Key Takeaways
- Super Saiyan Blue was met with criticism for being a poorly designed recolor of the original Super Saiyan.
- The form didn’t offer anything new in functionality, lacking unique features present in other forms that came later like Ultra Instinct.
- Despite criticisms, some fans believe Blue serves as a needed power boost in the franchise’s increased power dynamics for Goku and Vegeta to reach the next step.
Transformations are some of the most recognizable and iconic aspects of the Dragon Ball Z franchise. The very act of characters angrily yelling to unlock a state far stronger than any that came before is something that this series made famous and is now a staple of most Shonen anime series. As such, more and more transformations have made their way into the series, with a few becoming mainstays that are used far more often than others.
For Dragon Ball Super, this form is Super Saiyan Blue. Although the series kicked off with the brand-new Super Saiyan God form in the Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Gods movie, it has since then changed to make Blue the staple transformation. However, the latter has been met with a fair bit of criticism, stating that it’s a poorly designed form that doesn’t really offer anything new other than a color swap, so let’s see if this is truly the case.
Related
Dragon Ball: Why Moving Away From Super Saiyan Forms Was A Great Idea
The Super Saiyan forms of Dragon Ball are the most iconic in all of anime, but here’s why moving away from them is good for the franchise!
Why Super Saiyan Blue Is A Poorly Designed Form
Why It Leaves A Lot To Be Desired
|
First Appearance |
Dragon Ball Z: Resurrection F |
|---|---|
|
Debut Date |
April 18, 2015 |
|
Story Arc |
Golden Frieza Arc |
Super Saiyan Blue made its debut in the Resurrection F movie, which was only the second property under the banner of the Dragon Ball Super part of the franchise. This showed the very first problem that fans had with this form, since Super Saiyan God was first shown just a couple of years before and was thought to be the staple of the series going forward. However, it was quickly replaced and essentially forgotten about when Blue was introduced.
On top of serving as a replacement for a form that fans received quite well, Super Saiyan Blue didn’t offer anything new in terms of functionality either. For all intents and purposes, Blue is nothing more than a recolor of the original Super Saiyan since it acts exactly the same in terms of its powers and abilities. While this can technically be said for all subsequent Super Saiyan forms, Super Saiyan God at least had a unique idea behind it, with the user’s body getting leaner with a change in their entire aura.
Moreover, the whole aspect of God Ki was an incredibly interesting one that was unfortunately only expanded upon far later with the Divine Techniques. For the most part, God Ki simply acted as a means for Goku and Vegeta to get far stronger than what they could achieve with their Saiyan genetics, which was seen with how Super Saiyan Blue acted. On the other hand, it played a far more interesting role with Ultra Instinct and Ultra Ego, as it gave the Saiyans the power to use the techniques of the Angels and Destroyer Gods respectively.
The concept of the unique gifts of God Ki was amazing but was included a bit too late. For Blue, however, there wasn’t much to differentiate it from the forms before it other than the blue recolor. Moreover, the Blue Kaioken and Blue Evolved forms were nice but didn’t add much to differentiate them other than another color palette change. All things considered, Super Saiyan Blue was just Super’s version of a Super Saiyan, which means that it was just a placeholder transformation to gauge the strength of enemies.
Related
Dragon Ball DAIMA Hints at Deadly Villain’s Return After Explosive Battle
Dragon Ball DAIMA Episode 8 wraps up an explosive battle, but one of the franchise’s most deadly villains could be set to return.
Why Super Saiyan Blue Is An Alright Form
Why It Works For What It Is
On the other hand, some fans believe that, while not great, Super Saiyan Blue works for what it is. This is because Dragon Ball Super has greatly increased the power dynamics of the franchise, so to compensate for this increase, Goku and Vegeta have found God Ki as basically a reset for how their power is measured. With how things are right now, Super Saiyan God is essentially the base power for these characters, with Blue being the ‘new’ Super Saiyan for the series.
Of course, had the form come with a unique design in terms of visuals and functionality, it would have been even better. However, it just serves as a stronger step for the Super Saiyan God form and, for the most part, it serves this role well. Since the base Super Saiyan transformation served as a measure of strength for the opponents the heroes fought in Z, Super Saiyan Blue serves this role for Super.
This is a power that’s even greater than a Super Saiyan God!
It also makes the Divine Techniques that Goku and Vegeta have achieved even better, since it makes them that much stronger than even their Blue forms. On top of this, they also perfectly realize the true potential of God Ki by finally giving them the forms that are used by Angels and Destroyer Gods.
Dragon Ball can be streamed on Crunchyroll.
MORE
Dragon Ball: How strong is the Ginyu Force?
The Ginyu Force were Frieza’s most elite fighters. Just how strong were they?
Dragon Ball Super
- Release Date
- July 5, 2015
- Cast
- Sean Schemmel , Jason Douglas , Christopher Sabat
- Streaming Service(s)
- Hulu
Source link