Saiyans have limitless potential?

[DBZGTKOSDH]

I remember Freeza saying in the FUNi dub that Saiyans have limitless potential, meaning that they will always grow stronger. Was this in the original anime or manga, or was this just a dub line?

[dbgtFO]

Strength Checker agrees(well bottomless battle power, not limitless potential, but it's just another way to word it IMO)

Chapter: 264 (DBZ 70), P6.5
Freeza: “It seems that the Saiyans really do hide bottomless battle power…It increases greatly the more they battle…Of course, there’s no way they could be a match for me, but if I don’t think of the future and nip them in the bud now…After all, it’d be troublesome if they were able to become Super Saiyans…”

[Piccolo Daimao]

I think practically everyone in DB has limitless potential. Goku, Gohan, Vegeta and everyone are constantly reaching "their limits", and when everyone thinks that they've hit the wall of unbelievable power, they go ahead and break through it. There are even moments where the story tries to tell us that they've been taken "beyond their limits", but they still end up getting stronger. That's the kind of mantra that DB and other Shonen manga tries to teach us, right? Goku must've "hit his limits", like, seven or more times before the series' end.

[DBZGTKOSDH]

So it wasn't a dub line, thanks!

I think practically everyone in DB has limitless potential. Goku, Gohan, Vegeta and everyone are constantly reaching "their limits", and when everyone thinks that they've hit the wall of unbelievable power, they go ahead and break it. There are even moments where the story tries to tell us that they've been taken "beyond their limits", but they still end up getting stronger. That's the kind of mantra that DB and other Shonen manga tries to teach us, right? Goku must've "hit his limits", like, seven or more times before the series' end.

I wouldn't say everyone, Kuririn, Tenshinhan, Yamcha and Chaozu were already useless in Saiyan arc, and by Cell arc, they had given up (except Tenshinhan & Chaozu, but we don't know how strong they got, if any.), and Piccolo was also usless by the end of Cell arc and in Boo arc. In Boo arc, the only ones that had grown stronger and could stand against Boo were Goku, Gohan, Vegeta, and Goten & Trunks through Fusion, all of them being Saiyans. Even in GT, the only active members were Goku, Trunks, Pan, Vegeta, Goten and Oob. Again, everyone were Saiyans, except Oob who was Pure Boo's reincarnation. So, the fact that every Earthling and Namekian couldn't surpass Cell's level seems likee they reached their limits, unlike the Saiyans who have bottomless battle power.

[Piccolo Daimao]

I think practically everyone in DB has limitless potential. Goku, Gohan, Vegeta and everyone are constantly reaching "their limits", and when everyone thinks that they've hit the wall of unbelievable power, they go ahead and break it. There are even moments where the story tries to tell us that they've been taken "beyond their limits", but they still end up getting stronger. That's the kind of mantra that DB and other Shonen manga tries to teach us, right? Goku must've "hit his limits", like, seven or more times before the series' end.

I wouldn't say everyone, Kuririn, Tenshinhan, Yamcha and Chaozu were already useless in Saiyan arc, and by Cell arc, they had given up (except Tenshinhan & Chaozu, but we don't know how strong they got, if any.), and Piccolo was also usless by the end of Cell arc and in Boo arc. In Boo arc, the only ones that had grown stronger and could stand against Boo were Goku, Gohan, Vegeta, and Goten & Trunks through Fusion, all of them being Saiyans. Even in GT, the only active members were Goku, Trunks, Pan, Vegeta, Goten and Oob. Again, everyone were Saiyans, except Oob who was Pure Boo's reincarnation. So, the fact that every Earthling and Namekian couldn't surpass Cell's level seems likee they reached their limits, unlike the Saiyans who have bottomless battle power.

They'd given up trying to catch up to Piccolo and the Saiyans, as they knew that, if Piccolo and the Saiyans kept training, they'd never be able to even touch their level, because they're only Earthlings. They were useless because they were just so much weaker than those around them, who had the advantages of higher power gain because of their race, transformations and whatnot.

In the Boo arc, it's implied that Kuririn and (probably) Yamcha had retired from training, the former because he'd settled down with a family. They're Earthlings, not Saiyans; their life isn't battle and, as they grow older and start having families, they gradually lose interest in martial arts and begin to have normal lives. God, who was a dragon-type Namekian who still trained as a martial arts, presumably gave up martial arts when he took the post of God of Earth. Saiyans are a warrior race, so their entire life is battle, so they'll continue training to their death.

I'm talking about pure-blooded Saiyans, by the way. Half-Saiyans like Gohan, Goten, Trunks and Pan I count as Earthlings, as we saw that, once they grow older, they start having normal lives, because they're born 'n bred on Earth. Nurture over nature, and all that. Gohan was never a fighter at heart; he wanted to become a scholar, which he eventually ends up succeeding at when he becomes an adult. End-of-Z Goten values a date over participating in a tournament which Goku forces him to enter, and end-of-Z Trunks is also forced to enter because Vegeta threatened him with cutting his allowance.

If Kuririn kept on training for, like, 300 years without retirement (and it's possible that he'd still be alive by then; Muten Roshi's 354 at the end-of-Z, and Kuririn had far surpassed them), then I could see him being able to scratch true-form Freeza's power. If, after he died, he kept on training, then he could even reach Super Saiyan Goku on Namek's level. It would probably be a very slow rate, but if he worked at it, he could likely get there. That's what DB has taught us. Before the Great Elder tapped his dormant power, Kuririn said that he thought he'd already surpassed his limits, but when the Great Elder drew out his hidden power, he was astounded at how much power he had hiding, so much so that, going by official sources, he ended up at 75,000. He wound up at, like, 50 times what he'd estimated was past his limits.

Chapter: 265 (DBZ 71), P4.6, P5.1-4, P6.1-2
Context: Saichourou draws out Kuririn’s hidden power.
Great Elder: “By the way, despite being an Earthling, you have outstanding power…But it’s a shame that you have power still dormant…”
Kuririn: “Th-that can’t be…! I don’t have that sort of power or nothin’…! I’ve trained pretty harshly…I think even now I’ve already about surpassed my limits…[*the Great Elder draws his power out*] Aw…awawa…! Po…power…power…! Ehyaah! I’m bursting with power! Amazing! Unbelievable, I feel as if I’ve come back to life!”

Chapter: 265 (DBZ 71), P8.1
Context: Kuririn is flying to get Gohan.
Kuririn: “Th-this is incredible!!! I never knew I had so much power…!!! At this rate I could bring Gohan in a few hours!!!”

[Bussani]

Kuririn, Tenshinhan, Yamcha and Chaozu were already useless in Saiyan arc

So was Piccolo. In fact, he was probably more useless than Kuririn. The only thing he did successfully was take a death-beam for Gohan.

and by Cell arc, they had given up

Well, that doesn't say anything about their potential to get stronger, does it? Vegeta wouldn't get stronger if he stopped training either. Heck, Gohan more or less did stop training between the Cell and Buu arcs, and Vegeta won't shut up about it. Sure, the Saiyans may get stronger faster than humans, but that doesn't mean humans have an absolute limit.

[Piccolo Daimao]

Indeed. I'll repeat it again anyway: they were useless because they were just so much weaker than those around them. Using that logic, Goku was useless in the Cell arc because he was out of commission for most of the arc, didn't win a single fight and Cell was much stronger than him anyway.

[Fox666]

Goku was useless in the Cell arc

Except for his sacrifice, he was all the time.

[Piccolo Daimao]

Goku was useless in the Cell arc

Except for his sacrifice, he was all the time.

Oh yeah, I forgot about that. But apart from that, and maybe having Gohan fight Cell (a gamble, like most of his other reckless decisions, which turned out OK and he never learned from them), he was pretty much useless.

[Perfect]

He never would've gotten Gohan to train in RoSaT if he was useless.

[Saiga]

He never would've gotten Gohan to train in RoSaT if he was useless.

Pretty much this. He thought of the RoSaT training, developed the method of attaining SSFP, and trained Gohan to surpass him.

[Rocketman]

There's a difference between "having unlimited potential" and actually gaining that power.

[Master Blaster]

I don't know. But Saiyans seem to be able to gain power much faster than anybody else we see in the DB universe.

[LeprikanGT]

Unlimited power formula:

Step1. Saiyan A blasts Saiyan B through the chest at the same time Saiyan B does the same to Saiyan A.

Step 2. Get Dende to heal them both.

Step 3. Near death wound being healed power gets jacked up.

Step 4. Repeat as you wish.

[Savage68]

I imagine that forcibly bringing yourself to a state of near death over and over again would be extremely unpleasant.

[hleV]

I imagine that forcibly bringing yourself to a state of near death over and over again would be extremely unpleasant.

It's not about it being pleasant, but about it working, I guess.

[DBZGTKOSDH]

I imagine that forcibly bringing yourself to a state of near death over and over again would be extremely unpleasant.

That's were drugs get into the game!

[FindKenshi]

I imagine that forcibly bringing yourself to a state of near death over and over again would be extremely unpleasant.

Though some may enjoy it...

[Fox666]

It is extremely dangerous to do that. There is no grantee that he won't die before he can be healed.

[DBZGTKOSDH]

Also, wasn't in SEG said that after Freeza arc, near-death power-ups became miniscule or insignificant?