What is a Saiyan? Saiyan is the English translation of the Japanese word, Saiya-jin (Psy-yah-jin). The Japanese symbol for Jin literally means "person". When used without a country's name or before it, it usually means person, but when added at the end of the country's name, it creates a nationality. For example, in Japanese, Americans are knwon as America-jin, or "America Person". Thus being of the Saiya race, Saiyans is the American equivalent to saying Saiya-jin. You may notice that this refers to a country. This poses grounds for an argument that the name of the country a Saiyan comes from is Saiya.
However, there is no other evidence to support that. If you were to refer to the Saiyans prior to their takeover of the Tuffles (Tsufuru-jin), both they and the Tuffles would be known as Plant-jin. At that time, the name of the planet was Plant. The name of the planet followed by Jin create's an entire planet's population name. Example: We are all known as Earthlings. In Japanese we are all known as "Chikyuu-jin" or "Earth People". After the Saiyans successfully defeated the Tuffles, they renamed the planet Vegeta. At that moment, all people living on the planet became Vegeta-jin, or Vegetans perhaps. So, pulling it all together, when a character is a Super Saiyan / Super Saiya-jin, they are literally a "Super Saiya Person".
Legend of the Super Saiyan
This is where a great conflict between Anime (cartoon) and Manga (comic books) exists. In the Anime, Vegeta states that only 1 in every 1,000 Saiyans is born a Legendary Super Saiyan. In the Manga, Vegeta states that once every 1,000 years a Super Saiyan is born. It's not a difficult choice which one you need to trust. Believe the Manga when it comes to pure facts. So, does this mean that most of the Saiyans are just incredibly lucky?? No, of course not. A myth is a myth. Myths and Legends were made to entertain and explain certain inexplicalbe events. A huge plot difference exists in the anime that validates events in DragonBall GT, but destroys DragonBall Z. I will try to explain it from all sides. (You'll see why Anime and Manga must be considered two separate stories).
Anime: When Vegeta talks about the Legendary Super Saiyan, we see a shadow of a Great Monkey. This is the Golden Monkey form seen in DragonBall GT. This was the form of Super Saiyan held by the Legendary Super Saiyan. This form of the Super Saiyan can be attained two ways, by absorbing an enourmous, (far more than are given off by any moon, the must come from a planet), amount of Brute Waves, or by having a tail and meeting standard requirements for Super Saiyan. (More on that later). This said, the Legendary Super Saiyan was either a fake, and simply absorbed that astronomical amount of Brute Waves, or he actually was born with the requirements of Super Saiyan. Manga: No form of the Legendary Super Saiyan is seen. This is very difficult when combined with the anime. Does having a tail affect how a Super Saiyan looks at all? (Yes) It was said that the golden hair, and emerald green eyes were merely the result of not having a tail when turning Super Saiyan. Can this be trusted? (Again, Yes)Opinion:If you're going to be a manga purist, there is no Golden Monkey. The only form of Super Saiyan is that with golden hair and light green eyes. That is what the original Legendary Super Saiyan was. However, if you hold this true, then you must turn back completely on the DBZ Anime and on all of DragonBall GT.
What do you need in order to become a golden-haired, emerald-eyed, Super Saiyan? Well essentially, there are three main requirements that need to be met.
A minimum power level of 300,000
A quiet, pure, and calm heart (evil/good)
Extreme Rage
A tail is not neccessary
The power level, not a confirmed minimum pl, is what Goku's power level was when he was fighting Frieza without the Gravity Kaioken Techniques. As such, this is defined as the minimum power level. Like Frieza's transformations, such is the Super Saiyan form. The body of the Saiyan can only hold so much power in its normal form, hence the upgrade to Super Saiyan physically changed the Saiyan's body and allows them to posses a greater power. (This is true for each level of Super Saiyan as well). Having a quiet, calm, and pure heart is a simple task. Mainly because it doesn't matter if you're pure good, or pure evil, as exemplified by Vegeta. Extreme rage is a challenge actually. It can't be flat out anger. One must do a bit of soul searching to find what truly makes them hate. For Vegeta, he had to redirect anger to himself for being weak, not at Goku for being stronger. The no tail rule was briefly discussed before. In the anime it's clear that having a tail results in the Golden Monkey, while not as clear in the Manga...
Super Saiyan Forms
Super Saiyan (1):
First character seen in this form: Goku
Characters who have attained this form:
Goku
Gohan
Goten
Vegeta
Trunks
Gotenks
Gogeta
Vegetto
Goku Jr.
Vegeta Jr.
Broly
Future Trunks
Goku reached this first stage in the Frieza Saga, after Frieza killed Krillin. That was the event that created the rage with Goku completing his requirements to become a Super Saiyan. This form of Super Saiyan is only slightly distinguishble from Super Saiyan 2 by the golden hair that usually exists in a few large tufts. In this form, a Saiyan's battle potential is increased 50 times. This form allows a Saiyan to increase their fighting potential beyond the limits of their normal body structure. However this form uses up energy and will drain the user of energy faster than if they fought as normal Saiyans.
Ultra Super Saiyan: (Ultimate Super Saiyan) First character seen in this form: Vegeta
Characters who have attained this form:
Goku
Vegeta
Future Trunks
This form of Super Saiyan is between Super Saiyan and Super Saiyan 2. The users' body mass increases, which causes their fighting potential to also increase, however, the ratio of muscle to the body is unbalanced. As such, a Saiyan in this form is slowed down somewhat and this form is not effective.
True Ultra Super Saiyan: First character seen in this form: Future Trunks
Characters who have attained this form:
Future Trunks
This is a step beyond Stage 2 Super Saiyan. (Think of this as Super Saiyan 1.8 if you will). This form boasts massively increased muscle, which, as expected, makes the Saiyan even stronger. However, the Saiyan's speed is also massively decreased. This is an extremely uneffective form of Super Saiyan and is only used once in a real battle by Future Trunks against Perfect Cell.
Super Saiyan 2: (Super Saiyan beyond Super Saiyan) First character seen in this form: Gohan
Characters who have attained this form:
Goku
Gohan
Gotenks
Majin Vegeta
First achieved by Gohan when fighting Perfect Cell. This form is very difficult to distinguish from Super Saiyan but not impossible. A Super Saiyan 2's hair tends to exist in multiple spiky tufts. This is the first form of Super Saiyan reaced after Super Saiyan 1, that is very useful. The user's strength increases, but muscle mass doesn't increase, thereby granting the user the same speed they would normally have and actually increasing it.
Super Saiyan 3: First character seen in this form: Goku
Characters who have attained this form:
Goku
Gotenks
The most powerful form of a Super Saiyan seen in DragonBall Z. This is extremely distinguishalbe from other forms by its incredibly long golden hair, extension of the brow and complete lack of eyebrows. Goku first showed off this form when he battled Fat Majin Buu, Although Goku could have beaten Buu with this power at that time, he didn't so that the others could defeat Buu on their own. The full-power version of this form is supposedly powerful enough to defeat Kid Buu, however this full power Super Saiyan 3 is never reached as Goku runs out of energy before he reaches it.
Super Saiyan 4: First character seen in this form: Goku
Characters who have attained this form:
Goku
Vegeta
Gogeta
This form is not considered a Saiyan, more along the lines of a Saiyan and an Oozaru hybrid. Their strength increases even more, and is virtually immeasurable. In this form, the Saiyans normal hair color is returned, and it grows longer than its normal length, just between that of the Super Saiyan 2 and 3's hair length. This form is very cruel, and expresses no feelings, (that's a big change for Goku). This highly advanced form of a Saiyan does not wear a shirt, and his chest is puffed out quite far to boast his muscles. The entire body is covered with a dark red fur that is quite thick. In order for a Saiyan to reach this stage, he MUST have his original tail still intact, and in the DragonBall GT series, they are able to make their tails grow back using a special device Bulma makes called teh Brute Ray. Goku and Vegeta both reach this highly advanced and final stage of the Super Saiyan.
May confuse some...But do read this...
Only seen in DragonBall GT, this is a very complicated form of Super Saiyan. It is not even technically Super Saiyan 4, Rather this is actually what could be called Legendary (True) Super Saiyan 2. This does not follow Super Saiyan 3. Instead it follows Legendary Super Saiyan, (once again, the real Super Saiyan form according to the anime). To attain this form, you do not need a power level higher than that of which you are in Super Saiyan 3. Therefore, this Super Saiyan 4 form, is not actually Super Saiyan 4, because it doesn't really follow Super Saiyan 3. All you need to attain this form is a tail, and A LOT of brute waves. This form even looks drastically different from "normal" Super Saiyan forms. Instead of being golden, the user's hair is black and increases in body size, but does not stand up on end. The Saiyan's body is covered in reddish hair and their eyes are outlined in red. An interesting fact, despite the fact that Goku is a child in GT, when he turns Super Saiyan 4 he becomes an adult while he is in that state. Gogeta who is perhaps the strongest good fighter in the entire series lasts in this mode for 600 seconds, or 10 minutes before splitting because Goku runs out of energy. Super Saiyan 4 will crease the user's fighting potential by approximtely 10 times..
False Super Saiyan: First character seen in this form: Goku
Characters who have attained this form:
Goku
This is a form of Super Saiyan that isn't a Super Saiyan and isn't a normal Saiyan either. Only seen once in DragonBall Z Movie 4: Lord Slug, this was basically Super Saiyan 1/2. It's not as powerful as Super Saiyan, and Goku barely changes physically. However, it is stronger than Kaioken.
Legendary Super Saiyan: First character seen in this form: Broly
Characters who have attained this form:
Broly
This is "supposedly" the real form of the Legendary Super Saiyan, (but was obviously not). In this form, Broly is literally a bloodthirsty monster that will not hesitate to murder even his own father. Broly's muscle mass increases to disgusting proportions during this form and looks like the size of a tank with arms. Because of his ki (energy) his hair also appears to be a greenish-yellowish color.
Downsides of a Super Saiyan
As powerful as a Super Saiyan may be, it doesn't come without a few qualifiers. While in Super Saiyan form, a Saiyan must be reminded of hate. As such, Goku is unable to form a Spirit Bomb while he is a Super Saiyan. However, this doesn't mean he can't become a Super Saiyan *AFTER* he creates a Spirit Bomb. Also, as I breifely mentioned before, a Super Saiyan uses up a fighter's energy faster than fighting normally would. This is why it's advantageous for Gohan when he recives Revered Kai's magical upgrade. He has the ability to use great amounts of power without turning Super Saiyan, thus greatly increasing how long he can fight.
Saiyan is the English translation of the Japanese word, Saiya-jin (Psy-yah-jin). The Japanese symbol for Jin literally means "person". When used without a country's name or before it, it usually means person, but when added at the end of the country's name, it creates a nationality. For example, in Japanese, Americans are knwon as America-jin, or "America Person". Thus being of the Saiya race, Saiyans is the American equivalent to saying Saiya-jin. You may notice that this refers to a country. This poses grounds for an argument that the name of the country a Saiyan comes from is Saiya.
First character seen in this form: Vegeta
First character seen in this form: Future Trunks
First character seen in this form: Gohan
First character seen in this form: Goku
First character seen in this form: Goku
First character seen in this form: Goku
First character seen in this form: Broly
