Saiyan

are an endangered race of extraterrestrials in the anime and manga Dragon Ball and its sequels, Dragon Ball Z and Dragon Ball GT. In the series, the Saiyans are a naturally aggressive warrior race who were supposedly the strongest warriors in the universe. Nearly all of the Saiyans were obliterated by Frieza.

The Saiyans play a central role in Dragon Ball Z and Dragon Ball GT once it is revealed that the protagonist, Goku, is actually a Saiyan sent to destroy earth.

Name
The name is an anagram of yasai (野菜), which is Japanese for vegetable, followed by the suffix jin (人 or じん) which is a Japanese suffix for person. This essentially means that "Saiya-jin" and "Saiyan" stand for "vegetable person". (For comparison, American (citizen) is translated as Amerika-jin). Essentially, "Saiyan" is a more direct English translation of the word. All names of Saiyan ancestry that appear in the series and related movies are named using puns on various vegetables. As a side note: a common racial slur towards Saiyans by Frieza and most of his family and empire is "monkey" or "ape".

In the original Japanese dub, "Saiyan" is pronounced "Sigh-ya-jin", while in the English dubs, it is pronounced "Say-an".

Origins
Although the manga does not tell of the origins of the Saiyan race, the complete history of the Saiyans was revealed in the anime. however, it is a central theme in the Baby Saga of Dragon Ball GT. The complete Saiyan history was also revealed in the OVA Plan to Eradicate the Saiyans. The Saiyans were also discussed on the Vegeta Saga.

The Saiyans were a group of barbaric aliens who came to the Tuffles's cities to take their territory and technology. When the Saiyans first arrived they met the friendly Tuffles, an advanced scientific race who had no way knowing the Saiyans would eventually take the whole planet for themselves and destroy their race. However, the Saiyans had negative views on the Tuffles, as they apparently viewed the Tuffles as trying to enslave them

Their original homeworld was destroyed by what was thought to be the last Legendary Super Saiyan alive, who could only retain his status in the transformed state. He appears to lost control and gave in to his destructive primate desires and destroyed the planet with his own power. The remaining Saiyans migrated to the Tuffle planet, Plant, and started a war for the control of the planet.

War with the Tuffles
Around 720 Age, a civil war broke out. The Saiyan Army tried many times to overthrow the Tuffles but were unsuccessful, sparking a ten year conflict on the planet. Although the Saiyans were bigger in size and physically far superior, they were fewer in number compared to the Tuffles. What also gave the Tuffles an upper hand was that they had technology to read the power levels of the Saiyans and advanced weaponry such as blasters to hold them off. Then, around 730 Age, the Saiyans were able to transform into Great Apes thanks to the full moon that only came once every 100 years, with this they finally annihilated the Tuffles and had the planet renamed (Planet Vegeta) after their commanding hero.

Meeting the Arcosians
After their victory, the Saiyans built a rocket ship and traveled to a near by planet called Arcose were they came in contact with the Arcosians (little is know about this race as they are only mentioned once in the series by King Kai). The Arcosians had money and technology, but the planet Arcose was unsuitable, so they hired a group of Saiyans to take over a planet for them and in return they would share their technology with them. Over the years the Saiyans also learned how to use the Tuffles' advanced equipment and became smarter and less barbaric, although they still lusted for fighting and destruction.

Annexation by Frieza
Around 735 Age, five or so years following the Saiyan victory over the Tuffles, the planet was conquered or annexed by Frieza's empire and the Saiyans (like many other races) were drafted to serve as soldiers in Frieza's military under the World Trade Organization. Because of the Saiyans' innate strength and penchant for violence, they were considered to be useful mercenaries and assisted in the conquering of many planets, or if assignment called for, eradication of the planet's population (even Saiyan children were considered powerful enough to conquer some of the weaker planets, such as Earth). Eventually, seeing how quickly some of the more gifted Saiyan warriors were gaining power through battle, Frieza grew concerned with the potential of the Saiyan race and thought that they would grow strong enough to face him or even become the fabled Super Saiyans, able to defeat him in battle so the maniacal warlord destroyed Planet Vegeta in 737 Age, nearly eradicating the Saiyan race. Only four pure-blood Saiyans survived the destruction: Kakarot (Goku), Vegeta, Nappa and Raditz as they were not on the planet at the time. Once the latter three discovered that their planet was destroyed, Frieza lied to them that an asteroid had hit their world, and offered them continued employment in return for eventual wealth.



The Saiyans were later finally avenged when Goku defeated Frieza on Planet Namek nearly two and a half decades later. Frieza later met his final end on Earth a year later when Future Trunks killed him. In the anime movies only, four more Saiyans survived the catastrophe: Turles, Broly, Paragus, and Tarble.

Homeworld
It is revealed in the Dragon Ball GT Perfect Files that the Saiyans' true place of origin is Planet Saiyan, which is said to still exist somewhere in the far reaches of space.

Planet Plant was conquered by the Saiyans after the defeat of the dominant race, the Tuffles, an incredibly intelligent but physically weak race. Lead by King Vegeta, the Saiyans were victorious and took the Tuffles's cities and technology and renamed the planet, "Vegeta". After King Vegeta was crowned king it was prophesied that the fabled Legendary Super Saiyan would be born from his bloodline, later on in the series it was proven false and left Prince Vegeta with a deep wound caused by the humiliation.

The planet has a natural gravity that is 10 times that of Earth which helps give Saiyans a greater natural strength than most races.

After the warlord Frieza decided that the Saiyan race could potentially pose a threat to his tyranny, the planet was completely obliterated from space taking most of the Saiyan race with it.

Military force
Prior to their obliteration, the Saiyans possessed a powerful military, the Saiyan Army. As of 737 Age, the Army was under the command of Nappa, who was its most powerful general. The Army was employed under Frieza's World Trade Organization, in which the tyrant would use the Saiyan warriors to conquer planets for him. It is also apparent that the Army employs various ranks based on power levels. The ranks mentioned in the series were "Elites" and "Low-Class", but it can be obviously presumed ranks exist in between. The Army met its final destruction when Frieza committed his Genocide of the Saiyans, with the Army's only survivors being Vegeta, Nappa, and Raditz.

Appearance
Saiyans are outwardly very similar to any other humans, with the exception of their monkey-like tails and a larger muscular build. They are commonly seen to have deep black hair although there have been rare occasions when they have also been shown to have brown hair.

In the episode "Saiyans Emerge", Vegeta states that the hair of a pure-blooded Saiyan does not deviate from its appearance the day the Saiyan is born however, their hair can fall off, as hair composition varies from Saiyan to Saiyan, This is why Nappa is bald(somewhat contradicted by the fact that young Vegeta is shown with strands of hair hanging in front of his forehead, but later has his characteristic widow's peak). This is not the case with half-Saiyans like Gohan and Trunks who are shown to have several different lengths of hair, and wear their hair in different styles throughout the series. Both of Vegeta and Bulma's children inherited their hair color from their mother's side. Goku's children both have black hair like him, but then their mother Chi Chi also has black hair.

Saiyans also all have dark eyes though half-breeds do not always share this trait as Vegeta's son, Trunks, and daughter, Bulla, inherited blue irises. Goku Jr., Goku's great-great grandson inherited dark blue Irises, possibly from Videl.

Similar appearances can be noted in:
 * Goku's hairstyle and Raditz's eyes look like Bardock.
 * Vegeta looks and sounds like King Vegeta, but King Vegeta has a beard and his hair is brown.
 * Gohan looks like Chi-Chi during childhood, and Goku during adolescence and adulthood.
 * Goten looks like Goku.
 * Goku, Goten, Bardock, Turles, and Goku Jr all have the same hairstyle.
 * Trunks's skin and facial features are almost identical to Vegeta's, except with Bulma's colouring.
 * Bulla looks nearly identical to Bulma.
 * Pan looks like both Gohan and Videl, but has Gohan's dark eyes instead of Videl's blue eyes.
 * Goku Jr. and Vegeta Jr. have the same appearance as their ancestors Goku and Vegeta.
 * Vegeta Jr's mother shares a striking resemblance to Bulla and in particular Bulma, but has a different hairstyle than both of them.

Tail
All pure-blooded (and at least some halfbreed) Saiyans are born with tails, monkey-like in appearance and covered in brownish fur. The tail is a particularly sensitive area for Saiyans when grabbed or injured, it causes great pain to the owner, and temporarily immobilizes the whole body. However, elite class Saiyans can train themselves to overcome this weakness - as did Nappa, Vegeta and also Goku (when he was preparing for the upcoming Budokai on Papaya Island, after being reminded by his grandfather at Baba's), and the tail becomes no more fragile than any other limb. The tail is very prehensile, and can be used to grasp things like many other primates. It has been mentioned in Dragon Ball Z that a Saiyan with a tail gains more power than one without a tail.

The tail also provides a unique gift in that it allows a Saiyan to transform into an Great Ape and potentially a Golden Great Ape. If the tail is removed, this power is lost. All saiyans have the ability for their tail to grow back, unless it is permanently removed. It only seems to grow back if there is a full moon present. Gohans' tail grows back several times, but only when there is a full moon present. The first is when the full moon is being projected, and the second time when Vegeta uses the Power Ball. The same goes for Goku as well when he's a child. Vegeta even states in the manga that his tail will grow back after it is cut off by Yajirobe. It never grows back, however, because he is never around a full moon.

Gohan is the only half breed Saiyan seen with a tail in the series. Other half breeds like Trunks, Future Trunks, Goten, and Bulla are not seen with tails. This is never explained in the series, though some speculate that they did not inherit one because when they were conceived their fathers did not have one (which would be inconsistent, since Gohan was born when Goku no longer had a tail), or that not all half-blooded Saiyans are born with tails. Another commonly argued belief is that the tails were removed at birth because of the threat the Great Ape possessed (in spite of the absence of the moon, though Piccolo did exactly that to Gohan after blowing it up himself). And yet another explanation frequently used is that the tail stops growing out after the first Super Saiyan transformation and that if he turns Super Saiyan before he gets a tail, he won't get one at all (which would conflict with the Golden Great Ape transformation). It could also be that since the moon had long been destroyed, the tails never grew in the first place.

Strangely enough, where Tien, Frieza, and Dr. Gero regained their lost limbs when they died, Goku and Vegeta never regain their tails after death.

Personality
Saiyans tend to share common personality traits, even at young ages. Being a war-like people; they share an innate enjoyment for conflict and fighting; choosing violence over peace with other races. Even Goku retained his love to fight after his amnesia, but satisfied that love through competitive sport, rather than barbaric slaughter. Saiyans are typically very aggressive and hard-headed, with short explosive tempers. They are a very proud people, with a society heavily based around honor and social hierarchy. Most of them are inclined to be arrogant at times, leading them to allow enemies to gain advantages in battle just for fun. It appears (as demonstrated by Vegeta, Nappa, and Bardock) they have a tendency to let their emotions get the better of them when roused in stimulating situations - resulting in them at times making rash decisions. They also appear to lack sympathetic emotions as though by choice rather than by nature as shown by their relative lack of fear of death and uncaring attitude towards siblings, i.e. Raditz brutal beating of his long-lost brother Goku and Vegeta's indifference to his father's death. A possible reason for that (as suggested by Vegeta's final words on Namek) could be that their society was corrupted in that area as a result of generations of being under Frieza's occupation; Vegeta states, "He made me what I am", stating that he (and possibly other Saiyans) would have been a far better person if Frieza hadn't come along. Clearly, Vegeta nor Nappa never showed any signs of sympathy for their fallen comrade Raditz when he was killed, they merely laughed and stated that he was only a "weakling", although Nappa did suggest bringing Raditz back to life with the Dragon Balls. Vegeta and Nappa themselves had a good degree of camaraderie between them, but Vegeta did not hesitate to kill Nappa later on when he displayed weakness by panicking at Goku's power (However, in Dragon Ball Z: Budokai, he himself claimed that he gave Nappa a noble warrior's death). Also, Raditz implied in the story line Fateful Brothers that Saiyans may have been uncaring and battle-starved due to having guilt, as he says to Gohan that he and his race did "terrible things as punishment for their sins". Most Saiyans also possess a keen fighting sense and understanding of battle, which allows them to acquire many new skills, such as overcoming the weakness of their tails, learning to detect ki, and achieving new fighting forms and transformations.

In Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 3, Bardock is stated as being a good guy, (You can see by the color of his Dragon Ball in the Custom Characters menu) and in the movie special Bardock: The Father of Goku, Bardock is shocked and saddened at seeing his crew, as well as his best friend Tora slaughtered by Dodoria. Bardock's final words before dying "This is for all the people we killed in your name" also states that he wasn't all evil (and implies that he may have regretted killing many of the people for Frieza's desires). After the destruction of Planet Vegeta, Bardock talks to Goku from the other side saying "I wish I could have held you in my own two arms". Bardock may possibly be the first Saiyan to show true emotions. Another indication is that in Supersonic Warriors 2 after meeting Goku in the Other World and helping him defeat Frieza and Cell, he offers Goku to help him take over the Other World, Goku declines and rather than trying to destroy him and do the deed by himself he peacefully accepts and promises he won't try to take over himself. Vegeta himself has been shown to express emotion, such as when Frieza killed him and when Future Trunks was killed by Cell.

Strength
Saiyans naturally possess exceptional strength - far greater than that of other humans and alien races - and are quintessentially built for fighting. They are capable of easily lifting thousands of times their own weight (Goku, before receiving Master Roshi's training, was able to lift Bulma's car in the first episode of Dragon Ball at the mere age of twelve). The naturally high gravity of Planet Vegeta develops their strength further making them incredibly strong at young ages. Even weaker Saiyans are capable of conquering most planets alone. Through tough training, Saiyans are able to reach new levels of power, and the more intense training and fights they go through, the stronger they become.

If a Saiyan survives a near-death experience through extreme injury to the body, then, when the body recuperates, the Saiyan grows much stronger than they were previously, their body adapting to compensate for the damage dealt. The duration of recovery does not seem to hinder this ability as Saiyans have healed through natural, technological and mystical means and still gained substantial increases in strength. Saiyans also appear able to heal from injuries at a faster rate than normal humans and possess a greater deal of durability to damage.

Saiyans also possess a natural affinity to the manipulation of ki energy allowing them to utilize flying and energy-based attacks with incredible ease as well as unlock great depths of power when needed, or lending energy to others in battle when it's actually necessary. Lost energy is regained by the Saiyan in a very short span of time, regardless of the amount of energy lost. Sometimes, the energy the Saiyan regained is multiplied, as noted by their power level. One of the best examples of this ability are the fights between Vegeta and Zarbon. In their first encounter, Vegeta was able to dominate Zarbon, but after Zarbon transformed, he was unable to defeat him. However, after the near-death experience, Vegeta was able to fight and kill Zarbon even in his transformed state.

Saiyans put a heavy emphasis on strength and fighting ability when it comes to importance in their society. In fact, they will excommunicate Saiyans who do not show potential to assist in their violent ways, even alleged "royalty," such as Tarble.

Speed
The Saiyans also have great speed and agility. They also have much faster reflexes than an average human; reflexes so fast that they can avoid a bullet or energy beam without much of a problem. Super speed can easily be seen in their fighting skills; their movements occur in fractions of seconds which are not visible to average human eyes. Their agility is also substantial in their battles and training. These movements can be improved by training, transformations, and other methods. These natural powers of speed and reflex make nearly all Saiyan hand-to-hand combat very fast.

Appetite
Saiyans are also noted for being ravenous trenchermen with seemingly insatiable appetites. Due to their enormous strength and intense aura, the Saiyans' energy and nutritional intake needs are a great deal higher than human beings. They are often shown eating plate after plate of food, resulting in many dishes piling up (a recurring gag throughout the series), often eating more food than logically possible. At the end of the 21st Tenkaichi Budoukai, Goku, when he was only 12 years old, hastily consumed a 50 course meal (57 in the dub) in one sitting, and still had room for dessert. In Daizenshuu 4, it is stated that they have no preferences when it comes to food, although they appear to prefer meat over anything else; this is hinted with Vegeta munching on the flesh of an alien creature on the planet he and Nappa were on before departing for Earth. Note that this is not restricted only to full-blooded Saiyans, as even the normally polite Gohan has been seen eating large quantities of food in this way, though in Super Android 13 Gohan claimed that he was full after only a normal sized portion of food. This may be attributed to their heightened metabolism, which is needed to fuel their incredible power.

Despite advice to the contrary, Saiyans tend to eat large quantities of food immediately before a big fight. They do not seem to suffer the cramps that humans do by doing that; in fact, it seems to improve their game.

However, at times, their appetite seems to work against them: if Goku goes for too long without something to eat, he will become too weak to do much of anything. It is unknown if other Saiyans, such as Vegeta, suffer from this weakness.

Aging, lifespan, and growth
According to the Daizenshuu, Saiyan's lifespan is about the same as an average Human, (70 to 90 years, with exceptions, of course) (and according to Dragon Ball GT Perfect Files, their lifespan is around 125 years). Many Saiyans, however, died much earlier, usually on the battlefield. Unlike Humans, Saiyans remain in their youth and prime much longer. As explained by Vegeta near the end of Dragon Ball Z, they stay young longer so that they can enjoy battle longer. This is seen when Nappa, who was Vegeta's attendant when Vegeta was a child, is in his prime still long after Vegeta has become an adult, but in actuality, Nappa is roughly 50 years old during his arrival on Earth. Chi-Chi complained of this in Dragon Ball GT when Goku was reduced to a child, thus making the fact that she was getting older faster that much more apparent. This is again demonstrated in the GT finale when Pan is seen one hundred years later still strong but with gray hair despite being only a quarter Saiyan.

As far as growing is concerned, this differs by Saiyan as it does with Humans. Most full-blooded Saiyans appear to grow in spurt phases, as seen through Goku, the only full-blood ever entirely shown progressing to adult-hood. While slow growth does occur, it is just that-- slow. Saiyans appear identical to that of a human baby and in their early years, and appear to grown at similar rates. At the age of 12, Goku takes the appearance of what a human would look like at the age of 7 or 8. This is most notably showcased when Bulma clearly believes Goku to be that young, but is shocked to find out he was actually 12 years old. However, when a 5-year-old Vegeta is showcased in Dragon Ball Z: Bardock - The Father of Goku, he looks around the same age as a 12-year-old Goku, clearly showing the difference in growth patterns of Saiyans, possibly due to his royal blood. Goku however, even at the age of 15, has still hardly grown at all, the only differences are he has become a bit more muscular, taller, and his limbs have grown a small portion. By the age of 18, Goku has undergone his largest spurt phase. He now has become tall, lean, and muscular, taking the appearance of the average human at his age. As an example, the 15-year-old Goku had gone from being half the size of the 19-year-old human Yamcha, to nearly matching him in size three years later. As stated before, this differs from Saiyan to Saiyan. Vegeta, who is five years older than Goku, is shorter and smaller overall, while Raditz, Goku's older brother, is far more muscular and taller.

Saiyans appear to undergo one final growth spurt between the ages of roughly twenty to thirty, when the body seems to finalize its physical maturity. Growth in the bone and muscle mass can clearly be seen, with even some height gained. Goku and Vegeta are clear examples of this. Goku appears to have greater depth to the chest, neck, shoulders, and thighs, with other muscles increasing in size and definition after that. This can clearly be seen during the Frieza and Android Saga's, Goku appears more muscularly built then he did during the Saiyan Saga. Vegeta also makes a transition, he appears to even grow in height a bit, which can be seen when comparing him in the Saiyan Saga to him in the Android Saga.

It is unknown if any other drastic physical changes occur after this, as no Saiyan over the age of 60 has been clearly showcased, so it is unknown how a Saiyan at the age of 80 would look.

Reproduction
Saiyan's have a sexual reproduction system compatible with that of normal humans, as they are able to produce fertile offspring together. The full-blooded Saiyans seen in the series are never shown to have mothers, though there have been some mentions of them. When Raditz tells Goku about the destruction of their home planet, he mentions that "their parents" died along with it. Also, at least in the anime, Nappa clearly states that he had a mother. Female Saiyans have been seen, including the (presumably) pure-blooded Saiyan, Fasha, and a number of unnamed female Saiyans in a bar.

Family
Saiyan families appear to be far different to that of a traditional human family. Children are kept in pods as infants and monitored by doctors whilst their parents are usually occupied on mercenary missions. Even as infants, their natural strength means that they are capable of conquering planets like Earth single-handedly and so it is unlikely they spend much, if any time with their parents or siblings. Saiyans do tend to have close relationships with their friends/comrades however, with whom they do spend a great deal of time in battle. Of the (pure-blooded) Saiyan families seen, none have had close relationships except Vegeta and his father (and maybe even Paragus and Broly, to a lesser extent).

In the Bardock TV special Bardock was asked by Tora if he remembered what day his new born son was born. He replies, "No, but that was a long time ago," (possibly referring to his elder son Raditz). Fasha then goes on to say that it was the day before, and that he should go see him.

Hybrid
Due to their similar physiology, Saiyans and Humans are capable of interbreeding. While this was always possible, it became necessary for the survival of the Saiyan race when all the female Saiyans were killed by the Genocide of the Saiyans. The resulting offspring generally possess the same enhanced strengths of the Saiyans, developing their abilities far more easily than humans, but lack the same drive and instinct for combat. Hybrid Saiyans possess the potential to become Super Saiyans, but it is unclear how many generations removed from their Saiyan ancestor a hybrid can be before the transformation becomes unavailable to them. This is principally called into question because of Pan's supposed inability to transform as she is only quarter Saiyan, yet in the 100 year special, descendants of Goku and Vegeta are able to turn Super Saiyan, despite their Saiyan heritage being even more diluted than Pan's.

It is unclear if they possess a naturally greater potential than their Saiyan parents. Gohan repeatedly demonstrated a 'hidden' power that, when harnessed, made him more powerful than even Goku or Vegeta, and when he and Goku trained to battle Cell, he not only caught up to Goku, but overtook him even before making his Super Saiyan 2 transformation. Also, he, Trunks, and Goten were able to make the transformation to Super Saiyan at a far younger age then their parents, with Trunks and Goten showing such ease at obtaining the first form that they treated it almost like a "child's play thing". Goten and Trunks' fusion as Gotenks shows much, much more ease in obtaining even the final form, entering the Room of Spirit and Time whilst being unable to make the first transformation. In no more than about a half hour's time, they emerged as a fused Super Saiyan 3. In some Dragon Ball video games, this power is called Mixed Blood Power.

A Hybrid Saiyan's potential may be held in check by the fact they lack the same desire for combat as pure Saiyans, and thus tend not to train as much, in times of peace, as a pure Saiyan would. For example, Gohan actually became less powerful during the seven years between his battle with Cell and the emergence of Buu, allowing Goku and Vegeta to catch up to and then surpass him. It is also during this time that both Goku and Vegeta make the transformation to Super Saiyan 2 as Gohan did, with Goku surpassing it to ascend to Super Saiyan 3, the last form displayed in the canon manga.

Further, it is unknown if quarter Saiyans, such as Pan, have a lesser potential than half Saiyans or pure-blooded Saiyans due to their further diluted heritage or if their comparative weakness, exhibited by Pan, is simply the result of lacking the Saiyan drive to train coupled with growing up in peaceful times. The latter would seem more likely as Bulla, Vegeta's second child, appeared to be no stronger than Pan despite her stronger Saiyan heritage.

Due to Pan and Bulla's apparent weakness, and not demonstrating the ability to transform to Super Saiyan, it is unclear if female Saiyan hybrids are weaker than male ones or if this is simply a reflection of them lacking the same instincts as pure Saiyans combined with not finding themselves in a situation likely to trigger the transformation.

Sense of Smell
As evidenced in Dragon Ball, Saiyans have a very keen sense of smell. When Goku and Krillin are looking for the rock that Roshi had thrown into the jungle, Goku is able to smell the rock's scent. Goku even claims his sense of smell is similar to that of a dog's (which is far superior to that of a human).

Great Ape
Their tail also grants a Saiyan special transformations. Though a painful weak-spot for lower-class Saiyans (most upper-class Saiyans appear to have trained to eliminate the weakness), the tail allows a Saiyan to transform into a giant Great Ape beast with tremendous power when looking at a full moon. The Saiyan grows incredibly in size and tenfold in strength while drastically changing in appearance. If the tail is removed, this ability is lost. In this state, some Saiyans have limited control, but their aggressiveness is at its peak and they often become mindless animals fueled by destructive rage.

The newer form of Great Ape that appears in Dragon Ball GT, Golden Great Ape, is the far stronger transformation of the Great Ape. Their offensive capacities have become much greater, and their rage is even more intense than the Great Ape's. While in the legendary Golden Great Ape state, the power and strength of a Saiyan increase extraordinarily. Only a few Saiyans achieved this transformation: Goku, Baby Vegeta, and Vegeta.

Super Saiyan
The most powerful ability of a Saiyan, however, is the ability to drastically augment their speed, strength and energy by transforming into a Super Saiyan. The ability is rare and difficult to achieve normally, but gives the Saiyan unbelievable enhancements to their normal abilities. Saiyans possess several Super Saiyan transformations, each different in appearance and the power they provide. For the majority of the Super Saiyan forms, the Saiyans muscle mass increases slightly, their irises turn bluish-green and their hair turns blond/golden. There is a second form, and third form of Super Saiyans and even a fourth and final form was achieved where the Saiyans body becomes covered in a crimson fur, the hair becomes darker and longer, and the irises alter color, (although the eye color appears to be different for each Saiyan).

Female Saiyans have never been shown to be able to transform into Super Saiyans, however Akira Toriyama has stated that there were no female Saiyans to transform until the introduction of Pan and she never had the motivation to transform. It is fair to assume that the same attributes apply to female Super Saiyans, increasing their physical abilities and altering their physical appearance in a similar way to male Super Saiyans.

Due to their healing abilities and the legend of the power of Super Saiyans, Frieza destroyed Planet Vegeta, bringing the Saiyan race to the brink of extinction.

Fighting
Saiyans have an inborn need to fight. Most Saiyans will spend their lives training to become stronger so that they can prove themselves in battle. When Frieza hired the Saiyans as his planet pirates, 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 that one day one of them would overwhelm him as the most powerful being in the universe. This eventually lead to Frieza's destruction of Planet Vegeta and all the Saiyans on it. Saiyans like Goku and Vegeta are frequently seen training and improving their fighting skills to keep up with each other's skills and the appearance of new, more powerful foes.

Many of the Saiyan/Average Human hybrids that appear throughout the series possess extreme fighting potential. It is also very common for them to develop the ability to transform into Super Saiyans at childhood, thought to be particularly likely when the hybrid's Saiyan parent had achieved the transformation prior to conception.

In Dragon Ball GT, Saiyan hybrids seem to have less potential than full-blooded ones, and female hybrids appear to be weaker.

Transportation
Saiyans (and, later, Frieza's army), have small space pods that are only big enough for one person, so that the pods can have maximum fuel efficiency. When more than one person is sent to a planet, each warrior has a pod to themselves, who fly alongside each other like a group of motorcycles. It is unknown what fuel the space pods use, and there is no visible exhaust area for the fuel's waste to be expelled from (though when they fly they have an energy aura around them). However, the computers operating the pods seem to be very sophisticated, and can even change course in space, despite there being no visible means of doing so (in the real world, spaceships must either slingshot around a large gravity source, such as the Moon, or must have some object to push themselves away from, per the Third Law of Motion, "For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction"). The passenger appears to be in stasis during travel, upon reaching a destination air is pumped into the pod and revives the occupant.

In the Namek Saga, Dr. Briefs was able to obtain the space pod that Goku arrived at the planet in as a baby, and was able to use reverse-engineering to build a bigger spaceship, so that Goku would have room to train in on his way to Namek.

Healing
After battles, Saiyans are placed in tanks that are operated by doctors. The patient will have an oxygen mask covering their mouth and nose, while their entire bodies are covered in synthetic Saiyan DNA, which will seep into the patients' sweat pores and heal them much the same way that stem cells do in real life. The process usually takes about an hour, although exact time estimates are impossible to make.

List of Saiyans
In addition to the name "Saiyan" being an anagram of the Japanese word for vegetable, most pure-blooded Saiyans 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) and (Vege)Tarble

Full-blooded Saiyans

 * Bardock: Father of Goku and Raditz, he is killed by Frieza.
 * Borgos: A large balding member of Bardock's team, he is killed by Grepe of Dodoria's Elite.
 * Broly: The Legendary Super Saiyan, main villain of Dragon Ball Z Movies #8, #10 and #11.
 * Fasha: The only female member of Bardock's team, she is killed by Boysenberry of Dodoria's Elite.
 * Goku: The main protagonist whose original Saiyan name is Kakarot. He is killed once by Piccolo and once by Cell.
 * King Vegeta: King of the Saiyans and father of Vegeta and Tarble, he is killed by Frieza.
 * Nappa: A large bald Saiyan who was Vegeta's partner and commander of the Saiyan army, he is killed twice by Vegeta.
 * Onio: A fat Saiyan that appears in the self-parody manga, Neko Majin Z.
 * Original Super Saiyan - The first ever Super Saiyan who died because he was unable to control his power.
 * Paragus: Father of Broly, he is killed by Broly.
 * Raditz: Brother of Goku, he is killed by Piccolo.
 * Scarface: A short balding Saiyan seen only in the pendulum room.
 * Shorty: A large muscular Saiyan seen only in the pendulum room.
 * Shugesh: A big overweight member of Bardock's team, he is killed by Tanger of Dodoria's Elite.
 * Tarble: Vegeta's younger brother who has a lack of fighting spirit.
 * Tora: A tall masculine member of Bardock's team, he is killed by Dodoria.
 * Turles: Main villain of Dragon Ball Z Movie #3. Looks just like Goku. He was killed by Goku.
 * Vegeta: Goku's greatest rival and the prince of all Saiyans, he is killed once by Frieza and once by blowing himself up.
 * Zorn: One of King Vegeta's subjects.

Partial Saiyans

 * Bulla - 1/2 Saiyan, Daughter of Vegeta
 * Future Gohan - 1/2 Saiyan, eldest son of Goku (Alternate timeline)
 * Future Trunks - 1/2 Saiyan, Son of Vegeta (Alternate timeline)
 * Gohan - 1/2 Saiyan, Eldest son of Goku
 * Goku Jr. - 1/16, Grandson of Pan and Great-Great-grandson of Goku and Chi-Chi
 * Goten - 1/2 Saiyan, Youngest son of Goku
 * Pan - 1/4 Saiyan, Daughter of Gohan
 * Trunks - 1/2 Saiyan, Son of Vegeta
 * Vegeta Jr.'s mother - 1/8 Saiyan, Great-Granddaughter of Vegeta and Bulma
 * Vegeta Jr. - 1/16, Great-Great grandson of Vegeta and Bulma

Fusions

 * Gogeta (Goku and Vegeta via the Metamarū Fusion Dance), (Names: Goku + Vegeta)
 * Gokule (Goku and Hercule via the Potara fusion earrings), (Names: Goku + Hercule)
 * Gotenks (Goten and Trunks via the Metamarū Fusion Dance), (Names: Goten + Trunks)
 * Vegito (Vegeta and Goku via the Potara fusion earrings), (Names: Vegeta + Kakarotto)
 * Note: Called Vegerot in the Viz translation of the manga. Spelled "Vegito" in the FUNimation Dub and Ocean Dub.
 * Hypothetical Fusion of Goku and Dende (Goku and Dende via the Potara fusion earrings), *(Names: Gokende, Denku Goku + Dende)

Artificially Created Partial Saiyans

 * Baby - Genetically modified Tuffle parasite, who takes control of Vegeta's body, creating a Tuffle-Saiyan Hybrid, of sorts.
 * Bio-Broly - Clone of Broly
 * Cell - Genetically created using cells from Goku, Vegeta, Raditz, Gohan, and Nappa
 * Super Buu - After absorbing Trunks, Goten, and Gohan.

Trivia

 * Though Frieza stated that Goku could not survive in the vacuum of space, and most of the series has him wearing a spacesuit when venturing into the vacuum of space, there have been several instances where Saiyans have been in airless environments with no ill consequences. Early in the series, Goku took Monster Carrot to the moon. Towards the beginning of the Vegeta Saga, both Vegeta and Nappa were seen outside of their Saiyan pods while Vegeta destroyed Arlia. In Bardock: The Father of Goku and a flashback in the Frieza Saga (both in the anime and the manga), Bardock was seen in orbit of Planet Vegeta when confronting Frieza. Finally, in a flashback in the movie Broly: The Legendary Super Saiyan, both Broly and Paragus are seen in an asteroid field. It could be possible that Frieza was bluffing and Saiyans could breathe in space, since Goku grew up on Earth, even he would have not known about that. Though King Kai seems to also believe Saiyans can't breathe in space as he instructs the Z Warriors not to revive Goku with the Dragon Balls, because he would appear in space.
 * It can be assumed that Frieza's Saiyan victims weren't revived because of the one year time limit. If the one year limit didn't count, the Saiyans may have died again in the vacuum of space because Planet Vegeta was not there anymore (however, as stated above, there were times that Saiyans were seen breathing in space, so that may not necessarily be the case).
 * There are only eight pure-blood Saiyans in Dragon Ball Z who survive Frieza destroying Planet Vegeta. They are Goku, Vegeta, Nappa, Raditz, Broly, Paragus, Turles, and Tarble. Tarble is the only pure-blood Saiyan not to die in Dragon Ball Z.
 * Saiyans are often associated with monkeys. Goku is called "monkey boy" when he is a kid, and Frieza and his henchmen frequently refer to Saiyans as monkeys.
 * Vegeta mentions in the episode Saiyans Emerge that the hair of a pure-blooded Saiyan will never change after one is born.
 * It is not known how the Saiyans obtained the spaceship that they used to travel to Planet Plant, which became their home.
 * In Dragon Ball GT, Pan fails an attempt to go Super Saiyan. It was later explained that any Saiyan Hybrid beyond 1/4 cannot go Super Saiyan. However, Goku Jr. and Vegeta Jr. can go Super Saiyan even though they are 1/16 Saiyan.
 * In Dragon Ball Online, it is assumed many humans on Earth are now part Saiyan, evidenced by their ability to transform into Super Saiyans.