.

[AnimeMaakuo]

.

[Raithos]

I got goosebumps and cheered and yelled at the TV for him to f***ing kill Freeza. Lol

[rereboy]

It was very weird... I saw it on anime first and I thought "what the f*** happened to him? Is that... golden hair? O_o".

And I honestly didn't think it looked cool at the time... It was very weird and somewhat distracting of the fact that Krillin had just died...

Anyway, I continued to watch, excited to see what was going to happen. And I was relieved to see that Goku could turn back to normal later on.

(And I think the look of the SSJ really became cooler later on, when Toriyama and the anime staff designed it a little better)

[Piccolo Daimao]

I got chills and found it awesome, even though I already knew about Super Saiyan from the internet and video games.

[19Nyoi-bō95]

Got chills and Yelled at the TV

[Drabaz]

I had already known that he would eventually have "golden hair". So when he finally transformed, I just thought, "Finally..."

[VegettoEX]

Like a lot of other folks, the Internet (and also "Rock the Dragon") spoiled the fact that it would eventually happen.

The first time I would have seen it was probably 1997ish from "Son Gohan's" site (the one with the crap ton of MPEG-1 clips -- I probably even have that very clip burned on a CD somewhere!). I honestly have no real recollection of what my response was, since it was so long ago . The "chills" sensation is probably an accurate one!

EDIT: Holy crap, I do have it...! The date on my CD-R (which is a 650 MB one, mind you!) is 12/31/1997... so yeah. It's definitely from Son Gohan's, and it's a capture from an NGN sub of the episode. This is also "amazing quality" for us back in 1997, by the way.

http://www.daizex.com/misc_stuff/first_goku_ssj.mpg

So there you have it -- the file that provided my first experience with the scene! I don't remember when I actually got my first fansub tapes in, but it couldn't have been all that long after this (they were 94-105, I believe... two tapes with six episodes each).

[Piccolo Daimao]

I had already known that he would eventually have "golden hair". So when he finally transformed, I just thought, "Finally..."

When I watched it for the first time, I was pretty much waiting throughout the whole Goku vs. Freeza for Goku to finally transform too. I was still like "Woah", though. Hey, that rhymes!

[Kakarotto]

I had a similar reaction, like when piccolo fused with Nail. Wow he's real, my gosh. This is amazing, he is incredible. YES YES YES YES! He can win, he feels great, he can do this!ugh. Yes I'm home, I'm alive, this is all a miracle, I'm wide awake!

[Castor Troy]

Like a lot of other folks, the Internet (and also "Rock the Dragon") spoiled the fact that it would eventually happen.

The first time I would have seen it was probably 1997ish from "Son Gohan's" site (the one with the crap ton of MPEG-1 clips -- I probably even have that very clip burned on a CD somewhere!). I honestly have no real recollection of what my response was, since it was so long ago . The "chills" sensation is probably an accurate one!

EDIT: Holy crap, I do have it...! The date on my CD-R (which is a 650 MB one, mind you!) is 12/31/1997... so yeah. It's definitely from Son Gohan's, and it's a capture from an NGN sub of the episode. This is also "amazing quality" for us back in 1997, by the way.

http://www.daizex.com/misc_stuff/first_goku_ssj.mpg

So there you have it -- the file that provided my first experience with the scene! I don't remember when I actually got my first fansub tapes in, but it couldn't have been all that long after this (they were 94-105, I believe... two tapes with six episodes each).

In 1998, I think I saw that same clip encoded as an rm file on another site. It was so choppy I didn't even know what was going on.

I think I was like "Why is Goku turning Super Saiyan to 50's monster music"?

[Chuquita]

I remember thinking how creepy those shots where you only see the whites of his eyes with nothing inside them were. I never really questioned stuff like Goku being able to transform waaaay back in the earliest days so I don't think I would've looked up spoilers back before it happened on Toonami. I did spoiler the Buu arc for myself though.

And I so remember when all videoclips online looked like that. :3
How nostalgic.

[Arashi]

By the time I watched, I knew what Super Saiyan was and just had never had the chance to see what lead to it. Even so, I was so excited and kind of stared with my mouth slightly agape.

I think I was the most, "OMG!" by the time I saw SS3 because from pre-researching DBZ, it was the most 'interesting' to me because of the beyond drastic changes in his looks. I still like watching the first time SS3 shows up again.

I haven't seen SS4 actually occur (obvs I've seen tons of images of it) but I feel like I'll be underwhelmed. I like the golden hair...

[Sshadow5001]

Got chills and Yelled at the TV

Pretty much this. I knew it was coming what with the adverts and Rock the Dragon but it was still so awesome.

[TheLegendary117]

Man, when I saw Goku transform for the first time, I got goosebumps, chills, my adrenalin was pumping, and as many of you did, STARTED YELLING KILL FRIEZA!!!!!!! God, that was incredible

[penguintruth]

Like a lot of other folks, the Internet (and also "Rock the Dragon") spoiled the fact that it would eventually happen.

The first time I would have seen it was probably 1997ish from "Son Gohan's" site (the one with the crap ton of MPEG-1 clips -- I probably even have that very clip burned on a CD somewhere!). I honestly have no real recollection of what my response was, since it was so long ago . The "chills" sensation is probably an accurate one!

EDIT: Holy crap, I do have it...! The date on my CD-R (which is a 650 MB one, mind you!) is 12/31/1997... so yeah. It's definitely from Son Gohan's, and it's a capture from an NGN sub of the episode. This is also "amazing quality" for us back in 1997, by the way.

http://www.daizex.com/misc_stuff/first_goku_ssj.mpg

So there you have it -- the file that provided my first experience with the scene! I don't remember when I actually got my first fansub tapes in, but it couldn't have been all that long after this (they were 94-105, I believe... two tapes with six episodes each).

I'm pretty sure this is how I first saw it, too. Even though I had little idea of what was going on, I was really impressed with the music.

I think this was back when the .GIF of Super 13 punching Goku in the junk was first super popular.

[AgitoZ]

The first time I saw it I had a much more different reaction than most. I wasn't cheering Goku or being happy he was able to surpass Freeza. I was in shock and also sad. I had grown up with the character, he was always the kind-hearted fool I loved, and this scene was frightening. The Goku I knew and loved was turning into a violent, savage, legendary being. He didn't just want to spar anymore or protect his friends, he was bloodthirsty. It really was memorable scene.

[.:PoetikaL:.]

I knew about Super Saiyan because of "Rock The Dragon", for me it was a matter of when they would show it. When I watched "the" episode on Toonami in my young days, I was sweating and getting goosebumps, and when Goku just exploded with the yellow aura... I lost it! On the outside I was like "YAY!!!" but in the inside I was like "FUCK YEAH! KICK FREEZA'S ASS!!"

[Ahiru77]

At first I was amazed.....I was mesmerized. *epic record playing*






Then he turned and yelled at a frightened Gohan...*record cuts off*...killed it.

[ShiningMoon]

Well, the first time I watched DBZ they were rerunning the Cell arc (in particular, when Goku and Gohan were training in the ROSAT)...so when I finally got to see the Freeza arc it was more of an, "Oh, so he couldn't always do that?" and/or "Oh, so that's how that happened?" deal.
But, it was still a powerful moment, to be sure. If anything, because I had come in when such an event was treated with relative nonchalance, seeing his first transformation as a result of such anger, compared to the relative "Goku-ness" he could maintain especially later in the Cell arc, made it more powerful.

[Puto]

I thought "Oh shit, he's snapped. Just like back when he used to turn into a giant monkey, he's gonna lose his goodness and become evil."

Especially given that the dialogue during that entire Freeza fight was all heavily implying that SSJ Gokû was going to turn into a bloodthirsty monster like the other Saiyans were.