Why was super saiyan 3 made?

[MajinMan]

I've been wondering this for a long time. Why do you think Toriyama made ssj3 in the first place? I think it was probably used as a backup just in case he wanted to change the direction of the story, which he did. Tell me what you guys think.

[FortuneSSJ]

Plot device.

Freeza arc - ssj
Cell arc - ssj2
Buu arc - ssj3

Let's not forget the time gap between Cell and Buu arcs. We already knew about ssj2, so Goku had to come back with something new/stronger.
A stronger enemy appears and they need a stronger form. That's how it works.
But unlike the others, ssj3 form wasn't what killed the villain in the end.

Still, it was what gave the upper hand to Goku vs Fat Buu and Gotenks vs Super Buu.

[Videlphia76ers]

They had to make Goku top dog again somehow.

[fadeddreams5]

Maybe he was just fiddling with a cool design and thought to himself, "Yeah... this is too good to waste."

[MajinMan]

It's true that it is a plot device, but it was so weak compared to super buu(all forms)and the only reason it was useful was because they had to create a weaker buu for Goku to match up with. Also Gohan ended up stronger than him which made him the top dog until Battle of Gods.

[FortuneSSJ]

I never saw Gohan has the top dog because we had the 10 years timeskip in the end.
And judging by that, seems like Goku never stop training (and thus surprassed Gohan again) while Gohan decided to focus in other things (studies and family) and probably became rusty once again.

[JulieYBM]

"I've run out of ideas to convey Gokuu's strength!" or "Hey, make a new Super Saiyan form so we can sell new merchandise!" is probably the best answer.

[NeoKING]

Because it goes with the theme that the Boo saga was going with; it was a low-key parody of everything the series had thrown at us before. Give Goku a new SSJ form, and let him have so much hair he looks almost ridiculous. Other parodies in the Boo arc include:

- Lets have a Tenkaichi Budokai where the heroes leave mid-tournament;
- Lets have the main villain act like a total child;
- Lets have Goten and Trunks be these amazing prodigies that treat SSJ like a joke;
- Lets have Gohan have more dormant power -- and literally have to just sit there and do nothing to achieve it;
- Lets have the main villain have like 50 different transformations (the most obvious sign of this is Super Boohan's design, who looks like he can be a member of the Son family because of his Gi -- the last time we saw a villain in the orange Gi was the gag of Ginyu in Gohan's imagination);
- Lets have the Spirit Bomb actually work;

I'm sure there are many others, but the Boo saga was definitely a joke by Toriyama where the series started poking fun at itself.

[FindKenshi]

I always felt like it fell in line with the rest of 90's fiction.. bigger, better, stronger characters with more flashly looks and unlimited god-like power. Super Saiyan 3 is so 90's. Not even Toriyama / Jump is immune, of course. Look at a lot of other fiction from that era, US Comic Books and Japanese Manga alike.

Edit: you can compare SSj3's hair with Cable's pouches.

[TheBritWriter]

I always wondered if Toriyama had some resentment to ssj3 design, partly looking at seeing how that form got trounced on by Beerus, yet standard ssj goes out fighting. I'm not saying Toriyama has done a 'take that' to his own design but it seems to be something he doesn't see as reuseing for future instalments.

[Lord Beerus]

Super Saiyan 3 was made to display how much screaming could seriously lead to power level, and hair, growing beyond recognition. In hindsight, it was probably created to mock the concept of further SSJ transformations. Either way, it was ridiculously awesome.

[FindKenshi]

I really don't think SSj3 was intentionally a parody or mockery of anything. Like I said, it fits in perfectly with '90's stuff.'

[Tatakae!!Ramenman]

It was awesome!

[UpFromTheSkies]

Maybe he was just trolling Vegeta fans... First he made it look like Vegeta had finally caught up with Goku in terms of power, then made it look like he defeated Buu, neither of which turned out to be true.

[FindKenshi]

Heh... "Akira Trolliama?"

[NeoKING]

I really don't think SSj3 was intentionally a parody or mockery of anything. Like I said, it fits in perfectly with '90's stuff.'

That doesn't make any sense, to be honest. If anything, SSJ3 has an 80's aesthetic (long rocker hair). But still, capturing the zeitgeist of the times in the story was never something Akira Toriyama did outside of the manga covers and illustrations. For instance, volume 37 of the original manga has Goten rocking a propeller cap, and Trunks has one foot of the freaking Jordan 5 sneakers on his head. Those are 90's.

[Saiga]

Well, part of it was Toriyama writing by the seat of his pants - he hadn't planned Super Saiyan 3 very far in advance - and I think he needed a way to write Goku out of the plot again. Remember, Goku left almost immediately after that. And Toriyama had clearly planned for Goku to use up his time, because Kaio mentions it when telling Goku not to use the form. So I think that was the main point, and having a fight with Boo and making Goku look impressive were just bonuses to go with that.

[Kakacarrottop]

To make Toei/AT richer, although all it has achieved is helping fuel over the top "Vs." comparisons.

[ZazamPow]

Damn, Kanzenshuu users sure look at the glass half empty.

[RandomGuy96]

Because it's pretty much necessary for the way the story unfolds. It explains Super Buu's actions when plotting around Gotenks, it lets Gotenks look good (beats the hell out of Buu) but still lose (because Buu outlasted his stamina), it lets Fat Buu and Pure Buu have actual fights with Goku, and it makes Goku stronger than Vegeta again, even letting him be top dog for a little.

If you were to take it out... I'm not sure how the story could really work. I guess Goku could just fight fatso in SS2, and just do a bit better than Vegeta because he uses tricks to amuse Buu (e.g. Instant Movement, Kienzan, Solar Flare) and doesn't piss him off (so Buu just throws light hits and takes blows he wouldn't usually take, because he's having fun). Then Gotenks only gets SS2, and runs out of stamina when trying to kill Buu that way (in this version of the story, SS2 would drain more power than it does usually, but not as much as SS3).

The final battle would be a bit trickier, because Goku and Vegeta would be the same strength. I guess you could have Vegeta just lose his Majin power-up, so SS2 Goku can fight evenly with Pure Buu and lose due to Buu's infinite stamina and his own quickly-draining stamina, and Vegeta can lose pretty badly while fighting the same opponent but still put up a fight. Kind of like the fight he put up in the anime. Or the fight Mr. Buu later puts up.