Anime transformations as we know them wouldn't exist without Dragon Ball Z. While Zarbon and Frieza both beat him to the punch beforehand (and the Saiyans' signature Great Ape transformations in the original Dragon Ball & early DBZ), Goku turning into a Super Saiyan on Namek permanently changed the Dragon Ball franchise and anime medium forever. From there, it didn't take long for Akira Toriyama to introduce even stronger Super Saiyan forms, as well as powerful transformations for DBZ's final villains.
The Strongest Dragon Ball Super Characters Who Can Use Ultra Instinct, Ranked
The Dragon Ball Super manga features multiple Ultra instinct users, as well as some honorable mentions who were able to tap into forms similar to UI.
In recent years, Dragon Ball Super has gone absolutely wild with its new transformations, introducing every variant of Super Saiyan under the rainbow, along with personal forms unique to the series' main characters. Dragon Ball Super frankly makes DBZ's forms look restrained by comparison. For as gung ho Akira Toriyama became with transformations in Dragon Ball Z, there's a clear hierarchy and sense of progression from the Frieza Saga, into the Cell Games, and finally the Majin Buu arc.
10 Super Saiyan Grade 2
Users: Vegeta, Future Trunks, Goku
One of the smartest things Akira Toriyama does with Super Saiyan in the Cell Saga is establish that SSJ1 alone isn't enough to stop either the Androids or Cell. Realizing that they've hit their wall in terms of Power Level, Goku and Vegeta come to the conclusion that the only way to become stronger is to refine Super Saiyan to perfection (much like the arc's villain, Cell). While training in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber, Vegeta learns how to maximize Super Saiyan's raw power into Super Saiyan Grade 2.
By expending more Ki, Super Saiyan Grade 2 heavily buffs the user's Power Level and muscles at no drawback other than minor stamina drain. Dubbing himself "Super Vegeta", Vegeta uses Super Saiyan Grade 2 in his battle against Semi-Perfect Cell and would have been able to kill him if Cell didn't successfully goad the Prince of All Saiyans into allowing him to absorb Android 18. Both Future Trunks and Goku unlock Super Saiyan Grade 2, as well, but neither uses the form in any major fights.
9 Super Saiyan Grade 3
Users: Future Trunks, Goku, Cell
While training with Vegeta in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber, Future Trunks secretly pushes Super Saiyan Grade 2 even farther than his father. Super Saiyan Grade 3 massively raises the user's Power Level and muscle mass – even more so than Super Saiyan Grade 2 – at the cost of huge stamina drain and reduced speed. It's implied that Super Saiyan Grade 3 is about on par with Super Saiyan 2 in terms of raw strength. Unfortunately, the form's Ki stain and speed issues are bad enough to make SSJ Grade 3 more or less useless.
In the Dragon Ball manga, Super Saiyan Grade 3 Future Trunks fails to land a single hit on Perfect Cell due to the form's cumbersome state. In the Hyperbolic Time Chamber, Goku explains to Gohan that raw power won't be enough to defeat Cell or the Androids, and comes to the conclusion that the key to refining Super Saiyan is not by focusing on power, but by reducing any & all stamina loss – effectively making SSJ their base form. After Super Saiyan 2 Gohan puts Cell in his place in the Cell Games, Cell briefly turns Grade 3 himself, and runs into the same issue Trunks did in their fight earlier in the arc.
8 Full Power Super Saiyan
Users: Goku, Gohan
Goku develops Full Power Super Saiyan in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber after he realizes just how many flaws Super Saiyan Grades 2 and 3 have as forms. By keeping Super Saiyan active at all times, Goku and Gohan are able to remove all the stamina drain associated with SSJ, preventing them from experiencing Ki drainage. Full Power Super Saiyan essentially becomes equivalent to their Base forms, allowing both Goku and Gohan to raise their Power Levels even higher while transformed.
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Across the original Dragon Ball, DBZ, Dragon Ball GT, and Dragon Ball Super, Goku fights, survives, & even wins against characters who should've won.
The growth Goku and Gohan experience as Full Power Super Saiyans is more than enough to completely eclipse Vegeta and Future Trunks' gains in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber. Even after they both go into the Room of Spirit and Time a second time, Goku and Gohan remain far above the other Saiyans in terms of Power Level. Although Goku wasn't powerful enough, Full Power Super Saiyan Gohan was already so strong, he could have killed Perfect Cell without turning Super Saiyan 2.
7 Legendary Super Saiyan
Users: Broly
A non-canon transformation that Dragon Ball Super later canonized in the Tournament of Power, Legendary Super Saiyan was a form exclusive to Broly in Dragon Ball Z: Broly – The Legendary Super Saiyan – and Dragon Ball Z: Broly's Second Coming. Legendary Super Saiyan is so overwhelmingly powerful, not even Goku and Gohan could beat Broly as Full Power Super Saiyans. The Legendary Super Saiyan form only grows stronger the longer the user fights, making Broly profoundly dangerous.
Goku just barely manages to beat Legendary Super Saiyan Broly in DBZ Movie 8, and only after he borrows Gohan, Vegeta, Piccolo, and Trunks' Ki for his Miracle Punch. Even this isn't enough to kill Broly, however, as he returns in DBZ Movie 10 to wreak havoc on Gohan, Goten, Trunks, and Videl. Since Dragon Ball Z Movie 8 takes place during the gap before the Cell Games, LSSJ is technically stronger than Full Power Super Saiyan, and Perfect Cell in his non-Super state.
6 Super Perfect Cell
Users: Cell
After Cell self-destructs and barely survives, his Saiyan DNA gives him a massive Zenkai boost. When Cell returns, he has the same golden Ki associated with the Super Saiyan form. All logic dictates that the Super Perfect Cell transformation is Cell's version of Super Saiyan. Unlike Cell's previous "forms", which are technically abortions, SPC is a full-blown transformation he can turn on and off just like SSJ.
Unfortunately for Super Perfect Cell, Super Saiyan 2 Gohan still outclasses him. Cell only levels the playing field because Gohan sacrifices him arm to save Vegeta's life. Even then, SSJ2 Gohan is strong enough to kill Super Perfect Cell with a single-handed Kamehameha (albeit with moral support from Goku, and a well-timed distraction from Vegeta). If Super Saiyan 2 Gohan had use of both his arms, he would have been able to kill Super Perfect Cell just fine.
5 Super Saiyan Kaioken
Users: Goku
Another non-canon form that Dragon Ball Super later canonized, Goku used Super Saiyan Kaioken for the first & only time in Dragon Ball Z while fighting Pikkon in the Other World Tournament. By stacking Kaioken on top of Full Power Super Saiyan, Goku is able to raise his Power Level to ridiculous heights. Given Kaioken's multiplier, this does mean SSJ Kaioken Goku would be stronger than Super Perfect Cell, and likely close to Super Saiyan 2 Gohan's Power Level (if not slightly stronger).
Since Goku doesn't experience any Ki drain as a dead fighter, he's also able to circumvent Kaioken's biggest drawback: the body strain. Unfortunately, Super Saiyan Kaioken is non a canon form as far as Dragon Ball Z is concerned, so Goku never uses it again once the Majin Buu Saga starts. In the Dragon Ball Super anime, Goku stacks Kaioken on top of Super Saiyan Blue while fighting Hit, and later uses Super Saiyan Blue Kaioken to fight Jiren in the manga's Tournament of Power.
4 Super Saiyan 2
Users: Gohan, Goku, Vegeta
Originally called Super Saiyan Grade 5 in early Dragon Ball Z guidebooks, Super Saiyan 2 is the most stable Super Saiyan form in DBZ. Supremely powerful with all the benefits of Full Power Super Saiyan, Super Saiyan 2 was strong enough where Gohan was still able to kill Cell after losing access to an entire arm. During the seven-year gap between the Cell and Majin Buu Sagas, Goku manages to unlock Super Saiyan 2 by training in the afterlife.
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For every villain Goku beats, there are two he didn't defeat, giving the rest of Dragon Ball's cast some time in the spotlight.
Vegeta doesn't unlock Super Saiyan 2 until he turns Majin, however. Super Saiyan 2 is Vegeta's strongest form in Dragon Ball Z, and he keeps using it up until the final battle with Kid Buu. While Super Saiyan 3 is technically stronger than Super Saiyan 2, SSJ2 doesn't suffer from the same Ki strain and is ultimately the safer transformation in practice. In the Dragon Ball Super manga, Future Trunks masters Super Saiyan 2 in the same way Goku developed Full Power Super Saiyan, making SSJ2 Future Trunks stronger than even Super Saiyan 3 Goku.
3 Super Saiyan 3
Users: Goku, Gotenks
The most powerful Super Saiyan form in Dragon Ball Z, Super Saiyan 3 is so powerful, King Kai felt Goku transforming on Earth even though he's on the other side of the galaxy. Super Saiyan 3 Goku was strong enough to kill Fat Buu in their first fight, and Super Saiyan 3 Gotenks could have killed Super Buu if he didn't waste time goofing off. Unfortunately, Super Saiyan 3 loses all of its fights in DBZ for a very good reason: SSJ3 has massive downsides.
In a living body, Super Saiyan 3 drains Ki so fast, that the user can only keep it active for about one minute without needing to charge. Even charging the form has problems, however, as Goku leaks out Ki faster than he can build it up, eventually exhausting the form before he can even have his rematch with Kid Buu. In a fused body like Gotenks', Super Saiyan 3 is simply too powerful to keep active and significantly reduces the fusion's time limit to the point of basically being useless.
2 Super Buu
Users: Majin Buu
The strongest form of Majin Buu in Dragon Ball Z, Super Buu is the result of Buu's good and evil halves fully combining, with his evil nature taking full control. Part of what makes Super Buu so deadly is his ability to absorb fighters and take full control of their abilities, adding their Power Levles onto his own. Over the course of the Fusion Saga, Super Buu absorbs Piccolo, Gotenks, and even Ultimate Gohan to catastrophic results.
Buuhan is so powerful, only Super Saiyan Vegito is strong enough to actually defeat him. That said, Buutenks and Buuhan are both technically fusions, not transformations. Super Buu is still supremely powerful on his own, however. He can heal easier than Cell could and was able to wipe out most of humanity and virtually all the Z-Fighters in his base form. Super Buu is also stronger than a standard Super Saiyan 3, only being surpassed if his opponent is a fused fighter.
1 Ultimate Mode / Mystic
Users: Gohan
Unlocked by the Old Kai, Ultimate Gohan is both the strongest unfused character and the strongest transformation in Dragon Ball Z. By bringing out all of Gohan's latent potential, Old Kai makes Gohan powerful enough where he's able to keep his Power Level at its peak without any training or transforming – so much so that Old Kai tells Gohan that turning Super Saiyan would actually be useless and do nothing.
At the end of the Dragon Ball manga, Ultimate Gohan remains the strongest character in the series as Ultimate Mode is implied to be an innate state. Dragon Ball Super retcons the form's powers by having Gohan slack off to the point of barely being able to turn Ultimate, forcing him to rely on Super Saiyan before he unlocks Gohan Beast at the end of Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero. This doesn't change the fact that the only two characters stronger than Ultimate Gohan at the end of DBZ are Super Buu with absorptions active and Vegito.
- Release Date
- 1989 - 1996
- Network
- Fuji TV
- Directors
- Daisuke Nishio, Shigeyasu Yamauchi, Osamu Kasai
- Writers
- Akira Toriyama, Neil Bligh, Hiroshi Toda, Katsuyuki Sumisawa, Aya Matsui, Keiji Terui, Reiko Yoshida, Toshiki Inoue
- Franchise(s)
- Dragon Ball
Cast
-
Masako NozawaSon Goku / Son Gohan / Son Goten (voice) -
Ryo HorikawaVegeta (voice)
- Creator(s)
- Akira Toriyama
