The 8 Youngest Super Saiyans in the Series

Dragon Ball fans have this warped idea that Super Saiyan was a special form for a long time before the series started to treat it as a commodity. Even on Namek, Goku was a relatively young man when he turned Super Saiyan for the first time on Namek. Not just that, Akira Toriyama immediately introduced Future Trunks as an even younger Super Saiyan only a few chapters after Goku’s final battle with Frieza.

Despite being framed as a legendary transformation only a rare few can achieve, several young Saiyans go on to unlock Super Saiyan throughout Dragon Ball. Vegeta infamously says that there’s a “Super Saiyan bargain sale” once Goten and Trunks unlock SSJ1 without the emotional turmoil that he, Goku, and Gohan put in to unlock the forms. Throughout Dragon Ball history, many youngsters have triggered Super Saiyan and rivaled their older peers with little to no effort.

8

Goten is the Youngest Super Saiyan in History

7 Years Old

Until Pan finally turns Super Saiyan in Dragon Ball Super, Goten is currently the youngest Super Saiyan in Dragon Ball history. Goten ends up turning Super Saiyan for the first time while training with Chichi. At just seven years old, Super Saiyan Goten is said to rival Super Saiyan Gohan at the start of the Majin Buu Saga.

Just by sheer virtue of unlocking Super Saiyan at such a young age, Goten has more natural potential than just about any other Saiyan in Dragon Ball. Unfortunately, he grows up to have virtually no interest in training or martial arts. By the 28th Tenkaichi Budokai, Goten has gotten so weak that a four-year old Pan beats him in the tournament.

7

Trunks Unlocked Super Saiyan Around the Same Time as Goten

8 Years Old

Shortly after it’s revealed that Goten can turn Super Saiyan, Trunks shows Vegeta that he can also turn Super Saiyan when they’re training together in the gravity chamber. It’s heavily implied that Trunks unlocked Super Saiyan at roughly the same time as Goten. One year older than Goten, Trunks was eight when he first turned Super Saiyan.

Trunks is also slightly stronger than Goten on account of his age, but just slightly. To fuse into Gotenks, Trunks has to lower his Ki in order to match Goten’s. Just like Goten, however, Trunks grows up to have no real interest in keeping his Power Level up – a stark contrast to his future counterpart who struggled for years just to turn Super Saiyan.

6

Super Saiyan Gotenks Was Stronger Than Super Saiyan 3 Goku as a Child

7 – 8 Years Old

Gotenks is the result of Goten and Trunks performing the Fusion Dance in order to fuse. The first time they fuse, Gotenks cannot turn Super Saiyan, but he very quickly unlocks both Super Saiyan and Super Saiyan 3 after the boys start training in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber. Notably, Super Saiyan 1 Gotenks was already stronger than Super Saiyan 3 Goku.

Since Gotenks is a Fusion between Goten and Trunks, his age is somewhere in-between the duo, making him roughly seven and a half years old. At the end of Dragon Ball Z, Gotenks was the fourth-strongest character in the series behind Vegito, Buuhan/Buutenks, and Ultimate Gohan. Gotenks has fallen off in Dragon Ball Super, but he’s still one of the most powerful fusions in Dragon Ball.

5

Goku Jr. Turns Super Saiyan in His Quest For the 4-Star Dragon Ball

9 Years Old

Goku Jr. is Goku’s great-great-grandson and the main character of Dragon Ball GT: A Hero’s Legacy. When Pan becomes sick, Goku Jr. sets out to find the Four-Star Dragon Ball, believing that a single Dragon Ball is all he needs to have his wish granted. Over the course of the movie, Goku Jr. unlocks Super Saiyan to save a bear cub and defeat the film’s main villain, Lord Yao.

Goku Jr. is nine-years old when he turns Super Saiyan for the first time. Despite being 1/16th Saiyan, Goku Jr. was able to unlock the Super Saiyan transformation while Pan never did in Dragon Ball GT. Goku Jr. later appears in Dragon Ball GT Episode 64, where he participates in the 64th Tenkaichi Budokai and fights Vegeta Jr. in the Junior Division’s final match.

4

Vegeta Jr. Never Reveals When Exactly He Unlocked Super Saiyan

9 Years Old

Vegeta Jr. is Vegeta and Bulma great-great-grandson and 1/16th Saiyan, just like Goku Jr. Unlike Goku Jr. Vegeta Jr. only appears in Dragon Ball GT Episode 64 to fight Goku Jr. during the 64h World Martial Arts Tournament. It’s never revealed when or how Vegeta Jr. learned how to turn Super Saiyan, but he ends up figthing SSJ Goku Jr. on even footing.

Vegeta Jr. is the same age Goku Jr., being nine-years old when they fight in Dragon Ball GT’s last episode. It’s possible Vegeta Jr. unlocked Super Saiyan at an even younger age than Goku Jr., but considering they’re evenly matched in the tournament, it stands to reason they’ve both been using Super Saiyan for roughly the same amount of time.

3

Gohan Turned Super Saiyan For the First Time While Training With Goku

9 Years Old

Before the Majin Buu Saga, Gohan was the youngest Super Saiyan in Dragon Ball Z. By training with Goku in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber, Gohan finally learns how to control his anger and unlocks Super Saiyan 1. It’s also implied that Gohan unlocked Super Saiyan 2 by training with Goku, giving him the idea to have Gohan fight Perfect Cell and unleash his rage against the Android.

Gohan is nine-years old when he starts training in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber with Goku. Since he spends nine months wiht Goku in the Room of Spirit and Time, Gohan realistically ages a full year, making him ten when he participates in the Cell Games. The Dragon Ball Z anime runs with this, featuring a filler episode depicting Gohan’s birthday.

2

Future Trunks Unlocked Super Saiyan 6 Years Later Than His Main Timeline Counterpart

14 Years Old

Without Vegeta to train with him, Future Trunks struggled immensely to unlock Super Saiyan for the first time. Future Gohan mistakenly believed that Super Saiyan Goku on Namek was the peak of a Super Saiyan’s power, so he never reached the full heights of his main timeline counterpart, which ended up holding Future Trunks back.

In Dragon Ball Z: History of Trunks, Trunks turns Super Saiyan for the first time when he finds Future Gohan’s dead body. Trunks was fourteen when he first turned Super Saiyan. In the Dragon Ball manga, Future Trunks is already a Super Saiyan before Gohan dies, so there’s no telling how old he was when he first unlocked the form. Unlike his mainline counterpart, Fuutre Trunks never stops training and becomes one of the strongest Saiyans in the series.

1

Goku Was Still a Young Man When He First Turned Super Saiyan

25 Years Old

Goku was a 25-year-old young adult when he turned Super Saiyan for the first time on Namek. He’s not as young as the youngest Saiyans, but compared to Vegeta, Goku beat him to the punch. Vegeta didn’t unlock Super Saiyan until his early 30s. In the grand scheme of things, Goku is still quite young on Namek, especially compared to how old he is by the end of the series.

Goku on Namek was still a young father without lots of life experience. Goku matures considerably in the Cell and Majin Buu Sagas as he grows older and tries to pass the torch onto the next generation. Goku is hardly the youngest Super Saiyan in Dragon Ball, but he was the first in centuries.