Dragon Ball 10 Things About Super Saiyan Evolution That Make No Sense

Dragon Ball is a kick ass anime and the Super Saiyan transformations are the coolest part. However, there's parts of the evolution that make no sense.

The concept of going Super Saiyan isn't only one of the most iconic aspects of the Dragon Ball franchise, but it's also one of the craziest ideas in all of anime and manga history! Who didn't look up at the sky, go into a horse stance, and yell as hard as could when they were younger - trying in vain to go Super Saiyan for real!

Hell, just about every other popular anime that features characters entering super modes owes something to DBZ. But, as popular as Super Saiyans are, we still don't fully understand everything about them. So think of this article as a "top ten questions we'd love to ask Akira Toriyama about Super Saiyan" list - if we ever got lucky enough to meet him.

10 What Happens To Eyebrows In SSJ3?

If this first entry seems a bit trivial to you, that's because it is. Most of the other questions in this article will center lore inconsistencies or things that we believe Akra Toriyama genuinely forgot about. For this first entry, however, we genuinely want to know what happens to a Saiyan's eyebrows when they go SSJ3?

Like, they get this pronounced brow that makes them look like neanderthals and lose their eyebrows to boot! Did Toriyama make SSj3 resemble a caveman to imply that the form's more primal than SSJ1 or SSJ2? The jury's out on this one - you can scour the entire DBZ wiki and still be none the wiser.

9 Where'd The Clothes Come From In SSJ4?

Ever since DBZ Super came out, most fans have actively worked to bury Dragon Ball GT. For the most part, that attempt's worked; there are plenty of younger Dragon Ball fans who have no idea what GT even is! For those of you who don't know, it's the series that immediately followed DBZ and introduced the concept of SSJ4.

SSJ4 has black hair, red fur, and thick eyeliner that made Goku and Vegeta look like Marilyn Manson's bandmates. They'd also get their tails back, as well as a new set of pants, shoes, and gloves in Vegeta's case. Clothes that were different colors from their normal GT attire, might we add. Again, the jury's out on this one - probably watching the DBZ Abridged series.

8 False Super Saiyan

Once upon a time, Goku had no idea what a Super Saiyan was. From Dragon Ball to the earliest arcs of Dragon Ball Z, Goku had to rely on his skills, high fight IQ, and Kaioken to win most of his early DBZ battles. However, during the divisive film DBZ Lord Slug, Goku seemingly accessed the powers of a Super Saiyan before the Frieza Saga!

In truth, he didn't - he merely tapped into the power of a False Super Saiyan (or Pseudo Super Saiyan if you want to sound scientific.) We'd like to know why Goku couldn't access this power when Raditz stomped him out or when Vegeta nearly crushed him as a Great Ape? Goku was definitely on the verge of death then, so what gives?

7 Trunks And Goten Easily Go Super Saiyan

Do you remember how much of a big deal it was when Goku first transformed into a Super Saiyan? Frieza recently killed Krillin in brutal fashion and Namek was on the verge of imploding! All hope seemed lost until Goku Hulked-out, screamed on top of his lungs, and became a golden-haired god for the first time.

For Trunks and Goten, however, they didn't have to struggle anywhere near as much to become Super Saiyans. During the Buu Saga, these two transform with ease - skipping the "extreme stress" requirement that Saiyans must meet to transform in the first place! Some fans chalk it up to their genetics, while others suggest that their stressful moments happened offscreen. Either way, we don't have an official explanation from DBZ's creator himself.

6 Super Saiyan Grades

Simply put, why do some Saiyan forms have "Grades" while others don't? Vegeta and Trunks accessed Super Saiyan Second grade when they fought Cell, and even Goku and Gohan attained that form with enough training.

But why isn't there such a thing as Super Saiyan 3 Second Grade? Even Super Saiyan 2 has a Berserk/ Rage state? We suppose Toriyama didn't want to keep that trend going on for every new form he created. We understand, but we also wish we had a lore-accurate reason as to why.

5 Where Do Legendary Super Saiyans Come From?

By now, everyone knows that Broly and Kale are the only two Legendary Super Saiyans who are currently alive. Whenever either of these two shows up, you know an intense battle is around the corner. We don't want the Legendary Super Saiyans to go anywhere.

However, we do want to know what it takes to make one? Is it a rare Saiyan genetic condition, like Giantism? If so, what stopped the top scientists of Planet Vegeta from trying to selectively breed an army of Legendary Super Saiyans? And don't say King Vegeta, either - that boy couldn't even stop Frieza from dumping on his entire kingdom!

4 Reviving Dead Birds In Cooler's Revenge

Hey, we understand that we're supposed to take the DBZ movies too seriously in terms of canon. Still, it's pretty random how Goku revived a dead bird by transforming into a Super Saiyan during Cooler's Revenge!

The most prevalent theory is that Goku transferred energy to the bird, the same way he did to Frieza back on Namek. However, Frieza was still alive - sawed in half, but still technically holding on to life. That bird, on the other hand, was stiff as a rock!

3 The Super Saiyan God Ritual

Here's another example of Dragon Ball lore that we don't dislike but are perplexed by. During Battle of Gods, Goku becomes a Super Saiyan God for the first time. However, he couldn't do it alone - he needed the help five "righteous" Saiyans to perform the Super Saiyan God ritual.

If that's true, then how were Vegeta and Videl able to help? Videl is a human and Vegeta once wiped an entire planet off the map! We're ultimately glad that Videl and Vegeta played a major role in the film, but we do need a stronger explanation as to how they met the ritual's qualifications.

2 Super Saiyan Blue Requires A Calm Mind

You've probably seen a billion memes joking about this, but it's a valid question - how can Super Saiyan Blue require a calm mind even though one must be under a great deal of stress and tension to access various other Saiyan powers.

Moreover, most of the other Saiyan forms have Berserker and Rage states - making this "calm mind" requirement stick out like a sore thumb. We respect the attempt to mix things up a bit, but we'd suggest saving such a drastic contradiction for the highest Saiyan form achievable.

1 Ancient Saiyans Have Different Ki

Cumber, Shallot, and Giblet are the only three Ancient Saiyans that we've encountered so far. Much like Broly, these three seem to have a slew of powers that only they can access thanks to their genetics. Hell, Cumber recently accessed the full power of Super Saiyan 3!

In other words, it seems like these Ancient Saiyans are stronger than their Modern counterparts. Our question is why, from an evolutionary perspective, would the older Saiyans be stronger than their descendants? The whole point of evolution is ensuring that each subsequent generation is an improvement over the last. Maybe time will tell or reveal that these Ancient Saiyans aren't as OP as we think.