About Super Saiyan Rage...

[Bulma's Foot Masseur]

...am I the only one who thought Trunks' cryptic blue aura was a prelude to the Spirit Sword, with him subconsciously drawing from the survivors' life energy all along? We know he had the power to draw from their ki without them voluntarily giving it, so I don't know why that couldn't have been the case prior. Especially given the hints of peoples' bonds being so strong in the future timeline.

Thoughts? I know it's technically explainable in the same way as Rageta, but as I watched I always thought the mystical aura was explicitly inferring the above, and was acting as foreshadowing for the final act. Not that Toei gave enough of a damn to explain anything, but is it possible it lines up with what I said and Toei/whoever thought it was too simple to require an explanation?

What do you think?

[gofishus]

Super Saiyan Rage is the most unexplained transformation to me. How do you achieve it? I mean to reach any form of super saiyan you need rage right? what makes this one so different? What power level is it on? higher than SSJ3? lower than? There's so little information about this transformation it was one of the things I hated the most about the Future Trunks Saga that there was so many things with so little explanation.

[Lord Beerus]

There's no real logic behind Super Saiyan Rage beyond the fact it appears to be a transformation accessed by intense emotion, ala Super Saiyan (in Goku, Gohan and Vegeta's case) and Super Saiyan 2 (in Gohan's case). Super Saiyan Rage is basically Super Saiyan 3... it's a fluke transformation.

[ChronoTwigger]

It's even hard to call it "rage".
In fact is more driven by frustration. Trunks attain it after being bashed a lot of times, any attempt fail, everyone die, then Zamasu tell it's all his fault for the universe destruction O_O.
I will not feel enraged, I'll feel... "desperate".
That's the need for Vegeta and kid Trunks to continually motivate him.
As being a prelude to genkisword... yes, but I don't think he's tapping into people, while on his own will to survive and faith being right.
The arc hardly convey this, but we are talking of the APOCALYPSE of everything... I really will feel desperate.
A new thing for sayan, indeed. So, a new form that tap into another condition.

Anyway, Pilaf gags stolen us so much time for this kind of explanations... So only speculations are left.

[IKevinX]

I have an analysis on that

But it boils down to the anime giving us hints on how to achieve the SSGSS transformation (Vegeta telling Cabba to remember that pain. Black and Trunks being able to ascend after getting the "pain" dealt to them by Vegeta. Those white pellets flowing up in the aura. The body change Trunks goes through just like any God transformation).
And Trunks hits all these marks that were presented to us as to why he should be able to ascend to Blue.
Also.. He was strong.. he knew the form existed.. who knows what else Vegeta taught him. I also half expect Cabba to show up with SSB aswell in the universal arc.
The blue aura really makes it seem that it's a half SSGSS transformation. Given it has the "same" aura. Though it appears to be very close to SSJBlue's powerlevel. (If he were stronger than Rosé, Black would've definitely died since Trunks always goes Full power for the kill)

But in the end that is all theories.

And since his aura changed when he used the Spirit Sword.. I don't think that was the case. But that it was foreshadowing? Unlikely, since the trigger was from emotions within and not the need to save others. Though that need has always been there.

In my final opinion, if the manga doesn't convey this "form" I guess we will all relate to this as a "transformable" SSJ2 Rageta.. but for Trunks

[Bulma's Foot Masseur]

Yeah, I guess I need to take into consideration the fact that raw gasket-blowing anger and Spirit Bomb prayer energy don't really have anything of a...poetic synergy to them. It probably has to be one or the other.

If it's all him, at least it shows you don't need Gods to be relevant.

[sintzu]

Due to that form giving him the ability to fight against Black and Zamasu, I think it's some kind of imperfect SsjB.

[TheUltimateNinja]

Due to that form giving him the ability to fight against Black and Zamasu, I think it's some kind of imperfect SsjB.

Judging by how easily Black oneshotted Goku despite him being rage boosted, I'd say SSRage has to be even stronger than SSBlue.

[dragonballgeek]

Due to that form giving him the ability to fight against Black and Zamasu, I think it's some kind of imperfect SsjB.

Judging by how easily Black oneshotted Goku despite him being rage boosted, I'd say SSRage has to be even stronger than SSBlue.

I think it's a cool concept. Mixing mortal Ki and diety Ki creating a stronger form. Best of both worlds.

[SingleFringe&Sparks]

It really shouldn't have been a thing to begin with in all honesty. I face-palmed when it was considered a thing, especially under an uncreative and clearly lore-redundant name like that. Its also the next phase in how SSB has been reduced to just a transferable power up and not a special condition met by alternate means. I mean if SSB becomes a rage-boost form now, I have no hope for the series actually doing anything new. Then again DBHeroes made SS4 now a rage-boost form for Gohan if that counts or not. Its getting ridiculous.

[Ki Breaker]

I think it's a cool concept. Mixing mortal Ki and diety Ki creating a stronger form. Best of both worlds.

Hahaha, imagine gods trying to learn mortal ki to get stonger
With roshi teaching them all

[Bullza]

It's a shame they didn't go more into what the form was or how it worked.

From the looks of it, Trunks turns into his Ultra Super Saiyan 2 form, the one he used against Vegeta when they were sparring and then whatever that blue aura is, it shrinks him back down to his normal size yet he's able to keep the power without losing the speed.

[SansrivaaL]

He trained with Vegeta right? maybe some of Trunks' exposure to Vegeta's God ki gave him the form, same thing happened to both Goku and Vegeta, they were training with Whis too much that exposure to his God ki could have gave them the ability to go SSJB since both of em didnt know how they got it as well, difference is Goku's and Vegeta's were from being calm that went through training + exposure to God ki, whereas Trunks' case came from rage and some training + exposure to God ki.

[Nero<>Akira]

There is no explanation. SSRage is simply the name given to it through a game. Hardly qualifies as an official name for the form. It's an asspull power up he acquired through the shounen trope of getting super angry and getting power he didn't have before which amounts to him being near SSGB levels of strength and having some access to God Ki. Dragon Ball is a series that used the anger trope as physiological trait for Saiyans and made it it's own (something Masashi Kishimoto shamelessly copied for how the Sharingan works in his series.). However, this never seems to be the case with other beings in the series. so, it never really used the trope how it generally is used in this demographic until now. It's ironic; the series that owned made this trope its own unique one used it again for an asspull power up in how other shounens use it. It's only used in THIS arc though. I can guarantee it won't happen in the newest arc. So why, was it used in the Future Trunks arc? Because it was part of a multi-themed narrative that happens to subvert, parody, and condemns the Shounen demographic. Trunks reasonably was quite powerful upon his return in both the anime and manga. In the anime, Trunks is as power as Goku in SSJ2 in his own SSJ2 form AFTER Goku underwent his training with Whis and the ROSAT with Vegeta. In the manga, it made it better; Trunks at max ssj2 power is equal to Goku's SSJ3 form after all the training he's been through.. it's insane yet still fine since he spent 10 years training unlike the anime where he seemingly stopped but was quite strong nonetheless. However, after training for an unspecified amount of time, yet short, with Vegeta, he is able to confront and hold off SSJR Black Goku even by a little. You can also attribute it to Zenkai but there's only so much you can do to rationalize his power up at this point in his SSJ2 form. He then goes up against them again and gets a SSJ2 God Ki infused power up and is able to take on Black & Zamasu with mid difficulty and stomped them both upon second encounter. How? There is no explanation for this form and such a ridiculous power up.Let's not forget Zamasu is self conscious about how ridiculous his own personality is. He himself notes he only continues to talk while not being paid attention to because he's so self absorbed. Black then notes, "I see. How godly of you." This is one of the most hilarious things in the arc and i was laughing quite a bit when it happened. He then is able to take on a Fused Zamasu, albeit weakened somewhat, in this asspull form. The little amount of people of Earth send their Life Energy (unconsciously, though that's not how it works) by cheering Trunks on and create a mini spirit bomb that Trunks is able to take in and infuses with his Ki to kill or destroy Zamasu's body.
I watched this episode RAW and i KNEW it reeked of bullshit and it is. However, it would have been completely as well as inexcusable had not what came after happened. Zamasu, being a God, became incorporeal and killed EVERYONE that gave Trunks that energy but the main characters (obviously). This one act by the villain excuses all the ridiculous plot devices and asspulls. Why? Because other shounen battle mangas, like Fairy Tail, would have allowed all this crap to slide and it would have been a happy go lucky ending to the arc and no answers would have been given. in Super, while no answers were given, it didn't have to because it's showing you what other series does but has God come in and kill all the people that allowed such crap to go on. Not only that, Zeno appears and i'm sure NOBODY expected him to eradicate U7. The God of All Gods came in and wiped out all this reality. The villain won and The One Above All aided him. Trunks & Mai then agree to live in a timeline where everyone is alive and everything Zamasu does hadn't happened yet (so Beerus & Whis can take care of him). They have to live with mirror images of themselves and all the people that got killed in their timeline. They have to spend the rest of their lives looking at themselves, the failures, and the people they fought with (the people they let die and failed). This is dark... There are other themes in the arc that work hand in hand with this but that's another discussion. But as you see, this arc flipped the tropes on its head. It called out the bullshit in other series and says, "Listen, there are consequences for this bullshit and here it is. You're all getting killed and so it your universe. Your asspulls are not saving you from this mess." This is sheer genius. I love the arc. I love Zamasu and all the facets that make him up. I saw myself always going back to this arc for its moments and fights. It's incredibly entertaining as well. I've spent a lot of time reflecting on this arc. The shounen subversion and parody of this arc that I've detailed here is only but one of the reasons I believe this is the best arc in the series despite some legitimate stupid moments like Black & Zamasu being held off by a flash grenade and Goku being too dumb and i don't mean his forgetfulness.

[gofishus]

There's no real logic behind Super Saiyan Rage beyond the fact it appears to be a transformation accessed by intense emotion, ala Super Saiyan (in Goku, Gohan and Vegeta's case) and Super Saiyan 2 (in Gohan's case). Super Saiyan Rage is basically Super Saiyan 3... it's a fluke transformation.

no DO NOT compare SSJ3 to SSJ Rage. We KNOW SSJ3 is higher than SSJ2 - its the next level transformation. We have NO IDEA about the power of SSJ Rage or how it is achieved it is NEVER explained.

[Kishido]

we should forget it, TOEI should forget it... It never should appear again

[Lord Beerus]

There's no real logic behind Super Saiyan Rage beyond the fact it appears to be a transformation accessed by intense emotion, ala Super Saiyan (in Goku, Gohan and Vegeta's case) and Super Saiyan 2 (in Gohan's case). Super Saiyan Rage is basically Super Saiyan 3... it's a fluke transformation.

no DO NOT compare SSJ3 to SSJ Rage. We KNOW SSJ3 is higher than SSJ2 - its the next level transformation. We have NO IDEA about the power of SSJ Rage or how it is achieved it is NEVER explained.

We know that SSJ3 is the next level of transformation beyond SSJ2 and how much stronger it is. But there's no explanation on how you actually access the form. Hence why I called it a "fluke transformation". It's just pure luck on whether you can become a SSJ3 or not.

[Ki Breaker]

He trained with Vegeta right? maybe some of Trunks' exposure to Vegeta's God ki gave him the form, same thing happened to both Goku and Vegeta, they were training with Whis too much that exposure to his God ki could have gave them the ability to go SSJB since both of em didnt know how they got it as well, difference is Goku's and Vegeta's were from being calm that went through training + exposure to God ki, whereas Trunks' case came from rage and some training + exposure to God ki.

That was basically Vegeta punching trunks.. it wasn't even training..
Gou by that Gohan faught with goku too right?
Well, we about to see mystic god then..

Actually, vegeta one punched cabba too, who knows maybe he will whip blue out in the tournament

[Lord Frieza]

I don't think SS3 is a fluke. It just a form that under normal circumstances saiyan wont achieve it.

Goku only achieve the form while in otherworld when his bodies did not have the same limitations and Gotenks was a fusion. It might be impossible for a saiyan to naturally attain the form.

As for Rage well if their is a saiyan who knows what true rage is, its Trunks. His life has been hell and every-time he thinks things are getting better they take an even deeper nose dive. The basic SS forms are fueled by strong emotion, to even unlock the form you must be driven into the depths of rage, frustration or sorrow.

Rage it would seem, ties back into that theme. While the Goku and Vegeta have unlocked the more serene god powers, Trunks has has been pushed harder and deeper into his rage then anyone else, and like Gohan and Goku before him, found an even greater power hidden within him.

[emperior]

I hate the fact Super Saiyan Rage is left completely unexplained (I hope they will explain it in the future) because it seems clear Toei knows what it is because the aura is very, very similar to that of a Super Saiyan Blue, almost the same but yellow on the outside. Also, Trunks bulking up and then shrinking down when he powers up to that form, why would they even do something like that if it had no meaning behind it.
I subscribe to the idea posted above, that the SSG power can be "taught" through battling against one. If Cabba achieves something similar on his own, than that theory will be pretty much confirmed, and it would mean Vegeta achieved Super Saiyan Blue in that moment when he and Goku punched at the same time.

Right now, I'm just crossing my fingers we will see the form in the manga, even if it's not explained, because it would mean we could actually see it again in the future, hopefully with an explanation. Asspull or not, the form is quite interesting and I like it.