In the anime of Dragon Ball Z, there are only two characters who use the Super Saiyan 3. Son Goku and Gotenks receive a power boost and a long, blonde mane during the transformation. However, Vegeta, the proud prince of the Saiyans, never achieves SSJ3 in the anime. The mangaka Akira Toriyama explained in an interview why this is the case.
Why has Vegeta never achieved SSJ3? Son Goku has already explained that the Super Saiyan 3 costs too much energy and should only be used in worlds where time stands still. In the worst case, the fighter could become exhausted and have a disadvantage in longer battles.
That’s why hardly any Saiyan uses SSJ3 in battle on Earth. It would exhaust the fighters before they could defeat their opponent.
But there is another reason, which goes beyond the manga and is more of an economic nature. The production team of the anime, Toei Animation, had asked Toriyama not to use the Super Saiyan 3 a third time (via Jeux Video).
Drawing the voluminous hairstyle would take too much time and money. Toriyama’s time was also limited due to the tough deadlines of his manga, which is why he even omitted detailing the blonde Super Saiyan hairstyle. The lack of time and money meant that Vegeta was never able to reach SSJ3 in the anime.
The Dragon Ball anime continues with Dragon Ball Daima:
Vegeta skipped Super Saiyan 3
Could Vegeta theoretically use SSJ3? In the anime itself, Vegeta only used SSJ2, which is the precursor to SSJ3. Whether he would have been able to utilize that form was never clarified in the manga.
Perhaps Vegeta already knew that the Super Saiyan 3 costs too much energy and therefore decided never to use it. Alternatively, it could be that Vegeta simply wasn’t strong enough to use it at that time.
In Dragon Ball Super, Vegeta would definitely be able to use SSJ3. There, he can transform into far more energy-efficient forms like Super Saiyan Blue. This form costs less Ki than SSJ3, which is why Vegeta tends to favor Super Saiyan Blue over Super Saiyan 3 in Dragon Ball Super.
What is Super Saiyan 3? This transformation is the first level where the appearance of the Saiyan drastically changes:
- At this level, the Saiyans gain a massive, blonde mane on their heads. In return, they lose their eyebrows.
- In contrast, the eyebrow region lifts slightly, and the gaze becomes darker than usual. This distinguishes the final design from its original design.
- SSJ3 can only be achieved by those who have previously reached SSJ and SSJ2. They must also undergo years of training.
SSJ3 was rarely seen, even rarer was the Saiyan power to appear. Besides Son Goku, there were only Gotenks, the fusion of Son Goten and Trunks, who have used this form. Son Goku himself explains in manga chapter 476 the reason for its rare use.
Son Goku’s son has now reached an even stronger form. In the manga, he reveals the secret behind his Beast Mode: Dragon Ball: Son Gohan reveals the secret behind his strongest form, matching himself directly against Son Goku
