Dragon Ball 5 Differences Between When Vegeta Turns Super Saiyan In The Anime & The Manga

Many fans are familiar with Vegeta's Super Saiyan transformation in the Dragon Ball Anime but how does it differ from the Manga?

Most anime adaptations of manga have some differences in how they represent the plot points that happen in the series. Dragon Ball is no different. One of the biggest points of interest in the series is the way that the Super Saiyan transformations work.

Vegeta, in particular, has several different transformations, and some of them are shown very differently in the manga versus how they are shown in the anime. Here are five ways Vegeta’s Super Saiyan transformations are exclusive to the anime and five ways they’re exclusive to the manga.

10 Anime: Goes Straight to Super Saiyan Blue

There are different levels that Saiyans need to hit in order to increase their power. First, they master through training one level of Super Saiyan and then the next. But where Goku first learns the ability to transform into Super Saiyan God, and from there, learns Super Saiyan Blue, Vegeta skips over the middle step and is never seen learning Super Saiyan God. Instead, he is shown as being Super Saiyan Blue on his next upgrade.

9 Manga: Becomes Super Saiyan God

In the manga, however, this step isn’t skipped. The manga actually shows the point in the middle, where Vegeta has to learn how to become Super Saiyan God before he is able to become Super Saiyan Blue.

This allows the readers to see that every Saiyan has to go through the same process in order to achieve that next level of strength.

8 Anime: Super Saiyan God SS Evolved

This level of power is something Vegeta first achieves in Dragon Ball Super, which means that, unlike the other transformations, this one did not appear in the manga first. This is a powerful mode that is actually past Super Saiyan Blue, which until this point has been the most powerful level that a Saiyan can achieve. Vegeta first achieves this during the Tournament of Power, when he’s losing a battle, and desperate to win, manages to break his own limits and become even stronger.

7 Manga: Super Saiyan God SS Evolved (But Different)

The anime introduces the Super Saiyan God SS Evolved mode, but the manga does pick it up afterward. However, the manga presents it pretty differently.

Where the anime version looks pretty similar to Super Saiyan Blue, aside from Vegeta having some slightly darker armor and black pupils, the manga representation further changes the colors on this level, making Vegeta’s hair a darker blue and giving him a new aura that appears around him.

6 Anime: Achieving New Levels During Battle

Goku and Vegeta are rivals in both the anime and the manga, and they use each other’s power levels and skills in order to motivate themselves to become stronger. But in the anime, Vegeta can be seen more often using desperation during battle, and the strong desire to win against his enemies, as a reason to level up, beyond just frustration at Goku. Super Saiyan God SS Evolved, for instance, is achieved during the Tournament of Power, where in the manga, he learns it because he’s frustrated Goku has surpassed him again.

5 Manga: Uses Super Saiyan God Tactically

Once Vegeta has learned a Super Saiyan level, he’s able to use it at will, and he doesn’t necessarily have to go to full power all the time.

In the manga, he uses this ability strategically; since the more powerful Super Saiyan levels take a lot of stamina and use a lot of energy, Vegeta will sometimes switch back into a lower mode, like Super Saiyan God, in order to conserve his power and to put the energy he needs into the particular move he’s doing, instead of being at top power all the time.

4 Anime: God Final Flash

One of Vegeta’s moves that doesn’t appear in the manga is the God Final Flash. This is pretty much Vegeta’s most powerful move, and he can do it once he has become Super Saiyan Blue. This move originated in the Super Dragon Ball Heroes arcade game, and it is only used in the anime during the Tournament of Power.

3 Manga: Achieves Perfected Super Saiyan Blue

Vegeta’s transformation into the Perfected Super Saiyan Blue form occurs only in the Dragon Ball Super manga. It essentially looks the same as Super Saiyan Blue, except for a lack of an aura around him.

Where Super Saiyan Blue lacks the ability to remain in the state for a long time, due to its drain on stamina, Perfected Super Saiyan Blue puts him in such a powerful state that he can remain that way for as long as he needs to during battle.

2 Anime: Training To Become More Powerful Than Super Saiyan God SS Evolved

Despite the fact that Super Saiyan God SS Evolved is an incredibly powerful form that seems like it would be almost impossible to defeat, Vegeta is always looking to get stronger. In the anime, where this form originates, he spends a lot of time training, as he always does throughout the series, in order to surpass even this form. He’s devoted to continuing to become the most powerful fighter he can.

1 Manga: Galaxy Breaker

Galaxy Breaker is a move that is used during the anime, but only once and very early on in the series. It’s an incredibly powerful move that likely has the ability to destroy the world, if Vegeta wanted to use it that way. In the manga, Vegeta regularly uses Galaxy Breaker, especially during tough battles, since it has the power to take down even very formidable enemies.