Dragon Ball
The reason why Akira Toriyama created the Super Saiyan in Dragon Ball has nothing to do with the story of the series
We find out why Goku, Vegeta and other Saiyan have blond hair when they transform into Super Saiyan.
More than 30 years ago, Goku first transformed into Super Saiyan in Namek against Frieza, a moment that created a real craze in Japan and marked a before-and-after in manga, becoming part of popular culture almost instantly. It was a moment that gained a lot in the anime, as it had only been seen in black and white in the manga created by Akira Toriyama. But why did the powers that be decide that the Super Saiyan should have blond hair?
Why the Super Saiyans have blonde hair?
The answer comes from Hiroyuki Nakano, editor-in-chief of the weekly magazine Shonen Jump, who explains that it was Akira Toriyama’s idea to “lighten” the hair of the Super Saiyans. So much so, that the creator of the universe starring Goku simply wanted to make the job of drawing the manga easier by choosing not to colour the hair of Goku, Vegeta and other Super Saiyans when they transform into more powerful versions of themselves.
As fans know, when characters transform into Super Saiyan in the manga, their hair loses its color and becomes white in the vignettes. This saved Toriyama some work by not having to color the scalps of many of his regular characters, thus speeding up the delivery process to the publisher.
“For a serialization that’s published weekly, each minute and every second is precious. Even trimming only a little bit of time means more time can be spent on the story and drawing cool art,” Nakano said in an interview for Japanese TV at the time (via Kotaku).
So when Toei reached the end of the Frieza arc, it was decided that blonde hair was the best option to keep Toriyama’s idea in the manga. Recall that the first time Goku transformed into Super Saiyan was in chapter 317 of the manga, titled “Life or Death,” originally published in Japan on March 19, 1991, while Goku’s debut as Super Saiyan in the anime was in episode 95 of ‘Dragon Ball Z,’ first aired in Japan on June 19, 1991, titled “Transformed at Last.”
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