A Description of Saiyan Forms and Why Super Saiyan 4 isn’t so “Super”

To start off, we’re not here to debate canons. We will never have an agreement, but there’s a discussion I’ve actually never seen before, and that is whether or not Super Saiyan 4 is truly the next.

Let’s look at the first three stages of Super Saiyan first.

• Level 1: First achieved once a Saiyan succumbs to high amounts of rage and desperation. Hair stands up, turns gold, and eyes turn a greenish blue.
• Level 2: Hair gets even stiffer, muscle mass expands slightly, and sparks emanate around the body.
• Level 3: Here’s where things really switch up. Hair grows extremely, eye brows take a more primitive form, as well as dropping the hair, and they finally have pupils. Pupils!

All of these forms just expand on the original, golden haired form, so naturally you’d think level 4 would expand even further upon it, right? Nope. Back to black hair, yellow eyes, red mascara, and red fur. Plus the eyebrows came back. So, literally nothing from any of the previous forms have transferred over. Unless you wanna count the addition of pupils that is.

So, can this form really be considered a Super Saiyan? The conditions alone for achieving said form sets it so far apart from the others. After regrowing his tail, Goku inevitably finds himself staring at the moon, triggering the classic ape transformation. However, its fur is golden, likely due to the fact that he’s achieved at least one level of the Super Saiyan form. Super Saiyan Ape? However, like classic Ape Goku, he has absolutely no control over himself, going on a Hulk-like rampage, causing a whole bunch of destruction. It’s only after being calmed by the sight of granddaughter Pan, in tears, does he manage to calm himself down. Instead of reverting back to his kid form though, he acquires this whole new form, which is soon dubbed Super Saiyan 4. Then Vegeta later achieves the same form, requiring the use of a machine, having not even achieved level 3, nor does he regrow his tail outside of the form.

No extra training necessary, requires external conditions to achieve, and looks absolutely nothing like any of the previous forms. So, can this really be the next level of Super Saiyan? Or is it just a whole ‘nother Saiyan mutation that deserves its own category? This wouldn’t be the first time after all; the Ape from is considered its own thing. There was also the Psuedo Super Saiyan, where Goku got a temporary power boost back in the Lord Slug movie. Then there was the slow muscle bound form Vegeta and Trunks used in their bouts against Cell. Again, we’re not here to argue canon, as Toriyama worked on the movie as well. Technically, Super Saiyan God is in its own category as well, since it actually requires the user to tap into a completely different kind of ki.

So what say you guys? Was level 4 always meant to be the next step, or should it fall into its own category?