Goku has numerous transformations across the Dragon Ball franchise, and regardless of how much some people might despise the Dragon Ball GT show that was released in 1996, many Dragon Ball fans agree that Super Saiyan 4 is the best-looking transformation that the beloved Saiyan has ever had. The red fur, the long hair, and the merge between Oozaru’s strength and Super Saiyan power have given birth to a badass-looking transformation like none other. Super Saiyan 4 had a very original concept and appearance, and nobody can deny that, regardless of how much you may hate Dragon Ball GT.
As for the concept of the Super Saiyan Blue transformation, which was initially called Super Saiyan God Super Saiyan, it’s practically just a recolor of the hair from yellow to blue when it comes to looks. It has an extremely superficial appearance, although, at its core, it’s more than that. The Super Saiyan Blue transformation (which is abbreviated as SSB) is known to combine the powers of a Super Saiyan God with that of a regular Super Saiyan with yellow hair.
One of the most controversial discussions among the Dragon Ball community is this: is Goku stronger as a Super Saiyan 4 or as a Super Saiyan Blue? We’ll try to find out, but first, we need to dive a bit into the history of the two transformations.
Super Saiyan Blue (SSB) Goku
The transformation of Super Saiyan Blue (SSB), or Super Saiyan God Super Saiyan, as it was originally called, was introduced back in the ‘Dragon Ball Z: Resurrection F’ movie that came out in 2015. Goku and Vegeta obtained the transformation after going through intense training with Whis, the angel who never fights, although he possesses vastly superior powers to any mortal. The two beloved Saiyans used the transformation to fight against Frieza, who was revived by his soldiers using the dragon balls. Guided by anger and his unquenchable desire for revenge, Frieza was willing to take down both Goku and Vegeta.
Super Saiyan Blue was a huge power boost for the base forms of both Goku and Vegeta, proving to be even superior to the Super Saiyan God transformation of Goku, where the beloved Saiyan had his hair turn red. Super Saiyan Blue also has the characteristic of having godly ki, making opponents unable to feel his presence and power. It was needed for five Super Saiyans to join their powers to give birth to a Super Saiyan God, and now imagine that Super Saiyan Blue is even far superior! Super Saiyan 3, for instance, meaning Goku’s most powerful transformation before he obtained godly powers, wouldn’t even be able to touch a Super Saiyan God.
Later on, the ‘Resurrection F’ movie was adapted into the Dragon Ball Super TV series, thus making Super Saiyan Blue part of the anime.
Super Saiyan 4 (SSJ4) Goku
The Super Saiyan 4 transformation (which is abbreviated as SSJ4) of Goku was obtained when the Saiyan became a Great Ape after his special training with the Elder Kai, who had to grow the beloved Saiyan’s tail back. While Goku had to go through a very painful process to regain his tail, he became stronger than ever while he was in his Super Saiyan 4 form.
We need to keep in mind that, unlike Dragon Ball Super, Dragon Ball GT isn’t canon, as it’s not based on a story written by the original Dragon Ball creator, Akira Toriyama.
Super Saiyan 4 is the winner
Long story short: Super Saiyan 4 Goku is stronger than Super Saiyan Blue Goku. That’s because Goku, in his base form in Dragon Ball GT, had about ten years of training ahead of the Goku from Dragon Ball Super. GT Goku was able to easily defeat both Frieza and Cell in Hell simultaneously, while we knew from the Dragon Ball Z series that Cell was about Super Saiyan 2 level. This means that Goku, in his base form in Dragon Ball GT, is stronger than Super Saiyan 2 from Dragon Ball Z. This can only mean that multiplying Goku’s strength at Super Saiyan 2 level in Dragon Ball GT would make the beloved Saiyan comparable in strength to the Super Saiyan Blue level from Dragon Ball Super. Since Super Saiyan 4 has a much higher power multiplier than Super Saiyan 2, it’s clear that Super Saiyan Blue is no match for SSJ4.
Another strong argument would be that Dragon Ball GT is set much farther into the future than Dragon Ball Super. The events in GT take place at least ten years after the ending of Z, while Super is still a part of Z, being set sometime after the defeat of Makin Buu. While we can’t actually say that the story of Dragon Ball Super adds up with the one of Z, it might still happen somehow in the future of the manga, as other arcs were added after the Tournament of Power. In other words, since GT is placed long after the events of Super, it would be reasonable to assume just for this fact that Super Saiyan 4 is a much higher power boost than Super Saiyan Blue.
In the end, it could actually be impossible to decide if Goku is stronger in his Super Saiyan 4 form than in Super Saiyan Blue or vice versa. But we hope that this article has still given you some precious information about the two epic transformations. Both of them have their own unique charm.
