Dragon Ball: 8 Strongest Super Saiyan Colors, Ranked

Few anime transformations are as legendary as Dragon Ball Z‘s iconic Super Saiyan form. Ever since Goku transformed for the first time on Namek, the Saiyans have continued breaking their limits, unlocking new levels of power that bring them closer to literal Gods. While the original Super Saiyan form was defined by its beautiful golden hair, the franchise has experimented with a wild variety of colors over the years, each representing a new tier of strength and potential.

From the divine power of Super Saiyan Blue to the destructive potential of Ultra Ego, there’s no shortage of colorful SSJ forms in the Dragon Ball multiverse. Some are exclusive to the main canon, while others come from movies, alternate timelines, and video game spin-offs. Not all Super Saiyan colors are created equal, however, and some transformations are considerably more powerful than others.

8

Yellow

Forms: Super Saiyan 1, 2, 3, Grade Forms, C-Type

Yellow was the original Super Saiyan color and the longest-lasting main color scheme for a form before Super Saiyan Blue took that crown in Dragon Ball Super. Akira Toriyama originally chose Super Saiyan’s blond color so that he and his assistant wouldn’t have to spend time inking Goku’s hair every single chapter. In the original Dragon Ball manga and Dragon Ball Z, yellow/gold is the only Super Saiyan color.

Super Saiyan’s yellow color scheme is now iconic. Yellow has become something of a shorthand for transformations across mediums, most notably with Sonic the Hedgehog having his own golden Super Sonic form directly inspired by SSJ Goku. While yellow is easily the most popular Super Saiyan color, it’s also far and away the weakest of the lot.

7

Red

Forms: Super Saiyan God, Super Saiyan Kaioken, Super Saiyan 4

When you consider that Goku’s first transformation (the Kaioken) in Dragon Ball Z is red, Super Saiyan becoming red in Battle of Gods was something of a full circle moment. Visually, red is a much stronger and harsher color than yellow, conveying a great sense of strength. The franchise uses red multiple times to convey power across Dragon Ball‘s timelines.

Super Saiyan God’s red coloring marks the beginning of Goku’s godly journey in Dragon Ball Super. Super Saiyan 4 Goku’s red fur and hair signifies him returning to his primal roots in Dragon Ball DAIMA. While Super Saiyan 4 Goget’s dark red hair immediately sells him as a being far beyond any other Saiyan in the franchise. As far as Dragon Ball is concerned, red is close to godliness – but it’s hardly the peak of what a Saiyan is capable of.

6

Pink

Forms: Super Saiyan Rosé

Pink is a very royal color, carrying an air of nobility to it – making it the perfect color scheme for a character as cunning, charming, and chilling as Goku Black. A version of Zamasu who stole Goku’s body, Goku Black has access to mortal Ki, God Ki, Saiyan Ki, and Kai Ki. When activating Super Saiyan Blue, all of his different Ki types mix together, mutating the form.

Super Saiyn Blue ends up becoming Super Saiyan Rosé, a pink version of the form that has slightly more base power on account of Goku Black’s Godly nature. Rosé has an incredible amount of potential compared to Blue, as well. As seen in Super Dragon Ball Heroes, Super Saiyan Rosé can even be pushed into its own versions of SS2 and SS3.

5

Blue

Forms: Super Saiyan God Super Saiyan, Super Saiyan Blue Evolved

Introduced in Dragon Ball Z: Resurrection F, Super Saiyan God Super Saiyan was meant to be Super Saiyan’s permanent replacement. Goku and Vegeta’s signature yellow power up was going to become blue for the rest of the series. Obviously, things didn’t pan out this way, but Super Saiyan Blue went on to be the longest used transformation in the entire series, appearing sequentially in more arcs and years than any other form in the franchise.

Super Saiyan Blue is also tremendously powerful, representing the peak of a Saiyan’s power for a long time. By mixing Super Saiyan Ki and God Ki together, Super Saiyan Blue offers their user a Godly power boost that far surpasses even Super Saiyan God. While Goku peaks at Mastered Super Saiyan Blue, Vegeta is able to mutate the form into an entirely new variant: Super Saiyan Blue Evolved, a form with the Power Level of a Destroyer.

4

Black

Forms: Ultra Instinct Sign, Super Saiyan 4, Wrathful

Black isn’t often thought of as a Super Saiyan color, in large part because it’s Goku, Vegeta, and Gohan’s default states. That said, black is the main color for quite a number of powerful Super Saiyan forms. In fact, the strongest Super Saiyan form in Dragon Ball Z has black hair – Ultimate Gohan. Likewise, Goku’s strongest form in Dragon Ball GT is the black-haired Super Saiyan 4.

Black even comes back in a big way in Dragon Ball Super. Wrathful Broly has green aura, but black hair and more than enough power to rival Super Saiyan Blue Goku. Despite their ultimate versions being white, Ultra Instinct Sign and True Ultra Instinct also have black hair as their main color schemes, showing Goku going back to his martial arts basics.

3

Purple

Forms: A-Type, Super Saiyan Blue Kaioken, Ultra Ego

Purple represents a violent type of power in Dragon Ball. In Dragon Ball Z, Broly’s hair turns purple when he uses his Super Saiyan A-Type form. Restricted by the ring Paragus made him, Broly cannot access his full power as a Legendary Super Saiyan, instead defaulting to A-Type: a form that still rivals the rest of the Z-Fighters.

In Dragon Ball Super: Beerus, Goku’s Super Saiyan Blue Kaioken x20 has been redesigned to make his hair purple instead of cyan. In the Dragon Ball Super manga, Vegeta’s strongest form, Ultra Ego, is purple. Purple has been the main color scheme of the Gods of Destruction since Battle of Gods. Ultra Ego’s purple coloring is a clear way of telling the audience that Vegeta now has the power of a Destroyer within him.

2

Green

Forms: Legendary Super Saiyan

Dragon Ball Z: Broly – The Legendary Super Saiyan has an interesting color palette for the movie, using green as a means to convey the raw power of the Legendary Super Saiyan form. Obviously, Broly’s main color scheme is green during the movie’s final battle, but Super Saiyan Goku briefly turns green before he kills Broly, showing that he too has the power and potential of a Legendary Super Saiyan.

Green ends up coming back as Broly’s main color scheme in Dragon Ball Super. Toriyama’s version of Legendary Super Saiyan Broly opts for a lime-green coloring that plays off of this Broly’s softer features. As seen in Toyotarou’s artwork, Broly isn’t using his full power unless his hair is green. Given that True Legendary Super Saiyan Broly could have defeated Gogeta Blue, green is currently one of the SSJ strongest colors in Dragon Ball.

1

White

Forms: Perfected Ultra Instinct, Beast

As of Dragon Ball Super Chapter 103, white is the single most powerful color a Super Saiyan can attain. It’s debatable whether or not Goku’s version of Perfected Ultra Instinct and Gohan Beast are actual Saiyan forms, but they’re functionally just another tier of SSJ on a narrative and power level. It’s hard to imagine Dragon Ball finding a color that can surpass white at this point.

White in Dragon Ball is angelic in nature. This is especially true for Ultra Instinct, which adopts its white coloring from the design of the Angels and Grand Priest. While not angelic, Gohan Beast uses white as a shorthand, so the audience immediately recognizes he’s on par with – if not stronger than – Perfected Ultra Instinct Goku.

TV Show(s)

Dragon Ball, Dragon Ball Z, Dragon Ball GT, Dragon Ball Super, Dragon Ball DAIMA

First TV Show

Dragon Ball

Created by

Akira Toriyama

Latest TV Show

Dragon Ball DAIMA

Upcoming TV Shows

Dragon Ball DAIMA

First Episode Air Date

February 26, 1986