Dragon Ball: How Vegeta Opened the Door For Character-Specific Transformations

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One of anime's most beloved characters is the yin to Son Goku's yang, the Prince of Saiyans, Vegeta. Known for his famous arc throughout Dragon Ball Z, as well as his rivalry with Goku, Vegeta has grown leaps and bounds since his introduction during the Saiyan Saga.

There is; however, one more thing the Saiyan Prince can be given immense credit for, and it has changed the landscape of the franchise significantly: the introduction of character-specific transformations. While it was once thought that the path Goku tread in this regard served as the blueprint of the only possibilities, Vegeta's first Super Saiyan transformation opened the door to each Saiyan character's development of their own unique path to power. Here's how.

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While Dragon Ball is notorious for its lack of consistency when it comes to power scaling, characters' abilities and more, there are certain elements that have remained despite the various changes. Firstly, the Super Saiyan is a piece of Saiyan lore, a legend once thought to be a fairy tale; however, the «Legendary Super Saiyan», or rather, «The Super Saiyan of Legend», Yamoshi, was able to ascend to such a form because of an inherent quality of his that is different to the other members of his race.

Yamoshi was not quite the brutish, power-hungry and murderous type of Saiyan that came to codify the entire race. Rather, he was known as a righteous Saiyan who, when pushed into a corner, achieved the transformation out of a desire to protect. This becomes the basis for what it takes to become a Super Saiyan, at least as far as the Namek Saga and Goku's fated battle with Frieza goes. The legend of Yamoshi proved to be a major motivation for