Saiyan

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The Saiyans (サイヤ人, Saiyajin^?) are the primary fictional humanoid extraterrestrial race in the Dragon Ball manga by Akira Toriyama. The Saiyans are a naturally aggressive warrior race who are, purportedly, the strongest warriors in the fictional Dragon Ball universe. Protagonist Son Goku (originally named Kakarrot) is revealed to be a Saiyan upon the race's introduction. Most of the Saiyans were exterminated by galactic overlord Frieza after Goku was born. With only few survivors, they are functionally extinct.

In addition to the name Sayia being an anagram of the Japanese word yasai (lit. "vegetable"),^[1] full-blooded Saiyan characters in the series are also given names based on vegetable puns e.g. Carrot (Kakarott) Radish (Raditz)and Vegetable (Vegeta).

Contents 1 History 1.1 Destruction 2 Personality and Traits 3 Appearance 4 Abilities 4.1 Fighting 4.2 Great Ape 4.3 Super Saiyan 5 Hybrids 6 See also 7 References

[edit] History

The history of the Saiyan race prior to their service to Frieza is not covered in the original manga, however, it is a central theme in the Baby Saga of Dragon Ball GT. Although the manga does not tell of their origins, the complete Saiyan history was also revealed in the OVA "Plan To Destroy The Saiyans".

The Saiyans were a group of barbaric aliens who came to the Tuffle homeworld of "Planet Plant", seeking refuge from the destruction of their original homeworld by the hands of an out of control Legendary Super Saiyan. One night, the moon rose in the sky, something that only occurs once every eight years on Planet Plant. The Saiyans then transformed into their giant, monstrous Great Ape forms, the Oozaru, sealing the Tuffles' fate and leading the Saiyans to victory. The current Saiyan leader, Vegeta, who lead the Saiyans to victory was crowned king and he renamed the world "Planet Vegeta" after himself.

Over the years, the Saiyans began to learn and use the Tuffles' advanced equipment and became somewhat smarter and less barbaric, but they still lusted for battle. Through unexplained circumstances, the Saiyans joined a new partnership with Frieza, a powerful galactic dictator whose dominion stretched over seventy-nine or more planets^[2]. The Saiyans were hired by Frieza to exterminate the populations of other planets, preparing them for sale.

[edit] Destruction

Saiyan warrior Raditz states their homeworld was destroyed by a meteorite, but King Kai claims the guardian of Planet Vegeta, unable to bear the burden of the Saiyans, used his power to attract a system of meteors to destroy the planet^[3]. However, the truth is revealed when Frieza's henchmen Dodoria, when trying to bargain for his life, states Frieza destroyed the planet out of fear the Saiyans might rise up in effort to end his reign of terror. Another inconsistency (caused by translation discrepancies) claimed by Raditz is that Planet Vegeta was destroyed three years before his arrival on Earth, but soon after, the destruction of the world is said to have taken place more than 20 years before, on the very day the newly born Goku was sent to Earth^[4].

In the original manga, only four Saiyans escaped destruction of Planet Vegeta: Goku, Raditz, former Saiyan Prince Vegeta, and his right-hand man and caretaker Nappa. Fortunately, all four were off-planet at the time, thus evading death, though Raditz eventually dies at the hands of Goku and Piccolo^[5], while Nappa is betrayed and executed by Vegeta.^[6]. The Saiyans are eventually avenged when Goku defeats Frieza on "Planet Namek". Although Frieza survives, he is slain soon afterwards by Vegeta's son, Future Trunks.

In Toei Animation's Dragon Ball Z films and television specials, four more survivors are revealed, exclusive to the animated universe: a middle-class Saiyan named Turles, the "Legendary Super Saiyan" Broly, his father Paragus and Vegeta's brother Tarble. Turles dies after fighting Goku ^[7], Paragus is killed by his own son^[8] and Broly is defeated after several encounters with the Z Fighters^[9]. Also, in the new OVA "New Dragon Ball Z Special 2008: Yo! The Return of Son Goku and Friends", Saiyan warrior Tarble, Vegeta's younger brother, was sent to another planet because he refused to fight. He arrives on Earth in search of his brother to help him deal with a problem on his planet^[10].

[edit] Personality and Traits

Saiyans are typically aggressive and stubborn with an explosive short temper. They display an enjoyment for fighting and challenging opponents during battle, often letting their emotions get the better of them when aroused in stimulating situations, leading to rash decisions on their part. They also lack sympathetic emotions towards each other or their offspring (with the exception of Goku, due to the head injury he received during infancy that erased his Saiyan aggressions), though they appear to be close to team members, since most have grown up and fought together. Vegeta and Nappa display a care-free attitude following Raditz's death, finding it amusing, referring to him as a "weakling". Likewise, Raditz did not hesistate in his attempt to kill his own brother and nephew.

[edit] Appearance

With the exception of their monkey-like tails, all Saiyans have an outward appearance identical to humans but with a larger, muscular build. They also tend to posses very Asian/Oriental features. Creator Akira Toriyama, in helping to design characters for the first television special, noted originally he conceived the Saiyans to have only dark hair^[11]. A Saiyan's hair never changes length or style once it has fully grown^[12] (which would make it more like fur than hair), although this is not the case with Saiyan-hybrids like Son Gohan, Trunks, Son Goten and Bra.

When questioned by Bulma following the ten year time gap at the end of Dragon Ball Z as to why their appearance hadn't changed at all, Vegeta responds all Saiyans maintain their physical prime for a far longer period compared to humans^[13]. The reason for their decelerated aging is due to their continuous evolution, the warrior blood in their bodies keeps them younger and fit so they can fight longer ^[14].

[edit] Abilities

Saiyans display a wide array of special abilities, possessing incredible natural strength, ki energy manipulation, superhuman agility and reflexes, heightened sensitivity to smell, hearing, and vision, and all are naturally born to fight. All these traits are demonstrated throughout Dragon Ball, Dragon Ball Z, and Dragon Ball GT.

[edit] Fighting

Fighting is a huge part in the Saiyan race. Most Saiyans spend most their entire life training to become stronger, so they can prove themselves in battle. Saiyans like Goku and Vegeta are constantly seen training and improving their fighting skills to keep up with each other's skills and the appearance of new, more powerful foes. Meanwhile, Saiyan-hybrids such as Gohan and Trunks commonly possess extreme fighting potential. Curiously quarter-Saiyans like Pan seem to lack the qualities hybrids have, and are more likely to have weaker power levels, while aging normally like humans ^[15].

Super Strength

Saiyans are incredibly strong, even at young age, easily lifting objects in the hundreds and thousands of kilos. Their strength is explained by their physiology and the gravity on Planet Vegeta, ten times the Earth's normal gravity, thus granting them correspondingly greater strength in Earth gravity and similar environments.

Super Speed

Without any form of training, a Saiyan can outrun any living thing or motorized vehicle without trouble. Their reflexes are so fast that they can avoid a bullet with ease. This agility can also be displayed in their fighting skills, as their movements occur in a fraction of a second, rendering them invisible to human eyes (unless trained, of course).

Ki Manipulation

Saiyans have developed their Ki, the substance of personal energy formed into a combination of kinetic, light, and heat energies, to accommodate numerous types where they may utilize this power, such as flight, energy release and bombardment. Saiyans can increase their ki by fighting longer or by training intensively. Due to their genetic make-up, internal ki reserves are also exponentially greater than an average human.

Recovery

Like humans, following intensive training, a Saiyan's strength and internal energy increases, albeit at a more accelerated rate. In addition, a Saiyan increases in power at an exponential rate after recovering from injuries, especially life-threatening ones. This form of regeneration appears to be a dominant Saiyan gene, as even Saiyan-hybrids inherit this ability. It is this trait that makes Saiyans so dangerous: their power never stops increasing (more so with a Saiyan-hybrid, as they inherit more strengths and fewer weaknesses that a full-blooded Saiyan or human may encounter); thus, the more they fight, the stronger they become.

[edit] Great Ape

The Saiyans' most visually impressive trait is the ability to transform into a Great Ape (大猿, Ōzaru^?), a giant were-ape with tremendous power, somewhere around ten times that of a normal Saiyan. This form, however, has a number of drawbacks, namely the loss of rational thought, although with enough practice, a Saiyan can keep his or her mind intact, yet this is not usually seen outside of the Saiyan warrior elite. Secondly, this form is only accessible in the presence of a full moon, or through artificial means, such as the "Blutz" wave emitter. Unfortunately, this transformation can be negated by the complete removal of the Saiyan's tail.

Tail

Nearly all Saiyans possess a monkey-like tail in appearance and covered in brownish fur. It is a particularly sensitive area for Saiyans when grabbed, temporarily immobilizing their body. However, some Saiyans can train themselves to overcome this weakness, becoming no more fragile than any other limb. It will also cut itself off from the body in a time of danger, similar to how a lizard's tail detaches itself as a form of self-defense. The tail is very prehensile, and can be used to grasp things like many other primates. It has been mentioned in Dragon Ball that a Saiyan with a tail gains more power than one without a tail. The tail also provides a unique gift in that it allows a Saiyan to transform into a Great Ape and potentially a Golden Great Ape. If the tail is removed, this power is lost. Some Saiyans have the ability to grow back their tails at various times, but at some point in life this regenerative ability is lost. Gohan for instance, who is not even a pure blooded Saiyan, grows his tail back once in the manga after having it removed by Piccolo, but in the anime and movies, it grew back numerous times. Vegeta has his tail cut off during battle, but it is important to note that he is an adult and it never grows back, except through artificial means in Dragon Ball GT. Goku is similar, his tail is cut off many times in Dragon Ball (mostly to stop him from being an Great Ape and wrecking the city), that he also never gets his tail back while an adult (exception: however this may also be because Goku had his tail removed at a young age through surgery). The exception to this rule is when Goku is transformed into a child in Dragon Ball GT; it required the training of the Elder Kai to regrow his tail quickly. This is presumably due to the influence of the Dragon Balls artificially suppressing his age. It is reasonable to conclude that Goku at that time was in fact a child only in appearance, hence explaining why his tail could not be re-grown naturally and required the Elder Kai’s assistance. This is also supported by the fact that the magic of the Dragon Balls could be temporarily overcome by transforming into Super Saiyan 4, clearly showing Goku in his adult form. Gohan is the only half breed Saiyan seen with a tail in the series. Other half breeds like Trunks, Goten, Bra and fullblooded adult Saiyans like Broly are not seen with tails, presumably because they were cut off at child birth to prevent them from transforming into Great Ape.

Other appearances

In the live-action film Dragonball Evolution, the Oozaru is a monster that serves Piccolo, not a giant yet larger than a human and powerful. After Piccolo's sealing, the Oozaru dissapared until eighteen years prior, coming to Earth as Goku, who is unaware of his true identity until the solar eclipse awakens him. However, Goku manages to revert back to himself and accepts his monsterous aspect while defeating Piccolo.

[edit] Super Saiyan

The pinnacle of Saiyan power is without a doubt the Super Saiyan evolution and its subsequent levels, all granting increasingly enormous power to the Saiyan who achieves this extraordinary feat.

[edit] Hybrids

Due to their similar physiology Saiyans and Humans are capable of interbreeding. The resulting offspring generally possess the same enhanced strengths of the Saiyans, developing their abilities far more easily then humans, but lack the same drive and instinct for combat. Hybrid Saiyans possess the potential to become Super Saiyans, but it is unclear how many generations removed from their Saiyan ancestor a hybrid can be before the transformation becomes unavailable to them. This is principally called into question because of Pan's supposed inability to transform as she is only quarter Saiyan, yet in the 100 year special, descendants of Goku and Vegeta are able to turn Super Saiyan despite their Saiyan hertiage being even more diluted then Pan's.

It is unclear if they possess a naturally greater potential than their Saiyan parents'. However it seems likely as Gohan repeatedly demonstrated a 'hidden' power that when harnessed made him more powerful than even Goku or Vegeta, and when he and Goku trained to battle Cell he not only caught up to Goku but overtook him even before making his Super Saiyan 2 transformation. Also, he, Trunks, and Goten were able to make the transformation to Super Saiyan at a far younger age then their parents, with Trunks and Goten showing such ease at obtaining the first form that they treated it almost like a "child's play thing." Goten and Trunks' fusion as Gotenks shows much, much more ease in obtaining even the final form, entering the Room of Spirit and Time whilst being unable to make the first transformation can do so at will after fusing, and in no more than about a half hour's time outside emerging as a Super Saiyan 3.

But if they do possess this greater potential, it seems to be held in check by the fact they lack the same desire for combat as pure Saiyans, and thus tend not to train as much in times of peace as a pure Saiyan would. For example, Gohan actually became less powerful during the seven years between his battle with Cell and the emergence of Buu, allowing Goku and Vegeta to catch up to and then surpass him. It is also during this time that both Goku and Vegeta make the transformation to Super Saiyan 2 as Gohan did, with Goku surpassing it to ascend to Super Saiyan 3, the last form displayed in the canon manga. In GT a further handicap to their potential is revealed, due to their mixed heritage a hybrid cannot become a Super Saiyan 4.

Further it is unknown if quarter Saiyans, such as Pan, have a lesser potential then half Saiyans or pure-blooded Saiyans due to their further diluted heritage or if their comparative weakness, exhibited by Pan, is simply the result of lacking the Saiyan drive to train coupled with growing up in peaceful times. The latter would seem more likely as Bulla, Vegeta's second child, appeared to be no stronger then Pan despite her stronger Saiyan heritage.

[edit] See also

• Sun Wukong

[edit] References

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