With a franchise as iconic as Dragon Ball Z, it's hard to find any details that are mostly forgotten by the fanbase, least of all about its iconic Super Saiyan form. The Dragon Ball world forever changed when the characters went to Namek because of the long build-up to the legendary Super Saiyan debut. Goku becoming a Super Saiyan for the first time remains one of the most iconic transformations in the history of anime, inspiring tons of shonen creators for decades since its inception.
However, while many different evolutions have compounded the form -- from Super Saiyan 1 to 4 and God to Blue -- that doesn't change the fact that the original Super Saiyan transformation has several enigmatic elements lesser-known even by modern fans. So, what are the secrets surrounding the golden-haired form that you might not remember?
The Pseudo Super Saiyan is a Fragment of Super Saiyan Energy
In the Dragon Ball Z film Lord Slug, King Kai is convinced Goku becomes a Super Saiyan. Fans have come to call this the Pseudo Super Saiyan or Goku almost reaching the form -- but not quite. It cannot be accessed at will but is birthed out of desperation. Goku's pupils disappear, his hair gains a reddish-hue and a mighty yellow aura swells around him.
It has never truly been replicated outside the movie, though similar transformations have occurred. Broly gains a form like this as a baby in Dragon Ball Z: Broly - The Legendary Super Saiyan. Still, there is no clear explanation as to what this form is, but it appears to be what happens when a Saiyan lacks the necessary strong emotion to reach the iconic transformation for the first time fully. Ergo, Pseudo Super Saiyan is much like the Ultra Super Saiyan Form -- another aspect of the Super Saiyan transformation.
The Super Saiyan Transformation Causes a Personality Alteration
It is evident that the Super Saiyan transformation ties into extreme emotional responses. However, those who let the form carry them away can allow certain emotions to overwhelm them since personality shifts are emblematic with Super Saiyans. Much like with their power, the transformation amps what's already there up to eleven -- strength gets stronger, and anger heats up.
Certain aspects of the Saiyan evolution take that amplification even further, like Broly's uncontrollable Legendary Super Saiyan form. His standard Super Saiyan leads Broly into a rage-overload where, once in his second form, he can only angrily shout "Kakarot!" Trunks' Super Saiyan Grade 3 power-up results in him losing his cool and strategic mind. The more control a Super Saiyan has over the form, the more command they have over themselves.
Bald Super Saiyans Grow Hair
When someone becomes a Super Saiyan, their hair turns golden and their eyes become green, but what happens to a Saiyan when they have no hair? Unfortunately, there isn't a single answer as it tends to vary in the different games that demonstrate the transformation. Dragon Ball Online allows players to create their characters, allowing them to make a bald Saiyan who will grow a golden mohawk.
However, this isn't the case when Nappa turns into a Super Saiyan in either Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2 or Super Dragon Ball Heroes. In Xenoverse 2, Nappa's eyes turn green, and his mustache turns yellow, but he doesn't grow any hair on his head. When he becomes a Super Saiyan 3 in Super Dragon Ball Heroes, he grows extra hair -- a thick goatee. There is no consistency in where the hair grows as a bald Super Saiyan, much like how when a Saiyan's hair changes for the transformation, it depends on their hairstyle.
Super Saiyan Has Connections to the Golden Oozaru
One of the strangest transformations any Saiyan has undergone is Dragon Ball GT's Super Saiyan 4 -- but, strangely, a pre-requisite of that is the Golden Oozaru transformation. The Golden Oozaru is a transformation Saiyans undergo when their tail is exposed to a massive amount of Blutz Waves -- the equivalent of seeing a "Full Earth." However, the concept of the Golden Oozaru predates Dragon Ball GT.
We see a version of the Golden Oozaru for the first time during the Namek Saga when Vegeta recounts the Super Saiyan legend. Vegeta describes it as a being of "pure destruction." The image conjured in his imagination is a conflation of the Great Ape with the Super Saiyan form of legend -- drawing a distinct connection between the two. However, whether it's a pre-requisite that one transforms into a Super Saiyan before a Golden Oozaru -- since Saiyans like Bardock before Goku had been exposed to "Full Earths" without becoming a Golden Oozaru -- the exact ties remain unexplored.
Super Saiyan 2 & 3 Are Unrefined Forms
A unique element of the transformations is that the later Super Saiyan forms are not separate forms, per se, but rather different levels of the same change. According to Akira Toriyama, the Super Saiyan 2 and 3 forms are just what happens when you force more power through the base Super Saiyan form. It essentially offers a power increase at the cost of energy.
Toriyama went on to explain one step further. He said, "After the fight with Beerus, Goku realized that mastering his normal state and Super Saiyan would raise his level more and sap less strength, so I think he probably won’t become Super Saiyan 2 or 3 anymore." The creator's quote indicates that the Super Saiyan transformation, once being mastered, offers a greater power output than the Super Saiyan 3 form. This means that Super Saiyan 3 is not a sign of increased power but a sign of Goku pushing himself beyond his limits too early.
