The most useless of Goku‘s transformations, the infamous Super Saiyan 3, gets a new official version from Dragon Ball Super artist Toyotaro. While waiting for the release of the first chapter of the new Dragon Ball Super arc, the mangaka gifted his fans a beautiful new illustration of Goku in his Super Saiyan 3 form.
Among the many transformations and power-ups that appeared throughout the Dragon Ball franchise, the most disappointing one must be Super Saiyan 3. Originally, this should have been the apex form in the entire original Dragon Ball Z run. Goku shows it during the Majin Buu saga, after obtaining it through intense training in the afterlife. However, Super Saiyan 3 quickly shows its limits: while very powerful, it drains a lot of stamina and energy from the user, and it has a very short duration. Twice, Goku runs out of juice while using Super Saiyan 3, and the same happens to Gotenks, meaning that this powerful form never actually won a fight.
In Dragon Ball Super, Super Saiyan 3 makes a very quick appearance in the beginning, when Goku uses it to attack the God of Destruction Beerus, who brushes him off without effort. This was the catalyst for the series focusing on God Ki and its related transformations, including Super Saiyan God, Super Saiyan Blue, Ultra Instinct, and Ultra Ego. Despite that, Toyotaro decided to draw Super Saiyan 3 Goku once again, and this illustration appears in the Dragon Ball Super “Interval Special” in the January 2023 issue of V-Jump (published in November 2022), shared on Twitter by @DbsHype1. This special, which accompanies the announcement of a new Dragon Ball Super arc beginning in December, includes two pages dedicated to the various transformations that appear in the series, including of course Super Saiyan 3.
Super Saiyan 3 Still Looks Great Thanks To Toyotaro
Despite its lack of success in the series, Super Saiyan 3 has a unique, cool look that Toyotaro perfectly rendered in this new illustration. The long hair and different facial features make Super Saiyan 3 really stand out from other transformations, a feat achieved perhaps only by Vegeta’s Ultra Ego form. However, it is very unlikely that SS3 will appear again in Dragon Ball Super. The series is slowly but surely retiring Super Saiyan as a concept. The idea that the various Super Saiyan power-ups were flawed because they consumed too much energy was already present in Dragon Ball Z, and Super further expanded on this concept, showing Goku and Vegeta striving to obtain new techniques that don’t put that much strain on their bodies.
Despite the fact Super Saiyan 3 never actually won a fight, this transformation remains important for longtime Dragon Ball fans, who still see it as Goku’s crowning achievement in the original series. Dragon Ball Super now focuses on the God Ki forms, but this new Super Saiyan 3 Goku illustration proves that Toyotaro is still the number one fan of the original series, and it’s a great treat for its fans.
