Saiyan 240077 226152961 2008-07-17T01:41:44Z Gamer93 6059312 [[Image:Saiyan Characters.jpg|180 px|thumb|Saiyan characters illustrated by Akira Toriyama. From left to right: [[Nappa (Dragon Ball)|Nappa]], [[Goku]], [[Vegeta]] and [[Raditz]].]] The {{nihongo|'''Saiyans'''|サイヤ人|Saiyajin}} are the primary fictional humanoid [[Fictional extraterrestrials|extraterrestrial race]] in the [[manga]] series ''[[Dragon Ball (manga)|Dragon Ball]]'' by [[Akira Toriyama]]. In the series, the Saiyans are a naturally aggressive warrior race who were, purportedly, the strongest warriors in the fictional universe. The main protagonist Goku (also called Kakarot) is revealed to be a Saiyan upon the race's introduction. Most of the race was exterminated by a galactic overlord named Frieza after Goku was born. In addition to the name ''Saiya'' being an anagram of the Japanese word ''yasai'' (''lit.'' "vegetable"),<ref>[http://www.freedict.com/onldict/onldict.php Online English to Japanese Dictionary]</ref> full-blooded Saiyan characters in the series are also given names based on vegetable puns. ==History== The history of the Saiyan race prior to their service to [[Frieza]] is not covered by the original manga. It is, however, a central theme of the [[Baby Saga]] in ''[[Dragon Ball GT]]''. [[Image:Saiyan attack.jpg|150 px|left|thumb|A Saiyan warrior attacking the inhabitants of an alien planet]] In the Anime however, it is shown that the Saiyans originally shared their planet with the [[Tsufuru]] (Tuffles) a race much like the humans (we later find out more about the Tsufuru in the Baby Saga of Dragon Ball GT). The Saiyans are shown to have lived out in the wastelands, in a primitive fashion while the Tsufuru lived in large cities. [[King Kai]] explains to Goku that one day the Saiyans attacked the Tsufuru and waged a long war. The battles finally came to an end when a full moon appeared in the sky (King Kai explains that full moons only appear every 8 years on the planet). The Saiyans transformed into giant ape-like creatures and completely crushed the Tsufuru in a matter of hours. They then renamed the planet and moved their civilization into the cities. King Kai describes them first working for a race of strange, hooded aliens he calls "Arconians". The Arconians hired them as planet brokers to help them gain control of a new home world. The Arconians supplied the Saiyans with amazing technology and large sums of money. Originally, King Kai explains that much later on, planet Vegeta was destroyed by a large meteor that the planet's guardian drew in, however this would later be found to be false.<ref>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Csph2qK1TM4</ref><!-- All of the history stated is from the FUnimation english dub --> Through unexplained circumstances, the Saiyans joined a new partnership with Frieza, a powerful galactic dictator whose dominion stretched over seventy-nine or more planets. The Saiyans were used by Frieza to exterminate the populations of other planets, preparing them for sale.<ref>Vegeta visited Planet Freeza #79 briefly after his defeat on Earth (''Dragon Ball Z'' manga, volume 5, chapter 52). At the time, Frieza himself was using that planet as a base, but was absent while making his way to [[Namek]]. Not all Frieza-dominated worlds, such as Planet Vegeta, were numbered.</ref> Although both Raditz and King Kai states that the Saiyan home was destroyed by a meteorite collision,<ref>''Dragon Ball Z'' manga, volume 1, chapter 2</ref> Dodoria reveals to Vegeta, when trying to bargain for his life, that Frieza destroyed the planet out of fear of the [[Super Saiyan]] legend. Only four Saiyans were known to escape the destruction of Planet Vegeta: Goku, his older brother Raditz, Vegeta, the Saiyan prince, and his right hand man Nappa. Fourtunetly for them they were all off the planet at the time, thus evading death. In [[Toei Doga|Toei Doga's]] [[list of Dragon Ball films|''Dragon Ball Z'' films]], three more survivors are revealed, exclusive to the animated universe: The Legendary Super Saiyan [[Broly]], his father [[list of Saiyans in Dragon Ball#Paragus|Paragus]] and a middle-class Saiyan, [[Turles]]. ===Home Planet=== Not much is said about the Saiyans home world in the series, it is only shown in various flashbacks. All that is known is that the planet was originally called "Planet Plant", but when the Saiyans killed off the Tuffles they renamed it "Planet Vegeta" after the Saiyan King. It has also been stated that the gravity on the planet is nearly ten times that of Earth, thus another reason why the Saiyans are so much stronger then most other races. Planet Vegeta was eventually blown up by Frieza when he began to fear the Saiyans ever growing power. ==Appearance== With the exception of their [[monkey]]-like tails, Saiyans have an outward appearance identical to [[Human (Dragon Ball)|humans]] but with a much larger muscular build. Akira Toriyama, in helping to design characters for the [[A Lonesome, Final Battle: The Father of Z-Warrior Kakarrot, who Challenged Freeza|first television special]], noted that originally he conceived Saiyans to have only black hair.<ref>''Dragon Ball Daizenshuu'' book 6, ''Movies and TV Specials''</ref> A Saiyan's hair never changes length or style once it has fully grown,<ref>''Dragon Ball Z'' manga vol. 16, chapter 181</ref> (which would make if more like [[fur]] than hair) although this is not the case with hybrid Saiyans like [[Gohan]], [[Future Trunks]], [[Goten]], [[Trunks (Dragon Ball)|Trunks]], and [[Pan]]. When questioned by Bulma following the ten year time gap at the end of Dragon Ball Z as to why their appearance hadn't changed at all, Vegeta responds that Saiyans maintain their physical prime for a far longer period than that compared to humans.<ref>''Dragon Ball Z'' manga, volume 26, chapter 324</ref> ===Abilities=== Saiyans have a wide array of special abilities. Incredible natural strength, use of [[chi]] energy, super speed, amazing reflexes, extremely sensitive sense of smell, great hearing, incredible vision, and are naturally born to fight and destroy. Goku has demonstrated all of these traits throughout Dragon Ball, Dragon Ball Z, and Dragon Ball GT. Their most visually impressive trait of course is the ability to transform into an [[Oozaru]], a giant ape like creature with tremendous power, somewhere around 10 times that of a Saiyan's normal state. This form however, has a number of draw backs, namely the loss of rational thought, although with enough practice, a Saiyan can keep his or her mind intact. This is a trait not usually seen outside the elite Saiyan warriors. Secondly, this form is only accessible in the presence of a full moon, or some other "Blutz" wave emitter. The largest drawback of this form is that it can be reversed by removing the Oozaru's tail, which is usually easy since most Saiyans are reduced to rampaging mindless monsters once they take this form. The pinnacle of Saiyan power however is without a doubt the Super Saiyan transformation, and its subsequent levels, which all grant increasingly enormous power to the Saiyan who achieved the ability to transform. See [[Super Saiyan]] for further information. ===Fighting=== Fighting is a huge part in the Saiyan race. Every Saiyan has the blood in him of a warrior, and they know how to use it. Most Saiyans will spend most of their life training to become stronger so that they can prove themselves in battle. When Frieza hired the Saiyans as his planet brokers, he knew of their amazing fighting skills and used that to his advantage. However, Frieza began to notice how powerful the Saiyans were becoming and began to fear how powerful they might become one day, which is why he destroyed Planet Vegeta and all the Saiyans on it. Saiyans like Goku and Vegeta are constantly seen training and improving their fighting skills to keep up with each other's skills and the appearance of new, more powerful foes. ===Super Strength=== Saiyans are incredibly strong, even at young ages. They can easily lift things that are thousands of pounds. Their strength is explained by the gravity on their planet, ten times the Earth's normal gravity, thus granting them correspondingly greater strength in normal Earth gravity and similar environments. Their power also increases by fighting longer. ===Super Speed=== Without any form of training, a Saiyan can outrun a normal human or even a car without much trouble. They also have much faster reflexes than an average human; reflexes so fast that they can avoid a bullet or energy beam with out much problem. ===Chi usage=== Saiyans have developed their chi usage to the point they are naturally more adept at manipulating it than most races, including humans. They can fly, and use different types of energy blasts, waves, and bombs. They can increase their chi by fighting longer or by training intensively. ===Tails=== The Saiyans tail is required for transformation into their giant ape form, Oozaru. Typically, a Saiyan's tail is the most sensitive of their body parts. By grabbing a weaker Saiyan's tail, one can render a Saiyan powerless and paralyze them for long periods of time. For example, Raditz, Goku's brother, began begging for his life when Goku grabbed his tail. However, a Saiyan can train his tail so it won't hurt if it is pulled or squeezed. Goku, for example, was eventually able to train his tail before it was removed for good. The Saiyan Nappa also wasn't affected when Piccolo grabbed his tail. ===Recovery=== Just like humans, after working out and training our muscles, we gain strength and energy. The same goes for Saiyans, just at a much more accelerated rate. During training excersizes a Saiyans physical strength and energy increases. This is even more so if a Saiyan recieves a physical wound. When the wound heals, the Saiyan gets a power increase. This form of recovery is what appears to be a dominate Saiyan gene as even Saiyan hybrids have this ability. It is one thing that makes Saiyans so dangerous, their power never stops increasing. The more they fight, the stronger they become. ==References== {{reflist}} [[Category:Dragon Ball races]] [[Category:Anime and manga martial artists]] [[Category:Endangered and extinct fictional species]] [[Category:Fictional warrior races]] [[Category:Fictional mercenaries]] [[es:Saiyajin]] [[eu:Saiya]] [[fr:Saiyan]] [[it:Saiyan]] [[lt:Sajanas (anime)]] [[nl:Saiyan]] [[ja:サイヤ人]] [[no:Saiyaner]] [[pl:Saiyan]] [[pt:Saiyajin]] [[fi:Saiyalaiset]] [[zh:賽亞人]]