No Dragon Ball fan manga has replicated Goku's rage moment well, and it's because they're all missing the point

Modified May 31, 2024 01:46 GMT

Dragon Ball and the nature of Goku's most iconic moment (Image via Toei Animation)

Dragon Ball has several iconic moments but very few can compare to the first time when Goku became a Super Saiyan. It was the climax of the Namek saga which further cemented the series as the main cornerstone of the battle shonen genre. It popularized the concept of the power-up and the buildup to a final confrontation, such as what happened with Goku and Frieza.

However, a lot of Dragon Ball fan manga(s) want to capture the epic and cathartic moment of Goku's rage when he transformed into a Super Saiyan, but they often fail to execute it. That is because many people usually want to focus on just getting Goku angry while not thinking about the context as Frieza cornered him in a way that no other villain had managed to do until that moment in the series.

Disclaimer: This article contains spoilers for the series. Any opinion expressed here belongs to the author and not Sportskeeda as a whole.

Explaining why Goku's iconic rage moment in Dragon Ball in the Namek saga worked so well

Goku as a Super Saiyan in the anime (Image via Toei Animation)

There were several reasons why Goku lost control against Frieza and turned into a Super Saiyan and one of the most important was the death of Krillin. He was not only his best friend but someone who was very significant throughout the arc, who risked his life multiple times and couldn't be brought back because he already died at the hands of the Demon King Piccolo, which Goku knew.

Furthermore, Frieza was the biggest ordeal that Goku ever faced in the series until that point and the villainous emperor had killed so many people. Some of Frieza's casualties included Dende, Vegeta, and Krillin. Meanwhile, Piccolo was close to dying as well, and Goku was incapable of stopping Frieza no matter what he tried.

There was also a fact that Frieza began to take down each member of the remaining Z Fighters one by one. He shot down Piccolo, killed Krillin, and was about to aim for Gohan. This further pushed Goku over the edge at a time when he felt they had won with the Genkidama and it turned out even that was not enough to defeat Frieza.

The legacy of the Super Saiyan

The semi-Super Saiyan transformation in the series (Image via Toei Animation)

There is no denying that the Super Saiyan transformation is the most iconic power-up not only in Dragon Ball but battle shonen as a whole. It redefined what a character could reach in terms of power and went on to become one of the most iconic elements in the entire franchise, to the point that people who have never seen or read the series know what a Super Saiyan is.

It was also extremely influential, setting the stage for several major transformations across the battle shonen genre and making this franchise even more popular. Goku's transformation against Frieza became a watershed moment for the series and also allowed it to reach a creative peak that the story has rarely reached ever since.

Final thoughts

No Dragon Ball fan manga has managed to capture Goku's rage moment when he turned into a Super Saiyan for the first time. It is because of a lack of understanding of the context and emotional tension. It is something that a lot of people tend to forget, only focusing on Goku getting angry instead.

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Edited by DEEPALI