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Dragon Ball GT has received plenty of criticism throughout the years and has been the source of mockery in the anime community. However, one aspect that most people have always celebrated is the Super Saiyan 4 transformation, which was shown recently. Fans of the transformation showcased their appreciation and why it is one of the absolute peak moments of the series, even if it's not canon.
For a long time, Super Saiyan 4 was seen as the strongest transformation in Dragon Ball, at least when it comes to the Saiyans, prior to the arrival of Super. In that regard, the combination of its design, its feats, and the fact that it felt like the culmination of the Super Saiyan's journey made it something that a lot of fans celebrate even to this very day.
Disclaimer: This article contains spoilers for the series. Any opinion expressed here belongs to the author and not Sportskeeda as a whole.
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Dragon Ball GT fans celebrate the Super Saiyan 4 transformation and its legacy in the franchise
The Super Saiyan 4 transformation is one of the most celebrated elements of the entire franchise because it feels like the absolute summit of the Saiyan race. GT did a good job by emphasizing how Saiyans needed to control their Great Ape transformation in order to reach this new form, thus feeling like a roundabout way of ascending to their greatest peak.
While this transformation has had a lot of love over the years, the arrival of Super and the several Super Saiyan God variants have led to debates about which approach has been better for the characters. While there are arguments for both, there is no denying that Super Saiyan 4 is still going strong in the fandom despite not appearing in a mainstream series since the 90s.
It is still widely regarded as one of the best transformations in the Dragon Ball franchise and has a lot of different reasons for that perception, including how it looks and the impact that it had on the series from a narrative perspective.
"Honestly in the evolution of a sayian to me the followup to ssj3 was the ssj4 transformation. The God snuff is neat and all but in terms of design ssj4 is goated," someone said.
"Ssj4 is my favorite transformation, idgaf if gt is hated. Tbh gt gets WAY too much hate alebeit some valid," another person said.
"This should've been used for Super Saiyan God. Goku could've briefly transformed into the Oozaru/Golden Great Ape during the ritual before regaining his consciousness. Then, Vegeta would've learned how to do it at will without turning into the ape, while training with Whis and Beerus. With all due respect to Akira Toriyama, I didn't like the design for God, but Super Saiyan Blue was fine," someone else said.
Another element is how Vegeta managed to reach the transformation in the final arc of Dragon Ball GT and fused with Goku into Gogeta. This is one of the most celebrated fusions of the series as well, not in small part because of the Super Saiyan 4 transformation and how it works.
"SSJ4 was like lightning in a bottle. Straight Peak. In tune with the Saiyan genes, The Ozaru, The Red Fur, the extra aggression that came with the transformation? GT didn’t just Cook with SSJ4 that s..t was hit with a Flambe," someone said.
"I always felt the Oozaru form and the super saiyan form were at odds with each other, like one was power that was inherent and evil while the other was latent and pure. SS4 overcomes the Oozaru form with the sheer power of SS and makes it a power for good, I kinda like that fact," someone else said.
Design-wise, it has been widely regarded by the fandom as one of the best-looking transformations in the series. The combination of the fur with the long, savage-looking hair is something that feels fitting with the Saiyan's animalistic nature, which is perfectly portrayed in Goku's version of this power-up.
There is also the fact that Super Saiyan 4 was a massive change in terms of design. While previous transformations, and even the ones that would appear in Super later on, wouldn't make a lot of changes beyond the hair color and its shape, Super Saiyan 4 took a step further and gave the user a completely new look.
This gave the audience the feel of something special and definitive, which was the creators' goal.
While Super Saiyan God also has its fans and everyone is entitled to their own opinion, there is no denying that Super Saiyan 4 has a lot of staying power in the Dragon Ball fandom even to this very day.
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