A Guide to Super Saiyan Blue

The Dragon Ball franchise goes hand-in-hand with wild, over-the-top animation. With a premise like it has—of the Saiya-jin striving to be the strongest in the universe—it lends itself pretty easily to that style of animation. From its extreme fight scenes that span universes and the summoning of giant dragons, the series is filled with captivating visuals and action unparalleled.

The transformations, though, are what the series is really known for. Starting with Goku's first transformation into a Super Saiyan, those bursts of energy and the shockwaves they send through their surroundings have become iconic. Even the origins of the Saiyans isn't nearly as interesting as the immense power coming from them.

Goku brought it to another level when he gained deity status with the Super Saiyan God form, also known as Super Saiyan Red; but around that same time was when the power levels started to get a bit convoluted, especially for those who are starting to watch mid-series.

It'd be a shame to go through the entire series of such a long-standing and captivating franchise confused, so here's a guide to Super Saiyan Blue to help you out.

The Transformation

Originally called Super Saiyan God Super Saiyan (and graciously shortened for all our tongues' sake) this transformation is arguably the weirdest to explain.

After a Saiyan character has transformed into a Super Saiyan God, he has the opportunity to hang onto that power, and to harness it indefinitely. With this elevated base form, when he becomes Super Saiyan, he takes on a blue tinge, and his hair and eyes also become blue.

It is one of the strongest transformations Goku and Vegeta use, allowing them to absolutely dominate some of their strongest opponents. Being so powerful, however, Super Saiyan Blue is more taxing, and requires more focus and self-control to maintain than lesser forms. This—naturally—doesn't hinder Goku and Vegeta from continuing to use it.

From its first appearance in Dragon Ball Super to its most recent use in Dragon Ball Super: Broly, the Saiyans learn to control and further improve upon Super Saiyan Blue.

Its First Use

"It's changed my whole idea of power."—Goku

The first time Goku had to transform into a Super Saiyan was against the alien Frieza, so it's only fitting that his first Super Saiyan Blue transformation was also against Frieza (in Dragon Ball Z: Resurrection 'F,' and retold in the series Dragon Ball Super, starting with episode 24). This time around, Frieza came across as less of an unconquerable foe and as more of a grudge match that Goku had to go through before fans could move onto the rest of the series. There was a lot of posturing and verbal sparring, but Goku and Frieza have that kind of relationship, involving more trash talk than is average—and not in an amicable, brotherly type way. It got to the point where Vegeta stepped in and started punching Goku, angry that he'd left training to watch them bicker.

Bless Vegeta and his fiery temper, because his (perhaps uncalled for) violence led to Goku erupting in a ball of pale blue light, showing off what he calls his "true power." Frieza responded with his own transformation into his final form of Golden Frieza, and in the ensuing fight, not only would they not stop talking trash towards each other, but Goku and Vegeta switched off for Vegeta to also go Super Saiyan Blue to have a chance at defeating Frieza. In these states, Vegeta utterly pummeled Frieza, and Goku finally had the chance to finish off one of his arch enemies with a ferocious ki blast.

This form continued to be used pretty frequently throughout the rest of Dragon Ball Super,and, as they began facing stronger and stronger challenges, these characters only improve further upon the Blue state.

Vegito Blue

Goku and Vegeta first fused in Dragon Ball Z against Super Buu, forming the formidable Vegito, but that was well before the introduction of Super Saiyan Blue.

In the "Future" Trunks Saga of Dragon Ball Super, Goku and Vegeta faced Goku Black and Zamasu as individuals. Even with both reaching the level of Super Saiyan Blue, they had little luck, and there wasn't a whole lot of hope left for them once Goku Black and Zamasu came together as Fused Zamasu. Much to Goku's giddy delight and Vegeta's dismay, the only option left was to form Vegito once again. He powered up into Super Saiyan Blue, and the fight finally started to seem like an even match.

Unfortunately, Blue Vegito was a bit too powerful to last. A final Kamehameha left him drained of energy, and forced the pair to split apart into Goku and Vegeta once again. It was short lived, but I'm sure it'll show again if the need arises.

Evolved

The Tournament of Power arc in Dragon Ball Super pushed the Dragon Ball characters to their physical and emotional limits—never further than in the fighting against Jiren. One of the most powerful characters in the entire franchise, Jiren shrugged off many of Goku and Vegeta's most powerful attacks, beat Goku to a pulp, and blew Vegeta up, turning his back on them both once they were seemingly defeated.

Vegeta, in a moment of pure heart, got back to his feet and increased his power levels from Super Saiyan Blue to Blue Evolved. The ground shook and his aura flooded the arena, leaving even the Grand Zeno and Future Zeno awed by his power.

Gogeta Blue

In the latest rendition of this transformation is another fusion of Goku and Vegeta, this time to form Gogeta.

Facing the Legendary Super Saiyan Broly in the movie, Dragon Ball Super: Broly, Goku and Vegeta went through the first level of Super Saiyan, Super Saiyan Red, and Super Saiyan Blue in their attempts to defeat him. None of those forms were nearly close enough in power to pose a suitable challenge for Broly, and as a result, they were forced to become Gogeta. It was all downhill for Broly from there on out. Gogeta easily evaded Broly's wild, reckless attacks, and by the time Gogeta became Super Saiyan Blue, it was almost difficult not to feel sorry for Broly.

Dragon Ball: Xenoverse 2

For the gamers out there—or anyone who wants a taste of this power—Super Saiyan Blue is attainable in the video game Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2. Once you bring your character to level 90, you'll be able to unlock Blue and wield its power as if it's your own.

Super Saiyan Blue alone is a powerful level, and it's the foundation for a lot of the rather theatrical transformations that happen later on in the series. Hopefully, this guide to Super Saiyan Blue will help you understand Dragon Ball Super's future fusions, and how you can expect heroes like Goku and Vegeta to evolve as the franchise develops even further.