10 Best Non-Canon Super Saiyan Forms, Ranked

Super Saiyans are synonymous Akira Toriyama’s Dragon Ball. What began as a humble power-up on Namek for Goku has spiralled into one of the franchise’s most iconic features. The Super Saiyan tradition has only become more prominent throughout Dragon Ball’s run and there’s now Super Saiyan God and Super Saiyan Blue courtesy of super.

It may seem like Dragon Ball has hit its limit when it comes to Super Saiyan transformations, but there are no shortage of unique Super Saiyan forms to discover in the franchise’s non-canon material. Some of these unofficial Super Saiyan stages only appeared once and were never seen again, but that arguably makes them more special than the series’ actual canon transformations.

10 Super Saiyan Evil Saiyan Is Too Cumbersome To Be Canon

Debut: Super Dragon Ball Heroes: Universe Mission!!, Chapter 2, “Evil Saiyan”

Dragon Ball Heroes is a video game, manga, and anime spin-off that feels like glorified fan fiction more often than not. DBH throws everything imaginable at the audience, concocting wild scenarios where Super Saiyan Vegito fights against Vegito Blue. Heroes also introduces new and intimidating Saiyans, like Cumber. Cumber is practically synonymous with the powerful Evil Saiyan state. Evil Saiyans have a wicked black and crimson aura, increased height and muscle mass, and longer hair akin to Super Saiyan 3 – albeit still black.

The user also gains an Evil Aura, which can be dangerous in its own right. While Evil Saiyan is primarily used by Cumber form, Turles also uses the form. Although Evil Saiyan is an ascended state on its own, regular Super Saiyan can be stacked on top of it. Super Saiyan Evil Saiyan Cumber retains the black and crimson aura while sporting SSJ’s traditional gold hair. Evil Saiyan is a niche transformation that comes across as derivative of past ideas and mainly feels like a way to give Cumber a power-up.

Debut: Dragon Ball Fusions

Dragon Ball Fusions is a 3DS RPG that lets players fuse all their favorite Dragon Ball characters together into thousands of different pairings. That said, one of the game’s strangest details doesn’t have anything to do with fusion. Bulma creates a robotic version of Goku – Mecha Goku – as a training tool for Vegeta. Mecha Goku has many of Goku’s mannerisms and fighting habits, but Bulma apparently does such a good job with her metallic doppelgänger that it’s also able to transform into a Super Saiyan. Mecha Goku’s metamorphosis is referred to as Metal Super Saiyan, which operates like the standard transformation.

MSSJ turns Mecha Goku’s silver-looking metallic sheen gold. It’s an interesting concept to have a solid gold Super Saiyan, but it just doesn’t leave enough of an impression. Curiously, the original Japanese version of Dragon Ball Z: The Return of Cooler features a foreboding threat where the Meta-Cooler Core reveals that his plan is to take Super Saiyan Ki from Goku and Vegeta to use it to create a mass-produced army of Metal Super Saiyans. It’s likely that Metal Super Saiyan Mecha Goku from Dragon Ball Fusions is what they would look like.

8 Demon Realm Race-Super Saiyans Demonize SSJ

Debut: Super Dragon Ball Heroes: Dark Demon Realm Mission!, Chapter 1, “Dispatch! Time Patrol”

Dragon Ball‘s Demons are fascinating figures, but the canon anime and manga have only scratched the surface of their lore. Dragon Ball Heroes goes much further in this department and establishes a dangerous cabal of powerful Demons – Mira, Towa, and Fu. The series explores the potential behind Demon Realm race-Saiyan hybrids, who are evidently still able to transform into Super Saiyans. These Super Saiyan transformations are different from the norm since the individuals’ Demon Realm Race DNA is dominant to their Saiyan genetic material. The transformation can only be used by Mira and Fu, who become Super Mira and Super Fu, respectively.

The Demon Realm Race Super Saiyan form is occasionally preceded by a berserker Rampaging state that features spiked up silver-white hair and an intensified aura. The circumstances behind Demon Realm Race Super Saiyans are similar to standard Super Saiyan and often involve an intense emotional trigger. Mira becomes Super Mira when he begins to panic upon losing control over the Masked Saiyan, whereas Fu becomes Super Fu to protect Goku and Vegeta, but also when he sees that his laboratory has been destroyed. It’s an interesting genetic experiment, but it doesn’t bring too much to the table.

7 Pseudo Super Saiyan Is Technically Goku’s SSJ Debut

Debut: Dragon Ball Z: Lord Slug

Dragon Ball Z: Lord Slug is frequently considered one of the franchise’s worst movies. It’s a relatively short film that misses the mark in many regards, but there’s still enough to appreciate about Lord Slug – whether it’s the movie’s Namekian antagonist or the intimidating transformation that marks the movie’s climax. Goku infamously transforms into a Super Saiyan, albeit one with a red/ yellow aura and blanked out eyes that resemble Legendary Super Saiyan Broly. This form has retroactively been named Pseudo Super Saiyan, but it’s worth pointing out that it’s actually the first on-screen appearance of any Super Saiyan.

Lord Slug’s release predated the anime’s Super Saiyan debut in “Transformed At Last” by several months and the movie even hit theaters a few weeks before the transformation made its manga premiere in Weekly Shonen Jump. Pseudo Super Saiyan was supposed to be actual Super Saiyan for all intents and purposes, but Toei’s unique depiction turned it into an odd anomaly when Toriyama finally introduced it in canon. Pseudo Super Saiyan doesn’t do anything that regular Super Saiyan can’t do, but its striking design has left an impression on audiences. It’s definitely more intense than the basic Super Saiyan state.

6 Super Kaioken Combines Two Tremendous Strength Boosts For Extreme Success

Debut: Dragon Ball Z, Episode 199, “Goku Vs. Pikkon”

Kaioken is one of Goku’s most valuable abilities before learns how to turn Super Saiyan. There’s an enlightening moment during Dragon Ball Z‘s Other World Saga filler where he finds himself overwhelmed against the West Galaxy’s Pikkon during the the tournament finals. Goku transforms into Super Saiyan Second Grade and then triggers Kaioken, which results in Super Kaioken. Goku’s golden Super Saiyan aura gains a reddish hue and his hair remains spiked up like it normally is in Super Saiyan state.

It’s worth pointing out that Xeno Vegito also uses Super Saiyan Kaioken Dragon Ball Heroes, where it’s referred to as Super Saiyan Kaio-Ken. For Xeno Vegito, he retains his golden hair and aura, but a second red aura surrounds it. This transformation is incredibly strenuous and can prove to even be fatal if it’s abused. SSJ Kaioken was the non-canon precursor to Super Saiyan Blue Kaioken Goku from Dragon Ball Super.

5 God Broly Elevates The Legendary Super Saiyan To Unprecedented Heights

Debut: Dragon Ball Z: The Real 4-D At Super Tenkaichi Budokai

Dragon Ball is such a monumental success that it even has its own cinematic attractions at Universal Studios Japan. Dragon Ball Z: The Real 4-D at Super Tenkaichi Budokai is the follow-up to the successful Dragon Ball Z: The Real 4-D. This obscure adventure puts Super Saiyan Blue Goku and Vegeta up against Broly, who has ascended to a dangerous God Broly status.

Unfortunately, Dragon Ball Z: Super Tenkaichi Budokai doesn’t provide any context on how Broly achieves this transformation and the true extent of its powers. God Broly’s design bears a lot in common with Broly’s massive Legendary Super Saiyan 3 form and features a sinister green-tinted aura. This transformation is presumably Broly’s equivalent to Super Saiyan Blue and Super Saiyan Rosé. It requires the tremendous power of God Fusion Goku – who has fused with the entire tournament’s audience – in order to be defeated.

4 Super Neko Majin Rewards The Magical Cat Race With Raw Power

Debut: Nekomajin, Chapter 3, “Neko Majin Z”

Akira Toriyama is an exceptional shonen storyteller, but his roots are in outlandish gag comedy where he often feels more comfortable. Nekomajin started as a playful one-shot about the Neko Majin, a race of magical cat creatures who love martial arts and practical jokes. The Nekomajin series progressively evolves into a Dragon Ball parody and later reveals that it’s actually set in the same universe, featuring cameos from several Dragon Ball characters and even new Saiyans, like Onio.

Neko Majin Z, the series’ protagonist, possesses incredible mimicry skills that allow him to successfully emulate Onio’s Super Saiyan transformation. The result is the Super Neko Majin transformation that causes Z’s fur to stand on end and he acquires a powerful purple aura. The transformation borrows Super Saiyan principles, but with a unique look. This is a rare example of a Super Saiyan form that doesn’t include any of the golden flair.

3 Super Saiyan Rosé 2, 3 & Full Power Build Upon Goku Black’s Divine Transformation

Debut: Super Dragon Ball Heroes, Episode 37, “Warrior In Black Clothes Vs. Goku Black! The Dark Plot Becomes Clear! ”

Dragon Ball Super‘s Goku Black was already an intimidating antagonist before he showcased his own Super Saiyan Blue counterpart, Super Saiyan Rosé. There’s a malevolent look to this form, but Goku Black doesn’t stick around long enough for this transformation to evolve. Fortunately, Super Dragon Ball Heroes pushes this transformation to greater heights through its Crimson-Masked Saiyan – an alternate version of Goku Black whose fate has been changed by Fu.

The Crimson-Masked Saiyan, during his pursuit to wipe out all the alternate versions of Goku, unlocks Super Saiyan Rosé 2, Super Saiyan Rosé 3, and Super Saiyan Rosé Full Power. These transformations essentially take the standard Super Saiyan Rosé framework and give it the accouterments that accompany later Super Saiyan forms. Super Saiyan Rosé already looks great, so giving it long Super Saiyan 3 hair and other design touches only makes it more impressive.

2 Super Full Power Saiyan 4 Limit Breaker Is The Ultimate Version Of The GT Transformation

Debut: Super Dragon Ball Heroes: Big Bang Mission!!!, Chapter 3, “Limit Break”

Dragon Ball GT‘s canonical status is open for debate and one could argue that Super Saiyan 4 isn’t technically a canonical transformation, despite its popularity and prominence in Dragon Ball video games. Super Dragon Ball Heroes goes even further in this department with Super Full Power Saiyan 4 Limit Breaker, the final evolution of Super Saiyan 4. Super Full Power Saiyan 4 Limit Breaker is initially obtained in a manner that’s quite similar to the Super Saiyan God transformation.

Several Saiyans must perform a ki transfer, where the targeted individual ascends to Super Full Power Saiyan 4 and then finally the Limit Breaker state (although some individuals like Broly are strong enough to ascend to this state on their own). Super Full Power Saiyan 4 Limit Breaker Xeno Goku and Vegeta are two of Super Dragon Ball Heroes‘ strongest characters. The transformation doesn’t look that different from the original Super Saiyan 4 design, but there’s a more intense and concentrated magenta hue, slightly longer hair, and a more calm and serene voice.

1 Goku’s Spirit Bomb Super Saiyan Transformation Overloads Him With Intense Energy

Debut: Dragon Ball Z: Super Android 13!

The Dragon Ball Z feature films have a lot of fun with their unique Super Saiyan deviations and original techniques. The series’ seventh movie, Super Android 13!, features a final showdown between Super Saiyan Goku and the fused synthesis of Androids 13, 14, and 15. Super Saiyan Goku lacks the necessary strength to win, but he attempts to conjure a Spirit Bomb to finish the job, which causes a fascinating chain reaction. The Spirit Bomb is meant to be a pure endeavor, but the wicked nature of a Super Saiyan presumably causes this process to go in a different direction. Goku, rather than launching the Spirit Bomb’s energy as a projectile, absorbs it into his body.

This results in the rare Spirit Bomb Super Saiyan, which achieves such a destructive energy aura that it causes Super Android 13’s body to disintegrate upon contact. Spirit Bomb Super Saiyan Goku’s body seemingly operates independently of itself and he delivers a seismic blow to Super Android 13 that finally destroys the evil creation. Goku is left dazed from the experience and struggles to remember what happened. This has prompted some fans to view Spirit Bomb Super Saiyan as an early, rudimentary precursor to Ultra Instinct, wherein Goku’s body acts by itself. It’s a powerful, poignant transformation.