Goku’s transformations are iconic, period! We have all grown up watching the show and probably shouting our lungs out to see if we could transform into a Super Saiyan.
This is why, even today, a new transformation can create a ton of hype among anime fans worldwide. Most recently, the iconic Super Saiyan 4 form became canon, thanks to the Dragon Ball Daima series!
While there were a couple of transformations before the Namek arc, it was during this arc that fans got to see the very first Super Saiyan transformation, which was truly legendary!
But, Goku didn’t stop at just that. As newer and stronger foes kept appearing, Goku unlocked even stronger Super Saiyan transformations. In Dragon Ball Super, he managed to break into the Gods’ territory with his Super Saiyan God transformations.
Today, we will discuss Goku’s transformations throughout the Dragon Ball series, starting with the original Dragon Ball and ending with Dragon Ball Super!
All of Goku’s Transformations in the Dragon Ball Series!
13. Oozaru (Great Ape)
The Great Ape transformation is the very first transformation that Goku undergoes. It’s a pretty dangerous transformation because when Goku transforms into the Great Ape, he loses all sense of self and goes on a rampage, destroying anything and everything in his path.
This Oozaru transformation is pretty common among Saiyans who still have their tail. When there’s a full moon, the Saiyans can absorb enough blutz waves from the moon to transform.
When Goku transformed into the Great Ape, he reverted to his original Saiyan nature, making him violent, feral, and super dangerous.
12. Kaio-ken
One might argue that this is just a power-boosting technique, not a transformation, but I would say otherwise. I think the Kaio-ken form deserves its place on this list because it’s one of Goku’s iconic abilities that he’s relied on several times to take on powerful opponents, making it one of the powerful Goku forms.
Goku acquired this technique after his death during the Saiyan Saga when he went to train with King Kai in the afterlife. This form allows Goku to become faster, stronger, and better by augmenting his overall physical abilities.
There’s also a multiplier where he can get even stronger by pushing past his limits, which results in his body getting battered at the end!
11. Super Saiyan
This is the most iconic of all of Goku’s forms, period! Watching Goku go Super Saiyan for the first time was one of the best parts of my childhood; I still remember it like I watched it yesterday. And I am sure that most Dragon Ball fans feel the same way.
Watching Goku getting beaten by Frieza was one thing, but when Frieza killed Krillin right in front of Goku’s eyes, there was no going back.
The grief of losing his best friend, his anger at not being able to do anything to stop it, and his rage towards Frieza made Goku transform into the legendary Super Saiyan!
10. Super Saiyan 2
After the Frieza Saga came to a conclusion, and during the Cell Saga, almost every Saiyan introduced had acquired the Super Saiyan transformation. Goku, Vegeta, and Trunks even had their augmented forms (called Grade forms), but that was it.
However, Goku acquired his Super Saiyan 2 form after his death while training in the afterlife, and we got to see him use this form in its full glory during his battle with Majin Vegeta!
There are physical differences between the first Super Saiyan and the Super Saiyan 2 forms. The hair becomes spikier, the muscles are more defined, and the aura surrounding the body generates electricity!
9. Super Saiyan 3
The SSJ3 form is the strongest of Goku’s transformations in the original Dragon Ball Z series. Again, like most of his techniques and transformations, Goku achieved the Super Saiyan 3 form after training intensely in the afterlife in the Other World, where he could put unlimited energy into maintaining this form!
Goku uses this transformation during the Majin Buu Saga, where he fights against Innocent Buu. Still, this form is tough to maintain as the energy is drained faster than his other forms.
Goku wasn’t very adept at using this transformation during the DBZ series, as he had just learned it and hadn’t used it or trained it that much. However, he has improved considerably at using it in the Dragon Ball Super series.
8. Golden Great Ape (Non-Canon)
If you are a fan of Dragon Ball, then you most definitely have watched the Dragon Ball GT series. While it’s not canon, it was a fantastic watch and gave us some of the most iconic Goku forms of all time!
Goku’s Golden Great Ape transformation happened during his fight with Baby Vegeta. Old Kai helped Kid Goku regrow his tail, allowing him to transform into the Great Ape. Then, Goku combined his Super Saiyan power with this form to become the Golden Great Ape.
While Goku becomes feral and violent in this form, his power increases so much that Baby Vegeta, who had previously overpowered Goku’s Super Saiyan 3 form, could not keep up with him!
7. Super Saiyan 4
This form is one of the best Goku transformations of all time, in my opinion! It wasn’t canon when it debuted in the DBGT series; however, it’s been made canon when Goku transformed into his SSJ4 form in Dragon Ball Daima!
In DBGT, Goku obtained this form after gaining complete control over his Golden Great Ape form. Meanwhile, in Dragon Ball Daima, Neva awakens Goku’s power, leading him to regrow his tail and transform into the Super Saiyan 4 state.
Later, Goku reveals that he’s been training hard since defeating Kid Buu, which made it possible for him to achieve this transformation. Even after regaining his adult self, Goku could transform into the iconic SSJ4 state!
This transformation is completely different. It gave Goku a more feral, monkey-like look, as he was covered in red fur and had long, overflowing hair!
6. Super Saiyan God
As Lord Beerus appeared in the series and played with SSJ3 Goku, the SSJ forms practically disappeared to make way for new forms to debut!
Lord Beerus showed up on Earth looking to fight the Saiyan who defeated Frieza because he thought he was the Super Saiyan God. Unfortunately, neither Goku nor Vegeta knew about this form. So, Goku and his friends collected the Dragon Balls to summon Shenron and ask him about the legend of the Super Saiyan God.
According to Shenron, the form can only be achieved after a ritual where six righteous Saiyans hold hands and transfer the ki into the Saiyan, who will become the God.
Once Goku achieves the Super Saiyan God form, he gains a significant power boost compared to his previous forms!
5. Super Saiyan Blue
Super Saiyan God form is exciting, powerful, and pretty awesome, but there’s something even better – the Super Saiyan God Super Saiyan form! Or, simply, Super Saiyan Blue!
After training with Whis, Goku combines his Super Saiyan transformation with his Super Saiyan God transformation and achieves the Super Saiyan Blue state. This is the transformation that Goku always uses in Dragon Ball Super.
This form’s power far surpasses that of the Super Saiyan God transformation, and it is so powerful that even Golden Frieza had a hard time dealing with it.
And in his fight against Fused Zamasu, Goku mastered the transformation, leading to the “Perfect SSB” transformation. Although he could only use the perfected transformation briefly in the beginning, he has since overcome that flaw!
4. Super Saiyan Blue Kaio-ken
Before we were introduced to the Super Saiyan transformations, we were introduced to Kaio-ken back in Dragon Ball Z. Still, the creators of the manga and the show didn’t forget it and brought it back in Dragon Ball Super!
When Goku is in this state, he gains a double aura. He appears as the basic Super Saiyan Blue with the blue aura all over his body while a more immense red aura surrounds it. Goku first used this form against Hit in the Universe Tournament arc.
Although this particular transformation had flaws when he first used it, Goku has also managed to master this technique.
3. Ultra Instinct Sign
“Break the internet” is a term invented to describe the moment when Goku’s Ultra Instinct form debuted, and it was as iconic back then as it is today!
While Whis was training Goku and Vegeta, he subtly dropped hints about this form but never outright mentioned it.
Goku achieved this form after absorbing the power of his own Spirit Bomb, which broke some mental shells and helped him unlock a much deeper potential. However, this incomplete transformation came undone after about a minute, leaving Goku depleted of all his energy.
In his Ultra Instinct form, Goku looks the same as his base form, but now he has spikier hair, silver-colored irises, and a silver aura surrounding his body.
2. True Ultra Instinct
This is a unique variation of Ultra Instinct that Goku devised during his fight against Gas in the Granolah Saga in the manga!
Goku achieved this form by applying his Saiyan nature to the Ultra Instinct state, thereby putting his emotions to work and harnessing the power of Ultra Instinct to a much higher degree. Instead of being absolutely calm and setting aside his emotions to achieve the UI state, Goku came up with this new version that’s absolutely unique to him to fight his opponent.
While this form was stronger than Goku’s Perfected UI state back in the Granolah Saga, it has since been stated that the Perfected UI far surpasses Goku’s True Ultra Instinct!
1. Perfected Ultra Instinct
If you think the Ultra Instinct Sign was the pinnacle of Goku’s potential, you are wrong because he soon unlocked an even better form, the Perfected Ultra Instinct!
During the final moments of the Tournament of Power, in his fight against Jiren, Goku finally learns to let go of self-doubt and live in the moment, thus subconsciously unlocking the Perfect Ultra Instinct transformation.
Unlike the Ultra Instinct Sign, which isn’t really great in terms of offensive capabilities, the Perfected Ultra Instinct gives him both offensive and defensive capabilities. In this form, Goku’s hair turns white, his irises become silver-colored, and his body is surrounded by a more dense silver aura that resembles rippling, fire-like energy.
All the Gods of Destruction from all universes stood up to honor him despite being stunned by a mortal achieving the Ultra Instinct state, which is hard for even them!
