A Guide to Every Dragon Ball Super Saiyan Form, Definitively Ranked From Weakest to Strongest
A transformation that changed Dragon Ball
The Super Saiyan idea opened new possibilities for Saiyan power in Dragon Ball. Its animated debut came when Goku transformed in Dragon Ball Z, creating a landmark moment for the franchise.
The original form brings yellow, upright hair and a golden aura. Goku reached it after his best friend was destroyed, while Vegeta’s anger at being surpassed by Goku and Trunks helped drive his own transformation.
Akira Toriyama designed the hair color to make Goku easier to draw. The transformation’s striking look became one of the series’ most recognizable images.
False Super Saiyan’s brief boost
In Dragon Ball Z: Lord Slug, Goku struggles against the film’s villain before gaining a power boost called False Super Saiyan, also known as pseudo-Super Saiyan. It is described as the weakest level in the ranking.
Goku’s hair does not turn yellow in this state. His pupils disappear, his aura takes on a gold tint, and his power rises, but he cannot hold the form for long.
Goku is the only character said to have reached this benchmark. Vegeta has displayed a similar technique, and the form predates the first official Super Saiyan transformation.
Training brings further changes
Ascended Super Saiyan builds on the original state with somewhat larger muscles and longer, wilder hair. Vegeta, Trunks and Goku reached it after extended training in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber.
Vegeta used the form to overpower Semi-Perfect Cell. But the upgrade was a halfway step between Super Saiyan and Super Saiyan 2, and later forms left it with fewer opportunities to stand out.
Super Saiyan Third Grade, also called Ultra Super Saiyan or Super Saiyan 1.5, is another step between the original transformation and Super Saiyan 2. It pushes muscle growth much further than Ascended Super Saiyan.
Power can come at a cost
Third Grade greatly increases a Saiyan’s power, while the muscles become enormous and the hair grows larger and more unruly. The added mass, however, sharply reduces speed. The hierarchy includes forms with distinct strengths and drawbacks, rather than a single straightforward upgrade path. The account identifies False Super Saiyan as the weakest, while describing later transformations as increasingly powerful options.
Key points
- False Super Saiyan gives Goku a major but short-lived boost without yellow hair.
- The original Super Saiyan form is linked to intense emotion and training.
- Ascended Super Saiyan offered a training-based upgrade but was later overshadowed.
- Super Saiyan Third Grade adds power and muscle at the cost of speed.