Highlights
- Super Saiyan 3 is a powerful transformation in Dragon Ball Z, but its use was limited and it did not live up to the hype it created.
- The form drains a tremendous amount of energy and can even potentially destroy the user. It is a high risk, high reward move.
- As the series progressed, new transformations like Super Saiyan God and Super Saiyan Blue overshadowed Super Saiyan 3, leading to its sidelining.
For those who fondly recall Dragon Ball Z'sMajin Buu Saga, Goku's first transformation into the iconic Super Saiyan 3 form is a highlight moment. After showing Babidi and Buu the sequence of Super Saiyan forms leading up to it, he proceeded to let out an almighty roar, one that eclipsed all others in the series till then. The seas parted into tidal waves, buildings crumbled, the very ground cracked, and shock waves of force rushed outwards as Goku transcened his limits, before finally attaining the most powerful of the original Super Saiyan forms in Dragon Ball Z.
While this moment might be etched into the minds of many fans, the transformation was only used for brief periods in the fight against the various versions of Buu. Subsequently, in Dragon Ball Super, it was all but scrapped entirely in favor of a new branch of transformations which utilized divine ki, while retaining many of the earlier features of the original Super Saiyan forms. Since then, there have been a few scattered instances where the form reappeared, and for one reason or another, it has not lived up to the hype it originally created when first shown. But what exactly went wrong with Super Saiyan 3 for it to be so brazenly sidelined ?
What Is Super Saiyan 3?
Continuing the progression of Super Saiyan forms which began with the original transformation in Goku's fight against Frieza on Namek, Super Saiyan 3 extracts every iota of energy from a Saiyan's blood to boost their power by a monumental degree. This results in greatly enhanced speed, strength, reflexes, and durability, which was enough to outmatch even a monster as fearsome as Kid Buu for a time. In fact, the form was instrumental in wearing Kid Buu down until the final push towards defeating him with the Super Spirit Bomb. The transformation also comes with the disappearance of eyebrows, a more prominent brow ridge, enhanced musculature, and long flowing hair that goes down below a user's waist.
Goku was the only character to have achieved the transformation on his own, with Goten and Trunks later attaining it after using the Fusion Dance to become Gotenks. The transformation has only been achieved in conditions that deviate from the norm. This can be observed in how Goku was able to attain it while training in Other World, while Goten and Trunks were able to access this form after performing fusion, despite being unable to do so individually. In essence, Super Saiyan 3 maximizes the utilization of ki, pushing a user's output far beyond their normal limits.
Additionally, even the act of transforming into Super Saiyan 3 drains so much energy that it could potentially even destroy the user in the process. It is enough to cause widespread havoc all across the user's planet, in a violent explosion of power that boosts their power far beyond that of Super Saiyan 2. As such, Super Saiyan 3 users can easily vanquish any opponent that they would have struggled against in Super Saiyan 2. The amount of ki released during Goku's first use of the form could be felt even as afar as the Sacred World of the Kai, which is astounding, to say the least.
The Pitfalls Of Overwhelming Power
On several occasions, it has been clearly shown that Super Saiyan 3 consumes ludicrous amounts of energy, such that even sustaining the form for extended periods with a living body is extremely difficult. Users will be left extremely fatigued and on the verge of death after the transformation fades, making it a high risk, high reward move. The only time Goku was able to use this form without repercussions were on Other World and when he was not restricted by the limits of a living body.
Apart from this, he was unable to maintain it for very long during his fight with Kid Buu after being restored to life, and despite having the upper hand initially, he was soon overwhelmed by his opponent's recovery rate as the form drained his energy rapidly. On the other hand, when Gotenks used the form, their half hour of fusion was cut short by a considerable margin due to the amount of ki consumed by the form. Hence, although Super Saiyan 3 might be a great ace in the hole to end a fight quickly against a vastly stronger opponent, its energy use is a hindrance in long, drawn out tests of endurance and durability.
A Shift Towards New Transformations
As Goku continued facing even stronger opponents, the form's utility in such confrontations began to wane. Furthermore, the form itself was quite difficult to illustrate due to the drastic change in appearance it introduced with each usage. This was especially true due to the lack of eyebrows for emotive purposes as well as the extremely elaborate hairstyle, which played a major part in its presence growing even less prominent than before.
The events of Dragon Ball Z: Battle of the Gods, showed how weak Super Saiyan 3 was in comparison to those in possession of divine ki such as Beerus, initiating a move away from the standard line of Super Saiyan transformations. Subsequently, the debut of the far simpler Super Saiyan God form and its successor Super Saiyan Blue charted a new trajectory for transformations in the series, which was further supplemented with the introduction of character specific forms such as Ultra Instinct, Ultra Ego, and Gohan Beast.
Dragon Ball Z is available to stream on Crunchyroll.