Dragon Ball Daima has kicked off a new era of the Dragon Ball anime with a brand new series, and that means for the first time in a while the Super Saiyan form is going to be important again. Super Saiyan is one of the most important and impactful transformations seen in all manga and anime releases. While it could be argued that other transformations have been recognized in other media to some degree, it’s hard to deny just how big of a form that Super Saiyan is. It’s been such a big deal that Dragon Ball has only continued to build off of it further.
Dragon Ball has since taken Super Saiyan through all sorts of new levels of power, and with it Goku and Vegeta have since broken through the ceiling to godhood with a variation of the transformation. But it’s been a long time since Super Saiyan itself was a key part of Goku and Vegeta’s repertoire. Not Super Saiyan God Super Saiyan, not the Ultra Instinct or Ultra Ego forms, but Super Saiyan itself. With Goku and Vegeta essentially being reverted back to their selves before the start of the Battle of Gods arc, Super Saiyan is about to be a big part of the fights again.
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Goku and Vegeta Are Getting Nerfed in Dragon Ball Daima
Dragon Ball Daima‘s series premiere reveals that a new set of characters are seeing the events of the Majin Buu arc play out, and then move into action as a result of it. This confirms the series’ new place in the overall Dragon Ball timeline before Beerus and Whis’ arrival during the Battle of Gods arc. So the new series is already working with a Goku and Vegeta without any access to god power, and with as much power as we saw them have at the end of the Buu arc. Then Dragon Ball Daima’s big hook kicks in at the end of the premiere.
With Gomah and Degesu successfully uses the Dragon Balls to wish that everyone that had fought Majin Buu and their friends were turned into children. This will result in the full reveal of the Mini forms that have been revealed for all of the Z Fighters in the anime’s promotional materials. So stacking on top of the place in the timeline, it will mean that Goku and Vegeta will be even further separated from their god power than ever before. If the two will get into fights again, their highest level of power available will be Super Saiyan.
Promotional materials have clearly shown Goku Mini using Super Saiyan power, but it’s unclear as to whether or not he has access to Super Saiyan 2 at his current body’s age. If it works like how Goten and Trunks did, Goku likely will only be able to reach Super Saiyan at most and could reach Super Saiyan 2 and further after breaking through his limits. So for the most part, his fighting style is going to change. It’s why his using the Power Pole is such a focus this time around too.
Super Saiyan Is Coming Back to Dragon Ball’s Spotlight
With a celebration of Dragon Ball’s 40th anniversary in this new anime series, it makes quite a bit of sense that it’s going back to the drawing board in many ways. Not only is Goku going on a new adventure in his nostalgic new kid form, but Super Saiyan will be the key transformation of the fights coming ahead. Goku’s new body will make it tough to activate Super Saiyan form, so it’s going to have the same amount of huge impact it used to back in Dragon Ball’s early days.
The Super Saiyan form has gotten so washed out over the years. With the god powers introducing all sorts of variants to the transformation, and eventually leading to Ultra forms outside of these transformations, Super Saiyan itself had taken a backseat. While it was there during some key moments (especially during the Tournament of Power), it always just felt like something Goku was using when he was either purposefully holding back or lacking the power to use a different transformation. So its presentation was ultimately lacking that impact too.
Because it’s not just whether or not the transformation is the only one available that’s going to make it important, it’s going to be how it’s used. If it takes Goku much more effort to use Super Saiyan than it used to, then it’s going to make the transformation feel earned when it does. If it’s rarely seen, then the episodes where Goku uses Super Saiyan are going to feel more important as a result. So Super Saiyan is going to hopefully parallel that same vibe that it used to.
Remember when Goku first reached Super Saiyan? It was the climax of one of the biggest Dragon Ball arcs to date, and Goku literally has never been the same since. It was such a monumental shift for the franchise that it was literally only super beings and gods seen as major foes ever since. But Dragon Ball Daima is going back to the roots of not only Goku’s original introduction, but the debut of the Super Saiyan transformation as well. This is going to be where Super Saiyan gets treated the way it used to, and that’s only going to be good for the health of the franchise overall.
The future of Dragon Ball is particularly uncertain after Akira Toriyama’s passing, but these building blocks seen in the core concept of Dragon Ball Daima alone raise the ceiling for growth. Goku’s back to being intriguing and full of potential all over again, and that’s the Goku that fans first fell in love with all those years ago. A true celebration of Dragon Ball’s anniversary and legacy in and out.
