Dragon Ball is one of the most iconic anime series of all time, and the legendary Super Saiyan transformation is a big reason why. The Super Saiyan transformation has always been seen as one of the most straightforward in anime; upon closer inspection, however, it might be a little more complex than it has been presented. Goku was the first Saiyan in 1,000 years to uncover the transformation, so it makes sense that the Saiyans don't have all the information available.

The Super Saiyan transformation is commonly seen as a manifestation of pure rage. When a Saiyan undergoes a traumatic event, they tap into their latent rage, unlocking a deeper level of power they may have never known about. Each Saiyan in Dragon Ball actually turns Super Saiyan for a different reason, showing that the form is a little more complicated than understood.

7 Trunks - Competitiveness

Trunks Transforms Into A Super Saiyan To Stay One Step Ahead Of Goten And Get Closer To His Father, Vegeta

Kid Trunks, or just regular Trunks, has grown up in the most peaceful time possible. His father and Goku have fought tirelessly to protect the Earth and give their children the peace that they never had, so it would be pretty hard for Trunks to go through something difficult enough to make him feel rage. His future counterpart is different, but the Trunks in the current timeline has luckily had a relatively easy life.

"When was it that the legendary transformation of the Saiyan race was reduced to a child's play thing?" - Vegeta watching Trunks turn Super Saiyan for the first time.

During the Buu Saga in Dragon Ball Z, Trunks turns Super Saiyan in front of Vegeta while the pair are undergoing intense training. Trunks becomes a Super Saiyan at just 8-years-old. His first transformation is never shown on-screen, but there is a great scene of Vegeta seeing his son transform for the first time that truly humbles the Prince of all Saiyans.

Trunks never has to go through a traumatic event to transform. Instead, he does it to stay one step ahead of Goten, his best friend and rival. Trunks is a little bit stronger than Goten because he's a year older, and he probably achieved the Super Saiyan form to maintain his lead.

6 Goten - Boredom

Goten Only Transformed Into A Super Saiyan So That He Could Have A Good Time

Goten is one of the funniest characters in Dragon Ball. He's just like his dad in the best ways possible: neither of them really care about anything too much, they're both just around to have a good time, and even their appearance is identical for a good portion of the series. While Goku is the first Saiyan, outside Yamoshi, to become a Super Saiyan, Goten is canonically the youngest character in the franchise to achieve the legendary form.

Goku first held the record of the youngest, because he was the only one to transform, then Gohan held the record when he became a Super Saiyan before the Cell Saga, and finally, Goten took on the Son Family mantle and broke the record even further. At just 7-years-old, Goten became a Super Saiyan for the first time.

Goten first transformation into the Super Saiyan form, like his best friend Trunks, isn't shown on-screen. Instead, Goten transforms while training with Gohan, showing off the new form with an incredibly blasé attitude. Goten also transformed in front of his mom, Chi-Chi, while they were training, much to her chagrin.

It's hilarious that Goku's first transformation is seen as a huge step for the Z Fighters, while Goten's is enough to bring his mother to tears.

5 Future Trunks - Loss

Like His Master And Friend Gohan, Future Trunks' Transformations Are Usually Marked By Severe Loss

Future Trunks' entire life is beyond bleak. Unfortunately, he's part of many of the most shocking moments in Dragon Ball. He first appeared in a separate timeline from the main canon: a timeline in which Goku died from a heart virus and the Androids killed almost everyone. The only two survivors of their onslaught were Future Trunks and Future Gohan.

The pair became close, relying on one another to defend what was left of humanity from the Androids. Gohan and Trunks are close friends, mentor and student, and the only two characters that can remotely stand up to their enemies. Trunks was never able to turn Super Saiyan in his timeline, leaving Gohan as the sole Saiyan who could defend the pair.

In one of the most heartbreaking scenes in the series, Gohan sacrifices himself to save a few humans and Trunks. He dies quickly to the Androids, who leave him for dead in a puddle. Trunks uncovers his master's body and turns into a Super Saiyan for the first time, showing that despair, guilt, and anguish are three more emotions that can take a Saiyan to entirely new levels.

4 Broly - Blind Rage

Broly's Anger Sends Him Into An Uncontrollable Spiral

Broly is one of the coolest characters in anime. In Dragon Ball Super, the new Broly is kind hearted, caring, and sweet (when he's not fighting, that is). In battle, there are few mortals stronger than the Legendary Super Saiyan. Broly is one of the few characters strong enough to take on Goku and Vegeta at the same time. He's so strong that the pair not only had to work together, but they were forced to use the Metamoran fusion dance and become Gogeta.

Broly's first transformation into the Super Saiyan state is similar to Goku's. Both Goku and Broly transformed after seeing their loved ones die in front of them because of Frieza. For Goku, it was his best friend, Krillin. For Broly, it was his father, Paragus. While Broly didn't know that Frieza had killed his father at the time, it didn't matter. He then transformed from his Wrathful form into his Super Saiyan form, giving into his rage entirely.

Broly's Super Saiyan form is beastly. He grows in height, gains even bigger muscles, and completely loses his pupils, showing that there's nearly no consciousness behind his decisions. He later transforms into the Full Power Legendary Super Saiyan, gaining green hair, green aura, and an even more monstrous frame.

3 Gohan - Loss

Gohan's Most Powerful Transformations Come After Watching His Friends Die

Gohan is a tragic character in Dragon Ball. He's always wanted to be a normal kid, but due to his Saiyan heritage, he's been forced to fight since he was a toddler. He had his neck broken in battle when he was only 5-years-old, grew up without a father for most of his life, and has seen many of his friends die right in front of him.

Gohan is also one of the few characters in Dragon Ball with enough potential to possibly be stronger than Goku. Before his younger brother Goten's transformation, Gohan was the youngest character to become a Super Saiyan. He first transformed with his dad in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber, but his real transformations came later.

During the Cell Saga, Gohan is the first character to become a Super Saiyan 2 after Android 16 is killed in front of him. Later, in Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero, Gohan becomes Gohan Beast after thinking that Piccolo died as well.

Gohan never wanted to be a fighter, but he'll do anything to defend his loved ones. His transformations come from guilt and loss, knowing that if he trained just a bit harder, he could have saved his friends before they died.

2 Vegeta - Desperation

Vegeta Has Always Been Desperate Not To Let Kakarot Sur Him

If there's one emotion that can define the Prince of all Saiyans in Dragon Ball, it's pride. There are few characters in the art form of anime that can compare to Vegeta in of pure pride, and Vegeta's textbook trait is best seen when he finally unlocks the Super Saiyan transformation.

After Goku became a Super Saiyan, Vegeta couldn't help but recognize the fact that his rival was well and truly in another league. He wanted to force himself to achieve the Super Saiyan form, heading to a dangerous planet to train. Vegeta said that he achieved the form only after giving up on it, telling himself that he wasn't good enough in a moment of pure desperation.

Thanks to his training, his pure desire to be stronger than Goku, and his desperation, Vegeta transformed. He then transforms on-screen for the first time in an amazing fight against Android 19 where Vegeta reminds everyone that he's one of the toughest Saiyans in the franchise.

1 Goku - Rage

Goku's Rage Comes From His Sense Of Honor And Justice

There are few moments more iconic in all of anime than Goku's first transformation into the legendary Super Saiyan form. The Super Saiyan form is one of the most famous transformations in the art form, and it all started with Goku's fight against Frieza on Namek. For most of Dragon Ball, it was said that Saiyan's greatest strength came from pure rage.

When Krillin was killed by Frieza horrifically, it was all Goku could feel. Through his rage, he unlocked a deeper, latent power within himself that gave him the strength to stand up to the evil emperor. Goku's rage isn't just plain anger: it's a sense of injustice. Goku has a pure heart, and when he saw how brutally and senselessly his best friend died, he couldn't take it anymore.

Goku then transforms into a Super Saiyan and beats Frieza easily. It's an amazing fight that comes after a truly memorable speech where Goku defies Frieza as "the Hope of the Universe".