Super Saiyan 4

Super Saiyan 4 sits on a completely separate branch of the Saiyan transformation tree. While Super Saiyan 2 and 3 push the original Super Saiyan form to higher outputs of ki energy, Super Saiyan 4 returns to the biological roots of the Saiyan race by incorporating the Great Ape transformation. The process requires a Saiyan who can already become a Super Saiyan to transform into a Great Ape while carrying that Super Saiyan energy, producing the intermediate Golden Great Ape state. From there, the Saiyan must regain rational control over the berserk ape form, at which point the massive energy condenses back into a human-sized body covered in red fur.

This approach sidesteps the energy drain problem entirely. Where Super Saiyan 3 burns through ki at an unsustainable rate because it forces more energy through the same biological channels, Super Saiyan 4 restructures those channels by drawing on the Great Ape's fundamentally different power source. The result is a form that grants power far beyond Super Saiyan 3 while remaining sustainable in extended combat.

Achieving the Form

Goku first achieved Super Saiyan 4 during the Baby Saga in Dragon Ball GT. After being regressed to a child by the Black Star Dragon Balls, Goku transformed into a Golden Great Ape when exposed to the full Earth reflected in a Blutz Wave beam. He rampaged out of control until his granddaughter Pan's tears reached him emotionally, allowing him to regain consciousness. The Golden Great Ape energy then collapsed into the Super Saiyan 4 form, simultaneously restoring Goku to his adult body since the form's power was too great for a child to contain.

Vegeta achieved the form later in GT through an artificial method: Bulma built a Blutz Wave Generator that allowed him to transform into a Golden Great Ape without a natural moon or tail. His willpower and pride as a Saiyan warrior then allowed him to assert control and complete the transformation. The concept was later given a new incarnation in Dragon Ball Daima, where Toriyama personally redesigned the form, establishing it as a natural successor to Super Saiyan 3 in the main continuity rather than a GT-exclusive power.

Super Saiyan 4 combines the Great Ape's devastating physical strength with a fighter's full strategic intelligence. Users describe feeling the primal Saiyan battle instincts more acutely in this form, which can make them colder and more aggressive than normal, though they retain rational thought. Goku himself noted that at this power level, it became harder for him to listen to reason, though he never fully lost control the way a standard Great Ape user would.

The form's power was demonstrated immediately upon its debut when Goku overpowered Super Baby Vegeta 2, a fusion-enhanced Tuffle parasite who had been dominating every fighter on Earth. Baby's Revenge Death Ball, his most powerful attack, was completely ineffective against Super Saiyan 4 Goku. The power gap between Super Saiyan 3 and Super Saiyan 4 appeared to be enormous, far greater than the jumps between the earlier forms.

Gogeta and the Shadow Dragons

The pinnacle of Super Saiyan 4's power was displayed when Goku and Vegeta performed the Fusion Dance while both in the form, creating Super Saiyan 4 Gogeta. This fused warrior was so overwhelmingly powerful that Omega Shenron, the strongest villain in GT who had been dominating both Saiyans individually, could not even scratch him. Gogeta treated the fight as a joke, toying with Omega Shenron rather than finishing him quickly, which proved costly when the fusion timer ran out before the kill shot could be delivered.

Super Saiyan 4 has the unique distinction of being designed by two different people for two different series. The original GT version was created by Toei Animation's character designer Katsuyoshi Nakatsuru without Toriyama's direct involvement, as GT was produced without the original manga creator's oversight. The design emphasized the primal Saiyan nature with red fur, wild black hair, and a feral appearance that deliberately broke from the golden-haired Super Saiyan aesthetic.

Decades later, Toriyama designed his own version of Super Saiyan 4 for Dragon Ball Daima, the first time the form appeared in a project he directly supervised. His version retained the core visual identity but adjusted proportions and details to match his personal art style. The Daima version established Super Saiyan 4 as a natural evolution beyond Super Saiyan 3, achievable through training rather than requiring the specific Blutz Wave circumstances of the GT version.

A Return to Saiyan Roots

Super Saiyan 4 holds a special place in the franchise because it represents a philosophical return to what makes Saiyans unique as a warrior race. While the godly ki forms introduced in Dragon Ball Super elevate Saiyans toward divine power, Super Saiyan 4 goes in the opposite direction, embracing the primal, biological power that defines Saiyan heritage. The red fur, the Great Ape connection, the wild hair returning to its natural black color; all of these visual elements communicate that this form is about being the ultimate Saiyan rather than transcending what a Saiyan is. It is a celebration of the race's warrior nature rather than a departure from it.