Is the criticism against everyone getting the Super Saiyan form a legitimate one?

[Forte224]

It's almost become another meme at this point, but I've heard several people say that the Super Saiyan form didn't seem very special after so many attained it. Some have even inferred that the form should have been unique to Goku. In hindsight, this is an easy criticism to make, but I've been re-watching the anime from scratch, and I must say, it feels very natural and always serves a purpose when we see another character transform for the first time. Goku getting it of course makes sense.

Then, Trunks comes along and him having the Super Saiyan form was a shock, to the audience and the characters. It invoked so much mystery. Who is this guy? Where is he from? How is he a Super Saiyan? It also drives Vegeta totally nuts knowing that a low level Saiyan and some random no name Saiyan achieved it before the Prince himself. And of course, Vegeta driving himself up the wall always adds interest to the show.

Next, Vegeta himself attains the form. Anything else would have made no sense, him being angry over the form and then not transforming would've fell totally flat. And, similar to Vegeta's own reasoning, the Saiyan Prince not achieving the legendary Super Saiyan form would've just been unfitting.

Gohan's transformation was simply the next step towards what the show had been building towards ever since the introduction to the character. Even when he's getting taken away in the river and Goku is trying to save him, we see he has hidden potential when he somehow gets himself to safety. And of course, the fight against Raditz further hinted towards Gohan's hidden potential, as well as many other moments against Nappa, Vegeta, Freeza, etc. all happening when he was either angry or his back was against the wall. He achieved Super Saiyan in a similar fashion, Super Saiyan being the only thing that could've saved him from Goku's Kamehameha, mixed with his anger and disappointment over his shortcomings in the past.

The only part I can understand people thinking things were getting ridiculous is when little Trunks and Goten go Super Saiyan. There wasn't really any explanation as to why they were able to do it so early and so easily, and in the end it didn't serve much purpose in the story as they did little to affect the outcome in a positive way. But, just seeing these 2 little munchkins achieve a legendary form that we're so familiar with by this point is humorous and entertaining.

What do you think? Did the Super Saiyan form become less and less special as more and more attained it, or not? Or am I the only one that has even heard this criticism before?

[MasenkoHA]

The whole concept of Super Saiyan became a joke when they started introducing new levels. ULtra SUPER SAIYAN! SUPER SAIYAN 2! SUPER SAIYAN 3! Really undermines the whole idea of Super Saiyan being legendary when it's just like stage 1.

[Forte224]

The whole concept of Super Saiyan became a joke when they started introducing new levels. ULtra SUPER SAIYAN! SUPER SAIYAN 2! SUPER SAIYAN 3! Really undermines the whole idea of Super Saiyan being legendary when it's just like stage 1.

Once again it sounds silly in hindsight, but it made sense as the story progressed. Vegeta broke through the wall and powered up. Trunks...well, ok, Trunks' grade 3 version was overall pointless, especially due to it being so flawed. But, at least it showed that there were kinks in this ascended form and that there was still more to achieve. That was where Gohan's Super Saiyan 2 form came in. Not to mention it also was essentially the climax of his whole arc from the introduction of his character, and its design looked absolutely amazing. Super Saiyan 3 would've been dumb if the hair just got even taller and that was it but the design of it was unique enough that it held interest and made it seem like a true power up.

[MasenkoHA]

Was there really a reason to invent levels of Super Saiyan? Why couldn't Gohan have just beaten Cell as a Super Saiyan without the whole ascended concept? Super Saiyan 3 was even more pointless. They should have just kept it as Super Saiyan and not had Goten and Trunk become Super Saiyans (also weird how early DBZ made a huge deal about how strong Gohan had the potential to be when Goten and Chibi Trunks were 1000x stronger at age 7 and 8?)

[Forte224]

As I said, I understand the distaste towards Goten and Trunks. But would Gohan beating Cell just as a Super Saiyan have even made sense? I suppose they could've just stated that he powered way up, but in the end, both outcomes leave us with a Gohan that's stronger than Cell. The difference is that Super Saiyan 2 gave us a really nice looking design. And in a show that's heavily praised for its art, a great new design is definitely a good thing.

[MasenkoHA]

But would Gohan beating Cell just as a Super Saiyan have even made sense? .

Yes? Is there a legitimate reason why it wouldn't? Gohan can't just be a more powerful Super Saiyan than his dad and Vegeta and Trunks? I honestly didn't even notice a difference between saiyan 1 and 2 as far as aesthetics. Super Saiyan 3 just looks ridiculous.

[sintzu]

My only issues are the 2 kids getting it and Gotenks getting 3. Apart from that everything else made sense and felt natural.

[Lord Beerus]

It depends.

For a lot fans, hard work and intense commitment to maintaining your strength is enough of a handwave/excuse for any Saiyan getting the SSJ form. Not even taking into consideration that their base form may be powerful enough that they can attain the form easier than those who haven't got much starting power to begin with, if there isn't a mention, or a literal display of some more of overexertion, in physical or mental capacity, prior to Saiyan attaining a Super Saiyan form, then it will feel as though it isn't earned.

Because in a series where character literally kill themselves to become stronger, it would rub some of fanbase the wrong way just see another character enter the plot and with much less effort put in, attain a certain plateau of power that many other characters poured a lot of blood, sweat and tears into. This is why characters like Goten, Trunks, Cabba, Caulifla and Kale get criticism for attaining the Super Saiyans form in the fashion they did. It appears to undermine any hard work prior Saiyans put in to the attain that same strength. It's also why people ignore the fact that Vegeta attained the Super Saiyan form, when he really shouldn't have. Vegeta put in an insane amount of hard work to attaining the form, that people don't mind that Vegeta pissed on any thematic sense that Goku originally attaining the SSJ form had on Namek.

[Forte224]

I'm surprised I didn't even think about Cabba, Caulifla and Kale. I like Super well enough, but I always seem to completely separate it from the original story in my head. And it's funny, because those 3 getting Super Saiyan actually annoy me. I think it's because of the way the achieve it. It's very emotional and the characters are so impressed that they're so awesome so early and Vegeta is all proud when Cabba does it. And the way the show portrays it screams "Look audience. Look at these new characters. Aren't they so cool?"

You could throw the same acussation at Goten and Trunks of course. But at least there was a sense of comedy to it, Gohan and Vegeta being shocked this could happen. And they didn't quickly rise to meet Goku and Vegeta's level, whereas the U6 Saiyans seem to be given the fast track towards reaching things like SS3 and SSB if foreshadowing is anything to go by. I don't know, maybe I'm being too forgiving of the original show.

And that's interesting what you say about how Vegeta shouldn't have attained it, and that clashing with the thematic sense of Goku getting it on Namek. Mind going further? Simply because Goku achieved it due to being pure hearted and was sent into a rage, and Vegeta being the opposite, trying to brute force his way to it? Or something else?

[Lord Beerus]

I'm surprised I didn't even think about Cabba, Caulifla and Kale. I like Super well enough, but I always seem to completely separate it from the original story in my head. And it's funny, because those 3 getting Super Saiyan actually annoy me. I think it's because of the way the achieve it. It's very emotional and the characters are so impressed that they're so awesome so early and Vegeta is all proud when Cabba does it. And the way the show portrays it screams "Look audience. Look at these new characters. Aren't they so cool?"

You could throw the same acussation at Goten and Trunks of course. But at least there was a sense of comedy to it, Gohan and Vegeta being shocked this could happen. And they didn't quickly rise to meet Goku and Vegeta's level, whereas the U6 Saiyans seem to be given the fast track towards reaching things like SS3 and SSB if foreshadowing is anything to go by. I don't know, maybe I'm being too forgiving of the original show.

And that's interesting what you say about how Vegeta shouldn't have attained it, and that clashing with the thematic sense of Goku getting it on Namek. Mind going further? Simply because Goku achieved it due to being pure hearted and was sent into a rage, and Vegeta being the opposite, trying to brute force his way to it? Or something else?

I honestly don't mind how Cabba attained SSJ, because is at least gave him some kind of characterization, as after attaining the form against Vegeta, he took his own initiative to devise a way of attaining the SSJ form without having to go though the mental and emotional trauma that come with it. Plus, by the time the Champa arc rolled around, Cabba was shown to be in the same domain of strength as Vegeta both in base form and SSJ. So right off the bat the Saiyans in Universe 6 were very strong.

Caulifla is another case of being absurdly strong, but having no idea how to utilize that strength to the fullest of her capabilities without something giving her some instructions. Summed up quite succinctly by the fact she flukes her way to attaining SSJ2 and had no idea how to access that form again until Goku helped her. Caulifla is basically the Goku of Universe 6. Hell, this is even slyly lampshaded when Caulifla and Goku meet each other in Episode 97. She has an incredibly innate talent for accessing dormant power but needs the right tutelage to hone her skills. But with the right direction, she'll virtually have no limit to her strength.

Kale is... unusual. Like she's basically Gohan on steroids. She has and ridiculous amount of hidden power but can only attain it through spontaneous emotionally stressed moments. The anime wrote themselves into corner with Kale's characterization and pretty much had to take the route of blowing their wad with Kale early on to justify her taking part in the Tournament Of Power.

Goten and Trunks are very weird cases, especially Goten. I mean, Goten attaining SSJ before he could fly is certainly a very questionable narrative choice to take. But much like with Caulifla and Kale, the in-universe reaction to them becoming SSJ's for the first time helped (to a degree) soften the blow that they basically reached a plateau of strength at an exceedingly quick rate. And much like Caulifla and Kale, it helps that they hit a glass ceiling just as fast as they broke their initial glass ceiling of strength. I mean, if Goku were to transform into SSJ3 at this stage or higher, he could clobber Goten and Trunks, and Kale and Caulifla for that matter, at their strongest and at the same time with great ease.

And, yeah, Vegeta attaining SSJ flies right in the face of what happened on Namek. The whole crux of how the Super Saiyan transformation could be achieved during the Namek/Freeza arc automatically disqualified Vegeta from attaining it because he was an evil bastard with diabolical intentions. Then several chapters later he attains the SSJ for despite still being evil bastard with diabolical intentions.

"The legendary warrior with a pure heart, awakened by rage," is the description Goku himself gives for the Super Saiyan form and even Freeza comments on the "pure heart" aspect of the transformation by saying this is why Vegeta never managed to become SSJ, regardless of how angry he got. Then Vegeta becomes a SSJ with the justification that boils down to, in his own words, "Well, yeah, my heart is pure... pure evil." Toriyama badly backtracked on his intended symbolical narrative in the Freeza arc and practically handed Vegeta the Super Saiyan form just so that he wouldn't fall behind. But Vegeta worked hard to attain the form, people don't mind.

[sunsetshimmer]

I don't mind people getting SSJ as long as they somehow work on it or have real reason.
Goten, Trunks and U6 saiyans are a bit asspull, but other than that i never had any problems.

I have mixed feelings about Pan not getting SSJ.
I'd like to see her as SSJ, but seeing her without it for entire GT was a bit more original tbh.
I mean SSJ was always a cheap boost.
I guess it would be okay for her to get SSJ in DBH. I'd love to see it.
Especially considering character avatars got SSJ Blue recently and Bardock got SSJ4, so poor little Pan deserves to go blonde at least.

[PsionicWarrior]

My only issues are the 2 kids getting it and Gotenks getting 3.

Well even that didn't bother me much, half-breeds prodigies was still ok back then and the power of the Fusion could explain Gotenks getting 3, and he could only hold it 5mns.

[Zephyr]

I'm fine with other Saiyans acquiring the form, and with there being several different twists on it. More often than not, these serve clear narrative functions that help to add intrigue to the story, motivate characters, contrast them from one another, and to reinforce drama.

This is Dragon Ball. Nothing is sacred (to the author). And this is fiction, there generally aren't inherently bad ideas, only poor execution. The only party who held the state up on some pedestal was Vegeta. Let's look at how Toriyama handles the trampling of this poor guy's personal sacred cow.

---

The Cell arc

Future Trunks showing up and busting it out is an excellently-placed "what the fuck!?" moment, and contributes to making a great arc hook even better. The fact that he is a Super Saiyan shows that even Goku being one isn't going to be enough to defeat the coming threat.

Now, his use of the form all but guarantees that we are going to see the other Saiyans acquire it. And I think his having the form was a positive supplement to the hook and the tension, so I'm fine with the state losing Goku-exclusivity.

Next, we have the different versions of the forms. I've touched on this several times recently, but I'll recount it here. At least when it comes to the Cell arc, everyone tries to advance the Super Saiyan state in their own ways, and this largely serves to contrast their talent and style as martial artists.

Vegeta is overly-eager to show Goku up, and sees an improvement in strength alone as sufficient. Trunks is a novice, and takes Vegeta's approach much too far. Goku decides that it would be more practical to all but negate the state's strain and drain, seeming to more value nailing the fundamentals rather than rushing ahead. Gohan, lastly, doesn't deliberately invent one of his own, but coupled with his hidden power, he takes Goku's decidedly more well rounded approach, and takes it a step further.

Gohan's new form simultaneously puts a capstone on the mini-arc of trying to advance the state, and on the meta-arc (set up about 200 chapters prior) of his hidden power eventually making him the strongest fighter, and the team's greatest asset.

Another bit I just noticed, is that each of the half breeds take their respective father's approach one step further. Since Vegeta's was a step in the wrong direction, the results were horribly impractical. Since Goku's was a step in the right direction, the results were maximally practical.

---

The Buu arc

A common type of derision for Goten and Trunks acquiring the state comes in the form of "it trivializes past struggles", "why did Goku and the rest have such a hard time if it's so easy?", and so on. I don't think this is true. The aforementioned struggles created the status quo in which these brats acquired the state. Their ability to access it doesn't undermine these past struggles, it vindicates them.

Another common type of criticism takes the form of "well why is it so much easier for them?" You could make theories about taillessness making it easier, and I buy into that myself, but I don't think even that is necessary. Merely look at the contrast in situations. The previous four were constantly in war zones, or training in anticipation for one. Goten and Trunks live during peace time. The state is triggered by emotions, and soldiers and civilians have different emotional threshholds and resiliencies. Something that wouldn't normally ruin Goku's or Gohan's day very well could for a spoiled child. Moreover, these spoiled children are, like Gohan, prodigious half breeds, and, unlike Gohan, constantly sparred against another like them. Their insane strength makes more than enough sense.

But, who cares about how much sense it makes, what does it do for the story? Well, on the nose, they act in service of Gohan's and Vegeta's comedic reactions. But especially for Gohan, it reinforces how much he's been slacking: even the squirts are catching up! Their immense potential also sets them up to be important later on, which we see taking the form of a spoiled child being the last hope of existence itself, in an excellent instance of absurdly blended dread and comedy.

I guess I can touch on Goku's and Vegeta's acquisition of Super Saiyan 2. I think it further emphasizes how smart Goku's approach was: it set the path that became the standard. Moreover, it, once again, emphasizes Gohan's half breed potential (and thus further still that of Goten and Trunks): the adults had to play catch up, and only pass him up because he was a slacker.

Now, I love Super Saiyan 3. It's fucking ridiculous. It looks obscene, and it conceptually feels like a jab at the previous arc's theme of evolving the Super Saiyan state. It's another step forward, one only Goku could hope to acquire, with his unique circumstances, but it's so inherently superfluous as to move past practicality. I love that it's so fucked that it screws with time, shortening Goku's remaining moments on Earth, and even cutting Fusion short. And it subverts the plot beat of "bust out new form, save day" that took shape in the finales of the two prior arcs.

And then I guess there's Gotenks. His rapid attainment of Super Saiyan 3 acts as a funny surprise (and a cool one), even further emphasizes the potency of these halfbreeds, and appropriates the form's existence to act in service of further selling how awesome this fusion thing is.

---

I'm kinda tapped out right now, but I'll say that I like everything about Super Saiyan 4 and Super Saiyan God, love the idea of combining forms present in Blue, the shortcomings of Blue that the Super manga introduces (and the resulting Cell arc callback of Goku and Vegeta taking different paths toward solving the same problem), and how Cabba's acquisition of the form acts as a great moment for Vegeta as a teacher.

The only egregious thing that Super really did was not having the Universe 6 Saiyans already in possession of the state, since they're older than Goten and Trunks, and aren't living in spoiled peace time (they're a soldier and two gangsters). That they dont already have the form is puzzling. But even then, their initial inaccess and resulting inexperience put Goku and Vegeta into small teaching roles during their fights, which I think shows how far Vegeta has come, and maybe lightly foreshadows Goku seeking an outlet in Uub.

---

All things considered, I don't mind Vegeta's holy bovine being dragged through the dirt. It was done elegantly, and with grace, and I think the story benefitted tremendously from it. I don't think the religious-zealot-ravings that lept from his lips on Namek serve as holy enough writ that their subversion and falsification is cause for alarm and disdain.

[Forte224]

To Lord Beerus, I guess I'm just not a fan of how they can be so strong at this point. The Saiyan race in general was always pretty weak. When you think about it, Goku, Vegeta, and Gohan all went through various trials and Zenkai boosts to get to the level of strength they were in their base forms. And Goku and Vegeta retain some of the strength they got from God ki didn't they? I don't believe Super retconned that, because Goku still fought Beerus as SSJ at the end of the fight. So how are these U6 Saiyans like Cabba at the same base strength as Goku and Vegeta?

I wonder if Toriyama had always planned on Vegeta going SSJ? I've heard rumors that Vegeta was supposed to remain dead after Namek but have never seen these confirmed. And the manga/anime intended to be ending after the Freeza arc has been totally debunked now hasn't it?

To sunsetshimmer, I think it's only a matter of time before Pan turns SSJ, once she gets a bit older. There are a lot of hints towards her being incredibly strong, and I think we'll see a completely different Pan than we saw in GT. So I guess, regardless of people wanting her to turn SSJ or not, we'll have one show where she does and one where she doesn't?

P.S. I really hope I'm not starting to stray into In Universe discussions here. Sorry if I am.

Oh, just saw Zephyr's write out. Thank you for that. That was an interesting read that gave me some pretty neat perspective. Particularly the whole father/son relationships affecting the overall outcome.

[Professor Freeza]

Firstly Super Saiyan isnt that legendary. Keep that in mind. Just because Saiyans call it legendary doesnt mean SSj is the end all be all. A weaker SSj wouldnt have even killed Freeza or King Cold, the rulers of the universe. Then move on to Majin buu of any form and even Freeza is toast to that. Then you meet Beerus. Then move on to the the 12 universes. See, ToP has clearly shown that Saiyans are plain average. u7 Saiyans were even worse than the U6 ones. Bring in the cast of the Cell arc as it is and U& loses horribly. That means strong fighters above and beyond even Buu are in every universe. So Super Saiyan is really an average powerup at best in the grand scale.


Now before we knew all this, it did matter. Future Trunks did strike the point of SSj being not that special but even he or Gohan made perfect sense by circumstances. What brought the criticism was Goten and Kid Trunks getting that. And thats solely on Toriyama.

A simpel way to prevent that was simply keep Trunks and Goten strong but not SSj. But make Gotenks strong. Fusionw as really strong so it would make sense that Gotenks would master SSj easily and go Beyond.In fact, BUFF FUSION. To the point where Gotenks' special power was SSj2 and not 3, making Goku's SSj3 even more special. This SSj2 Gotenks could easily be equal to SSj3 Gotenks of DB and no one would bash an eye.


Case to point, events of Super would have strengthened it far more. Goku and Vegeta were the only ones able to use God Ki till the end and it will stay that way in the movie too. Caulifla and Kefla being so much talented, yet they couldnt get even SSj3 yet. This dynamic perfectly preserves both sides, Super Saiyan is nothing special, yet the Power the forms of SSj3 and SSB give is almost unreachable, even the most talented need time.



I can never see anyone criticizing Kale or Caulifla getting SSj. They only complained about how they got it.


So yes, the argument against the Bargain sale is legit and Toriyama is the reason, worst offenders being Goten and Trunks not Gotenks.

[Bebi Hatchiyack]

Case to point, events of Super would have strengthened it far more. Goku and Vegeta were the only ones able to use God Ki till the end and it will stay that way in the movie too. Caulifla and Kefla being so much talented, yet they couldnt get even SSj3 yet. This dynamic perfectly preserves both sides, Super Saiyan is nothing special, yet the Power the forms of SSj3 and SSB give is almost unreachable, even the most talented need time.

I'd like to add something on this point

I think that now we have God Ki and Normal Ki why not introduce others type of ki and why not make each Ki transforming form having their pro & con.

See RPGising the Super Saiyan transformation see that tropes for knowing where I am going
http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/M ... iveBalance

Super Saiyan would be the Jack-of-All-Stats
Super Saiyan God Super Saiyan would be the Fragile Speedster
Super Saiyan Berserker would be Mighty Glacier

etc etc etc...

[ABED]

I absolutely believe Goten and Trunks getting it so easily trivializes the first form. With every new Super Saiyan, the form is less and less special. Having them get it off screen with such ease goes far beyond even the point of diminishing marginal returns. Since it doesn't really lead to anything story wise, that doesn't help matters either.

Super Saiyan 3 and the intermediate states had draw backs which is great for drama.

Having not seen Super, do they elaborate more on god ki? What makes it different than mortal ki?

[Professor Freeza]

Case to point, events of Super would have strengthened it far more. Goku and Vegeta were the only ones able to use God Ki till the end and it will stay that way in the movie too. Caulifla and Kefla being so much talented, yet they couldnt get even SSj3 yet. This dynamic perfectly preserves both sides, Super Saiyan is nothing special, yet the Power the forms of SSj3 and SSB give is almost unreachable, even the most talented need time.

I'd like to add something on this point

I think that now we have God Ki and Normal Ki why not introduce others type of ki and why not make each Ki transforming form having their pro & con.

See RPGising the Super Saiyan transformation see that tropes for knowing where I am going
http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/M ... iveBalance

Super Saiyan would be the Jack-of-All-Stats
Super Saiyan God Super Saiyan would be the Fragile Speedster
Super Saiyan Berserker would be Mighty Glacier

etc etc etc...

Eh. I see Toriyama moving away from new forms of Super Saiyan if UI is any indication. Technique has returned to DB after Z dumped it. U7 saiyans need no more transformations while U6 guys can always get SSj3 when needed a lot.

Different types of ki could be nice, but too high level writing for DB as a whole. Toriyama will fuck it up easily

[Bebi Hatchiyack]

Case to point, events of Super would have strengthened it far more. Goku and Vegeta were the only ones able to use God Ki till the end and it will stay that way in the movie too. Caulifla and Kefla being so much talented, yet they couldnt get even SSj3 yet. This dynamic perfectly preserves both sides, Super Saiyan is nothing special, yet the Power the forms of SSj3 and SSB give is almost unreachable, even the most talented need time.

I'd like to add something on this point

I think that now we have God Ki and Normal Ki why not introduce others type of ki and why not make each Ki transforming form having their pro & con.

See RPGising the Super Saiyan transformation see that tropes for knowing where I am going
http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/M ... iveBalance

Super Saiyan would be the Jack-of-All-Stats
Super Saiyan God Super Saiyan would be the Fragile Speedster
Super Saiyan Berserker would be Mighty Glacier

etc etc etc...

Eh. I see Toriyama moving away from new forms of Super Saiyan if UI is any indication. Technique has returned to DB after Z dumped it. U7 saiyans need no more transformations while U6 guys can always get SSj3 when needed a lot.

Different types of ki could be nice, but too high level writing for DB as a whole. Toriyama will fuck it up easily

Well luckily Toyotaro already did have this idea in his Dragon Ball AF fanmanga he just have to remake it into canon material also the Dragon Ball Room staff can help. As for me I developped this idea for my own project. You just have to add also Ultra Instinct transformation who are for me a spiritual transformation and that's almost it. Almost because I come up with the idea of another Spiritual transformation based on extrasensory perception ability.


In my opinion now that we have all those transformation form they need now to make them stand from each other and give them proper use, we can't go back to the uniqueness now we have to work each transformation to make them unique Super Dragon Ball Heroes despite the commercial value have make use of that. There is so much potential like creating magic that can have its own ki, heck why not anti-based ki or demonic ki. The SSJ4 that can be introduce again anew by being a Biological transformation where you can stack for exemple a standard SSJ or SSG.

Let's go at full speed ahead with this idea and to hell if people things that will make the things looks like "PoWeR RaNGeR" *insert spongebob meme here*

[Forte224]

I absolutely believe Goten and Trunks getting it so easily trivializes the first form. With every new Super Saiyan, the form is less and less special. Having them get it off screen with such ease goes far beyond even the point of diminishing marginal returns. Since it doesn't really lead to anything story wise, that doesn't help matters either.

Super Saiyan 3 and the intermediate states had draw backs which is great for drama.

Having not seen Super, do they elaborate more on god ki? What makes it different than mortal ki?

Not really no. It's pretty much just another power up at this point. The last time it was really mentioned was when Future Trunks saw Vegeta do it and he noticed he couldn't sense any ki. It was also something that upset the villain in the Trunks arc. He saw them use god ki and was both impressed and sickened by at. As he was considered a god himself, and seeing it used by mortals upset him. After that I can't remember it being acknowledged much.