A Super Saiyan is supposedly born every 1000 years (not 3000 years as FUNi would have you believe), meaning that the chance of being a Super Saiyan is one out of 1000 for each Saiyan. Though it is arguable as to who the so-called REAL Legendary Super Saiyan is, the officially recognized one ^_^ is Brolly. If we act as though the events in the movies never happened, though, the real LSSJ would be Kakarot. However, suppose that Kakarot IS the LSSJ. Then how can we account for Vegeta, Mirai Trunks, Gohan, Goten, and Chibi Trunks all turning into SSJ, with some of them surpassing even that? (I think, personally, that Toriyama set aside the "one SSJ in a 1000" rule to make the DBZ series more appealing to fans.) This is one reason why I called Brolly LSSJ in my Power Levels sect instead of giving him the designation of SSJ or USSJ (though some people argue that Brolly was USSJ as well), since Toriyama supposedly created Brolly to account for the many violations of the rule described above. If we acknowledge that Movie 8 actually occurred, then Brolly would be the true LSSJ, Goku and the others will then be designated as regular SSJs. However, this section is not an attempt at solving any of these ... misnomers, if you will. Rather, it is a basic guide to the various stages of SSJ displayed in the DBZ series.

The level of Super Saiya-jin was first achieved by Kakarot when he crossed the boundary from a normal black-haired Saiyan to a blond-haired, turquoise-eyed Super Saiyan with a golden ki aura. Goku achieved SSJ as a result of extreme rage after Freeza blew up his best friend Krillin, the already existent inner passion for battle, and his high enough combat rating (power level). Upon achieving SSJ, the Saiyan's heart is filled with rage and an even larger lust for battle and tendency to annihilate everything in site. Although this may be an exaggeration, this was certainly the case for Brolly at least. Goku managed to control his composure for the most part in SSJ mode, however. Nevertheless, Goku in SSJ form cannot use the Genki Dama attack simply because doing so requires the user to have a pure, good heart (Goku managed to create a Genki Dama in Movie 7 in normal mode and later changed into to SSJ in the middle of the energy-gathering process. Since he could not merge the collected energy into a ball and throw it in SSJ mode, he had to absorb it into himself to power himself up. (This was also a good move, since he might've missed with the Genki Dama in a ball-like shape)) The cross-over from Normal to SSJ mode gives the Saiyan an incredible increase in power level. In Goku's case, he went up from 300,000 to 15,000,000. Needless to say, going SSJ is an enormous asset in confronting especially strong opponents. Although SSJ is supposedly an unrivaled and rare power, it does have limits to it, as with all things. For example, SSJ Goku would not have survived the explosion following the destruction of the Planet Namek (although Brolly survived just barely after the destruction of Planet New Vegeta in Movie 8) if he had not escaped in time in a Ginyu Force space pod. SSJ Goku also died when Nonperfect Cell exploded in self-destruct mode on Kaiosama's planet.

The second SSJ we see is Mirai (Future) Trunks, who arrives to the present timeline in a time machine, goes SSJ with some cool BGM, and almost immediately takes out Freeza, slicing him in half, and later taking out both him and King Cold with separate blasts. Piccolo, Vegeta, and the rest of the Z Senshi were shocked that the one fighting Freeza was not Goku, since only 1 SSJ appears every 1000 years, according to the rule. We later learn in the Trunks Special that Trunks went SSJ as a result of a simultaneous mixture of sadness and anger at the androids upon seeing Gohan lying lifeless on the ground. The very thought that he has been exceeded in power by two "low-class" Saiya-jin motivates Vegeta to train extra hard in a Capsule Corp space pod with the aid of various training objects and machines, all provided by Dr. Briefs. After severe training in 300G and later 400G, Vegeta still cannot reach SSJ. After beaten down and on the ground from a training session with falling meteors in one of Dr. Brief's simulations, Vegeta gets extremely frustrated, as he now begins to think that he'll never be able to surpass normal mode. This idea strikes a nerve in Vegeta as he explodes in a rage and bursts into SSJ, with rays of light going in every direction. In his battle later with 19, we witness Vegeta's new power and his new Big Bang attack. However, the fact that SSJs are not invincible is shown again when Vegeta is defeated by 18, who allowed him to live with a broken arm. Vegeta later spends a few days and nights standing on a hill, thinking about the future of SSJ if even he was so easily beaten by androids.

His troubles are later dissipated when he surpasses even Super Saiya-jin after one year of training in the Room of Spirit and Time. Trunks has surpassed the level of SSJ as well during that period. Both fly off to fight Nonperfect Cell. Vegeta is the first to display the level of USSJ Form 1 to us as he powers up before Cell. Notable characteristics of this stage (which is an intermediate between SSJ and SSJ2) are increased muscle mass, slightly longer hair, and a decrease in speed that declines further with increases with muscle mass. However, USSJ Vegeta's (aka Super Vegeta) power level is sufficiently higher than Cell's to render the monster helpless against him. Super Trunks objects when Super Vegeta decides to allow Cell to become perfect and takes the liberty of beating Cell repeatedly after sending Vegeta several miles away with a Finishing Buster attack (The reason why Trunks could not just blow away Cell for good was due to the two's relatively close PLs).

The next level of USSJ is seen when Trunks is forced to transform and show the hidden power he had obtained from training in the RST after Super Vegeta gets knocked down by Perfect Cell. In an awesome couple of scenes, Trunks powers up to USSJ Form 2. His hair grows slightly longer (it only looks like Trunks is in SSJ2 because he had long hair as a result of neglecting to cut it while training in the RST) and his muscles increase in size to an even greater extent than they did in USSJ Form 1 mode. Trunks' power up is accompanied by the usual dispersal of clouds ^_^, but the absense of pupils is a really good touch to illustrate the extent to which his ki had grown. The release of light from his eyes makes the scene even cooler as Trunks acknowledges Cell's presence and instills fear in the newly reformed monster. However, the increase in muscles and power in USSJ mode is also accompanied by a decline in speed. Though Cell and Trunks seem evenly matched at first, Cell manages to spot gaps in Super Trunks' attacks and uses them to his advantage as he repeatedly knocks down Trunks. Being in USSJ Form 2 mode also appears to use up a great deal of energy, as anyone with such large muscle mass (except Brolly) would be exhausted after a few minutes of fighting at max ability. Ultimately, Super Trunks could not beat Perfect Cell, who then decided to start a little Cell Game.

Fortunately for everyone on Earth, Goku and Gohan are training in the RST and have achieved even higher levels of ability than Vegeta and Trunks had previously in their session in the RST. For one thing, Gohan managed to go SSJ for the first time in there after a confrontation with Goku combined with memories of the past when he had retreated from battle out of fear as a spoiled brat. Gohan pleads to his father to use his full power on him so he could finally enter the stage of SSJ. Goku complies, turns SSJ, and fires a Kamehameha from up above at Gohan. As Gohan tries to push the blast back, he remembers all the times he had cowered from stronger opponents and relied on others to defend and save him (for example, the fights with Nappa, Recoome, and Freeza). Just when the Kamehameha blast seems like it's going to hit Gohan, he bursts into SSJ and immediately utilizes his new strength to knock the blast back at Goku. (Many of you amateur DBZ fans out there think that Gohan went SSJ2 in this scene (umm...wouldn't that be jumping the stage of SSJ?) simply because of the fact that Gohan had extra-long hair as a result of not being able to cut it while passing a year in the RST. For any of you out there who think this was Gohan in SSJ2 mode, imagine the length of his hair if he suddenly turned into SSJ3 mode - the girl with the extremely long hair in that fairy tale comes to mind ^_^) *** (<< meaning see below o_o;;) As Gohan is learning how to control his ki and maintain a disciplined, controlled mental state in SSJ mode, Goku gets up and instantly bursts into SSJ. Gohan stops training and observes his father as Goku's muscles increase in size. Soon, he seems to be indifferentiable from Super Trunks. That's right - Goku has achieved USSJ Form 2 mode as well, being conceivably the only other Saiyan in DBZ to do so. Goku realizes almost immediately however that he could not possibly beat Perfect Cell in this mode, as his muscles also serve to slow him down and make him open to all sorts of attacks by the skillful opponent. Goku then decides to keep Gohan and himself in SSJ mode constantly (even while sleeping and eating) to condition them so that the SSJ mode would replace the "normal mode" as their default physical state. (This is why we see both father and son as SSJs in the eps just preceding the Cell Game) Gohan's ability increases unbelievably after he reached SSJ and it seems that he may even surpass his father if they were to train more. Goku and Gohan come out and let the others train. Vegeta and Trunks have learned never to use USSJ against anyone ever again, but no one is able to surpass USSJ into the next level of SSJ (not even Vegeta and Trunks, who re-enter the RST), at least not yet..

Skipping a few eps, Android 16's head had just been stepped on, and SSJ Gohan is in shock at the merciless destruction of a defenseless android who loved nature more than anything else. Coupled with the tension built-up by seeing the Z Senshi getting beaten up by the Cell Jrs, Gohan cannot take it anymore and explodes in a massive power up as he reaches a new state of SSJ - the one that neither Vegeta, Trunks, nor Goku could achieve - that of SSJ2. In the following display of power that rivals even that of Super Trunks, Gohan, with slightly greater muscle mass (his speed increases proportionately though, unlike USSJ mode) and longer hair than USSJ, easily dispatches the Cell Jrs and makes Perfect Cell seem like nothing. A particularly noteworthy change in character while in SSJ2 mode (for Gohan at least) is an almost insurmountable confidence in one's power, a deaf ear to the opponent's plea for forgiveness ^_^, and a refusal to listen even to those closest to him (For example, SSJ2 Gohan refused to kill Cell when Goku instructed him to). Once again, however, this state of SSJ does not render Gohan compassionless, as he mourns over his father's death while blaming himself for not killing Cell when he had the chance, and also the time when he lost an arm in defending Vegeta from one of Cell's finger blasts).

Much later on in the series, in the start of the Majin Buu Saga, Goku has surpassed SSJ into SSJ2 as well while training in the afterlife (Vegeta is still training as hard as ever to accomplish that though). Soon enough, though, Vegeta manages to acquire the power to go SSJ2 ... but through unconventional means. He gains a power increase as a result of letting himself get charmed into Babidi's control. As Majin Vegeta, he is as dangerous a opponent as ever, killing any amount of people in the Budoukai audience in order to pressure Goku to fight him. (As for Gohan, his new experiences with his girl friend Videl and the 7 years of peace following the end of the Cell Game has transformed Gohan back into a meek nerd ^_^ ... for the most part at least. In fact, he is weaker than he was when he a kid fighting Cell at SSJ2, as Vegeta notes while the young Saiyan adult is fighting Darbura). Goten and Trunks, as child prodigies, are able to go SSJ at fairly early in their lives. Although they seem like mere pint-sized brats, their PLs rival that of Nonperfect Cell.

One new and most probably the coolest SSJ mode (and definitely the most powerful one in DBZ) is SSJ3, which Goku learned in the afterlife while training there (Goku learned a lot in seven years - SSJ2, SSJ3, Fusion. I guess being with different people can really "power you up" quite a bit ^_^). In a little lesson to Fat Buu and Babi-di, Goku demonstrates the different levels of SSJ. He shows them the obvious normal mode, then shifts into SSJ, followed by a change to SSJ2. This leaves only one mode remaining, and Goku powers up as his aura and PL rise rapidly pass anything that any of his friends had expected. Goku's hair grows longer and longer until the end tips reach his lower back and his eyebrows disappear. Ki crackles in every direction as Goku is surrounded with a spherical ki aura. He stares coldly into Fat Buu's direction as he tells them that this is SSJ3. Although there is a considerable difference in PLs between SSJ3 Goku and Fat Buu, the two seem to be evenly matched for a while. Goku eventually forfeits, feeling that Trunks and Goten should be the ones to take care of things, as the Earth is now under the protection of the living warriors. One notable aspect of SSJ3, in addition to the fact that only Goku was capable of reaching it, is that being in SSJ3 mode consumes the Saiyan's ki energy extremely rapidly, making it impossible to ever achieve full power at SSJ3. Goku, for instance, reverted back into normal mode as he was attempting to achieve full power so he could annihilate Kid Buu once and for all. He later explains to Vegeta that although he had no problem going full power at SSJ3 in the afterlife as a dead entity, he could not reach his max ability while alive. Despite this setback, SSJ3 mode is, needless to say, extremely useful against opponents, especially if you are looking to end a fight ASAP.

I know that I am obligated to explain and discuss SSJ4 and SSJ5, even though SSJ4 is in DBGT (I hate DBGT for reasons explained in the DBZ Evolution sect) and SSJ5 technically doesn't even exist, so I'll briefly go over the two SSJ states. SSJ4 is achieved only by Vegeta and Goku in DBGT and is characterized by growths of reddish brown Oozaru fur on one's arms and chest, a regeneration of a Saiya-jin tail, reddish eyes, and black hair (as opposed to the golder hair associated with SSJ, SSJ2, and SSJ3). In effect, SSJ4 can be regarded a weird cross between a normal Saiya-jin and a Weremonkey o_o (yeah, I know it's bizarre). The other relatively unknown (lemmme see ... maybe cuz it doesn't even exist officially and was not created by Toriyama) SSJ mode is SSJ5, which is rumored to be a part of a new DB series. Personally, I regard it as part of an asshole's attempt to increase general popularity of Dragon Ball as a whole. Technically, I think it's called a Doujinshi, which is Japanese for a fan-made comic. At any rate, SSJ5 is characterized by Brolly-size muscles, LONG white hair in every which direction (how can they see while fighting? 0_0;;), and other characteristics that make that anyone in SSJ5 look like a total badass fully capable of busting anyone's chops. If I can, I will post an image of SSJ5, but just keep it in your mind that SSJ5 does not exist technically.

Whew. Finished. I hope you enjoyed reading this long description of the various stages of SSJ. I personally know it will be an informative and ready reference for those of you who may occasionally be confused by the developments of the Super Saiya-jin concept as the series progresses. Thanks for reading and ... -Later-

*** Updated 5.22.01 - Gokhan928 has informed me that this was not the scene he referred to when he claimed that Gohan first went SSJ2 in the RST. Rather, it was a flashback that SSJ Goku had in ep 187 right after we see Perfect Cell with various parts of his body vaporized by Gohan's Kamehameha. In this flashback, Gohan is training with Goku, both in SSJ form. Gohan gets punched square in the groin by Goku and he reverts back to normal mode after falling on the ground. He gets up soon, though, determined as ever to continue training. In the following scene, he powers up in normal mode, with ki crackling about his body (one of the characteristics used to distinguish SSJ2 Gohan in the Cell Game (and later Ultra Perfect Cell) from the other fighters). He explodes into some SSJ form (I admit now that it IS controversial as to whether or not this was SSJ or SSJ2). In any case, Gohan's hair turned gold for like 2 seconds and Goku commented on never having felt such power from Gohan before (further evidence that Gohan might actually have been in SSJ2 for those 2 secs BUT how do we know it wasn't merely the beginning signs of USSJ, as Super Trunks had similar electric ki cracklings about him in USSJ Form 2 mode. Also, Goku later comments (in the Jap vers of course) that Gohan's power had always exceeded that of regular SSJ ever since the boy acquired the ability to go SSJ. This does not clearly establish whether Gohan was in SSJ, or the beginning stages of USSJ or SSJ2).

So it is very debatable as to where Gohan first went SSJ2. Thanks to Gokhan again, because without our argument as to where Gohan first went SSJ2, I probably never would've looked for the CDR that contained full ep 187 and another mini clip of that scene to which Gokhan referred, and viewed them. I thought there was something strange about that scene but never really bothered with it until now. For those of you that are interested you can d/l the clip yourself (file size is only 275 KBs) here (Note that, as w/ all other mmedia files on CVV, you must use a d/l utility). And be sure to vote regarding this "controversy" in my main poll. -Later-