before shaving his head again in Dragon Ball Super, Yamcha changed his hairstyle frequently over the course of the franchise, as did Gohan while he was a child. And Bulma would change up her look between virtually every major storyline as the most stylish character in the franchise.

While Goku, true to form, was completely oblivious as to why he had never needed a haircut his entire life, Vegeta reveals the overlooked Saiyan genetic trait after his year of training with Trunks in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber. While Trunks' hair had grown significantly longer over the course of the year, Vegeta's hair was completely unchanged. Bulma asked why this was, with Vegeta initially taken aback by the question before noting that pure-blooded Saiyans maintain the same hairstyle they are born with all of their lives, which Goku realized had been true for him as well. This logic doesn't apply to facial hair, with Goku and Vegeta seen able to grow full beards while training in seclusion.

Nappa with Two Other Unnamed Saiyans in Dragon Ball Super

With Trunks and Gohan being only half-blooded Saiyans, their hair is able to grow the long lengths seen throughout Z. This trait extends to fellow half-Saiyan Goten who is seen sporting longer hair as a teenager at the end of Z in the closing World Martial Arts Tournament. However, the biggest discrepancy in Vegeta's claim is his former associate Nappa. In flashback sequences set during Vegeta's childhood, Nappa is sporting hair, as opposed to his usual bald head. With Nappa being significantly older than Vegeta, his age could finally be catching up to him by the start of Z -- albeit at a slower rate than humans -- or, more simply, the veteran Saiyan warrior could've just decided to start shaving his head.

From Super Saiyan transformations to recovering from grave injuries even stronger than before, the concept of pure-blooded Saiyans maintaining the same hairstyle for their entire lives is one of the quirkier traits of the warrior race. The rationale behind Goku and Vegeta's iconic hairstyles reveals that their coiffures aren't so much a fashion statement as they are a sort of family heirloom. But, with the two frenemies more interested in facing worthy opponents and unlocking new levels of power for themselves, their choice in haircuts is the furthest thing from their minds.

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