Dragon Ball: Super Saiyan Grades, Explained

Key Takeaways

• Goku’s Super Saiyan Grade 1 form in Dragon Ball Z emerged from a moment of righteous fury and was incredibly powerful but drained too much stamina to be sustainable.
• Vegeta’s Super Saiyan Grade 2 form, “Super Vegeta,” was stronger and bulkier than Grade 1 but had an even faster energy drain, making it inefficient.
• Super Saiyan Grade 4, introduced by Goku and Gohan in the Cell Saga, was a perfected form with no energy drain outside of combat and enhanced strategy.

The Super Saiyan transformation from Dragon Ball Z is not only the most iconic transformation in the entire anime/manga industry, but the moment Goku achieves it against Frieza may also just be the most iconic anime moment of all time. Not only did this transformation change the entire trajectory of the series, but it also changed the way all Shonen series handle their own power systems.

As the series went on, the characters would undergo more and more transformations against increasingly powerful enemies. As everyone knows, Super Saiyan was succeeded by Super Saiyan 2, then Super Saiyan 3, etc. However, a forgotten aspect of Dragon Ball is the various grades of Super Saiyan between 1 and 2, so let’s break each of them down and see what makes them so special.

Super Saiyan Grade 1

First User: Goku

The most memorable and iconic moment in the entire Dragon Ball franchise occurred when Goku fought against Frieza at the closing of the Namek Saga. After watching the death of his childhood best friend, Krillin, at the hands of the Galactic Tyrant, Goku realized an ancient power that was native to his people. Born from righteous fury as an answer to every innocent’s demand for peace, Goku’s Super Saiyan form was far stronger than Frieza, as was shown when he easily defeated the villain, even taking pity on him at the very end.

I am the hope of the universe. I am the answer to all living things that cry out for peace. I am protector of the innocent. I am the light in the darkness. I am truth. Ally to good! Nightmare to you!

When Goku went Super Saiyan for the very first time, there was nothing in the entire universe that was on the same level of strength as him at that point. However, as the series continued, it was explained that this form, later dubbed Super Saiyan Grade 1, was incredibly powerful but had an extreme drain on the user’s stamina, which showed that the form needed refinement and couldn’t be used for a very long time.

Super Saiyan Grade 2

First User: Vegeta

Although Goku was the first person to ever achieve the fabled Super Saiyan transformation, much to Vegeta’s chagrin, it was actually the Prince of all Saiyans who found an even higher level. This form, which he named Super Vegeta, was very bulky and muscular, sporting much greater strength and speed than the original form, as well as giving him far more firepower to dish out devastating Ki attacks. The best example of this strength was his iconic Final Flash, which almost completely obliterated Cell despite Super Vegeta being much weaker than him.

The sleeper has awakened. I am the Prince of all Saiyans once again!

However, in typical Vegeta fashion, the Prince was motivated mostly by his desire to outclass his rival and so, didn’t spend enough time perfecting this form. The biggest drawback of Grade 2 is that it drains energy even faster than the original Super Saiyan transformation, so it is fairly inefficient in a long battle. Goku even explained this in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber with Gohan, when he stated that although he did achieve a stronger version of Super Saiyan, the energy cost was too great, which meant that it couldn’t be sustained for long.

Super Saiyan Grade 3

First User: Future Trunks

Everything stated about Super Saiyan Grade 2 is further exemplified by this transformation as well. Super Saiyan Grade 3 is the physically strongest form of all the Super Saiyan Grades, as can be surmised from its appearance as it bulks up the user even more than Grade 2 does and makes all of their physical attacks insanely powerful. The power of this form is quite formidable since Trunks was putting up a decent fight against Perfect Cell.

These bulky muscles are gonna make it hard to move very fast, and against a monster like Cell, I can’t afford to lose a step!

However, the most obvious caveat of this transformation is the extreme toll it takes on the user’s stamina to keep up his incredible physical strength and massive appearance. This form is even more taxing than Grade 2 and what makes it far more inefficient is the fact that the bulky muscles of the user also make them incredibly slow compared to the other Super Saiyan Grades.

Super Saiyan Grade 4

First Users: Goku and Gohan

Super Saiyan Grade 4 is also called Perfected Super Saiyan and is the version of the Super Saiyan form that everyone would use since Goku and Gohan introduced it in the Cell Saga. This form has all the advantages of the previous grades but is also noticeably quicker, though the biggest advantage is the fact that it can be used with virtually no stamina or energy drain outside of combat. What this means is that the Super Saiyan transformation is perfected with Grade 4, so users can just walk around day-to-day while in this form.

Power comes in response to a need, not a desire. You must create that need.

It even clears their minds, allowing them to focus on strategy much more instead of only relying on rage and brute strength, which is the main power of the previous grades. This form also has the least amount of visual change from Grade 1, only supporting a desaturated yellow color for the user’s hair instead of the more golden hue of the original form. After this form was achieved, the other grades were almost never seen again, since there was no need for them and all further transformations in the series basically used Grade 4 as the starting point.

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