Every Time Great Ape Form Is Used In The Dragon Ball Anime

The Dragon Ball series has always been known for some of the most epic transformations in anime history. From screaming Super Saiyans to iconic final forms, Dragon Ball fans have seen it all. But one of the coolest, albeit rarer transformations in the series is the Great Ape transformation. It’s been around since the original Dragon Ball series and was a force to reckon with, especially at the beginning of Dragon Ball Z.

The coolest thing about the Great Ape transformation is that it’s deeply connected to Saiyan lore. Whenever Saiyans would look at a full moon, they’d transform into a giant ape ten times as powerful as their humanoid form. Terrifyingly, this transformation comes at no cost of stamina or Ki and draws parallels to Piccolo’s giant form. The form is largely considered the reason Saiyans were feared throughout the galaxy.

8 Dragon Ball – When Emperor Pilaf Traps Goku And His Friends

The First Time Goku Transforms On-Screen

This is the very first time the Great Ape transformation is seen in the series. Emperor Pilaf captures Goku, along with Bulma, Yamcha, Puar, and Oolong in a chamber meant to amplify the sun’s rays. His idea was to burn Goku and his friends to death. However, since they are held captive in the chamber on the night of a full moon, Goku ends up staring at it and transforming into a Great Ape for the first time on screen.

While this is the first time viewers see Goku transform into a Great Ape, this isn’t the first time he has done it. Canonically, Goku transforming into a Great Ape is what killed Grandpa Gohan, his adoptive parent in the series when he landed on the Earth as a baby.

7 Dragon Ball – At The 21st World Martial Arts Tournament

During Goku’s Fight Against Jackie Chun

The second and the last time we see Goku transform into a Great Ape in a canonical Dragon Ball series is when he fights Jackie Chun at the 21st World Martial Arts Tournament in Dragon Ball. Jackie Chun is Goku’s mentor, Master Roshi in disguise, fighting Goku to test his abilities and push his training to the limit.

Goku is noticeably stronger than his former mentor, but the fight is still an entertaining one. Up until the point where Goku sees the full moon and has regrown his tail after the last time he transformed. He turns into a Great Ape, and Yamcha thinks of slicing his tail again in order to turn him back to normal, but Jackie Chun fires a Kamehameha wave at Goku, seemingly killing him in his great ape form, only for Goku to emerge unharmed in his regular humanoid form later and finish the fight.

6 Dragon Ball Z – In Piccolo’s Desert

Gohan Transforms For The First Time

After Goku’s death during the fight against Raditz, Piccolo kidnaps his son Gohan and takes him to the desert to train him, noticing his immense power when enraged and thinking of training him to be his protege. His way of training Gohan is to toss him into a desert full of wild animals and other challenges, telling him the first step of training is to survive the night.

It turns out to be the night of a full moon and after a long day of surviving in the desert, Gohan, exhausted, climbs a narrow cliff to get some sleep in a safe location. He ends up looking at the moon and transforming into a Great Ape. Piccolo destroys the moon, turning Gohan back to normal. Piccolo also plucks Gohan’s tail when he’s asleep for good measure.

5 Dragon Ball Z – Goku Vs Vegeta

The Prince of All Saiyans Turns Into A Monster

During the Saiyan saga in Dragon Ball Z, after Nappa’s defeat at the hands of Goku, Vegeta ruthlessly kills him out of sheer disappointment and challenges Goku to a duel. Vegeta turns out to be a much bigger threat than even Goku anticipated, putting up a strong fight against Goku, who pushed his body to its limits using the Kaioken times three technique.

Annoyed at Goku’s ability to keep up with his strength in the fight, Vegeta decides to transform into a Great Ape to finish the job. Much to his despair, he realizes the Earth’s moon has been destroyed. However, he reveals Saiyans have learned to create artificial moons to turn into Great Ape at will, which he does. Eventually, Yajirobe chops his tail off when he’s distracted by Gohan, Krillin, and a crippled Goku, transforming the Saiyan prince back into a humanoid.

4 Dragon Ball Z – Gohan Transforms Again

Great Ape Gohan Crushes A Wounded Vegeta

In the aftermath of Vegeta transforming back into a regular Saiyan, he’s severely wounded and frustrated by the resilience of the Earth’s warriors. He proceeds to take his time beating Yajirobe down for cutting off his tail. Meanwhile, he forgets he’s left his artificial sun, which Gohan ends up looking at. Gohan’s tail has grown back at this point since the last time it was plucked by Piccolo. Unlike Vegeta, both Goku and Gohan grew their tails back at least once in the anime.

This leads to Gohan transforming into a Great Ape. Vegeta, to his credit, is able to survive even Gohan’s rampage, though mostly by dodging it. He ends up using a Destructo Disk to cut Gohan’s tail off. Unfortunately for him, this leads to Gohan falling on him as he gradually transforms back into a regular Saiyan child, crushing Vegeta in the process.

3 Dragon Ball GT – Goku Transforms Into A Golden Great Ape

A Super Saiyan Great Ape

Dragon Ball GT is the next time we see the Great Ape form, particularly during the Baby Vegeta saga. When even Super Saiyan 3 isn’t enough for Goku to fight the alien parasite Baby in Vegeta’s body, he’s pushed to the brink. The Old Kai believes the only way Goku can win is by regrowing his tail, so he does that for Goku. The fight takes place on a nearby planet from which the Earth is visible. Goku, even with his tail is no match for Baby Vegeta, who has grown immensely powerful at this point.

Goku looks at the Earth while lying beaten on the ground, desperate to save his friends. This leads to him transforming into a Great Ape, only this time it’s Golden, which means it’s a Super Saiyan Great Ape. He’s much stronger than Baby Vegeta in this form, but is too primitive to stay focused and simply goes on a rampage. Until Pan talks him into control, he transforms back into a regular Saiyan, except this time in the new Super Saiyan 4 form.

2 Dragon Ball GT – Baby Vegeta Transforms Using A Blutz Wave Generator

The First Non-Saiyan To Transform Into An Ape

Goku is battling Baby Vegeta in his newly unlocked Super Saiyan 4 transformation. Pushed to the brink against Goku’s new form, Baby mind controls Bulma to use her Blutz Wave Generator on him, which allows him to use Vegeta’s body to turn into a Golden Great Ape. He’s evenly matched with Goku in this form, and the first time in the series that a Non-Saiyan is able to use the form.

Because Baby is a parasite who is merely using Vegeta’s body, he is still able to maintain control over the Golden Great Ape form until Goku works with Majuub (Majin Buu fused with Uub) to defeat Baby Vegeta in his Golden Great Ape form.

1 Dragon Ball GT – Vegeta Uses Bulma’s Blutz Wave Generator

Finally Unlocks Super Saiyan 4

In the final battle of Dragon Ball GT, Omega Shenron, who has fused with the other Shenrons proves to be far too much even for Super Saiyan 4 Goku. Vegeta strongly believes the only way they can defeat him is with the power of two Super Saiyan 4s. Noting that Goku achieved the transformation by turning into a Great Ape and gaining control over the form, Vegeta asks Bulma to use the Blutz Wave Generator she built for Baby on him.

Unlike Goku’s Super Saiyan 4 transformation, Vegeta transforms into a regular Great Ape, and much like Goku, goes on a rampage until Goku talks him down and Vegeta is finally able to transform into a Super Saiyan 4. This is a departure from Vegeta’s original great ape transformation because Vegeta is able to retain his stream of consciousness even in his Great Ape form when he first fights Goku on the Earth.