Akira Toriyama recent interview

[Real Super-Sand]

So, as some of you may know, a new interview with Akira was released not too long ago. In this interview the interview asked this question "Goku endlessly keeps getting stronger, with Super Saiyan 3 in the manga and Super Saiyan 4 in the anime; does Super Saiyan keep getting limitlessly stronger too? Might we eventually see things such as a Super Saiyan 5…?!"

To which Akira responded with
"Super Saiyan 2 and 3 are nothing more than powered-up variations of Super Saiyan. After the fight with Beerus, Goku realized that mastering his normal state and Super Saiyan would raise his level more and sap less strength, so I think he probably won’t become Super Saiyan 2 or 3 any more."

So the question is....How does everyone feel about the fact that Ssj2 and 3 will most likely no longer be in the series? Me personally, I like the idea. For me, the best parts of the whole Dragon Ball series were the fights in the Saiyan, Namek and part of the Android saga where the Z fighters didn't rely on transformations 24/7 and actually used other techniques in battle. My favorite form in the series is indeed Ssj1, because I felt as if that was the only form that didn't feel like a random ass pull move (sorry for the language)

 Ssj1 from the Saiyan saga up until the Frieza saga was this huge legendary transformation and once Ssj2 was introduced it became nothing but a base form, and then Ssj3 came into the picture and nearly every Saiyan could also go Ssj2 in the Buu saga. It just all got a bit ridiculous, especially when everyone who wasn't a Saiyan or above Ssj1 was pretty much useless.

I like that the series is going back to when transformations weren't everything and that Akira is trying to show us that transformations have draw backs that stopped Goku from wanting to use them. I also think it makes sense that Ssj1 has the potential to surpass Ssj2 and Ssj3 because it is THE original transformation and the starting block for all the other Ssj forms. Goku wanting to dive more into Ssj1's power is exactly what he did in the Cell arc when he found out tapping into that power would be far better then ascending due to the strain of the other forms. Except this time it is with Ssj2 and 3 rather then Ussj (Ultra Super Saiyan 1 and 2)

We all thought Ssj2 and 3 were actually separate Ssj forms but now we know it is still a branch of Ssj1 just like Ultra Ssj was, so yet again it makes sense that tapping into the original Ssj1 power more would improve him more, people who say that Ssj2 does not drain energy need to realize that every transformation drains energy and puts a strain on their body, just because it wasn't shown to put a strain like Ssj3 does it doesn't mean it never strains their body, each time you transform to a more powerful form you automatically get a bigger strain then before.

Anyway, I feel as if Akira has hinted this whole thing by making Vegeta go Ssj1 to fight Bills rather then Ssj2, same thing with Gotenks going Ssj1 against Bills rather then Ssj3. And yes people Vegeta was a Ssj1 against Bills, Akira has always drawn lighting when a character goes beyond Ssj1 in the manga and if you look closely Ssj2 and 3 Goku all had lighting when he went it against Bills. No lighting on Vegeta means no Ssj2. Especially when we don't have a manga to show he went Ssj2 and Akira pretty much wrote the script and supervised the project. Not to mention when all the Saiyans had to go Ssj to give Goku their energy so he could transform into Ssj god, Vegeta was a Ssj1 there and looked exactly the same as he did when he fought Bills.

Sorry about that little rant. xD So what are your opinions on this?

[Nia]

Well, it's been mentioned on many threads, but actually, I'm okay with it.
I like SSJ2 and SSJ3, but I always felt the first level was always held the most effect.

SSJ2 never had a huge effect on me (probably because I'm just not all that fond of Gohan, and it was kinda "his" transformation). Also, it didn't really look that different from the normal SSJ form in a lot of cases except for the lightning... which I think did appear on some first stage SSJ characters a time or two.

SSJ3 was a cool concept, and it was nice that unlike the other forms, you could see the sheer strain of the form (Goku himself even being hesitant to use the form).

So, if they bring SSJ1 back front and center, I'd have no complaints.

[Real Super-Sand]

Well as you said, Ssj2 never really changed anything all that much, besides from when Gohan used it against Cell. And while Ssj3 made a big difference appearance wise (Which was kinda nice although looked a little silly to me) The strain on the body was just to much for Goku to use outside of the other world. I personally think it is a little silly when I see people carrying on like little kids over the fact that Ssj2 and 3 will no longer be in the series, because yet again as you have said one of the forms barley made any difference, the other was to stressful to use, and Ssj1 was always the one in the spot light anyway. 

[Nyeseth]

So Akira is what, like almost 60? and I think that you guys over analyse it too much as well. I mean, if Goku masters his base form and his ss1 form, would that not just boost the power of the other transformations? I mean, it's not like it would decrease his power, if at all any effects were seen to be negative, it would just be the transformations not doing anything besides changing looks, which I don't think would be the case.

Yes, the Idea is good and Personally I agree that it would be cool to not have to wait 5 episodes for a transformation to happen, but did you ever think that he's getting lazy, and that he's laying down foundations for the possibility of continuing the manga? I mean, there's a lot of demand for it, and I mean who want's to draw ss3 that many times?

Now yes, it might be a move to a new future for dragon ball and dragon ball z, but in all honesty, I doubt he wants to continue drawing ss3 anymore. I mean, 'Ultimate' Gohan is on par with super saiyan 3 right? so why not just make the elder kai training unlock ss3 for Gohan? because it's a bother to draw.

But yes, this is an interesting move for the series (which isn't really a series anymore, I mean it ended and now all they're doing is remaking them in HD and cutting out all the filler).

[Nia]

I don't think Toriyama will write much more in manga (except for stuff like Jaco the Galactic Patrolman or whatever it's called).
I think they'll keep making movies in line with Battle of Gods though.

But you'll also note that in the actual series, Goku's SSJ3 form did have a lot of drawbacks. But you could be right at the same time. Still, I don't think that he'll continue the manga.

Then again, you never know with Toriyama. This is a man who started his career by drawing a little android girl who played with poop.

[Nyeseth]

hahahah yeah, that is true. Anyway, I wasn't trying to put you guys down, I just see a lot of people jumping to conclusions and over analyzing things all the time and was just putting things into perspective

[Real Super-Sand]

Well their could be a few possibility's as to why Ssj2 and Ssj3 would no longer multiply his base and Ssj1 forms. One of them could be because Ssj2 and Ssj3 are like short cuts to reaching that type of power level when Ssj1 can surpass that type of power just by sheer training due to it being the original form, if the original form is the stepping stone for such power as Ssj2 and 3 then that means that the Ssj1 form in it's self already has that type of power that any Saiyan can tap into if they train enough, rather then transform and take the short cut, which could be why Ssj2 and 3 have the draw backs to them.

Another reason could be that Goku needs to train in each form in order to increase that forms power level so he gets a good enough power multiplier when he does enter those forms, other wise their would be no point in training in those forms other then to master them, which Goku has already done with Ssj1

Or it could just be that tapping into the full power of the original Ssj form basically gives him the power boost of a Ssj2 and 3 without having to transform into those forms.

[Zellion]

It was stated in the movie that Goku himself absorbed the God power into himself... It was later inferred by the battle scene that goku was able to fight with just his base and SSJ form.

And in the recent interview, with Akira saying that he no longer needs the forms, which makes me think that he's now just increasing his base to himself overall stronger.

To me his seems to be just regurgitating what he said during the Cell saga.   

[SSJGGoku]

Didn't really care for SSJ3 and SSJ2. I'm glad we get to see SSJ1 again.  ;D

[SSJMichael84]

I agree that SSJ1 is better. They did make a big deal about SSJ and yeah the other forms just really took the fun out of it. I do like the idea of the other forms to be something to work towards but the base SSJ form is the best because it doesn't really seem to have an upper limit and once its mastered it doesn't seem to actually strain the body anymore...as long as you are awake and have some ki left. SSJ4 to me was more of a mutation than a transformation. I have my own thoughts of Mystic (Ultimate Gohan to some, Mystic Gohan to me). Honestly I love talking about others opinions of Mystic and what they thought it should be.

Long story short SSJ and Mystic is the best.

[Kaiza]

So Akira is what, like almost 60? and I think that you guys over analyse it too much as well. I mean, if Goku masters his base form and his ss1 form, would that not just boost the power of the other transformations? I mean, it's not like it would decrease his power, if at all any effects were seen to be negative, it would just be the transformations not doing anything besides changing looks, which I don't think would be the case.

Yes, the Idea is good and Personally I agree that it would be cool to not have to wait 5 episodes for a transformation to happen, but did you ever think that he's getting lazy, and that he's laying down foundations for the possibility of continuing the manga? I mean, there's a lot of demand for it, and I mean who want's to draw ss3 that many times?

haha xD My thoughts exactly. At this point in time I think he's just about had enough and came up with an excuse to not draw out SSJ3 a million times. Then again, does he even draw anymore?

Well in my opinion, assuming that he actually was serious (meaning he meant what he said), I wouldn't mind having SSJ1 take the stage. Someone already mentioned it, but I too agree that it seems to be one of the only transformations that didn't seem to be a last minute "pull-out-of-my-ass" move.

Then again, I like SSJ2 aka Gohan's transformation. I like how the hair gets more defined. But that's just my opinion.

[Sagetim]

I'd rather like to see the other characters (or at least vegeta) also getting the god form. After all, it's not like they Can't do the same ritual that they did with Goku for Vegeta's benefit. If nothing else, it might give the storyline some options about who saves the day instead of it Always reverting back to Goku. I mean, hell, even in the second broly movie goku had to save the day despite being Dead.

I'd enjoy seeing him start his manga back up, but only if he is allowed to have other characters save the day, I mean, how many enemies would have just died if they were hit with Krillen's kienzan? And with Tien using kikoho to pin them down, how many enemies could just be brutally murdered by the two strongest humans in the world? I mean, sure, they'd have a hard time killing buu or cell like that, but they could lay a beat down of deadly magnitudes against any enemy that can't regenerate.

But back to on topic: If Goku makes the decision to drop super saiyan 2 and 3 because they eat up too much of his energy to maintain, that's not the same as saying that his super saiyan 1 form will be stronger. Think of it like this: goku trains in normal form, since ssj 1 boosts his power by x, he gets the best gain by training in his base form, since any gain while transformed would be divided by x. ssj 2 boosts him by, say, 2x, and ssj 3 boosts by, say, 3x. So while he could train his base form up a lot, to the point that his ssj 1 is equal to where he last used ssj3, that doesn't mean that his ssj 1 is now stronger than his ssj 3 transformation, since the ssj 3 at that point would be that much more powerful. But, Goku's focusing on energy economy- what's most effective for him to fight someone at, normal form for days on end, super saiyan for nearly the same, super saiyan 2 for maybe half a day, or super saiyan 3 for like...a couple hours maybe. Because all that raw power isn't necessarily going to help you win if you fall over with a heart attack partway through your grand, fight ending kamehameha.

[Shiro]

I honestly don't care about ssj3 getting crossed out, but ssj2?! It's my favorite ssj transformation   

[Real Super-Sand]

I honestly don't care about ssj3 getting crossed out, but ssj2?! It's my favorite ssj transformation 

While I agree that Ssj2 was better then Ssj3, It is probably the most under used form in the series. Besides from Gohan in the Cell saga and the fight with Goku and Majin Vegeta it really isn't used all that much, except for little bits and pieces here and their, like Vegeta holding off Buu for 1 minute, and to be honest not only was it barley used but the difference in appearance between Ssj1 and Ssj2 were almost non existent, besides from a few of Goku's locks disappearing and Vegeta's hair looking more defined. But now that the animation quality is much higher Vegeta's hair always seems to be more defined so that difference in appearance is gone. Basically, if you don't try hard to notice if they are in Ssj1 or 2, then you are most likely gonna think they are just in Ssj1 form. That is most likely why Akira forgot the form, and old age of course.