One of the most controversial transformations of Goku in the series of Dragon Ball Z was easily Super Saiyan 3, giving us a strange new form that eradicates Son’s eyebrows and gives him long flowing blond hair that runs to his feet, but one fan has imagined what this unique technique might look like under the pen of Noahiro Shintani, the animator responsible for Dragon Ball Super: Broly! In the sequel series, Super Saiyan 3 has definitely taken a back seat to the likes of Super Saiyan God, Super Saiyan Blue, and Ultra Instinct to name a few, but it’s clearly still a fan favorite.
First employed during the battle against Majin Buu in the final arc of Dragon Ball Z, we never quite knew how Goku was able to achieve Super Saiyan 3 during his training in the afterlife following his self sacrifice against Cell. Regardless, the transformation threw fans for a loop, and continues to do so, thanks in part to the strange appearance it gives to the user. The transformation has appeared sparingly in Dragon Ball Super, being replaced by the aforementioned god-like techniques, though it has made brief appearances in nearly every story arc of the sequel series.
Reddit Artist Sosaluyi shared this brand new take on Goku’s Super Saiyan 3 form, imagining what the form might look like in the art style used by Noahiro Shintani in creating the recent in continuity introduction of the Legendary Super Saiyan to the world of Dragon Ball:
Tried shintani style. Did it work!?(no reference) from r/dbz
Super Saiyan 3 granted its users an extreme power boost but came with a terrible cost in that it would eat the fighter’s stamina quickly after being employed. Keeping this in mind, it was basically a transformation that was used as a last resort or “in case of emergency, break glass” scenario. Goku accessed the transformation in Super while first fighting the God of Destruction Beerus, in fighting Future Trunks briefly during the Goku Black Arc, and using it for a mere few seconds while fighting the tag team fighters in Kale and Kefla during the Tournament of Power.
In the Moro Arc, Goku has been using the transformation in the pages of the manga from time to time, recently using it while battling the ancient wizard’s henchmen, though with his mastered control of the first stage of Ultra Instinct, we would imagine we’ll see less of the long haired Super Saiyan form in the future.
What do you think of this amazing interpretation of a new take on Super Saiyan 3? Feel free to let us know in the comments or hit me up directly on Twitter @EVComedy to talk all things comics, anime, and the world of Dragon Ball!
Tim M. Hill helped bring Digital-Overload from a weekly newsletter to a full-fledged news site by creating a new website and branding. He continues to assist in keeping the site responsive and well organized for the readers. As a writer to Digital-Overload, Tim mainly covers mobile news and gadgets.
