Dragon Ball Super Brought Back the Saiyans’ Horrifying Transformation

In one of the latest installments in the Dragon Ball series, Dragon Ball Super brought back the Saiyans’ horrifying transformation, once again depicting their ability to transform into Great Apes. The power to become Great Apes has long been a dormant power in modern Dragon Ball lore, with the ability tied to the tails Saiyans are born with. The tails of the remaining Saiyans and half-Saiyans have been removed, and one of the last Great Ape transformations came from Vegeta on the early pages of Dragon Ball Z. Now, that horrifying ability rears its ugly head once again on the pages of Dragon Ball Super as the details of the destruction of Planet Cereal is fully revealed. 

In Dragon Ball Super Chapter 77 by Akira Toriyama, fans are immediately thrown into the past, forty years prior to the present day, on Planet Cereal moments before the Saiyan invasion. When the Saiyans arrived, they came in the form of their Great Apes, wreaking havoc upon the planet and leaving hardly any survivors. When the onslaught was over, only Granolah and his mother were left alive of the Cerealians, and Goku’s father Bardock found them before any of the cold-blooded invaders had a chance to kill them as well. Having just witnessed the birth of his son, Bardok took pity on them and brought the mother and son to safety. 

The ability of the Saiyans to transform into Great Apes can only be unlocked under the light of a full moon. Due to this restriction on their great power, many invasions that the Saiyans underwent while working for Frieza coincided with that planet’s full moon, including the one on Planet Cereal. In Dragon Ball Super Chapter 77, the Cerealians realized how the Saiyans were so powerful and even went so far as to destroy their own moon for the chance at victory, though the damage the Saiyans inflicted was far too great and their normal forms were more than powerful enough to finish off the planet. However, if the Saiyans did want to continue in their Great Ape forms even without the presence of the full moon that could have been achieved as shown during Vegeta’s last Great Ape transformation. 

In Dragon Ball Z after Vegeta descends upon the Earth and challenges Goku, Vegeta learns quickly that he needs an extra boost of power to finish off Kakarot once and for all. Vegeta is initially angry, however, because he meant to have his arrival on Earth coincide with a full moon just in case the transformation would be necessary. However, Vegeta knows that in such cases he can simulate the light of a full moon with a Power Ball so the Saiyan creates the energy source and uses it to become a Great Ape. 

The fact that all of the current Saiyans don’t have tails has kept fans from seeing their Great Ape transformations for some time, making the revival of the ability a rare treat. While that animalistic level of power is so rarely seen and therefore extra exciting, the destructive and nearly uncontrollable power that comes with the transformation has no place in the current Dragon Ball Super storyline. Goku and Vegeta can reach godly power levels upon their abandonment of the power of the Great Ape including Ultra Instinct and Ultra Ego respectively, making their previously attainable power completely unnecessary. The best place to see the Great Apes in current continuity is in flashback, which is exactly where the latest show of their power took place as Dragon Ball Super brought back the Saiyans’ horrifying transformation.

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