Most Bizarre Transformations In Dragon Ball

Dragon Ball is a series that pretty much everyone is familiar with at this point. This legendary battle shonen series took over the world by storm, opening the floodgates for anime to gain a major foothold in the West and enticing many to check out the other great stories this medium has to offer.

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The transformations in Dragon Ball are a joy to witness, but there are times when these forms can be rather tough to digest. Some of these forms are ugly, weird, or poorly justified. For what it’s worth, these transformations aren’t so bizarre that they take away from the magic of Dragon Ball; they’re just very strange.

8 Zarbon’s Monster Form

Zarbon Sacrifices His Beauty To Become Stronger Than Ever

• Known User: Zarbon
• Anime Debut: “Zarbon’s Surprise” (Episode 53 of Dragon Ball Z)

After being hunted down by Frieza’s lackeys, Vegeta finds himself in a tough spot when he seemingly has the upper hand on Zarbon, only for this good-looking anime character to reveal a transformation that makes him harder on the eyes.

Watching Zarbon turn into a monster that pulverizes Vegeta is surprising, but the Saiyan displays the power of the Zenkai boost by coming back from the brink of death and being strong enough to take out a transformed Zarbon in their rematch.

7 Potential Unleashed

Gohan Sits In Place For A Long Time And Becomes Powerful

• Known User: Son Gohan
• Anime Debut: “Unlucky Break” (Episode 262 of Dragon Ball Z)

Gohan’s transformations have been quite varied, with his Potential Unleashed form appearing after one of the most bizarre power-up sequences in the entire series. He was forced to sit still as the Old Kai seemingly messed around instead of trying to make him stronger.

It wasn’t until Gohan flexed his muscles in rage that he revealed the work of the Old Kai, slowly unlocking his potential until he could take on Super Buu in a one-sided contest. If Gohan hadn’t been cocky, then his Potential Unleashed state would’ve been enough to take out Dragon Ball Z‘s final antagonist.

6 Gohan Beast

After Avoiding His Training, Gohan Gets Angry And Becomes The Strongest Warrior In The Universe

• Known User: Son Gohan
• Anime Debut:Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero

Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero has its cool moments, but most people would have to agree that Gohan’s transformation doesn’t get the buildup it deserves. For starters, the character ignores his training once again, to the point where he can’t even detect Piccolo when he’s in disguise.

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However, when he arrives to save Pan, an escalating battle sees Gohan rising to the occasion until he sees Piccolo fall after receiving a major blow. Unable to contain his rage, Gohan unlocks a new transformation that is so powerful that it dwarfs Ultra Instinct Goku as well, which is hard to digest.

5 Orange Piccolo

Piccolo Wishes For A Way To Unlock His Latent Power From Shenron

• Known User: Piccolo
• Anime Debut: Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero

Despite the nature of the series, it’s odd that no one has asked Shenron or any of the other wish-granting dragons to give them a new form. This is technically what Piccolo does when he asks Shenron to unlock his potential, sowing the seeds for a brand-new transformation that takes everyone by surprise.

Piccolo himself is unable to believe that a wish was all it took to achieve such immense power. Orange Piccolo may be a horrible name for this unique transformation, but the bizarre nature of its introduction to Dragon Ball shouldn’t take away from how this form can finally help Piccolo stand on equal footing with the other Z Warriors.

4 Pseudo Super Saiyan

Lord Slug Is Surprised To See Goku Ascend To A New Form

• Known User: Son Goku
• Anime Debut: Dragon Ball Z: Lord Slug

Lord Slug is an interesting movie that gives viewers a glimpse at another antagonist who looks like Piccolo and uses the wish of youth to become stronger than ever. He shows off this might against Goku after beating him to a pulp and antagonizing him.

However, Goku doesn’t take his horrible words lightly, unconsciously unlocking a Pseudo Super Saiyan transformation for long enough to turn the tables. It’s a unique sight, with Goku being enveloped in the Super Saiyan aura without his hair transforming. After this brief appearance, this incomplete Super Saiyan transformation has never made an appearance since.

3 Super Saiyan Rage

Trunks’ Anger Helps Him Unlock A New Transformation To Stand On Equal Footing With Zamasu And Goku Black

• Known User: Future Trunks
• Anime Debut: “Zamasu’s Ambition the Storied ‘Project 0 Mortals’ of Terror” (Episode 61 of Dragon Ball Super)

While it’s true that Trunks needed to access a new form to be relevant in the battle against Goku Black and Zamasu, Super Saiyan Rage was an odd workaround to this problem. Somehow, this Saiyan unlocked a new level of the base transformation that helped him reach nearly the same power level as Goku and Vegeta, two Saiyans who had to unlock godly ki to unlock new Super Saiyan stages.

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Super Saiyan Rage is a cool visual, but it throws power scaling out of the window to make Future Trunks meaningful. It’s one of the many issues plaguing this arc in Dragon Ball Super that fans have complained about many times.

2 Frieza’s Third Form

Frieza Looks Like A Xenomorph In This Transformation

• Known User: Frieza
• Anime Debut: “Frieza’s Second Transformation” (Episode 82 of Dragon Ball Z)

Given how Frieza is built up as the final antagonist of the Namek Saga, it’s easy to see why this villain goes through several transformations to show off his power. Before reaching his final form, viewers are treated to a unique design that turns Frieza into an anime Xenomorph.

Frieza’s alien look makes for a weird sight, but the antagonist is compelling enough to help fans forget about the bizarre nature of this transformation. His power continues to rise in this form, making it clear that the Z Warriors are helpless without Goku.

1 Veku

A Hilarious Failed Fusion If Goku And Vegeta Mess Up The Dance

• Known Users: Goku & Vegeta
• Anime Debut: Dragon Ball Z: Fusion Reborn

The Fusion Dance is a great way for two characters to join their bodies and transform into a fused entity. However, messing up this dance can cause the fusion to fail and create a goofy warrior who has no power to speak up.

Such is the case if Goku and Vegeta fail to fuse correctly, leading to the creation of Veku. This bumbling fool is either too bulky or skinny and must wait out the Fusion timer before splitting so that the two Saiyans can try the Fusion Dance once again.

Release Date

February 26, 1986

Seasons

9

Studio

Toei Animation