>>56404211>>56404405this is a great point and it is the actual truth. the cell saga is the point where goku most shows his flaws as a person. he gambles with the safety of earth, and it almost destroys the earth because goku did not fundamentally understand his son. that is where the grain of truth of hurr durr goku bad father comes from. for this goku once again pays with his life. i understand that by this point the currency of life and death in dragonball seems really weak, but it's worth saying he's not in their lives for seven years because of it.
anyway, back to super saiyan. no saiyan has ever achieved it. goku also hadn't achieved it. what was it about goku that made him the first? actually, let me get something out of the way. if super saiyan is all about righteous anger how did vegeta achieve it?
look, this is a bit of a copout, but i'm gonna stick to it. obviously all the stuff i'm talking about tows the line with allegory. what happens is just that super saiyan is the four minute mile. a little fun fact about the four minute mile is that it was thought impossible, but now it's regularly achieved by highschoolers. but what's especially funny is the second person to ever run it... was in the same race as the guy everyone remembers. he also broke the four minute mile in that race. he just didnt win the race.
once super saiyan is achieved, it's demystified, and vegeta himself is talented enough and enough of a warrior to break through another one of his limits. it's as simple as that. is that a cop out? yeah i guess.
anyway, goku going super saiyan for the first time comes because he accepts his true lineage, his true martial spirit, his status as a warrior. he reconciles the kindness he learned as an earthling with the warrior heart of the saiyans. when goku becomes super saiyan there is a notable change in how he acts and carries himself. he's always been earth's protector, but he takes on this mysterious and enigmatic quality he hadn't had before.
by defeating frieza, goku essentially establishes himself as the master of the universe. people forget, because yes stronger enemies come later, but frieza is literally the tyrant who rules the universe. goku is no longer just earth's protector. he is the universe's protector. and his flaw in the cell saga is trying to pass this mantle on to gohan.
