If you were asked who is the strongest character in the world of anime, who would be your pick? Want us to take a guess?
Probably among the Big fours of the anime world, right?
Dragon Ball, One Piece, Naruto, and Bleach are known as the “Big Four.
I mean- it is really no surprise as the characters of these series are really very powerful and are considered to be the strongest characters in the anime world.
The Dragon Ball series is also one of the Big Fours and do we need to talk about how strong the characters of these series are? You must have probably heard about Goku and his son Gohan, right?
Considered to be the pioneer of all the modern mainstream anime like Naruto, One Piece, and more, the Dragon Ball series started with Goku, a Saiyan, who was sent to conquer Earth but ended up defending it with the help of his fighter friends.
Over the years, over four decades now, the series is still going on with almost eight shows to its name. Among these eight shows, The Dragon Ball Z series is considered to be the best one so far.
It followed the adventure of adult Goku and his quest to defend the earth. However, in this series, he had a son named Gohan. Fans who loved Goku showered immense love to his son as well.
Fans really looked forward to seeing Gohan be just like his dad and what we know, their prayers were heard and Gohan served the best, even surpassing his father.
What really took the fans by surprise was when Gohan tapped into his inner power and awakened the Super Saiyan 2.
That’s right, he unleashed the Super Saiyan 2 even before his father, which made him the first person to do so in the whole series.
This whole Saiyan and Super Saiyan 2 stuff can get really confusing but worry not as we have included everything there is to know about this power when actually he achieved it and why was it such a big deal.
But first, let us know a little about what exactly was Super Saiyan 2.
What was Super Saiyan 2?
The main plot of the series revolved around the Saiyans and their supernatural powers. They were born with immense strength and were considered powerful beings.
Saiyans (サイヤ ‘Saiya-jin’) were a race of extraterrestrials who were naturally aggressive warriors as well as protectors and supposedly the strongest beings in the universe.
However, over time they were able to transform their powers and take them to a higher state. Super Saiyan modes were used to describe the higher-level powers that the Saiyans achieved.
The Super Saiyan 2 (超サイヤ人２ Sūpā Saiya-jin Tsū), which was referred to as Super Saiyan Fifth Grade, initially was the direct successor to the first Super Saiyan Transformation.
It was very similar to the first form in terms of appearance and usage but the major difference was the power output as the Super Saiyan 2 gave far greater speed, strength, and energy output to the user.
The Super Saiyan 2 transformation was achieved by a Saiyan through various means and was different from user to user. However, for a Saiyan to level up to Super Saiyan 2, it was necessary that they possessed the Super Saiyan Full Power first.
The difficulty level for achieving the Super Saiyan 2 also depended on the Saiyans. The awakening of Super Saiyan 2 was very similar to that of the first Super Saiyan transformation as Goku described it to Gohan- power coming in response to a need, not a desire.
It was revealed in the Dragon Ball Super manga that just like the Super Saiyan form, even the Super Saiyan 2 could be improved through intense training.
Throughout the series, there were times when variations of the Super Saiyan 2 were shown. Some of them were;
Potential Unleashed:
This variation was achieved by Gohan through Old Kai’s Unlock Ability and was noted to be a super transformation different from Super Saiyan. It was described as a branch off of Super Saiyan 2 and referred to it as Gohan Type Super Saiyan 2.
Super Saiyan 2( Enraged ):
It was displayed by Vegeta that the Super Saiyan 2 form was amplifiable through rage and the ability was called the Quake Of Fury. It was achieved by Vegeta when Belma was slapped by Beerus.
Super Saiyan Rage:
The user of the Super Saiyan 2 was able to power up the Super Saiyan into Super Saiyan Rage through a massive amount of rage. The aura of Super Saiyan Rage was similar to that of the Super Saiyan Blue form.
Super Saiyan (Berserk):
This variation of the Super Saiyan 2 was trained when the Saiyans, who already had the Super Saiyan 2 were corrupted by Cumber and lost control of their action in the process.
It was not like the ordinary Super Saiyan 2 form as when they used the Super Saiyan Berserk, they possessed black electricity in their aura and even lacked pupils.
So now that we know everything about this strong transformation power, let us get right back into the topic and know exactly when Gohan achieved this feat.
When does Gohan go Super Saiyan 2?
Although the whole Dragon Ball Z series was based on Goku’s adventures in saving the world from extraterrestrials enemies, Gohan’s transformation into Super Saiyan 2 stole the show and left its mark as one of the legendary and best moments in the whole series.
There were many powerful characters in the series but Gohan was the first one to achieve the Super Saiyan 2 in the whole series.
He awakened the Super Saiyan 2 in the manga chapter 409 and Dragon Ball Z series episode 184, in his fight against the supervillain, Cell during the Cell games.
It was Goku’s duty to save the world from the villains, but when Cell came to Earth he decided to let his son, Gohan deal with Cell.
As amazing as the manga chapter was, the anime episode brought the moment to life as it allowed us to see the fight between Cell Jr. and Goku and his crew.
It was also during this episode that Android 16 spoke to Gohan to convince him that it was okay for him to fight because although Goku wanted Gohan to become a warrior, he really didn’t want to become one.
After Android 16’s motivational talks, Gohan was moved as he realized that it was indeed okay to fight for the safety of your loved ones.
However, when Android 16 was mercilessly killed by Cell right in front of Gohan, it ticked something in him, he snapped and began to transform into Super Saiyan 2.
His transformation did begin at the end of episode 184 but he achieved the complete transformation of Super Saiyan 2 in the early part of episode 185.
With his newly achieved powers, he was able to defeat the seven Cell Juniors and even went up against one of the strongest villains of the series, Cell.
Although timeline-wise it wasn’t the first time he had achieved the Super Saiyan form in episodes 184 and 185 was the first time when he completely transformed into Super Saiyan 2 and even used it against enemies.
How did he achieve Super Saiyan 2?
The Super Saiyan 2 was not any mere power that anyone could have achieved. To achieve such transformation one had to be a Saiyan, who possessed the Super Saiyan Full Power.
Although Gohan was a half-breed Saiyan, he still had that Saiyan blood running in him. The Saiyan powers that he inherited from his father, gave him strong powers and strength that were far superior to any other ordinary humans.
Gohan was the strongest Saiyan for his age and he trained with his father to fight the enemies. However, his mother Chi-Chi wanted him to study hard and become a scholar unlike his father, a jobless fighter.
She wanted Gohan to get an education and become something instead of a Saiyan. Nevertheless, Gohan ended up being forced into battles. He didn’t really want to do it for just the fun of it but he wanted to do it for the peace.
Through hard work and intense training from his father, Gohan pushed his limits and was able to attain the Saiyan Form. Before he awakened his Super Saiyan 2, he first became Super Saiyan 1, which allowed him to achieve even higher levels of Super Saiyan.
Goku needed all the help he could get to fight off Cell, so he began to train Gohan under his supervision. He believed that Gohan had the best chance of defeating Cell because he had a hidden potential yet to be showcased.
Gohan was already very strong for his age but Goku still believed that he had more room to grow, and intensely trained him to become a great warrior.
The harsh training that Gohan went through from an early age made him a Super Saiyan. After he found out about peace on earth was in danger, he trained more and he was able to attain his Saiyan form.
During the training, there were times when he did tap into the Super Saiyan 2 transformation but they all didn’t last very long as it was very difficult to control their forms.
However, when he awakened his Super Saiyan 2 during the Cell games, he was able to maintain it throughout his fight and even go up against Cell.
While retaining his Super Saiyan 2 form, Gohan used his Kamehameha to erase Cell once and for all after Goku sacrificed himself to save the Earth.
As taken back Cell was from Gohan’s new powers, he didn’t let it faze him as he powered up and was about to blow up Earth.
However, pushing his limits Gohan used all his might to attack Cell, erasing him completely from existence.
After the battle, Gohan did turn back to normal and was devasted by the death of his father but was soon calmed down when he found out Goku would come back.
Regardless, Gohan decided to go back to his studies despite knowing that if he were to train more and fight more he could have reached further and gotten even stronger.
However, it wasn’t the only time he used the Super Saiyan 2. In the movie Dragon Ball Z: Bojack Unbound, after being saved from Bojack by Goku, Gohan tapped into his Super Saiyan 2 powers to defeat Bojack and his henchmen in just a few minutes.
Did Gohan upgrade to Super Saiyan 3 and 4?
Because Gohan got back to his studies right after defeating Cell, he didn’t really focus on training furthermore.
However, in the Dragon Ball Heroes series, Gohan attained the Super Saiyan 3 form after it was introduced in God Mission 4.
Just like his future counterpart, Gohan’s Super Saiyan 3 form possessed two hair bangs instead of just one.
This transformation was a result of what would have happened if Gohan continued his training under Piccolo in the years following the Cell Games.
In his Super Saiyan 3 form, he wore an outfit similar to that Piccolo’s outfit that he wore in the Cell games. Along with super strength, Gohan also attained a more powerful variant of the Hyper Masenko.
As for the Super Saiyan 4, Gohan attained this form in the Dragon Ball Heroes series as well during Mission 5.
In this form, he had long hair that resembled Goku’s and Vegeta’s. He also had his bang back along with red furs that appeared on the upper part of his body.
With the Super Saiyan 4, he didn’t only get a new appearance but also gained a new technique called the Ultimate Soaring Dragon Strike, which he used to defeat his opponents by launching an uppercut with an image of a dragon.
Super Saiyan 4 was a very strong transformation to achieve and even difficult to control as it was very overwhelming for Gohan to the point he lost control of himself and couldn’t really control his powers.
Did anyone else use the Super Saiyan 2?
Even though Gohan was the first one to awaken and use the Super Saiyan 2, he was not the sole user of the power.
Later on in the series, Goku, Vegeta, and even Future Trunks were able to awaken the power and use it to fight off enemies. Unlike Gohan, who awakened the power using the emotions he felt after Android was killed, Goku and Vegeta unlocked it through immense training.
Likewise, Caulifla made her mark as the first female Saiyan to awaken the Super Saiyan 2 in the main series, after achieving the Super Saiyan.
Although Dragon Ball came to an end in 2018, the series came back in 2022 as a movie Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero where Gohan’s latest and final form Gohan Beast also known as just Beast was introduced to the audience.
So, if you missed Gihan and want to see him once more, now stronger and with a new form, we suggest you watch the movie.
