Saiyan

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The Saiyans (サイヤ人, Saiyajin^?) are the primary fictional humanoid extraterrestrial race in the manga series Dragon Ball by Akira Toriyama. In the series, the Saiyans are a naturally aggressive warrior race who were, purportedly, the strongest warriors in the fictional universe. The main protagonist Son Goku (also called Kakarrot) is revealed to be a Saiyan upon the race's introduction. Most of the race was exterminated by a galactic overlord named Frieza after Goku was born.

In addition to the name Saiya being an anagram of the Japanese word yasai (lit. "vegetable"),^[1] full-blooded Saiyan characters in the series are also given names based on vegetable puns.

At its peak, the strongest Saiyan warrior, Prince Vegeta, and his comrade Nappa arrive on Earth to wish for immortality by gathering the Dragon Balls, however their plans are disrupted by Goku. Vegeta kills Nappa in a rage and faces Goku, only to lose to him. Vegeta later sees a massively improved Goku on another planet, and convinces himself that Goku has achieved a legendary status called The Super Saiyan. Goku ascends to Super Saiyan later in the series, and avenges the Saiyan race's extinction by defeating Freeza.

Contents 1 History 2 Appearance 2.1 Abilities 2.2 Super Strength 2.3 Super Speed 2.4 Ki usage 2.5 Sensitive tails 3 References

[edit] History

The history of the Saiyan race prior to their service to Freeza is not covered by the original manga. It is, however, a central theme of the Baby Saga in Dragon Ball GT.

Through unexplained circumstances, the Saiyans joined Freeza, a powerful galactic dictator whose dominion stretched over seventy-nine or more planets. The Saiyans were used by Freeza to exterminate the populations of the planets, preparing them for sale.^[2] Although Raditz states that their home was destroyed by a meteorite collision,^[3] Dodoria reveals to Vegeta, when trying to bargain for his life, that Freeza attacked the planet out of fear of the Super Saiyan legend.

Only four Saiyans were known to escape the destruction of Planet Vegeta: Son Goku, Raditz, Nappa and Vegeta. They were all off-world at the time, thus evading death. In Toei Doga's Dragon Ball Z films, three more survivors are revealed, exclusive to the animated universe: Broly, Paragus and Turles.

[edit] Appearance

With the exception of their monkey-like tails, Saiyans have an outward appearance identical to humans. Akira Toriyama, in helping to design characters for the first television special, noted that originally he conceived Saiyans to have only black hair.^[4] A Saiyan's hair never changes length or style once it has fully grown,^[5] (which would make if more like fur than hair) although this is not the case with hybrid Saiyans like Son Gohan and Trunks.

When questioned by Bulma following the ten year time gap at the end of Dragon Ball as to why their appearance hadn't changed at all, Vegeta responds that Saiyans maintain their physical prime for a far longer period than that compared to humans.^[6]

[edit] Abilities

In addition to unequaled natural strength, Saiyans also have an extremely sensitive sense of smell allowing them to detect others who are cloaked by darkness, or even in disguise as demonstrated by Goku a number of times throughout Dragonball, and Dragonball Z.

Their most visually impressive trait of course is the Saiyan ability to transform into the Oozaru, A Giant ape like creature with tremendous power. somewhere around 10X that of a Saiyan's normal state. This form however, has a number of draw backs, namely the loss of rational thought, although with enough practice, a Saiyan can keep his or her mind, even once transformed. This is a trait not usually seen outside the elite Saiyan warriors. Secondly, this form is only accessible in the presence of a full moon, or some other "Bluntz" wave emitter. Finally the largest drawback of this form is that it can be reversed by removing the Oozaru's tail, which is usually easy since most Saiyans are reduced to rampaging mindless monsters once they take this form.

The pinnacle of Saiyan power however is without a doubt the Super Saiyan transformation, and its subsequent levels, which all grant increasingly enormous power to the Saiyan who achieved the ability to transform. See Super Saiyan for further information.

[edit] Super Strength

Saiyans are incredibly strong, even at young ages. What also makes them strong is the gravity on their planet, ten times the earth's normal gravity. They also get stronger by fighting longer. A Saiyan is at its strongest after recovering from a mortal wound.

[edit] Super Speed

Without any form of training, a saiyan can outrun a car or a human without much trouble. They also have faster reflexes than a human; reflexes so fast that they can avoid a bullet with no problem.

[edit] Ki usage

Saiyans have developed their ki usage to the point they are naturally more adept at manipulating it than most races, including humans. They can fly, and fire explosive masses and waves. They can also increase their ki by fighting longer or by training intensively.

[edit] Sensitive tails

Typically, a Saiyan's tail is the most sensitive of their body parts. By grabbing a Saiyan's tail, one can render him powerless and in a lot of pain. For example, Raditz, Son Goku's brother, began begging for his life when Son Goku grabbed his tail.

However, a Saiyan can train his tail so it won't hurt if it is pulled or squeezed. Goku, for example, was eventually able to train his tail before it was removed for good.

[edit] References