A simple line in Super Dragon Ball has addressed one of the plot holes that fans of the iconic franchise have been wondering about for decades: The Saiyans’ “zenkai enhancement“. Since Dragon Ball’s Namek Saga, zenkai enhancement has been considered one of the unique powers of the Saiyans, making them naturally stronger the more they fight. However, almost from the introduction, the exact nature of the Zenkai Enhancement is unclear and often contradicts itself. After the Namek Saga, the zenkai enhancement essentially disappears from the series, leaving people Fans are confused about this iconic Saiyan power.
Regarding Namek, the different explanations that Vegeta gives to Freiza’s henchmen at different points contain different details about how exactly the zenkai enhancement works. Vegeta’s first explanation sounds more cultural than biological – Saiyans fight a lot and gain experience that makes them strong, so they seek out more battles to gain more experience. The next time Vegeta explains zenkai enhancement, it seems like an inherent ability that Saiyans have to naturally increase their power levels to take on stronger opponents. The third time Vegeta explains, he gives the most famous version of how zenkai enhancement works: Saiyans become stronger after experiencing near-death injuries, just as Vegeta fought fight Goku on Earth.
Dragon Ball Super explains why Zenkai no longer enhances
Chapter #20 of Dragon Ball Super finally offers some clarification. During Vegeta’s fight with Goku Black, Trunks and Mai witnessed Vegeta fighting at a disadvantage and quickly losing the fight. With Vegeta continuously being knocked down by Goku Black, Mai offers to continuously heal Vegeta with Senzu Beans to allow him to continuously heal and be empowered by zenkai powers. Apparently the plan didn’t work, as Vegeta didn’t seem to get any stronger as he recovered. Trunks suggests that Goku and Vegeta have “reached their limit,” either in terms of their zenkai enhancement or in terms of their physical development, and are no longer stronger as they recover from their injuries. This is the clearest explanation for the disappearance of zenkai enhancements offered in years.
While the idea of Saiyans becoming stronger after surviving fierce battles is consistent with Saiyan culture, zenkai enhancement has proven a difficult one to write, and this ability is close to seemingly disappeared after the Namek Saga creating one of Dragon Ball’s biggest plot holes. Throughout the series, the exact rules were changed to fit the needs of the plot, or the concept was scrapped altogether to prevent it from completely breaking the plot and making the Saiyans too powerful. strong. As for Namek, in order to have enough strength to fight Frieza, Vegeta intentionally let Krillin almost kill him before being healed by Dende. This creates the lingering question of why more Saiyans don’t intentionally heal and injure themselves, or why zenkai enhancement doesn’t occur in other situations, such as when Cell nearly kill Vegeta.
Goku and Vegeta have reached their physical growth limits
While it’s possible that Akira Toriyama simply decided to remove this power from the series due to the potential abuse it could cause, it’s good that Dragon Ball Super decided to address the issue directly. direct and accurate. It also fits with Vegeta’s recent statement that he and Goku had long ago reached the limit of their physical development and must now get stronger by other means. While the specifics of the zenkai enhancement remain vague, this explanation at least closes the most glaring plot hole about the Saiyan’s powers. While the door remains open for other weaker Saiyan characters to benefit from zenkai enhancementthanks to Super Dragon Ball Now there’s an explanation as to why Goku and Vegeta don’t seem to be getting stronger despite the epic battles against incredibly powerful enemies they’ve survived.
