Top 10 Most Powerful Transformations in Dragon Ball Z Movies

Dragon Ball Z’s first 13 movies are non-canon, but they do their best to make the most out of anime’s broader narrative. This gives the films a certain level of freedom, whether that applies to the movies’ villains or the incredible power-ups that the heroes use to save the day.

Dragon Ball Z’s fluid continuity in the movies means that characters can trigger transformations that are never seen again and don’t show up elsewhere in the anime or manga. Many of these transformations inevitably slip through the cracks and become niche footnotes in the Dragon Ball franchise, yet there are still some that pack an incredibly powerful punch.

10

Super Garlic Jr. Turns A Tiny Demon Into An Utter Monster

Dragon Ball Z: Dead Zone

Garlic Jr. is the main antagonist in Dragon Ball Z: Dead Zone, which is set slightly before the events of Dragon Ball Z’s first episode. Garlic Jr. is a Demon who harbors a heavy grudge towards Kami due to the Guardian’s role in sealing away his father, Garlic. This is a compelling premise for a feature film, especially since Kami’s role in DBZ is otherwise minimal. Garlic Jr. doesn’t look particularly intimidating and his tiny design brings Emperor Pilaf to mind.

Garlic Jr. becomes a much greater nuisance once he uses the Dragon Balls to successfully acquire immortality. During the height of conflict, Garlic Jr. triggers a powerful transformation – Super Garlic Jr. – that leaves him looking more like Broly than Pilaf. Super Garlic Jr. is incredibly muscular and proves to be a big enough threat to challenge both Goku and Piccolo, although they eventually gain the upper hand against him. Super Garlic Jr. does technically appear in the Garlic Jr. Saga where Garlic Jr. returns, but it makes its debut in Dead Zone.

9

Fruit Of The Tree Of Might Boosted Turles Elevates The Saiyan To Horrifying Heights

Dragon Ball Z: The Tree Of Might

The Tree of Might effectively combines suspenseful action with an environmentally conscious message that puts the Earth in peril. Turles is a vengeful Saiyan who looks suspiciously similar to Goku and invades the Earth with his powerful Turles Crusher Corps. Their goal is to use the Earth as a fuel source for the Tree of Might – a parasitic plant that drains an entire planet’s energy and channels it into a singular fruit. Turles pulls off this scheme and manages to eat the Tree of Might’s fruit, which gives him a substantial power boost.

Turles’ transformation isn’t particularly radical, but his muscles bulk up and he benefits from increased strength and speed. Kaio-Ken x10 Goku is useless against Fruit of the Tree of Might Boosted Turles and he’s even able to casually deflect Goku’s Spirit Bomb attack with his own Calamity Blaster. The heroes eventually prevail once Goku prepares a stronger Spirit Bomb that pulls energy from the Tree of Might, which takes out the tree and Turles with it. The Tree of Might’ fruit has appeared in many Dragon Ball video games as a helpful way for characters to reach new heights.

8

Pseudo Super Saiyan Goku Is His First Taste Of SSJ

Dragon Ball Z: Lord Slug

Dragon Ball Z: Lord Slug isn’t a particularly popular movie, but it deserves credit for exploring some creative ideas, such as a technically introducing Goku’s first experience with Super Saiyan. Many Dragon Ball fans criticize Lord Slug’s Pseudo Super Saiyan transformation as being a pale imitation of the real thing. That being said, Pseudo Super Saiyan actually premiered before Dragon Ball Z’s manga or anime properly introduced the actual Super Saiyan transformation.

The reality of this odd outlier of a transformation is that Toei just didn’t know what the actual Super Saiyan transformation was going to look like, so they developed this original form that looks like a hybrid between the Kaio-Ken and Super Saiyan transformation. Goku unlocks this power as he’s on the brink of death against Lord Slug. This heightened Saiyan power gives him the strength to defend against Lord Slug’s powerful attacks and land some successful blows of his own. Pseudo Super Saiyan is treated like a temporary lifesaver instead of a steady transformation that the user maintains for full battles.

7

Goku Pushes His Body To The Extreme With Kaio-Ken x100

Dragon Ball Z: Lord Slug

The Kaio-Ken is one of Goku’s most useful techniques before he essentially replaces it with Super Saiyan. The Kaio-Ken places incredible strain on the user’s body and Goku has to be careful that he doesn’t push it too far, otherwise he might not survive the experience. Goku’s Kaio-Ken x4 gambit against Vegeta is risky and he proceeds to push himself even further when he multiplies it by 20 during his fight against Frieza. Dragon Ball Z: Lord Slug goes above and beyond when Goku utilizes Kaio-Ken x100 to finish off Lord Slug, once and for all. Considering the degree of strain that Kaio-Ken x20 puts on Goku, a x100 attack really shouldn’t work.

Lord Slug overlooks this and just enjoys the spectacle. Curiously, Goku’s Pseudo Super Saiyan transformation isn’t what he uses to defeat Lord Slug and is more a stopgap to give Goku a second wind. Piccolo donates energy to Goku, which he then uses to trigger his Kaio-Ken x1000 finisher. Goku tears through Lord Slug’s torso – in a visual that’s highly reminiscent of his defeat over Demon King Piccolo – and Lord Slug’s body smashes into his terraforming spaceship. Lord Slug also shows that Goku is fine after he triggers such a strenuous maneuver and he’s not left as a weakened mess, like he’s been with previous Kaio-Ken battles.

6

Cooler’s Final Form Makes Final Form Frieza Look Like A Joke

Dragon Ball Z: Cooler’s Revenge

Frieza is one of Dragon Ball’s most infamous foes and has found numerous ways to return to power. Dragon Ball Z’s fifth and sixth movies revolve around Frieza’s older and stronger brother, Cooler, who is determined to finish what his sibling couldn’t. Curiously, Cooler doesn’t harbor any resentment towards Goku for killing his brother, but rather the fact that he wasn’t able to personally take out Frieza himself. Cooler leaves a lasting impression and it’s easy to see why he’s the first movie villain to receive a sequel.

Cooler proves his superiority when he triggers a fourth transformation and enters his fifth and final form – which goes one step beyond Frieza’s final form. Cooler’s fifth form has a striking, intimidating design, but it’s also genuinely powerful and holds its own against Super Saiyan Goku. The Return of Cooler brings Cooler back as a stronger cyborg – Meta-Cooler – but it’s not technically a new transformation. That being said, non-canon Dragon Ball stories have featured Golden versions of both Cooler’s fifth form and Meta-Cooler.

5

Super Android 13 Is An Overloaded Upgrade Of Three Sinister Cyborgs

Dragon Ball Z: Super Android 13!

Super Android 13! cleverly expands upon the Cell arc’s foundation and reveals that Dr. Gero actually created three more Androids – Androids 13, 14, and 15 – who Dr. Gero posthumously activates with his dormant supercomputer. The Android trio have a clear directive to take out Goku for his sins against the Red Ribbon Army. Goku, Vegeta, and Future Trunks easily handle their Android assailants, only for 13 to experience a powerful metamorphosis when he absorbs the microchips of his fallen Android peers.

Super Android 13 has an outrageous design that turns the human-looking enemy into more of an alien monster with blue skin and orange hair. The three Super Saiyans, as well as Piccolo, are completely useless against Super Android 13’s superior strength. The heroes finally gain a breakthrough when Goku combines Super Saiyan with his Spirit Bomb, triggering an unexpectedly powerful reaction.

4

Spirit Bomb Super Saiyan Goku Is A Volatile Transformation With Destructive Results

Dragon Ball Z: Super Android 13!

Dragon Ball Z: Super Android 13! sees Goku totally out of his element against the titular villain and even turning Super Saiyan isn’t enough. Goku begins to conjure energy for a Spirit Bomb, but he turns into a Super Saiyan during this process in order to give himself an energy boost. A Spirit Bomb is supposed to be pure-hearted, so the influx of a Super Saiyan’s rage and animosity causes a radical chain reaction.

Rather than firing off the Spirit Bomb as a projectile, like usual, Super Saiyan Goku absorbs the Spirit Bomb’s energy and achieves a transcendent state, Spirit Bomb Super Saiyan. Goku seems to lose consciousness during this transformation and enters a fugue state while he eviscerates Super Android 13. Spirit Bomb Super Saiyan Goku’s aura is so extreme that it causes Super Android 13’s fist to disintegrate when he makes contact with it. It’s a volatile form that strangely feels like a precursor to Ultra Instinct in many respects.

3

Legendary Super Saiyan Broly Puts Every Other Saiyan To Shame

Dragon Ball Z: Broly – The Legendary Super Saiyan

Broly is now a proper member of Dragon Ball Super‘s main cast, but he’s introduced as a blunt tool of destruction back in Dragon Ball Z: Broly – The Legendary Super Saiyan. Movie 8 does an effective job displaying Broly’s painful life and that he’s the living embodiment of rage & anger. All of Dragon Ball Z’s Saiyans have reached Super Saiyan status at this point, but Legendary Super Saiyan Broly is a cut above the rest.

The collective efforts of Super Saiyan Goku, Vegeta, Gohan, and Future Trunks, not to mention Piccolo, can’t conquer this powerful threat. It effectively highlights just how much power a Legendary Super Saiyan possesses. Goku’s success over Broly feels a little convenient, even if it’s a touching display of heroism. All the heroes donate their energy to Goku, who channels the power into a single punch – his Miracle Blow – that finally ends Broly’s reign of terror.

2

Hirudegarn (Perfect Form) Is A Weapon Of Pure Destruction

Dragon Ball Z: Wrath Of The Dragon

Wrath of the Dragon was Dragon Ball Z’s 13th and final film before Battle of Gods and Resurrection ‘F’ usher in Dragon Ball Super. Hirudegarn is a Phantom Majin God whose express purpose is to destroy everything in the universe that isn’t a Kashvar. Hirudegarn storms through Satan City and causes wide-scale destruction, even when he’s in his incomplete forms. Super Saiyan 3 Gotenks is strong enough to give Hirudegarn pause, so he retreats into a cocoon and emerges in his perfected state.

Hirudegarn (Perfect Form) is more insectile in nature and benefits from a tricky composition that causes most attacks to phase right through him. Gotenks, Vegeta, and Gohan are helpless against Hirudegarn and Goku only manages to secure a win with the help of his surprising Dragon Fist. Super Saiyan 3 Goku literally manifests into a Shenron-like dragon that bursts through Hirudegarn and constricts him into oblivion.

1

Super Janemba Takes Gogeta’s Full Power To Finally Be Defeated

Dragon Ball Z: Fusion Reborn

Dragon Ball has introduced its share of intimidating Demons, but Janemba is particularly vicious since he’s the culmination of countless uncleansed souls bonding together into one ultimate evil mass. Janemba’s first form is a giant, rotund Demon who shares more than a little in common with Majin Buu’s first form. Janemba can create tiny clones of himself and shift through reality to launch surprise attacks on his opponents.

Super Saiyan 3 Goku, Vegeta, and Pikkon effectively push Janemba out of his comfort zone, which prompts his frightening transformation into Super Janemba. Super Janemba has one of the slickest designs for any Dragon Ball Z villain and is significantly scarier than his previous form. Super Janemba, while stronger, possesses the same abilities to phase in and out of reality. Super Janemba’s power is so impressive that it prompts Goku and Vegeta’s Metamoran fusion dance union, Gogeta. Super Saiyan Gogeta finally vanquishes Janemba with little effort, but it wouldn’t have been possible without him.