All Goku Forms Ranked From The Weakest To The Strongest

Hi, my fellow anime fans! Today’s post is going to about a list of all Goku forms! Goku was one of the first anime characters that inspired millions of people around the world. He is the main protagonist of the world’s most famous franchise, Dragon Ball. This is the first series that introduced an amazing adventure story based on martial arts. This series contains a lot of life lessons, martial arts skills, and a bunch of amazing and powerful characters. 

Dragon Ball first debuted in 1984 and is still running. Akira Toriyama is the creator and illustrator of this epic franchise. This series is one of the highest-grossing anime franchises of all time. It is also the third best-selling manga series. 

The Dragon Ball franchise plays a major role in boosting the popularity of Japanese animation in Western culture. Goku is the key factor in the series’s popularity and has inspired numerous artists in the anime community. He is so popular that there are several merchendise have been made for him such as the Goku minifigure, metal posters and more.

The best part about Goku is his different forms with incredible powers. Whenever the series revealed his new form, it rapidly became very popular and trending. 

List of all forms of Goku 

Akira Toriyama introduced numerous forms of Goku in the Dragon Ball franchise. All forms of Goku are very popular and powerful with their different astounding appearances. Goku has the best transformations in Dragon Ball, from his first transformation, Great Ape, to his last transformation, Ultra Instinct. He can transform into numerous variations because of his saiyan blood and unwavering willpower. 

Goku’s appearance in his base form is similar to that of a well-built man. He has a black spiky hairstyle with good facial features. His eyes are softer and dark black in color, and he has light-pale, complex skin. His most distinguishing physical characteristic is his hair, with amazing bangs. 

Whenever he transforms, his hair color and hairstyle are changed. But sometimes, his whole body is completely changed. In this list we talk about all forms of Goku from Dragon Ball, Dragon Ball Z, Dragon Ball GT, and Dragon Ball Super. 

So, without further ado, here is a list of all Goku forms. 

• Great Ape
• Kaio-Ken
• SSJ
• SSJ2
• SSJ3
• Golden Great Ape
• SSJ4
• SSJG
• SSJB
• UI
• MUI

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11. Great Ape Form

Goku’s Great Ape is the first transformation of Goku in the Dragon Ball series. It is also known as “Oozaru.” Whenever Goku directly looks at the full moon, he transforms into a gigantic ape. In this form, he became ten times stronger and more destructive than his normal self. 

In the Dragon Ball series, Goku and his team are imprisoned by Pilaf in an underground basement. They are left to die and are unable to escape from it. Then, for the first time, Goku transforms into a Great Ape by looking at the full moon. He breaks Pilaf’s prison, but he goes on a rampage and destroys everything around him. His unrestrained rampage also endangered his friends’ lives.

Goku is completely unable to control his destructive urges. He also does not remember what he did while being the great ape. That’s why Goku doesn’t willingly transform into a Great Ape like his rival Vegeta.

10. Kaio-Ken

Kaio-Ken is first introduced in the first season of Dragon Ball Z. Goku learnt this technique from King Kai after his death in the Saiyan Saga. Kaio-ken is a technique, but Goku brilliantly used it as a form to amplify his powers exponentially. Goku can rapidly boost his speed, strength, and endurance by using Kaio-Ken. He also has the disadvantage of using this transformation because it puts an incredible strain on his body. 

Goku revealed this form in the deadliest fight against Vegeta during the Saiyan Saga. In this fight, he first used Kaio-ken and gave a toe-to-toe fight to Vegeta. Goku used this form in almost every arc of the Dragon Ball franchise. He is also able to use Kaio-Ken in conjunction with his other transformations. 

Goku also uses Kaio-Ken against the Ginyu Force, an elite team of warriors. In this fight, Goku easily defeated all the members of the Ginyu Force. This group consists of the most fearsome and powerful warriors like Captain Ginyu, Recoome, Burter, Jeice, and Guldo. Kaio-ken is the only form that demonstrates the peak power of Goku. Whenever he used Kaio-ken with his latest powerful transformations, it became his most powerful version.

In the latest Dragon Ball Super series, Goku uses Kaio-ken 20 times in Super Saiyan Blue form. He used it against Jiren, but is unfortunately not capable of defeating him.

9. Super Saiyan (SSJ)

The Super Saiyan form was first premiered in 1991 during the Frieza Saga. It is the most classic and epic of all Goku forms. Akira Toriyama introduced the Super Saiyan transformation to make the series more interesting and popular. Goku’s black spiky hair turned golden when he transformed into Super Saiyan. His eyes also turn green in colour, which makes him attractive. 

As a result of his intense rage, Goku obtains this legendary transformation into a Super Saiyan after witnessing his childhood friend Krillin being ripped to shreds right before his eyes by Frieza. Goku, in his Super Saiyan mode, forces Frieza into one of the most humiliating defeats in the series. Goku’s Super Saiyan shifts his usual power to a whole new level. Goku’s fight with Cell is one of the most popular fights in the Dragon Ball Z series. In this fight, Goku became Super Saiyan and gave a tough fight to Cell. 

Goku’s fight with Cooler is the most iconic fight of Goku’s Super Saiyan mode. In this fight, he shows the true power of Super Saiyan by defeating Cooler. To make it more interesting, the Super Saiyan tramsformation plays a major role in the Android Saga. There are many forms of Goku that appear in the entire franchise, but Super Saiyan is the most classic and iconic form. Goku’s initial transformation into a Super Saiyan remains in the hearts of fans even after several decades.

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8. Super Saiyan 2 (SSJ2)

Super Saiyan 2 form is the next level transformation of Goku’s Super Saiyan. By becoming Super Saiyan 2, Goku looks similar to his Super Saiyan version. The only difference is that his hair became spikier with fewer bangs falling on his forehead. Goku manages to get this form while training in the afterlife after his death in Cell Games. 

Goku first showed off his Super Saiyan 2 form against Yakon during the World Tournament Saga. Before introducing Super Saiyan 2, Goku, Vegeta Trunks, and Gohan all had their regular Super Saiyan transformations with some variations. Gohan was the first one who triggered the new proper Super Saiyan 2 transformation during the Cell Games. 

Through intense training in the afterlife, Goku became the second character in the series to get this form. His first real fight in Super Saiyan 2 mode is against Majin Vegeta. In this fight, he gave a tough fight to Majin Vegeta, a powerful form of Vegeta. 

7. Super Saiyan 3 (SSJ3)

Super Saiyan 3 is one of Goku’s most popular and powerful forms. This mode is completely different from all his previous ones. In Goku’s Super Saiyan 3 transformation, his hair is the same golden blonde, but its color becomes darker and more yellowish. His hair length also increases and comes around his waist. His facial expression is also changed by the complete disappearance of his eyebrows, making him scary. 

In Super Saiyan 3, Goku’s body is covered with lightning bolts and an immense amount of aura. This form provides him with more speed, strength, and endurance than all his other Super Saiyan forms. This transformation extracts every single drop of energy and potential from Goku. It is also very effective in close-combat fights, but often takes a lot of energy to sustain. 

Super Saiyan 3 can easily beat opponents that Super Saiyan 2 couldn’t handle. After a year of intense training in his afterlife, Goku triggered the Super Saiyan 3 form. He shows this transformation for the first time when he stalls time for Trunks against Majin Buu. It is also used by Gotenks, a fusion of Goten and Trunks. Gotenks is the only character other than Goku who gets Super Saiyan 3 in the entire series. 

Goku demonstrates the full power of Super Saiyan 3 in the battle against the evil Majin Buu. In this fight, he gave every ounce of his energy but did not manage to use this form for very long. This transformation remains one of the most ridiculous and incredibly cool among all other Goku’s forms. It started a trend of introducing new tramsformations every two or three arcs. Goku’s Super Saiyan 3 forms take the series’ popularity to a new level with their astounding power and appearance.

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6. Golden Great Ape Form

The Golden Great Ape is an upgraded version of child Goku’s Great Ape form. This transformation is far stronger than Goku’s Super Saiyan 3 or all previous super saiyan versions. The golden great ape first appears in the Dragon Ball GT’s Baby Saga. It is also known by other names like “Golden Oozaru” or “Super Great Ape.” People simply say this is a Super Saiyan of the Great Ape. 

Goku transforms into the Golden Great Ape by looking at a full planetary body (full Earth). Firstly, he can’t control himself and loses his senses. After some time, he gets complete control over it with the help of Pan, the granddaughter of Goku. By becoming a Golden Great Ape, Goku has spiky hair and golden fur covering his whole body.

Goku’s power and strength increased drastically and kept growing after transforming into the Golden Great Ape. In this mode, he also uses a more powerful blast attack and a rush attack. He also got a new additional technique, the mouth energy wave. With this technique, he can blast an enormous amount of energy from his mouth. This blast is very powerful, exploding and piercing his opponents as well as their surrounding area. 

5. Super Saiyan 4 (SSJ4)

Goku’s Super Saiyan 4 form is the best and coolest thing in the Dragon Ball GT. It is the controlled variant of Goku’s Golden Great Ape form. It is the most difficult transformation to achieve by any of the saiyans by themselves. Goku got this form because of his incredible amount of power and excellent control over his Golden Great Ape self.

Goku’s appearance is completely different after transforming into Super Saiyan 4. His whole body looks like a hybrid between a monkey and a human. His skin color changes to a peach tone, and his body is covered with a red coat of fur. Goku’s eyes turn crimson and a shadow trims around his eyes. His voice also becomes deeper and coarser, unlike in his other versions. 

Goku’s Super Saiyan 4 has the enormous strength and speed of a Golden Great Ape. But he had complete control over this power through his calm and clever mind. This form also allows Goku to increase the power of his signature moves, like the Kamehameha. He can develop his super Kamehameha into a ten-times stronger weapon. He calls it the 10x Kamehameha. 

Goku also evolved into Super Saiyan 4 Full Power, the most powerful form of Super Saiyan 4. He acquires this by absorbing a massive amount of Saiyan power. It is far superior to his Super Saiyan 4 mode. During the Baby Saga, he first used this form in battle against Baby Vegeta. With his enormous power, he easily defeated Baby Vegeta’s base form in this fight.

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4. Super Saiyan God (SSJG)

The Super Saiyan God is one of the most stable forms of Goku. It is the perfect balance of strength and stamina. It is the most powerful transformation of all the Super Saiyan forms of Goku. By becoming a Super Saiyan God, Goku gains incredible speed and strength and takes up a lot less energy. It permanently empowers Goku beyond all his prior limitations and is very suitable for long-going battles. 

Super Saiyan God is the legendary transformation of Saiyan that provides the incredible powers of God. This is the hardest and most difficult transformation to achieve by mortals. Goku did not acquire this form on his own; rather, it was given to him by the power of others. He is the first one who figures out the ritual to unleash the Super Saiyan God by granting a wish from Shenron. The six good-hearted saiyans infused their power into Goku to achieve this form. 

Goku’s Super Saiyan God mode is first seen in the fight against Beerus, a god of destruction. He almost fought toe-to-toe with Beerus, although Beerus was presumably holding back. While fighting, Beerus recognizes that Goku’s skill is his own, even if his power isn’t. 

Goku uses his Super Saiyan God form again during the Tournament of Power in a battle against Dyspo and Kunshi. Goku recently demonstrated this mode in the new Dragon Ball Super Broly film.

3. Super Saiyan Blue (SSJB)

Super Saiyan Blue is one of the iconic forms of Goku in the Dragon Ball Super series. This form is incredibly cool and powerful and is the most popular among modern fans of the franchise. The official name of this form is Super Saiyan God Super Saiyan (SSGSS), but people simply call it Super Saiyan Blue. Goku gets this form while learning the art of God Ki from Whis. 

Goku’s Super Saiyan Blue form is a combination of his Super Saiyan God form and the first Super Saiyan form. This form is much like his Super Saiyan form, only with new blue hair and blue eyes. In this form, Goku’s whole body is covered with an immense amount of blue electric aura. This form increases his power, strength, and speed to new heights beyond his previous forms. 

Goku first used this form in the battle against Golden Frieza, the most powerful form of Frieza. While fighting Frieza, Goku powers up quite a few times while in this form. He also shows the potential of this form by defeating Golden Frieza. In the Future Trunks Saga, Goku again uses his Super Saiyan Blue form. In this arc, he fights against Zamasu and Black Goku by using this form. While fighting, Goku mastered this form completely and became unstoppable. 

Goku used his Super Saiyan Blue form many times in the Dragon Ball Super series. He uses this form in almost every fight in the Tournament of Power. Recently, he also used this form against Broly in the Dragon Ball Super Broly movie. 

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2. Ultra Instinct (UI)

Ultra Instinct is undeniably the most powerful form of Goku in the history of the Dragon Ball franchise. Goku shows off his Ultra Instinct form for the first time in the Universe Survival Saga. This arc marked a significant milestone in Dragon Ball Super, effectively re-contextualizing the current Dragon Ball. However, by the time Goku went Ultra Instinct, its episode cracked the internet and made an indelible impression on fans. 

After absorbing his own Genki Dama’s energy, Goku became Ultra Instinct in the Tournament of Power. Whis is already well aware of Goku’s potential to attain this form. He also dropped many hints to Goku about Ultra Instinct while training him. By becoming Ultra Instinct, Goku’s hair turns more spikier and solid with silver highlights. His eyes became sterner, with silvery irises and visible pupils. His body is surrounded by a complex silver and blue aura that is made up of fire-like energy and tiny sparkles.

The greatest advantage of Goku’s Ultra Instinct form is that it gives him an automatic and instantaneous reaction to any threat. It also gives him the most appropriate and seamless means of defending and attacking. However, Goku’s Ultra Instinct form has some major flaws. This form is only activated when he is on the verge of death or unconscious. His raw strength is also comparatively lower than his incredible heightened agility. Furthermore, this form does little damage and isn’t good for defeating powerful opponents.

Goku used his Ultra Instinct form in the fight against Kefla for the first time. In this fight, he easily dodged all of Kefla’s fatal blows. After that, he used his Divine Kamehameha to defeat Kefla and also knock her out of the Tournament of Power. 

1. Master Ultra Instinct (MUI)

Master Ultra Instinct is the complete form of Goku’s Ultra Instinct form. Goku shows this epic form in the ultimate finale of the Universal Survival Saga. This form is the most memorable and strongest of all the forms of Goku in the entire franchise. 

Goku’s Master Ultra Instinct form totally eliminates the drawbacks of Ultra Instinct and makes him incredibly strong. It amplifies his raw strength, power, and reaction speed more than his previous forms. In this form, Goku’s hair completely turns white with an overwhelming aura around his body.

Goku only shows his Master Ultra Instinct form during the final battle against Jiren. His form is good enough to take down full-power Jiren. In the fight, Goku gave massive fatal blows and attacks to Jiren and also broke his willpower. 

Goku quickly grasped the Ultra Instinct state and mastered it in the allotted time. Unlocking this form is the equivalent of entering the Arena of Gods and outshining the majority of them. The moment of Goku’s becoming Master Ultra Instinct is the coolest moment of the Dragon Ball Super anime. His transformation also gets him honour from all the Gods of Destruction.

That’s it for this post! These were all the Goku forms that we have seen in the Dragon Ball franchise.

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