Summary
The latest installment in Akira Toriyama’sDragon BallandDragon Ball Zuniverse,Dragon Ball Super, has seenGoku and his allies ascendto even higher levels of power. InDragon Ball Super, the standard progression of Super Saiyan transformations seen in the original series has been broken with the introduction of godly ki and the various new forms it brings to the table. As a result, Goku and Vegeta, two of the series' most prominent characters have now reached power levels rivaling the gods, with the aid of a radical new form known as Super Saiyan Blue.
Having first appeared in the filmDragon Ball Z: Resurrection F, Super Saiyan Blue represents a sort of rebirth for the original sequence of Super Saiyan forms in theDragon Ballmanga and theDragon Ball Zanime, building on the Super Saiyan God form depicted inDragon Ball Z: Battle of the Gods. In certain games and merchandise related to the series, this form has also sometimes been referred to as “Super Saiyan God Super Saiyan,” which offers further hints about its true nature. Since its debut, the form has gone on to become one of the most prominently featured transformations inDragon Ball Superfor both Goku and Vegeta, as they begintraining with the God of Destruction Beerusand the Angel Whis.
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What Is Super Saiyan Blue?
Super Saiyan Blue is the divine equivalent of the standard Super Saiyan form, where a Saiyan who has attained godly ki and ascended to the level of a Super Saiyan God, will reach this level on raising their energy enough to turn into a Super Saiyan. Visually, the form bears a lot of similarities to the standard Super Saiyan transformation, except for the fact that the aura associated with it is a fiery electric blue instead of the usual golden. Small sparkling particles also appear to travel upwards within the aura, with occasional bursts of electricity emanating from it. The Saiyan’s hair will turn cyan or light blue as opposed to gold, but have the same shape as it does in their normal Super Saiyan form. Additionally, their irises will also turn blue, following the color of their hair.
According to Akira Toriyama, the blue aura of the transformation signifies that theSaiyan using it has become strong yet tranquil, as opposed to the rage-fueled states of traditional Super Saiyan forms. This aligns better with the divine nature of the transformation while also differentiating it from previous versions of Super Saiyan. Compared to the Super Saiyan God form, a Saiyan who has achieved Super Saiyan Blue will also have a slightly more well-defined musculature, to highlight the increase in power. When transforming, the Saiyan is first covered in a shell of white energy which turns into blue ki which bursts to reveal the transformed user surrounded by the form’s characteristic blue aura.
Much like Super Saiyan 3, the first appearance of this form was not in the form of a transformation in the midst of a battle, as in the case of the standard Super Saiyan form and Super Saiyan 2. Instead, Goku revealed it when going up against Golden Frieza inDragon Ball Z: Resurrection F. Both he and Vegeta achieved Super Saiyan Blue after training with Beerus and Whis on Beerus' planet, following the events ofDragon Ball Z: Battle of the Gods, when Goku first tapped into the realm of godly ki after turning into a Super Saiyan God. This fight proved to be a gateway for godly ki to take center stage in the series, which is at the heart of Super Saiyan Blue.
Techniques And Abilities
Goku himself has stated that this is the first stage transformation for a Saiyan with the power of a Super Saiyan God, who powers upto the level of a Super Saiyanwhile using godly ki. Since the form also requires a great deal of mental tranquility to achieve, it is far less of a drain on a user’s ki once mastered, and hence, negates the heavy energy consumption of the Super Saiyan 3 form, which leaks ki at absurd rates. If the Saiyan charging up their energy already possesses divine status, they will access a variant of this transformation known as Super Saiyan Rosé, as seen in the case of Goku Black.
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Those unable to sense godly ki will not be able to comprehend the power level of Super Saiyan Blueas it does not use normal ki. It also takes a great deal of time to master, and its full potential will only be unlocked after considerable training. When first unlocked, it also drains a great deal of ki on the level of Super Saiyan 3, which slowly diminishes over time with experience. Super Saiyan Blue provides a drastic increase in raw power as compared to other Super Saiyan forms. For the most part, Goku and Vegeta use their normal Super Saiyan forms while ascertaining an opponent’s strength, and only use Super Saiyan Blue when they decide to go all out against powerful foes, or to end a fight quickly.
Due to the improved ki control associated with this form after it is mastered, Super Saiyan Blue can be used for far longer periods and more drawn out battles. Furthermore, users can conserve their energy while in Super Saiyan Blue and reserve it purely for ki based attacks,as opposed to the Super Saiyan 2 and 3 formswhich constantly leak ki at all times. Moreover, the enhanced ki control also permitted Goku to stack other power ups on top of Super Saiyan Blue, such as the Kaio-ken. In the battles against Hit and Jiren, Goku achieved the X10 and X20 levels of Kaio-ken respectively with Super Saiyan Blue.
Harnessed To Its Full Potential
Once achieved by a Saiyan, they will have to undertake a lot of training before perfecting the form. After first transforming, the power level of Super Saiyan Blue is at its highest, following which it will gradually drop to normal levels. Initially, Super Saiyan Blue does consume a lot of energy, but there are a few tricks that can be used to sidestep its drawbacks. The first among them was discovered by Vegeta, who mastered the art of switching between Super Saiyan God and Super Saiyan Blue to conserve his energy. This allowed him to unleash the full explosive power of Super Saiyan Blue right before attacking, which gave him the strength to overwhelm Super Saiyan Rosé Goku Blackin the Future Trunks Saga.
Further down the line in the manga, Goku also revealed the perfected version of this form, whichuses the full power of Super Saiyan Blueat all times. Once they were both able to use this form, Goku and Vegeta only ever transformed into the standard Super Saiyan Blue form as a step in powering up to its perfected state. In this state, the aura around a user disappears, as all of their godly ki is contained within themselves, which requires a great deal of calmness and mental focus to execute.
This form is exclusive to the Dragon Ball Super manga, as the anime had Super Saiyan Blue’s power levels remain at its normal levels. Finally, the base Super Saiyan Blue form can be enhanced by powering up in a number of ways, generally through rage. This aligns with the tradition of previous Super Saiyan transformations which also rely on rage to raise power levels, in keeping with the traits of the Saiyan race. With this enhancement, Goku and Vegeta were able to contend with and even occasionally overpower Golden Frieza,Super Saiyan Rosé Goku Black, Fused Zamasu, Hit, and Jiren — although Jiren was still not fighting at his full power against this form.
