In 2023, the debut episode of One Piece's Gear 5 aired on Japanese TV and streaming platforms, and it quickly became a big event for anime fans. This iconic transformation/technique had actually already briefly appeared in One Piece Film: Red, mostly as an Easter egg for fans.

However, no matter how cool Gear 5 is, or how much of a hot topic Episode 1071 became at the time, there's another transformation that deserves to be called the most iconic. This transformation first aired over 30 years ago.

The Gear 5 Debut Episode Was One of the Most Anticipated

Since Luffy's Gears were introduced in One Piece, fans have always been eager to learn what the next Gear technique would look like. Gear 4 had already included massive transformations in Luffy's body, but nothing matches Gear 5, which not only vastly expands his powers but also has a design inspired by classic cartoons.

When Gear 5 was first introduced in the One Piece manga, it quickly became a hot topic among manga fans and made anime fans eager to see this transformation on TV. Toei also launched an impressive marketing campaign around the debut of Gear 5 in the anime, and the One Piece audience skyrocketed. Still, some fans were disappointed because they expected more than what was delivered.

Gear 5 Will Never Match Goku Turning into SSJ

It's rare to see such a fuss over a single anime episode like what happened with Gear 5, when even people who don't usually watch One Piece took some time to check out what everyone was talking about. If you were into anime and on the internet, you knew that Luffy was about to unlock Gear 5 even if you had never watched One Piece. It was a global phenomenon, with everyone talking about it.

However, no matter how big Gear 5's anime debut was, it could never surpass the experience of seeing Goku tapping into Super Saiyan for the first time. Back then, things were very different. People from around the world watched it on completely different dates, since there were no global streaming platforms airing series simultaneously around the world. But still, it was huge and full of impact. Super Saiyan was something brand-new back then, so no one was expecting Goku or Vegeta to unlock even stronger Super Saiyan forms, and Goku first did it by accident. The Super Saiyan transformation set the bar for anime transformations, and Toei was likely trying to emulate the "SSJ feeling" when it decided to market Gear 5 as a big event in One Piece.

Super Saiyan 1 Is Still The Best Dragon Ball Transformation

Transformation	Super Saiyan (SS1, SSJ1)
Debut Chapter	Dragon Ball Chapter 127
Debut Episode	Dragon Ball Z Episode 95

While new, stronger forms were introduced, nothing ever matched the impact that Super Saiyan left on Dragon Ball fans. Due to the context and the surprise it was, it is still the favorite transformation of many fans. Even though SSJ is seen today as one of the weaker forms a Saiyan can achieve, it was first portrayed as a legendary form, meaning that few Saiyans were able to unleash it. This means that Goku, Vegeta, and the other Saiyans or hybrid Saiyans who have joined the Z Fighters are pretty much exceptions in the history of Saiyans, and it is impressive they have achieved forms that are much stronger than SSJ.

Dad... I understand now... What Vegeta kept saying was true... You were able to become... A Super Saiyan!

— Gohan

When we put that into perspective, it becomes clear how SSJ is amazing, even though the power-scaling logic in Dragon Ball has become so broken that it looks meaningless. Therefore, even though Goku and Vegeta might unlock something even stronger than Super Saiyan Blue, Ultra Instinct, or Ultra Ego, no new transformation will mean as much as Super Saiyan meant in the Namek/Frieza Saga.

Will Another Transformation Ever Match Super Saiyan?

Super Saiyan started a new trend in Dragon Ball's plot patterns and also inspired many artists around the world. Dragon Ball was also very important to the establishment of many shonen manga tropes, and SSJ is part of this. While it's not impossible that another anime transformation will become as important as SSJ, it is hard for anything else to match it, precisely because it was basically "the beginning of everything." Even though other anime might eventually become more popular than Dragon Ball, it's hard to beat such a huge level of importance in the anime and manga industry.

Dragon Ball is available to read on MANGA Plus, but only those with a deluxe subscription can access the entire series.

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TV-14

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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

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Cast

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Masako Nozawa

Son Goku / Son Gohan / Son Goten (voice)
Ryo Horikawa

Vegeta (voice)

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Dragon Ball Z is a Japanese anime series produced by Toei Animation and a sequel to the 1986 Dragon Ball series. It continues the adventures of Son Goku as an adult while also paralleling the life of his son Gohan. Son Goku typically defends the Earth from villains like Vegeta, Frieza, Cell, and Majin Buu. The series is followed by Dragon Ball GT and then Dragon Ball Super.

Seasons: 9
Studio: Toei Animation
Producers: Kōzō Morishita, Kenji Shimizu, Koji Kaneda
Based On: Manga
Creator: Akira Toriyama
Number of Episodes: 291
Streaming Service(s): Crunchyroll
Creator(s): Akira Toriyama