Saiyan

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The Saiyans, or Saiya-jin (サイヤ人) are a fictional race in the Japanese anime and manga Dragon Ball and its sequels. (Dragon Ball Z and Dragon Ball GT) The name is an anagram of yasai(野菜), which is Japanese for vegetable, followed by jin(人 or じん) which is Japansese for person. In the series, they are from Planet Vegeta which they immigrated to and conquered after obliterating the natural residents the Tuffles.

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Biology and appearance

Saiyans are outwardly very similar to humans, except for their increased strength and their monkey-like tails. They are also very arrogant and tend to let enemies get advantages for fun. The initial inspiration for the race came from the character of the Monkey King in the Chinese folk-novel Journey to the West. Unlike the Monkey King however, Saiyans also have the werewolf-like ability to transform into a giant ape (called an oozaru) under rays from a full moon or other planetary body (thus, they may be considered "megapithicanthropes" in the same way that werewolves are lycanthropes). (Note that in the videogame Journey to the West for the Playstation system Son Goku does indeed have the ability to transform into a 'wereform' which resembles a giant monkey. However he does this at will for a limited time without use of the moon.) In this state, some Saiyans have limited control, but their aggressiveness is at its peak. This ability is lost if the Saiyan somehow loses his/her tail. The color of a Saiyan's tail appears to darken as the Saiyan ages. The only physical ways to tell the difference between a tail-less Saiyan and a human would be a scar that is left where the tail once was, and that a Saiyan's hair never changes length or style.

If a Saiyan survives a near-death experience, each time they recover they will become considerably stronger than before. It's speculated that once a Saiyan becomes a Super Saiyan, getting Zenkai boosts is less common. This ability of recovery, along with the legend of the Super Saiyan, was what prompted the planet-conquering warlord Emperor Freeza to destroy their planet and entire race, despite the fact that the Saiyans were subservient to him. Freeza feared his eventual overthrowing. Ironically, Freeza missed Goku's pod, having been launched for Earth shortly before Planet Vegeta's destruction. Goku went on to become the Super Saiyan that Freeza so feared.

Humans and Saiyans are able to interbreed, resulting in the offspring becoming more powerful than humans and maybe even full blooded Saiyans. However, because many Saiyans are extremely proud, this is not necessarily a welcome discovery. Half-Saiyans appear to be nearly identical to full Saiyans, except for some recessive genes (possession of a tail, for example, is not always passed down to children). It also seems that it is easier for half-breeds to achieve Super Saiyan levels, especially as Saiyan blood decreases. It is unknown how the strength of Half-Saiyans compares to full breeds, but they are gifted with the ability to achieve the earliest two Super Saiyan forms at young ages and without as much training. This also impairs them as well, as they can only transcend the third form by fusing with another individual of Saiyan blood. Whether or not they can transcend to the fourth form(which is not considered canon by some fans) is a mystery. Another trait that hinders half-breeds is that they do not have a heart for fighting; they seem to lose the true battle-lust of the Saiyan with age. They do not enjoy fighting like the full blooded Saiyans do, and this leads them to be careless and unenthusiastic in regard to their training.

Saiyans and Saiyan-Human Hybrids also have substantially longer life spans than humans. They also have reduced aging comparatively throughout their lives. ChiChi complained of this in DragonBall GT when Goku was reduced to a child thus making the fact that she was getting older faster that much more apparent. Vegeta explains in the final chapter of Dragon Ball Z that Saiyans stay younger longer so they can fight even more. This is seen when Nappa who was Vegeta's attendant when he was a child is in his prime still long after Vegeta has become an adult but in actuality Nappa is 50 years old. This is again demonstrated in the GT finale when Pan is seen one hundred years later still strong but with grey hair despite being only a quarter Saiyan.

Note that throughout Dragon Ball, there was only one Saiyan character (Son Goku), but he was never identified as being anything more than an odd human. However, in Dragon Ball Z, the question of his race takes center stage and many other Saiyan characters are introduced. Pure-blooded Saiyan hair doesn't grow. That's why Goku and Vegeta's hairstyle hasn't changed since they were kids. But as seen in GT which is considered non-canon by many fans, Vegeta's hair has seemed to have changed style and is shorter.

Also, note that Saiyan children can carry strong resemblances to one of his/her parents. This can be seen in the following examples:

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History

In the manga, the distant history of the Saiyans is not described. In the anime series however, it is described that there were two separate races on Planet Vegeta: the Saiyans, a barbaric and backwards people, and the Tuffles (Tsufuru-jin), an advanced race. The Tuffles and the Saiyans fought a civil war, but the Saiyans were ultimately victorious thanks to their ability to turn into their Oozaru forms at the full moon. The Saiyans then rename the planet, calling it Planet Vegeta. Over the years they also learn how to use the Tuffles' advanced equipment and become somewhat smarter and less barbaric although they still lust for destruction and fighting.

Later, the planet was conquered or annexed by Freeza's empire and the Saiyans (like many other races) were drafted to serve in its military. Because of the Saiyans' innate strength and penchant for violence, they were useful warrior mercenaries and assisted in the conquering of many planets, or if assignment called for, eradication of the population. (Even Saiyan children were considered powerful enough to conquer some of the weaker planets, such as Earth.) Eventually, Freeza grew concerned with the potential of the Saiyan race and thought that they'd possibly overthrow him so he destroyed their planet, along with nearly their entire population. Canonically only four Saiyans survived, Goku, Vegeta, Nappa and Raditz, however in the movies another three survived -- Broly, Paragus and Tullece.

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Language

There exists evidence (albeit vague) in the series that the Saiyans had their own language(s). Avid Dragonball/DBZ fan known as "SaiyaMel" throughout the internet, has in recent years taken matters into her own hands to construct and elaborate an entire Conlang for this race: with its own vocabulary/phonology, usage, grammar/syntax and written orthography, as well as touching upon details in regards to the origins, history, culture and home planet of the species - all based on what little is provided in the manga. Currently the whole project is in progress and will eventually be publicized.

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Character lists

In addition to the name "saiyan" being an anagram of the Japanese word for vegetable, most pure Saiyan characters in the series also have names with vegetables puns-- either in English or Japanese. Furthermore, the Saiyan Royals are keeping in line with this, simply named Vegeta(ble).

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List of full Saiyans

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List of full Saiyans (non-canonical)

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List of partial Saiyans

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List of partial Saiyans (non-canonical)

  • Goku Junior - 1/16
  • Vegeta Junior - 1/16
    • Note: It is not known how much saiyan blood he has in him. It could be assumed that he is 1/16 saiyan since Trunks and Bulla would be too old to be his grandparents since they would be over a hundred.
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List of Saiyan fusions

es:Saiyajin fr:Saiyan it:Sayan nl:Saiyan ja:サイヤ人 pl:Saiyan pt:Saiyajin zh:賽亞人

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