Criticisms of the way Super Saiyans form spoil the creativity of the battles in Dragon ball is valid, but the referral goku‘s Kaio-ken started to do more damage in this respect long before them. Interestingly, the battles in the original Dragon Ball series and the Dragon Ball Z movie The World’s Strongest highlight Kaio-ken’s negative impact on the franchise.
Of course, the drama leading up to Goku’s first Super Saiyan transformation and the excitement about what higher levels might look like has produced some of the most anticipated moments in anime and manga, yet tell how these iconic forms continue to influence the industry . But the negative impact they have on battles is undeniable. And Kaio-ken had a similar effect on them long before Super Saiyan was born.
Kaio-ken did it so Goku no longer has to fight smarter
In Dragon Ball Z: The World’s Strongest, the unique elastic form of one of Dr. Wheelo’s Brutal Warriors named Misokatsun forces Goku to use Kaio-ken. Misokatsun’s limp body allows him to completely absorb and mitigate the impact of attacks by stretching back until the momentum of the attack is completely negated. When an energy beam like Master Roshi’s Kamehameha is used, Misokatsun’s body propels the wave towards its opponent like a rubber band. But when Goku powers up with Kaio-ken and flies into Misokatsun’s intestines, Goku’s enhanced speed and strength give him the ability to push Misokatsun’s elasticity to the limit and tear.
In the Dragon Balls, a young Goku battles a similarly constructed villain named Jiggler whose body functions just like Misokatsun. Jiggler’s frail body naturally absorbed every single attack Goku had, including Kamehameha’s, just like what happened to Master Roshi. But because Goku hasn’t learned Kaio-ken yet, he has to resort to another method. In chapter 65 of Akira Toriyama’s Dragon Ball, Goku recalls an earlier conversation he had about how cold weather can cause objects to freeze and break a hole in the wall during his battle, resulting in freezing air from outside turning the Jiggler into a block of ice. This makes it much easier for the young Saiyan to defeat him.
Kaio-ken’s Dragon Ball Legacy Has Highlights
The fact that Misokatsun and Jiggler are so similar and how seeing Kaio-ken simplify Goku’s fight against the former villain underscores how Kaio-ken has had a detrimental effect on creativity in the game. Dragon Ball battles. Like most battles in DBZ and beyond, except more recently in Dragon Ball Super, Goku often just has to rely on his ridiculous amount of strength and power rather than actually having to use any form. strategy, partly thanks to Kaio-ken and later the Super Saiyan formed.
However, this doesn’t mean Kaio-ken hasn’t introduced some compelling dynamics to the show. Kaio-ken essentially serves as a partial reminder of how weak Goku is against certain opponents. And by having to resort to it, Goku is proving that he must rely on something other than his natural strength and skills to win over a number of enemies. That said, Goku is still special because he can only use Kaio-ken without dying, especially when he later increases its power by multiplying the base technique by a ridiculous amount. So Goku’s ability to use Kaio-ken also shows how much stronger he is than most normal humans. Like the later Super Saiyan, by goku Kaio-ken just eliminates the diversity of Dragon ballformula’s battle in the process.
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