Summary
Dragon Ballis a series that is famous for preaching the benefits ofhard work and training to achieve one’s goals. The main characters, Goku and Vegeta, are the perfect examples of this, as pureblooded Saiyans who live to fight as a means of getting stronger and improving themselves as much as possible. They owe this to their lineage as Saiyans; the ultimate warrior race whose members are bred for battle at a young age.
However, despite the importance of the central theme of hard work and perseverance, some characters inDragon Ballare just born blessed.Among them are the Half-Saiyans, who, somehow, manage to close the gap of strength between them and their pureblooded counterparts with a fraction of the training. So, let’s see how this is possible and why it is a central part of their character development!
First Shown
Dragon Ball Z, Episode 1, “The New Threat”
The Half-Saiyans of the series are some of the most powerful fighters in all of Universe 7, as seen with the amazing feats that they have shown throughoutDragon Ball. The first example of this was Gohan, who showed amazing potential from his very first appearance. Even during the very first arc ofZwithRaditz as the villain, Gohan’s true power was made quite apparent even though he was only 4 years old!
Since then, Gohan’s power increased even more as he was seen fighting quite well against Frieza and some members of the Ginyu force during his time on Namek. Through channeling and utilizing his emotions, Gohan showed that despite his young age and frail size, he was a warrior worth taking seriously. There is perhaps no better example of this than the Cell Saga.
What are you so afraid of Cell? Isn’t this what you wanted? I warned you!
During this arc, Gohan not only achieved the Super Saiyan form that only the most powerful Saiyans could, but he went on to perfect it with Goku during his time in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber. While Goku did this too, it was amazing to see considering how young Gohan was in comparison, something that became even more impressive in the final battle against Cell where he awokethe Super Saiyan 2 transformation, becoming the first person to ever do so. Despite Goku and Vegeta being hardened and experienced warriors, they couldn’t use this form!
Finally, the Buu Saga showed fans Ultimate Gohan; a form that was stronger than even Super Saiyan 3 Goku! Moreover, it also introduced Goten and Trunks, who somehow had the power to reach Super Saiyan at a very young age and with virtually no training. This truly showed the incredible power that Half-Saiyans held, which reached its zenith duringDragon Ball Super: Super Hero, where Gohan unlocked a new form equal to even Ultra Instinct and Ultra Ego!
The Reason For This Power
Why are they so strong?
The reason why Half-Saiyans are such gifted fighters and are inherently so strong can beboiled down to one word; potential. The potential that these characters hold within themselves far surpasses even the pureblooded counterparts of their race, meaning that they can achieve the same level as them with only having to do half as much work.
Besides training, the hallmark of a Saiyan’s strength is their ability to gain an enormous power boost through their emotions, particularly rage. Whenever they feel an enormous amount of rage, it opens them up to a massive power-up which can come in the form of either an improvement to their physical stats or even through a new form that puts them above all their contemporaries in power. The difference here is that the power that Half-Saiyans get through their emotions is far greater.
Fight you? No, I want to kill you!
The reason for this is that Saiyan genetics and human genetics perfectly compliment each other. Due to being the perfect companion genetics, the S-Cells (or Saiyan Cells) within the Half-Saiyans react far better to a sudden upsurge of rage, allowing the Half-Saiyan character to make the most of this power-up. While there aregenetic anomalies such as Broly, who holds around the same potential, Half-Saiyans tend to have far more.
Moreover, due to their natural human qualities, Half-Saiyans are far gentler in disposition. Due to this, they are subsequently kinder and well-natured, not inheriting their ancestor’s affinity for combat or war due to their human side, which plays a huge role in attaining higher levels of power. Due to the greater control they have over their emotions, they have greater potential and means of getting stronger!
However, for all the advantages that Half-Saiyans have, there is also a price that comes with such strength. An example of this is Gohan, who lost a substantial amount of power from the gap between the end of the Cell Sagaand the Buu Sagabecause he stopped training. Due to this, he fell short of protecting the Earth when enemies finally did show up.
This shows that, despite having enough power to stop world-threatening villains, they still need to uphold and keep it. Without any training, it all amounts to nothing, so they cannot rely purely on their inherent gifts, since nothing can ever beat hard work.
Dragon Ballcan be streamed onCrunchyroll.
Dragon Ball
Dragon Ball is a franchise by Akira Toriyama which follows the adventures of Goku, a powerful warrior who protects the earth with his group of friends. A recent title from the series is Dragon Ball: The Breakers, an action style game where 7 players have to survive being hunted by the Raider.
