First reactions to SSJ?

[soulnova]

I'm very curious at to what was the reaction of the Japaneses readers when Goku ascended for the first time at Namek.

To be honest, I completely spoiled myself at the start of DBZ by reading a synopsis, but also the rest of Latin-American viewers got spoiled by the opening... they used the footage from the second Chala Head Chala Op... we even see Vegeta and Trunks. So, while it was a big event here, we already knew it was coming.

I really want to know if there's any Japanese fan comments from back there (not from this forum, of course, but from other media).

[BlazingFiddlesticks]

I was halfway across the aisle from you- my DBZ viewing was so sporadic that I knew it was a big deal, but hadn't invested anything enough in the story to react. Super Sayain 3 was the first major transformation that I was plugged in enough to series to really respond to, and Vegetto still owns my biggest "Holy Crap!"

[Ringworm128]

Well since Goku going SSJ is pretty much in it was his sled/late arrival spoiler territory I wasn't that shocked or anything. I did however like the "I won't let you get away with this" line.

[Gyt Kaliba]

I may be amongst the few that weren't spoiled on the form, since that's pretty much right when I got into the show. I had only seen a few sparse episodes before, mainly the one with Bulma and the crabs on Namek (an episode I still loathe to this day), and wasn't really liking what I saw. Then I ended up seeing the episode that started off with Super Saiyan Goku, so that the last time thing showed Kuririn's death, Piccolo's 'death', and Goku's reaction. Even just a summed up version like that, there was just...something about the transformation that grabbed my attention and made me sit up. DB instantly became a show I had to watch and quickly became very passionate about.

At the same time though, I kind of wish I'd been into it earlier than that, so I could have had more of the build-up to the transformation originally, as that would have made it even more impressive to me I think. Though, if I'd been watching from the get go, I'd probably have spoiled myself all about it shortly afterwards anyway, seeing as that's what I did as soon as the Androids stuff started.

[TheGmGoken]

I'm going to get hate for this but I hated it and thought it was the ugliest piece of shit I've ever seen. Yes this is true that I used to think this. I thought the hair was gay and promoting Gay Men(Sorry if this is offensive. I don't like Gay MEN..have nothing against lesbians. So you can see I'm 50% homophobic) with the whole standing up blonde with "Blue" eyes. Then I thought the show was for Gay men cause Goku shirt was getting more ripped by the second and Goku became HUGE. Yes this is true. Never-mind the fact I always thought Freeza was a boy and was naked which made it worst. Yes this is true. I'm ashamed at the fact I used to think this,

[DarkPrince_92]

Coolest shit ever. I wasn't a japanese reader btw, but I do remember seeing SSJ from the first Funimation dub. I had prior knowledge from some trading cards my friend had as to what the form looked like, had no idea what it was. Then on tv, after my friends finally got me to go watch the show on my own, I saw Goku lose his shit, didn't know what exactly what was going on, but I knew Goku was gonna beat Freeza's ass after all the lighting and dark skies kinda went away. That's all I could draw from it, and I was hooked.

[Aoi]

I'm going to get hate for this but I hated it and thought it was the ugliest piece of shit I've ever seen. Yes this is true that I used to think this. I thought the hair was gay and promoting Gay Men(Sorry if this is offensive. I don't like Gay MEN..have nothing against lesbians. So you can see I'm 50% homophobic) with the whole standing up blonde with "Blue" eyes. Then I thought the show was for Gay men cause Goku shirt was getting more ripped by the second and Goku became HUGE. Yes this is true. Never-mind the fact I always thought Freeza was a boy and was naked which made it worst. Yes this is true. I'm ashamed at the fact I used to think this,

Well that was one of the most interesting posts I've ever read in any forum ever. lol. I thought it was very cool and loved that he was going to whip Freeza's ass. But for me, SSJ2 for some reason blew me away. It was more the "story-twist" than the design. It didn't feel like a re-hash at all to me either. It just...worked.

[NintendoBlaze53]

My first experience with Dragon Ball was Budokai 1 and the music was what made that scene for me, but SSj2 was more of an impact to me at the time, after I got into the anime through the uncut DVD's (didn't have cable) SSj3 made me go cause the HAIR.

[The Monkey King]

For me it was just so epic and godlike. The lightning, the hair, the buildup, the pure rage!
As a kid I wanted to dye blond for a while because of the super saiyan transformation

[Ajay]

thought the hair was gay and promoting Gay Men(Sorry if this is offensive. I don't like Gay MEN..have nothing against lesbians. So you can see I'm 50% homophobic)

I can't tell by your post whether this is an opinion you hold now or whether it was your thoughts as a child?

[Pantalones]

Sounded like to me that the "Super Saiyan = dyed blonde spikey hair = gay" thing was a childhood opinion, while "I don't like dem dere gays but LEZBIANZ IZ HAWT" is a current one. Just basing that on which parts used past tense and which used present tense.

As for the actual topic... I honestly can't remember what my first reaction to Super Saiyan was. My first exposure to DBZ was sometime before Goku arrived to fight Nappa and Vegeta (during training with King Kai, and a lot of standing and staring from everyone on Earth) and I remember not liking it much... and then later on I started watching the Android Saga when it was airing on Cartoon Network and got into it. So I missed Super Saiyan being a new thing; the first episodes I saw had everyone going Super Saiyan like they'd been doing it for years (...well, at that point they had, with the whole 3-year-training thing, but you get the idea.)
I think the first transformation/power-up that I remember being really impressed with was when Piccolo fused with Kami and was suddenly the most powerful of the good guys by far, strong enough to scare off this creepy green guy that just showed up and fight the Androids that were kicking his and everyone else's ass just a few episodes earlier.

[Ajay]

Sounded like to me that the "Super Saiyan = dyed blonde spikey hair = gay" thing was a childhood opinion, while "I don't like dem dere gays but LEZBIANZ IZ HAWT" is a current one. Just basing that on which parts used past tense and which used present tense.

If that's the case then I really hope that's a bannable offense. That kind of bigoted, ignorant and backwards thinking has no place in any part of the world. Absolutely disgusting.

[90sDBZ]

Well I was already aware of it thanks to the Rock the Dragon opening. But that didn't stop me from being insanely excited and hyped for the next episode after seeing it. Everything about it just screamed epic to me. The hair change, the aura, the eyes, the vengeful facial expression. All that added to the awesome dub score and it was the high point of my childhood. I knew as soon as Goku began to transform that this was the miracle that would finally finish the unstoppable Frieza. It was just so great and uplifting to see after seeing Goku struggle and get beaten to a pulp for so many episodes with no hope and even his ultimate technique failing. There were lots of similar moments to this later in the series such as SS2 Gohan but none of them were quite as special as this.

The funny thing is I initially thought Goku looked like he was smiling during parts of the transformation like the shots that showed him powering up from mid-distance.

[TheGmGoken]

thought the hair was gay and promoting Gay Men(Sorry if this is offensive. I don't like Gay MEN..have nothing against lesbians. So you can see I'm 50% homophobic)

I can't tell by your post whether this is an opinion you hold now or whether it was your thoughts as a child?

Still not a fan of Gay Men. But it's much less homophobic now.

If that's the case then I really hope that's a bannable offense. That kind of bigoted, ignorant and backwards thinking has no place in any part of the world. Absolutely disgusting.

It's my opinion. But let's not get off topic. I didn't break no rules. All I did was connected how I felt about a subject to my reaction. Now a huge deal.

[Toparaman]

I'm going to get hate for this but I hated it and thought it was the ugliest piece of shit I've ever seen. Yes this is true that I used to think this. I thought the hair was gay and promoting Gay Men(Sorry if this is offensive. I don't like Gay MEN..have nothing against lesbians. So you can see I'm 50% homophobic) with the whole standing up blonde with "Blue" eyes. Then I thought the show was for Gay men cause Goku shirt was getting more ripped by the second and Goku became HUGE. Yes this is true. Never-mind the fact I always thought Freeza was a boy and was naked which made it worst. Yes this is true. I'm ashamed at the fact I used to think this,

This is the craziest interpretation of SSJ I've ever read. Are you sure you're not a closet case? I can't imagine any straight person thinking this way.

Regardless, you should really get over your homophobia.

[Fionordequester]

If that's the case then I really hope that's a bannable offense. That kind of bigoted, ignorant and backwards thinking has no place in any part of the world. Absolutely disgusting.

Dude. What he said about being weary about gay people is definitely not good, and a terrible thing to say in public (Heck, I'm Christian, and even I think he's being stupid and backwards), but he has a right to express his opinion. You can't ban someone just because you don't like something they said.

[DragonBoxZTheMovies]

I'm going to get hate for this but I hated it and thought it was the ugliest piece of shit I've ever seen. Yes this is true that I used to think this. I thought the hair was gay and promoting Gay Men(Sorry if this is offensive. I don't like Gay MEN..have nothing against lesbians. So you can see I'm 50% homophobic) with the whole standing up blonde with "Blue" eyes. Then I thought the show was for Gay men cause Goku shirt was getting more ripped by the second and Goku became HUGE. Yes this is true. Never-mind the fact I always thought Freeza was a boy and was naked which made it worst. Yes this is true. I'm ashamed at the fact I used to think this,

...Sounds like you just made this up now.

I mean, I have no idea when you got into the series, but as a 9 year old or even a 12 year old, nothing of this nature ever even occurred to me.

[SSj_Rambo]

Well we learned TheGmGoken has some very interesting views on... well a lot of things. All I will say is that to see those connotations in a cartoon, you have to really be looking for them. I guess believing you when you say you're ashamed to have had those thoughts (views?/reactions?/mindset?) should calm people down..

As far as my first reaction goes, I was one of the many Americans who was very much spoiled when it came to knowing what the Super Saiya-jin was. Hell, I started in the Jinzoningen arc. When I was able to look back on the entirety of Z, the SSj element really helped me accept the whole idea to cut their tails off. I know it could be a weakness if it was exposed, but it also seemed like a crucial key to a lot of the good guys' victories (especially in the movies). I was trying to figure out why these intelligent fighters would seemingly completely eliminate their potentially most powerful weapon. Once Super Saiya-jin was introduced the power up finally replaced the need to ever use Oozaru form. That's how I saw it all.

[Kamiccolo9]

Is it bad that I don't even remember seeing it for the first time?

[goku the krump dancer]

Is it bad that I don't even remember seeing it for the first time?

Its cool man, neither do I.. At least I don't remember being all ecstatic about it.