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It's time to bid a formal farewell to the greatest transformation in anime history: Super Saiyan. Goku turned Super Saiyan for the first time when Frieza killed Krillin on Namek in Dragon Ball Z. Ever since, the Saiyans have been training non-stop to unlock new Super Saiyan forms and break their limits. Saiyans like Goku and Vegeta are still training hard in Dragon Ball Super, but they've finally left Super Saiyan behind in favor of unique, personal transformations like Ultra Instinct and Ultra Ego.
As of Dragon Ball Super Chapter 103, Super Saiyan has become a relic of the past. All the strongest Z-Fighters – even the Saiyans – now have non-SSJ forms that they can tap into for greater power. Not just that, Dragon Ball Super: Beerus will be phasing out Super Saiyan yet again, as the series places a greater focus on God Forms. Once Toyotarou returns with the Dragon Ball Super manga's Black Frieza Saga, there will simply be no more room for Super Saiyans in the series. Dragon Ball's most powerful Saiyans are done turning Super Saiyan now that there are better transformations to master.
Goku, Vegeta, & Gohan Are Officially Done With Super Saiyan
One of Dragon Ball Super's biggest changes to the status quo has been phasing out Super Saiyan forms in favor of unique transformations suited to each character's personality and character arc. Goku was the first Saiyan to break free from SSJ's chains when he unlocked Ultra Instinct in the Tournament of Power. He continued to use his Super Saiyan forms occasionally throughout the Moro and Granolah the Survivor Sagas, but only as a substitute when UI wasn't working out. Now that Goku has fully mastered Perfected Ultra Instinct, there's a real chance he won't use Super Saiyan anymore.
Similarly, Vegeta is on his way to mastering Ultra Ego and phasing out his own Super Saiyan forms. Vegeta is still using Super Saiyan Blue Evolved as of Dragon Ball Super Chapter 103, but that's only because Ultra Ego is so hard to control. Once Vegeta learns how to keep his energy and stamina up, he'll never have a need to use anything other than UE – especially since Ultra Ego makes Vegeta stronger the longer it's active.
Then there's Gohan, who has finally graduated from both Super Saiyan and his Ultimate form after unlocking Beast at the end of Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero. Gohan Beast is the most powerful Z-Fighter right now, and even in its basic state, Beast is already much stronger than both Perfected Ultra Instinct and Ultra Ego. Gohan doesn't even need to master the form to keep up with the other strongest Saiyans in the multiverse. Considering how weak Gohan's Super Saiyan form had become in Dragon Ball Super, there's virtually no chance he'll use anything other than Beast moving forward.
Dragon Ball Super: Beerus is Resetting the Stage for God Forms
Thematically, Dragon Ball Super: Beerus will be reminding anime fans that the days of Super Saiyan being the ultimate transformation are long gone. In remaking Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Gods and Resurrection F, DBS: Beerus will be re-introducing both Super Saiyan God and Super Saiyan Blue. Although SSG and SSB are indeed Super Saiyan forms, they're better categorized as God forms: transformations that use God Ki in order to offer the user a power boost that would be impossible to achieve otherwise.
Even then, these forms will only be at the forefront of the story for the Dragon Ball Super remake's first four Sagas. Once the story gets to the Tournament of Power, the focus will be back on Ultra Instinct. More importantly, Dragon Ball Super: The Galactic Patrol will be focusing extensively on Goku's journey to finally master and unlock Perfected Ultra Instinct, before giving Vegeta a similar arc for Ultra Ego during Dragon Ball Super 2's Granolah the Survivor Saga.
With Dragon Ball Super: Beerus set to more accurately adapt Akira Toriyama's original outline and script for the series, don't be surprised if the anime does even more to foreshadow Ultra Instinct while narratively downplaying Super Saiyan Blue's eventual role as Goku and Vegeta's main form for the early stretch of the series. The remake will be the last time Goku and Vegeta have a version of Super Saiyan as their main transformation, and it's all to set up their real final forms.
Broly is the Last True Super Saiyan
Of Dragon Ball Super's five main characters, Broly is the only one who is still using a version of Super Saiyan as his main form – and even then, it's explicitly not Super Saiyan 1, but Broly's own personal version of the Legendary Super Saiyan transformation. In Dragon Ball Super Chapter 103, Broly ends up sparring with Gohan Beast. Gohan proves so strong, that Broly instinctively learns how to control his True Legendary Super Saiyan form in order to fight back.
Saikyo Jump revealed that True Legendary Super Saiyan Broly could have defeated Gogeta Blue in Dragon Ball Super: Broly, but Broly was too mentally broken to do so. Even with his new form, however, Broly gets manhandled by Gohan Beast and is implied to lose the Super Saiyan battle royale later in the chapter. Broly is a character ripe for development, so he'll likely get a lot of focus in the Black Frieza Saga, but he has little chance of beating Frieza himself if all he's bringing to the fight is a Super Saiyan form.
A Mere Super Saiyan Could Never Defeat Black Frieza
Black Frieza is the most powerful mortal in Dragon Ball right now – he might even be stronger than most of the Gods at this point. The full extent of Black Frieza's power is currently unknown, but Toyotarou has been hyping Black Frieza up as the series' next villain. Last fans saw of him, Black Frieza killed Awakened Gas, then knocked out True Ultra Instinct Goku and Ultra Ego Vegeta in the span of a few panels. Frieza's Black form is the strongest transformation ever.
Frieza's forms in Dragon Ball Super are both a response to Goku's main form at the same. Golden Frieza is based on Super Saiyan, right down to taking the Golden coloring. Black Frieza feels like a direct response to Ultra Instinct, adding black coloring into the mix to match Ultra Instinct Sign. Visually, Black Frieza is above Super Saiyan as a form, finally surpassing the very thing he feared in the past. If any Saiyam beats Frieza, it won't be in Super Saiyan – it'll be in a new type of transformation altogether.
