Saiya-jin Evolution

Introduction:

During the series of Dragon Ball, our favorite characters, the Saiya-jin's, constantly reach new peaks of power and move on to new forms in order to battle the evil's that plague their lives. This section will try to explain how this powerful species evolved over time and the many different forms of evolution. If you've ever wondered what the differences between U.S.S.J and S.S.J2 are, just read below.

Super Saiya-jin 5, fact or fiction?

Almost every Dragon Ball fan on the internet has come across the Super Saiya-jin 5 pictures of Goku, Gohan, and Vegeta. Although these pictures are well drawn, they are nothing but fan-based and despite several people claiming that they've 'seen' the tv show, these pictures are complete fiction. It has been confirmed by FUNImation in their FAQ, and by TOEI productions that there is no such Anime called Dragon Ball AF and hence no Super Saiya-jin 5.

Oozaru and Golden Oozaru:

Every Saiya-jin with a tail has the potential to transform into an Oozaru. This form is first introduced by Goku during Dragon Ball, but plays a large role in Dragon Ball Z and GT as well. The following is the requirements a Saiya-jin must meet:

The Saiya-jin must have a tail intact. If the tail is cut off while in Oozaru form, the Saiya-jin will be forced to transform back into the normal form.
The Saiya-jin must look at the light from a full moon. During the Saiya-jin saga, Vegeta created a power ball that imitated a Full moon, so he was able to go Oozaru without the actual moon.

During the Furiza saga, Vegeta explain's the Legendary form of the Super Saiya-jin, describing how the Saiya-jin that reached this level 1,000 years before could only hold it while in his Oozaru form. The Saiya-jin's rage and immense power eventually let to the destruction of himself and the planet he was on. TOEI productions played with this idea, and came up with the Golden Oozaru for Dragon Ball GT. The same requirements are to be met, but instead of looking at a full moon, the Saiya-jin, with a tail, must look at the light of the full Earth. This form isn't as big as the original Oozaru form, but is much more powerful.

Super Saiya-jin Variations:

The variations are arranged in order of power from my perspective. Some people may argue, but I'll give explanations as I go.

Regular Super Saiya-jin Form requirements:

The Saiya-jin must have a pure heart. We are told later by Vegeta that the heart can be either pure good or evil.
The Saiya-jin must have a sufficient amount of power.

Most of the Saiya-jin's that transform into this form do so while their emotions very high. Chibi Goten and Trunks are able to transform without extreme emotions, like it came natural to them. A certain nervousness is felt while in the Super Saiya-jin Form, but, as shown in the Furiza Saga by Goku, once a Saiya-jin reaches this level, a new awakening opens up in their brain and they immediately understand what's going on. Along with a huge boost in power and speed from their regular form, the Saiya-jin's eyesight is improved and reaction time is improved as well.

Super Saiya-jin Second Grade requirements:

The Saiya-jin must undergo extreme concentration training.

Although the Saiya-jin must have already been able to transform into Super Saiya-jin, no additional training is required for this form. However, the Saiya-jin must concentrate and basically 'find' the ability to push the Super Saiya-jin form into this stage from in their spirit. This form is much more powerful than regular Super Saiya-jin, but because of the semi-bulky muscles, speed actually decreases. Little else is known about this form because the Saiya-jin's eventually realize that it's futile.

Super Saiya-jin Full Power requirements:

Extensive training while in the Super Saiya-jin Form.
Substitute regular form with Super Saiya-jin form until body is used to it.

In preperation for fighting Cell, Goku devises a training plan to max out the Super Saiya-jin form. His plan was to always use the Super Saiya-jin form, therefore rendering the body used to it's hardships and making it easier to push power into it. This form could also be Second Grade without the bulk, but it never states this in the Manga or Anime. The reason I believe this form is more powerful than Second Grade is that Goku surpassed Vegeta with this form, and Vegeta was using Second Grade. Being able to reach this peak of masterery in the Super Saiya-jin form is only accomplished by Goku and Gohan.

Super Saiya-jin Third Grade (Ultra Super Saiya-jin) requirements:

Like Second Grade, the Saiya-jin must undergo extreme concentration training.

This form is huge, bulky, and very slow. Although the power from this form is nearly equal with Super Saiya-jin 2, the speed decrease makes this form very useless. Trunks attempts to fight Cell while in Ultra Super Saiya-jin form, and because of his slow speed, he is beat very badly. After that, the form isn't used again in the Manga. However, it makes an appearance in the Brolli movies, as Brolli uses the form a lot. While in this form, Brolli was still very powerful, but didn't slow down. This made him a very formidable foe.

Super Saiya-jin 2:

This Super Saiya-jin beyond Super Saiya-jin form was first reached by Gohan during the Cell Saga. This form was about equal in power to Ultra Super Saiya-jin, but the increase instead of decrease in speed makes this form a much more formidable one. The requirements to reach this form are listed below:

A sufficient amount of training in the Regular Saiya-jin form.
Extreme rage and emotions.
A sufficient regular form power level.

This form is reached basically the same way as the Regular Saiya-jin Form except that you have to basically max out the Super Saiya-jin form and go into extreme emotional fits. The only Saiya-jin we see reach this form for this first time is Gohan, and it is assumed that Goku and Vegeta trained very hard to reach it also. One of the best 'short' battles fought in Dragon Ball Z is between Super Saiya-jin 2 Goku and Super Saiya-jin 2 Vegeta.

Super Saiya-jin 3

During the Buu Saga, Goku attempts to stall Buu and Babidi by explaining the Saiya-jin forms. To much surprise, he transforms to a form stronger than Super Saiya-jin 2. This form is much more powerful than the Super Saiya-jin beyond Super Saiya-jin form, and the physical features of the Saiya-jin are altered quite a bit more in this form. There are only a few known requirements of this form, and they are listed below:

Very extensive training in both physical and mental abilities.
The Saiya-jin must have already used and been used to the normal Super Saiya-jin form.
A very high normal form power level.

While in this form, the Saiya-jin's hair goes very long and thick, the eyebrow's dissapear, and according to Gotenks, the Saiya-jin's face looks like a 'villain'. Only two beings reach this state in the Series, Goku and Gotenks. The first time that Goku uses this form on Earth, Kaio-sama claims that it uses an unworldy power, and the Saiya-jin can't hold it very long. Power and Speed are multiplied several times, making this a very formidable form.

Super Saiya-jin 4:

First discovered in GT by Goku, this form far surpasses all the others in speed, power, and endurance. While in this form, the Saiya-jin becomes near god-like, having hardly any equals. Super Saiya-jin 4 has evident changes from the normal Saiya-jin form, but in appearance, only one change remains constant throughout: red monkey-like fur covering the upper torso, not including the chest, abs, or face and neck. Although both Vegeta and Goku had black hair while in Super Saiya-jin 4, Gogeta had red. The following is a list of the requirements a Saiya-jin must meet:

Must have a tail
A very large power level
Reach and learn how to control Golden Oozaru

Both Goku and Vegeta cheated to reach this form. Kaioshin had Goku's tail pulled out, while Bulma designs a Brute Ray that forces Vegeta to grow a tail.

Mystic Saiya-jin:

After Gohan pulled out the Zed sword in the afterlife and started training with it, he started becoming stronger because of the impossible weight of the sword. After Goku arrived on the Kaioshin Kai where Gohan was training, he sugested that they test the sword's strength on something. He pulled out a boulder from the ground, but East Kaioshin thought they should test it on something stronger, and created a cube made of the strongest material in the universe. After trying to chop the cube, the Zed sword broke, releasing Rou Dai Kaioshin, a Kaioshin from 15 generations back. This Kaioshin had the power to make any warrior stronger past his limits through psychic ability. The following is the requirements to become a Mystic Saiya-jin:

Undergo a 5 hour ritual with Rou Dai Kaioshin running around you singing.
The user must sit idle for 20 hours while Rou Dai Kaioshin rearranges their ki through psychic power.

The term Mystic is not actually a Saiya-jin form, but since Gohan is the only one in the series to undergo this process, it is considered a Saiya-jin power. The Saiya-jin would power up into Mystic by a form similar to Super Saiya-jin, and their power and speed is boosted to equal or greater to that of Super Saiya-jin level 3. The Saiya-jin's appearance does not change while in this form.

This flow chart explain's how the forms fit together.

The original Saiya-jin's were a barbaric and savage species that relied on brute force to solve problems. After defeating the Tsufuru-jin and taking over their technology, they became more sophisticated but still held to a barbaric way of doing things.

Every Saiya-jin with a tail has the ability to go Oozaru. This form increases the Saiya-jin's power by 10. Unless high training is involved, the Saiya-jin loses control of their emotions while in this form.

The Golden Oozaru form could be described as a Super Saiya-jin Oozaru. The power held in this form is amazing, but the Saiya-jin still loses control of their personality.

The Giji (false) Super Saiya-jin form is sort of a midway point between a Saiya-jin's normal form and the actual Super Saiya-jin.

Out of extreme rage and emotion, Goku first discover's the Legendary Super Saiya-jin form during the Furiza saga, and Furiza's worse nightmare comes true when the form makes Goku much more powerful. For more information on the Super Saiya-jin variations, see chart above.

Cell pushes Gohan over the edge, and through extreme rage, Gohan reaches the Second Super Saiya-jin (SSJ2), also known as Super Saiya-jin beyond Super Saiya-jin. The Saiya-jin's speed and strength recieve a huge boost, leaving this form much more powerful than the first Super Saiya-jin.

To stall for time, Goku reveals Super Saiya-jin 3 during the Buu Saga to Babidi and Buu. At first, Babidi wasn't impressed, but after seeing Goku in action, he quickly began to respect this form.

During the Bebi Saga of Dragon Ball GT, Goku transforms from Golden Oozaru into Super Saiya-jin 4. In this form, the Saiya-jin becomes almost god-like. This is definitely the most powerful Saiya-jin form in the Dragon Ball World.