Saiyan

Biodata

Feature	Value
Name	Saiyan
Alias(es)	赛亚人; “strongest warrior race in the cosmos” 1
Species/Race	Humanoid warrior race 1
Affiliation	Frieza Force; formerly centered on Planet Vegeta 2
Status	Nearly annihilated following the destruction of Planet Vegeta; only a few survivors and their Earth-based descendants remain 1 48 188
First Appearance	Chapter 1

Power Progression

Stage / Benchmark	Details
Ordinary Saiyan warrior	Most Saiyan soldiers possess battle power in the hundreds or around 1,000, while elite warriors generally reach roughly 3,000–4,000 5
Normal-state ceiling	Normal Saiyan battle power was believed to peak at only slightly above 10,000 before Planet Vegeta's destruction 1
Great Ape	A tailed Saiyan can transform into a Great Ape through sufficient Blutz Waves, increasing battle power tenfold 63 70
Exceptional survivor growth	Surviving Saiyans have exceeded the former racial ceiling by extreme margins through training, combat, recovery, and external enhancements; Gou Kong reaches 48,000 in base and 72,000 with Energy Body-Forging, while Vegeta reaches at least 39,800 on Earth 54 55 60
Potential-unlocked state	Grand Elder-assisted potential release raises Gou Kong's non-transformed battle power to 280,000 95
Super Saiyan	The legendary golden transformation is achieved by Son Goku, Turles, and later Gou Kong, Vegeta, and Raditz; it enables Saiyans to contend with Frieza, King Cold's forces, and the Androids 119 121 124 138
Super Saiyan 2	Gou Kong achieves Super Saiyan 2 during his battle against King Cold, gaining sufficient power to overwhelm the tyrant; Gohan and Seliph also awaken Super Saiyan 2 during the Cell Games 115 175
Future Saiyan descendants	Future Trunks and Bulla demonstrate Super Saiyan transformations, confirming that the race's transformation potential persists in later generations 124
Perfect Super Saiyan and Third Grade	Saiyans can refine Super Saiyan into a mastered, everyday state that suppresses its feral impulses, while the strength-focused Third Grade can be used in brief bursts at the cost of speed and efficiency 157 165
Later Super Saiyan 2 users	Vegeta attains Super Saiyan 2 after seven years of post-Cell training, surpassing Cell Games Gohan, while Raditz reaches the form during the battle against Babidi and Dabura 189 215
Legendary Super Saiyan	Gou Kong's grief- and rage-driven mutation surpasses Super Saiyan 2, enlarging his body and manifesting emerald hair and a fluorescent aura; Babidi later twists this power into a golden-black, demonized berserker state 177 210
Super Saiyan 3 and equivalent power	Son Goku achieves Super Saiyan 3 through his seven years of Other World training, with hair extending to his feet and power approximately four times Super Saiyan 2; Gotenks later also reaches Super Saiyan 3, while Gou Kong develops a living-body substitute technique approaching its strength 189 212 229
Fusion-derived Saiyan power	The Saiyan hybrids Goten and Trunks can fuse into Super Saiyan 3 Gotenks, while Son Goku and Vegeta fuse into Vegito, whose Super Saiyan 2 power overwhelms Majin Buu 229

Background / History

The Saiyans originated on Planet Vegeta, a world with gravity ten times that of Earth. Their bodies adapted to the planet’s constant pressure, producing exceptionally dense musculature and formidable baseline physical strength 1.

Though feared across the cosmos as a warrior race, their population was only around ten thousand. Saiyans generally valued battle above reproduction, family life, or other pursuits, leaving their numbers small despite their individual power 1 8.

By the period depicted, Saiyans had entered Frieza’s military structure, using standardized battle armor and carrying out planetary conquest missions for the Frieza Force 2 6. Frieza maintained their obedience by giving them opportunities to invade and fight, an outlet that suited their battle-driven nature 6.

Planet Vegeta was later sealed off by Frieza’s fleet and destroyed. The surviving Saiyans were those fortunate enough to be away from the planet, alongside exceptional survivors such as Gou Kong, Vegeta, Raditz, Kakarot, and Turles 27 47 48 55 70.

Following the destruction of their homeworld, the surviving Saiyans and their descendants gradually became centered on Earth. Their alliances with Earthlings and Namekians developed from temporary cooperation against Frieza into enduring personal, familial, and defensive ties through the Android, Cell, and Majin Buu conflicts 91 121 182 206.

Seven years of peace after the Cell Games further allowed the surviving Saiyans to establish family lives on Earth while retaining their youthful appearances and formidable combat potential 188 189.

Appearance

Saiyans are generally muscular humanoids with a distinctly wild, battle-hardened appearance.

• Black, spiky “hedgehog-like” hair that retains its defiant shape as it grows 1.
• Thick prehensile tails extending from the waist, described as a defining mark of the race; tails can be severed, preventing Great Ape transformation until restored or otherwise circumvented 1 63.
• Dense, powerful physiques shaped by Planet Vegeta’s extreme gravity 1.
• Scars are common, reflecting a culture of constant combat 5.
• Saiyan battle dress consists of a bodysuit beneath mass-produced Frieza Force armor, typically including shoulder guards, a belt, and reinforced wrists and ankles 2 6.
• Female Saiyans share the race’s muscular, combat-trained physique and possess the same characteristic tail; Turles is a known pure-blooded female survivor 55 70.
• Saiyans retain youthful, firm appearances far longer than Earthlings, with Gou Kong, Turles, and Vegeta appearing almost unchanged after seven years 188.
• Advanced transformations visibly alter Saiyan appearance, including golden hair and aura as a Super Saiyan, lightning-like power as Super Saiyan 2, and exceptionally long hair as Super Saiyan 3 124 206 212.
• Gou Kong's Legendary Super Saiyan state instead produces a greatly enlarged body, blank white eyes, emerald hair, and a fluorescent aura; his demonized variant emits golden-black flames 177 210.

Traits and Society

Battle Instinct

Saiyans are portrayed as innately warlike and highly competitive. Prolonged lack of combat produces severe restlessness and irritability, while actual battle serves as both a social outlet and a source of fulfillment 1 6 15.

• Fighting ability is the primary measure of status.
• Defeat does not necessarily discourage them; it can intensify their drive to improve.
• Saiyans often express camaraderie through sparring, arguments, and physical competition 11.
• Survival of the fittest is treated as a core social principle 16.
• Their battle instinct can remain difficult to suppress even after a Saiyan adopts more peaceful values; Super Saiyan transformation further intensifies aggressive and bloodthirsty impulses 6 124.
• Vegeta, Turles, and Son Goku are willing to delay eliminating Dr. Gero because they want stronger opponents to emerge, demonstrating that battle desire remains influential even among Earth’s defenders 127.
• The most extreme expression of Saiyan ferocity is the Legendary Super Saiyan state, in which suppressed savagery can consume reason and reduce the user to a destructive battle-driven monster 157 177.

Growth and Development

Saiyan development differs sharply from that of Earthlings.

• Infants spend roughly two or three years in nutrient-filled cultivation pods 8.
• Upon leaving their pods, they possess mature language ability, developed minds, and enough combat power for battle 8.
• Their bodies may remain childlike for years before undergoing rapid physical growth over a matter of days 8.
• Saiyan society has little clear distinction between childhood and adulthood; physical development and combat capability matter more than chronological age 8.
• Saiyan metabolism is exceptionally rapid, and intense training rapidly depletes their substantial food intake and energy reserves 7.
• Saiyans preserve their youth for far longer than Earthlings, allowing adult warriors to retain youthful physiques despite the passage of years 188.

Family Culture

Most Saiyans treat reproduction as a practical duty rather than the basis for lasting family bonds. Parents commonly leave children in incubators and live independently afterward 8.

Bardock and Gine’s household is presented as a rare exception: a Saiyan family with genuine affection for one another and their children 8 31. Gou Kong also forms an established family on Earth with Turles and their daughter Seliph 157 158.

Gou Kong and Turles ultimately adopt an Earth-style wedding rather than the minimal Saiyan custom of simply claiming one another. Their relationship and Seliph’s upbringing demonstrate how surviving Saiyans can develop family bonds that differ sharply from traditional Saiyan norms 134 188.

Turles later retires from front-line combat to focus on motherhood, while Gou Kong deliberately avoids forcing Seliph into harsh training during Earth’s peaceful years 188 189.

Hierarchy

Saiyan rank is closely connected to battle power.

Rank / Position	Description
Ordinary warrior	Typically possesses battle power in the hundreds or around one thousand 5
High-class / upper-class warrior	A recognized higher combat classification; Raditz reaches this status as a child 10 11
Elite warrior	Generally associated with battle power around 3,000–4,000 5
Royal Guard	Palace-based force serving King Vegeta; Gou Kong belongs to its highest-ranking group 5 6
Royal family	The ruling line of Planet Vegeta, including King Vegeta and Prince Vegeta 20 21

Abilities & Skills

Exceptional Combat Potential

Saiyans possess unusually high average combat talent, with even aged members retaining dangerous fighting capability 1.

• Their physical power far exceeds that of ordinary planetary populations 1 4.
• Their bodies are resilient enough to endure repeated high-intensity training and combat 5 6.
• Combat power can rise dramatically through training and battle experience, as shown by Gou Kong, Vegeta, and Raditz 5 15 17 18.
• Severe injury followed by recovery can produce explosive increases in strength, as demonstrated by Gou Kong after medical treatment 82 98.
• Saiyans can display extraordinary latent potential: Son Goku reaches a base battle power of three million after continued training and combat, far beyond earlier Saiyan limits 106.
• Even when outnumbered, young Saiyan descendants can demonstrate combat instincts and ki-reinforced physical ability far beyond ordinary adults, as shown by Seliph, Trunks, and Goten in the World Martial Arts Tournament 201.

Ki Manipulation

Ki control is considered essential for Saiyan warriors; physical strength alone is inadequate against capable opponents 3.

• Energy blasts — Condensed ki attacks used in combat 3 16.
• Flight — A standard ki-based movement technique 3 18.
• Energy sensing — Detecting another individual’s energy 18.
• Power suppression — Concealing or controlling one’s battle-power output to avoid detection 18.
• Energy shields — Defensive ki barriers capable of blocking attacks 40 41.
• Combat-time output adjustment — Skilled Saiyans can raise or lower their ki during battle, allowing them to regulate force while retaining tactical flexibility 53.
• Scouter independence — Saiyans trained in ki sensing and suppression can operate without Scouters; Vegeta specifically adopts Earth-derived energy-control methods after observing Earthlings 53 81.
• Afterimage techniques — Seliph can leave behind a ki-infused afterimage capable of deceiving opponents who rely on energy sensing 201.

Recovery and Adaptation

Saiyans possess powerful recovery ability and can use harsh training to force rapid improvement 5. Gou Kong’s growth is specifically attributed to repeated life-risking training and the race’s recovery traits 5.

Medical Pods can rapidly heal even critical Saiyan injuries, with Vegeta and Turles recovering from near-fatal wounds at a visibly abnormal rate 80. Healing after near-death combat may also trigger substantial further growth in battle power 82 98.

The race's resilience also allows Saiyans to return to battle immediately after recovering from catastrophic injuries through external healing, as Gou Kong does after using a Senzu Bean against Super Android 13 149.

Great Ape Transformation

Saiyans are capable of transforming into Great Apes when their tails receive sufficient Blutz Waves. The transformation raises battle power by a factor of ten, though it creates a massive, conspicuous form that some Saiyans consider dangerous or undesirable 63 70.

• Natural moonlight can trigger the transformation; Piccolo destroys Earth’s moon after Son Gohan transforms under its light 51.
• Artificial Blutz Waves can also induce the form, as demonstrated by Vegeta 70.
• Removing the tail prevents ordinary Great Ape transformation 63.
• Turles develops an individual form that draws out the Great Ape’s power without physically becoming a Great Ape 63.

Super Saiyan Transformation

The Super Saiyan is an ancient Saiyan legend feared by Frieza before Planet Vegeta’s destruction 1 27. It manifests as a golden-aura transformation that grants a vast increase in power and has been achieved by several surviving Saiyans 119 121 124 138.

• Son Goku transforms through overwhelming rage following Krillin’s death 119.
• Turles achieves the form while seeking revenge against Frieza for Vegeta’s apparent death 119.
• Gou Kong later demonstrates Super Saiyan and advances to Super Saiyan 2 in his battle against King Cold 115 124.
• Vegeta and Raditz also achieve the Super Saiyan transformation prior to the Android arrivals 138.
• The form’s primal nature can heighten the user’s aggression and desire for battle, requiring self-control to manage 124.
• Awakening Super Saiyan requires immense combat power and rage, but also a calm and pure heart; anger alone cannot reliably produce the transformation 157.
• Super Saiyan can be mastered into a stable state that may be maintained in daily life, reducing its savage psychological side effects and establishing the foundation for Super Saiyan 2 157 165.
• Super Saiyan 2 requires both sufficient strength and the ability to preserve calmness and self-control while transformed 157.
• Vegeta, Raditz, Gohan, and Seliph all demonstrate Super Saiyan 2 during the later Android, Cell, and Majin Buu conflicts 175 189 206 215.

Legendary Super Saiyan

The Legendary Super Saiyan is an aberrant, primal evolution associated with Saiyan savagery and an overwhelming power beyond conventional Super Saiyan 2 157 177.

• Gou Kong first manifests the state after Turles is killed protecting Seliph and Seliph is critically injured, losing his reason amid extreme grief and rage 177.
• Its initial manifestation gives Gou Kong a vastly enlarged body, blank white eyes, emerald hair, a fluorescent aura, and continuously escalating energy 177.
• Babidi later exploits Gou Kong’s suppressed darkness and trauma with mind-control magic, producing a demonized Legendary Super Saiyan state engulfed in golden-black flames 210.
• In this controlled state, Gou Kong's aura alone overwhelms Super Saiyan 2 Vegeta and Raditz, illustrating the massive gap between the Legendary form and ordinary advanced Saiyan transformations 210.
• Babidi's success shows that Saiyan battle instincts and buried negative emotions can become a vulnerability when amplified by external magic 209 210.

Super Saiyan 3 and Fusion

Super Saiyan 3 is a further golden transformation characterized by extraordinarily long hair and power far exceeding Super Saiyan 2 212.

• Son Goku develops Super Saiyan 3 through seven years of training in Other World; its power is described as roughly four times that of Super Saiyan 2 212.
• The form places an extreme burden on energy reserves, making its full use difficult for living Saiyans with finite stamina 189.
• Gou Kong cannot achieve true Super Saiyan 3 with a living body, but develops a substitute technique approaching its power after surpassing Super Saiyan 2 189.
• Goten and Trunks can use the Fusion Dance to become Gotenks and then transform into Super Saiyan 3 229.
• Son Goku and Vegeta can similarly fuse into Vegito, whose Super Saiyan 2 state is powerful enough to overwhelm an enhanced Majin Buu 229.

Specialized Saiyan Techniques

Gou Kong develops the Energy Body-Forging Technique, a ki-control method that forces excess energy into his muscles to enhance his strength without sacrificing speed or agility 18.

• The technique initially increases Gou Kong’s combat performance dramatically but causes rapid stamina loss 18.
• Through continued refinement, its physical amplification grows from fivefold to tenfold in muscular enhancement, though its actual battle-power increase varies by condition and remains limited by stamina 53.
• Gou Kong uses the technique to raise his combat power from 48,000 to 72,000 during his battle with Turles 54 60.
• Gou Kong later trains to shift rapidly between Super Saiyan grades in battle, using the power-heavy Third Grade only in short bursts while normally retaining the efficiency of Perfect Super Saiyan 165.

Hybrid Potential

Saiyan heritage remains potent in mixed-blood descendants. Son Gohan’s battle power briefly surges from the single digits to 1,307 when enraged, confounding Raditz’s expectations regarding mixed Saiyan-Earthling blood 46.

Future Trunks, Bulla, and Seliph demonstrate Super Saiyan or Super Saiyan 2 transformations, showing that later descendants can inherit and awaken advanced Saiyan transformation potential 124 175.

• Trunks and Son Goten possess exceptional natural talent as Saiyan-Earthling hybrids and can ultimately fuse into Super Saiyan 3 Gotenks 229.
• Seliph, the pure-blooded daughter of Gou Kong and Turles, awakens a calm and highly controlled Super Saiyan state at eight years old despite growing up in peace 189.
• Gou Kong attributes Seliph’s prodigious early awakening to enhanced S-Cells inherited from two parents who had already become Super Saiyans before her birth 189.
• Seliph’s combat talent surpasses many adult fighters; alongside Trunks and Goten, she can produce Super Saiyan-level shockwaves without transforming 191 201.

Equipment / Weapons / Items

• Battle armor — Standard Frieza Force-issued armor worn by Saiyan soldiers 2 6.
• Scouter — An eyepiece used to measure biological energy as battle power; also functions as a communicator and long-range detection device 5 31.
• Space Pod — Round, one-person spacecraft used by Saiyans and controlled by the Frieza Force 6.
• Cultivation pod — Nutrient-filled pod used during early Saiyan development 8.
• Medical Pod — A healing-fluid treatment device capable of rapidly repairing severe Saiyan injuries 80.
• God Essence Fruit — A rare external enhancement consumed by several Saiyans; it can produce immense temporary or lasting increases in power, though its effects may place extreme strain on the user 58 65 70 82.

Relationships

• Frieza Force — The Saiyans serve as planetary invaders under Frieza’s organization, though this relationship ends in betrayal and genocide 2 6 27.
• Frieza — Oversees the destruction of Planet Vegeta; his actions are linked to concerns over Saiyan legends and Beerus’s tacit authorization 1.
• Beerus — The God of Destruction had effectively placed the Saiyan race’s fate in Frieza’s hands 1.
• King Vegeta — Monarch of the Saiyans and commander of the royal structure on Planet Vegeta 5 20.
• Bardock and Gine — A rare Saiyan couple who maintain a genuine family bond and attempt to save Kakarot from Planet Vegeta’s destruction 8 28 31.
• Kakarot / Son Goku — One of the few survivors; sent to Earth as an infant before Planet Vegeta’s destruction 1 28 32.
• Vegeta — Saiyan prince and survivor whose battle power later reaches at least 30,000 21 50.
• Raditz — Saiyan survivor and Kakarot’s older brother; later transcends his initial weakness, achieves Super Saiyan status, and ultimately awakens Super Saiyan 2 43 48 138 215.
• Turles — A powerful pure-blooded female Saiyan survivor who allies with Gou Kong, eventually forms a family with him, and has a daughter, Seliph; she later steps back from front-line combat to raise their child 55 91 134 158 189.
• Earthlings and Namekians — Several surviving Saiyans gradually form alliances with Earth’s defenders and Namekians against Frieza, King Cold, the Androids, Cell, and Majin Buu 91 98 106 206.
• Future descendants — Future Trunks, Bulla, and Seliph demonstrate that Saiyan bloodlines and transformation potential continue into later generations 124 175.
• Supreme Kai — The surviving Saiyans cooperate with the Supreme Kai to stop Babidi and Majin Buu, though their overwhelming power and battle-focused temperament initially clash with his caution 206 208.
• Babidi — Babidi exploits Gou Kong’s suppressed rage and darkness to control him, weaponizing the Legendary Super Saiyan against his allies 209 210.
• Majin Buu — The Saiyans become central opponents in the conflict surrounding Buu’s revival, with Gotenks and Vegito demonstrating fusion-based Saiyan power against him 216 229.

Notable Facts

• Saiyans are feared as a top-tier warrior race despite their small population 1.
• Planet Vegeta’s tenfold Earth gravity is central to their physical development 1.
• Frieza’s standard suppressed battle power of 530,000 vastly exceeds the normal Saiyan ceiling of just over 10,000, making open resistance effectively impossible 1.
• The legends of the Super Saiyan and Super Saiyan God become matters of concern to Frieza before Planet Vegeta’s destruction 1 27.
• Earth’s low combat capability and limited strategic value make it a place Frieza initially ignores, allowing it to serve as a refuge for surviving Saiyans 4.
• The Great Ape transformation provides a tenfold power increase, making the Saiyan tail both a defining physical feature and a major tactical vulnerability 63 70.
• Frieza’s destruction of Planet Vegeta fails to erase the race entirely; surviving Saiyans, their descendants, and their later transformations become a continuing threat to Frieza, King Cold, and the Androids 121 124 138.
• Saiyans retain youthful appearances much longer than Earthlings, a trait that becomes especially evident during the seven peaceful years after the Cell Games 188.
• Mastering Super Saiyan requires more than anger and raw power: calmness, purity of heart, and suppression of the form’s savage impulses are essential to safely advance further 157.
• Gou Kong’s Legendary Super Saiyan state demonstrates that Saiyan potential can evolve into a far more destructive form when grief, rage, and buried darkness overwhelm restraint 177 210.
• Saiyan descendants can inherit extraordinary potential; Seliph’s early, calm Super Saiyan awakening is attributed to enhanced S-Cells inherited from two Super Saiyan parents 189.
• Fusion allows Saiyan fighters to create power far greater than their individual forms, as demonstrated by Super Saiyan 3 Gotenks and Super Saiyan 2 Vegito 229.