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What Is Super Saiyan Blue In Dragon Ball Super?

The Super Saiyan God form was revealed for the first time in the Battle of Gods movie. With this, Dragon Ball Super Ressurection F movie introduced us to another form that looks quite similar to the Super Saiyan form. But, there is a huge difference between the forms in terms of power, speed and the type of ki they use.

Super Saiyan Blue is a form that still needs to be figured out and fully explained by the original authors themselves. Fans are still confused about the form’s actual capabilities when in combat.

Some examples of instances which sparked this confusion are:

  • When Super Saiyan Blue Goku went toe to toe with Android 17 and Krillin when the former wanted to test their strength before The T.O.P. It can be argued that Goku was holding back a lot during these spars. But, even when holding back a lot, there’s no way Krillin could try to hold back a Kamehameha against Goku. Also, Android 17 shouldn’t have the potential to rival a Super Saiyan with god ki, since 17’s strongest enemies for the past few years were poachers with rocket launchers.
  • In the Tournament of Power, Berserk Kale was able to give Super Saiyan Blue Goku a run for his money. The same is true when he fought against Kefla. A fusion of two Super Saiyans shouldn’t actually pose much of a threat to him. I reckon even Super Saiyan God should be more than enough to defeat Kefla. But to rely on Ultra Instinct to knock her out of the ring? To quote a reference from Dragon Ball Z Abridged:

VEGETA: Wait a damn minute, something’s wrong here.

GOHAN: Huh?

VEGETA: Back on your planet, the Namek couldn’t even stand up to Nappa. Yet here he is now, taking on Frieza. In his second form!

GOHAN: What do you think happened?

VEGETA: Well, either Frieza hit me so hard I’m in a delusional coma, or…

GOHAN: Or?

VEGETA: Power levels are bulls**t!

Dragon Ball Z Abridged: Episode 26 (Alien vs Piccolo), Team Four Star

These examples show us how underrated the form’s power actually is. The problem is, the directors of the Anime did not have any reference as a base. Toriyama wrote the Manga after Dragon Ball Super’s animated serialization so; there is a misrepresentation in respect to power levels in the Anime. However, the Manga corrects this mistake and shows an accurate picture of power levels.

Explaining Super Saiyan Blue and its Variants

Base Super Saiyan Blue Form

Super Saiyan Blue was revealed for the first time in the movie Dragon Ball Z: Resurrection ‘F’. Chronologically speaking from the point of view of the series, a glimpse of Super Saiyan Blue was first seen when Goku and Vegeta were training under Whis in Beerus’s world. When their fists collided, a blue aura leaked out from the impact.

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Dragon Ball Super Episode 20 – The first glimpse of Super Saiyan God

In Resurrection ‘F’, Frieza’s four months of training pushed his power to far greater heights than ever before. This couldn’t be handled by the likes of Gohan and Piccolo. Bulma requests all of them to raise their power levels to their personal best so that Goku can lock on their ki and instantly teleport to Earth with Vegeta. Fans were overjoyed to watch as one of the best and adored matchups revamped as Goku and Frieza began to clash, creating a huge crater on the ground beneath them. After a good amount of warmup, they decided to go all out.

Directly from his base form, Goku charged up to transform into a new form wherein, the color of his hair and aura turn into cyan blue. Then we see Frieza transforming into his Golden form for the first time which far surpasses his previous forms. On camera, Goku was the first to transform into Super Saiyan Blue but, it is not revealed who was the first to actually acquire the Blue form among Goku and Vegeta.

Vegeta, later on, transforms into the form as well when his turn came to fight Frieza. Unlike Goku, he immediately started whooping Frieza.

This particular clash was so satisfying to watch as this was the payback to Frieza for murdering his father, destroying Planet Vegeta and killing Vegeta himself on Planet Namek. Too bad this was short-lived as the Goku fanboy in Toriyama decided to give Goku the credit of Killing Frieza rather than Vegeta. Our Prince deserves to have the spotlight of killing a major villain at least once.

Definition

Goku gives the meaning of the form to Frieza in one sentence –Super Saiyan Blue is the result of a Saiyan with the power of Super Saiyan God further transforming into a Super Saiyan. It is the successor of both Super Saiyan God and the normal Super Saiyan form in terms of power, speed and reflexes. Super Saiyan God enables a Saiyan to enter into the domain of the Gods. With Super Saiyan Blue, it helps them to reach even higher levels and gives them the chance to surpass the levels of many Gods out there.

Power & Attributes

An overall idea on the concept, appearance and traits of Base Super Saiyan Blue are described in another article. In this article, the instances of the traits will be elaborated.

A Super Saiyan God is a state normally achieved when the user is calm and composed. Adding the Saiyan rage to that, the user of the Blue form grows much stronger since it is the sheer amount of rage and fury in a Saiyan that makes him grow stronger. Of course, higher amount of strength doesn’t always necessarily mean better. There are downsides to the form as well.

In the Tournament of Destroyers, Vegeta begins his fight with Hit in Super Saiyan Blue, but he proved to be no match for Hit’s time skip and is easily knocked out. On the contrary, even in his base form, Goku was able to land a blow on hit. You could say that Goku was able to predict Hit’s time skipping 0.1 seconds into the future and Vegeta didn’t, but that was only a part of the problem. After transforming into Super Saiyan God, he was able to predict even shorter time skips and counter attack. Whis explains that Goku’s strength has far surpassed Hit and the latter’s skills are only effective against opponents who are near or below his level.

The reason Vegeta couldn’t do any damage on Hit was because he did not perform at even 10% of Blue’s usual strength. The form can be used only a few times in a single day since it consumes too much energy. Goku and Vegeta trained in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber for 3 days (which means 3 years passed on Earth). During that time, they would have used the Blue form more than just a few times in a day. Therefore, when Vegeta started off with Blue against Hit right of the bat, it was rendered useless due to previous over usage of the Blue form.

In Goku’s case, he did not start off with Blue. Rather, he fought with his base form first and then used Super Saiyan God. It was only during a crucial moment in the fight he transformed into the Blue form for a few moments. This was the solution that Goku came up to make up for the weakness of Blue. This little trick was later replicated by Vegeta in a much better way.

Fast forward to the Zamasu arc. In their first encounter, Vegeta and Goku lost miserably against the mighty user of Super Saiyan Rosé and Future Zamasu. They fought them head on by directly going full on Blue mode. Frustrated with the results, Vegeta decided to train alone in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber once again. During his training, it seems he remembered Goku’s fight against Hit and how he managed to damage him by using a particular maneuver which helped him bypass the weakness of Blue.

This maneuver is exploited by Vegeta many number of times. In DBS chapter 22, Goku explains that, in the very instant Vegeta throws an attack on Black, the former switches to the Blue form from Super Saiyan God and then immediately reverts back. Vegeta has learned to repeat what Goku did against hit over and over again without losing his power. This is due to Vegeta’s training. He’s storing the power of Blue until the right time and lets it explode when he needs it.

Vegito also goes Super Saiyan Blue against Fused Zamasu however; Vegito doesn’t experience the weakness of Blue. According to the Super Saiyan Blue descriptions of the V-Jump Saiyan Backup feature, it seems that Vegito Blue has the power to rival Beerus!

He doesn’t seem to be running out of stamina or getting fatigued, but it has an effect. The Potara Fusion, which normally lasts for an hour for mortals, lasted for a much shorter time frame. It is because of the immense power Vegito possessed (Goku’s battle power multiplied by Vegeta’s battle power) that he separated. The fused being did not prevent his overflowing power from leaking out of his body. The power started draining so fast that the fusion stopped.

Perfected Super Saiyan Blue

The perfected Super Saiyan Blue form is a higher form of the Super Saiyan Blue, which overcomes the drawbacks of the base form. In this form, the energy which otherwise leaks out from the body, is maintained, thereby increasing the stamina of this form.

During his fight against Fused Zamasu, Goku contained the overflowing power of Super Saiyan Blue within his body, enabling him to perform at 100% of Blue’s power.

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Dragon Ball Super Chapter 24 – Goku achieves Perfected Super Saiyan Blue for the first time

We can see that the blue aura has disappeared from Goku’s body. Vegeta explains that the Blue form possesses inherently poor stamina, similar to a regular, unrefined Super Saiyan. Because of this, the user could maintain 100% of its power for only the brief period following their initial transformation, before exhaustion sets in and performance begins to plummet rapidly.

Goku addressed this issue by thoroughly training and improving his Super Saiyan Blue form to build up his endurance. As a result of his training, he developed the technique of containing and harnessing his radiating aura inside his body through intense, continuous concentration and uses it to bolster his power. With this method, Goku had achieved mastery over the form, allowing him to realize the full potential of Super Saiyan Blue. This makes it vastly superior to Base Super Saiyan Blue.

Goku was the first to have perfected Super Saiyan Blue, allowing him to utilize its full maximum power if he was given time to focus to seal its overflowing power within him. He utilized the form to battle Fused Zamasu, and proved to be his equal in combat. Vegeta was the second to achieve the form, using it to battle Beerus, prior to the Tournament of Power.

Beerus wanted to challenge Vegeta to a duel after the oracle fish says that one day Goku and Vegeta will rival him. After Beerus easily knocks around Super Saiyan Blue Vegeta, Vegeta revealed that he too can use this form, closing the gap between him and Goku once more. Vegeta landed a successful blow on Beerus; however, this infuriated the God, who got serious and defeated the Saiyan in a single blow. Despite this, Beerus acknowledged Vegeta’s improvement and he has the potential to be a G.O.D in another universe.

However, this form too has drawbacks. The form cannot last for long as it takes a huge toll on the body. As Goku struggles to stall for time, waiting for Fuzed Zamasu to separate; he’s starting to feel fatigue and gasped for air. Vegeta realizes that Goku was working himself too hard. Holding the energy of the Blue form within his body could break him at any moment as his body cannot yet withstand the energy within it. We see that happening as Goku starts losing to Zamasu. However, this form enabled him to use Hakai on the fused foe, which failed later on.

Just like Goku and Gohan overcame the problem of power leakage with more training in DBZ, the Saiyan rivals Goku and Vegeta did eventually overcome this issue as they grew stronger and stronger after the Tournament of Power. They were able to use Perfected Super Saiyan Blue against Broly fairly comfortably. Being at a disadvantage, the duo fused into Gogeta, who battles Broly using Perfected Super Saiyan Blue with much more ease. Gogeta was able to maintain the form for the full 30 minutes of fusion time.

Goku and Vegeta were able to fully master this form due to their intense physical and mental training with Merus and the Yadrats respectively. In the fight against Moro, Goku had gotten the hang of the form so much so that he used this form to save energy before going Ultra Instinct.

Super Saiyan Blue Kaio-ken

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Concept and Appearance

The concept of Super Saiyan Blue Kaio-ken mentioned in the anime differs from the Manga. In the Anime, it is a technique which combines the Blue form with the power of Kaio-ken. In the Manga, It is a form which applies the principles of Kaio-ken while transformed as a Super Saiyan Blue. The Kaio-ken basically multiplies the user’s current battle power a certain number of times until the user’s body could withstand.

The appearance consists of a double aura effect with a crimson Kaio-ken aura outlining the typical Super Saiyan Blue aura. The outer Kaio-ken aura is seen as violently fluctuating and jagged while the Super Saiyan Blue aura maintains a gentle, flame-like contour. When using this transformation for the first time, the energy aura is so intense that Goku’s blue hair appears several shades lighter than normal, and his skin appears to be illuminated by the Kaio-ken’s aura to a dark shade of pink. Additionally, his orange Gi becomes dark red.

Power & Attributes

The technique is revived in Dragon Ball Super as Goku uses the Kaio-ken X10 combined with Super Saiyan Blue in the fight against Hit in the Tournament of Destroyers. Goku explains that Kaio-ken multiples the user’s base power, speed, reflexes, senses and other traits. When it is further combined with the power of the Blue form, it increases his strength exponentially.

Goku began developing this technique for eventually using it against Beerus. To use it, Goku transforms into a Super Saiyan Blue and then simply activates Kaio-ken in addition to it. Initially, since Goku had not yet mastered the technique, it had only a 10% chance of working and a 90% of failing, which had a chance of killing him. Thus, Goku was forced to maintain an extraordinary amount of focus when activating the technique in order to ensure its success.

As it is implied from previous statements, the major drawback of Kaio-ken is that the more number of times the user multiplies his battle power, more is the damage he gets as recoil. Seemingly, the signs of this state being unstable are the user’s skin turning redder and the hair turning light blue, almost white.

In the anime, Goku uses the X10 Super Saiyan Blue Kaio-ken against Hit which gave him so much power that he managed to land a blow on Hit, in spite of time being suspended. While the energy usage of this technique is very high, the Super Saiyan Blue form may serve to shield the user against the negative physical effects of the Kaio-ken to an extent.

During his fight against Hit, Goku showed no obvious signs of physical strain caused by the Kaio-ken until he powered back down to his base form, at which point his body began to suffer severe muscle convulsions. Shortly after his failed attempt to defeat Hit with it, the X10 Kaio-ken faded and his Kaio-ken dropped to a lower level for the rest of the fight. Goku uses the Kaio-ken number of times in the Zamasu Saga, Zeno Expo and in the Tournament of Power as well.

After the Zamasu Saga, due to over usage of Blue Kaio-ken, Goku started developing what is called “Delayed Onset Ki Disorder”. The Symptoms includes a significant decline in generating and controlling ki. This resulted in such instances as Goku’s diminished proficiency when using his Instant Transmission and erratic flying.

While King Kai notes that while his initial outbreak was temporary, he cautions Goku that he could develop the condition permanently with continued reckless use of Super Saiyan Blue Kaio-ken. This may render him incapable of practicing martial arts again. However, by the time the Tournament of Power commenced, Goku gained enough mastery of the technique to quickly activate it for as long as he needed. Goku’s mastery over this state is such that the stress generated on his body is considerably lesser than before.

In the Tournament of Power, while fighting one-on-one against Jiren, he initially uses X10 Blue Kaio-ken in an effort to keep up; however, he is easily beaten down despite this. He then tries X20 with no avail. Despite this increase in power, the gap in their power does not narrow to any significant degree, as Goku is still easily played around by Jiren. While using the Team Universe 7 Spirit Bomb, in this X20 state, Goku was able to force Jiren to exert more power than before. But shortly thereafter, he vanished into thin air for a while and later emerged from the rubble as Ultra Instinct Goku.

In the Manga, the concept is slightly different. Looks wise, the aura doesn’t have a dark red outline which the Anime version had. Perfected Blue formed Goku struggles to keep up with Jiren as the Saiyan gets thrashed about, unable to land a single blow on Jiren. In order to shatter his limit and overcome the wall of his own power, Goku attempted to force out more power from within him at the cost of damaging his body. This maneuver of tapping into his reserves is similar to what the Kaio-ken technique does. Instead of combining it, he applies its utility on Super Saiyan Blue.

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Dragon Ball Super Chapter 39 – Goku applying Kaio-ken to his Blue Form

Initially, his punches are able to make contact with Jiren. However, he is quickly outmatched and reverts to his Perfected Super Saiyan Blue form. Whis said that this wasn’t what Goku needed to overcome his wall and it may take more time for him to properly do so at that point. Jiren remarked that the power gained by destroying one’s body cannot be wielded properly. He further pointed out that Goku was making the same mistake as Kale when she went berserk.

Months later in the Galactic Patrol arc, he uses the Blue Kaio-ken against Moro when attacking him with his Instant Transmission Kamehameha to bolster his attack power, succeeding in blowing off Moro’s arm.

Super Saiyan Blue Evolution/Evolved

Vegeta SSB Evolution

This form appears in the Tournament of Power for the first time both in the Anime and the Manga.

After using Super Saiyan Blue full power and trying so many tactics and techniques (borrowing Krillin’s Destructo Disc to destroy the part of the arena Jiren was standing on and setting explosive booby traps), Goku and Vegeta are still outclassed by Jiren’s invincible might. But as the Saiyan warrior spirit runs deep in their veins, they refused to give up and decided to finally team up and fight together. Goku charges up to unleash his Super Saiyan Blue Kaio-ken 10X. Remembering his promise to Cabba to win the tournament and obtain the Super Dragon Balls to wish Universe 6 back, Vegeta pushes himself to greater heights, a power stronger than Base Super Saiyan Blue.

This is the first Saiyan transformation Vegeta achieves for the first time on-panel in the Manga. Vegeta was triggered by the fact that Goku broke his limits once again when he used Ultra Instinct. With the desire to break into un-chartered territories, he screamed and powered up, sending Toppo flying, almost knocking him out of the ring. The result was a form much stronger than Base Blue – Super Saiyan Blue Evolved.

This form is used by Vegeta for the first time and since then; only he is seen using this form so far.

Concept and Appearance

The form’s appearance in the Anime differs from the one which appears in the Manga. In the anime, the hair and eyes take on a darker coloring of royal blue as well as growing bigger and spiking outwards, in addition to a sparkly touch in the form’s aura. The body looks bulkier and develops more muscle than regular Super Saiyan Blue. These two characteristics bear a striking resemblance to the Super Saiyan Second Grade form, the one Vegeta used in the fight against Semi-Perfect Cell in Dragon Ball Z.

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Super Saiyan Second Grade used by Vegeta against Semi-Perfect Cell

In the Manga, this form is only slightly bulkier than regular Super Saiyan Blue but more or less looks the same. It becomes noticeably more defined. The hair color and aura looks exactly like the Anime version. The hair is spiking outwards, similar to Super Saiyan 2.

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Dragon Ball Super Chapter 40 – Super Saiyan Blue Evolved Vegeta

Power & Attributes

According to the director of the final episode of Dragon Ball Super Megumi Ishitani, the Evolved form is the result of him mastering his strength in a different way than Goku. In terms of power, this form matches with Goku’s Super Saiyan Blue Kaio-ken. It is not stated what particular multiplier of Kaio-ken (X10 or X20) the form matches with. But in episode 123, his aura is on par with the Blue aura of Goku in his Blue Kaio-ken X20.

Both Goku and Vegeta charge against Jiren and it seems that Vegeta in his Evolved form was able to keep up with Goku’s speed and fight alongside of him. This gives food for thought on whether he has overcome the limitations he once faced with Super Saiyan Second Grade in terms of decrease in speed because of his bulky muscles. Both of them are starting to gain a slight momentum against Jiren, hurdling continuous attacks on him, even performing a duo of Kamehameha and Final Flash. But still, Jiren remains unscathed.

Initially, even with this form, Vegeta was no match for Toppo in his God of Destruction form. However, after having thoughts of his family and Cabba, he was able to power up with rage and gain momentum in the fight. Upon Vegeta gaining power from his pride, the ki of this form became so powerful that it shields Vegeta from Toppo’s ki blasts. He also manages to overcome Toppo’s Hakai by concentrating his ki into his fist and punching through it.

To eliminate Toppo from the tournament, Vegeta decided to use his Final Explosion to ensure victory. Despite this technique having previously killed him, the form’s superior power and durability allowed Vegeta to survive the after-effects of the devastating attack. This form can still be taken on even if the user is low on stamina, as Vegeta was able to transform into it after using up most of his energy to defeat Toppo.

In the Manga, This form lasted for a short period in the Tournament of Power. After transforming, he was at once able to land a kick on Jiren’s face and send him flying into the air and knock him back on the ground. This was the first time Vegeta was able to land hits on Jiren. He acknowledges his opponent’s counterattack by saying that Vegeta gave him more trouble than anything else he had faced during the Tournament of Power aside from UI Goku. But still, it wasn’t enough to overpower the mighty warrior from Universe 11.

After a few blows from Jiren, Vegeta is weakened and was soon rescued by Goku via Instant Transmission to safety. Unlike the Anime, Blue Evolved Vegeta wasn’t the one who sent Toppo off the ring.

Disclaimer: The following contains spoilers from the Galactic Patrol Arc of Dragon Ball Super Manga

In the Galactic Patrol Arc (Chapters 60 & 61), he uses Blue Evolved against Moro. After sensing Goku’s Ultra Instinct Sign draining quickly, Vegeta decides to join the fight after a long training session in Yadrat. Initially struggling to use Instant Transmission, he finally arrived at the battlefield in the nick of time. Initially, Vegeta struggles to damage the goat-like villain but with the help of Forced Spirit Fission, he was able to separate energy from Moro’s body whenever his attacks made contact. In his Evolved Blue form combined with this technique, he seems to be gaining the upper hand against Moro, until the latter runs away to consume Seven-Three.

Verdict

This form doesn’t seem to have a particular weakness as Vegeta is able to move about and fight quite comfortably. The limitations of the Super Saiyan Second Grade apparently don’t apply here. On the contrary, his speed and accuracy seems to have increased further than before.

The Anime doesn’t make much sense as Vegeta’s increase in muscle mass is clearly visible. A pumped up bulky form is an incomplete ascendance to the next level and is supposed to slow the user down, as explained by Perfect Cell to Future Trunks in Z. But in the Tournament of Power, Vegeta was fighting alongside with Goku in his Blue Kaio-ken X20, without slowing down. So we’re going to stick to the Manga version as it makes more sense.

An explanation for the Blue Evolved form in the Manga is, Vegeta seems to have mastered Perfected Super Saiyan Blue without breaking his body and further tapping into more energy than before, without leaking it from his body. This enabled him to increase his strength without losing speed. This is quite similar to Gohan when he ascended to Super Saiyan 2.

Is Blue Evolved a similar ascendance to the Super Saiyan Blue form? Will there be more transformations with keeping Super Saiyan God as the base, like a Super Saiyan God Super Saiyan 3 or more? Will Goku also learn how to use this form at the time of need? Let us know in the comments below!

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